1998 January 1

The new year started off wet, when a faulty control system in the X-33 construction hanger set off water canons intended to fight fires. A crew of about a dozen on New Year's Eve worked to dry out the X-33 construction area. No permanent damage resulted, and work continued as usual.

1998 January 14

Construction of the X-33 launch site at Haystack Butte progressed. Sverdrup completed rough grading of the launch site. The new road to the launch site was driveable, but , like the site in general, was still at subgrade level.

1998 January 21

Sverdrup completed rough grading of the X-33 launch site.

1998 February 11

The first major X-33 component, the liquid oxygen tank, was delivered to the Palmdale, California, hanger where construction of the vehicle was taking place. Delivery was made by an Airbus A300-600ST.

1998 February 12

The ground cold flow test of the LASRE was performed on this date. This test included one normal cold flow and one emergency systems cold flow. The emergency systems cold flow tested the effects of control system power loss during flight. The liquid oxygen tank pressurized normally during the first (normal cold flow) test, validating the repair that had been made to the vent system. The emergency test appeared to have been successful. A data review was scheduled for February 18, 1998.

1998 February 25

A routine X-33 quarterly review took place at Marshall Space Flight Center. Presentations surveyed current program progress.

1998 February 25

Launch site construction continued to progress as all Edwards Air Force Base infrastructure (roads, power, water, and communications) were extended to the site.

1998 March 4

A NASA SR-71 completed its first cold flow flight as part of the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.

1998 March 11-12

The NASA Independent Annual Review of the X-33 program took place. X-33 technical and cost performance was surveyed. A final report detailing findings and conclusions was to be briefed to the NASA Program Management Council on April 15, 1998. The Review indicated that the Skunk Works had addressed many of the concerns that arose during the September 1997 Independent Annual Review. NASA's Gary Payton and Gene Austin were very pleased with the review results.

1998 March 20

During a project review held at the Rocketdyne facility in Canoga Park, Rocketdyne made known certain schedule hazards that had developed with two of their suppliers, Weldmac and CFI. It was reported that, in the worst case, aerospike engine deliveries might slip three to five months. Rocketdyne was looking into their suppliers' difficulties in hopes of mitigating risk to the program schedule.

1998 April 8

With the exception of some fastener shortages, the center thrust structure of the X-33 vehicle was now complete.

1998 April 19

The liquid oxygen tank was moved into the main assembly fixture. The move took less than an hour, and was completed two days ahead of schedule.

1998 May 18

NASA's F-15B Aerodynamic Flight Facility aircraft was flight testing thermal protection materials intended for use on the X-33 on an F-15B fighter to determine the durability of the materials, specifically measuring the shear and shock loads to which the materials are exposed. The F-15B is a NASA test aircraft based at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. The materials tested included metallic Inconel tiles, soft Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Isolation tiles, and sealing materials.

1998 June 8

Aerospace Daily reported: "Lockheed Martin is carrying a 'three-month hazard' on the linear aerospike engine it will need to power the X-33 testbed next summer, but Rocketdyne has developed workarounds and fixes to get the engine back on track," citing Lockheed Martin program manager Jerry Rising.

1998 June 8

Aerospace Daily reported that leakage into the structure of the subscale aerospike mounted on NASA's SR-71 Blackbird had delayed the first hot-fire test of the engine "a few weeks."

1998 June 8

As reported in Aerospace Daily, X-33 program manager Jerry Rising and X-34 program manager Bob Lindberg threatened to not allow their X vehicles to fly, unless Congress passes indemnification legislation protecting them against third-party liability in case of an accident during flight testing.

1998 June 10

NASA announced that pictures of the X-33 vehicle and launch site, taken every fifteen minutes from three digital cameras, would be posted to an Internet address: http://stp.msfc.nasa.gov/cameras/camera.html.
Camera A shows the vehicle's primary assembly structure, while Camera B shows side-by-side tooling structures for the X-33's upper thermal protection system and the vehicle's upper internal support structure. A third camera focuses on the vehicle's launch pad. The vehicle images will not be current, but will be delayed one day.

1998 June 30

NASA announced completion of the F-15B flight testing of thermal protection materials for the X-33 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA. The six flights tested the durability of the materials at hypersonic velocities. The F-15B reached an altitude of 36,000 feet and a top speed of Mach 1.4. The material samples tested included metallic Inconel tiles, soft Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation tiles, and sealing materials.

1998 July 6

Aerospace Daily, in an article titled "Wagons Ho!" reported that the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works had abandoned flying the X-33 back to its launch pad at Edwards AFB in favor of trucking the experimental aircraft overland, "because the Shuttle program won't give up one of its two Boeing 747s for ferry flights."

1998 July 22

Difficulties with fabricating the X-33 liquid hydrogen tanks continued. as a result, delivery dates for the two tanks slipped from July 31st and September 2nd to mid-October and mid-November, respectively. The impact of these delays on vehicle assembly was still be assessed.

1998 July 29

Aerojet recommended to NASA and Lockheed Martin that they use a thruster configuration that includes a nozzle made of columbium to correct for the thermal problems that had caused nozzles to burn through in earlier tests. Using columbium nozzle parts will not increase the X-33's net weight, however preparing the parts will require a long lead time. To minimize schedule impact, Aerojet proposed delivering the thrusters without nozzles to allow continuation of vehicle assembly and supplying the columbium nozzles at a later date.

1998 August 5

The X-33 System Architecture Review (SAR) and Optimized Design Review (ODR) were held in Palmdale with representatives from each Skunk Works partner, NASA, and the Gray Beards attending. The panel of experts known as the Gray Beards was composed mainly of NASA senior personnel led by Del Freeman of NASA's Langley Research Center.

1998 August 26

AlliedSignal delivered the X-33 nose landing gear strut. It will be modified into the X-33 configuration for a test fit. This same test fit already has been accomplished for the main trunion pivots and the drag link attachments without any problems.

1998 September 2

Sam Armstrong, recently named NASA Associate Administrator for the Office of Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology (Code R), revealed a reorganization during a staff briefing that would dilute the responsibilities of Gary Payton, who, as deputy associate administrator for space transportation technology, currently heads the X-33, X-34, and advanced space transportation programs, moving him more into the aeronautical half of the Office. Payton would occupy a lower position, division director, under the proposed reorganization, which was scheduled to take place on October 1. Payton has been a champion of single-stage-to-orbit vehicles for many years. The change seriously jeopardized the status of the program within the NASA hierarchy.

1998 September 11

Aerospace Daily reported that the pending reorganization in NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology (Code R) "raised the hackles" of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), a long-time champion of single-stage-to-orbit technology and chairman of the NASA authorization subcommittee. Rohrabacher expressed his concerns in a letter to NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin.

1998 September 23

A nine-panel thermal protection system array was test fitted on the bottom of the X-33 last week by a joint team of BF Goodrich and Skunk Works technicians. The metallic panels were equipped with the new secondary seal designs. One panel also was removed from the center of the array to prove that any panel could be replaced.

1998 September 27

Continuing difficulties with fabrication of the two liquid hydrogen tanks. A cure cycle was lost during the first doubler installation process on tank #2. The tank was removed early from the cure cycle after blowing a bag at the end of a ramp up point. The combination of the out time and this cure cycle resulted in an unacceptable strength impact to the bond joints. The doublers were removed over the weekend (26-27 September) and can be replaced with existing materials. Loss of the cure cycle delayed fabrication of tank #2 by 30 days. Construction of the vehicle structure and electronics continued.

1998 October 2

The X-33 engine testing program began. At 12:13am Central Time, the first successful aerospike engine-related test took place at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center (Hancock County, Mississippi). The test was intended to calibrate the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel turbopumps, to check facility settings, and to verify valve timing to prime the gas generator. The test lasted 2.81 seconds, and no flaws or anomalies were detected. The tested powerpack hardware consisted of the main power generating and pumping components of the aerospike engine, including the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen turbopumps, a gas generator for the turbopump drive, vehicle connect lines, and interconnecting flight ducts. These powerpack tests are critical to the development of the linear aerospike engine, because they allow various performance levels to be tested in parallel with the design and construction of the engine. Full-scale engine tests are scheduled to occur at NASA's Stennis Space Center later this year. Steve Nunez is the Stennis X-33 project manager.

1998 October 7

B.F. Goodrich completed the last major testing of the metallic panels for the X-33 thermal protection system at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama.

1998 October 14

The reorganization of NASA's Code R--the Office of Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology--under Associate Administrator Spence M. Armstrong to the Office of Aero-Space Technology. In the NASA press release, Armstrong stated that "Goldin wanted me to personally be an advocate for the Reusable Launch Vehicle programs to effect a cheaper means of access to space." The press release made no mention of Gary Payton's changed role within Code R or on the X-33 program.

1998 October 14

Boeing presented their current estimate to complete. Their plan transferred $36 million from the VentureStar reusable launch vehicle (RLV) to the X-33 by eliminating the fabrication, assembly, and testing of the RLV power pack. By adding a second engine test stand in Phase III (the program is presently in Phase II), Boeing has been able to develop a schedule that would support a first flight of VentureStar within six months of the current Skunk Works schedule. In addition, Boeing declined additional investment in the project. The $36 million transferred from VentureStar to X-33 is the same amount as the additional X-33 costs caused by Boeing's delay in delivering the aerospike engine (see 1998 October 27 below).

1998 October 21

The first two upper thermal protection system panels arrived at the hanger from B.F. Goodrich's Riverside plant. They were to be test fitted on the forward most position of the liquid oxygen tank. Repair patches for liquid hydrogen tank #1 were completed and shipped, while work continued on the second tank.

1998 October 23

NASA announced that it and Lockheed Martin would hold a "media teleconference" on Tuesday, Oct. 27th, at 1pm EST, with program officials Gary Payton, NASA deputy associate administrator for space transportation technology, NASA Headquarters; Gene Austin, NASA X-33 program manager; Jerry Rising, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works vice president for the X-33 and VentureStar; and Cleon Lacefield, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works X-33 program manager. A similar teleconference was the previous October to update the media on the status of the program following the Critical Design Review. This teleconference is expected to announce a six-month delay in the X-33 flight tests.

1998 October 27

In a joint NASA and Lockheed Martin media teleconference, Jerry Rising, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works vice president for the X-33 and VentureStar, announced that the first flight of the X-33 would be delayed six months until December 1999, because of late delivery of the aerospike engine in September 1999. This delay in engine delivery will cost an additional $36 million. Lockheed Martin expects Rocketdyne to absorb the additional cost. Lockheed Martin has cut out all overtime on the program and plans to cut project personnel in order to reduce escalating costs.

1998 October 28

The two leeward #1 composite panels were delivered to the hanger for a fit check on the vehicle. The two leeward #2 panels were to be shipped on Monday, 1 November, for a fit check. Once the panel fit checks are made, all composite panels will be shipped back to B.F. Goodrich's Riverside plant for completion. Also, a successful cure cycle on liquid hydrogen tank #2 was accomplished over the weekend, 24-25 October. As a result, all lobe skins were bonded on both tanks.

1998 November 6

NASA released the Hawthorne Report, named after the Boston firm, Hawthorne, Krauss, and Associates, LLC, that conducted the study titled "Analysis of Potential Alternatives to Reduce NASA's Cost of Human Access to Space." NASA intends to use the Hawthorne Report, and the Space Transportation Architecture Study currently under way, as guides for planning future space launchers. The Hawthorne report strongly supported the economics of commercial reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) over continued use of the Space Shuttle. Hawthorne, Krauss & Associates also urged NASA to exercise caution in setting up loan guarantees to support development of commercial RLVs. NASA has made the Hawthorne Report available on the Internet at:
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/reports/1998/Hawrep.pdf

1998 November 11

The X-33's electronics achieved an important milestone when Sanders shipped two Vehicle Health Monitoring computers to the Skunk Works. Also, the Skunk Works had identified a potential winner of the contract to transport the X-33 over land.

1998 November 13

A test of the aerospike engine power pack took place at 100% power over a period of 30 seconds during the week ending 13 November. A 250 second test was planned for the following week.

1998 November 18

Work began on the ballast bulkhead assembly. Faced with a continually slipping schedule at the Sunnyvale plant, subcontractor Alliant and the Skunk Works formulated plans to speed up work. Shift schedules will be changed so as to effectively double manpower.

1998 November 20

Announcement that NASA and the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works have terminated the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE). The LASRE sought to obtain data on the aerospike engine intended for use on the X-33 and VentureStar by mounting half of a scale-model aerospike engine on the back of an SR-71 aircraft and studying the effects of gas flow. The modified SR-71 carried out seven LASRE test flights. Those flights, however, tested only cold flow gas conditions; all hot flow experiments are now cancelled. Two flights collected aerodynamic data on the combination of the aerospike engine with the SR-71 aircraft. In two others, gaseous helium and liquid nitrogen were cycled through the test rig to test its plumbing, and three more flights, liquid oxygen flowed through the system. The two hot-fire test flights planned to validate computer models of aerospike performance in flight are now cancelled. The LASRE was repeatedly delayed by hardware and other problems. Cancellation of the LASRE allows any remaining funds to be used by the Skunk Works to cover X-33 cost overruns.

1998 November 24

In its December 2, 1998, issue, Aerospace Daily reported that on November 24, 1998, Boeing's Rocketdyne Division completed the first four tests of its XRS-2200 linear aerospike engine at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi . In these tests, the engine's turbomachinery and gas generator were run at full power, then throttled back to 57% power.

1998 December 2

Aerospace Daily reported that NASA's Office of the Inspector General, in an audit titled "X-33 Funding Issues" (IG-99-001), found that the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center allowed $56 million in year-end obligations for the X-33 to go unrecorded in fiscal years 1996 and 1997, thereby giving Congress an inaccurate picture of the program's status at the ends of those two years. The Inspector General reported that Marshall Space Flight Center contract officers had established an arrangement with the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works to delay billing for completed X-33 work until the following fiscal year. In fiscal 1996, that amounted to $22 million, and in fiscal 1997, to $34 million. The Inspector General maintained that obligations "should be recorded not later than NASA's acceptance of the completed milestone work" and recommended that NASA adjust its financial records to reveal the X-33 program's financial status "fully and accurately," and that NASA review the funding and payment practices used on the X-33 program to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Antideficiency Act and internal controls.

1998 December 4

Senior NASA staff, Boeing representatives, and X-33 project personnel from Boeing Rocketdyne and Lockheed Martin attended a meeting at Lockheed Martin's corporate headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, to discuss the development of the X-33 aerospike engine. At the meeting, Boeing proposed to downsize the ground portion of the propulsion demonstration program in order to use the resulting savings to fund X-33 engine cost overruns. Three teams were formed in order to evaluate Boeing's proposal and to assess opportunities that NASA centers might have to mitigate the impact on technology development. The results of these independent team assessments are to be reviewed in mid-January.

1998 December 16

Construction of the X-33 continued. Both liquid hydrogen tanks completed cures. Two gaseous oxygen tanks and two methane tanks belonging to the auxiliary propellant system were installed on the liquid oxygen tank. The thrust structure is nearly complete. Some clearance issues have emerged during installation of the nose gear support structure. Power pack assembly no. 2 was completed and sent to NASA Stennis for testing, while power pack assembly no. 1 was still having problems.

Construction of the X-33 launch site continued. The four vehicle hold down posts were installed onto the rotating launch mount. The diesel generator for the site's electrical supply was run for the first time. The Vehicle Positioning System was unpacked and set up for testing. Sanders completed delivery of the Operations Control Center hardware. The X-33 launch site is now completed.

Skunk Works' End of Year 1998 Summary