Rocket Lab FAA Clearance: Launches Resume After Failure

Rocket Lab Receives FAA Approval to Resume Launches

Rocket Lab has been granted permission by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to recommence launch operations. This follows an incident during the second-stage burn of its 20th Electron rocket mission, which unfortunately led to the loss of the carried payload.

This approval underscores the effectiveness of Rocket Lab’s safety system design. The systems functioned as designed when an anomaly was detected, ensuring a safe failure without posing any hazard to ground personnel, the public, or other objects in orbit.

Investigation Continues Despite FAA Clearance

Despite the FAA’s positive assessment, Rocket Lab will not immediately initiate new launches. The company is dedicated to a thorough investigation into the root cause of the issue.

Peter Beck, CEO and founder of Rocket Lab, described the ongoing analysis as “an intricate and layered fault analysis.” He also confirmed that the error has already been successfully replicated under controlled testing conditions.

Focus on Determining the Sequence of Events

Currently, the primary objective is to precisely determine the sequence of events that triggered the automatic safety shut-off. This process is anticipated to conclude within “the coming weeks.”

Following the completion of this analysis, the company will proceed with the resumption of active flight operations.

Previous Anomaly and First Stage Recovery

This update did not mention a prior mission failure from July of the previous year. That earlier incident was attributed to a faulty electrical connection, also resulting in a second-stage engine safety shutdown.

Data gathered from the recovered first stage of the Electron rocket indicates successful performance during that portion of the mission. Rocket Lab is actively developing reusability capabilities for its Electron first-stage booster.

Successful Reentry and Heat Shield Performance

A new atmospheric reentry and splashdown procedure was tested during this mission, and it proved successful. The newly implemented heat shield performed as expected.

The company intends to conduct hot fire testing on the engines recovered from the first stage to evaluate their performance post-flight.