Artwork of the VentureStar Reusable Launch Vehicle,(RLV),deploying a Solar Upper Stage Thermal satellite. A development of the X-33 rocket,VentureStar was a proposed RLV design intended to cut launch costs by 90% when it replaced the space shuttle. It would have been launched vertically using the seven efficient aerospike rocket engines. The rockets and fuel tanks would all be contained within the fuselage. On its return to Earth,VentureStar would glide through the atmosphere,using its fins to steer as the fuselage creates lift. The X-33 and VentureStar were due to launch in 1999 and 2004,respectively. Failures led to the cancellation of the program as a federal program in 2001,but Lockheed Martin has continued further testing,and has had successes as recently as 2009 | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Science Source |
Taille de l’image : | 4716 px × 3703 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
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