X-33 DESIGN OK'D, PAVING THE WAY FOR ASSEMBLY; CRAFT COULD FLY IN MID-1999.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer The X-33 spacecraft prototype passed a design review, allowing Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. to focus on assembling the vehicle and building a launch site. Lasting five days and involving some 600 representatives of NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. , Lockheed Martin and Lockheed Martin's aerospace partners, the design review validated the ``Skunk skunk, name for several related New World mammals of the weasel family, characterized by their conspicuous black and white markings and use of a strong, highly offensive odor for defense. Works'' design work on the $1.1 billion program, officials said. ``We are now ready to focus on vehicle fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. and launch site construction,'' said Cleon Lacefield T. Cleon Lacefield is Lockheed Martin vice president and Orion Program manager.[1] With his Lockheed Martin team in Denver and Houston, he won the CEV / Orion development contract from NASA in September 2006. , Lockheed Martin's X-33 program manager. ``We are on schedule for the flight demonstration program to begin in mid-1999.'' The wingless, unmanned, wedge-shaped craft is expected to take off like a rocket from Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. and fly at 11,000 mph across the Western United States Noun 1. western United States - the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River West Santa Fe Trail - a trail that extends from Missouri to New Mexico; an important route for settlers moving west in the 19th century - reaching Montana in less than 26 minutes. The X-33 itself will not go into space, but it is intended to test technologies leading to the production of a single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft - meaning one that goes into space and comes back in one piece, without shedding rocket stages like conventional rockets or booster engines and fuel tank like the space shuttles. The spacecraft, dubbed VentureStar, is expected to lower the cost of putting satellites and other payloads into space from $10,000 a pound to $1,000 or less. Groundbreaking for a launch site in the southeast portion of Edwards Air Force Base is expected to occur later this month. Launched vertically like a rocket from Edwards and piloted by computer, the X-33 is scheduled to make 15 flights in 1999 to landing fields in California, Utah, and Montana. During flight, the X-33's engines will burn until the craft reaches its intended speed and altitude and then the engines will cut off and the craft will glide to a landing. Flight tests will involve speeds of up to Mach 15 - about 10,500 mph - and altitudes of 250,000 feet. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color) An SR-71, carrying an experimental engine for the X-33, is checked by a crew prior to takeoff from Edwards. (2--color) An SR-71 takes off with the X-33's experimental engine. The X-33 has passed a design review, paving the way for assembly work. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
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