Rocket Lab joins SpaceX in re-flying a rocket engine to space
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Congrats to Rocket Lab! It’s amazing how in just a few short years we went from “just throw it away” to “not recovering your rocket is an anachronism.”
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Very glad it went well, and I wonder if they'll give it another flight?
It looks like they are getting SMART reuse without having to add on extra equipment and detaching the rockets from the tanks in flight.
Which actually seems smarter, now I think about it.
It looks like they are getting SMART reuse without having to add on extra equipment and detaching the rockets from the tanks in flight.
Which actually seems smarter, now I think about it.
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Awesome accomplishment! And just to confirm, the electron has 9 Rutherford engines, of which 1 was reused for this launch? Does Rocket Lab have plans to re-fly an entire booster with reused engines a la Falcon 9, or are they applying this learning for Neutron?
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It astonishes me that you can dunk a (likely still hot) rocket engine in saltwater and not destroy it.
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I must say, after watching dozens of SpaceX launches, it felt quite strange to see the Artemis boosters just unceremoniously tumble away into oblivion during the November launch. Very cool to see reuse trending towards being the norm!
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I love that SpaceX may be getting some legitimate competition arising. And it's not coming from Oldspace. Best of continued luck to Rocket Lab!
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Congrats, Rocket Lab.
Looking forward to Neutron. Looking backward at Blue Origin.
Looking forward to Neutron. Looking backward at Blue Origin.
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Zibplippperman
Ars Centurion
One reused engine out of nine is a good first test as the Electron is no doubt capable of reaching orbit with only eight.
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They're reusing a plan for engine reuse first proposed in the Apollo era, does that count?
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ULA is looking at detaching the engines after the first stage is staged and recovering them. Those plans are in the works for Vulcan. The first thing they want to get done is get the Vulcan up and running before updating to include this aspect.
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So the first flight of that engine went swimmingly, and the second flight is humming along as well...
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They did the LOFTID demo for NASA - they're intending to use a similar tech for an inflatable heatshield in SMART.
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I look forward to the first stage reflight. I am hoping to see booster numbering similar to SpaceX and following along as boosters are reflown a number of times, recertified, and eventually retired.
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They need an engine before they can do more than just talk about it.
BE-4, where are you?
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In the future, some poor student of rocket science history is going to wonder why the heck Electron and Neutron weren't built by the same company, or even country, that built Proton.
(And, congrats, Rocket Lab!)
(And, congrats, Rocket Lab!)
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Not just strange, but actually kinda painfull watching them throw away reusable shuttle engines after one use.
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I really regret having to sell all the stock I bought at the beginning of 2021 Beck is doing everything right, while still being an absolutely awesome human being
Beck is doing everything right, while still being an absolutely awesome human being
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It's probably not very hot after a slow trip of a few tens of km through a lot of wind.
Every part is optimized to be as thin as possible, after all, making it low on thermal inertia.
I'm more curious about the shape of the bells after lowish-speed impact.
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I believe what they're doing is proposing, but not implementing, to reuse a plan for engine reuse first proposed, but never implemented, in the Apollo era.
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Or when your rocket is so big and margins so high the percentage of payload mass you lose by return to launch site is so small it becomes unimportant compared to the benefits of cost savings and speed. No need for utopia.
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I really regret having to sell all the stock I bought at the beginning of 2021
The stock is at least still down ~54% since its the initial offering, but I do imagine it will steadily climb back up, especially if neutron shows progress in the next year.
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This is the first I've heard of that too. That seems pretty hard. How could they land without damaging them? They won't be under control. Imagine minor explosive separation from the rocket body, then a parachute, then land in the ocean. That salt water would hurt them. You aren't landing the entire rocket. I guess if you were flying over land you could parachute them, but that is only practical & safe way out in the middle of nowhere. I can't imagine flying them anywhere and detaching near the ground, they won't have fuel. This will be interesting!
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I suspect Electron needs all 9 engine at liftoff. As soon as, perhaps, 10% of the propellant is burned they can probably afford an engine out, but losing 11% of your thrust right at launch is very not good. That's almost half its excess thrust at liftoff (the TWR drops from 1.32 to 1.18).
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I wonder if there's any benefit to splashing down in a giant vat of freshwater (or treated water) next to the base. Or perhaps in a convenient lake as a trial.
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The engines push the entire rocket body up. All the strength is in compression. In tension, the structure could be very weak. It wouldn't necessarily take a lot to separate the rocket if it's designed to slide apart.
I believe ULA is planning to catch the parachute with a helicopter.
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By the time Vulcan has separated, the rocket is many kilometers downrange (perhaps a few hundred km). It's not going to have propellant to turn around and come back so it's going to carry on its parabolic arc on the way down. Whatever is there to catch it is going to be well into the Atlantic - further than SpaceX's barges.
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Fair point about the location. That aside, hypothetically would there be a significant benefit to splashing down in fresh water (or treated water) over saltwater?
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"In terms of orbital rockets, only NASA's space shuttle and SpaceX's Falcon 9 vehicles have demonstrated the capability of re-flying an engine."
Well, ackchyually... the RS 25 on Artemis 1 were all preflown Shuttle engines. So, perversely SLS also demonstrated re-flying engines.
Well, ackchyually... the RS 25 on Artemis 1 were all preflown Shuttle engines. So, perversely SLS also demonstrated re-flying engines.
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That might be possible if you launched from Duluth MN and landed it in Lake Superior.
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IIRC they decided against the helicopter catch and are going with a splashdown cushioned by inflatable bags.
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I was going to suggest polar launch from Northern Indiana.
Can't do that for about 3-4 months given that the landing spot would be on ice.
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Could launch from the Keweenaw Rocket Range!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keweenaw_Rocket_Range
Not serious about that, but it is always fun to bring up some old history.
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Not quite - they're planning to use a large inflatable heatshield - see the recent LOFTID mission for a small-scale example.
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I think you two are agreeing. The inflatable bags/heatshield get wet vs. the original plan to catch in mid-air.
That heatshield is only for hyper/supersonic entry. There have to be parachutes too.
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