Rocket Lab has given us new views of its epic booster snag earlier this month.
The company used a helicopter to catch the falling first stage of its two-stage Electron rocket on May 2, during a mission called “There And Back Again” that delivered 34 satellites to orbit.
On Wednesday, Rocket Lab posted on Twitter a video of the historic catch. It gives us, among other views, shots from the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter as it eased within range of the booster to snag its parachute line with a hook.
“Now these are views we could get used to,” Rocket Lab tweeted, along with the hashtag #ThereAndBackAgain.
The chopper pilots eventually released the booster, “as they were not happy with the way it was flying … no big deal, the rocket splashed down safely and the ship is loading it now,” Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said via Twitter on May 2.
He was referring to the company’s recovery ship, which next towed the rocket back to shore for analysis.
Rocket Lab is testing out the helicopter recovery as part of a larger effort to make Electron first stages reusable. If this works, company representatives say this would eventually reduce launching costs while increasing launch frequency.
The company has elected to use a helicopter over the approach by SpaceX, which uses engine burns to steer its Falcon 9 first stages to a soft touchdown on land or “droneship” platforms at sea. Electron, at 59 feet long (18 meters), is too small for this strategy as the boosters do not have enough fuel to leave aside for landing, Beck has said.