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Orbital Sciences X-34
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| X-34 | |
 The X-34 on the tarmac |
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| Fact sheet | |
|---|---|
| Function | Unmanned Re-usable Spaceplane |
| Manufacturer | Orbital Sciences Corporation |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Size | |
| Height | 58.3 ft[1] (17.8 m) |
| Diameter | N/A |
| Mass | 18,000 lb[1] (8,200 kg) |
| Stages | 1 |
| 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 engine[1] |
| Thrust | 60,000 lbf[1] (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.
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| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents |
Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
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X-1 · X-2 · X-3 · X-4 · X-5 · X-6 · X-7 · X-8 · X-9 · X-10 · X-11 · X-12 · X-13 · X-14 · X-15 · X-16 · X-17 · X-18 · X-19 · X-20 · X-21 · X-22 · X-23 · X-24 · X-25 · X-26 · X-27 · X-28 · X-29 · X-30 · X-31 · X-32 · X-33 · X-34 · X-35 · X-36 · X-37 · X-38 · X-39 · X-40 · X-41 · X-42 · X-43 · X-44 · X-45 · X-46 · X-47 · X-48 · X-49 · X-50 · X-51 · X-53 See also List of experimental aircraft |