MAHIA PENINSULA, New Zealand – Private launch company Rocket Lab says it’s going to try again to recover the Electron rocket booster after a launch with NASA payloads onboard.
Electron is scheduled to launch the mission it’s calling “Baby Come Back” on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. NZST (7:30 p.m. ET on Monday). The ride-sharing mission includes four CubeSats for NASA in a technology demonstration and two commercial payloads.
Rocket Lab has been attempting to recover its Electron first stage boosters post-launch. This will be the second recovery mission of the year.
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The company is now recovering the boosters after a soft landing in the Pacific Ocean instead of using an aerial recovery method.
Previously, Rocket Lab attempted to pluck the rocket booster from the sky with a helicopter during a November 2022 attempt called “Catch Me if You Can” and in May 2022 during a test called “There and Back Again.”
“Rocket Lab’s transition to marine recovery away from mid-air capture has been informed by previous recovery missions that showed Electron components and engines passed requalification testing following ocean splashdowns, so this next mission represents near final maturation of the marine recovery system in preparation for reflight of a booster,” the company said in a statement.
On this mission, Electron will launch seven small satellites: NASA’s Starling CubeSats, a Telesat demonstration satellite for Space Flight Laboratory and three tiny satellites for Spire Global.
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After launch, the first stage will return to Earth with the help of a parachute before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
A recovery vessel will be waiting to scoop up the booster and take it back to New Zealand. Rocket Lab said it’s trying new upgrades on this recovery attempt, including waterproofing systems to protect engines and avionics. The plan is to re-fly these recovered boosters, driving down launch costs.
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The launch will mark the company’s 7th liftoff this year and 39th overall.
Rocket Lab’s headquarters are in Long Beach, California, and the company has two launch complexes, one in New Zealand and another in the U.S.
In January, Rocket Lab completed its first launch from a new launchpad in NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.