Booster (rocketry)

[3] Following booster separation, the rest of the launch vehicle continues flight with its core or upper-stage engines.

[1] The SM-65 Atlas rocket used three engines, one of which was fixed to the fuel tank, and two of which were mounted on a skirt which dropped away at BECO.

[citation needed] Several launch vehicles, including GSLV Mark III and Titan IV, employ strap-on boosters.

[5] By August 2019, the recovery and reuse of Falcon 9 boosters had become routine, with booster landings/recovery being attempted on more than 90 percent of all SpaceX flights, and successful landings and recoveries occurring 65 times out of 75 attempts.

[citation needed] In late 2020, Rocket Lab guided the booster of their Electron rocket for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean with a parafoil after launching the Return to Sender mission, as part of a program to catch the booster with a helicopter and reuse it on later missions.