X-38

Its quirky, whale-like appearance is almost in defiance of the importance the windless, black-and-white vessel will one day hold.

So too are its relatively minuscule budget ad reliance on available equipment and existing technology.

Despite all that, the X-38 is intended to become the emergency crew-return vehicle for the seven- astronaut- capacity International Space Station, the construction of which is scheduled to begin in space this year.

An operational version of the X-38 could even become the first new manned spacecraft to travel to and from orbit in more than two decades. The European Space Agency is working on a version that could be launched on a European Ariane 5 booster or Russian Proton rocket with the ability to ferry three astronauts to and from space.

But for now, the X-38 is undergoing flight tests at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

Five-Phase Plan

Development of the X-38, a joint Dryden-Johnson Space Center project, is midway through a five-phase plan.

Phase 1: Carried out in 1995, it involved a small model about 4 feet long and preliminary tests using a skydiving parachute.

Phase 2: Ongoing since late 1995 at the Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Ariz., it entails refinement of the complex landing system.

Phase 3: “Captive carry” and free-flight tests at Dryden.

Phase 4: An unpiloted X-38 test flight from a shuttle in mid-2000. The X-38 will be carried into orbit inside the shuttle’s cargo bay and ejected, returning to Earth as if it were coming from the space station.

Phase 5: Construction of operational crew-return vehicles, which are expected to be ready for attachment to the space station by 2002.

Testing

NASA’s first X-38 prototype technology demonstrator arrived at Dryden last June. A second will arrive in March. “Captive-carry”test flights, with the X-38 attached under a wing of a B-52, began last July. Unpiloted free flights, in which the X-38 is released from the B-52, are scheduled to commence next month.

For safety reasons, none of the X-38 flight tests will be manned.

Costs

As much as 80% of the X-38’s design has relied on available equipment and on technology already developed.

* Original development cost estimates: more than $2 billion.

* Project managers now say four operational crew-returne vehicles can be developed and built for about $500 million.

* The X-38 program will cost about $90 million.

Design and Statistics

The design relies on lifting-body concept originally developed by the Air Force’s X-24A project int he late 1960s. A lifting body is a craft that gains aerodynamic lift via its shape rather than wings.

* Exterior mdade of composite material. There is also a protective heat shield.

* Length: 28.5 feet

* Width: 14.5 feet

* Weight: 16,000 lbs.

* A space shuttle would ferry the crew-return vehicle to the space station, where it could remain fo upo to three years with little maintenance.

* It would contain enough life-support supplies to last at least nine hours once flying free of the space station, from which it can separate in just three minutes.

* The crew-return vehicle is fully automated.

* Its landing system allows for relatively precise landing site selection.

Soyuz Spacecraft

* The Soyuz spacecraft, now used as the emergency crew-return vehicle on Russia’s aging Mir space station, can just three people. It will be used during the early years of space station construction.

* Besides the problem of its size, the Soyuz requires extensive training and is also a high-mainteance vehicle that must be rotated from the station every six months.

Tests will:

* Attempt to demonstrate that the X-38 can be carried by another craft without damage from vibrations or oscillations of that vehicle.

* Allow for systems checks.

* Allow validation of the vehicle’s aerodynamics.

* Demonstrate the reliability and accuracy of the parafoil landing system.

1. X-38 is attached under the wind og a B-52 and flown at an altitude of about 40,000 feet, where temperatures are about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. The vehicle glides unpowered from orbit, like a space shuttle.

3. Parachute is deployed.

4. A steerable parafoil parachute, like those used by skydivers, will be used to bring the crew-return vehicle in for a landing.

5. Steering of the flexible parafoil, which measures about 6,000 square feet,will be done by an automated guidance control system.

6. It will land on skids rather than wheels.

Researched by SHARON MOESER / Special to The Times. Sources: NASA; Chris Nagy, Dryden’s X-38 chief engineer; John Muratore, Johnson Space Center X-38 program manager.