14 DAY TRIAL // The United States may begin testing of a new unmanned space plane by 2017, officials from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced recently. The first contracts for this project, which is known as XS-1 (Experiment Spaceplane), will be awarded within a couple of months.
If all goes according to plan, then XS-1 will have its maiden atmospheric flight in late 2017 and its maiden orbital flight early in 2018. Coincidentally or not, this is around the same time NASA starts testing its massive rocket, the Space Launch System.
The XS-1 is being developed as a workhorse delivery system. The space plane will be able to carry between 1,360 and 2,270 kilograms (3,000 to 5,000 pounds) of cargo into space at least 10 times per year, at an average cost of $5 million (€3.66 million) per launch.
Not much else is known about the space plane. DARPA officials say that more specifications will probably be made available after the first round of contracts are awarded, and the first proposals start rolling it, Space reports. We will keep you updated as this project progresses.