Rocket Lab Reused Rocket Engine For First Time, Launched 'Acadia' Satellite
Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket with a preflown engine for the first time. One of the nine first-stage Rutherford engines is flying for the second time. The payload was a Capella Space Acadia Earth-observing radar satellite.
Credit: Rocket Lab
Credit: Rocket Lab
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TechTranscript
00:00 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and liftoff.
00:15 [Music]
00:43 Electron is up and away from the pad at Launch Complex 1, soaring through the sky and on its way to space for Capella.
00:51 All is looking nominal with the rocket and its engines as the mission approaches its first notable event, Max Q or Maximum Aerodynamic Pressure, the most intense pressure during flight that the rocket will experience.
01:04 The call that we've cleared that milestone should be coming from mission control shortly.
01:08 Vehicle is supersonic.
01:24 And vehicle has passed Max Q.
01:31 There we go, that's Max Q cleared as Electron continues with Capella's satellite on its orbital journey.
01:38 The mission is moving along at 2,300 km/h and is now past 19 km in altitude.
01:45 The next mission milestone will be the shutdown of those nine Rutherford engines on the first stage, just ahead of the second stage separating to fire up its own engine and continue that mission.
01:58 That will be called out as MECO or Main Engine Cut-Off, followed by stage separation, then stage 2 ignition.
02:06 Those call-outs from mission control should be happening shortly, so let's listen in.
02:11 Stage 1 propulsion holding nominal. Standby for MECO in roughly 30 seconds.
02:27 Rutherford burnout detect mode.
02:41 MECO confirmed.
02:48 Stage separation successful.
02:51 Stage 2 ignition confirmed.
02:55 That is MECO, stage separation and second stage ignition all confirmed from mission control and by what you saw from Electron's vehicle cameras.
03:05 We've pulled up the video feed from the camera on the first stage as it begins to make its way back to the Earth.
03:10 Meanwhile, the fairing on the second stage should split and fall away shortly. We should hear that call across the net soon.
03:24 Fairing jettison succeeded.
03:28 You saw it there on your screen. Electron's fairing has split apart and fallen away as planned.
03:33 Capella's Acadia satellite is now exposed to space from atop Electron's kick stage and ready for payload deployment within the hour.
03:40 Electron's second stage is moving along now at more than 8,400 kilometres an hour and at an altitude of over 130 kilometres.
03:51 Meanwhile, that red booster is on its return trajectory.
03:55 You can see it up on your screen to the left with the second stage cruising along on your right.
04:00 When the stage is separated, the booster carried on in an upward arc from the momentum.
04:05 But what goes up must come down and with a bit of redirection from its external thrusters, which you can see happening right now,
04:13 that will position the rocket stage on the right angle to come back through Earth's atmosphere.
04:18 And with that, Electron will be coming home.
04:28 With four minutes into the mission and Electron is well on its way to orbit after lifting up from Pad B at Launch Complex 1 right here in New Zealand.
04:37 The Acadia satellite for Capella's space is sitting comfortably on top of Stage 2 as it moves along at more than 9,900 kilometres an hour.
04:46 Electron is headed to a 640 kilometre circular Earth orbit today, so we've still got a bit further to go to reach the apogee at second stage separation around nine minutes post lift off.
04:56 Stage 1 has reached apogee.
04:58 For the first stage coming back to Earth, you might have just heard on the nets there that Stage 1 has reached its apogee,
05:03 which is the highest point of its trajectory arc.
05:07 That will mean it's starting to descend now, dropping in altitude as it will speed up with the force of gravity.
05:15 It will travel this way for a few minutes before its drogue and main parachutes are deployed to help slow it down.
05:21 Before that, though, as part of the primary mission, we will reach battery hot swap on the second stage.
05:27 That's expected to take place at around six minutes into the mission.
05:43 We're coming up now to battery hot swap on the second stage.
05:46 This is an action that you'll see used only on Electron.
05:49 That is a swap of batteries that are powering our electric pump fed Rutherford engine on Stage 2.
05:55 Electron will switch to a fresh new battery pack, and we might even see a glimpse of the old pair as they fall away.
06:02 There's a shiny object you can see next to the engine, so once those drop away, you'll know the battery hot swap has been completed.
06:18 Recovery vessel acquisition of Stage 1 signal.
06:29 Hot swap successful.
06:31 Battery gen acid confirmed.
06:34 You heard it there from mission control.
06:36 Electron's second stage has completed its battery swap and is continuing along nominally.
06:41 The launch vehicle is exceeding speeds of more than 15,000 kilometers an hour and an altitude of 205 kilometers,
06:48 while on its way now to the mission's target orbit of 640 kilometers.
06:54 [BEEPING]
06:57 [BEEPING]
07:01 [BEEPING]
07:05 [BEEPING]
07:09 [BEEPING]
07:12 [BEEPING]
07:15 [BEEPING]
07:21 [BEEPING]
07:26 [BEEPING]
07:31 [BEEPING]
07:39 [BEEPING]
07:42 Stage 1 drogue deployed.
07:51 AFTS has saved.
07:54 That was great news from mission control, and while it looks like we've lost the video feed from Stage 1 as we expected,
07:59 we did get that confirmation from mission control that the stage's drogue parachute has been deployed.
08:05 That is excellent news, just ahead of the main parachute, which should deploy in the next few seconds.
08:11 Stage 1 is subsonic.
08:24 [BEEPING]
08:27 Stage 1 main chute deployed.
08:40 There's the call we were waiting on, confirmation from our team in mission control that the booster's main parachute has been deployed.
08:49 That will mean the first stage has well slowed down its pace and should be floating...
08:54 Stage 2 gondas in terminal, 25 seconds remaining.
08:57 That stage should now be floating gently towards the water out over the Pacific Ocean,
09:02 where our recovery teams are in position and waiting patiently for that chance to move in.
09:07 So just a few seconds away from the second stage's final actions,
09:14 we've got second engine cutoff or SECO before the kick stage separates for its phasing orbit of Earth.
09:19 Let's listen out for those milestones.
09:21 SECO confirmed.
09:24 Great news there from mission control.
09:27 With that second stage engine cold and the kick stage cleanly separated,
09:31 all we have left now to complete the mission is payload deployment for Capella's Acadia satellite.
09:36 The kick stage will now move into a coast phase with its payload atop.