Ramona Adams
United Launch Alliance is developing a reusable rocket stage that would stay in low Earth orbit and support activities in space, Quartz reported Saturday.
Tim Fernholz writes ULA CEO Tory Bruno said a fleet of the company’s future Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage will work to support large-scale LEO activities as the company envisions a future in which humans live and work in orbit.
“It starts becoming practical to construct large-scale infrastructure and support economic activities in space — a transportation system between here and the moon, practical microgravity manufacturing, commercial habitats, prospecting in the asteroids,” the CEO of the Lockheed Martin and Boeing joint venture said.
ACES will serve as the second stage of ULA’s future Vulcan space launch vehicle and will be designed to store fuel in space to accommodate restart and refueling while in orbit, Fernholz reports.
