spacetoday.net: Report: X-33 program may be revived

Posted: Mon, Dec 10, 2001, 9:00 AM ET (1400 GMT)
X-33 illustration

A decision to move components of the X-33 experimental vehicle could be a sign that the program may be revived, according to one report. SPACE.com reported Sunday night that flight hardware for the X-33, currently in storage in Palmdale, California, will be moved to a launch complex at nearby Edwards Air Force Base constructed specifically for suborbital flight tests of the X-33. The reason for the move, made under the auspices of the Air Force, is unknown, although a source told SPACE.com that more details about the future of the program will be released in the near future. The X-33 program has been in limbo since NASA decided early this year not to provide additional funding through the Space Launch Initiative program for the troubled reusable launch vehicle technology demonstrator. In early September the Air Force decided not to fund continued development of the program, which at the time appeared to seal the X-33's fate.