Spaceplane

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Spaceplanes
US Space Shuttle program (ongoing) Enterprise (test) Pathfinder (mockup) Columbia (destroyed 2003) Challenger (destroyed 1986) Discovery (active) Atlantis (active) Endeavour (grounded for maintenance) Explorer (mockup)
other US space planes North American X-15 (museum) USAF X-20 Dyna-Soar (cancelled) Rockwell X-30 (cancelled) Lockheed Martin X-33 (Cancelled) Orbital Sciences X-34 Boeing X-37 NASA X-38 Boeing X-40 Blackstar (unconfirmed project) Chrysler Corporation Shuttle SERV
Soviet Shuttle Buran program (cancelled) OK-GLI (BST-02) (aerotester) Buran (retired, destroyed 2002) Ptichka (95-97% completed, unused) 2.01 (incomplete) 2.02 (partially dismantled) 2.03 (dismantled)
other Soviet space planes Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105 Spiral Kosmolyet
Russian Kliper program (cancelled)
European/ESA projects Hermes EADS Phoenix Hopper
British HOTOL program (cancelled) Skylon
Indian AVATAR program (proposed, based on HOTOL)
Japanese HOPE-X program (cancelled)
Ansari X-Prize projects Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo Scaled Composites SpaceShipThree Da Vinci Project Wild Fire

A spaceplane is  a rocket plane designed to pass the edge of space. it  combines some of the features of an  aircraft and  some of a spacecraft. Typically, it  takes the form of a spacecraft equipped with wings.

The orbital spaceplanes successfully flown to date, the United States Space Shuttle and  the Soviet Buran, have  used their wings to provide aerobraking to return from orbit and  to provide lift to allow them to land on a runway like conventional aircraft. Both these vehicles are  still designed to ascend to orbit vertically under rocket power like conventional expendable launch vehicles. Each of these vehicles has a much smaller payload fraction than a ballistic design with the same takeoff weight; this is  primarily due to the weight of the wings - around 9-12% of the weight of the atmospheric flight weight of the vehicle. This significantly reduces the payload size, but the reusability is  intended to offset this disadvantage.

Other (suborbital) spaceplane designs use the vehicle's wings to provide lift for the ascent to space as well, in addition to the rocket. As of June 21, 2004, the only such crafts to reach space have  been the X-15 and  SpaceShipOne. Neither of these craft were capable of entering orbit, and  both began independent flight only after being lifted to high altitude by a carrier aircraft. NASA and  Boeing are  currently developing unmanned orbital spaceplane technologies as a low-cost alternative to expendable launch vehicles for satellite launches (see X-34, X-37, X-40A)

Future orbital spaceplanes may take off, ascend, descend, and  land like conventional aircraft, providing true single stage to orbit capability. Proponents of scramjet technology often cite such a vehicle as being a possible application of that type of engine.

Various types of spaceplanes have  been suggested since the early twentieth century. Notable early designs include Friedrich Zander's spaceplane equipped with wings made of combustible alloys that it  would burn during its ascent, and  Eugen Sänger's Silbervogel bomber design. Winged versions of the V2 rocket were considered during and  after World War II, and  when public interest in space exploration was high in the 1950s and  60s, winged rocket designs by Wernher von Braun and  Willy Ley served to inspire science fiction artists and  filmmakers.

The USAF invested some effort in a paper-study of a variety of spaceplane projects under their aerospaceplane efforts of the late 1950s, but later ended these when they decided to use a modified version of Sänger's design. The result X-20 Dyna-Soar was to have  been the first orbital spaceplane, but was cancelled in the early 1960s in lieu of NASA's Project Gemini and  the U.S. Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory program.

The Rockwell X-30 National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) was an  attempt to build a scramjet vehicle, which failed due to technical issues.

The Roton was an  unusual attempt to build a space plane. Several configurations were evaluated ranging from a helicopter ascent to a pure rocket ascent; all landings were to use a helicopter landing system. it  failed due to funding issues.

The X-33 was an  attempt by NASA to build a SSTO hydrogen fuelled space plane, that failed when the hydrogen tank design proved to be unconstructable in the planned way.

The British Government began a project known as HOTOL whose ultimate goal would have  been a spaceplane, but the project was cancelled due to technical and  financial issues. The lead engineer from the HOTOL project has since set up a private company dedicated to creating a similar plane with a different engine, called Skylon. This vehicle would be capable of a single stage to orbit launch and  would be far in advance of anything currently in operation. Whether or  not the company will succeed in building such a craft remains to be seen.

[edit] Unconfirmed reports

The March 5, 2006 edition of Aviation Week & Space Technology published a story purporting to be 'outing' a highly classified US military two stage to orbit spaceplane system with the code name Blackstar, SR-3/XOV among other nicknames. The alleged system, using an  XB-70-like first stage mothership, capable of mach 3, is  said to launch a upper stage wave-rider spaceplane capable of carrying small payloads and  crews near or  into orbit or  on skip-diving flights, ostensibly for reconnaissance and  other missions, achieving surprise that cannot be attained by satellite. There has been considerable controversy over this story and  its claims.

[edit] See also

• Reentry