REDONDO BEACH, Calif.,
Aug. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) with Scaled Composites and
Virgin Galactic is developing a preliminary design and flight
demonstration plan for the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency's (DARPA) Experimental Spaceplane XS-1 program.
A photo accompanying this release is available at:
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XS-1has a reusable booster that when coupled with an expendable
upper stage provides affordable, available and responsive space
lift for 3,000-pound class spacecraft into low Earth orbit.
Reusable boosters with aircraft-like operations provide a
breakthrough in space lift costs for this payload class, enabling
new generations of lower cost, innovative and more resilient
spacecraft.
The company is defining its concept for XS-1 under a 13-month,
phase one contract valued at $3.9
million. In addition to low-cost launch, the XS-1 would
serve as a test-bed for a new generation of hypersonic
aircraft.
A key program goal is to fly 10 times in 10 days using a minimal
ground crew and infrastructure. Reusable aircraft-like operations
would help reduce military and commercial light spacecraft launch
costs by a factor of 10 from current launch costs in this payload
class.
To complement its aircraft, spacecraft and autonomous systems
capabilities, Northrop Grumman has teamed with Scaled Composites of
Mojave, which will lead
fabrication and assembly, and Virgin Galactic, the privately-funded
spaceline, which will head commercial spaceplane operations and
transition.
"Our team is uniquely qualified to meet DARPA's XS-1operational
system goals, having built and transitioned many developmental
systems to operational use, including our current work on the
world's only commercial spaceline, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo,"
said Doug Young, vice president,
missile defense and advanced missions, Northrop Grumman Aerospace
Systems.
"We plan to bundle proven technologies into our concept that we
developed during related projects for DARPA, NASA and the U.S. Air
Force Research Laboratory, giving the government maximum return on
those investments," Young added.
The design would be built around operability and affordability,
emphasizing aircraft-like operations including:
- Clean pad launch using a transporter erector launcher, minimal
infrastructure and ground crew;
- Highly autonomous flight operations that leverage Northrop
Grumman's unmanned aircraft systems experience; and
- Aircraft-like horizontal landing and recovery on standard
runways.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in air and space
unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to
government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
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SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation