The Reusable Booster System ( RBS ) is a US Air Force program that existed from 2010 to 2012, with the goal of developing a new prototype of the reusable booster with vertical take-off and horizontal landing (VTHL) and a new prototype of the one-time second stage to replace existing disposable launch vehicles (EELV) after 2025 [1] The program was closed in 2012 [2] .
History
Initially, $ 250 million was allocated to finance the program [3] . “Officials assume the award of up to three contracts for a project in which winners will compete for individual tasks to conduct experiments and demonstrations related to technology, processes and other attributes of a reusable booster system or RBS” [3] . The Air Force has developed a contingent plan to build a fleet of eight reusable booster systems that would operate both at the Vandenburg Air Force Base in California and at the US Air Force base at Cape Canaveral in Florida [2] .
In December 2011, Lockheed Martin received a contract to build a demonstration vehicle, the RBS Pathfinder, which was due to be completed in 2015. [4] It was developed as part of the RBS Flight and Ground Experiments (RBS-FGE) program of the Air Force Research Laboratory forces. [5] .
In 2012, Lockheed began conducting initial missile tests [6] .
The program was discontinued in October 2012, citing funding cuts from the Department of Defense and a negative report from the National Research Council , after only a small portion of the initial $ 25 million budget had been spent, which was planned to be fully spent by 2019 year [2] .
Among other factors, an October National Research Council report suggested that the Air Force “should develop and launch more than one Pathfinder pilot project [and] that competition between reusable booster system concepts should be maintained as long as possible in order to get the best system for the next generation of space launches " [2] .
See also
Baikal Angara
Notes
- ↑ Air Force studying reusable upper stage systems for reusable booster (September 20, 2010). Archived July 24, 2011. Date of treatment March 24, 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Ferster, Warren . Prototype Reusable Rocket Effort Felled by US Budget Woes (October 19, 2012). Date of appeal October 21, 2012. (unavailable link)
- ↑ 1 2 . The application deadline was March 19, 2011 for Cogliano . Air Force launches $ 250M reusable booster initiative (March 22, 2011). Contact date March 24, 2011. “ Officials anticipate awarding up to three contracts for the project, where winners would compete for individual tasks of experiments and demonstrations that address technology, processes and other attributes of a reusable booster system, or RBS. Air Force officials envision an RBS that includes a reusable rocket and an expendable upper stage rocket. The reusable rocket would have been launched vertically and return, landing aircraft style on a runway, after carrying the space craft to a point where the expendable rocket could take over. ".
- ↑ Lockheed Martin Selected USAF for Reusable Booster System Flight Demonstrator Program
- ↑ http://www.aviationnow.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_04_23_2012_p28-449433.xml
- ↑ Reusable Successor To EELV Moving Ahead April 23, 2012