Boeing is looking at future launch vehicle designs which use a derivative of the X-37 experimental spaceplane as a reusable upper stage.
"We are looking at expendable launch vehicle options under our contract [with NASA] and we are also looking at air-launched versions," says Boeing X-37 programme manager David Manley. "There are a lot of internal studies under way."
The reusable X-37 is scheduled to be deployed into orbit by the Space Shuttle in late 2002 and again in early 2003 to demonstrate autonomous in-orbit operation, re-entry and landing. The first flight will last two days, the second is to continue for three weeks.
"The Shuttle is only a temporary vehicle to test the technology," says Manley. Boeing plans to use the X-37 to develop a reusable upper stage for an expendable or air-launched booster.
While such a vehicle would reduce the cost of access to space, "we still need to reduce the cost of the first and second stages", Manley says.
Source: Flight International
