Adeline (rocket stage)

Adeline (Advanced Expendable Launcher with Innovative engine Economy) was a concept for a reusable rocket first-stage that would fly itself back to Earth after a launch using drone technology for horizontal landing on a runway.

The concept envisions a rocket booster that includes propeller engines and avionics to allow for its recovery by a soft landing on a runway.

At a certain point in the descent, Adeline would deploy its small winglets and steer itself towards a runway whilst gliding.

[1] Specifically, it avoids the high stresses their booster engines experience during deceleration for a vertical landing and for a geostationary flight it would only require around 2,000 kg of fuel to return safely to the ground against an estimated 35,000 kg that Airbus has estimated are needed to return a SpaceX booster to the launch site.

Airbus started this program in 2010 and has invested about €15 million by May 2015 on the reusable technology programme; scale models have been flown.