Rocket Lab is hoping it will reach the next frontier of space flight in the skies above New Zealand this weekend.
A helicopter recovery test. Photo: Supplied/Rocket Lab
The company's "There and Back Again" mission will use a helicopter to try to catch part of the launched rocket as it falls back to earth.
It's hoping the technique will allow them to reuse it for future flights.
If successful, it will become just the second company after Elon Musk's Space X to recapture and recycle rocket parts.
Lead recovery engineer Matt Darley said it had been a long journey.
"There's no one else actually doing this out there. So, it's been a great experience for all the team involved in this, a huge company effort to make this happen. So, we're nervous but also really excited about this one."
Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck said if the mission went to plan the next step would be to try to reuse parts of the rockets each time they launch, which would be a big boost for production.
"Even if we get it back once, that's one extra rocket we don't have to build, which is wonderful."
Saturday's mission will be similar to previous launches to begin with; the electron rocket will head into orbit and separate into what's called two stages. One stage will continue into space to deliver satellites, while the other heads back to earth.
That's where things will start to differ.
In the past, the re-entry has seen the main part of the rocket land in water. This time it will decelerate as it enters the atmosphere and parachutes will be deployed to slow it down to around 10 metres per second.
From there, a customised Sikorsky S92 helicopter will fly over the main parachute and catch the rocket with a hook, before either flying it back to land, or onto boats stationed at sea.
Matt Darley said the helicopter was a big piece of tech.
"It's a pretty big helicopter, most commonly used for transport of crew and equipment for the oil and gas industry.
"So, we've actually acquired one of those to use for this operation as we need something with a lot of range and endurance to be able to fly offshore and do this maneuver, and also with enough payload capability to carry the rocket back."
Beck said if the mission was successful it would be a big step for Rocket Lab and the industry as a whole.
"There's only one other reusable rocket in the world and that's obviously Elon Musk's Falcon 9. This will be the second ever reusable rocket demonstration.
"We've already kind of cemented our place in history by successfully reentering and recovering an orbital class booster. There's only SpaceX and us that have done that.
"The helicopter capture is obviously the next element of it, but it's an important part of the evolution of the vehicle."
Weather permitting, the launch will take place on Saturday morning off the Mahia Peninsula in Hawke's Bay .
