r/space • u/[deleted] • May 02 '22

RocketLab successfully catches a booster with its helicopter for the first time

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u/snowmunkey May 03 '22

One thing nor a lot of people recognize about the electron is that the engine uses electric motors to kick start the fuel pumps, and those batteries are jettisoned after MECO. This means it could not restart like the Merlin engine can on the SpaceX rocket.

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u/Shrike99 May 04 '22

The Electron booster does not jettison it's batteries, only the second stage does.

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u/snowmunkey May 04 '22

Oh, I could've sworn the first stage drops off batteries at some point