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Electron F32 - MATS - Catch Me If You Can - LC-1B - 4 Nov 2022 17:27 UTC
by
Trypto
on 01 Nov, 2022 19:08
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Swedish Space Agency Rebooks Mats Satellite Launch on Rocket Lab ElectronPayload details courtesy of Gunter's Space Page - 50 kg mass to 600 km dawn/dusk circular SSO. Notes launch as "auxiliary payload" but may have changed after Electron rebooking
MATS satellite will launch from New Zealand (shipped around 10/19 or thereabouts)
MATS satellite launch from New Zealand - Launch window information: NET Friday 4 November 2022, 17:30 – 19:30 Swedish time (assumed, based on linked YouTube stream start time)
Possible recovery attempt here?
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OFFICIAL PRESS KITOFFICIAL PRESS RELEASENovember 01, 2022 04:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time
LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today confirmed that it will attempt to catch an Electron rocket with a helicopter as it returns to Earth from space during the Company’s next launch.
Rocket Lab’s 32nd Electron launch, the “Catch Me If You Can” mission, is scheduled to launch from Pad B at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 during a launch window opening on November 04, UTC. Electron will carry a science research satellite by space systems provider OHB Sweden for the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA). The Mesospheric Airglow/Aerosol Tomography and Spectroscopy (MATS) satellite is the basis for the SNSA’s science mission to investigate atmospheric waves and better understand how the upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere interacts with wind and weather patterns closer to the ground. MATS was originally due to fly on a Russian launch service before the mission was manifested on Rocket Lab’s Electron.
“Catch Me If You Can” will see Rocket Lab attempt to capture the rocket’s first stage mid-air with a helicopter as it returns from space. Using a modified Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to catch and secure the rocket by its parachute line, Rocket Lab will bring the captured stage back to its Auckland Production Complex to be processed and assessed by engineers and technicians for possible re-use.
This Electron recovery effort follows the catch of an Electron first stage during Rocket Lab’s first helicopter recovery attempt on the “There And Back Again” launch in May, and the recovery attempt for this mission will follow the same concept of operations as the previous launch.
Rocket Lab CEO and founder, Peter Beck, says: “Our first helicopter catch only a few months ago proved we can do what we set out to do with Electron, and we’re eager to get the helicopter back out there and advance our rocket reusability even further by bringing back a dry stage for the first time.”
“Catch Me If You Can” launch details:
- Launch Window Opens: November 04, UTC
- Launch vehicle: Electron
- Customer: Swedish National Space Agency through OHB Sweden
- Launch site: Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Pad B
- Orbit: 585km circular Earth orbit
- Payload: MATS
Recovery Mission Profile:
- Shortly before lift-off, the customized Sikorsky S-92 recovery helicopter will deploy to the capture zone at sea, approximately 160 nautical miles off New Zealand’s Banks Peninsula.
- Once launched, Electron’s first and second stages will separate at approximately T+2:32 minutes into the mission. The MATS payload will continue to orbit onboard the rocket’s second stage while Electron’s first stage descends back to Earth. At this point in the mission, Electron’s return is expected to reach speeds of up to 8,300km (5,150 miles) per hour and temperatures of up to 2,400 degrees C (4,352 F).
- At approximately T+7:20 minutes after lift-off, Electron’s first parachute will deploy followed shortly after by the rocket’s main parachute. The double deployment of parachutes helps to slow the returning first stage to 0.4% of its top speed during descent: from 8,300km per hour to just 36km per hour.
- As Electron enters the capture zone, Rocket Lab’s recovery helicopter will match the rocket’s speed and descent from above, attempt to secure the trailing parachute engagement line to the helicopter via a hook at the end of a long line.
- Once captured and secured, Electron will be transported back to Rocket Lab’s Auckland Production Complex. There, technicians will receive and prepare the stage for inspection to assess its suitability for re-use.
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#1
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 01 Nov, 2022 19:44
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#2
by
Ken the Bin
on 01 Nov, 2022 20:32
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NGA notices.
312126Z OCT 22
HYDROPAC 3070/22(76).
WESTERN SOUTH PACIFIC.
NEW ZEALAND.
DNC 06.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
1515Z TO 1900Z DAILY 04 THRU 17 NOV
IN AREA BOUND BY
39-18.00S 178-03.00E, 39-12.00S 178-00.00E,
39-12.00S 177-51.00E, 39-15.00S 177-48.00E,
39-18.00S 177-48.00E, 39-42.00S 177-42.00E,
39-42.00S 178-00.00E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 172000Z NOV 22.
312101Z OCT 22
HYDROPAC 3069/22(76).
WESTERN SOUTH PACIFIC.
DNC 06.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
1515Z TO 1900Z DAILY 04 THRU 17 NOV
IN AREAS BOUND BY:
A. 44-00.00S 177-30.00E, 44-00.00S 176-24.00E,
46-30.00S 175-30.00E, 46-30.00S 177-00.00E.
B. 55-00.00S 173-00.00E, 55-00.00S 171-30.00E,
59-30.00S 169-30.00E, 59-30.00S 171-30.00E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 172000Z NOV 22.
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#3
by
TrevorMonty
on 02 Nov, 2022 08:35
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#4
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 02 Nov, 2022 18:38
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#5
by
Ken the Bin
on 04 Nov, 2022 03:06
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#6
by
Rondaz
on 04 Nov, 2022 10:02
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#7
by
Rondaz
on 04 Nov, 2022 11:47
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Orbital Launch no.152 of 2022
CMIYC | Rocket Lab | Nov 04 | 1715 UTC
@RocketLab to launch Swedish National Space Agency's small meteo MATS on its #Electron from LC-1 in #NewZealand.
Dubbed #CatchMeIfYouCan attempts to catch 1st stage booster mid-air..
https://twitter.com/SpaceIntellige3/status/1588537039385161729
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#8
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 12:28
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https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1588518906423291905It’s launch day! Operators are on console, the MATS payload is secured in Electron’s fairing, and the helicopter is preparing to take off soon and head to the recovery zone down range.
Target lift-off:
🚀 UTC | 17:27
🚀 NZDT | 06:27
🚀 EDT | 13:27
🚀 PDT | 10:27
🚀 CET | 18:27
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#9
by
Conexion Espacial
on 04 Nov, 2022 12:52
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Rocket Lab Livestream
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#10
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 13:23
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#11
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 14:22
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https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1588549841592123392Electron is vertical on the pad at LC-1 for the launch of “Catch Me If You Can,” our 32nd Electron mission. Liquid oxygen is now flowing into Electron's first and second stages ❄️
Lift-off:
🚀 UTC | 17:27
🚀 NZDT |06:27
🚀 EDT | 13:27
🚀 PDT | 10:27
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#12
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 14:25
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#13
by
Rondaz
on 04 Nov, 2022 14:41
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#14
by
pb2000
on 04 Nov, 2022 15:30
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#15
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 15:46
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#16
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 15:56
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#17
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:11
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#18
by
whitelancer64
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:26
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1 MINUTE TO LAUNCH
YouTube Live stream:
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#19
by
zubenelgenubi
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:30
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#20
by
zubenelgenubi
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:31
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First stage ascent > MECO > Stages 1/2 separation > SEI > fairing separation
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#21
by
cpushack
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:36
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nearly 90 second video lag on Stage 2 this mission for some reason
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#22
by
whitelancer64
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:38
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SECO and nominal obit confirmed.
Booster parachute deploy. View from helicopter on live stream.
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#23
by
whitelancer64
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:40
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Helicopter is maneuvering
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#24
by
edzieba
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:46
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Confirmation of no helicopter catch attempt today.
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#25
by
ZachS09
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:47
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Confirmation of no helicopter catch attempt today.
Were they unable to spot the main chute in time?
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#26
by
whitelancer64
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:49
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Confirmation of no helicopter catch attempt today.
Were they unable to spot the main chute in time?
The helicopter was manuvering very aggressively - I would presume they were not close enough to the rocket, had to try to high-tail it over to where it was, and could not line up well enough for a catch attempt.
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#27
by
kevinof
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:50
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Didn't say but my guess is that the capture area is still too large and the helicopter didn't make it to the stage before it splashed. Little more refinement maybe?
Confirmation of no helicopter catch attempt today.
Were they unable to spot the main chute in time?
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#28
by
HVM
on 04 Nov, 2022 16:56
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What is going on in T+00:08:19 in S1 view?
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#29
by
zubenelgenubi
on 04 Nov, 2022 17:01
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Catch-up post of second stage ascent, battery hot-swap, SECO, and first stage re-entry.
Second stage video lags events by approximately 1 minute.
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#30
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 17:01
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https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1588588643262029826We’ve just had an update from the recovery team and unfortunately it looks like we are not going to bring Electron home dry today, but we do have the back up option of an ocean splashdown so we'll bring you updates on that operation in the hours to come
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#31
by
Comga
on 04 Nov, 2022 17:24
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Payload deployment confirmed
First stage water landing under parachute confirmed
Ship enroute to fish first stage from ocean
Webcst ended
edit: Failure of helicopter catch was attributed to loss of telemetry from descending first stage.
This resulted in the helicopter being pulled from the catch zone for safety.
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#32
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 17:29
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#33
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 17:32
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twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1588584556424482816
LAUNCH! Rocket Lab launches Electron on its "Catch Me If You Can" mission and booster reusability test.
Overview:
nasaspaceflight.com/2022/11/catch-… - by Tyler Gray (@TylerG1998)
Livestream:
youtube.com/watch?v=PVTwEn…
https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1588584556424482816Staging 1-2.
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#34
by
zubenelgenubi
on 04 Nov, 2022 17:39
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We had several minutes of the capture helicopter 🚁 view, like this.
Screencap of satellite separation via CGI: 🛰
Sign-off.
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#35
by
russianhalo117
on 04 Nov, 2022 17:46
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What is going on in T+00:08:19 in S1 view?
AFAIU: Reentry plasma/Heatshield ablation, stage depress to atmosperic pressure, thrusters depletion and drogue cover jettison occur rapidly during this timeframe. At a predetermined altitude prior to capture or splashdown valves are closed to prevent flooding.
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#36
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 18:05
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https://twitter.com/peter_j_beck/status/1588607021649395712Rocket telemetry dropped out (it happens a bit during reentry) but we did not regain a solid link in time. Without that link it’s just not safe to put the helicopter into the recovery zone, so we stood it off. The great thing about recovery is you get it back to see what happened
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#37
by
TrevorMonty
on 04 Nov, 2022 18:39
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These glitches aren't unexpected at this stage in recovery program. Took SpaceX while to perfect there recovery now look at it.
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#38
by
ZachS09
on 04 Nov, 2022 18:41
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These glitches aren't unexpected at this stage in recovery program. Took SpaceX while to perfect there recovery; now look at it.
Exactly. Did SpaceX give on drone ship landings after a couple failures and submit to water landings only? No.
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#39
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 18:44
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#40
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 18:47
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https://twitter.com/rocketlab/status/1588618744037007360Congratulations @RymdstyrelsenSE and OHB Sweden on MATS' deployment to space! Catch Me If You Can was our ninth mission this year, bringing total satellites deployed by Electron to 152. More info: bwnews.pr/3Nz9aB5
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221104005596/en/Rocket-Lab-Successfully-Deploys-152nd-SatelliteRocket Lab Successfully Deploys 152nd Satellite
November 04, 2022 03:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time
LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rocket Lab USA Inc, (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, has successfully launched its 32nd Electron mission to deploy its 152nd satellite to orbit, a science payload for the Swedish National Space Agency. The MATS satellite was deployed to its 585km circular orbit by Electron following lift-off at 17:27 UTC.
“Congratulations to the teams at OHB Sweden and the Swedish National Space Agency on their mission,” says Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “It’s been a long journey for MATS, so I’m proud of the Rocket Lab team for doing their part to support this mission with a fast contract-to-orbit turnaround of just four months.”
The “Catch Me If You Can” mission also resulted in a successful ocean splashdown of the Electron rocket’s first stage. Rocket Lab had planned to attempt amid-air capture of Electron’s first stage with a helicopter if conditions allowed, however not all requirements were met to ensure a successful capture. Due to a brief telemetry loss with Electron’s first stage during its atmospheric re-entry, the helicopter was moved out of the capture zone per standard safety procedure. The Electron first stage completed a safe splashdown and Rocket Lab’s recovery vessel is now alongside the stage to bring it onboard and back to Rocket Lab’s production facility for inspection and analysis.
Catch Me If You Can was Rocket Lab’s ninth mission of the year, adding to an already-record year of successful orbital launches for the Company. Rocket Lab remains on track to launch its first Electron mission from Virginia before the end of the year, on a mission for HawkEye360 that is scheduled to launch in December.
“Bringing a rocket back from space is a challenging task and capturing it mid-air with a helicopter is as complex as it sounds,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “The chances for success are much smaller than that of failure because many complex factors that must perfectly align. We are proud to have successfully recovered our fifth rocket from the ocean now and we look forward to another mid-air capture attempt in future as we work toward making Electron a reusable rocket.”
Follow Rocket Lab’s social media channels for real time updates on upcoming missions, including the next recovery attempt.
Photo caption:
Lift-off of Rocket Lab's 32nd Electron mission, Catch Me If You Can (Photo: Business Wire)
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#41
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 04 Nov, 2022 18:50
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More Rocket Lab launch photos
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#42
by
Rondaz
on 05 Nov, 2022 00:19
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#43
by
Rondaz
on 05 Nov, 2022 00:29
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#44
by
fatdeeman
on 05 Nov, 2022 16:16
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I'm mostly likely wrong, but it almost looked like a re-entry burn was occurring shortly before the camera switched to the helicopter. I didn't think Electron did a burn?
Probably just hot gases/plasma, though?
Seems like it started moving quite erratically at this point as the feed was cutting out. I guess that's why the telemetry was lost?
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#45
by
TrevorMonty
on 05 Nov, 2022 16:26
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I'm mostly likely wrong, but it almost looked like a re-entry burn was occurring shortly before the camera switched to the helicopter. I didn't think Electron did a burn?
Probably just hot gases/plasma, though?
Seems like it started moving quite erratically at this point as the feed was cutting out. I guess that's why the telemetry was lost?
Plasma from reentry, presenter said a few mintues earlier to expect.
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#46
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 07 Nov, 2022 04:56
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#47
by
TrevorMonty
on 01 Mar, 2023 03:47
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In the Q&A conference call from Q42022 results (see RL webpage under Investor information), Peter Beck talked (11:00 mark) about water recovery of Electron. Going do some more water proofing of stage and water recovery next. Economics of water recovery are looking more favorable compared to MAR.