Programs · ULA Vulcan · Test
SMART engine recovery test
ULA wants to recover Vulcan’s expensive first-stage engines.
Planned No date set Estimated
Goal
- Save the BE-4 engines and avionics, the priciest part of the booster.
The plan
- After the first stage shuts down, the engine section breaks off, falls behind an inflatable heat shield, parachutes down and is picked up at sea.
- ULA plans to start trying it on Amazon Leo launches.
Future dates come from the launch calendar and are checked every week; they often slip. All ULA Vulcan missions