‘Hungry Hippo’ Fairing Arrives at Virginia Launch Site
Critical Rapid-Reusability Component for Rocket Lab’s Neutron Rocket
The ‘Hungry Hippo’ captive fairing for the Rocket Lab Neutron rocket has arrived at Wallops Island, VA in anticipation of the booster’s first launch.
After clearing qualification testing late last year, the Hungry Hippo has been delivered to Wallops Island in Virginia and transported to Rocket Lab’s Neutron Assembly and Integration Complex. In the coming days engineers and technicians will complete their inspections following its delivery and prepare the fairing for further pre-launch testing at Neutron’s nearby launch and test site, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 3.
‘Hungry Hippo’ is a first for a commercial rocket. On a typical launch, the fairing halves fall away prior to payload deployment and are disposable or require collection at sea for reuse. Neutron’s fairing halves open and close for second stage deployment within a matter of seconds - streamlining operations for a high-cadence launch service for commercial, civil, and national security missions.
Hungry Hippo’s arrival marks another step toward Neutron’s debut that will usher in a new era of commercial space access. With a launch, return, and launch again ethos that mimics commercial aviation, Rocket Lab says Neutron will bring innovation and competition to today’s global space industry that strengthens America’s industrial base and ensures its access to space with reliable and modern launch capabilities.
Neutron will be the world’s largest reusable carbon composite rocket, capable of launching up to 13,000 kg (≈33,000 pounds) of payload and cargo to space for missions involving national security, space science and human exploration, and constellation deployment for satellite internet, Earth observation, global connectivity, and more.