Artists's impression of a possible design for the experimental Rockwell X-30 National Aerospace Plane (NASP),a vehicle that would be capable of operating as an airplane at hypersonic speeds,(6,400 to 12,800 km/hr),in the upper atmostphere,as well as acting as a space-launch vehicle,flying from a runway take-off directly into orbit and returning for a conventional airport landing. In this artist's impression,the X-30 is about to rendezvous with an orbiting satellite. The program,begun in 1990,was terminated in 1993 |