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| X-30 NASP | |
|---|---|
 An artist's concept of the X-30 entering orbit | |
| General information | |
| Type | Single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO)spaceplane |
| Manufacturer | Rockwell International |
| Status | Cancelled in 1993 |
| Primary user | NASA |
TheRockwell X-30 was an advancedtechnology demonstrator project for theNational Aero-Space Plane (NASP), part of a United States project to create asingle-stage-to-orbit (SSTO)spacecraft and passenger spaceliner.[1] Started in 1986, it was cancelled in the early 1990s before a prototype was completed, although much development work in advanced materials and aerospace design was completed. While a goal of a future NASP was a passenger liner (theOrient Express) capable of two-hour flights fromWashington toTokyo,[1] the X-30 was planned for a crew of two and oriented towards testing.[citation needed]
The NASP concept is thought to have been derived from the "Copper Canyon" project of theDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), from 1982 to 1985. In his1986 State of the Union Address, PresidentRonald Reagan called for "a newOrient Express that could, by the end of the next decade, take off fromDulles Airport, accelerate up to 25 times thespeed of sound, attaining low earth orbit or flying to Tokyo within two hours".[1]
Research suggested a maximum speed ofMach 8 forscramjet-based aircraft, as the vehiclewould generate heat due to adiabatic compression, which would expend considerable energy. The project showed that much of this energy could be recovered by passing hydrogen over the skin and carrying the heat into the combustion chamber: Mach 20 then seemed possible. The result was a program funded by NASA, and theUnited States Department of Defense (funding was approximately equally divided among NASA, DARPA, theUS Air Force, theStrategic Defense Initiative Office (SDIO) and theUS Navy).[2]
In April 1986,McDonnell Douglas,Rockwell International, andGeneral Dynamics were awarded contracts (each no more than $35 M) to develop technology for a hypersonicair-breathing SSTO vehicle/airframe.[2]Rocketdyne andPratt & Whitney were each awarded contracts of $175 M to develop engines/propulsion.[2] The airframe contractors would compete and two or three would be eliminated after a year.[2] The plan was that 42 months later (end of 1989), contracts would be awarded to build the flight demonstrator vehicle.[2]
In 1990, the companies joined under the direction of Rockwell International to develop the craft, to deal with the technical and budgetary obstacles.[citation needed] Development of the X-30, as it was then designated, began.[citation needed]
Despite progress in the necessary structural and propulsion technology, NASA had substantial problems to solve.[citation needed] The Department of Defense wanted it to carry a crew of two and a small payload. The demands of being ahuman-rated vehicle, with instrumentation, environmental control systems and safety equipment, made the X-30 larger, heavier, and more expensive than required for a technology demonstrator. The X-30 program was terminated amid budget cuts and technical concerns in 1993.[citation needed]
A more modest hypersonic program culminated in the uncrewedX-43 "Hyper-X".[citation needed]
A detailed, one-third scale (50-foot long)mockup of the X-30 was built by engineering students atMississippi State University's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory inStarkville, Mississippi.[3][4][5] It is on display at theAviation Challenge campus of theU.S. Space & Rocket Center inHuntsville, Alabama.[6]
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The original concept was for a conical nose, this evolved (after 1987?) to a flat shovel shape.[citation needed]
The X-30 configuration integrated engine and fuselage. The shovel-shaped forward fuselage generated a shock wave to compress air before it entered the engine. The aft fuselage formed an integrated nozzle to expand the exhaust. The engine between was ascramjet. At the time,[when?] no scramjet engine was close to operational.[citation needed]
The aerodynamic configuration was an example of awaverider. Most of the lift was generated by the fuselage bycompression lift. The "wings" were small fins providing trim and control. This configuration was efficient for high-speed flight, but would have made takeoff, landing and slow-speed flight difficult.[citation needed]
Temperatures on the airframe were expected to be 980 °C (1,800 °F) over a large part of the surface, with maxima of more than 1,650 °C (3,000 °F) on the leading edges and portions of the engine. This required the development of high temperature lightweight materials, including alloys of titanium and aluminum known as gamma and alphatitanium aluminide, advancedcarbon/carbon composites, and titaniummetal matrix composite (TMC) withsilicon carbide fibers. Titanium matrix composites were used by McDonnell Douglas to create a representative fuselage section called "Task D". The Task D test article was four feet high by eight feet wide by eight feet long. Acarbon/epoxy cryogenic hydrogen tank was integrated with the fuselage section and the whole assembly, including volatile and combustible hydrogen, was successfully tested with mechanical loads and a temperature of 820 °C (1,500 °F) in 1992, just before program cancellation.[citation needed]
General characteristics
Performance
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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
