Outerspace

DARPA spaceplane enters Phase 2 development

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced on 7 April that it has commenced the next phase of its experimental spaceplane (XS-1) programme, which seeks to design and manufacture an unmanned fixed-wing spacecraft capable of on-demand, routine and recurring access to space.

Phase 2 will include final design, fabrication, and integration assembly and testing of a prototype. In Phase 1 DARPA awarded prime contracts to Boeing (working with Blue Origin, LLC), Masten Space Systems (working with XCOR Aerospace), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (working with Virgin Galactic) to "evaluate technical feasibility and methods". Phase 3 will include flight test campaigns that incorporate propulsion systems which will be flight ready by fiscal year 2020.