From Wikipedia:
Martin X-23 PRIME
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
X-23 PRIME
Preserved X-23 PRIME at USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio
Role: Lifting body
Manufacturer: Martin Marietta
First flight: 21 December 1966
Retired: 19 April 1967
Status: Out of service
Primary user: United States Air Force
Number built: 3
Variants: Martin X-24
The Martin X-23A PRIME (Precision Reentry Including Maneuvering reEntry) was a small lifting body re-entry vehicle tested by the United States Air Force in the mid-1960s. Unlike ASSET, primarily used for structural and heating research, the X-23 PRIME was developed to study the effects of maneuvering during re-entry of Earth's atmosphere, including cross-range maneuvers up to 710 statute miles (1143 km) off of the ballistic track.
Design
Each X-23 was constructed from titanium, beryllium, stainless steel, and aluminium. The craft consisted of two sections — the aft main structure and a removable forward "glove section." The structure was completely covered with a Martin-developed ablative heat shield 20 to 70 mm (¾ to 2¾ inches) thick, and the nose cap was constructed of carbon phenolic material.
Aerodynamic control was provided by a pair of 12-inch (30 cm) square lower flaps, and fixed upper flaps and rudders. A nitrogen gas reaction control system was used outside the atmosphere. At Mach 2 a drogue ballute deployed and slowed the vehicle's descent. As it deployed, its cable sliced the upper structure of the main equipment bay, allowing a 47-foot (16.4 m) recovery chute to deploy. It would then be recovered in midair by a specially-equipped JC-130B Hercules aircraft.
Flight testing
The first PRIME vehicle was launched from Vandenberg AFB on 21 December 1966 atop an Atlas launch vehicle. This mission simulated a low-earth orbit reentry with a zero cross-range. The ballute deployed at 99,850 feet (30.43 km), though the recovery parachute failed to completely deploy. The vehicle crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
The second vehicle was launched on 5 March 1967. This flight simulated a 654-mile (1053-kilometre) cross range re-entry, and banking at hypersonic speeds. Several stringers on the main parachute failed to cut, preventing a successful recovery. It too was lost in the Pacific.
The final PRIME mission was flown on 19 April 1967, and simulated reentry from low-earth orbit with a 710-mile (1143-kilometre) cross-range. This time, all systems performed perfectly, and the X-23 was successfully recovered. An inspection by a USAF-Martin team reported the craft "ready to fly again," although no later missions were carried out. The third X-23 is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Specifications (X-23)
General characteristics
Crew: None
Length: 6 ft 9 in (2.07 m)
Wingspan: 3 ft 10 in (1.16 m)
Height: 2 ft 1 in (0.64 m)
Loaded weight: 890 lb (405 kg)
Powerplant: × Nitrogen-gas reaction control thrusters
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 25
Range: 710 miles (1,143 km)
Hypersonic L/D Ratio: 1:1
And this, from astronautix.com:
Prime
Prime
Credit: USAF
American manned spaceplane. 3 launches, 1966.12.21 (Prime 1) to 1967.04.19 (Prime 3). The Prime (Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry) project was the second part of the USAF START program.
The purpose of START was to develop and demonstrate the technology for maneuvering lifting-body re-entry vehicles with a cross range of up to 1100 km. Planned applications included ICBM warheads, reconnaissance satellite film recovery capsules, and manned spacecraft. The X-23 Prime was a subscale re-entry test vehicle of the SV-5D lifting body configuration planned for the X-24A manned aerodynamic test aircraft. In three suborbital launches the robot vehicle demonstrated the full planned cross range maneuver, and the problems involved in using spray-on ablative heat shields.
Lifting bodies were originally conceived for use as maneuverable ICBM re-entry vehicles to defeat Soviet anti-ballistic missile systems, and as high cross-range film-return capsule for reconnaissance satellites that would improve quick response by providing more film recovery opportunities. NACA's Ames laboratory was the place where much early research was done, resulting in the M2b, M2F2, and M2F3 series of flight demonstration vehicles. NACA Langley had its differing HL-10 design, and the USAF developed the Aerospace Corporation A3 shape for its own specific cross-range requirement. In November 1960 Martin was contracted to study use of the Ames M1 shape for recovery of film capsules from the USAF Samos satellite. Instead it concluded that the Aerospace A3 configuration was superior, and developed a stretched version of the A3 as the A3-4 or SV-5. Tests of the SV-5 under the PRIME project were to include demonstration of 1145 km cross-range maneuvers. After the cancellation of DynaSoar, the remaining Asset subscale re-entry tests of that program were combined with PRIME, resulting in Air Force Program 680A, called START, and consisting of subprojects Asset, Prime, and Pilot (subsonic piloted lifting-body tests).
The Prime X-23A lifting body weighed 400 kg and was built primarily of 2014-T6 titanium alloy, with some structures built of beryllium, steel, or aluminum, as required. On a typical flight, the unmanned SV-5D was launched by an Atlas booster from Vandenberg AFB, California. At the high point in its flight path, the Atlas pitched downward while its rocket continued accelerating it to orbital re-entry velocity. The lifting body separated from the booster, and its inertial guidance system directed it to a pre-selected recovery point. Outside the earth's atmosphere the SV-5D was maneuvered by the release of high pressure nitrogen through jet thrusters. When the craft re-entered the atmosphere its control system automatically switched to airplane-type flaps for pitch and roll control. The shape was expected to demonstrate a hypersonic L/D of 1.0. Two types of ablative coating protected the vehicle during re-entry. Silicon-nylon fibers within an ablator applied to a silicon honeycomb base protected the main body of the shape. Thickness varied from 2 to 7 cm depending on the expected heating rates. The nose cap was protected with a carbon-phenolic resin. The lifting portion of the re-entry would be terminated at Mach 2.0 with deployment of a drogue ballute, followed at subsonic speeds by a 14-m diameter recovery parachute. Air-snatch of the re-entry vehicle under its parachute was to be accomplished by a JC-130B aircraft over the ocean.
After the successful third mission, the rest of the project was cancelled, and the two remaining unflown X-23A's were sent to the USAF Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. After the cancellation of Dynasoar, the Air Force pursued further development of manned spaceplanes under the START Project.
Characteristics
Structure: 78 kg (171 lb). Heat shield: 110 kg (240 lb). RCS Coarse No x Thrust: Cold gas (nitrogen).
AKA: SV-5D;X-23A.
Gross mass: 405 kg (892 lb).
Height: 2.10 m (6.80 ft).
Span: 1.20 m (3.90 ft).
First date: 12/21/1966 .
Last date: 4/19/1967 .
Number: 3 .
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Associated Countries •USA
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See also •Manned
•Spaceplane
•Suborbital
•US Rocketplanes
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Associated Launch Vehicles •Atlas The Atlas rocket, originally developed as America's first ICBM, was the basis for most early American space exploration and was that country's most successful medium-lift commercial launch vehicle. It launched America's first astronaut into orbit; the first generations of spy satellites; the first lunar orbiters and landers; the first probes to Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn; and was America's most successful commercial launcher of communications satellites. Its innovative stage-and-a-half and 'balloon tank' design provided the best dry-mass fraction of any launch vehicle ever built. It was retired in 2004 after 576 launches in a 47-year career. More...
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Associated Manufacturers and Agencies •Martin American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Martin Marietta Astronautics Group (1956), Denver, CO, USA. More...
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Bibliography •Gatland, Kenneth, Manned Spacecraft, Macmillan, New York, 1968.
•Jenkins, Dennis R,, Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System : The First 100 Missions, Third edition, Voyageur Press, 2001.
•Miller, Jay,, The X-Planes, Aerofax, Arlington, Texas, 1988.
•Houchin II, Roy and Smith, Terry, "X-20 (7 articles)", Quest, 1994, Volume 3, Issue 4, page 4.
•Peebles, Curtis, "The Origins of the US Space Shuttle - 1", Spaceflight, 1979, Volume 21, page 435.
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And this, from Gunter's Space Page (http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/prime.htm):
PRIME (SV-5D, X-23)
PRIME (SV-5D, X-23)
The Martin X-23 PRIME (Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry) was a small unmanned lifting body re-entry vehicle tested by the United States Air Force in the late 1960s. Unlike ASSET, primarily used for structural and heating research, the X-23 PRIME was developed to study the effects of maneuvering during re-entry of Earth's atmosphere, including cross-range maneuvers up to 1143 km off of the ballistic track.
The structure of the X-23 was built from titanium, beryllium, stainless steel, and aluminium. It consisted of two sections: the aft main structure and a removable forward "glove section." The body of the X-23 was completely covered with a Martin-developed ablative heat shield 20 to 70 mm thick, and the nose cap was constructed of carbon phenolic material.
Aerodynamic control was provided by a pair of 30 cm square lower flaps, and fixed upper flaps and rudders. A nitrogen gas reaction control system was used outside the atmosphere. At Mach 2 a drogue ballute deployed and slowed the vehicle's descent. As it deployed, its cable sliced the upper structure of the main equipment bay, allowing a 16.4 m recovery chute to deploy. It was to be recovered in midair by a specially-equipped JC-130B Hercules aircraft.
All missions were launched on Atlas-SLV3 boosters from Vandenberg AFB.
PRIME 1 was launched on 21 December 1966 on a mission to simulate a low-earth orbit reentry with a zero cross-range. The ballute deployed at 30.43 km, though the recovery parachute failed to completely deploy. The vehicle crashed into the Pacific Ocean and was not recovered.
PRIME 2 was launched on 5 March 1967. This flight simulated a 1053 km cross range re-entry, and banking at hypersonic speeds. Several stringers on the main parachute failed to cut which lead to the loss of the vehicle.
PRIME 3 mission was flown on 19 April 1967 and simulated reentry from low-earth orbit with a 1143 km cross-range. This time, all systems performed perfectly, and the X-23 was successfully recovered. An inspection by a USAF-Martin team reported the craft to be reusable although no later missions were carried out. PRIME 3 is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
A fourth PRIME mission was cancelled and the launch vehicle was converted to a Atlas-SLV3 Burner-2 configuration.
Nation: USA
Type / Application: Lifting Body Reentry Test
Operator: USAF
Contractors: Martin Marietta
Equipment:
Configuration:
Propulsion:
Power: Batteries
Lifetime:
Mass:
Orbit: suborbital
Satellite Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
PRIME 1 (SV-5D 1) 21.12.1966 Va SLC-3E * Atlas-SLV3
PRIME 2 (SV-5D 2) 05.03.1967 Va SLC-3E * Atlas-SLV3
PRIME 3 (SV-5D 3) 20.04.1967 Va SLC-3E * Atlas-SLV3
PRIME 4 (SV-5D 4) not launched Va SLC-3E
*
Atlas-SLV3
* = suborbital
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The Martin X-24A
From astronautix.com:
X-24A
X-23 with X-24
X-23 with Orbital X-24
Credit: Lockheed Martin
American manned spaceplane. 28 launches, 1969.04.17 to 1971.06.04 . The X-24A was the Martin Corporation's subsonic test version of the US Air Force's preferred manned lifting body configuration.
This was flat-bellied with canted vertical stabilizers at the end of the rounded upper body. It was of the same configuration as the subscale X-23 Prime vehicle tested on suborbital flights in 1966 - 1967.
Martin and the USAF hoped it would lead to a larger Titan III-launched manned orbital ferry vehicle (cinematically embodies in the 'XRV' spacecraft in the 1969 film version of Martin Caidin's novel 'Marooned'). The X-24A was air-launched from an NB-52 carrier aircraft and reached a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and a maximum altitude of 21,800 m during its flight test. The X-24A handled well as a glider, but in powered flight it exhibited a nose-up trim change that prevented it from flying at low angles of attack. Air Force interest then focused on 'high fineness lifting body' configurations and the X-24A airframe was converted to the X-24B configuration. The X-24A was also known as the SV-5P configuration. Two nearly identical SV-5J's, equipped with a Pratt and Whitney J60-PW-1 jet engine of 1360 kgf, were built but never flown.
Characteristics
Spacecraft delta v: 1,300 m/s (4,200 ft/sec). Battery: 194.00 Ah.
Gross mass: 5,192 kg (11,446 lb).
Unfuelled mass: 2,712 kg (5,978 lb).
Height: 7.47 m (24.50 ft).
Span: 4.16 m (13.64 ft).
Thrust: 37.71 kN (8,477 lbf).
Specific impulse: 225 s.
First date: 4/17/1969 .
Last date: 6/4/1971 .
Number: 28 .
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Associated Countries •USA
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Associated Engines •XLR11 Reaction Motors, Thiokol Lox/Alcohol rocket engine. Out of Production. Launch thrust 26.67 kN. Rocket engine developed for X-1 in 1940s to break the sound barrier and used twenty years later to power experimental lifting bodies. Four combustion chambers. More...
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See also •Manned
•Spaceplane
•Suborbital
•US Rocketplanes
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Associated Manufacturers and Agencies •Martin American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Martin Marietta Astronautics Group (1956), Denver, CO, USA. More...
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Associated Propellants •Lox/Alcohol
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Bibliography •Gatland, Kenneth, Manned Spacecraft, Macmillan, New York, 1968.
•Miller, Jay,, The X-Planes, Aerofax, Arlington, Texas, 1988.
•Miller, Ron, The Dream Machines, Krieger, Malabar, Florida, 1993.
•Zhelyez x-plane book,
•Houchin II, Roy and Smith, Terry, "X-20 (7 articles)", Quest, 1994, Volume 3, Issue 4, page 4.
•Peebles, Curtis, "The Origins of the US Space Shuttle - 1", Spaceflight, 1979, Volume 21, page 435.
•Grimwood, James M., Project Mercury: A Chronology, NASA Special Publication-4001.
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X-24A Chronology
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1957 July - August - . •Semiballistic design for a manned reentry spacecraft. - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: X-24A; HL-10. Summary: Alfred J. Eggers, Jr., of the NACA Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, worked out a semiballistic design for a manned reentry spacecraft..
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1962 September - . •M2-F1 lifting body first flight. - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: M2-F2; HL-10; X-24A. The lifting body concept was first tested at Dryden with a plywood prototype designated the M2-F1 built in late 1962. It featured a plywood shell built by Gus Briegleb, a sailplane builder from Mirage Dry Lake, Calif., placed over a tubular frame built at Dryden. The M2-F1 was towed aloft, first behind an auto and then a C-47 more than 100 times, to validate basic lifting body stability and control characteristics. This led to establishment of the formal program which resulted in the HL-10, M2-F2, M2-F3, X-24A, and X-24B lifting bodies.
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1969 April 17 - . •X-24 Flight 1 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 1. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 763 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 217 sec..
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1969 May 8 - . •X-24 Flight 2 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 2. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 735 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 253 sec..
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1969 August 21 - . •X-24 Flight 3 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 3. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 615 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 270 sec..
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1969 September 9 - . •X-24 Flight 4 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 4. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 647 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 232 sec..
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1969 September 24 - . •X-24 Flight 5 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 5. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 637 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 257 sec..
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1969 October 22 - . •X-24 Flight 6 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 6. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 623 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 238 sec..
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1969 November 13 - . •X-24 Flight 7 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 7. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 687 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 270 sec..
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1969 November 25 - . •X-24 Flight 8 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 8. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 730 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 266 sec..
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1970 February 24 - . •X-24 Flight 9 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 9. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 819 kph. Maximum Altitude - 14326 m. Flight Time - 258 sec..
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1970 March 19 - . •X-24 Flight 10 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 10. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: First powered flight. Maximum Speed - 919 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13533 m. Flight Time - 424 sec..
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1970 April 2 - . •X-24 Flight 11 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 11. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 919 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17892 m. Flight Time - 435 sec..
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1970 April 22 - . •X-24 Flight 12 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 12. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 981 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17587 m. Flight Time - 408 sec..
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1970 May 14 - . •X-24 Flight 13 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 13. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: 2 chambers. Maximum Speed - 795 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13594 m. Flight Time - 513 sec..
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1970 June 17 - . •X-24 Flight 14 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 14. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1051 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18593 m. Flight Time - 432 sec..
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1970 July 28 - . •X-24 Flight 15 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 15. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 996 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17678 m. Flight Time - 388 sec..
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1970 August 11 - . •X-24 Flight 16 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 16. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1047 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19477 m. Flight Time - 413 sec..
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1970 August 26 - . •X-24 Flight 17 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 17. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: 2 chambers. Maximum Speed - 737 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12649 m. Flight Time - 479 sec..
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1970 October 14 - . •X-24 Flight 18 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 18. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: First supersonic flight. Maximum Speed - 1261 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20696 m. Flight Time - 411 sec..
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1970 October 27 - . •X-24 Flight 19 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 19. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1446 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21763 m. Flight Time - 417 sec..
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1970 November 20 - . •X-24 Flight 20 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 20. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1456 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20604 m. Flight Time - 432 sec..
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1971 January 21 - . •X-24 Flight 21 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 21. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1093 kph. Maximum Altitude - 15819 m. Flight Time - 462 sec..
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1971 February 4 - . •X-24 Flight 22 - . Crew: Powell. Payload: X-24A flight 22. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Powell. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Powell's check flight, glide. Maximum Speed - 700 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 235 sec..
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1971 February 18 - . •X-24 Flight 23 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 23. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1606 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20544 m. Flight Time - 447 sec..
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1971 March 1 - . •X-24 Flight 24 - . Crew: Powell. Payload: X-24A flight 24. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Powell. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1064 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17343 m. Flight Time - 437 sec..
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1971 March 29 - . •X-24 Flight 25 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 25. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Fastest X-24 flight. Maximum Speed - 1667 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21488 m. Flight Time - 446 sec..
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1971 May 12 - . •X-24 Flight 26 - . Crew: Powell. Payload: X-24A flight 26. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Powell. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1477 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21610 m. Flight Time - 423 sec..
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1971 May 25 - . •X-24 Flight 27 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 27. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: 3 chambers. Maximum Speed - 1265 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19903 m. Flight Time - 548 sec..
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1971 June 4 - . •X-24 Flight 28 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 28. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Final X-24A flight. Maximum Speed - 867 kph. Maximum Altitude - 16581 m. Flight Time - 517 sec..
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1991 December - . •HL-20 Mock-up tests completed - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: HL-20; X-38; X-24A; Space Station Freedom. NASA, North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T University built a full-scale model of the HL-20 for human factors research on the concept. In the end, space station Freedom became the International Space Station. As the initial crew emergency rescue vehicle, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft was selected. However NASA, looking for a higher-capacity alternative and concerned about reliable availability of the Soyuz in the future, did begin development of the X-38 CERV in 1997. The X-38 was however based on the Johnson concept of parachute-assisted landing, and used the pure-USA X-24 lifting body shape....
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X-24A Images
X-24A
Credit: © Mark Wade
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Lifting Bodies
Manned Lifting Bodies
Credit: NASA
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X-24A
Credit: NASA
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Lifting Bodies
Lifting Bodies Comparative
Credit: © Mark Wade
From Wikipedia:
Martin Marietta X-24A
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the experimental aircraft. For the aeroplane engine, see X24 engine.
X-24A
The Martin X-24A
Role: Lifting body
Manufacturer: Martin Marietta
First flight: 17 April 1969
Retired: 26 November 1975
Status: Out of service:
Primary users: U.S.Air Force: NASA
Number built: 1
Developed from: X-23 PRIME
Variants
Martin Marietta X-24B
The Martin Marietta X-24A was an experimental US aircraft developed from a joint USAF-NASA program named PILOT (1963–1975). It was designed and built to test lifting body concepts, experimenting with the concept of unpowered reentry and landing, later used by the Space Shuttle.[1]
Design and development
The X-24A begins its rocket-powered flight after being launched from the wing of NASA's B-52 mothership, Balls 8, during a 1970 research flight
The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center) in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site.
Lifting bodies’ aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths.
The X-24 (Model SV-5P) was built by Martin Marietta and flown from Edwards AFB, California. The X-24A was the fourth lifting body design to fly; it followed the NASA M2-F1 in 1964, the Northrop HL-10 in (1966), the Northrop M2-F2 in 1968 and preceded the Northrop M2-F3 (1970).
The X-24A was a fat, short teardrop shape with vertical fins for control. It made its first, unpowered, glide flight on April 17, 1969 with Air Force Maj. Jerauld R. Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The craft was taken to around 45,000 feet (13.7 km) by a modified B-52 and then drop launched, then either glided down or used its rocket engine to ascend to higher altitudes before gliding down. The X-24A was flown 28 times at speeds up to 1,036 mph (1,667 km/h) and altitudes up to 71,400 feet (21.8 km).
SV-5J
After learning about a remark by Chuck Yeager that he would like to have some jet-powered lifting bodies for training purposes, Martin designed and built two examples of the SV-5J on their own initiative .[1]
The SV-5J was a jet-powered version of the rocket-powered X-24A. The SV-5J had identical dimensions to the X-24A, but was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney J60-PW-1 jet engine of 1360 kgf, in place of the X-24A's Reaction Motors XLR-11-RM-13 rocket engine. Martin also manufactured a full-scale, unflyable, mock-up of the SV-5J. (Confusion over number built may be due to the mock-up being included in the production list.)
Martin was unable to convince Milt Thompson to fly the SV-5J, even after offering a $20,000 bonus. Both examples remained unflown.
As the original X-24A was converted to X-24B, one of the SV-5Js eventually was converted to represent the X-24A, for display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, besides the original X-24B.
The unflyable mock-up ended up in Hollywood and was used for several movies as a space-ship prop.
Operational history
The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. The fastest speed achieved by the X-24A was 1,036 miles per hour (1667 km/h or Mach 1.6). Its maximum altitude was 71,400 feet (21.8 km) . It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine with a maximum theoretical vacuum thrust of 8,480 pounds force (37.7 kN).
The X-24A was modified into the more stable X-24B with an entirely different shape in 1972. The bulbous shape of the X-24A was converted into a "flying flatiron" shape with a rounded top, flat bottom, and double delta planform that ended in a pointed nose. It was the basis for the Martin SV-5J. The X-24A shape was later borrowed for the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) technology demonstrator for the International Space Station.
X-24A pilots Jerauld R. Gentry - 13 flights
John A. Manke - 12 flights
Cecil W. Powell - 3 flights
Specifications (X-24A)
General characteristics
Crew: one pilot
Length: 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Wingspan: 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
Wing area: 195 ft² (18.1 m²)
Empty weight: 6,360 lb (2,885 kg)
Loaded weight: 10,700 lb (4,853 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 11,447 lb (5,192 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Reaction Motors XLR-11rs four-chamber rocket engine, 8,480 lbf (37.7 kN)
Performance
Maximum speed: 1,036 mph (1,667 km/h)
Range: 45 miles (72 km)
Service ceiling: 71,407 ft (21,763 m)
Wing loading: 59 lb/ft² (288 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.70
Related development
X-23 PRIME
Martin Marietta X-24B
Comparable aircraft
M2-F1
M2-F2
M2-F3
HL-10
Space Shuttle
Related lists
List of experimental aircraft
References
Notes
1.^ a b Reed and Lister 2002.
Bibliography
Reed, R. Dale with Darlene Lister. Wingless Flight: The Lifting Body Story. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2002. ISBN 0-81319-026-6.
Winchester, Jim. "Martin-Marietta X-24." X-Planes and Prototypes.' London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-40-7.
X-24 Gallery, from NASA Dryden:
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The Martin X-24B
From astronautix.com:
X-24B
X-24B
Credit: NASA
American manned spaceplane. 36 launches, 1973.08.01 to 1975.11.26 .
The X-24B was used by the US Air Force to explore the supersonic and subsonic handling characteristics of the FDL-7 and FDL-8 hypersonic configurations which promised to double the hypersonic L/D ratio of the original X-24A. It was air dropped from the NB-52 carrier aircraft and reached Mach 1.76 and 22,400 m altitude during its test program. By the time the test series had started the USAF had been forced to accept the NASA space shuttle for its future manned space ambitions and had dropped plans for a Titan-launched manned spaceplane.
The configuration was also applicable to air-breathing hypersonic aircraft. NASA and USAF proposed an X-24C, which would have been two new-build vehicles. These would have the XLR-99 engine from the X-15 and take the configuration out to Mach 8 and conducted scramjet tests in 200 flights. This follow-on project was cancelled for lack of funds (or replaced by a black project with Lockheed).
Characteristics
Spacecraft delta v: 1,300 m/s (4,200 ft/sec). Battery: 194.00 Ah.
Gross mass: 6,258 kg (13,796 lb).
Unfuelled mass: 3,778 kg (8,329 lb).
Height: 11.43 m (37.49 ft).
Span: 5.84 m (19.16 ft).
Thrust: 43.58 kN (9,797 lbf).
Specific impulse: 225 s.
First date: 8/1/1973 .
Last date: 11/26/1975 .
Number: 36 .
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Associated Countries •USA
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Associated Engines •XLR11 Reaction Motors, Thiokol Lox/Alcohol rocket engine. Out of Production. Launch thrust 26.67 kN. Rocket engine developed for X-1 in 1940s to break the sound barrier and used twenty years later to power experimental lifting bodies. Four combustion chambers. More...
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See also •Manned
•Spaceplane
•Suborbital
•US Rocketplanes
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Associated Manufacturers and Agencies •Martin American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Martin Marietta Astronautics Group (1956), Denver, CO, USA. More...
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Associated Propellants •Lox/Alcohol
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Bibliography •Miller, Jay,, The X-Planes, Aerofax, Arlington, Texas, 1988.
•Miller, Ron, The Dream Machines, Krieger, Malabar, Florida, 1993.
•Zhelyez x-plane book,
•Houchin II, Roy and Smith, Terry, "X-20 (7 articles)", Quest, 1994, Volume 3, Issue 4, page 4.
•Peebles, Curtis, "The Origins of the US Space Shuttle - 1", Spaceflight, 1979, Volume 21, page 435.
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X-24B Chronology
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1973 August 1 - . •X-24 Flight 29 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 1. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: First glide flight. Maximum Speed - 740 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 252 sec..
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1973 August 17 - . •X-24 Flight 30 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 2. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 722 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 267 sec..
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1973 August 31 - . •X-24 Flight 31 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 3. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 771 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 277 sec..
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1973 September 18 - . •X-24 Flight 32 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 4. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 724 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 271 sec..
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1973 October 4 - . •X-24 Flight 33 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 5. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 732 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 279 sec..
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1973 November 15 - . •X-24 Flight 34 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 6. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: First power flight. Maximum Speed - 961 kph. Maximum Altitude - 16080 m. Flight Time - 404 sec..
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1973 December 12 - . •X-24 Flight 35 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 7. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1038 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19080 m. Flight Time - 434 sec..
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1974 February 15 - . •X-24 Flight 36 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 8. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 724 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 307 sec..
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1974 March 5 - . •X-24 Flight 37 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 9. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: First supersonic flight. Maximum Speed - 1139 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18390 m. Flight Time - 437 sec..
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1974 April 30 - . •X-24 Flight 38 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 10. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 930 kph. Maximum Altitude - 15860 m. Flight Time - 419 sec..
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1974 May 24 - . •X-24 Flight 39 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 11. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1212 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17060 m. Flight Time - 448 sec..
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1974 June 14 - . •X-24 Flight 40 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 12. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1303 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19970 m. Flight Time - 405 sec..
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1974 June 28 - . •X-24 Flight 41 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 13. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1480 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20770 m. Flight Time - 427 sec..
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1974 August 8 - . •X-24 Flight 42 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 14. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1644 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22370 m. Flight Time - 395 sec..
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1974 August 29 - . •X-24 Flight 43 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 15. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1170 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22080 m. Flight Time - 467 sec..
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1974 October 25 - . •X-24 Flight 44 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 16. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Max. speed flight. Maximum Speed - 1873 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21990 m. Flight Time - 417 sec..
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1974 November 15 - . •X-24 Flight 45 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 17. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1722 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21960 m. Flight Time - 481 sec..
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1974 December 17 - . •X-24 Flight 46 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 18. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1667 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20960 m. Flight Time - 420 sec..
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1975 January 14 - . •X-24 Flight 47 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 19. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1862 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22180 m. Flight Time - 477 sec..
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1975 March 20 - . •X-24 Flight 48 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 20. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1537 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21450 m. Flight Time - 409 sec..
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1975 April 18 - . •X-24 Flight 49 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 21. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1279 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17650 m. Flight Time - 450 sec..
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1975 May 6 - . •X-24 Flight 50 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 22. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1541 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22370 m. Flight Time - 448 sec..
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1975 May 22 - . •X-24 Flight 51 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 23. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Max. altitude. Maximum Speed - 1744 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22370 m. Flight Time - 461 sec..
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1975 June 6 - . •X-24 Flight 52 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 24. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1786 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21980 m. Flight Time - 474 sec..
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1975 June 25 - . •X-24 Flight 53 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 25. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1427 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17680 m. Flight Time - 426 sec..
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1975 July 15 - . •X-24 Flight 54 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 26. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1685 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21180 m. Flight Time - 415 sec..
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1975 August 5 - . •X-24 Flight 55 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 27. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1381 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18290 m. Flight Time - 420 sec..
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1975 August 20 - . •X-24 Flight 56 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 28. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1625 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21950 m. Flight Time - 420 sec..
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1975 September 9 - . •X-24 Flight 57 - . Crew: Dana. Payload: X-24B flight 29. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Dana. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1593 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21640 m. Flight Time - 435 sec..
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1975 September 23 - . •X-24 Flight 58 - . Crew: Dana. Payload: X-24B flight 30. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Dana. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Last rocket-powered flight. Maximum Speed - 1255 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17680 m. Flight Time - 438 sec..
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1975 October 9 - . •X-24 Flight 59 - . Crew: Enevoldson. Payload: X-24B flight 31. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Enevoldson. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 724 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 251 sec..
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1975 October 21 - . •X-24 Flight 60 - . Crew: Scobee. Payload: X-24B flight 32. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Scobee. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 743 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 255 sec..
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1975 November 3 - . •X-24 Flight 61 - . Crew: McMurtry. Payload: X-24B flight 33. Nation: USA. Related Persons: McMurtry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 734 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 248 sec..
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1975 November 12 - . •X-24 Flight 62 - . Crew: Enevoldson. Payload: X-24B flight 34. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Enevoldson. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 734 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 241 sec..
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1975 November 19 - . •X-24 Flight 63 - . Crew: Scobee. Payload: X-24B flight 35. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Scobee. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 740 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 249 sec..
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1975 November 26 - . •X-24 Flight 64 - . Crew: McMurtry. Payload: X-24B flight 36. Nation: USA. Related Persons: McMurtry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 740 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 245 sec..
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X-24B Images
X-24B
Credit: © Mark Wade
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Lifting Bodies
Lifting Body comparison
Credit: © Mark Wade
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Lifting Bodies
Lifting Bodies Comparative
Credit: © Mark Wade
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FDL Spaceplane
Credit: USAF
From Wikipedia:
Martin Marietta X-24B
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
X-24B
The X-24B in flight
Role: Lifting body
Manufacturer: Martin Marietta
First flight: 1 August 1973
Retired: 26 November 1975
Status: Out of service
Primary users: United States Air Force and NASA
Number built: 1 (rebuilt X-24A)
Developed from: Martin Marietta X-24A
The Martin Marietta X-24B was an experimental US aircraft developed from a joint USAF-NASA program named PILOT (1963–1975). It was designed and built to test lifting body concepts, experimenting with the concept of unpowered reentry and landing, later used by the Space Shuttle.[1]
Design and development
The X-24B on the lakebed at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, California
The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center) in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site.
The X-24B's design evolved from a family of potential reentry shapes, each with higher lift-to-drag ratios, proposed by the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory. To reduce the costs of constructing a research vehicle, the Air Force returned the X-24A to the Martin Marietta Corporation (as Martin Aircraft Company became after a merger) for modifications that converted its bulbous shape into one resembling a "flying flatiron" -- rounded top, flat bottom, and a double delta planform that ended in a pointed nose.
First to fly the X-24B was John Manke, a glide flight on 1 August 1973. He was also the pilot on the first powered mission 15 November 1973.
X-24C
There were a variety of "X-24C" proposals floated between 1972 and 1978. Perhaps the most notable was a Lockheed Skunk Works design, the L-301, which was to use scramjets to reach a top speed of Mach 8.[2]
Operational history
The X-24B demonstrated that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was 1,164 mph (1873 km/h) and the highest altitude it reached was 74,130 feet (22.59 km). The pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was Bill Dana, who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven years earlier.
Among the final flights with the X-24B were two precise landings on the main concrete runway at Edwards which showed that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. These missions were flown by Manke and Air Force Maj. Mike Love, and represented the final milestone in a program that helped write the flight plan for today's Space Shuttle program.
The X-24B was the last aircraft to fly in Dryden's Lifting Body program. The X-24B was flown 36 times.
The X-24B is on public display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
X-24B pilots John A. Manke - 16 flights
Michael V. Love - 12 flights
William H. Dana - 2 flights
Einar K. Enevoldson - 2 flights
Thomas C. McMurtry - 2 flights
Francis Scobee - 2 flights
Specifications (X-24B)
General characteristics
Crew: one pilot
Length: 37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Wingspan: 19 ft 0 in (5.79 m)
Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
Wing area: 330 ft² (30.7 m²)
Empty weight: 8,500 lb (3,855 kg)
Loaded weight: 11,800 lb (5,350 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 13,800 lb (6,260 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × XLR-11-RM-13 four-chamber rocket engine, 8,480 lbf (37.7 KN)
Performance
Maximum speed: 1,164 mph (1,873 km/h)
Range: 45 miles (72 km)
Service ceiling: 74,130 ft (22.59 km)
Wing loading: 205 kg/m² ()
Thrust/weight: 0.71
See also
United States Air Force portal
Related development Martin Marietta X-24A
Lockheed L-301
Comparable aircraft M2-F1
M2-F2
M2-F3
HL-10
Space Shuttle
Related lists List of experimental aircraft
References
1.^ Reed, R. Dale; Darlene Lister (2002). Wingless Flight: The Lifting Body Story. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813190266. also available as a PDF file.
2.^ Jenkins, Dennis R. (2001). Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System (3rd edition ed.). Voyageur Press. ISBN 0-9633974-5-1.
Miller, Jay. The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45. Hinckley, UK: Midland, 2001.
Rose, Bill, 2008. Secret Projects: Military Space Technology. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing.
Martin X-24B Gallery, from NASA Dryden:
********************************************************
The Martin X-24C
X-24C
CONFIGURATION DEVELOPMENT STUDY
OF THE
X-24C HYPERSONIC RESEARCH AIRPLANE
- PHASE II http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790008668_1979008668.pdf
X-24C
Credit: USAF
American manned spaceplane. Cancelled 1977. Two X-24C NHFRF (National Hypersonic Flight Research Facility) aircraft were to be built under a $ 200 million budget.
They would fly 200 flights over ten years, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 8 and being able to cruise at over Mach 6 for 40 seconds. They were cancelled in 1977 after budget overruns.
As the X-15 program wound down in the mid-1960's, NASA and the USAF considered follow-on hypersonic test aircraft. The USAF had significant classified work underway, while NASA Langley undertook two study programs: HYFAC (Hypersonic Research Facility) for a Mach 12 aircraft, and HSRA (High Speed Research Aircraft) for a Mach 8 aircraft. The Air Force revealed it had intentions to build a Mach 3 to 5 test vehicle, and an Incremental Growth Vehicle which would gradually be taken from Mach 4.5 to Mach 9. By July 1974 NASA and the Air Force selected the FDL-8 lifting body configuration. Two versions were proposed: one with cheek air intakes and air-breathing engines, and one with the XLR-99 rocket engine of the X-15. By September 1977 (officially) budget overruns were apparent and NASA agreed to cancel further X-24C work. But given the stories of similar USAF test aircraft in the 1980's, perhaps the project merely went deep black.
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Associated Countries •USA
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See also •Manned
•Spaceplane
•Suborbital
•US Rocketplanes
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Associated Launch Vehicles •Titan American orbital launch vehicle. The Titan launch vehicle family was developed by the United States Air Force to meet its medium lift requirements in the 1960's. The designs finally put into production were derived from the Titan II ICBM. Titan outlived the competing NASA Saturn I launch vehicle and the Space Shuttle for military launches. It was finally replaced by the USAF's EELV boosters, the Atlas V and Delta IV. Although conceived as a low-cost, quick-reaction system, Titan was not successful as a commercial launch vehicle. Air Force requirements growth over the years drove its costs up - the Ariane using similar technology provided lower-cost access to space. More...
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Associated Manufacturers and Agencies •Martin American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Martin Marietta Astronautics Group (1956), Denver, CO, USA. More...
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Bibliography •Miller, Jay,, The X-Planes, Aerofax, Arlington, Texas, 1988.
•NASA Report, Configuration development study of the X-24C hypersonic research airplane, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790007769_1979007769.pdf.
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X-24C Chronology
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1974 July - . •FDL-8 lifting body configuration selected for the X-24C. - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: X-24C. NASA and the Air Force selected the FDL-8 lifting body configuration for the X-24C. Two versions of the hypersonic aerospacecraft were proposed: one with cheek air intakes and air-breathing engines, and one with the XLR-99 rocket engine of the X-15. Two X-24C were to be built under a $ 200 million budet. They would fly 200 flights over ten years, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 8 and being able to cruise at over Mach 6 for 40 seconds.
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1977 September - . •X-24C cancelled - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: X-24C. Summary: Budget overruns were apparent and NASA agreed to cancel further X-24C work. But given the stories of similar USAF test aircraft in the 1980's, perhaps the project merely went deep black
And, on that note, this from abovetopsecret.com:
AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE PROGRAM
AND THE SUPER VALKYRIE
By Bill Rose for UFO Magazine UK
There is growing evidence that a mini-shuttle was developed shortly after the space shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986 and that the trials began in 1992.
Operating under the mysterious Aurora Project, the system is believed to comprise a spaceplane roughly the size of an SR-71 spyplane and a hypersonic launch vehicle resembling the experimental XB-70A strategic bomber designd in 1957-60. This large aircraft could perform a number of roles, but it appears to have been designed specifically to carry the smaller spaceplane to a suitable launch altitude.
Sightings of the aircraft described as a "mothership" first began in the late summer of 1990. It was said to resemble a modernized version of the highly advanced North American XB-70 Valkyrie bomber, developed for the USAF, but never put into production. Designed to achieve high efficiency through a very close integration of propulsion and aerodynamics, the XB-70 could achieve a speed of Mach 3.
On September 13 and October 3, 1990, sightings of the aircraft were made at Mojhave, near Edwards Air Force Base (AFB). Another sighting occured north of Edwards AFB in April 1991. On May 10, 1992, a journalist with CNN saw the plane flying near Atlanta, Georgia. The final sighting occurred on July 12 at 11:45p.m. near Lockheed's Hellendale Facility and because it coincided with a severe thunderstorm in the Groom Lake area, speculation arose that an emergency divert had taken place. An indication as to the aircraft's manufacturer came on January 6, 1992, when there was a sighting of an SR-71 shaped forward fuselage section being loaded onto a C-5 transport plane at the Lockheed Skunk Works facility in Burbank, California. It was about 65 to 75 feet long and 10 feet high. The C-5 was bound for Boeing Field in Seattle.
The aircraft was described as having a large delta wing and a large forward fuselage. The wingtips were upturned to form fins. The edges of the wing and fins had a blck tile covering, while the rest of the fuselage was white. The rear fuselage had a raised area with a black line extending down it. Some witnesses reported seeing a long-span canard near the nose. It was said to be about 200 feet long.
Nothing is known, however, about the aircraft's propulsion system. If the "Super-Valkyrie" has been designed as a hypersonic launch vehicle, the most likely method of propulsion would be Pulse Detonation Wave Engines (PDWEs). Operating on a different principle then conventional ramjets, PDWEs dont't continuously burn kerosene, but detonate fuel as it starts to leave the combustion chamber. This generates a regular pulse which may be responsible for producing the unusual "doughnuts-on-a-rope" contrails. The most probable fuel for PDWEs would be cryogenic liquid methane, which could also act as a structural coolant.
At 1:45p.m. on August 5, 1992, A United Airlines 747 crew reported a near miss with an unknown aircraft as the airliner headed out of Los Angeles International Airport. The airliner was in the vacinity of Georges AFB, California, when the 747's Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) warned the flight crew that an aircraft was approaching at high speed. The unidentified aircraft flew past the 747 about 500-1000 feet below it at high supersonic speed. The UFO was described as having a lifting-body configuration, much like the forward fuselage of an SR-71, and being roughly the size of an F-16. It was speculated that the aircraft was a drone that had "escaped". Could this have been the secret spaceplane?
It has been reported that the spaceplane is codenamed Brilliant Buzzard or Blue Eyes. The spaceplane has most likely been based on NASA's X-24C proposals or the highly classified USAF FDL-5 Project. The aircraft was also most likely to have been developed alongside the "North Sea" Aurora. Feasibility studies by many companies all led to the same conceptual design: A one-man delta-shaped vehicle with a 75-degree sweep.
The X-24C rocketplane was intended to follow NASA's X-24B. At the same time, the USAF was considering the black budget Lockheed FDL-5 as a successor to the X-15 rocketplane, the most successful US high-speed research aircraft with 199 flights to speeds of Mach 6.7 and altitudes of 354,200 feet. A mockup was built, and if the X-24C was fully developed and tested, it would explain why the X-24C was cancelled by NASA. It may be however, that the FDL-5 and the proposed X-24C were actually "black" and "white" versions of the same vehicle.
Despite the X-24C being officially scrapped in 1977 and NASA and the USAF apparently unable to produce enough money to build prototypes, Historian Rene Francillon, in a survey of Lockheed aircraft published in 1982, reported that Lockheed had already flown an experimental aircraft capable of sustained flight at Mach 6.
If Lockheed had developed a hypersonic vehicle like the X-24C, it is possible that technology was used in the development of the "North Sea" Aurora and the spaceplane. Testing of the vehicle would have been undertaken at the top-secret Groom Lake installation and the decision to go ahead with constructing prototypes of the "North Sea" Aurora and two-stage spaceplane may have coincided with the Challenger disaster in 1986.
The commissioning of these two systems would also explain unusual changes within the "black world" and it's "white" exterior: The Pentagon's decision to scrap the military space shuttle launch facilities at Vandenburg AFB, the appearance of a major black program in the mid-1980s, and also its appearance showing up in Lockheed's company accounts in the form of an extreme budget. Another factor reinforcing the belief that these projects left the drawing board in 1986, is the redevelopment carried out at Groom Lake. The old housing area, built for A-12 Oxcart personnel, was replaced by modern accomadation blocks. An indoor recreation facility and a new commisary were also built. Four water tanks were built and an extensive runway upgrade program was undertaken. Another improvement was the construction of a new fuel tank farm at the south end of the base, which was believed to store the liquid methane which fuelled Aurora. These improvements were initially attributed to the "North Sea" Aurora spyplane, but a larger hangar was built. Larger than the rest, this could house the "mothership", the Super-Valkyrie/ Spaceplane Project. Known as Hangar 18 by base personnel (after the Hangar 18 at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio), observers claim to have caught glimpses of large aircraft moving in and out of it prior to the closure of land overlooking Groom Lake in 1995. All evidence points to the existence of the Super-Valkyrie and while it's exact role remains unknown, the aircraft seems to have been primarily designed as a mothership.
The flight testing of a spaceplane would have began with a scale-sized demonsrator, used in a series of glide drops conducted from a converted B-52. Although the parent aircraft was being developed, a rocket booster may have been considered as a fall back launch system. Interestingly enough, in 1991 NASA awarded Lockheed's Skunk Works a contract to explore the possibility of developing a small lifting-body spaceplane.
A mockup of this vehicle was built and designated HL-20 PLS. If it had been built, the mini-shuttle would have been an economical alternative for transporting astronauts and pay-loads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The project was abandoned in 1993 in favor of the X-33 Venture Star demonstrator.
Propulsion for the spaceplane is unknown and may take the form of a highly advanced scramjet running on liquid hydrogen. The vehicle will carry two crew members within an ejection capsule who observe the outside via high definition video screens and small side windows.
Assuming the spaceplane is capable of reaching LEO this will allow it to launch small military satellites, inspect foreign satellites and destroy them if necessary. The spaceplane could also carry out global reconaissance missions and deliver nuclear missiles. Current estimates suggest that as many as five spaceplanes have been built, perhaps costing as much as a Super-Valkyrie.
The Super-Valkyrie may have been built by Boeing in Seattle and then transported to Groom Lake and/or Edwards AFB for testing in total secrecy at the beginning of the 1990s. Using proven technology and modern developments, Boeing could have built as many as four of these motherships, costing $2 billion each with funding secretly diverted from "visible" projects. The likely contractor for the small spaceplane is Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works who are also believed to be the contractors of the "North Sea" Aurora. The existence of both programs seems to be confirmed by the way officials from Lockheed-Martin deny their involvement with hypersonic aircraft and their existence.
Despite official denials, the CIA is probably responsible for operating the "North Sea" Aurora and mini-shuttle programs with support from the USAF. The spaceplane probably operates from Groom Lake, Nevada and the White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico, with reports claiming that the Super-Valkyrie has occasionally visited Wallops Island, Virginia.
From where the "North Sea" Aurora spyplanes operate is less clear, but some of the aircraft may be based at Beale AFB which is home to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing.
An X-24C gallery:
The Lockheed X-24C
The Martin Marietta X-24C
Martin X-23 PRIME
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
X-23 PRIME
Preserved X-23 PRIME at USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio
Role: Lifting body
Manufacturer: Martin Marietta
First flight: 21 December 1966
Retired: 19 April 1967
Status: Out of service
Primary user: United States Air Force
Number built: 3
Variants: Martin X-24
The Martin X-23A PRIME (Precision Reentry Including Maneuvering reEntry) was a small lifting body re-entry vehicle tested by the United States Air Force in the mid-1960s. Unlike ASSET, primarily used for structural and heating research, the X-23 PRIME was developed to study the effects of maneuvering during re-entry of Earth's atmosphere, including cross-range maneuvers up to 710 statute miles (1143 km) off of the ballistic track.
Design
Each X-23 was constructed from titanium, beryllium, stainless steel, and aluminium. The craft consisted of two sections — the aft main structure and a removable forward "glove section." The structure was completely covered with a Martin-developed ablative heat shield 20 to 70 mm (¾ to 2¾ inches) thick, and the nose cap was constructed of carbon phenolic material.
Aerodynamic control was provided by a pair of 12-inch (30 cm) square lower flaps, and fixed upper flaps and rudders. A nitrogen gas reaction control system was used outside the atmosphere. At Mach 2 a drogue ballute deployed and slowed the vehicle's descent. As it deployed, its cable sliced the upper structure of the main equipment bay, allowing a 47-foot (16.4 m) recovery chute to deploy. It would then be recovered in midair by a specially-equipped JC-130B Hercules aircraft.
Flight testing
The first PRIME vehicle was launched from Vandenberg AFB on 21 December 1966 atop an Atlas launch vehicle. This mission simulated a low-earth orbit reentry with a zero cross-range. The ballute deployed at 99,850 feet (30.43 km), though the recovery parachute failed to completely deploy. The vehicle crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
The second vehicle was launched on 5 March 1967. This flight simulated a 654-mile (1053-kilometre) cross range re-entry, and banking at hypersonic speeds. Several stringers on the main parachute failed to cut, preventing a successful recovery. It too was lost in the Pacific.
The final PRIME mission was flown on 19 April 1967, and simulated reentry from low-earth orbit with a 710-mile (1143-kilometre) cross-range. This time, all systems performed perfectly, and the X-23 was successfully recovered. An inspection by a USAF-Martin team reported the craft "ready to fly again," although no later missions were carried out. The third X-23 is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Specifications (X-23)
General characteristics
Crew: None
Length: 6 ft 9 in (2.07 m)
Wingspan: 3 ft 10 in (1.16 m)
Height: 2 ft 1 in (0.64 m)
Loaded weight: 890 lb (405 kg)
Powerplant: × Nitrogen-gas reaction control thrusters
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 25
Range: 710 miles (1,143 km)
Hypersonic L/D Ratio: 1:1
And this, from astronautix.com:
Prime
Prime
Credit: USAF
American manned spaceplane. 3 launches, 1966.12.21 (Prime 1) to 1967.04.19 (Prime 3). The Prime (Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry) project was the second part of the USAF START program.
The purpose of START was to develop and demonstrate the technology for maneuvering lifting-body re-entry vehicles with a cross range of up to 1100 km. Planned applications included ICBM warheads, reconnaissance satellite film recovery capsules, and manned spacecraft. The X-23 Prime was a subscale re-entry test vehicle of the SV-5D lifting body configuration planned for the X-24A manned aerodynamic test aircraft. In three suborbital launches the robot vehicle demonstrated the full planned cross range maneuver, and the problems involved in using spray-on ablative heat shields.
Lifting bodies were originally conceived for use as maneuverable ICBM re-entry vehicles to defeat Soviet anti-ballistic missile systems, and as high cross-range film-return capsule for reconnaissance satellites that would improve quick response by providing more film recovery opportunities. NACA's Ames laboratory was the place where much early research was done, resulting in the M2b, M2F2, and M2F3 series of flight demonstration vehicles. NACA Langley had its differing HL-10 design, and the USAF developed the Aerospace Corporation A3 shape for its own specific cross-range requirement. In November 1960 Martin was contracted to study use of the Ames M1 shape for recovery of film capsules from the USAF Samos satellite. Instead it concluded that the Aerospace A3 configuration was superior, and developed a stretched version of the A3 as the A3-4 or SV-5. Tests of the SV-5 under the PRIME project were to include demonstration of 1145 km cross-range maneuvers. After the cancellation of DynaSoar, the remaining Asset subscale re-entry tests of that program were combined with PRIME, resulting in Air Force Program 680A, called START, and consisting of subprojects Asset, Prime, and Pilot (subsonic piloted lifting-body tests).
The Prime X-23A lifting body weighed 400 kg and was built primarily of 2014-T6 titanium alloy, with some structures built of beryllium, steel, or aluminum, as required. On a typical flight, the unmanned SV-5D was launched by an Atlas booster from Vandenberg AFB, California. At the high point in its flight path, the Atlas pitched downward while its rocket continued accelerating it to orbital re-entry velocity. The lifting body separated from the booster, and its inertial guidance system directed it to a pre-selected recovery point. Outside the earth's atmosphere the SV-5D was maneuvered by the release of high pressure nitrogen through jet thrusters. When the craft re-entered the atmosphere its control system automatically switched to airplane-type flaps for pitch and roll control. The shape was expected to demonstrate a hypersonic L/D of 1.0. Two types of ablative coating protected the vehicle during re-entry. Silicon-nylon fibers within an ablator applied to a silicon honeycomb base protected the main body of the shape. Thickness varied from 2 to 7 cm depending on the expected heating rates. The nose cap was protected with a carbon-phenolic resin. The lifting portion of the re-entry would be terminated at Mach 2.0 with deployment of a drogue ballute, followed at subsonic speeds by a 14-m diameter recovery parachute. Air-snatch of the re-entry vehicle under its parachute was to be accomplished by a JC-130B aircraft over the ocean.
After the successful third mission, the rest of the project was cancelled, and the two remaining unflown X-23A's were sent to the USAF Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. After the cancellation of Dynasoar, the Air Force pursued further development of manned spaceplanes under the START Project.
Characteristics
Structure: 78 kg (171 lb). Heat shield: 110 kg (240 lb). RCS Coarse No x Thrust: Cold gas (nitrogen).
AKA: SV-5D;X-23A.
Gross mass: 405 kg (892 lb).
Height: 2.10 m (6.80 ft).
Span: 1.20 m (3.90 ft).
First date: 12/21/1966 .
Last date: 4/19/1967 .
Number: 3 .
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Associated Countries •USA
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See also •Manned
•Spaceplane
•Suborbital
•US Rocketplanes
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Associated Launch Vehicles •Atlas The Atlas rocket, originally developed as America's first ICBM, was the basis for most early American space exploration and was that country's most successful medium-lift commercial launch vehicle. It launched America's first astronaut into orbit; the first generations of spy satellites; the first lunar orbiters and landers; the first probes to Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn; and was America's most successful commercial launcher of communications satellites. Its innovative stage-and-a-half and 'balloon tank' design provided the best dry-mass fraction of any launch vehicle ever built. It was retired in 2004 after 576 launches in a 47-year career. More...
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Associated Manufacturers and Agencies •Martin American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Martin Marietta Astronautics Group (1956), Denver, CO, USA. More...
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Bibliography •Gatland, Kenneth, Manned Spacecraft, Macmillan, New York, 1968.
•Jenkins, Dennis R,, Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System : The First 100 Missions, Third edition, Voyageur Press, 2001.
•Miller, Jay,, The X-Planes, Aerofax, Arlington, Texas, 1988.
•Houchin II, Roy and Smith, Terry, "X-20 (7 articles)", Quest, 1994, Volume 3, Issue 4, page 4.
•Peebles, Curtis, "The Origins of the US Space Shuttle - 1", Spaceflight, 1979, Volume 21, page 435.
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And this, from Gunter's Space Page (http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/prime.htm):
PRIME (SV-5D, X-23)
PRIME (SV-5D, X-23)
The Martin X-23 PRIME (Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry) was a small unmanned lifting body re-entry vehicle tested by the United States Air Force in the late 1960s. Unlike ASSET, primarily used for structural and heating research, the X-23 PRIME was developed to study the effects of maneuvering during re-entry of Earth's atmosphere, including cross-range maneuvers up to 1143 km off of the ballistic track.
The structure of the X-23 was built from titanium, beryllium, stainless steel, and aluminium. It consisted of two sections: the aft main structure and a removable forward "glove section." The body of the X-23 was completely covered with a Martin-developed ablative heat shield 20 to 70 mm thick, and the nose cap was constructed of carbon phenolic material.
Aerodynamic control was provided by a pair of 30 cm square lower flaps, and fixed upper flaps and rudders. A nitrogen gas reaction control system was used outside the atmosphere. At Mach 2 a drogue ballute deployed and slowed the vehicle's descent. As it deployed, its cable sliced the upper structure of the main equipment bay, allowing a 16.4 m recovery chute to deploy. It was to be recovered in midair by a specially-equipped JC-130B Hercules aircraft.
All missions were launched on Atlas-SLV3 boosters from Vandenberg AFB.
PRIME 1 was launched on 21 December 1966 on a mission to simulate a low-earth orbit reentry with a zero cross-range. The ballute deployed at 30.43 km, though the recovery parachute failed to completely deploy. The vehicle crashed into the Pacific Ocean and was not recovered.
PRIME 2 was launched on 5 March 1967. This flight simulated a 1053 km cross range re-entry, and banking at hypersonic speeds. Several stringers on the main parachute failed to cut which lead to the loss of the vehicle.
PRIME 3 mission was flown on 19 April 1967 and simulated reentry from low-earth orbit with a 1143 km cross-range. This time, all systems performed perfectly, and the X-23 was successfully recovered. An inspection by a USAF-Martin team reported the craft to be reusable although no later missions were carried out. PRIME 3 is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
A fourth PRIME mission was cancelled and the launch vehicle was converted to a Atlas-SLV3 Burner-2 configuration.
Nation: USA
Type / Application: Lifting Body Reentry Test
Operator: USAF
Contractors: Martin Marietta
Equipment:
Configuration:
Propulsion:
Power: Batteries
Lifetime:
Mass:
Orbit: suborbital
Satellite Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
PRIME 1 (SV-5D 1) 21.12.1966 Va SLC-3E * Atlas-SLV3
PRIME 2 (SV-5D 2) 05.03.1967 Va SLC-3E * Atlas-SLV3
PRIME 3 (SV-5D 3) 20.04.1967 Va SLC-3E * Atlas-SLV3
PRIME 4 (SV-5D 4) not launched Va SLC-3E
*
Atlas-SLV3
* = suborbital
********************************************************
The Martin X-24A
From astronautix.com:
X-24A
X-23 with X-24
X-23 with Orbital X-24
Credit: Lockheed Martin
American manned spaceplane. 28 launches, 1969.04.17 to 1971.06.04 . The X-24A was the Martin Corporation's subsonic test version of the US Air Force's preferred manned lifting body configuration.
This was flat-bellied with canted vertical stabilizers at the end of the rounded upper body. It was of the same configuration as the subscale X-23 Prime vehicle tested on suborbital flights in 1966 - 1967.
Martin and the USAF hoped it would lead to a larger Titan III-launched manned orbital ferry vehicle (cinematically embodies in the 'XRV' spacecraft in the 1969 film version of Martin Caidin's novel 'Marooned'). The X-24A was air-launched from an NB-52 carrier aircraft and reached a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and a maximum altitude of 21,800 m during its flight test. The X-24A handled well as a glider, but in powered flight it exhibited a nose-up trim change that prevented it from flying at low angles of attack. Air Force interest then focused on 'high fineness lifting body' configurations and the X-24A airframe was converted to the X-24B configuration. The X-24A was also known as the SV-5P configuration. Two nearly identical SV-5J's, equipped with a Pratt and Whitney J60-PW-1 jet engine of 1360 kgf, were built but never flown.
Characteristics
Spacecraft delta v: 1,300 m/s (4,200 ft/sec). Battery: 194.00 Ah.
Gross mass: 5,192 kg (11,446 lb).
Unfuelled mass: 2,712 kg (5,978 lb).
Height: 7.47 m (24.50 ft).
Span: 4.16 m (13.64 ft).
Thrust: 37.71 kN (8,477 lbf).
Specific impulse: 225 s.
First date: 4/17/1969 .
Last date: 6/4/1971 .
Number: 28 .
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Associated Countries •USA
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Associated Engines •XLR11 Reaction Motors, Thiokol Lox/Alcohol rocket engine. Out of Production. Launch thrust 26.67 kN. Rocket engine developed for X-1 in 1940s to break the sound barrier and used twenty years later to power experimental lifting bodies. Four combustion chambers. More...
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See also •Manned
•Spaceplane
•Suborbital
•US Rocketplanes
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Associated Manufacturers and Agencies •Martin American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Martin Marietta Astronautics Group (1956), Denver, CO, USA. More...
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Associated Propellants •Lox/Alcohol
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Bibliography •Gatland, Kenneth, Manned Spacecraft, Macmillan, New York, 1968.
•Miller, Jay,, The X-Planes, Aerofax, Arlington, Texas, 1988.
•Miller, Ron, The Dream Machines, Krieger, Malabar, Florida, 1993.
•Zhelyez x-plane book,
•Houchin II, Roy and Smith, Terry, "X-20 (7 articles)", Quest, 1994, Volume 3, Issue 4, page 4.
•Peebles, Curtis, "The Origins of the US Space Shuttle - 1", Spaceflight, 1979, Volume 21, page 435.
•Grimwood, James M., Project Mercury: A Chronology, NASA Special Publication-4001.
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X-24A Chronology
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1957 July - August - . •Semiballistic design for a manned reentry spacecraft. - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: X-24A; HL-10. Summary: Alfred J. Eggers, Jr., of the NACA Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, worked out a semiballistic design for a manned reentry spacecraft..
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1962 September - . •M2-F1 lifting body first flight. - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: M2-F2; HL-10; X-24A. The lifting body concept was first tested at Dryden with a plywood prototype designated the M2-F1 built in late 1962. It featured a plywood shell built by Gus Briegleb, a sailplane builder from Mirage Dry Lake, Calif., placed over a tubular frame built at Dryden. The M2-F1 was towed aloft, first behind an auto and then a C-47 more than 100 times, to validate basic lifting body stability and control characteristics. This led to establishment of the formal program which resulted in the HL-10, M2-F2, M2-F3, X-24A, and X-24B lifting bodies.
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1969 April 17 - . •X-24 Flight 1 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 1. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 763 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 217 sec..
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1969 May 8 - . •X-24 Flight 2 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 2. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 735 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 253 sec..
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1969 August 21 - . •X-24 Flight 3 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 3. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 615 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 270 sec..
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1969 September 9 - . •X-24 Flight 4 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 4. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 647 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 232 sec..
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1969 September 24 - . •X-24 Flight 5 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 5. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 637 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 257 sec..
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1969 October 22 - . •X-24 Flight 6 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 6. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 623 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 238 sec..
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1969 November 13 - . •X-24 Flight 7 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 7. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 687 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 270 sec..
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1969 November 25 - . •X-24 Flight 8 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 8. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 730 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 266 sec..
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1970 February 24 - . •X-24 Flight 9 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 9. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Glide. Maximum Speed - 819 kph. Maximum Altitude - 14326 m. Flight Time - 258 sec..
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1970 March 19 - . •X-24 Flight 10 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 10. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: First powered flight. Maximum Speed - 919 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13533 m. Flight Time - 424 sec..
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1970 April 2 - . •X-24 Flight 11 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 11. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 919 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17892 m. Flight Time - 435 sec..
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1970 April 22 - . •X-24 Flight 12 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 12. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 981 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17587 m. Flight Time - 408 sec..
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1970 May 14 - . •X-24 Flight 13 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 13. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: 2 chambers. Maximum Speed - 795 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13594 m. Flight Time - 513 sec..
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1970 June 17 - . •X-24 Flight 14 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 14. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1051 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18593 m. Flight Time - 432 sec..
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1970 July 28 - . •X-24 Flight 15 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 15. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 996 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17678 m. Flight Time - 388 sec..
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1970 August 11 - . •X-24 Flight 16 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 16. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1047 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19477 m. Flight Time - 413 sec..
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1970 August 26 - . •X-24 Flight 17 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 17. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: 2 chambers. Maximum Speed - 737 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12649 m. Flight Time - 479 sec..
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1970 October 14 - . •X-24 Flight 18 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 18. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: First supersonic flight. Maximum Speed - 1261 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20696 m. Flight Time - 411 sec..
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1970 October 27 - . •X-24 Flight 19 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 19. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1446 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21763 m. Flight Time - 417 sec..
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1970 November 20 - . •X-24 Flight 20 - . Crew: Gentry. Payload: X-24A flight 20. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gentry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1456 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20604 m. Flight Time - 432 sec..
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1971 January 21 - . •X-24 Flight 21 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 21. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1093 kph. Maximum Altitude - 15819 m. Flight Time - 462 sec..
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1971 February 4 - . •X-24 Flight 22 - . Crew: Powell. Payload: X-24A flight 22. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Powell. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Powell's check flight, glide. Maximum Speed - 700 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 235 sec..
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1971 February 18 - . •X-24 Flight 23 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 23. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1606 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20544 m. Flight Time - 447 sec..
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1971 March 1 - . •X-24 Flight 24 - . Crew: Powell. Payload: X-24A flight 24. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Powell. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1064 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17343 m. Flight Time - 437 sec..
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1971 March 29 - . •X-24 Flight 25 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 25. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Fastest X-24 flight. Maximum Speed - 1667 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21488 m. Flight Time - 446 sec..
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1971 May 12 - . •X-24 Flight 26 - . Crew: Powell. Payload: X-24A flight 26. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Powell. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1477 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21610 m. Flight Time - 423 sec..
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1971 May 25 - . •X-24 Flight 27 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 27. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: 3 chambers. Maximum Speed - 1265 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19903 m. Flight Time - 548 sec..
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1971 June 4 - . •X-24 Flight 28 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 28. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24A. Summary: Final X-24A flight. Maximum Speed - 867 kph. Maximum Altitude - 16581 m. Flight Time - 517 sec..
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1991 December - . •HL-20 Mock-up tests completed - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: HL-20; X-38; X-24A; Space Station Freedom. NASA, North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T University built a full-scale model of the HL-20 for human factors research on the concept. In the end, space station Freedom became the International Space Station. As the initial crew emergency rescue vehicle, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft was selected. However NASA, looking for a higher-capacity alternative and concerned about reliable availability of the Soyuz in the future, did begin development of the X-38 CERV in 1997. The X-38 was however based on the Johnson concept of parachute-assisted landing, and used the pure-USA X-24 lifting body shape....
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X-24A Images
X-24A
Credit: © Mark Wade
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Lifting Bodies
Manned Lifting Bodies
Credit: NASA
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X-24A
Credit: NASA
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Lifting Bodies
Lifting Bodies Comparative
Credit: © Mark Wade
From Wikipedia:
Martin Marietta X-24A
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the experimental aircraft. For the aeroplane engine, see X24 engine.
X-24A
The Martin X-24A
Role: Lifting body
Manufacturer: Martin Marietta
First flight: 17 April 1969
Retired: 26 November 1975
Status: Out of service:
Primary users: U.S.Air Force: NASA
Number built: 1
Developed from: X-23 PRIME
Variants
Martin Marietta X-24B
The Martin Marietta X-24A was an experimental US aircraft developed from a joint USAF-NASA program named PILOT (1963–1975). It was designed and built to test lifting body concepts, experimenting with the concept of unpowered reentry and landing, later used by the Space Shuttle.[1]
Design and development
The X-24A begins its rocket-powered flight after being launched from the wing of NASA's B-52 mothership, Balls 8, during a 1970 research flight
The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center) in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site.
Lifting bodies’ aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths.
The X-24 (Model SV-5P) was built by Martin Marietta and flown from Edwards AFB, California. The X-24A was the fourth lifting body design to fly; it followed the NASA M2-F1 in 1964, the Northrop HL-10 in (1966), the Northrop M2-F2 in 1968 and preceded the Northrop M2-F3 (1970).
The X-24A was a fat, short teardrop shape with vertical fins for control. It made its first, unpowered, glide flight on April 17, 1969 with Air Force Maj. Jerauld R. Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The craft was taken to around 45,000 feet (13.7 km) by a modified B-52 and then drop launched, then either glided down or used its rocket engine to ascend to higher altitudes before gliding down. The X-24A was flown 28 times at speeds up to 1,036 mph (1,667 km/h) and altitudes up to 71,400 feet (21.8 km).
SV-5J
After learning about a remark by Chuck Yeager that he would like to have some jet-powered lifting bodies for training purposes, Martin designed and built two examples of the SV-5J on their own initiative .[1]
The SV-5J was a jet-powered version of the rocket-powered X-24A. The SV-5J had identical dimensions to the X-24A, but was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney J60-PW-1 jet engine of 1360 kgf, in place of the X-24A's Reaction Motors XLR-11-RM-13 rocket engine. Martin also manufactured a full-scale, unflyable, mock-up of the SV-5J. (Confusion over number built may be due to the mock-up being included in the production list.)
Martin was unable to convince Milt Thompson to fly the SV-5J, even after offering a $20,000 bonus. Both examples remained unflown.
As the original X-24A was converted to X-24B, one of the SV-5Js eventually was converted to represent the X-24A, for display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, besides the original X-24B.
The unflyable mock-up ended up in Hollywood and was used for several movies as a space-ship prop.
Operational history
The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. The fastest speed achieved by the X-24A was 1,036 miles per hour (1667 km/h or Mach 1.6). Its maximum altitude was 71,400 feet (21.8 km) . It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine with a maximum theoretical vacuum thrust of 8,480 pounds force (37.7 kN).
The X-24A was modified into the more stable X-24B with an entirely different shape in 1972. The bulbous shape of the X-24A was converted into a "flying flatiron" shape with a rounded top, flat bottom, and double delta planform that ended in a pointed nose. It was the basis for the Martin SV-5J. The X-24A shape was later borrowed for the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) technology demonstrator for the International Space Station.
X-24A pilots Jerauld R. Gentry - 13 flights
John A. Manke - 12 flights
Cecil W. Powell - 3 flights
Specifications (X-24A)
General characteristics
Crew: one pilot
Length: 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Wingspan: 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
Wing area: 195 ft² (18.1 m²)
Empty weight: 6,360 lb (2,885 kg)
Loaded weight: 10,700 lb (4,853 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 11,447 lb (5,192 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Reaction Motors XLR-11rs four-chamber rocket engine, 8,480 lbf (37.7 kN)
Performance
Maximum speed: 1,036 mph (1,667 km/h)
Range: 45 miles (72 km)
Service ceiling: 71,407 ft (21,763 m)
Wing loading: 59 lb/ft² (288 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.70
Related development
X-23 PRIME
Martin Marietta X-24B
Comparable aircraft
M2-F1
M2-F2
M2-F3
HL-10
Space Shuttle
Related lists
List of experimental aircraft
References
Notes
1.^ a b Reed and Lister 2002.
Bibliography
Reed, R. Dale with Darlene Lister. Wingless Flight: The Lifting Body Story. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2002. ISBN 0-81319-026-6.
Winchester, Jim. "Martin-Marietta X-24." X-Planes and Prototypes.' London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-40-7.
X-24 Gallery, from NASA Dryden:
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The Martin X-24B
From astronautix.com:
X-24B
X-24B
Credit: NASA
American manned spaceplane. 36 launches, 1973.08.01 to 1975.11.26 .
The X-24B was used by the US Air Force to explore the supersonic and subsonic handling characteristics of the FDL-7 and FDL-8 hypersonic configurations which promised to double the hypersonic L/D ratio of the original X-24A. It was air dropped from the NB-52 carrier aircraft and reached Mach 1.76 and 22,400 m altitude during its test program. By the time the test series had started the USAF had been forced to accept the NASA space shuttle for its future manned space ambitions and had dropped plans for a Titan-launched manned spaceplane.
The configuration was also applicable to air-breathing hypersonic aircraft. NASA and USAF proposed an X-24C, which would have been two new-build vehicles. These would have the XLR-99 engine from the X-15 and take the configuration out to Mach 8 and conducted scramjet tests in 200 flights. This follow-on project was cancelled for lack of funds (or replaced by a black project with Lockheed).
Characteristics
Spacecraft delta v: 1,300 m/s (4,200 ft/sec). Battery: 194.00 Ah.
Gross mass: 6,258 kg (13,796 lb).
Unfuelled mass: 3,778 kg (8,329 lb).
Height: 11.43 m (37.49 ft).
Span: 5.84 m (19.16 ft).
Thrust: 43.58 kN (9,797 lbf).
Specific impulse: 225 s.
First date: 8/1/1973 .
Last date: 11/26/1975 .
Number: 36 .
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Associated Countries •USA
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Associated Engines •XLR11 Reaction Motors, Thiokol Lox/Alcohol rocket engine. Out of Production. Launch thrust 26.67 kN. Rocket engine developed for X-1 in 1940s to break the sound barrier and used twenty years later to power experimental lifting bodies. Four combustion chambers. More...
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See also •Manned
•Spaceplane
•Suborbital
•US Rocketplanes
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Associated Manufacturers and Agencies •Martin American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Martin Marietta Astronautics Group (1956), Denver, CO, USA. More...
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Associated Propellants •Lox/Alcohol
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Bibliography •Miller, Jay,, The X-Planes, Aerofax, Arlington, Texas, 1988.
•Miller, Ron, The Dream Machines, Krieger, Malabar, Florida, 1993.
•Zhelyez x-plane book,
•Houchin II, Roy and Smith, Terry, "X-20 (7 articles)", Quest, 1994, Volume 3, Issue 4, page 4.
•Peebles, Curtis, "The Origins of the US Space Shuttle - 1", Spaceflight, 1979, Volume 21, page 435.
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X-24B Chronology
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1973 August 1 - . •X-24 Flight 29 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 1. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: First glide flight. Maximum Speed - 740 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12190 m. Flight Time - 252 sec..
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1973 August 17 - . •X-24 Flight 30 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 2. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 722 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 267 sec..
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1973 August 31 - . •X-24 Flight 31 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 3. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 771 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 277 sec..
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1973 September 18 - . •X-24 Flight 32 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 4. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 724 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 271 sec..
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1973 October 4 - . •X-24 Flight 33 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 5. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 732 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 279 sec..
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1973 November 15 - . •X-24 Flight 34 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 6. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: First power flight. Maximum Speed - 961 kph. Maximum Altitude - 16080 m. Flight Time - 404 sec..
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1973 December 12 - . •X-24 Flight 35 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 7. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1038 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19080 m. Flight Time - 434 sec..
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1974 February 15 - . •X-24 Flight 36 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 8. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 724 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 307 sec..
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1974 March 5 - . •X-24 Flight 37 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 9. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: First supersonic flight. Maximum Speed - 1139 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18390 m. Flight Time - 437 sec..
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1974 April 30 - . •X-24 Flight 38 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 10. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 930 kph. Maximum Altitude - 15860 m. Flight Time - 419 sec..
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1974 May 24 - . •X-24 Flight 39 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 11. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1212 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17060 m. Flight Time - 448 sec..
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1974 June 14 - . •X-24 Flight 40 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 12. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1303 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19970 m. Flight Time - 405 sec..
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1974 June 28 - . •X-24 Flight 41 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 13. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1480 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20770 m. Flight Time - 427 sec..
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1974 August 8 - . •X-24 Flight 42 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 14. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1644 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22370 m. Flight Time - 395 sec..
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1974 August 29 - . •X-24 Flight 43 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 15. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1170 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22080 m. Flight Time - 467 sec..
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1974 October 25 - . •X-24 Flight 44 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 16. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Max. speed flight. Maximum Speed - 1873 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21990 m. Flight Time - 417 sec..
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1974 November 15 - . •X-24 Flight 45 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 17. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1722 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21960 m. Flight Time - 481 sec..
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1974 December 17 - . •X-24 Flight 46 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 18. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1667 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20960 m. Flight Time - 420 sec..
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1975 January 14 - . •X-24 Flight 47 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 19. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1862 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22180 m. Flight Time - 477 sec..
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1975 March 20 - . •X-24 Flight 48 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 20. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1537 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21450 m. Flight Time - 409 sec..
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1975 April 18 - . •X-24 Flight 49 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 21. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1279 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17650 m. Flight Time - 450 sec..
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1975 May 6 - . •X-24 Flight 50 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 22. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1541 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22370 m. Flight Time - 448 sec..
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1975 May 22 - . •X-24 Flight 51 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 23. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Max. altitude. Maximum Speed - 1744 kph. Maximum Altitude - 22370 m. Flight Time - 461 sec..
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1975 June 6 - . •X-24 Flight 52 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 24. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1786 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21980 m. Flight Time - 474 sec..
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1975 June 25 - . •X-24 Flight 53 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 25. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1427 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17680 m. Flight Time - 426 sec..
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1975 July 15 - . •X-24 Flight 54 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 26. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1685 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21180 m. Flight Time - 415 sec..
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1975 August 5 - . •X-24 Flight 55 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24B flight 27. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1381 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18290 m. Flight Time - 420 sec..
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1975 August 20 - . •X-24 Flight 56 - . Crew: Love, Michael. Payload: X-24B flight 28. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Love, Michael. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1625 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21950 m. Flight Time - 420 sec..
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1975 September 9 - . •X-24 Flight 57 - . Crew: Dana. Payload: X-24B flight 29. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Dana. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 1593 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21640 m. Flight Time - 435 sec..
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1975 September 23 - . •X-24 Flight 58 - . Crew: Dana. Payload: X-24B flight 30. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Dana. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Last rocket-powered flight. Maximum Speed - 1255 kph. Maximum Altitude - 17680 m. Flight Time - 438 sec..
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1975 October 9 - . •X-24 Flight 59 - . Crew: Enevoldson. Payload: X-24B flight 31. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Enevoldson. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 724 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 251 sec..
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1975 October 21 - . •X-24 Flight 60 - . Crew: Scobee. Payload: X-24B flight 32. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Scobee. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 743 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 255 sec..
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1975 November 3 - . •X-24 Flight 61 - . Crew: McMurtry. Payload: X-24B flight 33. Nation: USA. Related Persons: McMurtry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 734 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 248 sec..
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1975 November 12 - . •X-24 Flight 62 - . Crew: Enevoldson. Payload: X-24B flight 34. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Enevoldson. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 734 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 241 sec..
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1975 November 19 - . •X-24 Flight 63 - . Crew: Scobee. Payload: X-24B flight 35. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Scobee. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 740 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 249 sec..
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1975 November 26 - . •X-24 Flight 64 - . Crew: McMurtry. Payload: X-24B flight 36. Nation: USA. Related Persons: McMurtry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft: X-24B. Summary: Maximum Speed - 740 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 245 sec..
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X-24B Images
X-24B
Credit: © Mark Wade
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Lifting Bodies
Lifting Body comparison
Credit: © Mark Wade
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Lifting Bodies
Lifting Bodies Comparative
Credit: © Mark Wade
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FDL Spaceplane
Credit: USAF
From Wikipedia:
Martin Marietta X-24B
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
X-24B
The X-24B in flight
Role: Lifting body
Manufacturer: Martin Marietta
First flight: 1 August 1973
Retired: 26 November 1975
Status: Out of service
Primary users: United States Air Force and NASA
Number built: 1 (rebuilt X-24A)
Developed from: Martin Marietta X-24A
The Martin Marietta X-24B was an experimental US aircraft developed from a joint USAF-NASA program named PILOT (1963–1975). It was designed and built to test lifting body concepts, experimenting with the concept of unpowered reentry and landing, later used by the Space Shuttle.[1]
Design and development
The X-24B on the lakebed at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, California
The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research Center) in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site.
The X-24B's design evolved from a family of potential reentry shapes, each with higher lift-to-drag ratios, proposed by the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory. To reduce the costs of constructing a research vehicle, the Air Force returned the X-24A to the Martin Marietta Corporation (as Martin Aircraft Company became after a merger) for modifications that converted its bulbous shape into one resembling a "flying flatiron" -- rounded top, flat bottom, and a double delta planform that ended in a pointed nose.
First to fly the X-24B was John Manke, a glide flight on 1 August 1973. He was also the pilot on the first powered mission 15 November 1973.
X-24C
There were a variety of "X-24C" proposals floated between 1972 and 1978. Perhaps the most notable was a Lockheed Skunk Works design, the L-301, which was to use scramjets to reach a top speed of Mach 8.[2]
Operational history
The X-24B demonstrated that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was 1,164 mph (1873 km/h) and the highest altitude it reached was 74,130 feet (22.59 km). The pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was Bill Dana, who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven years earlier.
Among the final flights with the X-24B were two precise landings on the main concrete runway at Edwards which showed that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. These missions were flown by Manke and Air Force Maj. Mike Love, and represented the final milestone in a program that helped write the flight plan for today's Space Shuttle program.
The X-24B was the last aircraft to fly in Dryden's Lifting Body program. The X-24B was flown 36 times.
The X-24B is on public display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
X-24B pilots John A. Manke - 16 flights
Michael V. Love - 12 flights
William H. Dana - 2 flights
Einar K. Enevoldson - 2 flights
Thomas C. McMurtry - 2 flights
Francis Scobee - 2 flights
Specifications (X-24B)
General characteristics
Crew: one pilot
Length: 37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Wingspan: 19 ft 0 in (5.79 m)
Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
Wing area: 330 ft² (30.7 m²)
Empty weight: 8,500 lb (3,855 kg)
Loaded weight: 11,800 lb (5,350 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 13,800 lb (6,260 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × XLR-11-RM-13 four-chamber rocket engine, 8,480 lbf (37.7 KN)
Performance
Maximum speed: 1,164 mph (1,873 km/h)
Range: 45 miles (72 km)
Service ceiling: 74,130 ft (22.59 km)
Wing loading: 205 kg/m² ()
Thrust/weight: 0.71
See also
United States Air Force portal
Related development Martin Marietta X-24A
Lockheed L-301
Comparable aircraft M2-F1
M2-F2
M2-F3
HL-10
Space Shuttle
Related lists List of experimental aircraft
References
1.^ Reed, R. Dale; Darlene Lister (2002). Wingless Flight: The Lifting Body Story. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813190266. also available as a PDF file.
2.^ Jenkins, Dennis R. (2001). Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System (3rd edition ed.). Voyageur Press. ISBN 0-9633974-5-1.
Miller, Jay. The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45. Hinckley, UK: Midland, 2001.
Rose, Bill, 2008. Secret Projects: Military Space Technology. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing.
Martin X-24B Gallery, from NASA Dryden:
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The Martin X-24C
X-24C
CONFIGURATION DEVELOPMENT STUDY
OF THE
X-24C HYPERSONIC RESEARCH AIRPLANE
- PHASE II http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790008668_1979008668.pdf
X-24C
Credit: USAF
American manned spaceplane. Cancelled 1977. Two X-24C NHFRF (National Hypersonic Flight Research Facility) aircraft were to be built under a $ 200 million budget.
They would fly 200 flights over ten years, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 8 and being able to cruise at over Mach 6 for 40 seconds. They were cancelled in 1977 after budget overruns.
As the X-15 program wound down in the mid-1960's, NASA and the USAF considered follow-on hypersonic test aircraft. The USAF had significant classified work underway, while NASA Langley undertook two study programs: HYFAC (Hypersonic Research Facility) for a Mach 12 aircraft, and HSRA (High Speed Research Aircraft) for a Mach 8 aircraft. The Air Force revealed it had intentions to build a Mach 3 to 5 test vehicle, and an Incremental Growth Vehicle which would gradually be taken from Mach 4.5 to Mach 9. By July 1974 NASA and the Air Force selected the FDL-8 lifting body configuration. Two versions were proposed: one with cheek air intakes and air-breathing engines, and one with the XLR-99 rocket engine of the X-15. By September 1977 (officially) budget overruns were apparent and NASA agreed to cancel further X-24C work. But given the stories of similar USAF test aircraft in the 1980's, perhaps the project merely went deep black.
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Associated Countries •USA
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See also •Manned
•Spaceplane
•Suborbital
•US Rocketplanes
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Associated Launch Vehicles •Titan American orbital launch vehicle. The Titan launch vehicle family was developed by the United States Air Force to meet its medium lift requirements in the 1960's. The designs finally put into production were derived from the Titan II ICBM. Titan outlived the competing NASA Saturn I launch vehicle and the Space Shuttle for military launches. It was finally replaced by the USAF's EELV boosters, the Atlas V and Delta IV. Although conceived as a low-cost, quick-reaction system, Titan was not successful as a commercial launch vehicle. Air Force requirements growth over the years drove its costs up - the Ariane using similar technology provided lower-cost access to space. More...
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Associated Manufacturers and Agencies •Martin American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Martin Marietta Astronautics Group (1956), Denver, CO, USA. More...
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Bibliography •Miller, Jay,, The X-Planes, Aerofax, Arlington, Texas, 1988.
•NASA Report, Configuration development study of the X-24C hypersonic research airplane, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790007769_1979007769.pdf.
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X-24C Chronology
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1974 July - . •FDL-8 lifting body configuration selected for the X-24C. - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: X-24C. NASA and the Air Force selected the FDL-8 lifting body configuration for the X-24C. Two versions of the hypersonic aerospacecraft were proposed: one with cheek air intakes and air-breathing engines, and one with the XLR-99 rocket engine of the X-15. Two X-24C were to be built under a $ 200 million budet. They would fly 200 flights over ten years, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 8 and being able to cruise at over Mach 6 for 40 seconds.
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1977 September - . •X-24C cancelled - . Nation: USA. Spacecraft: X-24C. Summary: Budget overruns were apparent and NASA agreed to cancel further X-24C work. But given the stories of similar USAF test aircraft in the 1980's, perhaps the project merely went deep black
And, on that note, this from abovetopsecret.com:
AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE PROGRAM
AND THE SUPER VALKYRIE
By Bill Rose for UFO Magazine UK
There is growing evidence that a mini-shuttle was developed shortly after the space shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986 and that the trials began in 1992.
Operating under the mysterious Aurora Project, the system is believed to comprise a spaceplane roughly the size of an SR-71 spyplane and a hypersonic launch vehicle resembling the experimental XB-70A strategic bomber designd in 1957-60. This large aircraft could perform a number of roles, but it appears to have been designed specifically to carry the smaller spaceplane to a suitable launch altitude.
Sightings of the aircraft described as a "mothership" first began in the late summer of 1990. It was said to resemble a modernized version of the highly advanced North American XB-70 Valkyrie bomber, developed for the USAF, but never put into production. Designed to achieve high efficiency through a very close integration of propulsion and aerodynamics, the XB-70 could achieve a speed of Mach 3.
On September 13 and October 3, 1990, sightings of the aircraft were made at Mojhave, near Edwards Air Force Base (AFB). Another sighting occured north of Edwards AFB in April 1991. On May 10, 1992, a journalist with CNN saw the plane flying near Atlanta, Georgia. The final sighting occurred on July 12 at 11:45p.m. near Lockheed's Hellendale Facility and because it coincided with a severe thunderstorm in the Groom Lake area, speculation arose that an emergency divert had taken place. An indication as to the aircraft's manufacturer came on January 6, 1992, when there was a sighting of an SR-71 shaped forward fuselage section being loaded onto a C-5 transport plane at the Lockheed Skunk Works facility in Burbank, California. It was about 65 to 75 feet long and 10 feet high. The C-5 was bound for Boeing Field in Seattle.
The aircraft was described as having a large delta wing and a large forward fuselage. The wingtips were upturned to form fins. The edges of the wing and fins had a blck tile covering, while the rest of the fuselage was white. The rear fuselage had a raised area with a black line extending down it. Some witnesses reported seeing a long-span canard near the nose. It was said to be about 200 feet long.
Nothing is known, however, about the aircraft's propulsion system. If the "Super-Valkyrie" has been designed as a hypersonic launch vehicle, the most likely method of propulsion would be Pulse Detonation Wave Engines (PDWEs). Operating on a different principle then conventional ramjets, PDWEs dont't continuously burn kerosene, but detonate fuel as it starts to leave the combustion chamber. This generates a regular pulse which may be responsible for producing the unusual "doughnuts-on-a-rope" contrails. The most probable fuel for PDWEs would be cryogenic liquid methane, which could also act as a structural coolant.
At 1:45p.m. on August 5, 1992, A United Airlines 747 crew reported a near miss with an unknown aircraft as the airliner headed out of Los Angeles International Airport. The airliner was in the vacinity of Georges AFB, California, when the 747's Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) warned the flight crew that an aircraft was approaching at high speed. The unidentified aircraft flew past the 747 about 500-1000 feet below it at high supersonic speed. The UFO was described as having a lifting-body configuration, much like the forward fuselage of an SR-71, and being roughly the size of an F-16. It was speculated that the aircraft was a drone that had "escaped". Could this have been the secret spaceplane?
It has been reported that the spaceplane is codenamed Brilliant Buzzard or Blue Eyes. The spaceplane has most likely been based on NASA's X-24C proposals or the highly classified USAF FDL-5 Project. The aircraft was also most likely to have been developed alongside the "North Sea" Aurora. Feasibility studies by many companies all led to the same conceptual design: A one-man delta-shaped vehicle with a 75-degree sweep.
The X-24C rocketplane was intended to follow NASA's X-24B. At the same time, the USAF was considering the black budget Lockheed FDL-5 as a successor to the X-15 rocketplane, the most successful US high-speed research aircraft with 199 flights to speeds of Mach 6.7 and altitudes of 354,200 feet. A mockup was built, and if the X-24C was fully developed and tested, it would explain why the X-24C was cancelled by NASA. It may be however, that the FDL-5 and the proposed X-24C were actually "black" and "white" versions of the same vehicle.
Despite the X-24C being officially scrapped in 1977 and NASA and the USAF apparently unable to produce enough money to build prototypes, Historian Rene Francillon, in a survey of Lockheed aircraft published in 1982, reported that Lockheed had already flown an experimental aircraft capable of sustained flight at Mach 6.
If Lockheed had developed a hypersonic vehicle like the X-24C, it is possible that technology was used in the development of the "North Sea" Aurora and the spaceplane. Testing of the vehicle would have been undertaken at the top-secret Groom Lake installation and the decision to go ahead with constructing prototypes of the "North Sea" Aurora and two-stage spaceplane may have coincided with the Challenger disaster in 1986.
The commissioning of these two systems would also explain unusual changes within the "black world" and it's "white" exterior: The Pentagon's decision to scrap the military space shuttle launch facilities at Vandenburg AFB, the appearance of a major black program in the mid-1980s, and also its appearance showing up in Lockheed's company accounts in the form of an extreme budget. Another factor reinforcing the belief that these projects left the drawing board in 1986, is the redevelopment carried out at Groom Lake. The old housing area, built for A-12 Oxcart personnel, was replaced by modern accomadation blocks. An indoor recreation facility and a new commisary were also built. Four water tanks were built and an extensive runway upgrade program was undertaken. Another improvement was the construction of a new fuel tank farm at the south end of the base, which was believed to store the liquid methane which fuelled Aurora. These improvements were initially attributed to the "North Sea" Aurora spyplane, but a larger hangar was built. Larger than the rest, this could house the "mothership", the Super-Valkyrie/ Spaceplane Project. Known as Hangar 18 by base personnel (after the Hangar 18 at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio), observers claim to have caught glimpses of large aircraft moving in and out of it prior to the closure of land overlooking Groom Lake in 1995. All evidence points to the existence of the Super-Valkyrie and while it's exact role remains unknown, the aircraft seems to have been primarily designed as a mothership.
The flight testing of a spaceplane would have began with a scale-sized demonsrator, used in a series of glide drops conducted from a converted B-52. Although the parent aircraft was being developed, a rocket booster may have been considered as a fall back launch system. Interestingly enough, in 1991 NASA awarded Lockheed's Skunk Works a contract to explore the possibility of developing a small lifting-body spaceplane.
A mockup of this vehicle was built and designated HL-20 PLS. If it had been built, the mini-shuttle would have been an economical alternative for transporting astronauts and pay-loads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The project was abandoned in 1993 in favor of the X-33 Venture Star demonstrator.
Propulsion for the spaceplane is unknown and may take the form of a highly advanced scramjet running on liquid hydrogen. The vehicle will carry two crew members within an ejection capsule who observe the outside via high definition video screens and small side windows.
Assuming the spaceplane is capable of reaching LEO this will allow it to launch small military satellites, inspect foreign satellites and destroy them if necessary. The spaceplane could also carry out global reconaissance missions and deliver nuclear missiles. Current estimates suggest that as many as five spaceplanes have been built, perhaps costing as much as a Super-Valkyrie.
The Super-Valkyrie may have been built by Boeing in Seattle and then transported to Groom Lake and/or Edwards AFB for testing in total secrecy at the beginning of the 1990s. Using proven technology and modern developments, Boeing could have built as many as four of these motherships, costing $2 billion each with funding secretly diverted from "visible" projects. The likely contractor for the small spaceplane is Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works who are also believed to be the contractors of the "North Sea" Aurora. The existence of both programs seems to be confirmed by the way officials from Lockheed-Martin deny their involvement with hypersonic aircraft and their existence.
Despite official denials, the CIA is probably responsible for operating the "North Sea" Aurora and mini-shuttle programs with support from the USAF. The spaceplane probably operates from Groom Lake, Nevada and the White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico, with reports claiming that the Super-Valkyrie has occasionally visited Wallops Island, Virginia.
From where the "North Sea" Aurora spyplanes operate is less clear, but some of the aircraft may be based at Beale AFB which is home to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing.
An X-24C gallery:
The Lockheed X-24C
The Martin Marietta X-24C
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