Where is Lockheed X-33 ?

Archibald

ACCESS: USAP
Senior Member
Joined
6 June 2006
Messages
11,690
Reaction score
13,269
As said in the tin. I've heard the X-33 was disassembled late 2001 / early 2002. What happened to the airframe, to the components ? where are they ? at Edwards AFB ? Lockheed Palmdale plant ? at a NASA center ? It was 18 years ago, they have little value left, yet they seem to have vanished into a black hole.
Why was that thing disassembled and not send to a Museum (NASM) ? I just don't understand.

Does somebody knows about the Air Force varied atempts at brnging back that lost bird ? in 2001, 2002 and as late as 2006, they tried, to no avail...

The X-33 was one hell of a vehicle, yet it just vanished post cancellation. This contrasts with the X-34s fate.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/status_reports/X-34s_moved_11_17_10.html
 
I think one of the planned flight hardware linear aerospike engines (2 ground test articles and 2 flight test articles that were in existence) for the X-33 is at Stennis. Both X-33 LOX tanks are mothballed at NASA Glenn (the failed Hydrogen tanks never made it to integration obviously), and the subscale airframe was housed at Edwards in a hangar, but was disassembled. The disposition of those components are unknown to me.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom