#space plane

[alphamecha-mkii]

Boeing/USAF BETA-II spaceplane TSTO Concept

[nocternalrandomness]

Space Shuttle by mnjedi

[lonestarflight]

"Soaring Into Space

In addition to Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, the U.S. is working on two other manned aerospace programs. The first is using the X-15, a piloted research vehicle, which flies as high as 50 miles above the Earth and at about 4,000 miles an hour, It is powered by a rocket engine but has wings and a tail, and can be controlled like an airplane. While the X-15 does not actually operate in space, vehicles similar to it will.

The other program is based on Project Dyna Soar. Dyna Soar will be launched like a missile, orbit the earth as a controlled satellite, and return through the atmosphere like an airplane. It is so named because it is expected that in the sky it will achieve boost-glide flight - also known as dynamic soaring. In space, the Dyna Soar pilot will be able to use rocket power to maneuver left or right thousands of miles in any flight path.

In the artist's concept of the craft, the pilot of the Dyna Soar discards the no-longer need cockpit heat shield in order to land."

Date: 1963

Posted on Flickr by Numbers Station: link

[aut2imagineart]

I've really become obsessed with the Orion Drive spacecraft concept and continue to develop different ideas for it. This one is envisioned as a more personal spacecraft for a character for my Centauri universe which in my mind is evolving into an anthology of sorts. I call it the Wabash Cannonball as I imagine it traveling through space like a powerful 19th century train.

Along with being relatively smaller than the other Orion Drive ships I designed, I gave this ship three unique features. The first is that it uses a system called "dusty plasma radiators" for heat regulation. It works using conductive plasma manipulated by magnetic fields to heat up dust particles and cycle them out of the ship and back in. This adds to the steam engine vibe I was going for this ship. The second is it's equipped with a diffracting solar sail that's a mile in diameter for initial movement to a safe distance (aided by powerful laser arrays on planetary surfaces) before retracting and letting the Orion drive take over. Is is also unfurled to capture sunlight of an approaching star during it's deceleration procedure. The third is that habitable module at the front of the craft is detachable and equipped with fusion rockets in case of emergencies.

Other features are two space planes for planetary entry, RCS thrusters for maneuvering, several onboard maintenance drones for making repairs inside and outside the ship, and 16 turrets with projectile and laser weapon system for self defense.

I'm going to try to depict the character I imagine piloting this ship next as I already finished my Thanksgiving piece (just waiting for Thanksgiving day).

As always, comments and critiques are welcome.

[deerspace9]

Military industrial complex engineer in 195X: yeah so basically we put a guy in a fuck off big AA battery and throw him to the edge of space

[rodspurethoughts]

Unveiling Enigmatic Objects in Earth's Orbit: China's Mysterious Space Plane

AI art rendering. Image: STM Daily News China’s Shenlong robotic space plane has added another layer of mystery to its mission. Shortly after its third launch, the space plane deployed six enigmatic objects into Earth’s orbit, captivating the attention of amateur spacecraft trackers worldwide. These objects, designated as OBJECT A, B, C, D, E, and F, have been closely observed, and intriguing…

[twotales]

If you don't know what dream chaser is then you probably should. Because it's a reusable space plane and its amazing and it's backed by NASA and its almost ready to fly and did I mention it's a frelling REUSABLE SPACE PLANE!?

Sierra Space's first Dream Chaser space plane, "Tenacity." (Image credit: Sierra Space)

[lazyhomestay]

It is said that the Universal Greeting is so silly, so goofy, so utterly derpy that no bad guy, self-respecting or not, would be able to say it.

[fourstarsandahamster]

autistic folks! what's your main special interest?

if you don't know which one to choose or if you have multiple; which one do people generally associate with you?

if you still aren't sure; which one is your oldest one?

reblog with what you put + any more info you wanna give :)

[ralfmaximus]

Too many wings.

...what?

Too. Many. Wings. You got wings on the external tank for chrissake.

External... what? That's Stage One. It has rockets. You know--

Not anymore. Budget cuts.

Wait, so we're not flying the REUSABLE Stage One back--

It's an external tank now. Full of cryogenics. It's just gonna fuel the orbiter's main engines then we eject it. Disposable.

Wait wait wait... that's nuts. The orbiter doesn't have nearly enough thrust! What game are you playing here? What did you sell them?!

Oh buddy. You ready for this?

TELL ME

Solid. Rocket. Boosters.

FUCK NO that's lunacy.

FUCK YES

Space shuttle concept art.

[nocternalrandomness]

NASA 905 carrying the shuttle Endeavour climbs out of Moffett Federal Airfield, Ca

[lonestarflight]

Launch of a Saturn A-1 (thats a Saturn S-I with a Titan I as a second stage), carrying the Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar.

source, source

[my-brain-still-wonders]

At one point in time this was every known space "plane" project with a serious possiblity of completion or was completed to mission status on Earth.

[andromedaexile]

They both reached for the gun phaser!

Inspired by @peachviz

[sudden-stops-kill]

x-37b