portunity to reduce launch costs, and improve safety and reliability was to develop a fully reusable single-stage-to-orbit vehicle capable of delivering 25,000 lb to the International Space Station. The study identified many technologies that had to be matured before a commitment could be made to build such a vehicle. NASA accepted the recommendation and the need for new technology as the key t...

A number of inventors and entrepreneurs are currently attempting to develop and commercially operate reusable launch vehicles to carry voluntary participants into space. To reduce the risk to the public in the operation of these vehicles, a launch vehicle operator typically performs analyses to identify safety measures and develop safety requirements. The focus of these safety efforts has histo...

According to the symmetrical characteristics of a new type Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) in recovery phase, we studied basic aerodynamic model data Starship and with rudder deflection, causes its coefficients are expounded. At same time, analyzed stability maneuverability. flying quality requirements, lateral-directional return phase at high angle attack is analyzed. Finally, lateral heading co...

It is generally assumed by the community that reusable launch vehicles will dramatically reduce launch costs because you don’t “throw away the vehicle” every time it is used. However, this is usually taken as an element of faith, without any substantive analysis to support the conclusion. The example of the Space Shuttle, originally sold to Congress on the basis of dramatically cutting launch c...

The contribution of this paper to the space transportation system field is to select promising Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) concepts by using a formal evaluation procedure. The vehicle system is divided into design features. Every design feature can have alternative characteristics. All combinations of design features and characteristics are compared pairwise with each other. The innovation an...

* Graduate Research Assistant. Student Member AIAA. † Professor. Fellow AIAA. ‡ Lockheed Martin Assistant Professor of Avionics Integration. Member AIAA. Future reusable launch vehicles must be designed to fly a wide spectrum of missions and survive numerous types of failures. The X-33 Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator is used as a simulation platform for testing a neural network-...