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To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before
mustang6172:
--- Quote from: Kugai on 15 Nov 2014, 12:06 ---@Aziraphale
The Phoenix, Zephram Cochrans Warp Drive test vehicle.
Built out of a Titan Ballistic Missile, it was the first Human craft to achieve Warp Flight and led to First Contact with the Vulcans.
--- End quote ---
The Soyuz, not the Apollo.
Kugai:
Oh, sorry.
That's the Venture Star, Lockheed Martin's proposed replacement for the Shuttle. It was to be a development of the cancelled X-33 Program which was officially canned in 2001
Aziraphale:
Thanks for clearing that up.
Kugai:
No problem
Pity they never got to complete the Venture Star. She was a One Stage to Orbit Lifting Body which would have dramatically cut the cost of operations.
Akima:
Ooops, I muddled up the Venture Star with the X-33 sub-scale prototype that was cancelled after a bunch of technical problems emerged. SSTO is extremely demanding from a structural and materials point of view. My favourite prototype was the VTOL McDonnell Douglas DC-X "Delta Clipper", which achieved more than the X-33 project at much lower cost. But... It didn't look swooshy enough for some.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzXcTFfV3Ls
--- Quote from: Kugai on 15 Nov 2014, 20:52 ---She was a One Stage to Orbit Lifting Body which would have dramatically cut the cost of operations.
--- End quote ---
That is what they said about the Space Shuttle when it was at a similar state of development to the Venture Star. It is remarkable how cheap hypothetical spacecraft are to operate.
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