Drone Rescue Systems GmbH is supporting the European research project known as Formation flight for in-Air Launcher 1st stage Capturing demonstration (FALCon).

Research is being conducted under the leadership of DLR on how launch vehicles can be returned to the launch site as efficiently as possible for re-use.

“We are proud to be part of the FALCon research project together with five international partners and DLR as part of HORIZON2020 (EC grant 821953), the EU’s largest research and innovation program to date,” says Andreas Ploier, CEO of Drone Rescue Systems GmbH.

“The capture and towing of rocket stages in flight, i.e. an autonomous and safe landing, is a particularly interesting topic for us as a manufacturer of parachute safety solutions.”

The goal of the FALCon research project is to achieve “cost-efficient and environmentally friendly satellite transport.” The project will focus on the return of rocket stages after launch. Efforts are being made to recapture these stages in the air using a “rocket catcher” so that they can be reused.

Over the next three years until Feb. 2022, the entities will focus on the development and flight demonstration of a technical platform for this idea. Rocket stages are supposed to be captured while still in the air by a transport aircraft over the sea, and pulled into the vicinity of the landing site. The stages are to land independently there.