Atea-1 booster recovered

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Tue, 01 Dec 2009 5:53p.m.

Peter Beck (L) and the rocket

Peter Beck (L) and the rocket

A day after the successful launch of New Zealand's first space rocket, there is still no sign of the crucial nose cone that will confirm how high it flew.

But the rocket's booster has been recovered, and the inventors say that is almost as exciting.

The booster powered the nose cone up to five times the speed of sound, giving it one last push into space as they separated, 10km up.

Finding the booster certainly adds to the international buzz about what Rocket Lab has achieved.

Scientist Peter Beck has also revealed how yesterday's launch pad delay was solved with a bit of Kiwi ingenuity.

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Comments

01 Dec 2009 11:05p.m.

Lost_Gear-YEAH wrote:

Um... nowby Lost_Gear'sreackoning... seperation of the top stage - from the booster... "should have allowed the top section another "kick" - and... (Hey.!!! WHO put that satelitte there - oops "we" have penetration - & stuck fast too it is)

01 Dec 2009 06:45p.m.

Chris wrote:

Well done in the recovery. Hopefully that nose cone turns up, either you get some coordinates transmitted over the iridium network or someone finds it washed up on the beach while walking their dog (soon rather than later). If I had a boat and a radius to search in I would be out there looking for it for you. For next time you should look into using a radio beacon as a redundant tracking system, It will take up less space than an AA battery and have very minimal weight.