Last week, the French aerospace company Airbus announced its plans to build a reusable rocket, named Adeline, to deliver supplies and people into low-earth orbit. Cool idea, guys! Except for the fact that no fewer than six companies are now trying to get in on the reusable spacecraft game---and a few are already practically there.
The incentives are obvious: Reusable spacecraft will dramatically lower the cost of getting things into space. If you don’t have to build a new rocket or a new crew capsule every time you blast off, space travel becomes a question of mere fuel efficiency. That’ll make it much more feasible for companies to deliver things like satellites into orbit and people to the International Space Station...and beyond, if we’re to trust Elon Musk’s vision for our Mars-colonizing future.
Some companies are focusing on developing reusable spaceplanes that will function much like NASA’s partially-reusable shuttles did, transporting space tourists and astronauts to their (hopefully not final) destinations. Others are focusing on the delivery model. Here’s a rundown of their strategies.
