The X-38 small-scale prototype of the Crew Rescue Vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station made its longest glide-flight from the highest altitude to date on 30 March. The craft was dropped from a NASA B-52 at 39,000ft (11,895m) and landed the craft by parachuting to the desert floor near the NASA Dryden Research Center at Edwards AFB, California. It was the fifth flight in the $85 million programme. The future of the X-38 is uncertain, however, due to NASA's five-year $4.5 billion Space Launch Initiative, designed to lead to the development of a privately developed next-generation launch vehicle. This programme is expected to delay to about 2002 the decision on whether to proceed with the CRV.
Source: Flight International
