Posted on 01/23/2006 5:52:46 PM PST by KevinDavis
Rocketplane will conduct a 25-flight atmosphere test programme with its four-seater XP suborbital spaceplane from January 2007 followed by a July maiden launch.
The 12.8m (42ft)-long XP is a heavily modified Learjet 25 that will take off and land from a conventional runway. It has a maximum take-off weight of 8,720kg (19,200lb) and a thrust requirement of 36,000lb (160kN).
The XP provides 3.5min of weightlessness during its flight. That begins by ascending to 25,000ft using its General Electric CJ610 turbojets, followed by a 3g pull-up for a 70° climb after the ignition of its Rocketdyne RS-88 rocket, which will burn for 70s until 150,000ft so the XP coasts to its 330,000ft apogee.
A reaction control system reorientates the XP for a 40-45° re-entry before it starts S-turns to slow down and land at Oklahoma Spaceport.
Speaking at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics aerospace sciences meeting in Reno, Nevada, Rocketplane’s Harry Bakhtiani said: “We will be going back soon to finish up with some small details in the windtunnel.” He added that the Oklahoma-based suborbital space vehicle development company is to refine the design in the run-up to a critical design review in a few months.
One design choice has been a coating-based thermal protection system instead of a blanket-based option, following studies with NASA Ames Research Center and tests at the University of Oklahoma. Another option is to add a 70° leading-edge strake to the 7.6m-span delta wing and a V-tail for pitch and directional control.
The wing, which is set at an incidence angle of 2.25°, has been fitted with split elevons for pitch and roll control, and has a dihedral outboard section.
Cool! Right in my backyard.
The future is finally arriving. The chains of government need to be broken away permanently and mankind will soar into space. Mastering space will open up infinite opportunities to the human race.
Cool!
January 2007, a year from now, is that a typo?
Test flight in July, and I think the actual flight in 07..
L
62.5 miles is technically outer space.
I'd say there is a real potential for space tourism and research, plus it's cool. Did I already say that?
It is pretty cool, I just wondered what it was for, besides coolness.
L
Here is your plane! You were talking about this on a NASA thread recently.
This one ought to be able to fly as often every day as they want. Cheap, too. Some tourists no doubt, and some gov't contracts, too. The idea is to develop a tourism industry around it. Probably a lot more will gravitate toward a decent spaceport if it has a good hotel, restaurants, casino, golf course, than will ever buy a ticket to fly in the thing. Could be some serious commercial opportunity for a lounge with a spaceflight theme.
Agreed....lots of potential here.
I was in Boca Raton, near IBM when the PC was born. All the smart people said it was a toy and would have no practical use. Some of us thought it was cool.
The guy from Virgin was talking like that. He has a fine idea, make a spectacle of it, something TV could use to draw advertisement $$$$. Golden marketing opportunity if someone gets the right formula.
> What practical purpose does this aircraft serve?
Flying tourists. There is a confimed Big Market for suborbital tourism. While $200K per flight is substantially beyodn my means, it's certainly not beyodn the means of all, and after a few years the price per flight will probably drop to the $25K-$50K range. Given that that's approximately what you'd pay to go fly on a Russian MiG-31, and many peope, 8do,* there's lots of money to be had here.
Glad I invested in Pioneer Rocketplane back in the late '90's. MUAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!
What practical purpose does this aircraft serve?
Remember the old "mile high club"? With a few mattresses....... think of the possibilities!!!!
prisoner6
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