Rocket Lab Just Unveiled a Game-Changing New Technology Worth Watching
Yahoo Finance ·
Reusable rockets are no longer a novelty, but there is still one piece of almost every launch that gets thrown away: the payload fairing, or the protective nose cone that shields the cargo on the way up. Rocket Lab ( RKLB 1.96% ) thinks it has solved that problem, and the solution has an unforgettable name. On most rockets, the fairing splits into two halves and falls away during ascent, tumbling toward the ocean. Even the companies that recover fairings have to fish them out of the water and refurbish them. Rocket Lab's approach, built for its upcoming medium-lift Neutron rocket, is different. The two fairing halves are hinged to the top of the first stage and never detach. Once the rocket climbs high enough, the halves swing open like a set of jaws -- the reason engineers nicknamed it the Hungry Hippo -- release the second stage and payload, then snap shut again in about 1.5 seconds. Because the fairing stays attached, it rides back down to Earth with the first stage instead of being discarded. Rocket Lab qualified the design in testing and has been conducting final checks ahead of Neutron's debut.
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