Rocketplane

Rocketplane Global, Inc. designs reusable spacecraft and spaceplanes. The company's stated aim is to make space travel as common as airline travel. It plans launch services for small and large satellites, and future passenger flights to space.

The Rocketplane XP is a four seat vehicle, the site says, and is fighter sized. It has a high performance wing and a T tail. The cabin is designed to keep occupants comfortable and to give a view of Earth from space. The vehicle also has a rocket engine, a reaction control system and an internal air supply.

The Rocketplane XC is described as the first stage delivery system for satellites of about 200 kg. It has jet engines for takeoff and landing, and reusable LOX and methane rocket engines. The site says it can fly from almost any commercial airport and launch daily if needed.

The Rocketplane XS is for larger satellites. The site says in flight fuel and oxygen transfer lets a small vehicle carry a large payload. The payload capacity is 1,500 to 3,000 kg, depending on the orbit.

The site says the vehicles can reach speeds of about 3,500 feet per second and altitudes above 330,000 feet, which is 100 kilometres. All vehicles take off and land using standard airport procedures.

The company history began with Pioneer Rocketplane. It became an independent Oklahoma company, raised 40 million dollars and designed the first Rocketplane XP. The site says the company plans to work with established aircraft designers and builders, rather than run its own factory. John Burgener, the president, has been developing reusable rockets since 1991. The company says it has a distributed approach, hiring engineering companies for detailed design work and using rocket engines already on the market. Its team includes the original master designers, Mitchell Burnside Clapp and Dan Raymer.