spacetoday.net: Boeing drops out of DARPA spaceplane program

Boeing drops out of DARPA spaceplane program

Posted: Sat, Jan 25, 2020, 11:33 AM ET (1633 GMT)
Boeing Phantom Express concept for DARPA XS-1 program (Boeing)

Boeing has dropped out of a DARPA program to develop an experimental reusable spaceplane. DARPA said Wednesday that Boeing informed the agency it was immediately discontinuing work on the Experimental Spaceplane Program, which was to develop a reusable suborbital spaceplane designed to fly 10 times in 10 days. Boeing won a 2017 DARPA competition, in the form of an other transaction authority award that required Boeing to also contribute its own funding, to develop and test what Boeing called Phantom Express. DARPA envisioned using the vehicle, equipped with an expendable upper stage, to place smallsats into orbit affordably and responsively.