The talk of the future in the aviation circles involves phrases like "hypersonic atmospheric flight crafts" and "space planes". But a group from Germany is carrying the plans a step closer to reality, coming with a roadmap for low-cost space access. Their initiative also involves calling upon the air passenger market for fast-travel flights.
When their project for a SpaceLiner will be fully developed, it could have a dramatic impact in global aerospace. The SpaceLiner project is an initiative of the DLR Institute of Space Systems, a German aerospace research agency. According to them, the space plane will be a winged suborbital, hypersonic passenger transport vehicle. Their idea is under investigation at DLR-SART, a Space Launcher Systems Analysis.
SpaceLiner project is envisioned as a rocket-propelled intercontinental passenger transport. The German institute describes the space plane as a two-stage vehicle powered by rocket propulsion. They said that DLR has proposed their SpaceLiner as a new kind of high-speed transport based on a two-stage Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). The SpaceLiner will use liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants. According to DLR, this combination is "both powerful and eco-friendly."
In the Aviation Week, their Los Angeles-based senior editor Guy Norris described the spacecraft as a rocket-powered system incorporating dual-use technologies such as a fly-back booster. These technologies could also be applied to "architectures for launching payloads into low Earth orbit".
The winged airliner concept will be able to carry 50 passengers from Europe to Australia in just 90 minutes, and from Europe to U.S. in just an hour. From this flight time, most of it will be spent with the take-off and landing. Norris explained that, in order to serve a potentially larger market, DLR has also outlined a larger 100-seat version. This would be capable of one-hour transpacific and intercontinental flights.
The concept has already been laid out in detail. This sounds as a technical initiative as much as a business feasibility study. The only challenge to see it be realized soon lies in the cost factor in space transportation. One of the main cost drivers is the production stage, due to the very low manufacturing numbers of engines and stages. However, the manufacturing and operating costs would decrease if the number of launches per year could be increased.
According to the institute, in order for this to happen, they need to find a new market application for space technology. The main applications, according to the DLR group, could be intercontinental missions, which could potentially generate market demand. When the SpaceLiner project is materialized, we are about to enter a new era of rocket-based, ultra-fast transportation.
