NATIONAL AERO-SPACE PLANE (X-30)

NASA FACT SHEET
MAY 1991
 
National Aero-Space Plane Program
NASA, the Department of Defense (DoD) and a team of
America's leading aerospace contractors are conducting the
National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) program, a high-priority
national effort that will promote competitiveness, foster
America's space leadership and provide the technical basis for
greatly expanded access to Earth orbit in the 21st century.

Imagine a sleek flight research vehicle dubbed the X-30... part-
airplane, part-spaceship... able to take off like an aircraft,
accelerate into orbit around the Earth, then return through the
atmosphere for a runway landing.  The NASP program is aimed
at testing just such a vehicle at the leading edge of
technology, involving state-of-the-art aeronautical design
made possible by breakthroughs in materials, propulsion and
computers.

The NASP program is proceeding in three phases:
Phase I.  During 1984-85, NASA, DoD and the aerospace
industry defined the aero-space plane concept and evaluated
its feasibility.  Studies centered on a hydrogen-powered
vehicle capable of horizontal takeoff and landing, and
acceleration to orbital speed (25 times the speed of sound).

Phase II.   The current phase, which began in 1986, focuses on
accelerated research and development for the advanced
concepts in structures, propulsion and airframe design needed
for the NASP program.  A decision to build and flight test the
X-30 will be made by the spring of 1993.

Phase III.  The X-30 would undertake a comprehensive program
of aerodynamic engineering investigations.  Soaring eight
times higher and faster than existing air-breathing aircraft,
the aero-space plane's flight tests would cover four key areas:

--Single-stage-to-orbit capability with air-breathing engines
and minimal rocket assist
--New materials to withstand the tremendous heat loads
generated in accelerating through the atmosphere to orbital
velocity
--Highly integrated flight control systems
--Horizontal takeoff and landing on runways

The Technology Challenge
National Aero-Space Plane propulsion research centers on an
airbreathing, hydrogen-fueled, supersonic ramjet ("scramjet")
engine.  The program also seeks advances in materials and
structures that will offer higher strength, lower weight,
better thermal shielding and greater reusability than current
aircraft.  And designing the X-30 would be impossible without
super-computers such as the Numerical Aerodynamic
Simulation Facility at NASA's Ames Research Center to
generate aerodynamic and engineering data unavailable through
wind tunnel tests.

The National Contractor Team
Five of the nation's leading aerospace companies --General
Dynamics, McDonnell Douglas, Pratt & Whitney, Rockwell
International and Rocketdyne, a division of Rockwell --are
pioneering a new management approach for the program.  The
members of the "National Contractor Team" are combining
their technical expertise and their best ideas to ensure the
success of this vital national effort.

The Payoff
The NASP program is being conducted by NASA, the U.S. Air
Force, the aerospace industry, the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA), the Strategic Defense Initiative
Office (SDIO) and the U.S. Navy.  Within this joint effort, NASA
is responsible for overall technology maturation and civil
applications.
NASP has impressive potential applications and economic
benefits:
--Reduced space launch costs
--Greater role for private enterprise in commercial space
ventures
--U.S. preeminence in aeronautics with consequent
international trade advantages in international trade
--Stronger national security posture
--New jobs and career opportunities