The Boeing X-40

The Boeing X-40A Space Maneuver Vehicle was part of the X-37 Future-X Reusable Launch Vehicle project. Built to 85 percent scale, in 2001 it successfully demonstrated the glide capabilities of the X-37's fat-bodied, short-winged design and validated the proposed guidance system. Its first ever drop test occurred at Holloman AFB NM on August 11th 1998 at 6:59AM. This was a joint Air Force/Boeing project known as Space Maneuver Vehicle. It is reported to be the first ever test of a fully autonomous space vehicle (Japan's earlier test turned out to be partially controlled). It was released from approx. 9200 ft at 2.5 miles from the end of runway 04 from a helicopter. The vehicle dove to the runway much the way a Space Shuttle does now, flared, and landed left of centerline. It successfully deployed its drag chutes, tracked to within seven feet of centerline and stopped at just over 7,000 feet.

Seal Beach, Calif., Aug. 11, 1998 -- Boeing and the U.S. Air Force today conducted a successful first flight test of the X-40A technology demonstrator at Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico. The X-40A is the Phase 1 flight test article of the Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV).

The Boeing Company, under a contract with Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., designed and built the 90 percent scale reusable experimental space vehicle in the company Seal Beach, Calif. facility. The SMV flight test vehicle has a fuselage length of 22 feet, a wing span of 12 feet and weighs about 2,600 pounds.

"I am very pleased with the results of this flight test," said John Fuller, Boeing Phantom Works SMV project manager. "It is a significant step in the development phase. We wanted to validate low-speed handling qualities and demonstrate autonomous approach and landing capability. We did that today. Our next step will be to demonstrate the vehicle, capabilities both in the atmosphere and space."

The uniquely shaped vehicle is an innovative approach to fulfilling an Air Force need for a new generation of small and reusable, highly maneuverable space vehicles to perform a variety of tasks such as satellite deployments, surveillance and logistics missions.

The Space Maneuver Vehicle uses state-of-the-art subsystem components and technology packaged for aircraft-like operability. It is designed for quick turnaround -- 72 hours or less between missions -- and it can remain on station for up to one year, as required.

Boeing Phantom Works is developing the SMV project under the direction of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory -- Military Spaceplane Technology program at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. and the Air Vehicle Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Phantom Works is a Research & Development unit of The Boeing Company. It specializes in providing innovative and affordable solutions to aerospace systems.

The X-40A Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV)

The X-40A activities have been merged with the X-37, where NASA, the Air Force, and Boeing share the cost of the program evenly.

Space is a critical enabler for our military force. Current space systems, however, have significant deficiencies in the ability to provide Space Superiority (the purpose of space control) and lack operational responsiveness. The rapid response, quick turnaround, and high on-orbit maneuverability of the Space Maneuver Vehicle can correct these shortfalls; it provides space asset protection that enables U.S. forces to achieve and maintain Space Superiority. Its ability to co-orbit with friendly space assets and provide on-orbit servicing and repair will extend the service life of other satellites.

The ability to deploy SMVs with a mix of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) payloads will provide an affordable, responsive and sustained presence to support diverse theaters of operation. The ability to integrate, operate, and recover and reuse the SMV with a variety of onboard or deployed payloads provides operational flexibility heretofore unattainable with traditional satellites. Finally, the SMV's operational flexibility will provide an opportunity fundamentally change the command and control of space systems in order to push control down to the theater CINC thus allowing the true integration of space into theater operations.

The Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV) is envisioned as a small, powered, reusable space vehicle, operating as an upper stage on top of a reusable launch vehicle or as a reusable satellite bus with a variety of available payloads. It is part of the Military Spaceplane concept for future low cost, responsive space access.

The X-40A is an experimental vehicle shaped like the X-37 but lacking its advanced thermal protection materials. It is also 20 percent smaller than the X-37. Built by Boeing for the Air Force, it was released from a helicopter and glide-tested in 1998. It was drop tested from helicopters in 2001 to reduce risk before the X-37 is flight-tested.

The Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV) is a small, powered space vehicle technology demonstrator. An eventual operational version could function as the second stage-to-orbit vehicle as well as a reusable satellite with a variety of available payloads. SMV could perform missions such as:

Tactical reconnaissance
Filling gaps in satellite constellations
Rapid deployment of Space Maneuver Vehicle constellations
Identification and surveillance of space objects
Space asset escorting

An SMV is envisioned to dwell on-orbit for up to one year. Its small size and ability to shift orbital inclination and altitude would allow repositioning for tactical advantage or geographic sensor coverage. Interchangeable SMV payloads would permit a wide variety of missions. SMV would use low-risk subsystem components and technology for aircraft-like operability and reliability.

An operational SMV might include:

Up to 1,200 pounds of sensors/payload
72-hours or less turnaround time between missions
Up to 12 month on-orbit mission duration
Rapid recall from orbit
Up to 10,000 feet per second on-orbit velocity change for maneuvering

The Operationally Responsive Spacelift MNS references the SMV as part of the Military Spaceplane system that could meet the DoD’s future needs for low cost, responsive spacelift.

Technology required for a SMV or similar reusable space vehicle was being developed under the NASA X-37 program and by the Air Force Research Laboratory. These technologies include advanced Thermal Protection Systems, lightweight composite structures, autonomous flight controls, and highly operable/reusable rocket engines. Reusable upper stage rocket engines are considered a technology unique to the SMV, whereas the other technologies apply to a NASA and a DoD reusable launch vehicle, therefore, the majority of SMV technology funding is being focused on reusable engines.

The Space Maneuver Vehicle Program is directed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Military Spaceplane Technology Office at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. A three phase program is planned to provide affordable technology and operations demonstrations. The program is presently funded through Phase I. The schedule for Phases II and III depends on additional Air Force funding.

The 90 percent-scale vehicle was built by Boeing Phantom Works, Seal Beach CA, under a partnership between Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base NM and the Air Vehicles Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base OH.

The program conducted ground and flight tests of a 22-foot-long, 2,500-pound, graphite-epoxy and aluminum vehicle. The cost of this vehicle was approximately $1 million for fabrication and construction. In addition, the government has contributed approximately $5 million to the project. The partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory's Air Vehicles Directorate and has already accomplished:

A helicopter release of a 90-percent-scale of the SMV to demonstrate autonomous control and landing capability.
The design and construction of a full-scale SMV center fuselage and wing carry-through box that successfully passed its structural tests.

The Space Maneuver Vehicle completed a successful autonomous approach and landing on its first flight test on 11 August 1998. The unmanned vehicle was dropped from an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at an altitude of 9,000 feet above the ground, performed a controlled approach and landed successfully on the runway. The total flight time was 1-1/2 minutes. During the initial portion of the its free fall, the maneuver vehicle was stabilized by a parachute. After it is released from the parachute, the vehicle accelerated and perform a controlled glide. This glide simulated the final approach and landing phases of such a vehicle returning from orbit. The vehicle, which landed under its own power, used an integrated Navstar Global Positioning Satellite and inertial guidance system to touch down on a hard surface runway.

First flight at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center for the X-40A was a 74 second glide from 15,000 feet on March 14, 2001.

Second free-flight of the X-40A at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, on Edwards AFB, Calif., was made on Apr. 12, 2001. The X-40A was released from the strongback during Free Flight #2A. Both are attached by tether line to the CH-47.

The structural test article program is proving out and failure-testing composite building materials needed for the spaceplane development. A full-scale vehicle center fuselage and wing carry-through box is being built and will be tested to evaluate the composite materials.

In May 2001, AFRL awarded a $10.4M contract to develop hydrogen peroxide based rocket propulsion systems to Aerojet. Under this contract, Aerojet will retire risk areas in injectors, catalyst beds, turbine materials and design and thrust chamber design, paving the way for a highly operable reusable rocket engine using non-toxic propellants. The contract with additional options is expected to earn Aerojet up to $29.9 million over the next four years.

The Advanced Reusable Rocket Engine (ARRE) program represents a dramatic stepping stone for Aerojet's reusable rocket engine technologies - as well as the aerospace industry as a whole. This program will advance state-of-the-art peroxide engine technologies 30 years by maintaining storable rocket engine performance with environmentally friendly propellants. Aerojet is tasked to develop an Advanced Reusable Rocket Engine that utilizes non-toxic, hydrogen peroxide as a propellant. The technology Aerojet proposed for the SMV engine significantly leapfrogs existing peroxide-based technologies by using advanced injection concepts, fabrication processes and chamber materials.

The ARRE program started in May 2001 and ran through April 2005. Development of the Advanced Reusable Rocket Engine and all its components were conducted at Aerojet's Sacramento facility.

Aerojet successfully validated its design of a revolutionary tri-fluid propellant injector for non-toxic hydrogen peroxide engines. The hot fire testing in February and March 2002 demonstrated the injector's performance capabilities including its reliable ignition and its stability even at twice the normal throttling range. Tests were conducted on a sub-scale version of the injector using two different injector patterns. Both performed successfully, and one will be chosen for the full-scale tri-fluid injector. Test results indicate that acceptable performance was achieved for both element types. Also, the injector element chug threshold was much lower than anticipated and will serve to provide additional throttling capability well beyond what is required.

The tri-fluid injector is an invention that will enable a closed-cycle hydrogen peroxide engine to perform similarly to conventional toxic rocket engines while providing high throttleability for a variety of vehicle missions. Completing this testing has validated our injector element design and significantly reduces the risk as we move forward into full-scale testing.

What makes the tri-fluid injector unique is that decomposed peroxide, used to drive the turbo-pump, is exhausted into the tri-fluid injector to ignite the engine's hydrogen peroxide and jet fuel propellants. This creates a closed-cycle engine system that does not dump propellants overboard like a typical gas generator cycle engine. The result is higher performance and a wider range of throttleability.

Future phases will depend on Air Force guidance and availability of funds. Subsequent phases are currently being planned, but are not funded. They involve initial capability technology demonstrations leading to expanded operations. If the technology program is successful, a full operational capability would eventually be fielded.

Global Security