Scribd
Upload
252 views2 pages

X33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator PDF

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration selected Lockheed Martin to design, build, and fly the X-33 test vehicle between 1999-2000 to demonstrate advanced technologies. The X-33 aims to dramatically lower the cost of launching payloads to space from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound. It will test technologies needed for the reusable VentureStar launch vehicle and enable private industry to operate reusable launch vehicles starting in the next decade.

Uploaded by

Ahmed Belber
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
252 views2 pages

X33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator PDF

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration selected Lockheed Martin to design, build, and fly the X-33 test vehicle between 1999-2000 to demonstrate advanced technologies. The X-33 aims to dramatically lower the cost of launching payloads to space from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound. It will test technologies needed for the reusable VentureStar launch vehicle and enable private industry to operate reusable launch vehicles starting in the next decade.

Uploaded by

Ahmed Belber
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator

National Aeronautics and


Space Administration

On July 2, 1996, NASA selected Lockheed Martin to


design , build and fly the X-33 test vehicle between March
and December 1999. The X-33 vehicle will demonstrate
advanced technologies that will dramatically increase reliability and lower the cost of putting a pound of payload into
space from $10,000 to $1 ,000.
The X-33 program will demonstrate in flight the new
technologies needed for a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV),
dubbed the "VentureStar," using a half-scale prototype. The
goal of the program is to enable private industry to build and
operate the RLV in the first decade of the next century.
NASA will be a customer, not the operator, of the RLV.

X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator

The government team includes NASA's Marshall Space


Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, the program manager; Ames
Research Center, Mountain View, CA; Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Mojave, CA; Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA; Johnson Space
Center, Houston, TX; Kennedy Space Center, FL; Langley
Research Center, Hampton, VA; Lewis Research Center,
Cleveland, OH; and Stennis Space Center, MS.
For more information on the RLV program, and to view
the latest images of the X-33, visit the program's Web site at
[Link] msfc. [Link]

The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works X-33 design is based


on a lifting body shape with a new "aerospike" rocket engine
and a rugged metallic thermal protection system. It will be an
unmanned vehicle, launched vertically like a rocket, reaching
an altitude of 50 miles and speeds of more than Mach 15 (15
times the speed of sound), and landing horizontally like an
airplane. The vehicle has a 5 foot by 1a foot simulated payload bay, but will not carry cargo.
Time between the X-33 test flights will normally be seven
days, and a two-day emergency turnaround time between
flights will be demonstrated. NASA has budgeted $941
million for the X-33 program through 1999. Lockheed Martin
will invest $212 million in its X-33 design .
The industry team includes lead Lockheed Martin Skunk
Works, Palmdale, CA; AlliedSignal Aerospace, Teterboro,
NJ; Rocketdyne, Canoga Park, CA; Rohr, Chula Vista, CA;
and Sverdrup, St. Louis, MO.

X-33
63 It
68 It
273,000 Ibs
LH2/L02
210,000 Ibs
2 J-2S Linear
Aerospikes
Takeoff thrust
410,000 Ibs
Maximum speed
Mach 15+
Payload to Low Earth Orbit
N/A
Length
Width
Takeoff weight
Fuel
Fuel weight
Main Propu lsion

VentureStar
127 It
128 It
2,186,000 Ibs
Fuel
LH2/L02
Fuel weight
1,929,000 Ibs
Main Propulsion
7 RS2200 Linear
Aerospikes
Take-off thrust
3,010,000 Ibs
Maximum speed
Orbital
Payload to Low Earth Orbit 45 ,000 1bs

Length
Width
Takeoff weight

MSFC 96-1

You might also like