Hank.Walker@cmu-cs-unh.arpa@sri-unix.UUCP (08/25/84)
A report on CNN tonight from ITN (private British TV) described a British Aerospace/Rolls Royce plan to build a space shuttle called HOTOL. The fully-reusable shuttle is powered by three liquid-fuel engines, fuel type unspecified. The shuttle would take off horizontally on a tracked sled into a 200mi orbit. The sled's purpose is to support the weight of a fully-fuelled shuttle. Leftover fuel is used to make a rocket-powered runway landing on conventional gear. Has anyone heard anything else about this? The artist's conception was a lifting-body type vehicle. I don't recall any specifics on payload, but my impression is that it is smaller than the US shuttle. The initial design is unmanned.