The California-based company attempted its mid-air booster catch twice last year, and both times the booster ended up in the ocean. Although the whole point was to prevent the rocket’s first stage from being submerged in the water to increase its potential for reusability, Electron did just fine after its swim. As a result, Rocket Lab opted to bail on using a helicopter to transport the booster to shore and instead just fish the rocket out of the ocean.
Electron was also upgraded with new waterproofing systems to protect key engine and avionics components, according toBeing able to reuse its rocket boosters will be a major advantage for the SpaceX rival. Rocket Lab is slowly creeping up on Elon Musk’s private space venture, with this being the seventh launch of its Electron rocket this year and 39th launch overall.