COLORADO
SPRINGS, Colorado - A rapid-turnaround launch system capable of hurling
satellites or special purpose payloads into Earth orbit in as little as 48
hours is being touted by a major aerospace firm--Northrop Grumman Corporation.
The new
concept is being competed in a U.S. Air Force effort to develop quick launch of
space hardware.
Northrop
Grumman's idea is dubbed the Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV), dedicated to reducing
launch costs by approximately two-thirds compared to the cost of using a medium
evolved expendable launch vehicle.
In a
statement released today here at the National Space Symposium, Northrop Grumman
officials said the idea combines a reusable, airplane-like first stage with
throw-away upper stages. Launched vertically, the vehicle's winged first stage
boosts the upper stages to speeds approaching seven times the speed of sound
(Mach 7) before releasing them at an altitude of approximately 150,000 feet.
The upper
stages then boost the satellite payload to orbit or deliver a conventional
weapon to a distant target, according to the press statement. Meanwhile, the
first stage flies back and lands at its home base like an autonomous, unmanned
aircraft. The first stage of the HLV will use a rocket engine during the boost
portion of its mission, and an integrated set of air-breathing jet engines for
its return flight.
Subscale
demonstrator
Northrop
Grumman said it is defining the architecture for an operational version of this
hybrid launch system under a 20-month, $3.0 million studies and analysis
contract with the Air Force's Space & Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles
Air Force Base.
The
contract includes a base amount of $1.5 million over 14 months, with an option
for an additional $1.5 million over an additional six months.
Under the
contract, the company will also define a concept for a subscale demonstrator
version of the launch system, and the infrastructure required to execute a
demonstration program. The subscale launch system, if developed, would be used
to demonstrate the technologies, processes and key attributes of an operational
system.
The current
studies and analysis contract is the first step in a process that could lead
ultimately to the selection of two contractor teams to develop preliminary
designs for the HLV.
At the end
of the design competition, the Air Force may select a single contractor team to
develop and produce the HLV - Subscale Demonstration system, the Northrop
Grumman statement pointed out.
"The HLV
concept offers the Defense Department a relatively simple, affordable way to
put standardized, tactical satellites into orbit quickly after receiving a
request for support," explains Dennis Poulos, Northrop Grumman's HLV project
manager.
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