NASA EXTENDS X-37 DEVELOPMENT NEW CONTRACT WITH PHANTOM WORKS INCLUDES MID-2006 ORBITAL FLIGHT TEST.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - NASA awarded a $301 million contract to Boeing's Phantom Works division to continue development of the unmanned X-37 test craft now under assembly in Palmdale and to build a more advanced version to be tested in space.

The contract includes a series of approach and landing tests for the engineless X-37 that will be carried out at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force base, as well as development of a research craft that can orbit the Earth.

The atmospheric tests are scheduled for mid-2004 and the orbital flight is scheduled for mid-2006.

A Boeing official said the spacecraft will have components manufactured at a variety of company plants, but the final assembly work will be done in Palmdale.

The X-37 contract was one of two announced by NASA for testing technologies needed for a future spacecraft the agency calls the Orbital Space Plane. The Orbital Space Plane, which will be launched into space atop a booster rocket, will be used to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

Boeing submitted a concept for the Orbital Space Plane that is essentially a larger version of the X-37, about the size of a business jet.

The second contract, valued at approximately $53 million, was awarded to the Lockheed Martin Corp. to develop a vehicle for testing crew escape systems for use during spacecraft launches.

The vehicle, called a ``launch pad abort demonstrator test bed,'' will carry mannequins fitted with instruments to provide data on what would happen to a human crew if they had to escape from their spacecraft during launch, NASA officials said.

``The work that will result from these contracts is an important investment for NASA and the U.S.,'' said Dr. Jerry Creedon, associate administrator of NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology. ``This is a crucial step that will greatly enhance our understanding of key technologies for a new flight system.''

The X-37s will be used to test technologies needed by the Orbital Space Plane during launch, in orbit and while descending and landing. Scheduled to be tested are guidance and navigation systems and heat protection, among other features.

The X-37s will be 27.5 feet long with a wingspan of 15 feet. They will be unpiloted and will operate autonomously using onboard computers.

``The X-37 is a perfect demonstrator for the kinds of technology we'll need for an Orbital Space Plant,'' said Kevin Neifert, division director of advanced space and launch systems for Boeing's Phantom Works.

The high-altitude demonstrator vehicle under construction at Palmdale is about two-thirds complete. The vehicle is expected to be delivered to NASA in either late 2003 or early 2004.

``It's looking like a little airplane now,'' Neifert said.

The high-altitude X-37 is being developed under a 1999 $173 million contract funded jointly by NASA, Boeing and the Air Force.

NASA plans to conduct five drop tests with the high-altitude X-37. The engineless craft will be carried aloft by a modified B-52 and dropped at altitudes of up to 40,000 feet.

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Photo:

(color) An artist's rendition shows the X-37 in the cargo bay of a space shuttle. The craft is a precursor to the Orbital Space Plane, which will be used to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

NASA