Spaceflight

Oklahoma-based Rocketplane and Kistler Aerospace have become the fourth team to bid for the $500 million NASA Commercial Orbital Transport­ation Services demonstration. The Rocketplane/Kistler team will offer horizontal and vertical launch systems. Rocketplane’s XP reusable suborbital spaceplane is set to have its maiden flight in 2007, and Kistler’s reusable two stage K-1 rocket by 2008. Winning bidders will be required to demonstrate Inter­national Space Station (ISS) cargo delivery and return capabilities by 2010 and ISS crew transport capability early in the next decade. The three other known bidders are led by commercial space services company Spacehab, launch provider Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and manned spacecraft developer Transformational Space (T/Space).