Kiwi rocket company Rocket Lab has completed a remarkable space first.
They have created a helicopter that has managed to catch a rocket booster in mid-air, as it fell back to Earth from space!
The epic catch was part of a mission by the company so that they can re-use rocket boosters for future space missions.
So far only one company – SpaceX – collects and re-uses rocket boosters, all others are only used once.
Although the helicopter managed to capture the rocket booster during the test, the pilots decided to let it go and fall into the sea for safety reasons where it was later recovered by boat.
The entire process was very well planned. Last week a rocket ship called Electron blasted off into space from a launchpad in the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand.
Electron launched 34 satellites into orbit before releasing its booster – as this fell to Earth, a small parachute opened, helping it to slow down.
The team in the helicopter then caught the parachute using a big hook on a rope, a bit like fishing in the air!
