The X-34 is a fully reusable test-bed vehicle that is 58 feet long with a wing span of almost 28 feet. It will be air-launched from beneath Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft in similar fashion to Orbital's well-known Pegasus rocket. The X-34 program will demonstrate new technologies that are key to developing and operating reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) that will significantly reduce the cost of launching satellites into orbit.

Among the technologies that X-34 will demonstrate are an all-composite airframe structure, composite fuel tanks, state-of-the-art thermal protection materials, and autonomous control and landing systems, as well as the ability to conduct flight operations through inclement weather and to safely abort launch missions.

In addition to its role as a demonstration vehicle for reusable launch systems technology, the X-34 has also been designed as a versatile platform with the ability to host a wide variety of high-speed aerospace research projects or micro-gravity experiments.

"X-34 is the first hypersonic research aircraft that the United States has developed since the X-15," said Dr. Robert E. Lindberg, Orbital's Vice President and X-34 Program Manager. "We hope that American industry will take advantage of the X-34's unique capabilities as a research platform to develop the technology that will help achieve the promise of economical space launches and hypersonic transportation in the 21st century," added Lindberg.

For its initial flights at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the X-34 vehicle will operate within the air space of the test range and reach speeds of Mach 2.5. Through a series of subsequent flights, the X-34 vehicle will gradually increase its speed, eventually reaching Mach 8, operating at an altitude of 250,000 feet and traveling over 500 nautical miles in about 15 minutes.

About Orbital

Orbital is one of the largest space and information systems companies in the world, with 1998 revenues of approximately $750 million. The company, which is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, employs about 4,500 people at its major facilities in nine states and several international locations. Orbital is the world's leading manufacturer of low-cost space systems and products, including satellites, launch vehicles, electronics and sensors, satellite ground systems and software, and satellite-based navigation and communications products. Through its ORBCOMM and ORBIMAGE affiliates, Orbital is also a pioneering operator of satellite networks that provide data communications and high-resolution imagery services to customers all around the world.