After launching one of its rockets to orbit on Thursday, small satellite launcher Rocket Lab successfully brought the vehicle back to Earth and landed it gently in the ocean underneath a series of parachutes. The maneuver was part of an intricate dress rehearsal, meant to practice nearly all of the steps Rocket Lab will take to recover and reuse its rockets in the future.
Rocket Lab’s primary rocket is the Electron, aimed at launching batches of small satellites into low Earth orbit. For all of the company’s 15 launches up until now, the Electron has been expendable, with an entirely new rocket used for each new mission. But in 2019, Rocket Lab announced its plans to try to save the majority of the Electron rocket following future…
