How Rocket Lab will catch a rocket with a helicopter!
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- čas přidán 9. 08. 2019
- Want an article version of this video? Here you go! - everydayastronaut.com/rocket-...
Rocket Lab just announced they plan to try and recover their Electron rockets using a parachute and a helicopter… Yeah, seriously.
Today we’re going to dive into Rocket Lab’s plans for reusability including some deep dives on the challenges they face including the forces and velocities.
Then we’ll go into the history of air recovery, and compare Rocket Lab’s reusability plans to other space systems that utilize parachutes such as the space shuttle’s SRBs, the Falcon 9, SpaceX’s fairings, and even ULA’s similar plans they’re calling SMART reuse.
I also got exclusive information from Rocket Lab and Peter Beck himself with some exciting additional details on just how exactly they hope to do this.
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I'm the cohost of an awesome podcast where we talk all about current technologies and how they shape our future! ourludicrousfuture.com or here on CZcams / ourludicrousfuture - Věda a technologie
That helicopter, which recaptures the electron, NEEDS to be called the Proton.
You are right! That is the best naming ever!
Sadly that's the name of a Soviet rocket, so maybe they can't name it that.
Cation, perhaps?
The kick stage is called proton
@@Denshi Then what about "Neutron?"
6:19 THE WHAT PROGRAM
the bat soup program
@@alponselrik :)
Yah, that name didn't really age well did it...
The Airforce has been planning this for over 60 Years. Wake up sheeple xD
it is just plain crazy
Thanks Tim for using metric!
Like every decent scientist
He always used metric and imperial
Inperial sucks metric rules
@@randomguy-jd8su Because there are two types of countries:
Those that use metric
And
Those that used metric to put man on the moon and create nuclear bombs
@@cursedcliff7562 it's the murican way
Your content quality has become sooooo good in the recent weeks and months, as well as keeping up in pace.
As a spaceflight enthusiast I've got to thank you for your continued effort to improve and you producing well researched updates and giving context on the continuously accellerating developments of the aerospace industry!
Thanks Tim
ULA wants to do something like this with Vulcan too. They want the engine section to separate after launch, inflate a vehicle then reenter and be captured by helicopter as it parachutes down. It might be even crazier than this!
Would the pilot of the helicopter have the official job title of Rocket Hooker??
"The astronauts on the ISS ordered something interesting... Take a look at this..."
YES and its very appropriate. RocketLab's first home is New Zealand. In NZ rugby union is their national sport and Kiwis are crazy about it. In rugby union there is a field position whose main purpose is to capture the football that field position is called a "Hooker". Rugby League also popular in NZ it also uses the same term and has the same job of football capture.
Yes, for the rugby reason. Hooker isn't a term with the same meaning in NZ as the USA
Rocket Catcher would sound more appropriate
Hearing you pronounce the names made this finally click for me.
Not just looks like a tree with branches,
Ms. Tree = mystery
Ms. Chief = mischief
mind ... blown
I know. I'm slow sometimes
You're not alone
Don't forget the 2nd stage debris recovery ship...
Ms. Cellaneous
Ms. Aligned?
Ms. Demeanor
i only noticed during the last our ludicrous future episode when ben said it.
How do you catch the Electron Rocket if you can't know the position and momentum simultaneously?
You know the approximate area where its gonna land as it sounds like they plan to guide it there. And then the helicopter pilot will just have to be skilled enough to catch it. Humans don't run on numbers so it should be fine.
@@__-fm5qv You missed it. Paolo was making a joke wrt quantum mechanics.
You Heisenberg it.
Possible when it's massive enough
Perhaps you just catch the shell?
With such a small rocket, Rocket Lab has the Square-cube law its favour.
@uncletigger True. There are multiple ways to look at how this principle affects vehicle design, some positive, some negative. With re-entry heating, the Square-cube law gives Electron a higher surface area over which to dissipate the heating load (although this does depend on orientation).
I'm not an engineer. Just a fan. So I ask. With the smaller rocket not seeing as much stress because of its smaller size, would that not mean the stresses it see would last longer because it has less drag? I'm also thinking it would have to pull its shoots at a much higher terminal velocity.
@@justinpsychomonkeyjohnson2845 The smaller rocket will actually have higher drag, since it has a higher surface area to mass ratio.
The "Square-cube law" is just a name commonly used to describe the fact that when you increase the dimensions of an object evenly, the volume increases by the cube of the increase in dimension, while the surface area only increased by the square. ie. Take a cube with side length 1m; Its volume is 1m³, and its surface area is 6m². If you increase the side length to 2m, the volume is now 8m³ _(larger than the first by a ratio of 2 cubed ),_ and the surface area is now 24m² _(larger than the first by a ratio of 2 squared)._
@@ergohack thank you for that.
It's not quite square-cube law, since returning boosters would be empty.
A half an hour, in depth and high quality video within a few days of a brand new announcement before driving to Texas again? He did it, the absolute madman
I've been hoping to see a modern company utilize this method for a while now. Good luck Rocketlab!
And today, it worked! Really incredible seeing what 2 years of development brings us.
Here's a variation on your tagline, Tim: I'm Tim Dodd, The Everyday Astronaut, bringing space down to earth - propulsively or by parachute - for everyday people :)
alternatively "in one or more pieces" :D
Good one
@Marc Merlin >>> _"Parafoil."_ 😊
Congrats on working so hard to become a better space exploration journalist than all the talking heads at FOX, CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC combined. Keep up your excellent work Tim!
_"...the plasma at these shockwaves can be half the temperature of the Sun."_
To be clear, the _hottest_ part of the plasma (which doesn't actually touch the rocket) is half the temperature of the _coldest_ part of the Sun (the surface).
JackSpeed 439 relax bruh.... You make it look like he robbed the planet or something. Fkn hell
@JackSpeed 439 you do realize this guy isn't representing any company? He represents everyday astronaut and that's it, and half the temp of the surface of the sun is still really fracking hot. Getting upset cause he didn't clearify that it was the surface vs core etc is ridiculous and beyond pedantic. You might want to check your priorities mate.
@@Spacemarine658 fantastic response
@JackSpeed 439 you have a good point. But he doesn't represent any company. If you say he is representing RocketLab then every journalist that writes an article about something is representing that certain thing.
And to make it more plausible the blunt end of the rocket and slower comparitive speed to the F9 will push the hot plasma further infront of the rocket engines. So provided they can handle a bit of heat, which they say they can, it should be fine.
How in the heck did you make this super high quality video with sources and correct facts in
Because he's Tim.. 😊
Repetition and having all your tools setup and ready to go, oh and being a workaholic.
Many technical jobs are this way. It's all about having the right tools and honing your setup.
I couldn't do it, but I don't have his tools or experience either.
Also having a community that can accurately fact check you within minutes helps a lot with the editing process.
Zac D Yup, this a mighty fine community!
cuz he spends 20 hrs a day editing videos
Re: Fairing catch in midair- the Roton ATV was nearly destroyed during an attempt to carry it as a slung payload under a Chinook at Mojave Air & Space Port. I shamelessly took cover behind a truck when they (slowly) brought it back to set it down next to XCOR's hangar, after seeing it swing wildly from side to side during translational flight.
The Roton's rotor hub punched a hole in the belly of the Chinook when the pilot didn't add power fast enough after setting the Roton down. The day was pretty much a fiasco. Big slung payloads under helicopters can be dangerous.
A timely development considering spacex is now offering insanely cheap smallsat launches
Yes, but you still have to launch your small sat with other satellites when you're on the Falcon 9, meaning you may not get exactly the orbit you want, launch date, or other specifications.
@@johnnyhoran9369 of course, but a cost reduction of electron launches will ensure that a smallsat team has absolutely no reason not to go with electron.
@@johnnyhoran9369 Plus, the fees for your cube sat is gonna be *way* less than the big thing, so if things go bad, your cube sat is gonna be the first thing tossed overboard, perhaps literally.
@@superdupergrover9857 If I understand the ride share material SpaceX put out, there wont be a main sat for those launches just a stack of small and medium sats on a truss like structure similar to what they did on STP-2
@@lukehotchkiss2022 I don't expect a huge cost reduction. The primary reason is to increase rocket availability and increase regularity of launches
6:18 the what now?
COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!
Yah, that name didn't really age well did it...
this is not funny
@@declan9876 neither is maximillian lmao
Thanks Tim, love your work, I show your videos to friends and family that are clueless about space travel, and your videos make things very accessible for them.
We are getting scary close to this happening. Seeing the videos of splashdown and stage separation was awesome.
Tim you're incredible the scope of content and level of detail in this short amount of time astonishing! Please keep up the great work, already looking forward to the environmental impact vid ;)
Greetings from Switzerland
Five electron catches makes a helicopter pilot an ace right...that must be a rule!
And I don't know if you mentioned it here Tim (a previous video?) but the real reason they are trying to recover isn't really cost saving, its time to build the another booster which would mean they are worried about meeting demand for launches. And seeing as SpaceX is also trying to offer "bundles" for smaller payloads, there must be a very substantial demand for the smaller launches
Cheers for making your videos available as articles, I can see why people like Peter Beck are inclined to share extra information with you, you’re one of the most enthusiastic and professional people covering these topics
Thank you for all of your work! Great episode with crazy fast turnaround!
As a New Zealander, I would love for Rocketlab to nail the recovery on the first try, but in reality, I think there will be a few things to learn in the process. That said, the recovery idea is not a new one, so who knows. It will sure be interesting. Thanks Tim.
It's a complicated process, but it's far simpler than SpaceX's, so I think the chance of them actually hitting it first try is pretty good. The helicopter is man-controlled, so it's more stable and reliable that way. Falcon 9 was automated top to bottom so there's a steeper learning curve to the landing.
You had me at mini rockets on rotor tips. Gotta love the early years
Wow. Kudos for an incredibly informative and well done video! Literally packed with fascinating updates! Lots of work and expertise went into this. Thanks!
They have a dedicated staff that want the best for the rocket. The worst case scenario I can think of is that engineers find a way to do this and fail the first couple of times then learn, like we all do.
Hey Tim, you just gave me this crazy idea to try snatching model rockets out of the air with a drone. I am doing an end project for school and I am lookin for ways to make model rockets more durable. Thanks for this inspiration and information on recovering rockets.
isnt the model booster too heavy for a drone?
Dang Tim when did you find time to crank this out?? Mad lad
Well done 👍🏻
One of the biggest thumbs up I've ever given! RL's announcement unleashed a torrent of questions and speculation on many YT channels. In 25 minutes you've answered 99% of them. Thank you! Relieves a lot of mental itches I'd have over my "great" ideas vs reality. Your *stature as a go-to guy* for space info is reflected by Peter Beck directly responding, on what must be crazy busy days.
For instance, thought an interstage opening into petals for hypersonic airbrake will work. Now you pointed out the strong indications on actual hardware, and the Kerbal illustration of legitimacy of the underlying concept. What a relief!
It's fun to re-watch these a few years later with knowledge of new directions these companies have taken.
Rocket lab, rocking it as always...
Very cool graph, kind of sad there wasn't the central core of falcon heavy
Mr Auto it varies so highly with only 2 launches so far
Dang, I love your videos, Tim. Thanks to you and the team!
I love these deep dives. Thank you for your hard work!
Peter Beck Ate His Hat
Shuttle SRBs didn't actually leave the atmosphere, they reached a max altitude of about 42 miles
67.2 KM for the rest of the world
thanks usa
Awsome vid as always . Love these longer vids with more indebt info
So much detail, so many details! Thank you
THE WHAT PROGRAM??????? 6:19
Hey Tim,could you make a video about docking ports covering history,science and how they work?
The quality of your videos just keep going up man, nice work!
Excellent work, Tim. This is easily a companion in quality to your rocket engine review. It's a watch and then re-watch piece for me, and so, "you 'da man!" Err Rocket-man. Err.. Yah.
Should use my aunties pork chops as a heat shield. Boy are they tough.
To be fair, since the Electron is so much smaller than the falcon nine, hence lighter, it *could* handle the reentry, with the ballute helping, unlike the falcon nine. Furthermore stress on the structure is far less of a problem compared to the f9 due to, again, its small nature. I'm most interested in the logistics in trying to get the chopper close enough to snag a falling booster.
Smaller also means less surface area to drag through the atmosphere, and less thermal mass to prevent critical systems overheating - it's the difference between throwing your phone at the floor or your PC.
As Tim mentioned, the rendezvous logistics are pretty much a solved problem - you know which direction the rocket is flying to reach the target orbit, and what it's maximum height is. That'll give you a large, but reasonable area to base your recovery in, and as you get data during descent you can relocate and align with the re-entry. It'll take about the same amount of time from launch -> apoapsis as from apoapsis -> chute deploy (given drag), and then it could spend another few minutes falling with it's deployed chute. If a helicopter can move at 300kmph you get 5km per minute of window. (so 15km if it takes 3 minutes from deploy to splashdown)
Yes, people have to visualize the Electron first stage as not much taller than the landing leg of an F9. *Then* the difference in size/mass will make sense of the difference in reentry stresses between the two.
A well-made video, Tim. I appreciate your long-form reporting as much as your shorter vids and the way you find good archival footage to augment the script. Keep up the good work--contemplating becoming a Patron!
Your videos are becoming better and better every time. You are doing a fantastic job and even seem to know what I want to see before I know! By far my favorite CZcamsr. Thanks!
Kiwi spirit they will nail it first try, keep up the great work and content😊😎🇳🇿🇳🇿
Who’s here an hour before they attempt the real thing?? Go Rocket Lab!! 🚀🚁
were they successfull?
Another masterpiece of a vid Tim! Great job!👍👍
Awesome video, very informative!!! Thanks for all you work!!
Whether they nail it first try or not, I'm rooting for them! It'll be so cool to see them trying such a neat recovery system. Right up there with SpaceX's booster landings!
6:18 Hol up.... CARONOA?!?
Caronoa?
When I was stationed in Hawaii in the 80's, there was a C-130 unit that "caught" satellites. I thought they were pulling my leg when I first was told about them. Their motto on their patch was "Catch A Falling Star".
Very well done; in depth examination of the topic, concise, personal and clearly expressed in simple language. You just keep getting better Tim, astro-science communicator extraordinaire!
the real incredible engineering marvel -is that animation! 4:57 ...I thought it was the real thing!
I'm naming that helicopter Airwolf 🐺 🚁!
Nah, proton
Another AIRWOLF fan, I take it?
Fantastic work on this summary of RocketLabs announcement. Good luck on your next ‘hop’ down to Boca Chica...
Love and admiration from London, UK.
This sort of thing used to be a common practices, early reconnaissance actually used film and the canister would be jettisoned to return to earth. The process works well as long as you put the parachute deployment sensor on right side up (Genesis space probe). It was easier than searching on the ground for it.
Such a cheap rocket going reusable?! Rocket lab is on the roll
Have a nice trip to Texas now! :D
Your video quality is insanely good, love this stuff
Awesome video Tim, huge fan of everything you do, listen to your music on spotify, appreciate the coverage, keep up the awesome work! :D
They should call the first Vulcan rocket Spock.
"Plane crazy?" For shame, sir. Punsters of the world, revolt!
Dude! Congrats on the 100k views in a DAY! Also, there were tons of debates on reddit about this. This was so informative and interesting.
So many different approaches to recovering hardware, I love it!
you used the term 'the wall' at the end without explaining once what this means XD
Watch the Rocket Lab stream.
That's the term Peter Beck used to describe solving the problem of surviving reentry with no retro-burn. If they can't get thru that "problem wall," reuse isn't viable.
@@donjones4719 I know that. I was just confused that Tim used the team in this video where not everyone has watched the Rocket Lab stream without introducing the term first himself.
@@_aullik Thought you might, wasn't quite sure. And thought a full answer would help the poor souls who actually hadn't watched the RL stream. Tim was packing in so much new info, I guess that bit slipped by him. :)
It's the hard fast barrier that no one goes through. In or out.
I wonder if we'll ever be able to use the energy from re entry to assist in additional operations
It almost sounds like you're wondering if they will ever have regenerative braking on rockets. So far the problem is kind of similar to trying to capture a lightning strike to charge batteries. It's too much power (heat) too fast. There already is a way to turn heat into power like in spacecraft using RTGs (nuclear batteries). The big difference is the rate the energy is being absorbed.
Since you said 'I wonder if we will EVER be able to do this' I'm tempted to say maybe. Who knows what type of breakthroughs the future will bring in materials science etc.
xD I have a crazy idea: add two turbines rotating in opposite directions (to not make the booster rotating) at the upper end of the booster. They would act like aero brakes and recover some energy using an electicity generator... and batteries. Too much additional mass...
@@pmj_studio4065 if used in a diffrent way it might actually be worth a look.. keyword is Autorotation: use the reentry Wind to spin up the Blades, and then later use the fast spinning blades to slow down the fall for a landing.
@@unitrader403 the only possible way now
Great video, so complete balanced and high quality....
So well explained, thanks Tim!
The Carona started back in the 60's!!!!!!!!! lol
Can they do it? Sure. Why doesn’t SpaceX? Their rockets are probably too big and heavy.
Amazing you pulled this together so quickly!
That’s what no sleep will get you 😅
Tim thank you for your amazing videos, this one gave me a few jaw dropping moments. Excellent work an I learn(ed) a whole lot from you that I directly channel back to hungarians who are extremely interested too when it comes to space travel.
Kudos! ;) :)
“Batteries are in literally everything”
Blanket
Electric blanket?
6:18 *_a what program_*
@tim - you work so hard on your videos, like, insanely hard, so hard it's quite insane to think you do this all by yourself. You deserve all the success in the future and you really are smashing it. Don't stop, you are independently carrying the entire world's next generation of space enthusiasts on your shoulders. Keep doing everyone proud Mr. !!
p.s. don't burn yourself out on the aerospike video. it's easy to see you've got a huge task behind you to live up to your reputation with a huge topic that's had very little decent quality coverage and knowing Elon will no doubt watch it and you may even have your chance to school him a little on the subject. Seriously, don't burn your self out.
We love you man,
- 3 of your very happy long term fans :)
Tim, very impressed with your channel, I published the very first aerospace newspaper on the web in 1995 called The Avion Online (I went to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University for Aerospace Engineering) and what I see you doing today is the modern CZcams version of the Space Technology section of that media outlet...I also really appreciate the depth you go in your research. I can tell you are not just focusing on the surface information, but investigating the physics, the engineering challenges, the complexities involved...my kids love your channel also, so keep it up and glad you are successful! Keep being professionally curious...
Thank you so much Brian! That means a lot! I’m glad the high effort is appreciated. I love telling the fun stories that might get lost in history otherwise!
Tim, you mentioned the cost of an Electron launch. You probably meant the published price. Price is not cost. Hopefully, for the sake of Rocket Lab, the cost of a launch is way lower than the price of a launch.
You said that SpaceX bought another ship for catching fairing halves. They leased another ship. They did not buy it. If they bought it, they would name it, and the name would not start with "Go."
Spacex said it costs too much to fly the helicopter to Mars
Electron actually launches from the MARS. Not the planet. Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia.
Great video Tim.
I think you will find Electrons helicopter will be in the air long before the main chute opens, as positioning of the helicopter will be faster when airborne rather than rely on the ship.
The baloot will be the interesting thing to see, size and strength needed to keep entry velocity down/under control.
Just saw the Hoppy dress rehearsal. They've got the directional thrusters mounted on top now. Looks like they are good to go for the next phase.
Oh, and this video was as informative as we've come to expect from you, Tim. Another great job.
A bit off topic, but i'm curious.
This is from your Patreon page:
"At 1,000 patrons, I'll hire a suit designer and we'll make Everyday Astronaut Suit 2.0! "
Well, you have 1800+ patrons now! So... ???
it takes time
Since I personally have distanced myself from the space suit after listening to feedback, this just felt like a waste of my time and my patrons money. Instead of doing that, I hired a suit designer to make SpaceX style space suit hoodies that will be for sale this fall.
@@EverydayAstronaut On the other hand, a SpaceX style suit 2.0 would make a fun collaboration with Adam Savage. Also, I hope you bring out the old orange suit for a couple of special occasions, just for old time's sake.
@@EverydayAstronaut Hoodies also make more money 😉
@@EverydayAstronaut hey, just because the old orange suit tried to kill you that one time doesn't mean you can't still use it from time to time. Or maybe just put the suit on a mannequin in the background of your studio. You could name the mannequin Lone Starr :D
2:03 "in-house ride sharing". I don't know what this means.
Matthew H as I understand it basically it means the falcon 9 would carry let’s say 1 main satellite but it has a
Some payload capacity leftover so you squeeze in a small sat in the fairing but this has some downsides he talked about in another video again I am not 100% certain about what I talked about but it should give you an idea of what it’s about.
I think propulsive recovery looks super cool, but the parachute recovery might be the most cost-effective version. Definitely, it is a super interesting approach.
Thanks, Tim for the great content!!!
Thanks for the info. Great show!
6:19 Come again?
1:22 everydayastronaut is "in" XD
Tim delivered as he always does. Great video!
Very interesting video Tim. Thanks.
Please, make a vídeo about the old Brazilian space program VLC
That helicopter MUST be named Positron!
That is just asking for disaster to happen.
I wasn't aware about the plans to recover the Saturn V first stage. Thanks for that bit of history. I'm surprised you didn't mention that at one point NASA considered using a Rogallo wing to recover Gemini capsules. Although not technically a parachute it's sort of one and the steerable parachutes we have today sort of owe some lineage to the Rogallo.
Wow I’ve been watching you since before the first Falcon heavy launch and I only just noticed your eyes are different colours, that’s pretty cool
5:32 "Technoligy"
Ive just noticed tim has 2 different eye colours 😨
You must be new here ;-)
@@sundsvald He did mention that he had two colored eyes on video about the BFR. I find that amazing, as I didn't know he had heterochromia.
I noticed now....wow
I love how the answer was just "because it's small and it can" but instead we always get 20 minutes of fun vsauce learning, I love this channel.
During the 80's I worked at Wallops and was a Midair recovery Crewman and we regularly retrieved sounding Rockets up to around 300 LBS we used a Shorts SC7 Skyvan and a scaled down system similar to the USAF