NASA has concluded X-34 flight tests for 1999 as the craft prepares to return to the hangar for upgrades.
Captive carry tests for the X-34 rocket plane, dubbed A-1, have concluded for the year as crews prepare to add avionics and hydraulics systems to the craft for further tests in 2000.
In a captive carry test, the X-34 is carried aloft attached to the belly of a Lockheed L-1011 to test the experimental plane's aerodynamics and the mating of the launch vehicle and the X-34.
The craft, to be renamed A-1A, will go through tow tests, more capture carry flights and unpowered flights next year at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in California.
Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va. has been contracted to build model A-2, which will conduct powered test flights.
Engine tests are planned for next year at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
The X-34 is a reusable and unpiloted suborbital craft which will be launched by a Lockheed L-1011 airplane. The vehicle is designed to reach speeds up to Mach 8 at altitudes up to 50 miles. It has a 27-foot wingspan and is about 58-feet long.
If successful, the X-34 could demonstrate technology that could cut launch costs from $10,000-per-pound today to about $1,000-per-pound.
advertisement
