Air Force Study Points To Reusable Orbiter

By Guy Norris
Los Angeles

Newly declassified details of the analysis behind the U.S. Air Force’s decision to opt for a next-generation Reusable Booster System (RBS) reveal a long-term preference for a rocket-based, combined-cycle upper-stage orbiter over the nearer-term expendable solution.

The RBS plan is in development to replace the Air Force’s existing Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV) ...

---