REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE NOTICES ISSUED
NASA today issued two Cooperative Agreement Notices (CANs) requesting
proposals for the development of technology demonstrators for a
Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program.
The goal of the RLV technology program is the continued lowering of the
cost of access to space to promote the creation and delivery of new
space services and other activities that will improve economic
competitiveness. The Program will implement the recently-released
National Space Transportation Policy, specifically Section III,
paragraph 2(b): "Research shall be focussed on technologies to support
a decision, no later than December 1996, to proceed with a sub-scale
flight demonstration which would prove the concept of single-stage to
orbit."
Sponsored by NASA's Office of Space Access and Technology (OSAT), the
"X-34" CAN is intended to: (1) stimulate the joint
industry/Government-funded development of a small reusable, or
partially-reusable, booster that has potential application to
commercial launch vehicle capabilities and which will provide
significantly reduced mission costs for placing small payloads into a
low Earth orbit and, (2), demonstrate technologies that have
application to future reusable launch vehicle systems. Some of these
technologies may be demonstrated as a part of the basic booster design
and some through test bed application of the booster for demonstration
of alternate technologies.
The development schedule should support flight tests beginning in
late-1997, orbital launch by mid-1998 and test bed applications later
in 1998. Offerers must submit proposals in response to this CAN by
Feb. 24, 1995. NASA may fund one or more proposals and industry
cost-sharing contributions will be required to match on a cumulative
basis, as a minimum, the NASA funds provided directly to the offerer
under the resulting Cooperative Agreement. The current expected NASA
program funding for the X-34, through FY 1999, is $70 million.
The second CAN released today is intended to stimulate the joint
industry/government co-funded concept definition and design of a
technology demonstrator vehicle, designated the "X-33," followed by the
design/demonstration of a competitively selected concept or concepts.
The X-33 must adequately demonstrate the key design and operational
aspects of a reusable space launch system so as to reduce the risk of
developing such a commercially-viable launch system.
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- T o d d E. V a n H o o s e a r -
``'''vanhoose@lalaland.cl.msu.edu - vanhoose@msu.edu - vanhoose@lalaland.cl.msu.edu
(._.) Michigan State University - East Lansing, MI USA
(_) Computer Laboratory - Department of Communication
`---' <A HREF="http://lalaland.cl.msu.edu/~vanhoose/">My Home Page</A>
"Grad school: it's not just a job, it's an indenture."
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