Thanks for that. Love their version of the space plane. Notice the heat shield on the bottom. I wonder if it can work as not only a reusable first stage, but a reusable orbital stage as well.
Bob Clark
I’m excited to see what the XS-1 contract produces. Armadillo went higher and faster, but Masten kind of stagnated after the NGLLC.
Pug,
Armadillo did go higher and faster so far, but they lost a lot of MODs trying to figure out the aerodynamics of VTVL before they switched over to their STIG vehicles. Those went a lot higher, but weren’t VTVL, and were at best notionally refurbishable. Masten’s working the aerodynamics to enable higher altitude stuff slowly as money is available, and also building up revenue streams to keep alive while they learn.
Notice that Masten is still around and going strong, but AA hand to close their doors a few years ago.
~Jon
Mr. Goff,
First, big fan of Selenian Boondocks and the work you and your team do at Altius. Second, I’m completely aware Masten is still around, while Armadillo (at least in its original form) is not; I still root for both teams, just as I did in the NGLLC days. I think some of the frustration of “sRLVs always 2 years away” is catching up to me.
~Pug
Huh, I’d totally missed the XS-1 DARPA stuff. Basically looking for a small, reusable first stage, though I can’t find a sufficiently non-summarized version of the contract to tell what the parameters are exactly.
Thanks for that. Love their version of the space plane. Notice the heat shield on the bottom. I wonder if it can work as not only a reusable first stage, but a reusable orbital stage as well.
Bob Clark
I’m excited to see what the XS-1 contract produces. Armadillo went higher and faster, but Masten kind of stagnated after the NGLLC.
Pug,
Armadillo did go higher and faster so far, but they lost a lot of MODs trying to figure out the aerodynamics of VTVL before they switched over to their STIG vehicles. Those went a lot higher, but weren’t VTVL, and were at best notionally refurbishable. Masten’s working the aerodynamics to enable higher altitude stuff slowly as money is available, and also building up revenue streams to keep alive while they learn.
Notice that Masten is still around and going strong, but AA hand to close their doors a few years ago.
~Jon
Mr. Goff,
First, big fan of Selenian Boondocks and the work you and your team do at Altius. Second, I’m completely aware Masten is still around, while Armadillo (at least in its original form) is not; I still root for both teams, just as I did in the NGLLC days. I think some of the frustration of “sRLVs always 2 years away” is catching up to me.
~Pug
Huh, I’d totally missed the XS-1 DARPA stuff. Basically looking for a small, reusable first stage, though I can’t find a sufficiently non-summarized version of the contract to tell what the parameters are exactly.
Here are some links that may help you:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XS-1_(spacecraft)
http://spacenews.com/37205darpa-to-start-reusable-launch-vehicle-program/