Artist's rendition of the X-33 in orbit. The Lockheed Martin X-33 was a proposed uncrewed, sub-scale technology demonstrator suborbital spaceplane that was developed for a period in the 1990s.

May 5, 2009 · In reality, NASA picked Lockheed Martin’s design for an unmanned reusable space plane. However, Boeing designed the craft’s engines. Here’s NASA’s fact sheet on the X-33.

Feb 28, 2014 · It awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to build and fly an uncrewed technology demonstrator. Much of the vehicle was entirely new, including the linear aerospace rocket motor and the composite cryogenic propellant tanks. The leap exceeded what existing and developing technology could support.

Jan 4, 2006 · Taking shape at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility, the X-33 was intended to be a 1/3 scale prototype of a fully-operational RLV (Reusable Launch Vehicle) called the VentureStar, designed to...

Feb 17, 2016 · The X-33, a half-scale vehicle, was expected to feature a lifting-body shape, a new “aerospike” rocket engine, and a rugged metallic thermal protection system. It was expected to demonstrate in flight the new technologies needed for a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV).

May 3, 2023 · Lockheed Martin's X-33 was a technology demonstrator of the VentureStar orbital spaceplane funded by NASA in the 1990s. Part of the Space Launch Initiative, the X-33's ultimate goal was to prove the feasibility of a completely reusable …

NASA-sponsored suborbital unmanned prototype for a single-stage-to-orbit rocketplane. The Lockheed Martin vehicle would have used a linear aerospike engine, metallic insulation, and other features similar to their Starclipper shuttle proposal of 1971.

Jun 25, 2001 · WASHINGTON — The powerful linear aerospike engines intended for the orphaned X-33 experimental rocket could rumble to life this summer under an agreement being hammered out between NASA and the...

Feb 10, 2000 · The innovative aerospike engine that will power the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator reached a significant milestone at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi on Feb. 3...

Feb 1, 2014 · The X-33 design was based on a lifting body shape with two revolutionary “linear aerospike” rocket engines and a rugged metallic thermal protection system. The vehicle also was to have had lightweight components and fuel tanks built to conform to the vehicle’s outer shape.