Northrop Grumman, in partnership with Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic, has unveiled the preliminary design it is developing as part of DARPA’s XS-1 Spaceplane project. They say it’s the next step in producing launch systems that will dramatically reduce the costs of getting into orbit.
Key to DARPA’s brief is to develop a space-delivery system for the US military that will reduce costs by a factor of 10. DARPA also wants the XS-1 Spaceplane to be able to launch 10 times over a 10-day period, fly in a suborbital trajectory at speeds in excess of Mach 10, release a satellite launch vehicle while in flight, and reduce the cost of putting a 3,000 to 5,000 lb (1,360 to 2,267 kg) payload into orbit to US$5 million. Under DARPA contracts, Boeing, Masten Space Systems, and Northrop Grumman are working on their own versions of the spaceplane
The Northrop plan is to employ a reusable spaceplane booster that lifts off from a combination transporter/erector/launcher that needs only a minimal ground crew. In flight, the Northrop version of the XS-1 will take advantage of the company’s experience in unmanned aircraft to use a highly autonomous flight system and will release an expendable upper stage, which takes the final payload into orbit while the XS-1 returns to base and lands on a standard runway like a conventional aircraft.