Titan IIIB Recovery Experiment

The Titan IIIB recovery experiment is designed to recover the spent Stage I of a Titan IIIB to evaluate the feasibility of refurbishment and reuse. The stage, slowed after reentry by parachute deployment, can be allowed to impact in the water or retrieved via helicopter in midair. In either case, the stage will be returned to land, refurbished, and reused. Cost data will determine the economic feasibility of the program. A preliminary design of the recovery system has been made, the economic factors evaluated, subsystem contractors contacted, and an experiment program defined.