What is the holy grail of space flight? In 2022 it is a single-stage reusable vehicle that takes off for orbit and comes back and lands. No boosters, no nothing. Just like a commercial jet except – you know – Outer Space!
Radian Aerospace has announced that it is giving that dream a go.
A Washington-state based aerospace company has exited stealth mode by announcing plans to develop one of the holy grails of spaceflight—a single-stage-to-orbit space plane. Radian Aerospace said it is deep into the design of an airplane-like vehicle that could take off from a runway, ignite its rocket engines, spend time in orbit, and then return to Earth and land on a runway.
It may seem far-fetched, but this could ignite another layer of the current private-interest space race.
That’s the only way it will ever get done and the best way for it to become something more than just the pissing contest between billionaires.
There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s been the motivation for innovation for centuries.
The current design of Radian One calls for taking up to five people and 5,000 pounds of cargo into orbit. The vehicle would have a down-mass capability of about 10,000 pounds and be powered by three liquid-fueled engines. The idea would be to get as close to airline operations as possible, by flying, landing, re-fueling, and flying again.
Hey, the Red sox won not one but several World Series in my lifetime. How hard could this be?