In this image supplied by Rocket Lab, the Electron rocket blasts off for its “There And Back Again” mission from their launch pad on the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, Tuesday, May 3, 2022. The California-based company regularly launches 59-foot rockets from the remote Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand to deliver satellites into space.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Using a helicopter to catch a falling rocket is such a complex task that Peter Beck likens it to a “supersonic ballet.”

Rocket Lab, the company that Beck founded, partially pulled off the feat Tuesday, May 3, as it pushes to make its small Electron rockets reusable. But after briefly catching the spent rocket, a helicopter crew was quickly forced to let it go again for safety reasons, and it fell into the Pacific Ocean where it was collected by a waiting boat.

The California-based company regularly launches 59-foot rockets from the remote Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand to deliver satellites into space.

On Tuesday, the Electron rocket was launched in the morning and sent 34 satellites into orbit before the main booster section began falling to Earth. Its descent was slowed to about 33 feet per second by a parachute.

That’s when the helicopter crew sprang into action, dangling a long line with a hook below the helicopter to snag the booster’s parachute lines. The crew caught the rocket but the load on the helicopter exceeded the parameters from tests and simulations, so they jettisoned it again.

The roller coaster of emotions was caught in a livestream of the event, with people at mission control cheering and clapping as the rocket was caught, only to let out a collective gasp and sigh about 20 seconds later.

Still, Beck hailed the mission as a success, saying that almost everything went to plan and that the unexpected load issue was a tiny detail that would soon be fixed, a “nothing in the scheme of things.”

“They got a great catch. They just didn’t like the way the load was feeling,” Beck said of the helicopter crew in a conference call after the launch.

He said a detailed analysis should reveal the reasons for the discrepancy in the load characteristics. He said he still hoped the company could salvage some or all of the spent rocket booster, despite it getting dunked in salt water, which they’d hoped to avoid.

Rocket Lab named its latest mission “There And Back Again” — a reference to the movie trilogy “The Hobbit,” which was filmed in New Zealand.

The company described the brief midair capture at 6,500 feet by the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter as a milestone. It says making its rockets reusable will enable the company to increase the number of launches it makes and reduce costs.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX company designed the first reusable orbital rocket, the Falcon 9.

Report: Fake priest conned way into royal guards’ barracks

LONDON (AP) — The British Army said Tuesday, May 3, it has launched an urgent investigation after an intruder posing as a priest reportedly spent the night at the barracks of troops who guard Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.

The Sun newspaper and broadcaster Talk TV reported that the man was admitted to Victoria Barracks last week after claiming to be a friend of the battalion’s padre. It said he spent the evening eating and drinking with senior officers before being offered a bed for the night, despite showing no identification or credentials.

Police were summoned the following morning and the man was removed. He was not arrested.

The barracks is close to the castle, 30 miles west of London, where the queen spends much of her time. The 96-year-old monarch was staying at her Sandringham estate in eastern England when the alleged intrusion took place.

The barracks is home to the Coldstream Guards, who stand guard outside the palace in their distinctive red jackets and bearskin hats. Thousands of tourists are expected in Windsor next month as the U.K. celebrates the Platinum Jubilee, marking the queen’s 70 years on the throne.

The army said in a statement that it “takes this breach of security extremely seriously and it will be thoroughly investigated as a matter of priority. This incident is now part of an ongoing investigation and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell gets banned from Twitter, again

SAN FRANCISCO — MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was banned from Twitter for a second time after attempting to use a new account to access the social media platform.

Lindell set up a new account Sunday, May 1, on Twitter under @MikeJLindell. The account was quickly suspended.

Twitter said May 2 that Lindell’s new account was permanently suspended for violating its rules on ban evasion.

Lindell’s original Twitter account was permanently banned in January 2021 after Lindell continued to perpetuate the baseless claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. presidential election. At the time Twitter said that it decided to ban Lindell due to “repeated violations” of its civic integrity policy.

Lindell, a Trump supporter, has continued to insist that the presidential election was rigged even after U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration had begun.