Rocket Lab USA Inc. successfully re-flew one of its Rutherford rocket engines during an orbital launch on Wednesday, a key step in the small satellite-launch company\u2019s efforts to prove its reusable rocket technology.<\/p>\n
It was the first time that a previously flown engine had been used again to help propel one of Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron rockets.<\/p>\n
The company is striving to reuse portions of its rockets, a feat Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX has\u00a0used<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in an attempt to cut the cost of sending payloads and people to space.<\/p>\n The mission took off at around 7:45 p.m. eastern time from Rocket Lab\u2019s New Zealand launch site and lofted a satellite for a synthetic aperture radar company called Capella Space Corp.<\/p>\n The mission is still ongoing, with deployment of the satellite slated for roughly an hour after liftoff.<\/p>\n After launching to orbit, the Electron rocket successfully guided itself through the atmosphere and landed in the ocean under a parachute. The company plans to fish it out of the water.<\/p>\n \u201cToday for the first time in Electron\u2019s history we\u2019re launching with a Rutherford engine that we\u2019ve already flown before,\u201d Likhitha Satrasala, a structural analyst at Rocket Lab, said on a live webcast of the launch.<\/p>\n Another surprise! For the first time, we\u2019re launching with a preflown Rutherford engine today. This is a major step toward evolving Electron into a reusable rocket.<\/p>\n Spot the engine that has already been to space and back. pic.twitter.com\/XSJoJII2GD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) August 23, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n