ESA’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) spaceplane on display

This drop-test model of ESA’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) spaceplane will be one of the star attractions of the Sunday, 5 October ESTEC Open Day.

This replica was built to be dropped from a helicopter and parachuted into the Mediterranean, to ensure the flight model would survive splashdown at the end of its plunge from space.

The actual spaceplane will fly on a Vega launcher this November, coasting as high as 450 km before gliding back to Earth. In the process, it will gather valuable data on atmospheric reentry conditions.

The flight model was, until this week, being tested for space only a few tens of metres away from its drop-test twin, within the cleanroom environment of the ESTEC Test Centre.

With its test programme complete, it has now been flown to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana to begin its launch campaign.

Having been designed for a sea splashdown, the drop-test model can readily withstand the Dutch weather. Visitors can view it in its new position outside the Test Centre throughout the Open Day.

EADS Airbus Spaceplane Test in South China Seas

Held on 1-4 May, the tests of Airbus Defence and Space's SpacePlane demonstrator validated the dynamic flight conditions encountered in the end-of-flight phase following a return from space.

The tests, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, took place 100 kilometers off the coast of Singapore and involved a fleet of seven ships.

The quarter-scale demonstrator used in the tests was built in partnership with HOPE Technik and Airbus Group Innovations, the corporate network of research centres of Airbus Group.

After being winched from the barge by an AS350 B3e Ecureuil helicopter operated by Airbus Helicopters Southeast Asia, the SpacePlane demonstrator was released at a height of around 3,000 metres.

It was then piloted from the barge as it made its return to the ground, ending its flight at sea before being picked up as planned a few hours later.

Skylon: Supersonic plane that could take you into Space

SKYLON is a design for an unpiloted, reusable, single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane intended to provide reliable, responsive and cost effective access to space.

Skylon is a concept by the British company Reaction Engines Limited (REL). A fleet of such vehicles is envisaged for the future.

Skylon could have a significant impact on many different space operations.

For example, it could deliver payloads to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) where these satellites or other equipment could propel themselves further out into space.

It could be configured to launch multiple small satellites at once from its cargo bay, to provide supplies for space stations in orbit, or to get space station modules, telescopes and other equipment out beyond the Earth's atmosphere in a cost-effective way.

The designers have already created a special interface through which Skylon can link to existing space stations and pass over essential supplies or even passengers.

Further down the line, Skylon could be used as a support vessel for interplanetary missions as a backup for the main spaceships.

From nose to tail Skylon measures 82m. It has a wingspan of 25m and a fuselage diameter of 6.25m.

Prototyping design work on the craft is still very much ongoing, but once the vehicle has received the necessary endurance certifications out in the wild, it will be able to fit a cabin module for transporting up to 30 passengers —eventually, you may be able to take a trip to space from your local airport.

The cabin will be completely self-contained and stored inside the aircraft's cargo bay (in early mock ups from the designers, it looks a bit like a motor home).

Upon re-entry from space, heat is radiated away from the main aeroshell using layers of reflecting foil and low-conductivity shell support posts.

This is the Sabre (Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine), a landmark breakthrough in aerospace technology that enables aircraft to reach five times the speed of sound.

The engine is built by Reaction Engines Ltd and there are already several prototype planes in the works.

Over 20 years' worth of development has gone into Sabre Engine, which offers both a rocket mode (for sending aircraft into space) and an air-breathing mode (for cruising through the sky at high speeds).

One of the biggest innovations in the engine is the way it uses oxygen already in the air rather than an on-board oxidiser, significantly reducing the weight of the engine and allowing it to operate like a normal jet engine.

Once above the atmosphere, it can switch to a conventional rocket mode using on-board liquid oxygen.

Lockheed Martin developing Supersonic Spaceplane SR-72

Lockheed Martin SR-72

Lockheed Martin has begun work on a successor to the supersonic Blackbird SR-71 spy plane.

The unmanned SR-72 will use an engine that combines a turbine and a ramjet to reach its top speed of Mach 6 - about 3,600mph (5,800km/h).

Like its predecessor, the SR-72 will be designed for high-altitude surveillance but might also be fitted with weapons to strike targets.

Lockheed said the aircraft should be operational by 2030.

Jet engines
The SR-72 is being developed at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works R&D centre in California that designed and built the original Blackbird.

That aircraft first flew in 1964 and was a mainstay of US Air Force spying and surveillance work until 1998. It typically flew at altitudes of 24,000m (80,000ft) and could reach speeds of Mach 3.

Blackbird SR-71 spy plane

In a blogpost about the SR-72, Lockheed Martin said the aircraft would operate at similar altitudes but would fly far faster.

At Mach 6 the plane could travel the 3,500 miles (5,500km) from New York to London in less than an hour.

While spy satellites can photograph enemy territory, the relatively long time it takes for them to be moved to a new orbit so they pass over a target can limit their usefulness.

By contrast, wrote Lockheed Martin, the SR-72 "would be so fast, an adversary would have no time to react or hide".

For the SR-72, Lockheed Martin is drawing on work done on the Falcon HTV-2 hypersonic technology vehicle.

This is a test-bed for the futuristic technologies needed to support safe hypersonic flight and cope with the extreme conditions encountered by any object flying at such a speed.

For instance, on one test flight of the HTV-2, the aircraft hit a top speed of Mach 20 and its flight surfaces reached 1,927C (3,500F).

To reach Mach 6, the SR-72 will use an engine that acts like a normal jet turbine until speeds of Mach 3 are reached but which then operates like a ramjet to accelerate beyond that.

"Speed is the next aviation advancement to counter emerging threats in the next several decades," said Brad Leland, Lockheed Martin's hypersonic programme manager on the blog.

"The technology would be a game-changer in theatre, similar to how stealth is changing the battlespace today."

DARPA: Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) shooting for 'aircraft-like' operations in orbit

DARPA’s new Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program seeks to lower satellite launch costs by developing a reusable hypersonic unmanned vehicle with costs, operation and reliability similar to traditional aircraft. 

XS-1 envisions that a reusable first stage would fly to hypersonic speeds at a suborbital altitude. 

At that point, one or more expendable upper stages would separate and deploy a satellite into Low Earth Orbit. 

The reusable hypersonic vehicle would then return to earth, land and be prepared for the next flight.

Commercial, civilian and military satellites provide crucial real-time information essential to providing strategic national security advantages to the United States.

The current generation of satellite launch vehicles, however, is expensive to operate, often costing hundreds of millions of dollars per flight.

Moreover, U.S. launch vehicles fly only a few times each year and normally require scheduling years in advance, making it extremely difficult to deploy satellites without lengthy pre-planning.

Quick, affordable and routine access to space is increasingly critical for U.S. Defense Department operations.

To help address these challenges, DARPA has established the Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program. The program aims to develop a fully reusable unmanned vehicle that would provide aircraft-like access to space.

The vehicle is envisioned to operate from a "clean pad" with a small ground crew and no need for expensive specialized infrastructure.

This setup would enable routine daily operations and flights from a wide range of locations. XS-1 seeks to deploy small satellites faster and more affordably, while demonstrating technology for next-generation space and hypersonic flight for both government and commercial users.

"We want to build off of proven technologies to create a reliable, cost-effective space delivery system with one-day turnaround," said Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager heading XS-1.

"How it's configured, how it gets up and how it gets back are pretty much all on the table—we're looking for the most creative yet practical solutions possible."

DARPA seeks ideas and technical proposals for how to best develop and implement the XS-1 program. The agency has scheduled an XS-1 Proposers' Day for Monday, October 7, 2013.

The agency also plans to hold 1-on-1 discussions with potential proposers on the following day, October 8, 2013. Advance registration is required; more information is available at www.sa-meetings.com/ 

Registration closes on Tuesday, October 10 2013, at 12:00 PM EDT. For more information, please email DARPA-SN-14-01@darpa.mil.

The DARPA Special Notice describing the specific capabilities the program seeks is available at go.usa.gov/DNkF.

A Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for XS-1 is forthcoming and will be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website.