Hi Guys -
I've been lurking for more than a year, but this is one of my
favorite launch projects of all time. Someone please correct me if I am
wrong on any of the following:
The Delta-Clipper project was put together by McDonall-Douglas; its
funding was NOT through NASA - by some rather ingenious political
skullduggery, the funding was through the military under the aegis of
the Strategic Defense Initiative. One source (wish I could remember
who, take this with a grain of salt) credited the cancellation of the
funding on this program to the opponents of SDI - the Democrats were
gaining power and taking potshots at the military funding - and the
Military laison had powerful enemies.
The (two-thirds or three-quarter scale, or some such) proof of
concept vehicle which crashed was the DC-XA (Delta Clipper -
Experimental, Advanced). It had previously successfully completed about
a dozen test flights, including the unplanned loss of an engine
mid-flight, before the accident. It was NEVER capable of SSTO; though
the final (full scale, commercial production) vehicle was supposed to
be. The loss of the prototype was due to human error; it successfully
completed the test flight, meeting and exceeding all requirements - it
was destroyed because one of the four landing gear collapsed after
set-down. Hydraulic pressure to that gear was found to have dropped
because of an unhooked fitting in the relevant line. This was the
first, last, and only NASA test flight.
The Boeing company now owns McDonall-Douglas; but their web site has
only two items about the DC-X and/or the DC-XA - these are old press
releases. The Boeing company does not appear to be interested in
reviving or hearing about this project, though they competed in the SLI
program which spawned the (in my biased opinion) much inferior and now
defunct X-33 / VentureStar program. The Delta-Clipper would be far
superior to the Aero-Space Plane concepts in two respects - it lands in
its launch position, so needs (at least a LITTLE) less support
infrastructure, AND it would be usable on the moon and other airless /
thin atmosphere bodies (I know, leaving the Van Allen belts complicates
things, but still...) instead of being limited to LEO operations only.
It was a damn fine project, and I hated to see it die.
>
> From: Brett Sargeant
>Subject: Re: SSTO built.
>
>DC-X Delta Clipper, and it was about $60 million US for the prototype,
>I think it was 3/4 scale though I could be wrong.
>;)
>
>panamabob wrote:
>
>>wasnt there an SSTO made from off the shelf parts (including walmart if
>>memory serves) built for around $60k (not including labor) that flew
>>succussfully to several hundred feet and landed again? This was around
>>10years ago and it happened to be on a crowded newsday and didnt get the
>>press deserved. A redo of the design of the landing gear created a glich
>>that destroyed the prototype and the money wasnt there to assemble
>>another...the team was disbanded to other projects. Still, the proof of
>>concept exists that a group of technitions, CAN create a cheap vehicle.
>>
>>Perhaps we need to search out these folks and kick in another $120k (to
>>cover inflation) and see were it takes us?
>>
>>bob
>>SLF
>>