Vehra

Dassault design for an air-launched experimental reusable launch vehicle. It would be launched from Novespace's Airbus 300 zero-G aircraft. The lifting-body design was loosely based on Dassault's work on the NASA-led X-38 Crew Rescue Vehicle program. VEHRA weighed 6.5 t tonnes and carried 19.5 tonnes of kerosene and oxygen propellant. One Russian 400.5 kN-thrust NK-39 engine would power the vehicle, which would be capable of reaching Mach 14. The 11.5 meter long vehicle also contained a small 1.5 x 1.5 x 5 meter payload bay for an expendable upper stage+250 kg satellite. Like THEMIS, VEHRA would explore hypersonic flight and the operational and cost aspects of reusability.

Manufacturer: Dassault. LEO Payload: 250 kg (550 lb). to: 185 km Orbit. at: 45.00 degrees. Liftoff Thrust: 400.000 kN (89,920 lbf). Total Mass: 27,000 kg (59,000 lb). Core Diameter: 1.50 m (4.90 ft). Total Length: 11.50 m (37.70 ft).

• Lindroos, Marc, Marc Lindroos' Space Pages, . Marc Lindroos has compiled a huge amount of space historical material. Accessed at: http://www.abo.fi/~mlindroo/Space.htm.