Top 15 Technologies
11.
Lessons learned from the Clipper Graham—NASA purchases second X-34
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After four flights in 1996, the Clipper Graham, a NASA (www.nasa.gov) technology demonstrator, was destroyed during a landing. To avoid a recurrence, NASA has added a second vehicle to its contract with Orbital Sciences Corp. for the X-34 program. Deputy program manager of the Marshall Space Flight Center, Mike Allen said, "One of the lessons we learned from the Clipper Graham program is that it is desirable to have a second flight vehicle available, especially if it can be acquired at a relatively low cost."
Another advantage of having a second flight vehicle is expanding the program's test objectives, such as the addition of unpowered tests to the flight profile. A second vehicle will also provide flexibility in demonstrating various technologies by allowing testing that requires repetitive flights to continue at the same time as tests that involve significant, time-consuming changes to the vehicle.
Since the inception of the contract with Orbital Sciences Corp. in August 1996, NASA has committed significant funding to the program. The contract began with $50 million going toward the design, manufacture, and testing of the X-34. An additional $10 million was spent in support of the program, while another $7.7 million was used to purchase long lead-time hardware, which included a new wing, fuselage, avionics set, hydraulic pump, and actuator system. Another $2 million was allocated for wind tunnel testing, analysis, and a second leading-edge Thermal Protection System. An $8.5 million option calls for the purchase of shorter lead-time hardware, such as navigation systems, while another $1.8 million option has been added for assembly of piece parts into subsystems, integration, and final assembly.
The X-34 is being designed to demonstrate key technologies that will be used in the development of a future Reusable Launch Vehicle, and it will bridge the gap between the earlier Clipper Graham (subsonic demonstrator vehicle) and the larger, more advanced X-33 vehicle. Key technologies demonstrated by the programs will be used in the cost reduction attributed to putting payloads into space.
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