1997 January 21

NASA Langley Research Center press release about X-33 wind tunnel testing during Phase I in Langley's 22-Inch Mach 20 Helium Tunnel.

1997 January 23

NASA held a public meeting in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to gather public comment on its plan to conduct flight tests of the X-33. The meeting was part of NASA's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process in support of the X-33 program. The formal scoping process began on October 7, 1996, after NASA published Notice of Intent 96-118 in the Federal Register. The Idaho Falls meeting was the twelfth public meeting held by NASA to discuss the potential environmental impact of the X-33 test flights. Earlier meetings were held in towns neighboring proposed takeoff and landing sites in Southern California, Utah, Washington, and Montana.

1997 February 20

A 7.75 percent scale model of the X-33 completed two weeks of wind tunnel tests in the 5.1-meter transonic wind tunnel at the Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center at Arnold Air Force Base, Tullahoma, Tennessee, according to Space Log, March 10-16, 1997.

1997 March

An aluminum and stainless steel model of the X-33 was tested in NASA Langley's Low-Turbulence Pressure Tunnel.

1997 March 6

NASA announcement that surveying was underway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in preparation for the construction of the X-33 launch site. Sverdrup Corporation, the X-33 team's launch facility contractor, was undertaking the surveying of the launch site, which is located at the Air Force's Phillips Laboratory's Propulsion Directorate, specifically at Haystack Butte. Construction of the launch pad and facilities was expected to be complete by September. 9, 1998. Launch facility activation, which includes verification of the launch pad fueling system, was scheduled to be complete by October 1, 1998.

1997 April 10

NASA announced that an aluminum and stainless steel scale model of the X-33 --- about 38 cm (15 inches) long by 38 cm (15 inches) wide --- was undergoing extensive wind tunnel testing at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va, in Langley's 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel through mid-April 1997.

1997 April 16

Continuing wind tunnel testing at Marshall Space Flight Center to correct X-33 control deficiency at low supersonic speeds (Mach 1 to 2). Adding canards appeared to be the only viable solution to date.

1997 April 30

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center announced that in Marshall Propulsion Laboratory's East Test Area, Marshall had conducted hot-fire tests of components for the X-33 linear aerospike engine. The test apparatus consisted of three hydrogen-cooled thrust cells constructed to represent a section of the X-33 engine, which will have two banks of 10 side-by-side thrusters. Test results were to be reviewed with Rocketdyne, which built the test thrust cells, and which will build the X-33 aerospike engine.

1997 May

Wind tunnel testing of a scale model X-33 in the Langley Research Center's Unitary Wind Tunnel at supersonic speeds ranging from Mach 1.5 to 4.5 continued from mid-April to early May. Wind tunnel testing also continued through May at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

1997 May

A "tiger team" was working full-time on reducing 5000 to 6000 pounds from the dry weight (without fuel) of the X-33. The team sorted through over 400 recommendations to reduce weight.

1997 May 21

Presentation by the "tiger team" working on the X-33 weight problem. Weight reduction recommendations were ranked according to minor, medium, or major cost and schedule impacts. The team indicated that about 8 000 to 11 000 pounds of weight could be reduced, but the X-33 project costs and schedule would be affected.

1997 June

Additional wind tunnel testing of X-33 models took place in June 1997 in the Langley Research Center's Hypersonic Facilities Complex. Also, X-33 wind tunnel testing started in Langley's 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel in mid-June.

1997 June 24

Aerospace Daily reported that "typical development problems" had led to the postponement of the first X-33 test flight from March to July of 1999, and the slippage of the Critical Design Review from September to an unspecified time in the fall. A critical problem behind the postponement was fabrication of the liquid-hydrogen fuel tank. In addition, Aerospace Daily reported that the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works had consolidated X-33 project management at Palmdale, California, and that Jerry Rising had been named vice president for X-33 and reusable launch vehicles. Rising replaced T.K. Mattingly, who transferred to Lockheed Martin's aeronautical division at corporate headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.

1997 June 27

NASA releases draft Environmental Impact Statement.

1997 July

In mid-July, wind tunnel testing of X-33 models in the Langley Research Center's 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel concluded.

1997 July 3

Aerospace Daily reported on X-33 progress, based on an interview with Jerry Rising, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works vice president and program director for the X-33. The Skunk Works was considering use of a colder, denser cryogenic propellant, and had dropped plans to add canards for vehicle stability in the low transonic range (Mach 1 and 2). The canards were dropped in favor of changes in the tail structure. Weight growth was under attack by a special "tiger team."

1997 August 26

The Linear Acrospike SR-71 Experiment was mounted on a NASA SR-71 aircraft at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., in preparation for the experiment's first flight, then scheduled for sometime in September.

1997 August 26

Aerospace Daily reported that a gas generator adapted for the X-33 aerospike engine from a J-2 Saturn rocket engine had undergone fourteen hot-fire tests at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

1997 August 28

NASA Langley Research Center conducted load tests of a full-scale segment of a composite intertank structure for the X-33 program.

1997 September 11

Aerospace Daily reported on X-33 progress. Five of eight 100-pound liquid hydrogen tank panels had been fabricated by Alliant TechSystems in a Utah plant, and tests of the composite seams were proceeding without any surprises. The liquid oxygen tank had been welded together. A "big hunk" of vehicle weight was cut by removing the turbo alternator. Cooling the liquid oxygen and hydrogen propellants to temperatures lower than normal helped to cut overall vehicle weight even further, and to allow the X-33 to carry additional fuel.

1997 September 18

End of two-day Design Review of the X-33 Thermal Protection System by Rohr at its Chula Vista, California, facility.

1997 September 24

End of the two-day Critical Design Review of the X-33 aerospike engine (known also as the XRS-2200 engine). The CDR took place at Rocketdyne's DeSoto campus in Chattsworth, California, where the X-33 engines are being designed.

1997 September 26

NASA released the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the X-33, and indicated preferred flight testing launch and landing sites.

1997 October 31

NASA announced that the X-33 had completed the five-day vehicle Critical Design Review (CDR) successfully. This was a major event in the evolution of the X-33. With completion of the CDR, NASA gave the Skunk Works approval to proceed with the fabrication of all remaining components and the assembly of the flight vehicle. Over 590 people selected by the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works attended the CDR. The package of CDR technical information contained some 2750 charts in 11 volumes.

1997 October 31

First successful flight of the LASRE experiment at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

1997 November 4

NASA completed its Record of Decision (ROD) on the X-33 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and announced it intended to proceed with the preferred X-33 flight test program as described in the Final EIS issued October 3, 1997.

1997 November 14

Groundbreaking ceremony took place at future X-33 launch site on Edwards Air Force Base.