Rocket Lab fired up a Rutherford engine from one of its space-flown Electron boosters this week for the very first time. The test fire is a milestone in the company's efforts to create boosters that can go to space and back again repeatedly, as the first stages of SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 already do.
Early data from the 200-second test fire show that the engine "performed to the same standard of a newly built Rutherford engine.
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This engine has been to space and back. They proved it could go again. They've successfully test fired a recovered Rutherford engine for the first time , this is a significant technical milestone on their path to make Electron a reusable rocket! 🚀