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Reusable booster from Rocket Labs
Why is it in news?
- Small-satellite launch firm Rocket Lab plans to recover the core booster of its Electron rocket using a helicopter.
More in news
- 2nd in line: It is a bold cost-saving concept that, if successful, would make it the second company after Elon Musk’s SpaceX to reuse an orbital-class rocket booster.
- Rocket Labs:
- It is an Auckland-based company. It is one of a growing cadre of launch companies looking to slash the cost of sending shoebox-sized satellites to low Earth orbit, building smaller rockets and reinventing traditional production lines to meet a growing payload demand.
- Electron rocket:(1) Electron has flown seven missions so far, can send up to 225 kg into space for roughly $7 million.(2) Unlike SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which reignites its engines to land steadily back on Earth, Rocket Lab’s Electron will deploy a series of parachutes to slow its fall through the Earth’s atmosphere.
Source
The Hindu