--- title: "Amazing Video Shows Helicopter Catching Falling Rocket" description: "New Zealand-based space startup Rocket Lab pulled off an amazing stunt on Tuesday: it caught the first stage of its Electron rocket with a helicopter." date: "2022-05-03" modified: "2022-05-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-helicopter-catching-falling-rocket" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "Rocket Lab" - "the digest" --- # Amazing Video Shows Helicopter Catching Falling Rocket ![New Zealand-based space startup Rocket Lab pulled off an amazing stunt on Tuesday: it caught the first stage of its Electron rocket with a helicopter.]() *\Image: Rocket Lab\* ## Yoink! New Zealand-based space startup Rocket Lab [pulled off an amazing stunt]() on Tuesday: it caught the first stage of its Electron rocket with a helicopter as it made its parachute-aided descent after launching into space. The amazing stunt was caught from multiple angles, including a first-person view from inside the helicopter. A video shared on social media by Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck shows the two pilots slowly approaching the orange and white parachute, with the 55-foot rocket motionlessly floating below it. It's an amazing feat and marks the first time a rocket stage has been caught by a helicopter — a clever new way of recovering rocket parts. https://twitter.com/Peter_J_Beck/status/1521339043803385856 ## Hot Potato But not everything went according to plan. Several moments after the helicopter snagged the booster 6,500 feet above the ocean, the pilots noticed "different load characteristics," and opted to release the rocket. https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1521268032009428992 The rocket stage, however, was later fished out of the ocean. The payload the rocket was carrying into space, some 34 satellites, successfully made it into orbit. "Incredible catch by the recovery team, can’t begin to explain how hard that catch was and that the pilots got it," Beck [said]() on Twitter following the stunt. "They did release it after hook up as they were not happy with the way it was flying, but no big deal, the rocket splashed down safely and the ship is loading it now." The team is hoping to collect all the data and try again. "From here we’ll assess the stage and determine what changes we might want to make to the system and procedures for the next helicopter catch and eventual re-flight," Beck said in [a statement](). **READ MORE:** [Rocket Lab captures booster in mid-air with a helicopter for the first time]() \[*Engadget*\] **More on the stunt:** *[This Startup Is Catching a Rocket With a Flippin' Helicopter!]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()