X-33 Venture Star
The X-33 Venture Star was an unmanned re-usable spaceplane technology demonstrator manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The X-33 is one of National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) new technology demonstrator programs which will pave the way to lower launch costs. The X-33 will be a vertical take-off / horizontal landing lifting body vehicle employing the Boeing Linear Aerospike XRS-2200 engine. The vehicle has two aft composite hydrogen tanks and a single aluminum liquid oxygen tank located forward in the nose of the vehicle.
With the cost of space flight still hovering at around $10,000 per pound, NASA spearheaded the development of a number of potentially revolutionary technology demonstration projects. The purpose of these efforts was to reduce the cost of lifting a pound into orbit to about $1,000. The most significant project under the umbrella of the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) was the Lockheed Martin X-33 announced in 1996. The ultimate goal of the X-33 was to develop a completely reusable single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) launch vehicle to replace the aging Space Shuttle by about 2010. The ambitious project set in motion a rapid test program with the first flight set for early 1999. Unfortunately, these goals proved too ambitious since the X-33 was beset by a number of difficult and time-consuming technical problems. Eventually, this project was cancelled by NASA in March, 2001.
Specifications (X-33 Venture Star):
Height: 69 ft.
Length: 69 ft.
Width: 77 ft.
Take-off Weight: 285,000 lbs.
Fuel: LH2/LO2
Fuel Weight: 210,000 lbs
Main Propulsion: 2 J-2S Linear Aerospikes
Take-off Thrust: 410,000 lbs
Maximum Speed: Mach 13+
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