"jonathan" wrote in message
...

Just one month before Bush wins the White House~


Atlanta Inquirer
10-14-2000
NASA, Lockheed Martin Agree On X-33 Plan

NASA and Lockheed Martin have agreed on a plan to go forward with the X-33
space plane program, to include aluminum fuel tanks for the vehicle's
hydrogen fuel, a revised payment schedule and a target launch date in
2003.
The launch date is a contingent on Lockheed Martin's ability to compete
and
win additional funding under the Space Launch Initiative. NASA and
Lockheed
believe it is critical to continue work to solve the last remaining
barrier
to low-cost, reliable access to space.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79131028.html

Note that the composite liquid hydrogen tanks were one of the technological
highlights of the chosen X-33 design. Unfortunately, they weren't ready for
prime time. The "trust us, we've done this before" sales tactic worked, but
the execution failed miserably.

I see no malice by the administration here, only incompetence in picking the
most technologically challenging X-33 proposal and actually expecting it to
lead to a mature flight prototype.

And just a couple months later....just after Bush takes office.

First posted March 1, 2001

WASHINGTON -- NASA announced Thursday that the problem-plagued X-33
spaceplane
project, a venture that aimed to create a single-stage-to-orbit
spaceliner, has
been scrapped. In addition, the American space agency announced that
another
reusable rocket, the X-34, is being axed.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches...el_010301.html



From...."the last remaining barrier", to "problem plagued" in just four
months!
Eight million dollars away from a new tank, the 'last barrier', to
realizing
reusable low cost to orbit, and it just vanishes into thin air.

It really was problem plagued. If you had been reading these newsgroups at
the time, you'd be far better informed of the problems than you appear to be
today. Perhaps if you would use Google Groups to research this topic,
instead of reading news articles, you'd get a clue.

As one of many, examples, the aerodynamics of X-33 were very problematic.
As a result, the external shape of X-33 seemed to change daily. In
particular, the originally proposed fins on the two sides of the lifting
body gradually morphed into wings. Of course the contractor and NASA
refused to call them wings, since that would admit that the lifting body
concept wasn't as promising as first hoped, so I don't recall reading much
about that issue in the media, but it was hotly discussed in these
newsgroups.

Jeff
--
"Many things that were acceptable in 1958 are no longer acceptable today.
My own standards have changed too." -- Freeman Dyson