Lockheed Asks US Air Force to Fund X-33 Craft RevivalLockheed Martin Corp. is engaged in talks to seek US Air Force's funding to revive the X- 33, an experimental spacecraft intended to replace the space shuttle that has been scuttled, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday, April 14.The X-33 program was canceled last month by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after encountering technical delays and cost overruns. About US$1.2 bn were spent on the program since it began in 1996. In recent weeks, Lockheed has been vigorously pushing a deal in which the Air Force would continue funding the program, which would then be refocused to develop a rocket plane to carry weapons, the report said. As part of its efforts to develop next-generation weapons, the Air Force has been looking at planes that could fly into space, launch a bomb from orbit on a target anywhere in the world, then return to base -- all within 90 minutes or so. Picking up the critical technology already developed for the X- 33, including reusable rockets, would help speed up that goal, an Air Force official said. The X-33 was supposed to be a big improvement over the space shuttle. It was envisioned as a reliable, reusable spacecraft that could slash launch costs from about US$10,000 per pound today to US$1,000 per pound or less. Instead of using booster rockets as the space shuttle does, the X-33 would reach orbit on a single stage and then land like an airplane. But problems with developing a composite liquid-hydrogen tank and delays with a new type of rocket dubbed aerospace pushed back a demonstration flight by about five years. NASA officials eventually decided to consider other low-cost reusable vehicles. For Lockheed, reviving the program would help salvage the more than US$350m it spent on the vehicle as part of a cooperative research project with NASA, which had contributed US$912m. About 110 engineers and assemblers in Palmdale were working on a 69-foot demonstration spacecraft that was about 90 percent complete when the funding ran out March 31. But as the Air Force mulls over the proposal, Lockheed must first convince NASA to provide about US$15m in "bridge funding" to keep the engineering staff on a payroll as well as maintain the nearly completed demonstration aircraft in storage, Lockheed officials were quoted as saying. Air Force officials said the proposal is intriguing but the Air Force does not have the money right now and might look at "funding opportunities" in the next fiscal budget. |
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