1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS & CONCEPTS

Associate Administrator for

Commercial Space

Transportation (AST)

January 1999
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

PAGE i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................................................1

1998 DEVELOPMENTS.................................................................................................................................................................3

OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS......................................................................................................................6

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS.....................................................................................................................9

KELLY SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY – ASTROLINER .............................................................................................................. 9

KISTLER AEROSPACE CORPORATION – K-1........................................................................................................................ 10

PIONEER ROCKETPLANE – PATHFINDER............................................................................................................................. 12

ROTARY ROCKET COMPANY – ROTON C-9......................................................................................................................... 13

SPACE ACCESS LLC – SA-1..................................................................................................................................................... 15

VELA TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT – SPACE CRUISER SYSTEM.................................................................................. 16

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION – VENTURESTARTM................................................................................................. 17

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS...................................................................................................................18

X-33............................................................................................................................................................................................. 18

X-34............................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

FUTURE X PROGRAM ............................................................................................................................................................... 21

X-38/CREW RETURN VEHICLE ............................................................................................................................................... 22

MILITARY SPACEPLANE......................................................................................................................................................... 24

INTERNATIONAL CONCEPTS.................................................................................................................................................26

DEFENSE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION (INDIA) – AVATAR................................................................ 26

NATIONAL SPACE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF JAPAN – HOPE-XA SPACEPLANE.................................................... 26

NATIONAL AEROSPACE LABORATORY (JAPAN) – SSTO SPACEPLANE ........................................................................ 27

BRISTOL SPACEPLANES LTD. – SPACECAB/SPACEBUS ..................................................................................................... 28

X PRIZESM COMPETITORS.......................................................................................................................................................30

THE X PRIZESM.......................................................................................................................................................................... 30

ACRONYMS..................................................................................................................................................................................33

ENDNOTES....................................................................................................................................................................................34

REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS TABLE......................................................................37
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

INTRODUCTION PAGE 1

Introduction

In January 1998, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Associate Administrator for Commercial

Space Transportation (AST) released the first edition of the Reusable Launch Vehicle Programs and

Concepts sourcebook. The report provided company background, design, and technical information

on commercial, government, and international reusable launch vehicle (RLV) programs. The report

filled a need for up-to-date, objective information on reusable launch vehicle activities and has become,

by far, AST’s most popular publication.

The reusable launch vehicle industry made important strides in 1998 towards realizing operational

vehicles. Since the first release of this report, several RLV companies have conducted flight and

component hardware tests. Others have tests that are scheduled for 1999. Last year, the FAA

Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation was given full responsibilities for

licensing reusable launch vehicles under the Commercial Space Act of 1998. This report is intended to

monitor and report on the progress of this rapidly emerging and growing space industry segment – a

segment that could revolutionize space access by achieving lower cost of access to space. This second

edition of the sourcebook provides updates on the existing programs and includes information on new

programs and vehicles that have been proposed since the release of the 1998 edition.

The United States Government and other governments have been exploring the design and development

of RLVs for several decades. During the mid-1990s, however, several small “start-up” companies,

staffed with engineers and other technical personnel with years of experience in the aerospace and

launch vehicle industries, proposed to develop commercial reusable launch vehicles. Several of these

vehicles are being built with the expectation that there will be a boom in demand for launches to low

Earth orbit (LEO), primarily of satellites for communication constellations and remote sensing missions.

These vehicles also hope to serve other new markets such as passenger service, fast package delivery,

space station resupply, and commercial microgravity missions. Some RLVs hope to serve the market

for geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) launches as well. In addition, over a dozen RLV designs are

proposed specifically to help foster a market for space tourism that will allow civilians to travel into

space.

Also during the 1990s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided to

proceed with the development of testbed vehicles that would prove technologies and operations

concepts for next-generation RLVs. NASA’s X-34 and X-33 programs are scheduled to begin flight

tests in 2000, while the Future X program will proceed with research on RLV advanced concepts

beyond those of the current X-vehicles. NASA hopes that the technologies tested and refined in these

programs will be applied to future operational RLVs.

The RLV concepts proposed for development present a variety of launch, landing, and propulsion

concepts. Several vehicles employ a “spaceplane” design that takes off and lands horizontally like an

airplane, possibly incorporating air-breathing engines for atmospheric flight. These designs generally use

upper stages to carry payloads to orbit, while the spaceplane remains on a sub-orbital trajectory.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

INTRODUCTION PAGE 2

Several concepts plan single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicles to deliver payloads directly to orbit, while

other vehicles use a multi-stage vertical-launched approach in which each stage returns to Earth for

recovery and reuse.

The development of RLVs is driven by the desire to reduce launch costs. A reduction in costs with

RLVs is expected because the vehicle is refurbished and reused after each flight rather than replaced

(reducing long-term production costs) and because RLVs are designed for quick-turnaround operations

that will allow a higher flight rate than with today’s expendable vehicles (reducing the cost per flight).

Some studies, such as NASA’s 1994 Commercial Space Transportation Study suggest that

reductions in launch costs will enable the emergence and development of new space missions and

businesses.

This second edition of Reusable Launch Vehicle Programs and Concepts contains several key

changes from the original release. Each individual entry has been updated with the most recent publicly

available information on the program’s financial, technical, testing, and manufacturing progress.

Concepts associated with the X PRIZESM competition are now summarized in an overview table rather

than individually. RLV concepts that are largely historical with no current development taking place

have been removed from the report.

Following this introduction, the sourcebook provides a chronology of key events in the RLV industry in

1998. The report then divides the RLV programs into four categories: United States Commercial

Programs, United States Government Programs, International Concepts, and

X PRIZESM Competitors, providing a summary of publicly available information on each program.

Finally, the report contains a summary table of all of the included vehicles that provides company,

technical, performance, and market information at a glance.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

1998 DEVELOPMENTS PAGE 3

1998 Developments

Last year saw a number of significant steps toward the development of fully operational reusable launch

vehicles (RLVs). Several RLV companies conducted flight and component hardware tests. NASA’s

X-38 and Kelly Space and Technology’s tow-launch concept underwent airborne testing in early 1998.

Lockheed Martin Corporation (X-33), Kistler Aerospace Corporation

(K-1), Orbital Sciences Corporation (X-34), and Rotary Rocket Company (Roton C-9) all conducted

engine tests and completed construction on major vehicle components.

Construction of launch facilities for reusable launch vehicles also continued in 1998. Construction on the

X-33 flight test facility at Edwards Air Force Base was completed in November and ground was

broken on Kistler Aerospace Corporation’s launch facility for Kistler’s K-1 reusable launch vehicle at

Woomera, Australia. Kistler also signed an agreement last year to use the Department of Energy’s

Nevada Test Site for possible future launch operations, starting perhaps as early as 2000.

In 1998, the United States Congress deliberated on and passed the Commercial Space Act of 1998,

granting the FAA’s Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation full authority to

license U.S. reusable launch vehicles. The Commercial Space Act of 1998 was signed into law by

President William J. Clinton on October 28, 1998. As an immediate response to this authority, AST

drafted an interim safety guidance document to inform potential applicants for RLV licenses of the

FAA’s public safety concerns related to RLV operations. In addition to the draft interim safety

guidance, AST began preparing a sample RLV System Safety Program Plan (SSPP) that will

demonstrate an approach for addressing safety issues during the design, development, and operation of

reusable launch vehicles.

The following chronology summarizes the key events related to the reusable launch vehicle industry in

1998:

• January – The Federal Aviation Administration launched a concept of operations to identify how to

merge the monitoring and handling of aircraft traffic with rockets and space vehicles that travel to

and from space.

• February 10 – FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation hosted the first

annual Commercial Space Transportation Forecast Conference in Arlington, Virginia. Several U.S.

commercial reusable launch vehicle companies provided updates on their reusable launch vehicle

concepts and discussed the future of commercial space transportation.

• February – Kelly Space and Technology completed tow-launch concept demonstration flights. A

total of six demonstration flights were conducted between December 1997 and February 1998.

• March 3 –Platforms International Corporation announced its intent to develop a reusable

spaceplane known as the Spaceray.

• March 4 – NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center successfully completed a cold-flow test flight

of the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

1998 DEVELOPMENTS PAGE 4

• March 9 – Kistler Aerospace Corporation successfully completed a parachute drop test to simulate

the return of the K-1 from orbit. The test included the deployment of one of the largest parachute

canopy deployments in the world.

• March 12 – NASA’s X-38 vehicle successfully completed its first free-flight drop test. Also,

GenCorp Aerojet successfully tested the first AJ-26 (the Aerojet-modified NK-33 Russian engine

that will be used on the Kistler Aerospace Corporation K-1). The AJ-26 test firing exceeded the

planned launch flight duration of 135 seconds.

• March 19 – The Commonwealth of Australia granted Kistler Aerospace Corporation

environmental approval to establish a launch site in Woomera, South Australia.

• April 19 – Lockheed Martin installed the aluminum liquid oxygen tank into the X-33 vehicle frame.

• May – India’s Defense Research Development Organization began initial design work for a small

reusable spaceplane known as AVATAR.

• May – The Fastrac engine (to be used in the X-34) was assembled and shipped to the Stennis

Space Center for testing.

• May 13 – The FAA hosted an FAA/RLV industry meeting to provide an open exchange of

information on RLV licensing and safety issues.

• May 19 – Bristol Spaceplanes Limited flight-tested a one-fifth scale remotely piloted version of its

“Ascender” sub-orbital spacecraft in an attempt to evaluate vehicle control issues.

• May 20 – The X PRIZESM Foundation unveiled its X PRIZESM trophy at the Smithsonian Air and

Space Museum. The trophy will be awarded to the first company that builds a spacecraft capable

of carrying three people to an altitude of 100 km twice within two weeks.

• June 17 – Kistler Aerospace Corporation, together with Lockheed Martin Michoud Space

Systems, rolled out the first liquid oxygen tank for Kistler’s K-1 RLV.

• June 19 – Rotary Rocket Company broke ground on their $5.5 million Roton manufacturing and

flight operations facility.

• June 23 – Kistler Aerospace Corporation successfully completed a key phase of its parachute drop

tests, a six-parachute cluster. Also, the Australian government decided to exempt space launches

from a 22-percent wholesale sales tax.

• July 21 – Rotary Rocket Company began construction of the Roton vehicle.

• July 23 – Kistler Aerospace Corporation broke ground for its commercial spaceport at Woomera,

Australia.

• July 30 – The first wing assembly for the X-34 technology demonstrator completed qualification

tests and was shipped to Orbital Sciences Corporation

• July 30 – Following approval from the House of Representatives earlier in the year, the Senate

passed the Commercial Space Act of 1998 (H.R. 1702).

• August 31 – NASA contracted with GenCorp Aerojet to produce a de-orbit propulsion module

for the X-38 and announces that a space test flight is planned for late 2000 or early 2001.

• September – Pioneer Rocketplane completed a full systems design review of the Pathfinder vehicle.

• September 23 – Burt Rutan’s Proteus vehicle was unveiled and test flown in Mojave, California.

• October – Kistler announced that the first flight of the K-1 will be held in mid-1999 (this date was

later changed to late-1999 or early-2000).
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

1998 DEVELOPMENTS PAGE 5

• October 26 – Kistler Aerospace Corporation signed a final agreement with the Nevada Test Site

Development Corporation that grants Kistler the right to occupy and operate from Area 18 at the

Nevada Test Site.

• October 28 – President Clinton signed the Commercial Space Act of 1998 into law.

• November – Construction of the X-33 launch facility at Edwards Air Force Base was completed.

• November 2 – Rotary Rocket Company completed the manufacture of structural components for

the Roton vehicle.

• November 5 – Rotary Rocket Company announced a successful test of its “Whirl Tower.” The

Whirl Tower is being used to ground test and qualify the rotor landing system for the Roton vehicle.

• November 9 – NASA and Lockheed Martin announced that flight tests of the X-33 will be held in

December 1999 (this date was modified to mid-2000 in January 1999). Lockheed Martin also

announced that it plans to establish a company to develop VentureStarTM, contingent on the results

of the X-33 program.

• November 23 – Rotary Rocket Company announced the completion of the injector development

program for its Rotary RocketJet Common Core Combustor.

• December 1 – Rotary Rocket Company completed a successful first centrifugal pumping test. The

centrifuge was used to ground test and qualify Rotary RocketJet powerplant components and subassemblies for the Roton vehicle.

• December 8 – NASA selected Southwestern Research Institute, Draper Laboratory, AeroAstro,

the Lewis Research Center, the Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Ames Research Center to

conduct Future X Pathfinder experiments, and signed an agreement with Boeing to develop the

Advanced Technology Vehicle flight testbed for the Future X Trailblazer program.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS PAGE 6

Overview of Development Programs

This report divides RLV programs into four categories: United States Commercial Programs, United

States Government Programs, International Concepts, and X PRIZESM Competitors. This is a

compilation of known RLV programs and concept development efforts worldwide.

United States Commercial Programs include vehicles under development that will perform both payload

launch and human passenger/crew missions. Most of the concepts in this section have been forwarded

by small private companies with plans to launch satellites into low Earth orbit. Some systems, however,

are also planning to provide flights for space tourists. Also included is Lockheed Martin’s proposed

VentureStarTM vehicle that is envisioned to support a variety of space launch missions.

United States Government Programs include testbed vehicles and other programs intended to advance

the state-of-the-art technologies for advanced space transportation concepts such as RLVs. NASA

has begun flight testing of prototypes in the past year and will commence flight test of its main RLV

concept vehicles, the X-34 and X-33, in 2000. NASA will continue to develop RLV technologies

through research programs and testbed vehicles. The United States Air Force (USAF) also has plans

to explore the development of a spaceplane concept and has engaged in some preliminary testing of a

demonstration vehicle.

International Concepts include proposed vehicles from both government and commercial organizations.

The governments of Japan and India are proceeding with long-range plans for RLV development, while

Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd. in Great Britain is developing commercial vehicle concepts. Although other

long-proposed European concepts were addressed in the first edition of this report, significant progress

for those designs now appears unlikely in the foreseeable future.

X PRIZESM Competitors are presented separately from the other commercial vehicles because of the

unique nature of their intended mission. The X PRIZESM competition will award a $10 million prize to

the first entrant that proves it can carry at least three people to a 100-km altitude and repeat the flight

within two weeks. X PRIZESM vehicles are specifically designed to accomplish this mission, although

some X PRIZESM vehicles plan follow-on vehicles for commercial satellite launch missions. There are

currently 15 entrants in the competition. Two entrants, Kelly Space and Technology and Pioneer

Rocketplane, are focused primarily on satellite launch missions and therefore have been included in the

United States Commercial Programs section of this report.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS PAGE 7

Vehicle

Name

Manufacturer /

Developer

First

Launch Description

Commercial Programs

Astroliner Kelly Space and

Technology

2002 Based on the Eclipse tow-launch technique; RLV is

air-launched by modified transport aircraft; RLV

proceeds on sub-orbital trajectory and lands

horizontally

K-1 Kistler Aerospace

Corporation

1999 /

2000

Two-stage vertically launched vehicle with

recoverable stages using parachutes and air bags

Pathfinder Pioneer Rocketplane 2000 /

2001

Horizontal-takeoff spaceplane concept using air-to-air

refueling techniques to acquire liquid oxygen fuel for

reaching space

Roton C-9 Rotary Rocket Company 2000 Single-stage-to-orbit vehicle which uses centrifugal

pumping engine for vertical takeoff; uses rotor blades

powered by small rocket motors to land vertically

SA-1 Space Access LLC 2001 Unpiloted spaceplane using hybrid propulsion

system to reach space, where it deploys upper

stages for carrying satellites

Space Cruiser

System

Vela Technology

Development

2001 Two-stage piloted spaceplane used for sub-orbital

flights; uses horizontal-takeoff-and-landing design

VentureStarTM Lockheed Martin

Corporation

2004 Commercial follow-on to X-33; single-stage-to-orbit

vehicle that takes off vertically and lands horizontally

United States Government Programs

X-33 Lockheed Martin Skunk

Works

2000 RLV testbed to demonstrate single-stage-to-orbit,

high supersonic speeds, and autonomous

operations capabilities

X-34 Orbital Sciences

Corporation

2000 RLV testbed to demonstrate RLV operations, such as

fast turnaround, landing in varying weather

conditions, and safe abort procedures

Future X

Trailblazer

Boeing TBA Advanced space transportation technology program

for demonstrating mission-specific RLV designs and

testing vehicle prototypes

Future X

Pathfinder

Several companies and

NASA Centers

TBA Advanced space transportation technology program

for validating specific RLV technologies

X-38/Crew

Return Vehicle

Scaled Composites/TBA 2000 Reusable emergency crew return vehicle to be

attached to the International Space Station (X-38 is

prototype test vehicle)

Military

Spaceplane

Boeing, Lockheed Martin

Corporation

TBA Two-stage spaceplane concept; reusable orbital

Space Maneuver Vehicle deployed by a sub-orbital

reusable first stage

International Concepts

AVATAR Defense Research

Development

Organization (India)

TBA Small reusable spaceplane designed to take off and

land horizontally

HOPE-XA

Spaceplane

National Space

Development Agency

(Japan)

2001 Reusable crewless spaceplane launched from

Japanese H-2A expendable launch vehicle

SSTO

Spaceplane

National Aerospace

Laboratory (Japan)

2010 Crewed single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane designed

to take off and land horizontally

Spacecab/

Spacebus

Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd.

(United Kingdom)

2010 Reusable orbiters launched from supersonic aircraft

used as first stage; both stages land horizontally
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS PAGE 8

In addition to the programs described in detail in this report, there are three additional RLV concepts

under consideration for development, but for which limited information is available. In March 1998,

Platforms International Corporation, a developer of software for crewless aerial vehicles, proposed the

Spaceray, a spaceplane capable of carrying an expendable booster for satellite launches. Platforms

International has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with “some of the leading aerospace

companies in Russia” for the development of the Spaceray system.1 In another program, the Russian

aerospace company Molniya is reportedly developing the Molniya Multipurpose Aerospace System

(MAKS), which consists of a spaceplane that would be air-launched from the back of an AN-124

transport aircraft. The MAKS would be able to carry 9000 kg to orbit.2 Finally, in September 1998,

researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory presented the Hypersoar multipurpose

hypersonic vehicle that skips atop the atmosphere. The researchers indicated that the Hypersoar could

be used for high-speed atmospheric missions or as the first stage of a space launch system.3
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 9

United States Commercial Programs

The private sector is developing a variety of RLV concepts with plans to begin commercial launch

operations around the turn of the century. The vehicles described in this section are in various stages of

development.

Kelly Space and Technology – Astroliner

Kelly Space & Technology (KST) is developing the

Astroliner reusable launch vehicle based on their

patented tow-launch technique. Kelly Space &

Technology was co-founded by former TRW

colleagues Michael Kelly and Michael Gallo in

1993. The Astroliner will be towed into the air by a

modified Boeing 747 aircraft, where the RLV will

be released and proceed on a sub-orbital trajectory

under its own power. Astroliner will then use

expendable upper stages to inject payloads into

orbit.

The Astroliner, measuring 38 meters in length, will

be powered by a reusable rocket engine such as

Rockwell Rocketdyne Division’s aerospike or RS27, NPO’s RD-180 or RD-120, or a multiple

engine configuration. Following separation from the

tow aircraft, the Astroliner ignites its rocket

engine(s) and accelerates to a speed of Mach 6.5

and an altitude of 125 km. The nose of the vehicle

then opens to release the payload and the upper

stages that will lift the payload to orbit. The

Astroliner then reenters the atmosphere and returns

to land at a conventional airfield under the guidance of its two-pilot crew.4 The Astroliner design also

features wing-mounted jet engines for powered descent and landing.

The Astroliner will use expendable upper stages, solid or liquid depending upon mission requirements,

to carry payloads from the vehicle into low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO) or

geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The Astroliner baseline design uses selected upper stages to

launch a pair of Motorola replacement Iridium satellites. Other, more powerful upper stages, such as

the Star 75, Pratt and Whitney’s Orbus 21, and other liquid stages are used for launching heavier LEO

payloads of up to 4550 kg.5

Vehicle: Astroliner (shown above)

Developer: Kelly Space and Technology

First launch: 2002

Number of stages: 3-4 (including towing aircraft)

Possible launch sites: Atlantic City, NJ; Vandenberg

AFB, CA; White Sands Missile Range, NM

Markets served: Launch of LEO constellation

satellites.

Funding: Program is seeking funding. Some private

funding secured.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 10

KST has received a United States patent for its tow-launch concept. KST claims that the tow-launch

method allows vehicles to lift off with heavier payloads than an air-dropped vehicle and allows the

elimination of some of the infrastructure required for vertical launch vehicles. KST also claims that it will

offer launch prices of about $15 to $25 million (or about $2000 per pound to LEO) and reduced launch

insurance rates for Astroliner payloads. 6 KST signed a contract in October 1996 with Motorola to

launch 20 replacement satellites for the Iridium constellation in 10 as-needed launches.7

From December 1997 to February 1998, KST successfully conducted the Eclipse Experimental

Demonstration (EXD) tests in cooperation with NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center and the USAF

Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. These ground and flight tests demonstrated

the Eclipse tow-launch technique using a modified QF-106 aircraft (provided by the USAF), and a

USAF Flight Test Center-supplied C-141A tow aircraft. KST also received a matching grant from the

state of California to conduct research associated with the EXD program. In all, six flight

demonstrations were conducted.8 Current plans call for the first launch of the Astroliner in 2002.

Kistler Aerospace Corporation – K-1

Kistler Aerospace Corporation is developing the

K-1 two-stage reusable launch vehicle for

commercial launches of LEO payloads. Kistler

was founded in 1993 by Walter Kistler, whose

background includes founding several technology

companies, and Bob Citron, the founder of

Spacehab Inc.

The K-1 design was developed in 1995 and 1996

as a two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) vehicle that will

have a payload capacity of 10,000 pounds to a

standard LEO and will offer launch prices of about

$17 million per launch.9 Kistler signed an

agreement potentially worth more than $100

million in January 1997 with Space Systems/Loral

to provide ten launches aboard the K-1.10

The K-1 will launch vertically like conventional

ELVs but will use a unique combination of parachutes and air bags to recover its two stages. The

vehicle is designed to operate with a small complement of ground personnel and will be transported to

the launch site and erected from a mobile transporter truck. The K-1 vehicle will measure about 36.9

meters high, with a launch mass of about 380,000 kg.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 11

Kistler’s K-1 vehicle employs off-the-shelf

technology and components in its design. The first

stage, known as the “Launch Assist Platform,” is

powered by three liquid oxygen (LOX)/kerosene

GenCorp Aerojet AJ-26 series engines. These

engines include the core of the NK-33/NK-43

engines originally built in the 1960s for the Russian

moon mission program. At 121 seconds after

launch, the Launch Assist Platform separates from

the second stage and restarts its center engine to fly

a return trajectory to a predetermined landing area

near the launch site. The Launch Assist Platform

deploys parachutes and descends to the landing area where air bags are deployed beneath the stage to

cushion its landing.

The second stage, or Orbital Vehicle, continues into low Earth orbit where it releases its payload. The

Orbital Vehicle is powered by a single Aerojet AJ-60 engine (derived from the Russian NK-43 engine).

The Orbital Vehicle also carries LOX/ethanol thrusters for orbital maneuvers and a nitrogen cold gas

system for attitude control. Following payload separation, the orbital vehicle continues on orbit for

about 24 hours, after which the LOX/ethanol maneuvering system de-orbits the vehicle. After

atmospheric re-entry, the orbital vehicle flies a guided re-entry path to a pre-determined landing area

near the launch site and deploys parachutes and air bags for touchdown.

Kistler’s subcontractors are producing the major components of the vehicle, and several major

milestones were accomplished in 1998. Northrop Grumman Corporation has been contracted to

provide the vehicle structure and, as of January 1999, had completed 21 of the 23 major structural

panels for the K-1.11 Aerojet has imported 46 Russian-made NK-33 and NK-43 engines for use in

the K-1 propulsion system.12 In March 1998, Aerojet completed the first test firing of the modified

NK-33; the firing lasted 145 seconds, 10 seconds longer than will be required in the K-1 flight profile.13

As of January 1999, five additional tests had been successfully completed.14 In June 1998, Irvin

Aerospace successfully tested the parachute system for the K-1 first stage by drop-testing a 88,000 kg

pallet simulating the first stage from an altitude of 3 km. The test instrument deployed a cluster of six

parachutes and landed safely, paving the way for four other successful drop tests by the end of January

1999.15 Also in June, Lockheed Martin Michoud Space Systems, which is building five sets of the first

and second stage K-1 LOX tanks, delivered the first of the first-stage LOX tanks.16 In October 1998,

Kistler announced that development of the flight control software by Draper Laboratory and Allied

Signal was “95% complete.”17 Final vehicle assembly commenced in May 1998, as technicians began

to put together the first stage mid-body.

In August 1997, the United States Department of Energy signed an agreement with the Nevada Test

Site Development Corporation (NTSDC) that would allow Kistler to develop launch operations at the

site.18 In October 1998, Kistler finalized the deal with NTSDC to permit Kistler to occupy a segment

of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) for its launch operations.19 Kistler is in pre-application processing with

Vehicle: K-1

Developer: Kistler Aerospace Corp.

First launch: 1999 or 2000

Number of stages: 2

Possible launch sites: Nevada Test Site; Woomera,

Australia

Markets served: Deployment of LEO constellations

and replacement satellites.

Funding: Program has secured some private

funding, but is seeking additional funds to complete

the project.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 12

the FAA for permission to conduct launches from the NTS, with both stages returning to Earth at the

NTS as well.

In 1998, Kistler also decided to construct a launch facility at the Woomera site in South Australia for

both test and launch operations.20 Kistler received authorization from the Australian government to

begin construction of launch facilities at Spaceport Woomera in April 1998 and held a ground-breaking

ceremony at the site in June 1998.

By the end of 1998, Kistler reportedly had raised over $450 million of the $750 million needed to build

five K-1 vehicles and the two spaceports.21 In January 1999, Kistler announced that the first K-1

launch is expected in late 1999 or early 2000. Construction of the spaceport at Woomera and some

vehicle assembly work will be slowed until Kistler can secure additional financing. 22

Pioneer Rocketplane – Pathfinder

The Pathfinder (not to be confused with the Future X

Pathfinder program discussed in the U.S.

Government Programs section) tracks its heritage to

a military spaceplane concept.23 The “Black Horse”

spaceplane was promoted within the United States

Air Force in the early 1990s by Mitchell Burnside

Clapp, who developed the concept of aerial

propellant transfer to enable horizontal-takeoff-andlanding SSTO spaceplanes.

Mr. Burnside Clapp left the Air Force and cofounded Pioneer Rocketplane in 1996 along with

engineer Robert Zubrin, who led the development of

the Black Colt concept at Lockheed Martin.24

Pioneer Rocketplane advanced the concept

(renamed the Pathfinder) as a potential design for

NASA’s X-34 program.

Although the Pathfinder was not selected for the X34, its proponents elected to continue Pathfinder

development. In June 1997, Pioneer Rocketplane

was awarded one of four $2 million NASA Low

Cost Boost Technology (Bantam) Program contracts to develop detailed preliminary designs and

conduct wind-tunnel tests for concepts to launch small satellites. The Low Cost Boost Technology

program was later canceled.

Vehicle: Pathfinder

Developer: Pioneer Rocketplane

First launch: 2000 or 2001

Number of stages: 2

Possible launch sites: Vandenberg AFB

Markets served: Launch of small and mediumclass LEO payloads.

Funding: Program has secured some private

funding and is seeking additional funds.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 13

Pathfinder is a spaceplane operated by a crew of two and is powered by both air-breathing jet engines

and LOX/kerosene rocket engines. The 23-meter long vehicle takes off horizontally using jet engines.

While in flight, the Pathfinder meets a tanker aircraft carrying LOX, which fills the LOX tanks of the

Pathfinder in a method identical to today’s air-to-air refueling.

On satellite launch missions, the Pathfinder would ignite its RD-120 rocket engine following the LOX

transfer, carrying it to a speed of Mach 12 and an altitude of about 130 km. The vehicle would then

release a satellite payload mated to a conventional upper stage from its payload bay. The payload

would be carried into orbit by the upper stage, with the Pathfinder returning to the atmosphere. After

deceleration to subsonic speeds, the Pathfinder would re-start its jet engines and land horizontally.25

The Pathfinder vehicle uses primarily existing technology and components. The propulsion system uses

proven jet and rocket engines (two GE F404 turbofan engines and one kerosene/oxygen-burning RD120 rocket engine), and the avionics systems are derived from existing military aircraft. In September

1998, Pioneer Rocketplane announced that it had completed a system design review for the Pathfinder

that indicated that all components and systems fit together properly.

Pathfinder is expected to cost about $275 million to develop. Pioneer Rocketplane is currently seeking

investors for the effort and had secured commitments for over $3 million by December 1998.26

Rotary Rocket Company – Roton C-9

Roton C-9 is the latest design from the Rotary

Rocket Company, introduced in mid-1998.27 A

previous design was unveiled at the Cheap Access To

Space Symposium in July 1997. Although several

major design changes were made from the C to the

C-9, the Roton concept remains based on the

centrifugal pumping of propellant by rotating the

engine about the axis of the vehicle and using a rotor

to land the vehicle in place of engine thrust,

parachutes, or fixed wings.

The SSTO Roton C-9 vehicle is designed for vertical takeoff and landing. The 19.5-meter high Roton

C-9 is powered by a proprietary design Rotary RocketJet engine that rotates inside the base of the

cylindrical vehicle. The rotation feeds the LOX/kerosene propellants into the combustors (which are

located the periphery of the engine) at high chamber pressure, eliminating the need for turbopumps to

feed the engine. Following ascension to LEO, the Roton C-9 could deploy a satellite payload and

perform a de-orbit burn. The vehicle can remain on-orbit for up to 72 hours.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 14

During 1998, the Roton vehicle concept underwent

design changes in appearance and configuration.

The current vehicle design, the Roton C-9, is coneshaped with the rotor blades folded flat against the

exterior. The Roton C-9 uses rotor blades to

control the vehicle descent, each of which are

powered by small hydrogen peroxide/methanol

rocket motors on the blade tips to allow the vehicle

to come to a complete stop before landing. The

cargo compartment on the Roton C-9 is positioned

in the middle of the vehicle between the LOX tank

(in the nose) and the kerosene tank (above the engine).

The Roton touches down vertically under the control of its two-person crew. The vehicle is designed to

be serviced by a small team of ground personnel, and Rotary Rocket is targeting turnaround times

between flights of 24 hours or less.28 The Roton also has been designed to be able to return to Earth

with the cargo bay fully loaded.

Rotary Rocket Company is currently raising funds for the development of the Roton C-9 and has

contracted with several other firms for component construction. As of July 1998, Rotary Rocket had

raised $17 million in investment funding and had contracted Barclays Capital to serve as financial

advisors and placement agency for an approximately $20 million private equity placement.29 January

1999 reports indicated that Rotary Rocket had raised a total of $30 million in funding.30

Rotary Rocket Company performed tests of many of its systems throughout 1998 and plans to continue

its testing in 1999. In June 1998, Rotary Rocket successfully hot-fired the thrusters it plans to use for

the Roton’s reaction control system and for the vehicle’s rotor blade-tip engines. In November, Rotary

Rocket conducted a successful ground test of the rotor landing system for the Roton and completed the

development of the “Common Core Combustor.” A total of 72 Common Core Combustors will make

up the RocketJet engine that will power the vehicle to orbit. In December, Rotary Rocket conducted a

successful ground test of the centrifugal pumping system for the RocketJet powerplant. In addition, the

company began construction of its manufacturing and flight operations facility in June 1998 at the

company’s Mojave Airport site and completed the construction in January 1999.31

Rotary Rocket Company will conduct landing tests using the Roton Atmospheric Test Vehicle (ATV),

in the second quarter of 1999. The ATV is currently being assembled, after Rotary Rocket’s

November 1998 announcement that Scaled Composites had completed construction of the structural

components for the vehicle. The ATV is a full-size prototype vehicle without the RocketJet engine. The

ATV will use its rotor tip rockets to fly to 10,000 feet and then conduct approach and landing tests.32

Construction of the first Roton Propulsion Test Vehicle (PTV) will begin in the summer of 1999. Suborbital flight tests are planned for early 2000, with orbital flights and commercial operations targeted for

later that year.33

Vehicle: Roton C-9

Developer: Rotary Rocket Company

First launch: 2000

Number of stages: 1

Possible launch sites: TBA

Markets served: Deployment of LEO constellations

and replacement satellites. Vehicle sales for a

range of space launch services.

Funding: Program has raised $30 million in private

funding.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 15

Space Access LLC – SA-1

The SA-1 has been proposed to conduct satellite

launches by Space Access LLC. The concept

consists of an unpiloted spaceplane that uses a hybrid

propulsion system and one or two rocket-powered

upper stages to deliver a full range of payloads to

LEO or GTO.

Until early 1998, the Palmdale, California-based

Space Access had been developing its system in nearsecrecy. Space Access president Stephen Wurst

indicated in early-1998 interviews that publicity was

not necessary because Space Access already had

sufficient funding and because the company wanted

to keep its development plans and partner structure

proprietary.34

The spaceplane vehicle, or “aerospacecraft,” is

approximately the size of a Boeing 747 aircraft. Its

propulsion system is based on a ramjet engine design

that was developed in the 1960s by the USAF. Space Access has developed a proprietary

modification to the engines that will allow the ramjet to operate at both subsonic and supersonic speeds

(ramjets normally only operate above Mach 2).35 One of the company’s subcontractors, Kaiser

Marquardt, has reportedly tested elements of the propulsion system,36 and Space Access has worked

with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) since September 1995 to study the “ejector” ramjet

propulsion system and the design of the aerospacecraft. As of March 1998, Space Access had windtunnel tested the ejector ramjet engine at all of the altitude and speed points of the SA-1’s planned flight

profile.37

The SA-1 vehicle will take off horizontally, using a mixture of air and liquid hydrogen to power its

ejector ramjet engines. The vehicle pitches up at high altitude and uses a liquid rocket to exit the

atmosphere. The vehicle then releases an upper stage carrying the satellite payload from its nose area.

For LEO missions, the SA-1 carries a single upper stage that features a lifting-body design and

autonomously de-orbits and lands horizontally following satellite deployment. For missions to

geosynchronous transfer orbit, the SA-1 carries two such upper stages.38

Space Access reportedly has secured funding from several large investors, and has formed strategic

partnerships with “several major aerospace companies.” Space Access plans to test a one-third-scale

Vehicle: SA-1

Developer: Space Access LLC

First launch: 2001

Number of stages: 2-3 (depending on payload

requirements)

Possible launch sites: TBA

Markets served: Launch of LEO and GTO payloads.

Funding: Program has secured some private

funding.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 16

demonstrator vehicle with the ejector ramjet and other key systems. Development plans call for testing

of a full-size vehicle in 2001 with launch operations commencing in 2002.39

Vela Technology Development –

Space Cruiser System

The Space Cruiser System (SCS) vehicle is

currently being marketed for space tourism flights

beginning in December 2001 by Zegrahm Space

Voyages, a division of the Zegrahm Expeditions

travel company. The SCS vehicle is being designed

and developed by Virginia-based Vela Technology

Development, Inc. to carry six passengers on a suborbital flight reaching just over 100 km in altitude.40

The Chairman and CEO of Vela Technology

Development is Larry Hecker. Mr. Hecker and all

of Vela’s technical personnel have extensive

NASA, commercial aerospace, or U.S. Air Force

space systems experience. The company is

planning to use existing technologies to create

passenger-carrying vehicles.41

SCS is a two-stage horizontal-takeoff-and-landing design that employs both airbreathing and rocket

engines. The “Sky Lifter” first stage booster will be piloted by a two-member crew and will be

powered by two JT8D/F100-class jet engines. The Sky Lifter will be about 33 meters long, with a dry

mass of approximately 10,000 kg. The Sky Lifter will carry the “Space Cruiser” second stage

spaceplane underneath. The Space Cruiser will measure about 12 meters long and will have a mass of

approximately 8000 kg. The two stages will climb together to about 15 km where the Space Cruiser,

carrying two crew members and six passengers, separates and will climb to 100 km using its three

nitrous oxide/propane-fueled rocket engines. During re-entry into the atmosphere, the Space Cruiser

will fire retro rockets to slow the vehicle’s descent and then will activate two JT15D-class turbo-jet

engines to return to a landing site.42

Vela Technology Development intends to build two sets of operational vehicles and plans to initially

operate two launches per week. In November 1997, Vela named AeroAstro LLC as the prime

contractor for the SCS system.43

Vehicle: Space Cruiser System (second stage

spaceplane pictured)

Developer: Vela Technology Development, AeroAstro

LLC

First launch: 2001

Number of stages: 2

Possible launch sites: Commercial airports

Markets served: Sub-orbital space tourism flights.

Funding: Program funding is not known.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS PAGE 17

Lockheed Martin Corporation –

VentureStarTM

VentureStarTM is Lockheed Martin's potential

commercial follow-on to the X-33 vehicle being

developed for NASA's RLV program (a complete

overview of the X-33 is provided below).

In 1993, Lockheed Skunk introduced a concept

vehicle using an aerospike engine and a wedgeshaped lifting-body design known as an

“aeroballistic rocket” (a VentureStarTM forerunner).

This design concept was offered for the USAF’s

planned new vehicle program called “Spacelifter.”

Spacelifter was canceled, however, in the wake of

the USAF’s commitment to the Evolved

Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.

VentureStarTM resembles the original aeroballistic

rocket in the lifting-body design.

The VentureStarTM vehicle will be similar in design

to the X-33 but twice the size and about eight times

the launch mass. VentureStarTM will be powered by

seven linear aerospike engines, while the X-33 employs two of these powerplants.

Lockheed Martin plans to target the commercial satellite launch market with VentureStarTM. Lockheed

Martin hopes to operate at a flight rate of 40 launches per year, leading to launch costs of approximately

$1000 per pound. NASA and Lockheed Martin are also studying the accommodation of crew

missions on VentureStarTM. One option is to launch VentureStarTM as a cargo-only craft initially, with

crew-capable modules phased in later.44

Development of VentureStarTM is underway in parallel with the X-33, and Lockheed Martin plans to

build two VentureStarTM vehicles. Lockheed revealed in late 1998 that it plans to establish a company

in 1999 to develop VentureStarTM.45 Jerry Rising, vice president for Lockheed Martin’s X-33/RLV

program stated, however, that VentureStarTM development is still contingent upon the results of the X33 testing program.46

Lockheed Martin plans to contract for the use of two spaceport facilities for VentureStarTM operations.

In July 1998, Lockheed Martin provided its spaceport requirements for the VentureStarTM to interested

states. Fifteen states responded to the qualifications, and final selection should be made by the end of

1999.47

Vehicle: VentureStarTM

Developer: Lockheed Martin Skunk Works

First launch: 2004

Number of stages: 1

Possible launch sites: TBA

Markets served: Launch of heavy-class LEO

payloads.

Funding: May be funded by Lockheed Martin as a

commercial follow-on to the X-33.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PROGRAMSPAGE 18

United States Government Programs

In the 1990s, NASA and the Department of Defense have made significant strides in RLV

development. The DC-X (later the DC-XA and Clipper Graham) was funded by the military in the

early 1990s and later by NASA. This vehicle demonstrated RLV materials and operations and paved

the way for the current NASA X-33 and X-34 RLV prototype development programs. NASA is also

participating in a joint effort with the European Space Agency (ESA) for a crew return/crew transfer

vehicle for the Space Station. NASA will continue RLV technology development beyond the X-33

and X-34 programs with the Future X program. The U.S. military is continuing its RLV study with the

development of military spaceplane concepts.

X-33

Following the National Space Transportation Policy

announced in 1994, NASA announced the RLV

program and solicited proposals for the SSTO X33 experimental demonstrator.

The X-33 program was initiated to develop a

testbed for integrated RLV technologies, paving the

way for full-scale development of a SSTO reusable

launch vehicle that would be contracted for

government and private sector use.48 The X-33 is

targeted to reach high hypersonic speeds and

demonstrate SSTO and autonomous operations

capabilities. NASA has set goals of a routine

seven-hour turnaround time and a 3.5-hour

emergency flight turnaround time. NASA hopes the

program will lead to the development of RLVs that

will reduce the cost of space launches by an order

of magnitude within ten years.

In April 1995, NASA signed cooperative

agreements with Lockheed Martin, McDonnell

Douglas, and Rockwell International to develop concept designs for the X-33 program. Lockheed

Martin offered a vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing concept based on the aeroballistic

rocket/VentureStarTM design (see the VentureStarTM entry above for background information).

Rockwell also offered a vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing design, and McDonnell Douglas proposed a

vertical-takeoff-and-landing design based on its Clipper Graham vehicle.

Vehicle: X-33

Developer: Lockheed Martin Skunk Works

First launch: 2000

Number of stages: 1

Possible launch sites: Edwards Air Force Base, CA

Markets served: Testbed for RLV technologies and

operations.

Funding: The approximately $1.1 billion project is

funded under NASA’s RLV Program. NASA will

contribute about 80% and Lockheed Martin will

contribute about 20%. Costs of program delays are

borne by the contractors.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PROGRAMSPAGE 19

On July 2, 1996, NASA selected Lockheed Martin’s design. NASA will provide about 80% of the

approximately $1.1 billion cost, while Lockheed Martin is expected to about 20%. Payment, however,

is based on meeting progress milestones during development.

Lockheed Martin’s design is a SSTO vehicle that relies on a lifting body rather than wings. The X-33

will measure about 20 meters in length, with a dry mass of about 28,350 kg. The X-33 will be

powered by two linear aerospike engines under development by Boeing’s Rocketdyne division that do

not use conventional cone-shaped exhaust nozzles but allow the exhaust flow to adjust to changes in

atmospheric pressure.

The X-33 is currently under construction at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facility. In November

1997, the vehicle passed a critical design review, a key step before actual construction began. In early

1998, designers were wrestling with weight and design stability problems with the vehicle. The design

team made significant strides in dealing with these questions by reducing the ballooning weight and

modifying the design of the fins and vertical stabilizers.49 The liquid oxygen tank was fitted into the

vehicle frame on schedule in April 1998, and the thermal protection system completed its qualification

testing in October.50 Final assembly of the liquid hydrogen tanks is underway, and the tanks will be sent

to Marshall Space Flight Center for testing before being mated to the vehicle. Flight tests of the linear

aerospike engine atop an SR-71 aircraft took place early in 1998. Testing of the linear aerospike

engine powerpack (the main power generating and pumping components) at the Stennis Space Center

occurred from October through December. Testing has been successful, and the flight engines are

scheduled to be delivered in September 1999. Flight tests are currently scheduled to begin mid-2000.51

The flight test facility at Edwards Air Force Base in California was also completed in November 1998.

The 15 test flights of the X-33 will be conducted from the launch site at Haystack Butte on the eastern

portion of Edwards Air Force Base to landing sites at Michael Army Air Field in Utah and Malmstrom

Air Force Base near Great Falls, Montana. The X-33 will fly to a maximum altitude of about 91 km at

a maximum speed of about Mach 13.8.

X-34

In 1994, in addition to the X-33 program, NASA

announced the X-34 program to develop an RLV

for payloads of about 1100 kg. After first awarding

a contract to a team of Orbital Sciences and

Rockwell International in 1995, NASA canceled the

contract and redesigned the X-34 program to use a

smaller vehicle to demonstrate key technologies.

Following a competition that included nine entries,

NASA awarded Orbital Sciences Corporation a

$60 million contract in June 1996 to design,
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PROGRAMSPAGE 20

develop, and test the X-34.

The X-34 is designed to be a sub-orbital technology

testbed vehicle for the RLV program. The goals of

the X-34 are to achieve a maximum speed of Mach

8 and to reach altitudes of up to 80 km. Flight

testing will focus on RLV operations such as 24-

hour turnaround, landing in adverse weather

conditions, and safe abort procedures. New

technology demonstrations will include composite

primary and secondary airframe structures;

cryogenic insulation and propulsion system elements;

advanced thermal protection systems and materials; and low cost avionics, including differential global

positioning and inertial navigation systems. Operations technologies such as integrated vehicle healthmonitoring and automated checkout systems also will be validated.52

The X-34 design features a cylindrical body with delta wings. The vehicle will measure 17.7 meters in

length and will have a dry mass of 19,500 kg. The vehicle will be launched from an

L-1011 carrier aircraft (similar to Orbital Sciences’ Pegasus expendable launch vehicle). The primary

engine is a new LOX/kerosene rocket engine known as Fastrac, that is being designed, developed, and

provided by NASA under a separate program. The X-34 design, however, will allow for easy

substitution of engines.53

In May 1997, the X-34 completed a system design freeze, allowing production to begin. After

undergoing tests at Marshall Space Flight Center, the initial complete engine was assembled in May

1998 and was shipped to Stennis Space Center for testing in June.54

In January 1998, NASA modified its contract with Orbital Sciences to include the production of a

second X-34 vehicle. The addition of the second vehicle reduces the risk to the program should one

vehicle be damaged or destroyed during testing.55 The first unpowered flight of the vehicle is now

scheduled for fall 1999, with powered flights beginning in early-2000.56 Orbital is constructing an

unpowered testbed vehicle, which will be followed by the two powered X-34 craft.

NASA plans to have an additional type of engine available for the X-34 program. The Russian-heritage

NK-39 (a smaller version of the NK-33 engine used for the Kistler Aerospace Corporation K-1

program) will be modified by GenCorp Aerojet for use in the X-34 vehicles. NASA decided to make

the additional engine available to keep the program on schedule should the Fastrac engine be further

delayed and to perform certain flight tests. The Fastrac engine is not designed to hold the vehicle at a

constant speed (its thrust cannot be adjusted in flight), but such a capability is required for some of the

planned flight test profiles for the X-34. The replacement of the Fastrac with the NK-39 for these

flights will allow the testing team to conduct these experiments.57

The first phase of the test program calls for two test flights at speeds up to Mach 3.8. In December

1998, NASA decided to exercise its option for a second phase of 25 additional X-34 flights. These

Vehicle: X-34

Developer: Orbital Sciences Corporation

First launch: 2000

Number of stages: 1

Possible launch sites: White Sands Missile Range,

NM

Markets served: Testbed for RLV technologies and

operations.

Funding: Project is funded for about $85 million

under NASA’s RLV Program.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PROGRAMSPAGE 21

flights will achieve a range of different speeds and operate in a variety of conditions to test RLV flight

technologies. This option brings the total value of the contract with Orbital Sciences to about $85

million.58

Future X Program

Following the award of the X-33 contract, NASA

attempted to determine whether to continue

creating experimental vehicles and, if so, which

future experimental vehicles (or X-vehicles) to

fund. To this end, NASA developed the Future X

program for long range technology development

and established two classes of X-vehicles

(Trailblazer and Pathfinder).59 New X-vehicles

that will be developed as technology concepts are

presented from the Advanced Space

Transportation Program, as demand for

development of a concept is expressed by

potential users and as funding becomes available.

About $90 million in funding for the experimental

programs is expected through 2002.60

The Future X Trailblazer program will develop

technology demonstrator vehicles that will test

integrated vehicle systems. The vehicles will

validate the viability of complete programs. For

example, the X-33 is designed not only to validate

technology but also to validate RLV operations

such as turnaround time and safe abort

procedures. Trailblazer programs respond to

mission needs - as the X-33 responds to the need for reduction in space cost access - and will share

costs between NASA and other end users.61

The Future X Pathfinder program will develop programs that focus on validating specific technologies

(in contrast to the Trailblazer program, which will develop integrated vehicle prototypes). The

Pathfinder projects respond to the need to test new technologies with low-cost programs that produce

vehicles in less than two years. It is intended that the materials and technologies tested under this

program will be integrated into the RLVs of the future.62

Over the summer of 1998, NASA’s Advanced Space Transportation Program sought proposals for

several Pathfinder technology development and demonstration projects each worth less than $1 million.

Vehicle: Trailblazer-class

Developer: Marshall Space Flight Center in

cooperation with private industry

First launch: TBA

Number of stages: TBA

Possible launch sites: TBA

Markets served: Testbeds for RLV technologies and

operations; Future X Trailblazer vehicles will act as

experimental demonstrators that respond to the

mission needs of end users.

Funding: Program is funded for $90 million through

2002.

Vehicle: Pathfinder-class

Developer: Marshall Space Flight Center in

cooperation with private industry

First launch: TBA

Number of stages: TBA

Possible launch sites: TBA

Markets served: Testbeds for RLV technologies

and operations; Future X Pathfinder vehicles will be

driven by specific technology developments and

provide low-cost validation of these technologies.

Funding: Program is funded for $90 million through

2002.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PROGRAMSPAGE 22

In addition, it called for proposals for one Trailblazer flight test vehicle. About 50 proposals were

received.

In early December 1998, NASA selected several companies and three NASA research centers to

participate in the development of Future X experiments.63 NASA selected Boeing for negotiations for a

cooperative agreement to develop a Trailblazer flight testbed vehicle called the Advanced Technology

Vehicle (ATV) that would develop 29 technologies. No firm vehicle design has yet been selected, but

the X-40A testbed vehicle developed for the Military Spaceplane Program (see Military Spaceplane

entry below) may be a potential design for the ATV.

Companies selected under the Future X program for Pathfinder programs include Southwestern

Research Institute ($2.5 million), which will demonstrate new in-space propulsion; Draper Laboratory

($0.75 million), which will provide an autonomous abort landing experiment; and AeroAstro ($0.8

million), which will demonstrate technologies that will reduce space access costs for small payloads.

In addition, NASA’s Lewis Research Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Ames Research

Center will conduct demonstration experiments. The Lewis Research Center will demonstrate

propulsion technologies for cryogenic upper stages ($4.3 million). Marshall Space Flight Center will

conduct experiments on an electrodynamic tether that provides space propulsion without propellant

($6.6 million). The Ames Research Center will examine technologies for an integrated vehicle healthmanagement system ($4.5 million) and ultra-high temperature ceramics ($4.2 million).

X-38/Crew Return Vehicle

The X-38 is a technology demonstration vehicle project of the

Johnson Space Center. The X-38 is a prototype for an emergency

crew return vehicle (CRV) that will be attached to the International

Space Station. The CRV will provide a means of returning to Earth if

an emergency requiring immediate evacuation of the Space Station

arises, if an astronaut has a medical emergency requiring immediate

treatment on Earth, or if the Space Shuttle fleet is grounded and the

astronauts must return to Earth.

Plans for a CRV have been under consideration since the Space

Station was first proposed. Proposals for CRVs have taken on many

different forms. NASA and ESA are currently working together for a

common concept to satisfy their Space Station crew transport needs.

Rather than focusing solely on an emergency return vehicle, ESA wants to develop a vehicle capable of

both launching and returning crew members to and from the station.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PROGRAMSPAGE 23

CRV development is expected to cost almost $1

billion, with ESA contributing about 30 percent.64

ESA and the Deutschen Zentrum für Luft - und

Raumfahrt (DLR, or German National Aerospace

Research Center) are engaged in a cooperative

effort with NASA to develop the X-38 test articles

for the CRV program. European participation in

the program underwent turmoil in October 1997, as

France decided to terminate its funding for the

program, but multinational participation remained

strong in 1998 as the French company Dassault

provided critical design support, and Dutch, German, and Spanish companies produced key

components.65

The X-38 employs a lifting body design based on a 1970s-vintage X-aircraft (the X-24A). Rather than

landing in an unassisted glide like the Space Shuttle, the X-38 will deploy a steerable parafoil that will

allow the vehicle to maneuver to a landing site. The parafoil is as large as the wing area of a Boeing 747

aircraft.

Four X-38 vehicles are planned, including three atmospheric prototypes and one orbital test vehicle.

Two X-38 atmospheric prototypes have been constructed by Scaled Composites, with parafoils

supplied by Pioneer Aerospace. Avionics and control systems were incorporated into the test vehicles

at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center. The third atmospheric prototype will undergo construction

in 1999, and the orbital test vehicle is currently being developed at the Johnson Space Center.

Although the X-38 is not designed to be an RLV (that is, it is not intended to be a launch vehicle), ESA

and NASA have agreed to develop a final design that is compatible for launch atop an ELV such as

Ariane 5.66 This decision required that the designs of the third prototype and the orbital test vehicle be

modified to be able to withstand the structural pressures of launch. While the CRV design has no space

maneuvering propulsion system, an orbital transfer vehicle could be used to move it into position at the

Space Station, allowing it to carry crews both to and from the Station. NASA’s Johnson Space Center

is planning to release a solicitation for proposals for the CRV in early 1999. NASA officials have

decided that regardless of which contractor is awarded the design and construction contract for the

CRV, the vehicle will have to conform to the design specifications developed by the X-38 program. 67

The first prototype conducted drop tests during 1998, during which the vehicle was dropped from the

wing of a B-52 and returned to the ground using its parafoil. Following the completion of its testing, the

first vehicle was returned to Scaled Composites to be retrofitted to the redesigned aerodynamic shape.

The second is scheduled to conduct a series of flights starting in February 1999. The second vehicle

will have a flight control system that will allow it to test maneuvers following its drop from the B-52.

The third prototype is intended to become the primary atmospheric test vehicle after the turn of the

century. The orbital test vehicle is scheduled for launch on the Space Shuttle Columbia in November

2000. Both the third prototype and the orbital vehicle will be the same size and shape as the planned

Vehicle: X-38/CRV

Developer: Johnson Space Flight Center, Dryden

Flight Research Center, Scaled Composites

First launch: 2000 (atmospheric tests in 1998)

Number of stages: 1 (at least 2 for launch)

Possible launch sites: KSC, Kourou

Markets served: Prototype for International Space

Station crew return operations.

Funding: Program is funded by NASA for $80 million

for three atmospheric and one space test vehicles.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PROGRAMSPAGE 24

operational CRVs.68 NASA has contracted with GenCorp Aerojet to design and produce a de-orbit

propulsion module for the X-38. The first space flight test for the X-38 with its de-orbit stage is

planned for late 2000 or early 2001.69

Military Spaceplane

In August 1996, the USAF Space Command

(AFSPC) approved a “concept of operations” for a

spaceplane demonstrator to satisfy USAF space

operations needs in the future. An Integrated

Concept Team (ICT) was established to develop

designs for a multimission vehicle that could perform

a variety of orbital and sub-orbital military missions,

such as placing small satellites in low-Earth orbit,

conducting surveillance, disabling adversaries’ space

vehicles, releasing weapons (within the atmosphere)

against terrestrial targets, serving as a time-critical

communications relay platform, or delivering cargo.

The first squadron of military spaceplanes could be

operational in the 2030 time frame.70

Following a year of study, the AFSPC followed the

ICT’s recommendation to establish a central

spaceplane program office to coordinate the

program. Spaceplane research efforts have been

funded through “add-on” funds appropriated in

1996.71 Through this program, the Air Force is

developing a two-stage spaceplane concept. The

concept consists of a reusable “mini-spaceplane,” or

Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV) that is carried to

hypersonic speeds by a sub-orbital reusable first

stage. The SMV is released and accelerates to

orbit, where it will be designed to maneuver in space

and remain on-orbit for perhaps as long as one year.

Both stages of the spaceplane are under

development, but funding is uncertain. In

September 1997, the USAF’s Phillips Laboratory

awarded contracts worth $4 million each to Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas Space Division

to develop concept designs for a sub-orbital demonstrator. Lockheed Martin offered a concept based

on its X-33 design, while McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) proposed a concept based on the Clipper

The Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV) sub-scale

testbed

The SMV mated to a reusable booster

Vehicle: Military Spaceplane

Developers: Boeing, Lockheed Martin

First launch: TBA (SMV tests conducted in 1997)

Number of stages: 2

Possible launch sites: TBA

Markets served: Military payload delivery to LEO;

Special missions such as satellite orbital transfer.

Funding: Program funding is uncertain.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PROGRAMSPAGE 25

Graham.72 The Clipper Graham was McDonnell Douglas’ single-stage vertical-takeoff-and-landing

RLV concept that was tested by the USAF and later NASA from 1993 to 1996.

The SMV is under development by Boeing Phantom Works, and a 90-percent scale unpowered

testbed, also known as the X-40A, was rolled out in September 1997 under a $5.2 million contract

awarded in October 1996 by the USAF’s Wright Laboratory.73 The first flight of the X-40A took

place on August 11, 1998, when it was carried aloft by helicopter and released, making a landing

controlled by the vehicle’s on-board systems.

The full-scale powered SMV would be designed to be about 7.5 meters long and have a mass of about

1140 kg. The USAF is also considering future designs of the SMV to include crewed versions. Should

the USAF proceed with development of the SMV, testing could proceed with unpowered drops from a

B-52, followed by missions into space for return-from-orbit tests.74

The Pentagon may use funding for the spaceplane program to enter into a cooperative program with

NASA for the RLV technology development, possibly in conjunction with the Future X program.75 In

addition, Boeing’s X-40A may be a potential vehicle design for the Advanced Technology Vehicle to

be developed under the Future X program.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

INTERNATIONAL CONCEPTS PAGE 26

International Concepts

International public and private organizations are also designing RLVs to satisfy government and

commercial launch needs. As with the U.S. commercial vehicles in the previous section, these vehicles

are in various stages of development.

Defense Research Development

Organization (India) – AVATAR

In May of 1998, India’s Defense Research

Development Organization (DRDO) announced

the initial funding of the design of a small reusable

spaceplane.76 The Aerobic Vehicle for Advanced

Trans-Atmospheric Research (AVATAR or

Avtar) is planned to be the size of a jet

fighter/bomber and would be capable of delivering

500 kg to 1000 kg to orbit.

The initial development budget is only $5 million, but project supporters claim that the vehicle can be

built in ten years with total funding of under $2 billion. Designers admit, however, that international

assistance would most likely be required for the project to reach its goal. In addition to the DRDO

team working on the conceptual design, development of technology components is being undertaken by

academic institutions in India as well.77

The AVATAR would take off horizontally using ramjet engines that burn air and hydrogen. Once at a

cruising altitude, the vehicle would use scramjet propulsion to accelerate to Mach 7. During these

cruising phases, an on-board system will collect air from which liquid oxygen will be separated. The

liquid oxygen collected then would be used in the final flight phase, when the rocket engine burns the

collected liquid oxygen and the carried hydrogen to attain orbit. Both the scramjet engine concept and

the liquid oxygen collection process have already undergone successful tests at DRDO and at the Indian

Institute of Science. DRDO has approved further testing of the liquid oxygen process and assigned a

team to conduct a detailed review of the vehicle’s design.

National Space Development Agency of Japan – HOPE-XA Spaceplane

The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) began studying the development of a

small crewless space shuttle in 1987. The original parameters called for a 20,000 kg vehicle that would

be lifted by the H-2 booster and would land by remote control in Japan or Australia.

Vehicle: AVATAR

Developer: Defense Research Development

Organization (India)

First launch: TBA

Number of stages: 1

Possible launch sites: TBA

Markets served: Satellite deployment.

Funding: Program has developmental funding of $5

million.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

INTERNATIONAL CONCEPTS PAGE 27

To this end, NASDA initiated the H-2 Orbiting

Plane Experiment (HOPE) program. The program

has progressed through two major testbeds: the

HYFLEX (Hypersonic Flight Experiment), which

consisted of a lifting body aircraft used to study

hypersonic flight following launch from rocket

booster; and the ALFLEX (Automatic Landing

Flight Experiment), which consisted of a one-third

model of the HOPE spaceplane and has performed

automated landing tests.78 A HOPE-X prototype

vehicle was under development in 1997 before the

project structure was changed.

The current program calls for the HOPE-X

prototype under development to be modified for

repeated space operations. This HOPE-XA vehicle

will measure about 16 meters long and will receive

improved ceramic thermal protection, a cargo bay,

and an in-orbit maneuvering engine. The HOPEXA will also be launched from the new, lessexpensive H-2A vehicle, and is proposed for a

2001 first launch.79

The original HOPE spaceplane was designed not only to deliver and retrieve cargo from the

International Space Station, but also to provide a testbed for technologies required to develop a fully

reusable spaceplane. NASDA’s Space Activities Commission is examining the number of flights

required of the HOPE-XA to provide the data and technologies necessary to proceed with

development of an SSTO spaceplane.80

National Aerospace Laboratory (Japan) –

SSTO Spaceplane

Japan’s long-term reusable launch vehicle goal is the

construction of a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO)

spaceplane. The Japanese government modified the

HOPE spaceplane program (see HOPE-XA entry)

in order to reduce the number of intermediate steps

to reach the goal of a fully reusable SSTO vehicle in the long run. Following the recommendation of the

Committee on Future Fully Reusable Space Transportation Systems, the design for a SSTO RLV is

being explored and refined by the National Aerospace Laboratory.

Vehicle: HOPE-XA

Developer: NASDA

First launch: 2001

Number of stages: 3

Possible launch sites: Tanegashima

Markets served: Delivery of supplies to International

Space Station.

Funding: Program is funded for $1.2 billion by the

Japanese government.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

INTERNATIONAL CONCEPTS PAGE 28

The National Aerospace Laboratory concept calls

for the development of a SSTO prototype rocket by

2010 and the final SSTO Spaceplane by 2020.81

The companies of the Space Plane Committee of

the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies

(Mitsubishi, Ishikawa-jima-Harima, Kawasaki, Fuji,

and Sumitomo) have all been studying advanced

propulsion systems in support of the program.

Development of the spaceplane is expected to cost

$20 billion.82 These concepts are still in the early

development stages, but they represent the official direction for Japan’s RLV development.

The SSTO Spaceplane would take off and land horizontally and carry a crew of four. The vehicle

would measure about 50 meters in length, with a mass of about 52 metric tons.

The SSTO Spaceplane would use either air-breathing propulsion for atmospheric flight and multiple

rocket engines to achieve orbit or may employ new hybrid engines. Propulsion concepts favored for the

spaceplane include liquefied air cycle engines (LACE) and scramjets. LACE engines liquefy air at low

altitudes and accumulate oxygen to be used later at higher altitudes. In one design concept, LACE

would be used to power the craft to Mach 5 at an altitude of 20 km, where scramjets would be

activated to accelerate the vehicle to Mach 20. The LACE engines would then switch to rocket mode

to achieve orbit. Engines that combine the aspects of both LACE and scramjets (known as combined

cycle engines) may be developed to provide an optimal combination of weight and power. 83

Tetsuo Tanaka, senior engineer at NASDA, has stated development could begin before 2010 if funding

becomes available after 2003 and if several flights of the HOPE-XA are undertaken. According to

Tanaka, however, “propulsion technology breakthroughs and international cooperation would be

necessary if Japan is ever to seriously consider spaceplane development.”84

Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd. –

Spacecab/Spacebus

Spacecab and Spacebus are similar concepts

promoted by Bristol Spaceplanes Limited (BSL) of

Bristol, England. BSL is headed by David Ashford,

an advocate of space tourism for many years and

has entered its Ascender vehicle in the X PRIZESM

competition

The Spacecab would be a prototype two-stage

spaceplane. The first stage would consist of a

Vehicle: SSTO Spaceplane

Developer: National Aerospace Laboratory (Japan)

First launch: 2010

Number of stages: 1

Possible launch sites: TBA

Markets served: Launch and recovery of heavyclass LEO payloads.

Funding: Program funded to an unknown level by the

Japanese government.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

INTERNATIONAL CONCEPTS PAGE 29

supersonic aircraft similar to the Aerospatiale/British

Aerospace-built Concorde but equipped with four

air-breathing and two rocket engines, allowing

acceleration to Mach 4. Upon reaching Mach 4,

the second stage reusable orbiter would separate

from the top of the first stage and use rocket power

to reach orbit. The orbiter would be similar in size

and design to the Ascender vehicle but would be

capable of carrying two crew with either six

passengers or 750 kg of cargo. Both the booster

and the orbiter would land horizontally.85

Spacebus is an enlarged version of the Spacecab. The Spacebus booster would have a length of

approximately 88 meters and a mass of 130,000 kg, while the orbiter would be 34 meters long with a

mass of 19,900 kg. The Spacebus booster would have greater power and accelerate to Mach 6 for

orbiter separation. The orbiter would be capable of carrying 50 passengers.86

According to BSL, Spacecab can be built using existing technology, and the development cost and

timetable of the prototype of each stage should be comparable with that of the prototype of an

advanced aircraft. The prototype could be used for early operational flights to and from orbit and could

launch small satellites and ferry crews and passengers to and from space. BSL completed a feasibility

study of the Spacecab and Spacecab demonstrator vehicles for ESA in 1994, but ESA has not acted to

develop the concept any further.87

Vehicle: Spacecab (top)/Spacebus (bottom)

Developer: Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd.

First launch: 2010

Number of stages: 2

Possible launch sites: TBA

Markets served: Orbital space tourism. Launch of

small-class LEO payloads. ISS crew transfer.

Repair of LEO satellites.

Funding: Program is not funded.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

X PRIZE COMPETITORS PAGE 30

X PRIZESM Competitors

The X PRIZESM

In the spirit of the early 20th century aviation

prizes, such as the Orteig prize that Charles

Lindbergh won for crossing the Atlantic in

1927, the X PRIZESM Foundation was

established in 1994 as an educational, nonprofit corporation dedicated to inspiring

private, entrepreneurial advancements in space

travel. The St. Louis-based X PRIZESM

Foundation is offering a $10 million prize to the

first entrant able to launch a vehicle capable of

carrying three people to a 100-km sub-orbital

altitude and repeating the flight within two

weeks (only one person and ballast for two

others are required to actually make the flights).

The X PRIZESM is offered to help speed along

development of space vehicle concepts that will

reduce the cost of access to space and to allow

human spaceflight to become routine.

The X PRIZESM competition currently has 15

entrants offering a variety of different RLV

concepts. The commercial vehicles under

development for the X PRIZESM competition

are generally uniquely designed for sub-orbital

space tourism operations carrying about three

to six passengers. These designs use many

different takeoff, landing, and design concepts,

but all plan to use existing technology to

accomplish their goals.

The X PRIZESM Foundation made significant

strides during 1998. During the year, the

Foundation signed up additional sponsors,

including author Tom Clancy, pushing their

prize funding to $7 million of the $10 million

offering.88 Two X PRIZESM entrants, Paul Tyron and HMX, dropped out of the competition, while

another, Dale Cooper Harris, registered as an entrant. In May, the X PRIZESM Foundation announced

Typical X PRIZESM Trajectory
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

X PRIZE COMPETITORS PAGE 31

a line of credit cards, the use of which enters individuals in a sweepstakes that would award the winner

a trip into space. Also in May, the Foundation unveiled the X PRIZESM trophy, which was put on

display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

The table below provides a summary of the X PRIZESM vehicles.

Program Developer Vehicle Type

Ascender David Ashford, Bristol

Spaceplanes Limited

Spaceplane powered by two conventional jet

engines and a liquid-fueled rocket engine; The

vehicle will take off and land horizontally

Astroliner Kelly Space and Technology See the Astroliner entry for information

Cosmos Mariner Dynamica Research Spaceplane powered by two air-breathing engines

and one rocket engine; The vehicle will launch and

land horizontally

Gauchito Pablo De Leon and Associates Two-stage vehicle that will launch vertically; The first

stage booster and the second stage passenger

capsule return to Earth using parachutes

Green Arrow Graham Dorrington Cylinder-shaped rocket using liquid-fueled rocket

engines; The vehicle will launch vertically and

launch vertically using parachutes and air bags

Lucky Seven Mickey Badgero Cone-shaped vehicle powered by rocket engines;

The vehicle will launch vertically and land using a

parafoil

Mayflower (CAC-1) Advent Launch Services Cylinder-shaped glider powered by liquid-fueled

rocket engines; The vehicle will launch vertically

from water and land horizontally in water

PA-X2 Rick Fleeter, AeroAstro Inc. Cylinder-shaped vehicle using a liquid-fueled

engine; The vehicle will launch vertically and land

horizontally using a steerable parafoil

Pathfinder Pioneer Rocketplane See the Pathfinder entry for information

Proteus Burt Rutan, Scaled Composites Two-stage vehicle consisting of the conventional

turbo-fan powered Proteus aircraft and a rocketpowered second stage

The Space Tourist John Bloomer, Discraft

Corporation

Disc-shaped vehicle powered by air-breathing

“blastwave-pulsejets;” The vehicle will take off and

land horizontally

Thunderbird Steven M. Bennett, Starchaser

Foundation

Cylinder-shaped rocket using air-breathing engines

and liquid fueled rocket engines; The vehicle will

launch and land vertically

X Van Pan Aero, Inc., Third Millennium

Aerospace

Pan Aero has publicized two designs for the X Van;

The entry may be a two-stage-to orbit system

comprised of a booster stage and orbiter stage, or a

single-stage system flying a sub-orbital trajectory

unnamed William Good, Earth Space

Transport System Corporation

No information on this entry has been released

unnamed Dale Cooper Harris, Coopership

Industries

Two-stage system taking off horizontally from water

and using a turbofan-powered airship for the firststage; The second-stage shuttle uses a solid-fuel

rocket engine to reach a sub-orbital altitude and

then employs a turbojet engine upon re-entry for a

horizontal water landing
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

X PRIZE COMPETITORS PAGE 32

Several of the X PRIZESM entrants also took steps forward in developing their vehicles during 1998.

The progress of Pioneer Rocketplane and Kelly Space and Technology is reported in the Commercial

Launch Programs section. The X Van entry of Pan Aero underwent design modifications, and Bristol

Spaceplanes Ltd. flew a remote-controlled one-fifth scale prototype of its Ascender design. Most

visible, however, was Scaled Composites’ September test flight of the Proteus aircraft, which will serve

as the first stage for its X PRIZESM vehicle entry.89

Several of the competitors have commercial plans for their vehicles after the X PRIZESM. In addition to

the already discussed plans of Pioneer Rocketplane and Kelly Space and Technology, Scaled

Composites’ Proteus aircraft is planned for use for missions such as atmospheric research,

reconnaissance, microsatellite launch, and as a telecommunications platform over metropolitan areas.90

The Mayflower and the Ascender are planned for continued use as commercial space tourism

platforms. The X Van and the Cosmos Mariner are proposed for both satellite launch and space

tourism missions.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

ACRONYMS PAGE 33

Acronyms

ACRV – Assured Crew Return Vehicle

AFB – Air Force Base

AFRL – Air Force Research Laboratory

AFSPC – United States Air Force Space

Command

ALFLEX – Automatic Landing Flight

Experiment

AST – Associate Administrator for Commercial

Space Transportation (FAA)

ATV – Atmospheric Test Vehicle (Roton);

Advanced Technology Vehicle (NASA)

AVATAR –Aerobic Vehicle for Advanced

Trans–Atmospheric Research

BSL – Bristol Spaceplanes Limited

CATS – Cheap Access to Space

CRV – Crew Return Vehicle

CTV – Crew Transfer Vehicle

DLR – Deutschen Zentrum für Luft– und

Raumfahrt (German National Aerospace

Research Center/German Space Agency)

DRDO – Defense Research Development

Organization (India)

EELV – Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle

ELV – Expendable Launch Vehicle

ESA – European Space Agency

EXD – Eclipse Experimental Demonstration

FAA – Federal Aviation Administration

GEO – Geosynchronous Orbit

GTO – Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit

HOPE – H-2 Orbiting Plane Experiment

HYFLEX – Hypersonic Flight Experiment

ICT – Integrated Concept Team

ISS – International Space Station

JSC – Johnson Space Center

KSC – Kennedy Space Center

KST – Kelly Space and Technology

LACE – Liquefied Air Cycle Engines

LEO – Low Earth Orbit

LLC – Limited Liability Corporation

LOX – Liquid Oxygen

MEO – Medium Earth Orbit

MSFC – Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA – National Aeronautics and Space

Administration

NASDA – National Space Development

Agency of Japan

NTS – Nevada Test Site

PTV – Propulsion Test Vehicle (Roton)

RFP – Request For Proposal

RLV – Reusable Launch Vehicle

SCS – Space Cruiser System

SMV – Space Maneuver Vehicle

SSPP – (RLV) System Safety Program Plan

SSTO – Single-Stage-to-Orbit

TBA –To Be Announced

TSTO – Two-Stage-to-Orbit

USAF – United States Air Force

X-vehicle – Experimental Vehicle
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

ENDNOTES PAGE 34

Endnotes

1

 “Platforms Corporate Infrastructure Buildup,” Platforms International Corporation Press Release, July 24, 1999

(http://www.platforms-intl.com/July24).

2

“Russian Shuttle,” SpaceViews News, January 15, 1999 (http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/0115/othernews.com)

3

“Laboratory Pitches Hypersoar as Low-Cost Launcher,” Space News, October 5, 1998, p. 17.

4 Kelly Space and Technology interview, January 29, 1999.

5

Interview with Joe Holland and Dick Hora, Kelly Space and Technology, November 5, 1997.

6 Kelly Space and Technology interview, January 29, 1999.

7

“Motorola Signs $89 Million Contract With Kelly Space & Technology For Satellite Launches,” Kelly Space and

Technology Press Release, October 7, 1996 (http://www.kellyspace.com/100796a_p.html).

8

“Kelly Space selects Davis as new president/CEO; Constantine to head Astroliner program,” Kelly Space and

Technology Press Release, July 6, 1998 (http://www.kellyspace.com/070698_p.html).

9

 Kistler Aerospace Corporation interview, January 29, 1999.

10

 “Space Systems/Loral Signs $100 Million Contract with Kistler Aerospace for Ten Launches.” Kistler Aerospace

Corporation Press Release, January 28, 1997 (http://www.newspace.com/Industry/Kistler/news/pr/10.html).

11

 Kistler Aerospace Corporation interview, January 29, 1999.

12

 “Aerojet Instrumental in Kistler Aerospace First Fully Reusable Launch Vehicle,” GenCorp Aerojet Press

Release, February 3, 1997.

13

 “GenCorp Aerojet Successfully Test Fires K-1 Rocket Engine, Test is Key Milestone Toward Kistler’s First

Launch,” Kistler Aerospace Corp Press Release, March 12, 1998

(http://www.newspace.com/Industry/Kistler/news/pr/46.html).

14 Kistler Aerospace Corporation interview, January 29, 1999.

15

 “Kistler Successfully Completes Key Phase of Parachute Testing,” Kistler Aerospace Corp Press Release, June

23, 1998 (http://www.newspace.com/Industry/Kistler/news/pr/61.html), and Kistler Aerospace Corporation

interview, January 29, 1999.

16 “Kistler Announces First Hardware Rollout,” Kistler Aerospace Corp Press Release, June 17, 1998

(http://www.newspace.com/Industry/Kistler/news/pr/59.html).

17

 “Kistler’s K-1 Set for Mid-1999 Launch,” Space News, October 5, 1998, p. 8.

18 “Energy Secretary Peña to sign use permit for Nevada Test Site Development Corp. during visit to Nevada,” NTS

Development Corp. News Release, August 13, 1997

(http://www.newspace.com/Industry/Kistler/news/pr/22.html).

19

 “Kistler inks final agreement in Nevada,” Kistler Aerospace Corp Press Release, October 26, 1998

(http://www.newspace.com/Industry/Kistler/news/pr/71.html).

20 “Kistler Plans Australian Orbital Flight,” Space News, July 14-20, 1997, p. 4.

21 Kistler Aerospace Corporation interview, January 29, 1999.

22

 “Weak Bond Market Foils Initial K-1 Launch Plans,” Space News, January 18, 1998, p. 1, 19.

23 “Pathfinder,” Forecast International Space Systems Forecast, October 1998.

24 Pioneer Rocketplane, The Pioneer Rocketplane Team (http://www.rocketplane.com/History.html).

25 Pioneer Rocketplane, Operations Concept (http://www.rocketplane.com/OpsConcept.html).

26 Pioneer Rocketplane interview, January 29, 1999.

27

 Information on the Roton C-9 design came from the following press releases at the Rotary Rocket Company web

site (http://www.rotaryrocket.com/new/new.html)

“First Rotary Engine Centrifugal Pumping Test,” December 7, 1998.

“Whirl Tower Rotor Testing Begins,” November 30, 1998.

“Common Core Combustor Injector Development Complete,” November 23, 1998.

“Construction Starts on RotonTM Piloted Space Vehicle,” July 21, 1998.

“Reaction Control System & Rotor Tip Thruster Engine Tests Continue,” June 4, 1998.

28 Rotary Rocket Company, Revolution to Orbit (http://www.rotaryrocket.com/index.htm).

29

 “Construction starts on Roton Piloted Space Vehicle,” Rotary Rocket Company Press Release, July 21, 1998

(http://www.rotaryrocket.com/new/980721.html).
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

ENDNOTES PAGE 35

30

 “Rotary Rocket Reaches for the Stars,” Antelope Valley Press, January 10, 1999.

31

 “Ground Breaking for High Bay/Office Complex at Mojave Site,” Rotary Rocket Company Press Release, June 19,

1998 (http://www.rotaryrocket.com/new/980619.html) and Rotary Rocket Corporation interview, January 29, 1999.

32

 “Roton ATV structural components completed,” Rotary Rocket Company Press Release, November 2, 1998

(http://www.rotaryrocket.com/new/981102.html).

33 Rotary Rocket Corporation interview, January 29, 1999.

34

 “Rocket Planes,” Popular Science, February 1999, pp. 44-45.

35

 “Space Access’ Launch System Based on Airbreathing Ejector Ramjet,” Aviation Week and Space Technology,

March 30, 1998, pp. 75-77.

36

 “Rocket Planes,” Popular Science, February 1999, pp. 44-45.

37

 “Space Access’ Launch System Based on Airbreathing Ejector Ramjet,” Aviation Week and Space Technology,

March 30, 1998, pp. 75-77.

38

 “Space Access’ Launch System Based on Airbreathing Ejector Ramjet,” Aviation Week and Space Technology,

March 30, 1998, pp. 75-77.

39 “Space Access’ Launch System Based on Airbreathing Ejector Ramjet,” Aviation Week and Space Technology,

March 30, 1998, pp. 75-77.

40 Zegrahm Space Voyages Brochure (http://www.spacevoyages.com/brochure.html).

41 Zegrahm Space Voyages, About Our Technology Company, Vela Technology Development, Inc.

(http://www.spacevoyages.com/aboutvela.html).

42 Zegrahm Space Voyages, Space Cruiser System Fact Sheet (http://www.spacevoyages.com/factsheet.html).

43

 “AeroAstro LLC Selected as Space Cruiser® Prime Contractor,” Vela Technology Development press release,

November 25, 1997 (http://www.spacevoyages.com/press5.html).

44

 “RLV Plan Would Split Human, Cargo Roles,” Space News, February 16, 1998, p. 3.

45

 “X-33 Delay To Cost $36 Million / Vehicle Assembly On Track But Engines Stalled Until September '99,” Space

News, November 9, 1998, p. 3.

46

 “Lockheed Martin Unveils Pricey Reusable Launch Vehicle,” Satellite News, November 9, 1998, p. 10.

47

 “States to Bid for VentureStar(TM) Launch Sites,” ISIR, October 26, 1998, p 14.

48 “X-33,” Forecast International Space Systems Forecast, October ,1998.

49

 “Problems Nag Engineers On Overweight X-33,” Space News, March 9, 1998, p. 22.

50

 “Test Flights Near For NASA's X-vehicle Fleet,” Space News, May 18, 1998.

51

 “X-33 Delay To Cost $36 Million / Vehicle Assembly On Track But Engines Stalled Until September '99,” Space

News, November 9, 1998, p. 3.

52 Orbital Sciences Corporation, Orbital's X-34 Launch Vehicle

(http://www.orbital.com/Prods_n_Servs/Products/LaunchSystems/X34/index.html).

53 “X-34 Technology Testbed Demonstrator,” Cheap Access to Space Symposium, July 21-22, 1997, p.23.

54

 “Rocket Propulsion Tests Aimed at X-33, X-34, and Delta 4,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, May 4, 1998,

p.52.

55

 “NASA Gets Second Vehicle / Additional X-34 Craft Will Provide Margin Of Error,” Space News, January 26,

1998, p. 4.

56

 “Orbital Receives Extension of X-34 Contract,” Space News, February 1, 1999, p.12

57

 “Russian Engine Required For Several X-34 Flights,” Space News, June 15, 1998, p 4.

58

 “Orbital Receives Order From NASA For 25 Additional Flights Of X-34 Reusable Launch Vehicle,” Orbital

Sciences Corp. Press Release, December 18, 1998 (http://www.orbital.com/Press_Releases/pr199.html).

59 Interview with Steve Creech, Deputy Director of the Future X program at Marshall Space Flight Center,

November 10, 1997.

60

 “NASA Seeks Proposals for Future X,” MSFC Media Update, Aug 3, 1998

(http://stp.msfc.nasa.gov/stpweb/futurex/Fxmu07.98.html).

61 “Implementation Approach for Advanced Space Transportation Technologies,” (NASA Space Transportation

Programs briefing) p. STP-3212.

62 “Implementation Approach for Advanced Space Transportation Technologies,” (NASA Space Transportation

Programs briefing) p. STP-3212.
1999 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS JANUARY 1999

ENDNOTES PAGE 36

63

 “NASA selects the Boeing Company,” MSFC press release, December 8, 1998

(http://stp.msfc.nasa.gov/stpweb/news/120898futureX.html).

64 “France Pulls Out of CRV,” Space News, Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 1997, p. 28.

65

 “Dassault Research Advances X-38 Design,” Aviation Week and Space Technology, August 31, 1998, p. 60.

66 NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, X-38 Technology. (http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Projects/X38/intro.html)

and “Second X-38 Set for Flight,” Avaition Week and Space Technology, August 31, 1998, pp. 58-61.

67 “Space Station Lifeboat to Mimic X-38 Design,” Space News, January 18, 1999, p. 4.

68 “Second X-38 Set for Flight,” Avaition Week and Space Technology, August 31, 1998, pp. 58-61.

69

 “Aerojet Will Develop X-38 Propulsion Stage, Space News, August 31, 1998, p. 16.

70 “U.S. Defines Missions for Military Spaceplane,” Aviation Week and Space Technology, January 13, 1997, p.

362.

71 “USAF Set to Fly Mini-Spaceplane,” Aviation Week and Space Technology, August 4, 1997, p. 20-21.

72 “Two Multi-million-dollar Contracts are Awarded,” Phillips Laboratory Press Release, September 4, 1997.

73 “Spaceplane Low-Speed Testbed Rolled Out,” Aviation Week and Space Technology, September 8, 1997, p. 22.

74 “USAF Set to Fly Mini-Spaceplane,” Aviation Week and Space Technology, August 4, 1997, p. 21.

75 “Space Plane Money May Fund RLV Effort,” Space News, October 5, 1998, p.18.

76

 Information on the AVATAR vehicle is drawn from “India Sees Bright Skies for Space Plane,” Space News, May

18-24, 1998, p. 15.

77

 “’Avtar’ in conceptual stage of development,” Hindustan Times, July 10, 1998

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/ht/nonfram/100798/detnat07.htm).

78 “HOPE Spaceplane,” Forecast International Space Systems Forecast, April 1998.

79 “Japan Cuts Spending; HOPE Killed,” Space News, July 21-27, 1997, p. 19.

80

 “Japan’s Launch Systems Face Cost Hurdles,” Space News, May 18-24, 1998, p. 10.

81 Masataka Maita, Hirotoshi Kubota, and Yasutaka Moriguchi, “Japanese Spaceplane/RLV Programme.”

presented at the 48th International Astronautical Congress, October 6-10, 1997.

82 “Japanese Advanced Spaceplane,” Teal Group World Space Systems Briefing, July 1998.

83 “Japanese Advanced Spaceplane,” Teal Group World Space Systems Briefing, July 1998.

84

 “Japan’s Launch Systems Face Cost Hurdles,” Space News, May 18-24, 1998, p. 10.

85 Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd., Spacecab. (http://www.bristolspaceplanes.com/projects/spacecab.shtml)

86 Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd., Spacecab. (http://www.bristolspaceplanes.com/projects/spacebus.shtml)

87 Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd., Spacecab. (http://www.bristolspaceplanes.com/projects/spacecab.shtml)

88

 “X-Prize foundation offers sweepstakes for space ride,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch,” Thursday, May 21, 1998, p.

A7, and “X PRIZE at a glance,” X Prize Foundation, 1998.

89

 “Burt Rutan Unveils X PRIZE Launch Vehicle,” X Prize Foundation Press Release, September 23, 1998.

90

 “Proteus Technical Sheet,” Scaled Composites, 1998.
Reusable Launch Vehicle Programs and Concepts 

Vehicle

First launch

Manufacturer/ Developer

Number of 

stages

Powerplants Performance Launch 

method

Recover

y 

method

Launch 

Contracts

Government 

funding

Potential Markets Served Subcontractors Commercial Investors

Possible launch 

sites

Commercial Programs

Astroliner 2002 Kelly Space and Technology 3 Engines under consideration include: GenCorp Aerojet's 

NK-33, Rockwell Rocketdyne Division's Aerospike and 

RS-27, or NPO’s RD-180; Upper stages under 

consideration include Thiokol's Star 71, and Pratt & 

Whitney Orbus 21

4700 kg to 300 km 28.5 deg. LEO

3950 kg to 300 km 86 deg. LEO

3400 kg to 1700 km 28.5 deg. LEO

2700 kg to 1700 km 86 deg. LEO

2072 kg to GTO 

air-launched horizontal 

landing

yes no Launch of LEO constellation satellites and GTO 

payloads

ACTA, Aircraft Technical Services, GenCorp Aerojet, AeroLaunch 

Systems Corporation, Altair, Frontier Engineering, Menasco, 

Modern Technologies Corp., Oceaneering Space Systems, Pioneer 

Aerospace, Thiokol, Tracor, TRW, Universal Space Lines

Motorola has signed $89 million 

contract with KST for ten launches of 

twenty Iridium satellites

Atlantic City NJ, Vandenberg 

AFB, White Sands Missile 

Range

K-1 1999 or 

2000

Kistler Aerospace Corporation 2 First stage: 3 GenCorp Aerojet AJ-26 kerosene/ LOX 

engines

Second stage: 1 GenCorp Aeroject AJ-60 kerosene/ LOX 

engine

4200 kg to 370 km 37 deg. LEO

2350 kg to 370 km Polar

2050 kg to 1100 km 37 deg. LEO

450 kg to 1100 km Polar

vertical 

launch

parachutes 

and air bags 

(both stages)

yes no Launch of LEO constellation satellites GenCorp Aerojet, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Draper 

Laboratories, AlliedSignal, Irvin Aerospace, Honeywell, Motorola, 

Rami, MPI

Space Systems/Loral has signed 

$100 million contract with Kistler 

Aerospace for ten launches 

Woomera, Australia; DOE 

Nevada Test Site

Pathfinder 2000 or 

2001

Pioneer Rocketplane 2 2 Pratt and Whitney F100 air-breathing engines, 1 RD-120 

LOX/kerosene engine

2100 kg to 200 km Equatorial 

1600 kg to 200 km Polar

1900 kg to 1000 km Equatorial

1450 kg to 1000 km Polar

horizontal 

takeoff

horizontal 

landing

no yes Launch of LEO constellation satellites Scaled Composites, ARB Rockets Incorporated Wallops Island, Vandenberg, 

Kodiak Island

Roton C-9 2000 Rotary Rocket Company 1 Rocketjet aerospike LOX/ jet fuel engine 3600 kg to 275 km 35 deg. LEO

2700 kg to 370 km 90 deg. LEO

3150 kg to 550 km 35 deg. LEO

2250 kg to 550 km 90 deg. LEO

vertical 

launch

vertical 

landing

no no Launch of LEO constellation satellites Scaled Composites, Advanced Rotorcraft Technologies, Deskin 

Research Corp., Hypersonics Inc., Aerotherm Corp., Altus 

Associates, Luna Corp., Guidance Dynamics Corporation, Howard 

& Houston Engineering, Inc., LAPCAD, National Technical 

Systems

SA-1 2001 Space Access LLC 2 or 3 Ejector LOX/hydrogen ramjets for each stage horizontal 

takeoff

horizontal 

landing

no no Launch of medium-class LEO and GTO payloads Kaiser Marquardt, undisclosed "major aerospace firms" Homestead AFB

Space Cruiser System 

(SCS)

2001 Vela Technology Development, 

Inc.

Zegrahm Space Voyages

2 Lower stage: 2 JT8D/F100-class turbo-jet engines

Upper stage: 3 Nitrous Oxide/Propane, pressure fed, 

rocket engines, two JT15D-class turbo-jet engines 

6 passengers and 2 crew to 100 km sub-orbital horizontal 

takeoff

horizontal 

landing

yes no Sub-orbital space tourism; Sub-orbital microgravity 

and other experiments; Aerospace training

AeroAstro Commercial airports capable 

of servicing business jets

VentureStar 2004 Lockheed Martin Skunk Works 1 7 RS-2200 linear aerospike engines 22,700 kg to LEO vertical 

launch

horizontal 

landing

no VentureStar launch of heavy-class LEO payloads

United States Government Programs

X-33 2000 Lockheed Martin Skunk Works 1 2 J-2S linear aerospike engines Mach 13.8 at 91 km vertical 

launch

horizontal 

landing

no yes Testbed for RLV technologies and operations LM Space Operations, LM Manned Space Systems, LM 

Astronautics, LM Engineering and Sciences, Sanders, 

Rocketdyne, Rohr, AlliedSignal, Alliant Techsystems, Sverdrup

X-34 2000 Orbital Sciences Corporation 1 One kerosene/LOX Fastrac engine 

One Russian-built NK-39 engine 

Mach 8 at 76 km

181kg payload allocation

air-launched horizontal 

landing

no yes Sub-orbital demonstration of RLV technology AlliedSignal, Oceaneering Incorporated, Draper Laboratories White Sands Missile Range

Future X

Trailblazer program

TBA TBA TBA Advanced LOX/RP Propulsion

Integration of airbreathing engines

Orbital or Earth orbital transfer capability TBA TBA no yes Demonstration of integrated technology concept 

vehicles

Future X

Pathfinder program

TBA TBA TBA Solar electric propulsion

Rocket-based combined-cycle engines

Hypersonic sub-orbital or orbital capability TBA TBA no yes Demonstration of specific technology advancements

X-38/Crew Return Vehicle 2000 Scaled Composites TBA X-38: none

CRV: Expendable Deorbit Propulsion Stage (DPS)

CRV: Emergency International Space Station crew 

return capability

on-board 

Space 

Shuttle

horizontal 

landing

no yes Prototype for International Space Station crew return 

operations 

Pioneer Aerospcace, SSE Inc.

Military Spaceplane TBA Boeing, Lockheed Martin 2 Hypersonic first stage: similar design to X-33 or Clipper 

Graham

Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV) second stage: TBA

450 kg to LEO vertical 

launch

horizontal or 

vertical 

landing

no yes Military payload delivery or special missions such as 

satellite orbital transfer or satellite neutralization

International Concepts

AVATAR (India) TBA Defense Research Development 

Organization

1 Powered by turbofan ramjet engines, airbreathing 

propulsion engines for atmospheric flight

1/2 metric ton to one metric ton to LEO vertical 

launch

horizontal 

landing

no yes Launch of LEO payloads; Security services: 

intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance

HOPE-XA Spaceplane 

(Japan)

2001 National Space Development 

Agency of Japan

3 Thrusters utilizing nitrogen tetroxide and either 

monomethelhydrazine or hydrazine

3000 kg to space station orbit 

1000kg to 200km orbit

vertical 

launch with 

H-2A booster

horizontal 

landing

no yes Delivery of supplies to International Space Station 

(ISS)

Fuji Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi 

Corp.

Tanegashima

SSTO Spaceplane (Japan) 2010 National Aerospace Laboratory 1 Multiple liquid propellant engines

Airbreathing engines for atmospheric flight

10,000 kg to 500 km 28.5 deg. LEO horizontal 

takeoff

horizontal 

landing

no yes Launch and recovery of LEO payloads

Spacecab/ Spacebus 

(Great Britain)

2010 Bristol Spaceplanes Limited 2 Lower stage: combination of air-breathing and rocket 

engines

Upper stage: six RL-10 or HM7 class engines

Spacecab: 6 passengers/space station crew 

750 kg to LEO

horizontal 

takeoff

horizontal 

landing

no no Orbital space tourism; Launch of small-class LEO 

payloads; ISS crew transfer; Repair of satellites in 

LEO

 1999 Reusable Launch Vehicle Programs and Concepts FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation