"We've perfected Electron's controlled descent, demonstrated flawless parachute deployment and successfully plucked stages from the ocean," Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck said.
"Now we're gearing up for the next stage — preparing to use a helicopter to catch a rocket as it descends to Earth from space.
"It's ambitious but with each recovery mission we've iterated and refined the hardware and processes to make the impossible ordinary.
"I'm excited to take what we learn from this launch and put it into practice with aerial capture missions in future."
Rocket Lab will be tracking the stage's descent from space and as it approaches 19,000 feet (5.7 kilometres) from the ocean surface, a helicopter will be dispatched to conduct reconnaissance of the returning booster.
The Love At First Insight mission will also feature new recovery hardware developments to Electron, including an advanced parachute to be deployed from the first stage at a higher altitude, allowing for a slower drift back to Earth to test communications and tracking for future aerial recovery.
Electron also features improvements to the first stage heat shield which protects its nine Rutherford engines while they endure up to 2200-degree heat and incredible pressure on the descent back to Earth.