Germany begins reusability study to capture rockets in midair and land them with a plane
WASHINGTON —
The Germany space agency DLR
is beginning a study this month on a reusable launcher concept that would use a winged first-stage booster captured on descent by an aircraft and towed back to land.
DLR said March 20 that the three-year study seeks to develop a “rocket catcher” with an international team that will build on previous DLR simulations and flight experiments.
The project is called FALCon, or the “Formation flight for in-Air Launcher 1st stage Capturing demonstration.”
SpaceNews.com