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Saturday, April 19, 2014

Boeing-Built Fighter Jets Could Launch US Military Satellites Into Space

Artist's concept of the DARPA Airborne Satellite Launch Vehicle under an F-15E aircraftAnd you thought space launches couldn't get any cooler: The next generation of small satellites may blast into orbit from the belly of a fighter jet.

The United States military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) gave Boeing a $30.6 million contract last month to develop a 24-foot (7.3-meter) launch vehicle that would attach to the bottom of an F-15E Strike Eagle.

The concept calls for the jet to drop this vehicle when it reaches an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), at which point the craft's rocket engines would kick on, carrying onboard satellites into orbit.

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