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Reusable boosters in 2025 - Airplaning
(patent pending)



Vertical take-off and landing (VTVL) is now an industrial reality: the Falcon 9 series is bringing back the first stage, and the Starship program has reached a new milestone with its 10th test flight. Europe is moving forward with the Themis demonstrator, and in India, the Pushpak RLV has completed three consecutive runway landings. In the selection below, we present where the technology stands in pictures and videos – and introduce our D-section, gliding return booster concept.

SpaceX – Starship Flight 10 summary Why might a runway return be advantageous?

Iconic landings and milestones

Falcon 9 – first stage return to LZ-1 (NASA video). Credit: NASA. Source: NASA/YouTube.
Starship Flight 10 (2025‑08‑26) – YouTube. Official link: spacex.com/launches/starship‑flight‑10.
ISRO RLV‑LEX‑03 – the third consecutive runway landing (Pushpak). Source: ISRO/YouTube.
This Chinese Startup Just Landed a Rocket Vertically - Source: DongFang Hour/YouTube.


Europe: Themis / Prometheus (Esrange, SALTO)

Themis is a joint ESA/ArianeGroup/SSC vertical landing capable upper stage demonstrator. In September 2025, the T1H vehicle was erected at the launch site in Esrange in preparation for hop tests.

ESA picture: Themis T1H at the launch pad SSC announcement
ESA Themis T1H a kilövőálláson, Esrange (2025)
ESA/ArianeGroup/SSC – Themis T1H at the launch pad (Esrange, 2025). Source: ESA Multimedia.

Why might a runway return be advantageous?



Latest milestone

Nov 13, 2025 — Blue Origin / New Glenn milestone

Blue Origin’s New Glenn launched NASA’s ESCAPADE twin spacecraft and successfully landed its fully reusable first stage on Jacklyn in the Atlantic.

Blue Origin thus became the second entity after SpaceX to vertically land an orbital‑class booster.

Sources: Blue Origin, Reuters, Space.com.

DGB (D‑Glide Booster) offers a runway‑gliding alternative with airport‑style operations.

Reusable first‑stage approaches — comparison

Alongside SpaceX and Blue Origin’s VTVL systems, DGB proposes a runway‑gliding alternative.

SystemOperatorReturn modeAdvantagesLimitations
Falcon 9 booster (RTLS) SpaceX VTVL — land pad Rapid turnaround; hundreds of successful landings; mature ops. High landing propellant; pad infrastructure; tighter weather window.
Falcon 9 booster (ASDS) SpaceX VTVL — sea drone ship Higher payload to orbit; flexible launch geometry. Sea logistics; sea‑state dependence; longer return to port.
New Shepard Blue Origin VTVL — land pad (suborbital) Proven reuse; tourism + research platform. Suborbital only; small payload; limited orbital relevance.
New Glenn (2025) Blue Origin VTVL — sea platform (orbital‑class) Orbital‑class booster landing; high lift capacity; NASA ESCAPADE. Few flights to date; sea infrastructure; fleet maturing.
Electron (recovery) Rocket Lab Parachute + marine recovery Partial reuse on small launcher; agile test platform. Partial only; small payload class; complex recovery ops.
DGB — D‑Glide Booster airplaning.eu Runway‑gliding return Lower landing propellant; airport‑style ground ops; large cross‑range; optional horizontal takeoff. Wing/empennage/gear mass; runway requirement; TRL experimental → needs large tunnel/flight demo.

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Sources & references (selection)