Airbus is working on a new concept to enable rocket launchers to re-enter Earth for reuse on other missions.
Named Advanced Expendable Launcher with Innovative engine Economy (Adeline), the system is being designed at the Ariane production centre in Les Mureaux, near Paris.
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The winged module will be installed at the bottom of the launcher to detach from the rocket’s upper-stages once the propellant tanks are emptied.
Featuring a protective heat shield, Adeline will deploy its small winglets and propellers during descent, to manoeuvre towards a runway.
Recovered components such as engines and avionics will be overhauled and prepared for use on next missions.
Airbus is currently working on a next-generation Ariane and aims to incorporate the re-usable technology concept into this vehicle.
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By GlobalDataAirbus Defence and Space space systems head Francois Auque was quoted by BBC as saying: "The current design for Ariane 6 is fixed.
"For its maiden flight in 2020, it will not change.
"But it is absolutely normal that in parallel we begin to think about what will be the evolution of Ariane 6 because if we don’t already pave the way for those evolutions we will not be in a position to implement them somewhere between 2025 and 2030."
The company plans to shift Ariane manufacturing activities to a joint venture with Safran.
Commenting on the re-usable technology, Airbus Defence and Space chief technical officer Herve Gilibert said: "We have the conviction that we will generate savings for one given launch on the order of 20% – 30%, which will make us highly competitive."
Airbus intends to compete with the Ariane, which is reported to have launched around half of the major telecommunication satellites in orbit.
US-based SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are also developing re-usable rocket technologies.
SpaceX recently made an attempt for precision-landing of Falcon 9 first stage on an autonomous spaceport drone ship.
ULA, which is working on a new rocket called Vulcan, plans to recover the engines using helicopters, as they parachute towards the Earth.
Image: Adeline with unfolded deployable propellers (right) with the main stage of Ariane 6 (left). Photo: courtesy of SkywalkerPL / Wikipedia.
