FAST20XX: ACHIEVEMENTS ON EUROPEAN SUBORBITAL SPACE FLIGHT

摘要

In Europe, the EC co-funded project FAST20XX aimsrnat exploring the borderline between aviation and spacernby investigating suborbital vehicles. The main focus isrnthe identification and mastering of critical technologiesrnfor such vehicles rather than the vehicle developmentrnitself. Besides the objectives and overall layout of thernproject, the paper addresses also the progress madernduring the first period of the project. Two vehiclernconcepts are considered. A first one is a space vehiclernlaunched from an airplane providing a low-energyrnballistic flight experience using hybrid propulsion. Thernsecond is a vertically starting two-stage rocket spacernvehicle system concept taken as a basis to identify thernconditions and constraints experienced during highenergyrnsuborbital ultra-fast transport. The paper mainlyrndiscusses the two actual reference vehicles and therntechnical aspects of prerequisites for commercialrnoperation including safety, human spaceflight, businessrncases, environmental and legal issues.