Rocket Lab Successfully Completes First Test Fire of Reused Rutherford Engine
02 September 2022 - 6:30AM
Business Wire
The engine was launched to space on Rocket
Lab’s 26th Electron mission ‘There And Back Again’ in May 2022
before it was returned to Earth, caught by a helicopter and
recovered at sea, and refurbished and successfully reused by Rocket
Lab.
Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab”, or “the
Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, has
successfully test fired a reused Rutherford first stage engine for
the first time – a significant technical achievement in the
Company’s efforts to make its Electron launch vehicle the world’s
first reusable orbital small rocket.
Rocket Lab conducted the full duration, full-thrust test fire of
the refurbished Rutherford engine earlier this week at the
Company’s engine test facility. The engine was previously
successfully launched to space and returned to Earth during Rocket
Lab’s recent recovery mission, ‘There And Back Again’, launched on
May 2, 2022. The mission was the first time Rocket Lab attempted a
mid-air capture of Electron’s first stage, using parachutes on the
rocket to slow its descent from space before a helicopter plucked
the rocket from the sky as it approached Earth’s surface. The
Electron stage was ultimately released for a soft ocean splashdown,
before it was collected by vessel and returned to Rocket Lab’s
production complex.
The refurbished Rutherford engine passed all of the same
rigorous acceptance tests Rocket Lab performs for every engine,
including 200 seconds of engine fire and multiple restarts. Data
from the test fire shows the engine produced full thrust of 21kNs
within 1000 milliseconds of ignition and performed to the same
standard of a newly-built Rutherford engine. This Rutherford engine
will now continue as an engine life-leader for future Rutherford
development.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck says: “We’ve always been
at the forefront of innovation with Electron, having pushed the
boundaries of many technologies including carbon composites,
electric turbo-pumps and 3D printed rocket engines. Now, we’re
leading the pack once again bringing reusability to small launch
vehicles.
“Being able to refly Electron with minimal refurbishment is the
ultimate goal, and so the fact that the recovered components on
this engine performed on the test stand with minimal rework is
further validation that we’re on the right path. If we can achieve
this high level of performance from engine components recovered
from the ocean, then I’m optimistic and incredibly excited about
what we can do when we bring back dry engines under a helicopter
next time.”
Preparation for Rocket Lab’s next recovery mission, which will
include an attempt to catch Electron with a helicopter again but
this time fly it back to land, is continuing at pace and is
scheduled to launch before the end of the year.
+ Images & Video Content www.flickr.com/photos/rocketlab
+ About Rocket Lab
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with
an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable
launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and
on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier and more
affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach,
California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small
orbital launch vehicle, the Photon satellite platform and the
Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for
constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January
2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second
most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 149
satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations,
enabling operations in national security, scientific research,
space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and
communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been
selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as
the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three
launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a
private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a second
launch site in Virginia, USA which is expected to become
operational in 2022. To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com.
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+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Murielle Baker
media@rocketlabusa.com
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