In-air-capturing
An innovative approach for the return of reusable space transportation vehicles is to capture the stages in the air. These are then towed back to the launch site by a subsonic aircraft without the need for a separate propulsion system. This process, patented by DLR, is known as "in-air-capturing" (IAC).
The following figure shows a schematic overview of the entire IAC cycle for capturing a reusable stage.
