Orbital Sciences X-34
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Orbital_Sciences_X-34".

X-34

The X-34 on the tarmac
Function	Unmanned Re-usable Spaceplane
Manufacturer	Orbital Sciences Corporation
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	58.3 ft1 (17.8 m)
Diameter	N/A
Mass	18,000 lb1 (8,200 kg)
Stages	1
Capacity
Launch history
Status	Cancelled
Launch sites	Dryden Flight Research Center, Kennedy Space Center
Total launches	0
First stage - X-34
Engines	1 Marshall-designed Fastrac engine1
Thrust	60,000 lbf1 (270 kN)
Burn time
Fuel	LOX/kerosene

The Orbital Sciences X-34 was intended as a low-cost testbed to demonstrate "key technologies" integratable to the Reusable Launch Vehicle program.

It was intended to be an autonomous pilotless craft powered by a 'Fastrac' rocket engine capable of reaching Mach 8, and performing 25 test flights per year. The unpowered prototype had only been used for towing and captive flight tests when the project was canceled in 2001 for cost concerns. If a working spacecraft were to come from the X-34 program, it would operate similarly to the space shuttle: it would take off like a rocket, mated with two rocket boosters and an external fuel tank, dock with a space station in the same way the shuttle does with the International Space Station, and land on a runway like an airplane does.

As of October 29, 2007 one demonstrator remains in storage at Edwards Air Force Base. ²

See also

• List of experimental aircraft

External links

• NASA Dryden X-34 Technology Testbed Demonstrator Photo Collection

References