The technological parts that would make two-stage-to-orbit launch a reality are all probably “in hand” already, and it is a matter of system engineering to bring them all together, Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel, head of the Space and Missile Systems Center said in Los Angeles Friday. Speaking with reporters at AFA’s National Symposium on Space, Hamel anticipates a next-generation “hybrid” program marrying a reusable first stage and expendable second stage will get underway within six years. The first stage might achieve speeds up to Mach 6 or 7, Hamel said, noting, however, that this was achieved with the X-15 program in the 1960s.
The new defense reconciliation bill includes $7.2 billion for Air Force and Navy aviation accounts, almost half of which will buy more F-15EXs. While electronic warfare, drones, connectivity and airlift all get attention, the F-35 was conspicuously absent from the package, with no explanation given.