SpaceX has been successfully landing the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket for the last decade. Doing so allows SpaceX to use a single booster for multiple missions, enabling it to slash launch costs and increase launch frequency.

Few other companies have made any real effort to emulate SpaceX’s feat with a first-stage booster, though Blue Origin just last month scored a first when it landed the main stage of its New Glenn rocket on its second try following a failed attempt at the start of the year. Recommended Videos

New Zealand’s Rocket Lab is taking a different approach to booster recovery, developing a system that deploys parachutes on a descending booster to slow it down, before snagging the parachute line with a helicopter using a grappling hook and then flying it back to land.

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