Roton development and flight test program

Rotary Rocket Company is building the Roton fully reusable, single-stage-to-orbit, piloted, commercial launch vehicle. The goal of this program is to provide safe, reliable and flexible, low cost access to space. This paper introduces the Roton Program, discusses engineering design issues, and gives detail of the vehicle configuration and flight test program. This program involves developing little new technology. It is more about taking an original approach to an old engineering problem, and combining technology that has been available for decades. Over the past eighteen months, the Roton development program has progressed from conceptual design to the prototyping stage. Flight tests will begin in the next six months, starting with atmospheric flights of a full-size vehicle to verify autorotation and landing sequences. The program will progress into rocket-powered suborbital and orbital flights in early 2000 in order to qualify the commercial version of the Roton for operational launch service.