IMAGE 300_399\339.Lbm,The legendary X-15 rocket plane in which some pilots flew so high they were awarded astronaut's wings. Its pilots included Neil Armstrong.
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HOTWORD EROS,exgoto\GT1159.scr,12
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HOTWORD RAMJET,exgoto\GT1376.scr,12
HOTWORD ROCKET,exgoto\GT1387.scr,12
IMAGE 1300_99\357.Lbm,A model of the X-30 National Aerospace Plane at the Visitors Center at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The design, however, is not yet finalized.
IMAGE 1300_99\358.Lbm,Alternative views of the Sanger spaceplane, of German design. It is a 'piggy-back' design.
IMAGE 1300_99\359.Lbm,The Sanger spaceplane on the runway preparing for take-off.
IMAGE 1300_99\360.Lbm,Carried high into the atmosphere, the orbiter element of the Sanger spaceplane separates from its carrier and ignites its engine, which will boost it into orbit.
IMAGE 1300_99\361.Lbm,Britain's Hotol design, which uses air-breathing engines for its journey through the atmosphere.
IMAGE 1300_99\362.Lbm,Streaking away from the runway, Hotol begins its journey into space.
IMAGE 1300_99\363.Lbm,An alternative launch 'pad' for Hotol, the giant Antonov AN-225 transport. This would carry Hotol to some 9 km high, before the spaceplane fired its engines.
IMAGE 1300_99\364.Lbm,Two views of the European Space Agency's spaceplane Hermes, with coupled resource module at rear. A man is shown to give scale.
IMAGE 1300_99\365.Lbm,Cutaway of Hermes, showing the accommodation and other features.
IMAGE 1300_99\366.Lbm,Computer simulation showing the heat distribution on Hermes during re-entry through the atmosphere.
IMAGE 1300_99\367.Lbm,Full-scale mock-up of the Hermes spaceplane.
IMAGE 1300_99\368.Lbm,Overall profile of a typical Hermes mission, from launch to landing.
IMAGE 1300_99\369.Lbm,Hermes is launched atop an Ariane 5 heavy launch vehicle.
IMAGE 1300_99\370.Lbm,The Hermes launch site is at Europe's Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana.
IMAGE 1300_99\371.Lbm,Hermes in orbit 300 km above the Earth.
IMAGE 1300_99\372.Lbm,On some missions, Hermes docks with Europe's Columbus free-flying laboratory.
IMAGE 1300_99\373.Lbm,Hermes is shown here docked with the international Freedom space station.
IMAGE 1300_99\374.Lbm,With a suitable docking adapter, Hermes would be able to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
IMAGE 1300_99\375.Lbm,At the end on a mission, Hermes jettisons the rear resource module and plunges belly-first into the atmosphere. Its heat- shield glows red-hot because of friction with the air.
IMAGE 1300_99\376.Lbm,Hermes glides in to land on the runway. The two prime landing sites will be at the Kourou launch site and in southern Spain, with emergency sites elsewhere.
IMAGE 1700_99\728.Lbm,One early idea for a hypersonic plane to conduct research at the fringes of the atmosphere.
