SpaceLiner Rocket-Powered High-Speed Passenger Transportation Concept Evolving in FAST20XX

Abstract

The revolutionary ultrafast passenger transport SpaceLiner is under investigation at DLR since more than 5 years. The two-stage, fully reusable vehicle is powered by rocket engines. The EU-funded study FAST20XX (Future high-Altitude high-Speed Transport 20XX) recently set off further deepening the research in this advanced transportation concept.
\nThe paper describes the latest progress of the SpaceLiner configuration achieved in the last two years:
\n• Vehicle trade-off studies including the choice of propellant (RP vs. LH2) and
\n• staging characteristics (e.g. the challenges of single stage concepts for shorter distances)
\n• Pre-development of a passenger rescue capsule
\n• Aerodynamic shape refinement
\n• Resizing and optimization of the passenger stage including establishing a preliminary structural concept