USAF to Review
X-33 Options
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The U.S. Air Force
and Lockheed Martin Corp. have asked NASA to fund the X-33 program
through the end of the fiscal year, while the Pentagon considers
taking it over. General Ralph Eberhart, commander of the USAF Space
Command, has written NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin asking him to
“keep the options open” on the X-33. “Bridge funding” would
mean spending about US$15  million
to sustain the program through the end of the fiscal year. The
funding would keep the engineering staff on payroll, as well as
maintain the nearly completed demonstrator vehicle in storage.
Lockheed Martin has offered to pay half the amount, if NASA picks up
the other half.
Bush administration
officials have expressed interest. Rumsfeld endorsed the space plane
concept in the congressionally chartered report he issued in January
on the military use of space, and sources said those in Congress who
have been briefed about the Air Force's interest in X-33 are
enthusiastic about it. Goldin is said to be open to the idea but
unconvinced of the Air Force's intentions. The USAF Space Command
“will continue to evaluate options to continue the X-33
demonstrator program.” There is no Air Force money to put into the
program this year, but the service will “look at funding
opportunities” in the budgets for the next two fiscal years. It
could cost US$400 million to prepare the nearly completed X-33
prototype for a test flight.
NASA
has been in negotiations with Lockheed Martin over how to terminate
the program, including such questions as how to divide up
intellectual-property rights. NASA hopes the termination
negotiations will be wrapped up “in a month or two,” but
“won't do anything that will jeopardize the hardware.”
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