The Boeing Company, under a contract with Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., designed and built the 90 percent scale reusable experimental space vehicle in the company Seal Beach, Calif. facility. The SMV flight test vehicle has a fuselage length of 22 feet, a wing span of 12 feet and weighs about 2,600 pounds.

"I am very pleased with the results of this flight test," said John Fuller, Boeing Phantom Works SMV project manager. "It is a significant step in the development phase. We wanted to validate low-speed handling qualities and demonstrate autonomous approach and landing capability. We did that today. Our next step will be to demonstrate the vehicle, capabilities both in the atmosphere and space."

The uniquely shaped vehicle is an innovative approach to fulfilling an Air Force need for a new generation of small and reusable, highly maneuverable space vehicles to perform a variety of tasks such as satellite deployments, surveillance and logistics missions.

The Space Maneuver Vehicle uses state-of-the-art subsystem components and technology packaged for aircraft-like operability. It is designed for quick turnaround -- 72 hours or less between missions -- and it can remain on station for up to one year, as required.

Boeing Phantom Works is developing the SMV project under the direction of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory - Military Spaceplane Technology program at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. and the Air Vehicle Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Phantom Works is a Research & Development unit of The Boeing Company. It specializes in providing innovative and affordable solutions to aerospace systems.

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Airborne Laser Tests Demonstrate Lethality
Washington DC - August 11, 1998 -
The US Airforce, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and TRW recently completed a successful series of tests at Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, Calif., demonstrating the Airborne Laser (ABL) weapon system will provide lethality consistent with the Air Force's concept of operations when performing in real theater atmospheres. The successful performance of the ABL Beam Control Laboratory Demonstrator (BCLD) answered several critical issues concerning ABL's beam propagation and range performance variability when it is subjected to various levels of real world atmospheric turbulence.