In July of 1999 two linear aerospike rocket engines will power the first flight of NASA's X-33 advanced technology demonstrator. The aerospike received serious consideration for NASA's current space shuttle, but was eventually rejected in 1969 in favor of high chamber pressure bell engines, in part because of perceived technical risk. The aerospike engine has several performance advantages over conventional bell engines. However, these performance advantages are difficult to validate by ground test. The X-33 demonstrator provides an opportunity to prove the aerospike's performance advantage in flight before commiting to an operational vehicle.


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    Title :

    X-33 Linear Aerospike Engine


    Contributors:
    J. Vinson (author)

    Publication date :

    1998


    Size :

    5 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




    Linear aerospike engine

    KIRBY, F. / MARTINEZ, A. | AIAA | 1977


    Linear aerospike engine

    Kirby, F.M. / Martinez, A. | Tema Archive | 1977


    Linear aerospike engine performance evaluation

    Fick, Michael / Schmucker, Robert | AIAA | 1997


    X-33 Linear Aerospike Engine

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    Fick, M. / Schmucker, R. H. / American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997