Space Planes
Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd is developing space planes for carrying a four people into space. Ascender will be able to take off from an ordinary airfield using turbofan engines.
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The Ascender Project wants to win the X
prize, a $10M prize, for the first non-governmental organization
to take passengers into sub-orbit on a regular basis.
Andrew Hobson, aged 37, from Pucklechurch, Bristol has won a place on the first commercial space flight by Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd. The next draw will be held in October 2002. Membership fees are being used to support the design and build of Ascender, the most likely winner of the X prize! |
NASA is developing advanced spacecraft designs that might eventually make space travel as common as air travel. Space Planes will take people and material back and forth into space. Today, the world first hypersonic air-breathing X-43 aircraft is being tested The unmanned flights are planned for Mach 10 ( ten times the speed of sound)
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NASA's multi-year hypersonic flight research program, seeks to overcome one of the greatest aeronautical research challenges - air-breathing hypersonic flight. Far outpacing contemporary aircraft of supersonic capability, the X-43 vehicles will fly at speeds of Mach 10. the revolutionary technologies promises to increase payload capacities and reduce costs for future air and space vehicles. |
Now boarding: NASA's conceptual spacecraft: Spaceliner 100.
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The plane will takes off like
a plane, mostly likely on a rail system, and is powered by air-breathing
rockets and ramjets. Improved thermal tiles and coatings require little
maintenance and are not affected by weather conditions such as rain. Like a commercial airliner,
the Spaceliner 100
operates from a "spaceport" where it picks up passengers and
cargo, is maintained, launched and readied for another flight within hours
of landing. |
NASA's goal is to reduce launch costs to $100 per pound, making it a tempting choice for business travelers and people wanting the vacation of a lifetime.