Keep the shuttle flying: Fwd: DARPA’s Experimental Space Plane XS-1 Starts Development

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: July 16, 2014 12:08:07 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: DARPA's Experimental Space Plane XS-1 Starts Development

Work Commences on Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) Designs
July 15, 2014
Three companies get the nod to outline their visions of DARPA's next-generation spaceplane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=67tbhFzh1OM

In an era of declining budgets and adversaries' evolving capabilities, quick, affordable and routine access to space is increasingly critical for both national and economic security. Current satellite launch systems, however, require scheduling years in advance for a handful of available slots. Launches often cost hundreds of millions of dollars each, in large part to the massive amounts of dedicated infrastructure and personnel required.
DARPA created its Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program to help overcome these challenges and create a new paradigm for more routine, responsive and affordable space operations. In an important step toward that goal, DARPA has awarded prime contracts for Phase 1 of XS-1 to three companies:
The Boeing Company (working with Blue Origin, LLC)
Masten Space Systems (working with XCOR Aerospace)
Northrop Grumman Corporation (working with Virgin Galactic)
"We chose performers who could prudently integrate existing and up-and-coming technologies and operations, while making XS-1 as reliable, easy-to-use and cost-effective as possible," Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager. "We're eager to see how their initial designs envision making spaceflight commonplace—with all the potential military, civilian and commercial benefits that capability would provide."
The XS-1 program aims to develop a fully-reusable unmanned vehicle that would provide aircraft-like access to space and deploy small satellites to orbit using expendable upper stages. XS-1 seeks to deploy small satellites faster and more affordably, and develop technology for next-generation hypersonic vehicles.
XS-1 envisions that a reusable first stage would fly to hypersonic speeds at a suborbital altitude. At that point, one or more expendable upper stages would separate and deploy a satellite into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The reusable first stage would then return to earth, land and be prepared for the next flight. Modular components, durable thermal protection systems and automatic launch, flight and recovery systems should significantly reduce logistical needs, enabling rapid turnaround between flights.
Key XS-1 technical goals include flying 10 times in 10 days, flying to Mach 10+ at least once and launching a representative small payload to orbit. The program also seeks to reduce the cost of access to space for 3,000- to 5,000-pound payloads to less than $5 million per flight.
In Phase 1 of XS-1, DARPA intends to evaluate the technical feasibility and methods for achieving the program's goals. Tasks currently include:
Develop the XS-1 demonstration vehicle
Identify and conduct critical risk reduction of core component technologies and processes
Develop a technology maturation plan for fabrication and flight test of XS-1 system capabilities
DARPA expects the performers to explore alternative technical approaches from the perspectives of feasibility, performance, system design and development cost and operational cost. They must also assess potential suitability for near-term transition opportunities to military, civil and commercial users. These opportunities include both launching small payloads per the program goals as well as others, such as supporting future hypersonic testing and a future space access aircraft.
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Associated images posted on www.darpa.mil and video posted at www.youtube.com/darpatv may be reused according to the terms of the DARPA User Agreement, available here: http://go.usa.gov/nYr.

DARPA's Experimental Space Plane XS-1 Starts Development
by Nancy Atkinson on July 15, 2014

Concept images for DARPA's Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program. Credit: DARPA.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking to develop a fully-reusable unmanned spaceplane, and they are now ready to start working their proposed Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1). The agency has put together a "special forces" of sorts in the space industry, awarding prime contracts for the first phase of development to a combination of six companies. These six are a combination of "old" and "new" space companies and are:
The Boeing Company (working with Blue Origin, LLC)
Masten Space Systems (working with XCOR Aerospace)
Northrop Grumman Corporation (working with Virgin Galactic)
"We chose performers who could prudently integrate existing and up-and-coming technologies and operations, while making XS-1 as reliable, easy-to-use and cost-effective as possible," Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager. "We're eager to see how their initial designs envision making spaceflight commonplace—with all the potential military, civilian and commercial benefits that capability would provide."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=67tbhFzh1OM
Each commercial entity will be able to outline their vision of the XS-1, but DARPA wants the the spaceplane to provide aircraft-like access to space for deploying small satellites to orbit and it its development, they'd like to create technology for next-generation hypersonic vehicles, — and do it more affordably.
They envision that a reusable first stage would fly to hypersonic speeds at a suborbital altitude. Then, one or more expendable upper stages would separate and deploy a satellite into low Earth orbit (LEO). The reusable first stage would then return to earth, land and be prepared for the next flight.
Key to the development, DARPA says, are modular components, durable thermal protection systems and automatic launch, flight and recovery systems that should significantly reduce logistical needs, enabling rapid turnaround between flights.
DARPA's key technical goals for the XS-1 include flying 10 times in 10 days, flying to Mach 10+ at least once and launching a representative small payload to orbit. The program also seeks to reduce the cost of access to space for 3,000- to 5,000-pound payloads to less than $5 million per flight.
Source: DARPA

Experimental Space Plane Designs Wanted by US Military
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer | July 15, 2014 04:12pm ET

The U.S. military is moving ahead in its plan to develop a robotic space plane capable of launching payloads to orbit cheaply and efficiently.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded initial design contracts for its Experimental Spaceplane project, known as XS-1, to three different companies: Boeing, Masten Space Systems and Northrop Grumman, DARPA officials announced today (July 15).
"We chose performers who could prudently integrate existing and up-and-coming technologies and operations, while making XS-1 as reliable, easy-to-use and cost-effective as possible," DARPA program manager Jess Sponable said in a statement. "We're eager to see how their initial designs envision making spaceflight commonplace — with all the potential military, civilian and commercial benefits that capability would provide." [Space Planes: Evolution of the Winged Spaceship (Infographic)]
A rocket upper stage carrying a satellite payload launches into orbit in this artist's concept of the U.S. military's XS-1 Experimental Spaceplane, a project overseen by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Credit: DARPA
View full size image

All three awardees are partnering with other aerospace firms during this stage of the XS-1 space plane project, which is known as Phase 1. Boeing is teaming up with Blue Origin, Masten is working with XCOR Aerospace and Northrop Grumman is working with the company Virgin Galactic, which is building its own private suborbital spaceliner for space tourist trips, DARPA officials said.
Boeing already provides one robotic space plane to the U.S. military; the company builds a vehicle called the X-37B for the Air Force. One X-37B spacecraft has been circling Earth on a secret military mission since December 2012.
Boeing representatives said that the company's preliminary XS-1 contract is worth $4 million.
DARPA hopes the XS-1 program, which was first announced last September, can help make spaceflight much more affordable and routine. Officials want the unmanned vehicle to launch 3,000- to 5,000-lb. (1,361 to 2,268 kilograms) payloads to orbit for less than $5 million per flight, and to be able to blast off at least 10 times in a 10-day span.
The vehicle will likely employ a reusable first stage and one or more expendable upper stages, DARPA officials said. The first stage will fly to suborbital space at hypersonic speeds, and then return to Earth to be used again; the upper stage will separate and deploy the payload into low-Earth orbit.
This concept art depicts one possible design for the U.S. Military's XS-1 Experimental Spaceplane by Boeing, which was tapped by DARPA as one of three aerospace teams to draw up designs for the robotic spacecraft.
Credit: Boeing
View full size image

During Phase 1, each of the awardees will develop a demonstration vehicle and come up with a plan to build and flight-test XS-1 spacecraft systems, DARPA officials said. The agency is expected to hold a Phase 2 competition next year, to assess the Phase 1 work and see who makes it to the flight-test stage.
DARPA only has enough money for one contractor in the end, but officials are holding out some hope that more than one vehicle could perform flight tests.
"I would love for somebody from NASA or the Air Force out there to step forward and say, 'Hey, there's obviously more than one of these things that we want to go flight-test; let's fly more than one," Sponable said in February during a presentation with NASA's Future In-Space Operations (FISO) working group.
Current plans call for flight tests to begin in 2017 and the first orbital mission to take place in 2018, Sponable said during the FISO talk.

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