Important Innovations Collection

Flying at 25 Times the Speed of Sound                                                       Source:  DLR Germany's Hypersonic Spaceliner  The German Aerospace Research Institute and DLR, Germany's Research Center for Space & Aeronautics, are developing an incredibly fast, hypersonic commercial aircraft concept called Spaceliner.  The vehicle will fly at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere, where space, begins at speeds of 25 Mach or 18,527 mph. It would be capable of getting 50 passengers and a 2 person crew from London to Australia in 90 minutes.   Highly Advanced Hypersonic Technology. Spaceliner is a long range project with the goal of flying passengers by 2040.  The hypersonic aircraft is launched on a rocket.  A second orbiter releases from the rocket booster stage to carry passengers ar...

Is It China's Version of the USAF X-37B Spaceplane? Source:  USAF X-37B Spaceplane  New Space Vehicle Shrouded in Mystery China has successfully launched an experimental reusable spacecraft.  It was deployed into orbit Friday onboard a Long March 2F rocket.  The mystery space vehicle successfully landed at a designated location, presumably in China, today.  The Chinese news agency Xinhua calls the space vehicle a breakthrough that will lead to more frequent round trips to space at a greatly reduced cost.  The big question:  is it China's version of the top secret, US Air Force X-37B spaceplane? Low Key Mission with No Photos The Chinese government has kept the mission very low key.  No photos of the spacecraft have been distributed and no details provided on the technology involved.  But there is a great deal of speculation that the vehicle may be the Chinese version of the USAF's top secret X-37B spaceplane.  The X-37B is an autonomous ...

US Air Force's X-37B Spaceplane Successfully Lands After Record Orbit The US Air Force announced that its top secret, experimental spaceplane - the X-37B - just successfully landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in FL after a record flight. The spaceplane has been more than two years - 780 days - in orbital flight.  This is its longest test mission for a group of military technologies.  The X-37B is an experimental, test spaceship.  It was built by Boeing, is operated by the US Air Force and was launched into its latest mission aboard a SpaceX rocket. Clandestine Missions This is the spaceplane's 5th mission.  What the missions have entailed are for the most part a mystery.  They are top secret missions.  But we do know the purpose is to demonstrate new technologies, such as propulsion systems, avionics and spacecraft reentry systems for what the Air Force hopes will be a "reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform".  The vehicle will r...

World's Largest Aircraft's First Flight Source:  Stratolaunch Systems Wingspan the Size of a Professional Football Field The world's largest aircraft flew over the Mojave Desert in California this past weekend.  It was the first flight for the carbon-composite plane built by Stratolaunch Systems, the company started by the late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.  It was a great success for the company as it enters the crowded and very lucrative commercial space travel market.  The plane is an air launch system. Roc The plane is an extraordinary piece of technology.  It's powered by six engines on two fuselages.  The wingspan is immense - the length of a football field.  The plane, named Roc, flew two hours and landed safely.  The company says Roc is designed to be a flexible alternative to land based space launch systems.