Spacebus
Launch vehicle · UK
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
Credit: Mark Lindroos
British winged orbital launch vehicle. The Bristol Spaceplanes Spacebus was a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) Manned Spaceplane designed to take 50 passengers into space.
The design featured an airbreathing supersonic / hypersonic, delta winged first stage and a second stage powered by a liquid fuelled rocket engine. It was proposed by David Ashford of Bristol Spaceplanes Ltd. in the 1980`s / 1990's.
Subtopics
- Spacecab The Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) Concorde-sized Spacecab would deliver a payload of six persons to low Earth orbit. It would serve as a prototype for the larger 50-person Spacebus.
Ascender British manned rocketplane. The Bristol Spaceplanes Ascender of the 1992 was a sub-orbital four-crew manned spaceplane concept proposed by David Ashford. In 2001 Ashford proposed the design as an X-Prize contender. However adequate funding was still not forthcoming for development.
Related
- Country
- UK
- Agency
- Bristol Spaceplanes