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Air Force/Lockheed plot new launch vehicle<br /> <br />http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?id=4487<br /><br />Fresh off the US Air Force announcement of the SIV Space Test Program's "Standard Interface Vehicle" (STP-SIV), Lockheed Martin have revealed they have won an initial contract for the Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV) Studies and Analysis program. <br />The HLV announcement, which will ring bells with those that followed the early days of the X-33, notes " the HLV will provide the Air Force with an affordable, responsive, reliable and simple-to-operate capability for launching tactical space assets and conventional satellites into low earth orbit (LEO)."<br /><br />While the HLV won't be an SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit) craft, the Air Force - who nearly adopted the stalled 'VentureStar' program from Lockheed Martin and NASA, have a lot of the X-33's operational capabilities targeted for the HLV. <br />The vehicle will be highly responsive, with an anticipated 24- to 48-hour turnaround time. Air Force requirements call for a HLV that will accommodate medium to heavy lift (10,000 to 15,000 pounds) for LEO inclinations. <br />Lockheed Martin will formulate conceptual designs for an operational system architecture, a subscale demonstrator and associated ground hardware and infrastructure for an HLV that employs a reusable first-stage booster and an expendable upper stage.<br />'Our expertise in reusable launch vehicles positions us to formulate a system design concept that will completely meet the Air Force’s needs for a highly operable vehicle that also is extremely reliable,' said Dave Kennon, Hybrid Launch Vehicle program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. <br /><br />'Under our concept, the HLV will take off vertically and the reusable first stage will return to the launch site for a horizontal landing.'<br />The vehicle will adopt a vertical launch approach, with a reusable booster fir