Orbital Sciences CCDev design
Here is Orbital’s press release about its proposal in the second round of the CCDev program: Orbital Submits Proposal for NASA’s Commercial Crew Development Program – Company Issues Top-Level Details of Its Concept to Transport Astronauts To and From the International Space Station – Orbital Sciences (via Flame Trench/Florida Today).
> ? A “blended lifting body” vehicle that will launch atop an expendable launch vehicle and return to Earth with a conventional runway landing. This design derives from studies performed by Orbital for NASA under the Orbital Space Plane program between 2000 and 2003. ? The vehicle would seat four astronauts, providing a cost-effective solution for NASA’s astronaut transportation needs, as well as enabling future commercial applications. ? The proposal baselines using a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, but is flexible enough to accommodate other launch vehicle options.
Don’t see any mention of Virgin Galactic as a partner as was previously reported. The major suppliers listed include:
> ? Thales Alenia Space, which is responsible for the vehicle’s pressurized crew compartment ? Northrop Grumman, which is the lead airframe structures designer ? Honeywell and Draper Laboratory, which together are responsible for the human-rated avionics ? United Launch Alliance, which is responsible for the vehicle’s baseline launch vehicle
Find another image here under “Commercial Crew Transportation”.