Would Allow For Recovery Of Portions Of The First Stage Of Ariane Rockets

Airbus Defense and Space is getting into the reusable rocket booster business with a five-year plan to design a first stage for its Ariane rocket a portion of which could be recovered on a normal runway.

Called Adeline, which is short for Advanced Expendable Launcher with Innovative engine Economy, the design resolves some of the issues that have caused SpaceX to lose the boosters it has tried to recover on its floating platform. At a press briefing in Les Mureaux, France Friday, the company said that Adeline is not subjected to the kinds of stresses on re-entry that the Falcon 9 booster experiences. It also does not require additional rocket fuel for its landing.

According to a report from military-technology.net that first appeared on SpaceNews.com, Adeline is different from the Falcon 9 booster in that only the engine and avionics are recovered. After it is used, that portion of the spacecraft separates from the main body of the booster and flies back to earth with winglets and turbofan engines, landing on a conventional runway. Herve Gilibert, technical director for Airbus’ Space Systems division, said during the media briefing that the system uses an aerodynamic shield to protect the motor from high stresses during reentry.

Airbus officials said that the first test flight of Adeline was being targeted for sometime in 2020.

(Images from Airbus Defense and Space YouTube video)

FMI: https://youtu.be/tV29pEvZvZw