A Path to the Future
A full-scale Delta Clipper would be fully reusable and able to put payloads in orbit with one stage at one-tenth the current costs for orbital payloads [1]. This is an important feature for many reasons. Current vehicles require large unpopulated areas near the launch facility. The reason for this stems from the multi-staged nature of the rockets, where used stages fall off the rocket during flight and need safe areas to impact. Current rockets also require very specialized space ports. These facilities must be very large, again for safety reasons. Their specialized nature makes them expensive to build and the size requirements reduce the potential locations for space ports to places far from population centers.
Aside from simply reducing the cost per kilogram to launch payloads into orbit, another primary goal for the full size DC-X is to enable airline-like operations. Commercial airlines operate from many locations near cities, require little maintenance between flights, can be flown many times before major overhauls are needed, and require only a small ground crew at each airport. These are important qualities needed to make access to space both routine and cheap. An orbit capable DC-X would provide for each of these key points.
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