WASHINGTON -- A hypersonic plane, dubbed the 'Orient Express,' capable of atmospheric and low-orbit space flights and already on the drawing board, has received an official endorsement from President Reagan.
'We are going forward with research on a new 'Orient Express' that could, by the end of the next decade, take off from Dulles Airport and accelerate up to 25 times the speed of sound, attaining low-earth orbit or flying to Tokyo within two hours,' Reagan said in his State of the Union address Tuesday.
The Air Force, NASA and aerospace company officials have been sharing knowledge about the Transatmospheric Vehicle, as the plane is known formally, for several years.
Aerospace and airplane manufacturing giants such as the Lockheed Corp., the McDonnell Douglas Corp. and the Rockwell International Corp. have already distributed artists' concepts of each of their visions of what the hypersonic aircraft might look like.
The McDonnell and Rockwell versions are needle-nosed and Lockheed's resembles the space shuttle.
Maj. Gen. Donald Kutyna, who coordinates Air Force research and development of space systems, told a symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo., in November that $500 million has been committed to designing the aircraft. He estimated it would cost up to $3 billion.
'It is something we are very serious about, and we think the technology is now within reach,' Kutyna said. 'We have been examining the principles for some time and now we are ready to head into the next phase.'
The Pentagon has been soliciting bids for the engine prototype for the plane, which some experts have estimated could fly up to 20 times the speed of sound, which is 750 mph.
A source familiar with the military and civilian space programs said the plane, which would be made of light composite materials and feature new engine designs, 'is a lot closer than anyone had projected.'
'There is extreme optimism where there was none eight months ago. I've been told the capability will water your eyes,' said the source.
The source said there has been discussion within the space community about building the plane as a replacement for the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded last week 74 seconds after takeoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven astronauts.
'It can be built almost as quickly as you can do a new shuttle, maybe up to two years or more,' said the source, who spoke on condition he not be identified.
But most experts, according to published reports, do not expect the plane to become a reality until the 1990s.
