Promise Denied: NASA's X-34 and the Quest for Cheap, Reusable Access
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Promise Denied NASA’s X-34 and the Quest for Cheap, Reusable Access to Space Bruce I. Larrimer Promise Denied NASA’s X-34 and the Quest for Cheap, Reusable Access to Space Bruce I. Larrimer Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Larrimer, Bruce I., author. | United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, issuing body. Title: Promise denied : NASA’s X-34 and the quest for cheap reusable access to space / Bruce I. Larrimer. Other titles: NASA’s X-34 and the quest for cheap reusable access to space | NASA aero- nautics book series. Description: Washington, DC : National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2019. | Series: NASA aeronautics book series | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “This study examines the background, origins, and development of the NASA-Orbital Sciences X-34, a proposed hypersonic demonstrator that could lead to a fully reusable and cost effective logistical space transportation system. The study examines space policy, engineering decision-making, and the space-access needs of the United States. It is of particular value as a ‘lessons learned’ examination of a key program which, though never flown, was both far-seeing and influential.” Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2019025124 (print) | LCCN 2019025125 (ebook) | ISBN 9781626830493 (hardback) | ISBN 9781626830509 (paperback) | ISBN 9781626830516 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration— Equipment and supplies. | Orbital Sciences Corporation. | X-34 (Research plane) | X-33 (Research plane) | Research aircraft—United States. | Rocket planes—United States. | Reusable space vehicles—United States. | Launch vehicles (Astronautics)— United States. Classification: LCC TL567.R47 L26 2019 (print) | LCC TL567.R47 (ebook) | DDC 629.43—dc23 | SUDOC NAS 1.120:X 7 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019025124 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019025125 Copyright © 2020 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The opinions expressed in this volume are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the United States Government or of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. On the cover: The X-34 A-1 Structural Test Article on Rogers Dry Lake, April 16, 1999 This publication is available as a free download at http://www.nasa.gov/ebooks National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, DC Table of Contents Acknowledgments v Prologue vi Chapter 1: NASA and the Post–Cold War Launch Vehicle Challenge ......... 1 Chapter 2: Three Pathways to Space ......................................................... 33 Chapter 3: The “First” X-34: A Prequel ....................................................... 63 Chapter 4: Orbital Gets a Second Chance .................................................. 99 Chapter 5: Designing and Building the X-34 .............................................. 123 Chapter 6: Aerodynamics Modeling, Testing, and Thermal Protection ....... 155 Chapter 7: The Fastrac Engine: Heart of the X-34 Program ....................... 187 Chapter 8: Captive-Carry, Ground Tow, and Planned Powered Testing ...... 223 Chapter 9: Whither X-34? ........................................................................... 255 Chapter 10: Hammer Fall: Termination of the X-34 Program ....................... 295 Appendix 1: X-34 Proposed 25-Flight Envelope Expansion Program ........... 323 Appendix 2: The Fastrac/MC-1 Engine and X-34 Main Propulsion System .. 329 Acronyms and Abbreviations 355 Bibliography 361 About the Author 373 Index 375 iii Acknowledgments Many individuals went to great lengths to furnish crucial information in the form of documents, insights, interviews, photographs, and reviews of the author’s work, beginning with Dr. David Onkst, an independent scholar who assembled a large collection of X-34 research materials. I am most grateful for his welcoming and gracious collegiality in taking the time to introduce me to his treasure trove, which greatly helped me focus my own research efforts. The following individuals were especially helpful, indeed, often crucial, to the author’s research and manuscript preparation, and I am most grateful for their assistance. At Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, CA: Wade Scrogham. At NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA: April D. Gage and Huy K. Tran. At NASA Armstrong (formerly Dryden) Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA: Karl A. Bender, John Bosworth, Christian Gelzer, Freddy Lockarno, and John G. McTigue (former staff). At NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Barbara Bullock, Colin Fries, Richard P. Hallion, Cynthia Miller, Jane H. Odom, Anthony M. Springer, and Elizabeth Suckow. At NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL: Michael D. Allen, Robert H. Champion, Stephen D. Creech, Mark Fisher (former staff), Marjorie I. Moore, Molly A. Porter, and Michael Wright. At NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA: Frank T. Bellinger. At Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, VA: Theresa M. Cardine, Antonio L. Elias, Henri D. Fuhrmann, Robert E. Lindberg, Jr. (former staff member), and Bryan Sullivan. At former Rockwell International, Denver, CO: Robert Edmondson. At the Science and Technology Policy Institute, Institute for Defense Analyses, Washington, DC: Mark J. Lewis. At the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO: Gary E. Payton (former NASA Headquarters staff). At the U.S. Army Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL: David Haynes and John R. London III. v Prologue Between 1992 and 1996, the American aerospace community vigorously explored the development of a post–Space Shuttle reusable space transporta- tion system for the United States. This activity included studies by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), scientific foundations, and the aerospace industry. Likewise, both the executive branch of the government, through the issuance of a White House Policy Space Transportation Directive, and the legislative branch, though the holding of congressional hearings and budget allocations to NASA and the Department of Defense, were deeply involved in the decision-making process. The new policy direction was aimed toward reestablishing the Unites States’ competitiveness in the space launch vehicle development and launch area and in transferring much of this activity to the U.S. aerospace industry. These developments served as the prelude to NASA’s single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO), reusable launch vehicle (RLV) program that included the develop- ment of three technology test bed vehicles. The first of these vehicles was the DC-XA Clipper Graham, which actually was an upgrade to the original DC-X (Delta-Clipper Experimental) developed by McDonnell Douglas for the Department of Defense and subsequently transferred to NASA at the start of the Agency’s single-stage-to-orbit program. The DC-XA Clipper Graham was followed by the X-33, which was intended to serve as a test bed vehicle for the subsequent development of a full-size reusable single-stage-to-orbit vehicle, and the X-34, which was intended as a technology test bed vehicle to demonstrate low-cost reusability and to conduct flight experiments. These were all promising concepts, and prospects for developing a cheap, robust, reusable space lift system to supplant the already aging Space Shuttle seemed assured. But within a decade, such hopes had been dashed—all the more frustrating to program proponents and participants, who had contributed some remarkably creative engineering to support the bold conceptual visions underpinning each of these programs. This book examines arguably the most elegant and promising of all of these, the NASA–Orbital Sciences X-34 Technology Testbed Demonstrator program, one ranking high on any list of the best research aircraft never flown. Indeed, in retrospect, it was a program that deserved greater support rather than pre- cipitous cancellation. The two prototypes—only one of which flew, and then vi Prologue only on “captive carry” flight tests under a modified Lockheed L-1011 TriStar carrier aircraft—deserved far better fates than being reduced to incomplete hulks, left discarded on the eastern shore of Rogers Dry Lake, there to be baked under the harsh Mojave sun, blown about and buffeted by its hot desert winds, and flooded by sporadic desert cloudbursts. To trace how this program went from bright promise to dismal cancellation, it is necessary to begin in the early 1990s. It was a challenging time in American aerospace, as NASA confronted its space launch future (in the wake of the Challenger tragedy but before the Columbia catastrophe); it also was a time when the global patterns of space launch, combined with the rapid drawdown and national economic reinvest- ment that accompanied the end of the 40-year Cold War, were already eroding what had been America’s preeminent position in space access. vii The Space Shuttle was the world’s first reusable space transportation system and inspired numerous national and international studies for successors, including the X-33 and X-34. Here, the Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on May 1, 1999. (NASA) viii CHAPTER 1 NASA and the Post–Cold War Launch Vehicle Challenge The abrupt end of the Cold War over the fall of 1989 greatly impacted the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the future of space launches. It resulted in a dramatic reduction in monies flowing to NASA and to the Department