The X-34 is an unmanned, single-engine rocketplane that will test many new technologies leading to the development of reusable launch vehicles that could launch satellites into space in the future. In addition to rolling-out the first X-34 vehicle, Orbital publicly discussed its own preliminary plans to develop a commercially-viable reusable launch vehicle based on the X-34�s technology and operational practices.

The roll-out event marked the X-34 program�s transition from its development and fabrication phase into its flight test phase. Over the next several months, Orbital will conduct several �captive carry� test flights of the X-34 with the company�s L-1011 research carrier aircraft to allow the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to approve design modifications made to the L-1011 to accommodate the X-34.

Afterward, several unpowered flights will be conducted in which the X-34 vehicle will be released from the L-1011 and glide back to Earth to test the vehicle�s low-speed flight and landing performance.

These tests will lead to the first powered flight in which the vehicle will ignite its �Fastrac� rocket engine, which is being developed by NASA at its Marshall Space flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and fly computer-controlled high-speed flight patterns.

Following the powered portion of flight, the unmanned X-34 will land horizontally, like an airplane, initially on a dry lakebed and eventually on a conventional runway.

The X-34 is approximately 58 feet long, has a 28-foot wingspan and is 11 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. After launch from Orbital�s L-1011 carrier aircraft, the X-34 will achieve altitudes of up to 250,000 feet and speeds of up to Mach 8, or eight times faster than the speed of sound.

NASA and Orbital have identified the ability to frequently reuse a rocket vehicle as the next breakthrough required to substantially lower the cost of launching satellites into space.

Today, satellites are launched aboard rockets that are �expendable� or used just once, thereby making the cost of access to space prohibitive to all but well-funded companies, civil government agencies and military organizations in the U.S. and around the world.

In his address to an audience of NASA and other U.S. government, industry, and Orbital officials gathered at NASA�s Dryden facility for the X-34 roll-out, Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital�s President and Chief Executive Officer said, �By reducing the cost of launch services, space will be made more accessible to a wider group of commercial and government customers.

With reduced launch costs, government budgets could support more frequent scientific or national security missions, and commercial users that provide services from satellites, such as voice and data communications or Earth imagery, could lower prices for their customers.�

Mr. Thompson also announced that Orbital will begin preliminary design work on a reusable launch vehicle for commercial satellite launches that would be capable of launching individual or multiple satellites weighing up to 8,000 pounds, with a per-pound cost reduced by a factor of two or three versus current pricing.

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Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
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