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X-40A
Credit - NASA
Class: Spaceplane. Destination: Suborbital. Nation: USA. Manufacturer: Boeing.

Boeing X-40A Experimental Space Maneuver Vehicle was built to test landing technologies for the later X-37.

The X-40A successfully completed a series of seven approach and landing tests at NASA Dryden in 2000 and 2001. About 20 percent smaller than the X-37, the X-40A was released from a helicopter at 4600 m during the series of unpowered glide flights. These flights validated the autonomous flight control system planned for the X-37, thereby reducing the risk of the X-37 program.

Length: 6.71 m (22.01 ft). Span: 3.66 m (12.00 ft).


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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.