The Air Force has given a $2.7 million award to SpaceDev—the outfit that provided the rocket motor for SpaceShipOne—to develop a large hybrid rocket motor that can produce about 100,000 pounds of thrust. A prototype motor is to be test fired next year. Oh, the 100K thrust is about nine times the capability of the SpaceShipOne motor.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
