DARPA Wants XS-1 Space Plane Bring 3K Pounds To Orbit As Routine

Another space plane is being developed by the Pentagon, according to reports. An addition for its first Air Force's secretive X-37B, DARPA, the research agency of the Pentagon's future-focused project, is also aiming for a carrier that can deliver every day.

The new space plane is named XS-1 that is reported to have a very ambitious objective - to bring 3,000 pounds to orbit everyday for a cost of $5 million for each delivery. In a request made earlier this week, DARPA stated that it looks forward to enable low cost, routine space access to make the delivery of satellites to orbit as routine as the shipping cargo over the oceans, Popular Science reported.

Based on previous reports, DARPA has announced in 2014 about an initial contract and has firmly maintained the program, including the funding of the second stage in 2015. But the latest announcement is attracting a huge attention due to the fact that it appears almost impatient. Although it is not necessarily difficult, space is difficult to do cheap, and the cost savings are crucial to the whole vision of DARPA's XS-1 program.

Usually, the agency's projects go through three stages, with concepts being removed while more successful options are kept by further funding. The recent announcement is for Phases II and III at once, providing ideas about what the company must do to finalize design, produce, assemble and fly the XS-1. This could be done by a line of test campaigns in order to direct the cost and time-to-space through an order of magnitude.

The space plane XS-1 program is open to the current spacecraft, while several projects of DARPA often times ask for completely new designs, only if they can meet DARPA's standards. The immediate objectives are for a successful booster launch on 10 consecutive days, and a mission that carries a payload of at least 900 pounds, according to Popular  Science.