Northrop Grumman Developing XS-1 Experimental Spaceplane Design for DARPA
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XS-1has a reusable booster that when coupled with an expendable upper stage provides affordable, available and responsive space lift for 3,000-pound class spacecraft into low Earth orbit. Reusable boosters with aircraft-like operations provide a breakthrough in space lift costs for this payload class, enabling new generations of lower cost, innovative and more resilient spacecraft.
The company is defining its concept for XS-1 under a 13-month, phase one contract valued at
A key program goal is to fly 10 times in 10 days using a minimal ground crew and infrastructure. Reusable aircraft-like operations would help reduce military and commercial light spacecraft launch costs by a factor of 10 from current launch costs in this payload class.
To complement its aircraft, spacecraft and autonomous systems capabilities,
"Our team is uniquely qualified to meet
"We plan to bundle proven technologies into our concept that we developed during related projects for
The design would be built around operability and affordability, emphasizing aircraft-like operations including:
- Clean pad launch using a transporter erector launcher, minimal infrastructure and ground crew;
- Highly autonomous flight operations that leverage
Northrop Grumman's unmanned aircraft systems experience; and - Aircraft-like horizontal landing and recovery on standard runways.
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SOURCE
Amy Akmal, 424-254-6945, amy.akmal@ngc.com