Tag: Phantom Express
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Farewell, Phantom Express: Boeing is pulling out of DARPA space plane program
An artist’s conception shows Boeing’s Phantom Express XS-1 space plane in flight. (Boeing Illustration) The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency says Boeing is dropping out of its Experimental Spaceplane Program immediately, grounding the XS-1 Phantom Express even though technical tests had shown the hypersonic space plane concept was feasible. “The detailed engineering activities conducted…
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Rapid-fire engine tests raise hopes for DARPA’s planned reusable spaceplane
The Aerojet Rocketdyne AR-22 engine is test-fired June 27 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Credit: NASA A series of unprecedented back-to-back test-firings of a rocket engine originally developed for NASA’s space shuttle concluded earlier this month, giving engineers data crucial to achieving rapid 24-hour turnarounds planned for a U.S. military-funded reusable winged booster…
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Rocket engine scores ‘perfect 10’ in 10-day test for Phantom Express space plane
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s AR-22 rocket engine fires during a test at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. (NASA / DARPA Photo) A rocket engine built from spare space shuttle parts — and the team behind the engine — passed a grueling 10-day, 10-firing test that sets the stage for Boeing’s Phantom Express military space plane. “We scored…
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Boeing, DARPA to base XS-1 spaceplane at Cape Canaveral
Artist’s concept of the XS-1 spaceplane before releasing its expendable upper stage. Credit: Boeing A reusable suborbital spaceplane the size of a business jet being developed by Boeing and the Defense Department’s research and development arm could be launching and landing at Cape Canaveral in 2020, officials said after the defense contractor won a competition…