Airbus announces Adeline space launcher recovery system and plans for orbital electric tug

Airbus Space and Defence has been carrying out preliminary tests of a partly reusable space launcher system, which could return the main engines and avionics of potentially any launcher to Earth. Unlike other reusable systems, Adeline (ADvanced Expendable Launcher with INnovative engine Economy) seeks only to reuse thew most costly parts of a launcher system, sacrificing the fuel tanks. It will be compatible with the next version of Europe’s workhorse launcher system, Ariane 6. The company is also planning a reusable ‘space tug’ system that would remain parked in a low Earth orbit to pick up satellites and boost them into their higher orbits before returning to its parked position. Both systems are aimed at reducing the cost of launches.

Adeline is the lower section of the launch vehicle. Equipped with a pair of short wings, it contains the vehicle’s propulsion systems and avionics, protected by a heat shield. It also contains wing-mounted aero engines with deployable propellors protected by detachable fairings. Following the launch and staging of the main launch vehicle, the bottom part would detach, re-enter the atmosphere, pull up using its wings and then deploy its aero engines to fly in as a UAV and land on a conventional runway.