According to the space agency, Engle was born in Abilene, Kansas, in 1932. His family said he was enamored with flight since childhood and always had his eyes on the sky. 

Engle’s entry into the world of aerospace began when he earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1955. He then entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officers Training Corps, earning a commission as pilot in 1958. His first assignment was flying F-100s with the 474th Fighter Day Squadron. He was later assigned to the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron at George Air Force Base, California.

In the early 1960s as the Space Race was ramping up, Engle applied for and was accepted to Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), which was established at Edwards AFB, California, to train military astronauts. While there, he was selected to fly the X-15 in a joint test program between the U.S. Air Force and NASA, according to Space.com. On June 29, 1965, during a flight of the X-15 rocket plane he flew 50 miles above the earth which qualified him for his astronaut wings.

He would repeat the flight twice more before being selected for astronaut training in 1966.

At the age of 32, he was the youngest of the astronaut candidates and the only one who already qualified for astronaut wings because of his experience in the X-15, according to NASA. Engle served as a support crew member for Apollo 10 and later was named as the backup lunar module pilot for the 1971 Apollo 14 mission.

Engle remained at NASA and in 1977 became the commander of one of the two crews assigned to space shuttle Enterprise. The Enterprise was designed as a proof-of-concept vehicle and was used for atmospheric testing. The orbiter was launched from the top of a specially modified 747, and Engle’s job was to fly it to the ground.

In 1981 Engle was piloting space shuttle Columbia on the second mission of America’s reusable spacecraft. The technology still had a few bugs in it, and what was supposed to have been a five-day mission was cut short to two days because of a fuel cell malfunction. 

Engle later told the press that the vibrations experienced during the launch were “very impressive” and very loud. He compared it to “an old pickup truck with a lot of loose tools in the back.”

Engles final flight into space was in August 1985 aboard space shuttle Discovery.

NASA’s official biography of Engle noted that during his career he flew more than 180 different types of aircraft, logging more than 14,000 hours. His military decorations included the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, USAF Distinguished Service Medal, and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster.

He was also the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and Space Flight Medal, the Harmon International, Collier, Lawrence Sperry, Iven C. Kinchloe, Robert H. Goddard and Thomas D. White aviation and space trophies.

In 1992, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor.

Engle was married twice, first to Mary Catherine Lawrence, with whom he had two children and one stepchild. He is survived by his second wife, Jeanie Carter Engle.

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Last week, the U.S. Space Force launched the seventh mission of the X-37B: a secretive spaceplane or orbital test vehicle (OTV) project intended to prepare the country for the next era of space travel.

Almost nothing is known about the Boeing-built spacecraft’s specific purpose, payload, or final destination. But we do know that the most recent launch had more juice than any other, perhaps enough to send X-37B into deep orbit—or even to the neighborhood of the moon.

“The technological advancements we’re driving on X-37B will benefit the broader space community, especially as we see increased interest in space sustainability,” said Michelle Parker, vice president of space mission systems for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “We are pushing innovation and capability that will influence the next generation of spacecraft.”

The mission, known as USSF-52 or OTV-7, departed Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A last Thursday evening in Florida after a few weeks of delays because of weather and technical issues. SpaceX shut down its livestream of the launch at the request of the Space Force once X-37B reached orbit.

“My memories go back to the Gemini and Mercury programs,” said Frank Kendall, secretary of the U.S. Air Force. “This is an incredible event, and I think about the teamwork over all those decades that has led to what has been a revolutionary improvement in space travel capability. We have come so far, and it’s been teamwork by the government, the Air Force, and now the Space Force, which didn’t exist until a few years ago, NASA, industry teams, and so many others that all contributed to what we saw.”

For the first time, the reusable, self-flying spaceplane left the launchpad coupled to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket—one of the most powerful launch vehicles in existence. The rocket’s three first-stage boosters are also reusable.

X-37B’s first five missions used Atlas V rockets made by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, while the sixth flew on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster. Each trip was confined to below 1,200 miles in altitude. Falcon Heavy, meanwhile, can reach 22,000 miles, fueling speculation that X-37B’s seventh mission may go deeper than ever before. But the Space Force has not disclosed the spaceplane’s flight plan.

The X-37B project—a collaboration between the Space Force and U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office under the National Security Space Launch program, with support from Boeing—is shrouded in secrecy.

Speculation on X-37B’s purpose ranges from new spying and reconnaissance capabilities to a weapons delivery system, the latter of which the Pentagon has denied. According to a Space Force statement, USSF-52 specifically will test operations in new “orbital regimes” and explore the effects of radiation on NASA payloads. Seeds, for example, will be exposed to the bitterness of space, perhaps to understand how humans could sustain interplanetary bases.

“The X-37B government and Boeing teams have worked together to produce a more responsive, flexible, and adaptive experimentation platform,” said William Bailey, director of the Rapid Capabilities Office. “The work they’ve done to streamline processes and adapt evolving technologies will help our nation learn a tremendous amount about operating in and returning from a space environment.”

In addition, the orbital test vehicle will experiment with “future space domain awareness technology,” which the Space Force explained is designed to enable safe and secure space operations for government and commercial users alike.

What Do We Know?

U.S. agencies have largely kept the details of X-37B under wraps, but there are a few clues as to its intended use.

The spaceplane has been in development for decades. Originally, it was a NASA-led project. In 1999, the agency enlisted Boeing’s Phantom Works—the manufacturer’s prototyping arm responsible for such cutting-edge designs as the A160 Hummingbird—to build the ambitious concept.

According to Boeing’s website, the design is an advanced reentry spacecraft geared for operations in low Earth orbit, about 150 to 500 miles above the ground. It’s the first vehicle since NASA’s space shuttle capable of returning experiments to Earth for analysis, landing on the runway like an airplane. Its goal, Boeing says, is to explore reusable technology for “long-term space objectives.”

X-37B introduced a handful of technologies that had previously never been used in spaceflight. Its state-of-the-art avionics, for example, automate de-orbiting and landing, considered some of the trickier maneuvers to make. The spaceplane’s flight controls and brakes replace hydraulics with electromechanical actuation, while a lighter composite structure stands in for traditional aluminum. The design also includes a new generation of high-durability tiles.

Not everything is new, however. The mysterious spacecraft’s landing profile and lifting body architecture—a fixed-wing configuration wherein the body itself provides lift for subsonic, supersonic, or hypersonic flight or spacecraft reentry, à la Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser—resemble the space shuttle’s.

Yet X-37B is only one-fourth as large, about the size of a small bus. It’s also much harder to track than its predecessor, capable of quickly changing orbit or “hiding” in the glare of the sun to keep its position secret.

Since its maiden voyage in April 2010, the spaceplane has spent more than 3,750 days in space, traveling an astounding 1.3 billion miles. In 2019, it won the Robert J. Collier Trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association for the greatest American aeronautical or astronomical achievements of the year prior.

Another Space Race?

With each voyage, X-37B has flown farther and for longer. But at the same time, a foreign superpower is ramping up its own mysterious, state-of-the-art spaceplane project.

Boeing’s model was initially designed for a mission duration of 270 days. But since OTV-2 in 2011, each test flight has been longer than the last. 

Its sixth and most recent mission, which touched down in November 2022, lasted a record 908 days. If that’s any indication, OTV-7 will fly even longer. The mission was also the first to introduce an expanded service module that allowed the spacecraft to host more experiments than ever before, including payloads from the Naval Research Lab and more seeds from NASA.

X-37B’s seventh mission could be its last, according to comments from General B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations for the Space Force, in 2020. That could be consequential given activity across the Pacific. 

Earlier in December, China launched its Shenlong “Divine Dragon” on its third mission since 2020 aboard a Long March 2F rocket, which is less powerful than SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. There are no photos available of the secretive spacecraft, but it’s thought to be similar to the X-37.

Like its American counterpart, not much is known about Shenlong’s purpose. But a few weeks ago, it reportedly deployed six mysterious objects into orbit. Though the project is covert, U.S. officials are already drawing links between it and the Space Force initiative. The close timing of the two launches, in particular, has raised eyebrows—if not for delays, X-37B and Shenlong would have reached orbit within days of each other.

“It’s no surprise that the Chinese are extremely interested in our spaceplane,” Saltzman told Air & Space Forces Magazine last month. “We’re extremely interested in theirs. These are two of the most watched objects on orbit while they’re on orbit. It’s probably no coincidence that they’re trying to match us in timing and sequence of this.”

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In 1969 pieces of the Wright Flyer’s wood and fabric went to the moon. They were carried by astronaut Neil Armstrong aboard Apollo 11. The relics were flown to the surface in the lunar module Eagle, so when the Eagle landed, so did the Wrights.

• READ MORE: Celebrating 120 Years of Aviation

On January 28, 1986, a note penned by Orville Wright along with pieces of wood and fabric from the 1903 Flyer were aboard the space shuttle Challenger flight STS-51-L. Sadly, the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts.

On July 30, 2020, a piece of fabric from the Wright Flyer was carried into space as part of the Ingenuity, a remotely controlled helicopter that rode to Mars attached to the Perseverance rover. The spacecraft landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. At first, Ingenuity was slated for five flights on the Red Planet, but according to mars.nasa.gov, the solar-powered autonomous aircraft has completed 67 flights.

• READ MORE: NASA’s Ingenuity Completes First Flight on Mars

NASA officials noted the first aircraft to achieve powered controlled flight on another planet is a “Wright brothers moment.”

The post The Wright Flyer Makes It to Space—in Pieces appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

His cause of death on October 31 in Arlington, Virginia, was not released by NASA.

“Mattingly was key to the success of our Apollo program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement that also called Mattingly “one of our country’s heroes.”

According to his NASA biography, Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II, who went by Ken or “TK,” was born in Chicago on March 17, 1936. He graduated from high school in Miami and earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from Auburn University in 1958.

He began his aerospace career as a Naval aviator, earning his wings in 1960. He flew multiple aircraft on multiple assignments, eventually joining the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School as a student. This led NASA to select him as part of the astronaut class of 1966. Before flying in space, Mattingly worked in the Apollo program as part of the astronaut support crew, taking leadership in the development of the Apollo spacesuit and backpack.

In 1970, Mattingly was slated to be aboard Apollo 13, however, he was exposed to rubella (also known as the German measles), which forced the space agency to remove him from the mission out of an abundance of caution. According to NASA, when the crew of Apollo 13 ran into trouble on its ill-fated mission, Mattingly ran scenarios on the ground that helped bring the crippled spacecraft and  astronauts James Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise safely home.

In director Ron Howard’s 1995 movie Apollo 13, Mattingly was played by Gary Sinise. One of the most poignant scenes in the film is when Mattingly climbs into the Apollo capsule mock-up to run scenarios to find a solution to address the emergency in orbit. When offered a particular flashlight to use, Mattingly declines it, saying it is not the same as the one the astronauts have aboard the spacecraft and it is important that he craft a solution with the same tools they have.

Mattingly would go on to serve as command module pilot for Apollo 16 and spacecraft commander for space shuttle missions STS-4, the fourth mission of the Columbia launched in 1982, and, the third flight of Discovery launched in 1985. The latter mission was the first to carry a Department of Defense payload and as such many details of the mission to this day remain classified.

The post Apollo Astronaut Ken Mattingly Dead at 87 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“For decades, Eileen Collins has been an explorer, educator, spokesperson, and champion for aerospace,” said a statement by NAA board chair, James Albaugh. “She has given tirelessly to our industry and joins an esteemed list of prior recipients.”

Collins earned her place in history in 1995 when she became NASA’s first woman shuttle pilot, successfully rendezvousing and docking with the orbiting Russian space station Mir. Four years later, she broke another barrier—becoming the first woman to command a space shuttle. During that mission, the Columbia orbiter successfully deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory. 

How It All Started

Those achievements and others can be traced directly back to Collins’ days as a fourth grader when an article in Junior Scholastic magazine about NASA’s Gemini program first sparked her dreams of becoming an astronaut. “There were no women astronauts, but that made no difference to me, I just thought, I’m going to be a lady astronaut,” Collins recalled during an interview with FLYING on Friday. “That’s what I’m going to do.”

During the next several years, Collins found part-time work around her hometown of Elmira, New York, to save up for flying lessons at Elmira Corning Regional Airport (KELM). In the summer of 1977,  when Collins was 20, her CFI, A.J. Davis, who had flown F-4s during the Vietnam War, decided it was high time for Collins to solo. 

“I had no idea I was going to solo that day,” she remembered. Taxiing in a Cessna 150 after coaching Collins through three touch and goes, Davis grabbed Collins’ hand on the throttle and said, “Why don’t you pull over?” Davis then radioed the tower and turned to Collins and said, “I think I’m going to get out. You don’t need me anymore.” Collins pulled off on the taxiway and “he got out and he told me ‘I want you to do three touch and goes.’” 

As soon as she took off, her door popped open. “My heart skipped a beat and I just reached over and closed the door and went, OK, well, that was easy, and I kept going. It might have been open a couple of inches, but I like to say that was my first inflight emergency.”

Being Among the First

While attending Syracuse University she joined the U.S. Air Force ROTC program, which led to her selection to the first Undergraduate Pilot Training class at Vance Air Force Base to include women. 

“We learned to live in a fishbowl,” she recalled. “Everything that we did—our grades, what we said, how we acted, how we responded to the testing, and the emergency procedures. We were under a microscope because it was a test program. I sort of ignored all that. And I just tried to focus on being the best pilot I could be.”

“I thought that we were treated very, fairly along with the guys,” Collins said. “They weren’t harder on us. And they weren’t easier on us in the training portion.” 

In addition to achieving post graduate degrees from Stanford and Webster universities, Collins served valuable stints as a C-141 instructor pilot at Travis Air Force Base and as an assistant professor and T-41 instructor pilot at the U.S. Air Force Academy. 

That led to Collins being among the first women  accepted to Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base.

As a student there, she gained a reputation as a cool, level-headed test pilot—and in 1990, Collins became the school’s second woman ever to graduate. That same year NASA selected her for the astronaut program, joining the astronaut corps in 1991 and fulfilling that lifelong dream.

• READ MORE: Good FLYING Reads: Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars

“Eileen Collins has blazed trails, broken barriers, and achieved greatly at every step during her consequential career,” said NAA president Greg Principato. “Not satisfied with that, Eileen has continued to serve and inspire others in all kinds of ways. Her service to aviation and to her country embodies the qualities the Wright Trophy was created to honor. It will be an honor to present the Wright Trophy to her.”

The National Aeronautic Association aims to foster opportunities for participating in aviation and to promote public understanding of the importance of aviation and space flight. As a Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy recipient, Collins joins a list that stretches back to 1948, including Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle, Donald Douglas, Kelly Johnson, and Joe Sutter—as well as fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong, Charles Bolden, Eugene Cernan, Michael Collins, John Glenn, and Thomas Stafford.

“It’s a great honor, first of all, and I thank the selection board for considering me.” Collins said. Always mindful of her humility, she said she was happy that a woman space shuttle pilot and commander is being recognized for the first time, adding “I would be just as happy if it was someone else, versus me.” 

“I think that I’ve learned to sometimes separate myself from the woman commander title. That’s how I maintain my humility. And that’s how I keep the Eileen, that grew up in Elmira, New York. 

Three Things for Aspiring Pilots and Astronauts

For the girls and young women who are considering a career as a pilot or astronaut, Collins recommends three things. 

“You don’t have to be a straight-A student—but you should focus on your studies and learning. The second thing I recommend is reading books. It’s important to read books on all kinds of topics.” Collins said when she was young she read history books about World War II and Korean War pilots and even science fiction, to explore the possibilities.

Collins’ third piece of guidance is to “get involved in activities, whether it’s sports, or Girl Scouts, or clubs, or church activities—maybe doing service work in your community. Pick whatever you like—just something where you’re out among people. You learn leadership skills that way.”

She said that everything she’s done throughout her career was driven by her love for aviation. “I love being a pilot. I love to fly, I love to explore,” Collins said. I hope I can live up to the expectations of the award. I hope that I can live up to that, because I feel like I still have a lot more to give.”

Collins will be presented with the Wright Trophy at the Aero Club of Washington’s 74^th Annual Wright Memorial Dinner on December 16, in Washington, D.C. 

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Propelled by this dream that only appears simple on the surface, Col. Eileen M. Collins (USAF, retired) had no clear indication about how to get there. At the time—June 1974—when she graduated from high school, there were no women pilots active in the U.S. Air Force; the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) had been disbanded in late 1944 as the Allies approached the close of World War II. 

But Collins saved up and took flying lessons, spurred on by her proximity to the soaring Mecca of Harris Hill, New York. She identified each step along the way that would form her path to space: completing a degree, joining the military, and gaining the flight experience needed to go to test pilot school. 

And at each intersection, where a failed test or medical exam—or a discouraging decision—could affect her trajectory, the diligence, application, and trustworthiness she’d cultivated conspired with those stars to put her in line to become the first U.S. woman to pilot a spacecraft.

That fact seems almost coincidental, and she wears the honor as a responsibility rather than an ego-driven accolade. And that’s one of the reasons why she’s successful as a leader—and particularly a leader who would go on to command two space shuttle missions, including the return to spaceflight mission, STS-114 in July 2005 aboard Discovery, following the loss of Columbia in February 2003.

Through the Ceiling to the Stars

Collins waited to write her book, Though the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission, until more than a decade after her retirement from the USAF in 2005 and NASA in 2006. She’d met co-author Jonathan H. Ward, and that formed the final push to put her story in print. 

In the book, she weaves the reflections on spaceflight with her personal memories and mission observations into a narrative that reads as a case study on leadership.

She tells it against the most thrilling of backgrounds—an Air Force career as an instructor and test pilot, and with NASA, flying the T-38 and commanding the space shuttle.

The Shiny Part Above the Surface

The differences (and similarities) between piloting a spacecraft versus piloting an aircraft struck me—along with Collins’ even-keeled approach to handling the publicity circus surrounding her milestone flights. While she understood her role in public relations before and after each mission, she stuck to the mission—and only gained a sense of comfort in her public-facing role once she aligned it with the greater purpose of inspiring youth to space flight.

The general public would see the headline interviews, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the Oprah Winfrey Show, and the White House visit—and they capture only a two-dimensional picture of a person or a role that puffs into smoke. It’s the shiny part of the iceberg above the surface—and belies all of the hard work it took to get there and succeed. 

The Hard Work Underneath

In Collins’ case, this feels particularly true. The steps to achieve the dream included service to her country—the best exchange of sweat equity for a pilot certificate on the planet (and off, apparently)—and the effort to study what she was entrusted to learn. There’s no quick app for acquiring the knowledge to pilot the successive aircraft and spacecraft she instructed in and commanded—no fire hose will deliver what a pilot needs to bring to the mission in terms of skill, rather than just a checklist of tasks.

Collins contends that she possessed no special mathematical talent or athletic aptitude, but instead she credits the diligence to apply herself to studying all she could, reading all she could, and analyzing mistakes in a four-step process: to acknowledge them, learn from them, apply new procedures, and move on.

The good news? That kind of effort is within most anyone’s grasp. If you’re blessed enough to be born in the U.S. (or a country with a similar aviator’s pathway available), you can try for your dream. The path may not be laid out for you, like a direct route, but might instead take a few diverting waypoints along the way. 

Now that we witness space opening up beyond the halls of NASA, there is good within this expansion, as Collins explained in an interview with FLYING. “I strongly believe it is a good thing that more and more people are experiencing space,” Collins said. “Of course, not all these people will be professionals, and most of them certainly will not be pilots. For now, those with the resources to ‘buy’ a seat on a space mission will be very few, but these missions are needed. 

“As more people go to space, the cost will come down and the missions will become safer. It will take years and even decades, but I believe more middle-class folks will have the opportunity to experience “zero-g.”   

But there is a distinction that remains, she said. “I believe the term ‘astronaut’ should apply only to those who are professionals. There should be a more descriptive term for someone who goes on a one-time mission…I know the general public understands this.”

What Really Mattered

Once upon a time, all astronaut candidates for the pilot slot on the space shuttle had to log time in the test pilot school associated with their branch of the military. For those in the USAF, this was the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. 

There’s a solid reason for this, since every astronaut to a certain extent is proving new ground with each mission. For Collins, the positions of test pilot and astronaut intersected with her most important mission of the four forays into space that she notched: the return to spaceflight following the Columbia tragedy.

Compartmentalization is critical to both types of pilots—but most would think it reaches a new level for astronauts. Collins agrees, to a point. 

“In my opinion, if there is a difference for an astronaut, it would be the length of time in space: which can be one to two weeks or as long as a year. I think of compartmentalization as a way to divide up your tasks and focus on the most important at the time, while still having the ability to cross-check the others. For an astronaut, the work day is 24 hours, and one must add time to rest and decompress, as well as exercise and sleep. Regardless, the principle is the same. 

“I once had an instructor that told me: “It doesn’t matter how big the smoking hole is, you are still dead.” I learned from him to respect every airplane I fly: whether a Schweizer 2-33 glider, or a space shuttle.”

A View From Above

Finally, in her book Collins describes the “overview effect” felt by astronauts as they see the planet Earth from above. “When separated from Earth, you become even more attuned to Earth,” she wrote. That sense began with her astronaut training.

“We studied the atlas, and compared those maps to actual space photographs of the same region,” she continued in our interview. “We also compared photos from the Skylab program of the early 70s to the shuttle days. You could see how people have changed the Earth by observing deforestation, erosion, and even agricultural patterns. 

“Then my first mission ‘put the icing on the cake’ by making it real. The earth-bound studying was an important foundation, but once you see our beautiful planet with your own eyes, the experience cements the importance of taking care of our planet. For [example], I have personally become addicted to recycling and reusing. I know this is only a small part of the solution, but it is something I can do in my own small way to help preserve our resources.”  

As far as climate change is concerned, she has a direct experience that drives her thinking. “Astronauts observe that the atmosphere is very thin. The breathable air is only 2 to 3 miles up, a commercial airplane flies about 7 miles up, and a military pilot receives astronaut wings at 50 miles.  

“When a person observes how thin the air is, which can be seen from space when the sun goes behind the Earth, it is quite an intimidating experience. The Earth’s atmosphere can be compared to an apple skin on an apple, it is that thin. I am interested in learning more about how the atmosphere, the sun, and the Earth’s magnetic field are contributing to climate changes.”

A unique view from above, indeed. 

The post Good <i>FLYING</i> Reads: <i>Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars</i> appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

It’s possible, says Andrew Duggleby the co-founder of Venus Aerospace, a company dedicated to hypersonic transport. 

Duggleby has a background in aerospace as both an educator and as head of launch operations at Virgin Orbit in Long Beach, California. He’s also a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval reserves. In 2018, he was stationed in Japan and his wife, Sarah “Sassie” Duggleby, the other co-founder of the company, wanted to make a trip to Texas to participate in a family event. The logistics of making such a long flight for very little return—spending just a few days stateside—hit home with them.

“Sassie wanted to get back there, but it’s like a 13-hour flight, she’d be horribly jet lagged,” Duggleby explained. “It didn’t seem worth it unless you had several days to stay.”

This began a discussion about creating hypersonic transport. A specially designed aircraft takes off from a spaceport and heads toward the edge of space. When it gets to a predetermined altitude, rocket engines fire, propelling the aircraft hypersonically. 

The History of Space Planes

The concept of a “space plane” goes back to the early days of the space program. In the 1950s and ’60s, NASA developed the single-seat North American X-15 experimental rocket-driven aircraft. X-15 test pilots, including Scott Crossfield and Neil Armstrong, would launch in flight from the wing of a retrofitted B-52 bomber, blast to the edge of space and then land like an airplane on the relatively smooth surface of dry lake beds at and around Edwards AFB, California. 

These flights provided critical information about how aircraft performed on the edge of the atmosphere, much of which was used in the development of the space shuttle, considered by many to be the first reusable space plane.

Science fiction has also embraced the concept of a space plane. In the opening sequence of Star Trek: Enterprise there is a shot of a space plane separating from what we assume is the International Space Station.

But there is a big difference between science fiction and reality and Venus Aerospace, today located in Houston, Texas is striving to bridge that gap. According to its website, the company is building a cadre of aerospace professionals with the goal of creating a reusable, cost-effective space plane.

According to Duggleby, the technology to make this possible involves three things: 

• Improved engine efficiency
• Innovative aircraft shape
• Leading edge cooling technology

The Engine

“The development of this new rocket engine can reduce the time in flight, turning it into one hour for transport across the world could make it work.” Duggleby explained. “The engines are known in the industry as ‘rotation detonation engines,’ which means they burn the fuel supersonically.”

Duggleby was quick to provide the definition, because the word “detonation” has a negative connotation to not only the general aviation public but also those who are aviation-challenged. He noted that the technology for these engines and their use is “at the academic level of presentation demonstration” and there has been sufficient demonstration to show promise. 

“All rockets right now burn fuel slowly and burn really hot to achieve incredible levels of thrust. This new engine produces a supersonic high pressure combustion wave,” he explained. “It is the same amount of weight and fuel but more thrust. This represents a very large jump in technology.”

According to Duggleby, the aircraft will be able to reach Mach 9 in cruise. 

The Aircraft Design: The Waverider

The race to create a reusable space plane design has been since the 1950s. The first reusable hypersonic aircraft was the space shuttle, which used rockets to get into space, then gilded back to Earth.   

One of the first challenges with such an aircraft is recognizing that because of the speed, multiple shockwaves form on the airframe—on the wings, nose and tail—which can be detrimental to aircraft control. To address this, hypersonic design known as the waverider was created. Although Venus Aerospace did not create the design, they are using the technology. 

“The waverider is a design that results in only one shockwave,” Duggleby said. “The design shapes the shockwave so that it traps high pressure air below the vehicle creating more lift, less drag.”  

This process is known as compression lift.

“The aircraft reaches Mach 9 and maintains that for five minutes, then the engines are shut off and the aircraft glides covering thousands of miles. You could get from San Francisco to Tokyo in an hour,” he said.

Cool It

The last piece of the technology that makes the hypersonic aircraft viable is the development of leading edge cooling. Previous hypersonic aircraft designs relied on ceramic tiles to dissipate heat. It was not uncommon for the shuttle to be missing a few tiles after landing. These tiles had to be replaced before the shuttle could be used again. 

But Venus’ design includes a metal nose for the aircraft, which allows the airframe to dissipate heat quickly. 

“After landing, there can be a visual inspection and in theory the aircraft could make another flight the same day,” Duggleby said. “The fastest turn around for the space shuttle was nine months.”

What Now?

From an engineering aspect, Duggleby says they have gone from “impossible” to “difficult” and now they are trying to determine the technical needs for the rest of the aircraft. They have determined that the passengers—up to 12 at a time—will not need to be wearing space suits aboard the aircraft.

“The space shuttle traveled at these altitudes and speeds for decades,” Duggleby said, adding that the recent launches into near space by Blue Origin featured what NASA terms as “non-optimal human beings,” which is a space-speak for someone who is not a trained astronaut.

“They handled the acceleration of the rocket fairly well,” Duggleby said. “Our aircraft will not accelerate that hard. At most, it will be about 0.3Gs, which is what you feel now when you are in an airline and they are accelerating down the runway. It will take approximately 10 minutes at Mach 8 to get to altitude. There won’t be a zero-G moment, more like a 10 percent reduction in the feeling of weight, and we will use barf bags like the airliners do. There will be a very gentle descent over the next 50 minutes.”

Duggleby notes that the aircraft will still be in the atmosphere so there will not be issues from radiation.

Some of the technology to solve particular problems will likely have to be invented, Duggleby said.

“We are figuring out ‘does the existing landing gear that we have right now work?’ or do we have to design something? Do we have a way for them to be self-sealing at altitude? Is there anything else that doesn’t exist that we have to invent?

“We are using regular airspace materials,” Duggleby said. One of the challenges they face is figuring out a way to seal off the inlet and outlet valves on the jet engines when they are at altitude and in a glide. We need to protect them from pressure and temperature changes. We also want stability for takeoff, landing and cruise.

He predicts there will be a lot of wind tunnel and drone testing in the next few years for proof of concept and development purposes.

It will not be inexpensive to create, he adds, noting that the company raised $20 million to get underway and more funds will be needed to keep the project going.

“I would not expect a full-scale design until 2025, and it will be close to 2030 before we are doing test flights—that depends on how interested the investor and Department of Defense are.”

Duggleby could not estimate what the ticket price will be for travelers, as that is something that would be set by the airlines.

Infrastructure

Airports that wish to host these hypersonic flights will have to apply to the FAA to be spaceports. Duggleby stresses that the aircraft will not take off with the rocket engines—more likely the aircraft will get away from populated areas both vertically and laterally before the engines are activated.

“The aircraft launches in the conventional sense, gets to a specified altitude, then engages the rocket engines,” Duggleby said. “The aircraft can achieve Mach 9.”

When reaching another specific altitude, high up on the edge of space, the engines are shut off and the aircraft glides, until time to reactivate the engines for landing.

“The aircraft lifts off and lands at conventional speeds. If a 747 can take off and land, so can we. Which means we would adhere to local speed and sound ordinances,” he said.

Pilots for the new design could be culled from the present professional pilot pollution. 

“It will likely be a new type rating,” he said. “We will work with the FAA to decide what is the right amount of training.”

Space Race–The Next Generation

While Venus Aerospace is aiming to create place-to-place transport, Scaled Composites and Mojave Aerospace Ventures pushed the envelope on space planes when it developed SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo for Virgin Galactic’s space tourism programs. 

In addition, China-based Space Transportation (Lingkong Tianxing) has posted futuristic animation on its website showing a suborbital tourist aircraft with 12 seats that would launch vertically as a rocket with the help of a pair of huge boosters. 

After reaching the edge of space at nearly 4,500 mph (3,910 knots), the concept aircraft would then descend to its destination like an airplane and land horizontally on a runway. Its website says the first test flight would take place in 2025. 

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