Company Says System Should Fly In Mid 2020s

The Vulcan launch system being developed by United Launch Alliance will have something in common with rockets being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin ... the boosters are intended to be recoverable, according to the company.

Business Insider reports that the Vulcan will have detachable first stage booster engines called SMART, for Sensible, Modular, Autonomous Return Technology. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said that the system would allow ULA to "recover about two-thirds the cost of that first-stage booster every single time we fly with no performance hit."

The "performance hit" he's referring to is the additional fuel that must be carried by a Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy booster to allow the rocket to land, costing the company in payload. The SMART system would detach the rocket engine from the booster and deploy a heat shield to protect it during reentry, and then a parafoil would slow the engine package down enough to allow it to be snagged from the air by a helicopter.

ULA expects the first flight of the Vulcan to be in 2019. It is also developing a system called ACES, for Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage. ACES is a second stage that uses cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen rather than RP-1 kerosene as fuel. The kerosene can freeze after only a few hours in space, but the ACES second stage could remain viable in orbit for years, and even eventually be refueled. A timeline released by ULA indicates that the ACES second stage could fly as soon as 2023, with the SMART engine recovery system launched as soon as 2024.

(Image provided by ULA)

FMI: Original report