Partial Rocket Reuse Using Mid-Air Recovery

Finding rocket launch cost-reduction opportunities is becoming increasingly necessary in the current market environment due to projected US government budget cuts for space. United Launch Alliance (ULA) is pursuing numerous cost reduction initiatives, one of the more promising concepts being the reuse of the Atlas rocket booster’s RD-180 engine. The RD-180 is derived from the reusable RD-170 engine and retains the ability to support multiple missions, offering the opportunity to reduce costs over a series of launches. Reusability of the Russian-built RD-180 also reduces the dependency on foreign hardware deliveries.