VentureStar

VentureStar

Simulated view of VentureStar in low Earth orbit
Function	Manned Re-usable Spaceplane
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	38.7 m[1] (127 ft)
Diameter	N/A
Mass	1,000,000 kg[1] (2,200,000 lb)
Stages	1
Capacity
Payload to LEO	20,412 kg[1] (45,000 lb)
Launch history
Status	Cancelled
Launch sites	Unknown
Total launches	0
First stage - VentureStar
Engines	7 RS2200 Linear Aerospikes[1]
Thrust	3,010,000 lb[1]
Burn time
Fuel	LOX/LH2[1]

VentureStar was Lockheed Martin's proposed design for a single-stage-to-orbit reusable launch system.

VentureStar would be approximately 17 meters shorter than the Space Shuttle.

The program's primary goal was to develop a reusable unmanned space plane for launching satellites into orbit at about 1/10 the cost of other systems that would completely replace the Space Shuttle. While the requirement was for an unmanned launcher, it was expected to optionally carry passengers as cargo.

VentureStar was to be a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle that would take off vertically and land like an airplane. The design specifications called for the use of linear aerospike engines, which maintain their efficiency thrust at all altitudes. VentureStar would have also used a new metallic thermal protection system that would be safer and cheaper to maintain than the ceramic one on the Space Shuttle.

In addition to a modular system, VentureStar would provide rapid turnaround between launches. VentureStar was to be a commercial endeavor and flights would have been leased to NASA as needed.

Failures in VentureStar's technology demonstrator, the X-33, in particular with the composite LH2 (liquid hydrogen) tank, led to program cancellation on March 1, 2001.

See also

Lockheed Martin X-33

References