So, why hasn't the Shuttle been replaced? Because it hasn't been easy. In the late 80's and early '90s, the cold-war-fantasy-cum-shuttle-replacement was the
X-30 National Aerospace Plane (NASP) that was supposed to take off and land like a plane flying on super-fast
Scramjet engines that, alas, were never really successful...
In the late '90s, the New Economy, space-exploration-on-VC-money shuttle replacement was the
X-33 VentureStar program which was eventually
cancelled, after a long and turbulent
history. The X-33/VentureStar was one of the most technologically daring machines ever built --albeit
too daring. I cannot mention the X-33 without mentioning the ingenious-but-untested
linear aerospike engine that was going to take it to orbit. If the US is now (again) considering a Shuttle replacement, maybe the
Delta Clipper is worth a second look. The DC-X was a competitor for the X-33 program that was eventually scrapped, for
technological and other reasons. At least the Russians and Europeans liked it so much better than the other New Shuttle options that they
copied it.
posted by costas
on Feb 2, 2003 -
35 comments
My house's windows just rattled from a sonic boom, so that means
the space shuttle's home again. I kind of forget about these things until a little visceral something like that brings you back in touch. Int'l Space Station that much closer to completion. Living in the future is cooooool.
posted by logovisual
on Jul 24, 2001 -
8 comments
