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Product Name: X-33 Shuttle Replacement
Product Description
July 2, 1996: Vice President Albert Gore announced today that
the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works has been selected to build and fly the
X-33
Advanced Technology Demonstrator. McDonnell-Douglas and Rockwell
International were the two primary competitors for the X-33. All three teams
have been involved in a competitive design and technology demonstration phase
since the spring of 1995.
The X-33 is a 1/2 scale prototype of a rocket based Single State
to Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). The goal of the X-33 program is
to reduce the business and technical risks by the end of the decade such that
private industry can build and operate the next generation reusable launch
vehicle. The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works X-33 concept uses a lifting body shape
coupled with an aerospike rocket engine concept to propel the vehicle to over
Mach 15. The X-33 will simulate the ascent and re-entry environments of the
full-scale RLV. The X-33 is scheduled to complete its first flight by March of
1999. Edwards Air Force Base in California will be the launch site for the X-33.
NASA has issued a Cooperative Agreement to Lockheed-Martin worth
approximately $1 billion over 42 months to build and fly the X-33. The
cooperative agreement is a partnership mechanism between the Government and
Industry which allows both parties to contribute resources towards a common goal
- low cost space access in this case. No profit is made by Industry.
Lockheed-Martin is cost sharing over $200 million on the X-33 program.
The selected team consists of Lockheed Martin (lead by the Skunk
Works in Palmdale, CA, Rocketdyne (Engines), Rohr (Thermal Protection Systems),
Allied Signal (Subsystems), and Sverdrup (Ground Support Equipment), and various
NASA and DoD laboratories.
Company Details
Welcome to the Aeronautics Learning Laboratory for Science Technology and Research (ALLSTAR). This site is enhanced for the latest technologies on the Internet. more
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