Space projects today are rather expensive: only the prices for orbital transportation fluctuate at the level of from seven to 20 thousand dollars per kg, while the real price of each rocket launch, as a rule, higher than originally claimed by 30 and more percent. Experts now are looking for ways to lower the cost of space flight.

According to the expert NASA Stan Starr, classic missile technology today is outdated and morally, and technical point of view. Himself Starr and his colleagues believe that the maximum cost of the launch of one kilogram of cargo should not exceed 700 dollars, because if all the same will be carried out missions to the moon and Mars, for providing the activity of the participants of the expeditions have to carry on space base thousand tons of fuel, tools, equipment, food and medicine. At current prices it is simply unreal.

The rocket does not have enough power to reach the appropriate capacity. Moreover, while quite a large percentage of accidental launches. However, alternatives are already available...

For more than 10 years, NASA engineers are designing a fundamentally new system of cargo delivery to orbit. The project was named eLaunch Hypersonic Launch Vehicles (EHLV). The main system components are surface electromagnetic catapult three-kilometer length and reusable manned space Shuttle, are equipped with a hypersonic ramjet engine (GPRD). The latter can develop a speed of up to 12,500 kilometers per hour, and its objective is the conclusion of the Autonomous cargo module beyond the stratosphere. On the necessity of accelerating the platform can be equipped with additional accelerators, working on solid fuel.

It is expected that cargo module will separate from the Shuttle to an altitude of 65 miles, and then use its own compact rocket engines will docking with orbital station. The Shuttle also driven pilot, will return to Earth for another portion of the shipment. Such plant can produce up to ten flights a day. The price of delivery to the orbit of one kilogram of cargo will be only from 700 to 1000 dollars.

Perhaps that will solve the problem and hypersonic aircraft. Back in 1982, engineer Alan bond of Kalchinskoe laboratory in the UK atomic energy patented liquid propellant rocket engine for the British HOTEL project. The novelty was that the engine could "breathe" air from the atmosphere, while leaving its borders, to switch to burning of on-Board resources of liquid oxygen and hydrogen.

This allowed to reduce the take-off weight from 500 to 250 tons, while maintaining the carrying capacity of from seven to 10 tons. On the basis of this project was to establish orbital liner, which did not need to start the installation and booster. Thus, he could save tens of billions of dollars.

The so-called "the project RB545" was listed by the UK Ministry of defence in the category of strategic and secret. But then it never went. The project was scrapped. In 1989, bond and his associates founded Reaction Engines, which continued to develop. Bond renamed "project RB545" SABRE (Synergic Air Breathing Engine). In early 2009, the European space Agency (ESA) launched the company's bond two million dollars on research. Now the issue of further funding.

It is expected that by 2020 the results of the first tests of the project orbital plane Skylon, which is a 275-ton unmanned cargo-passenger airliner, with two engines SABRE each weighing 9.5 tons. Being much lighter than traditional booster, he will put in orbit a weight of 12 tons. A big plus is that Skylon can take off with the usual aerodrome bands and sit on them, and in extreme cases even to land on any flat ground space.

According to the author of the project of Alan bond, the price of one unit of the first generation could reach one billion dollars. Each ship will be able to make not less than 240 flights.

If this plane will actually be built, it will literally bring down the space market". So, the price of the flight into orbit for space tourists will fall by half - from 200 to 100 thousand dollars. Of course, for most of us, and this amount is outrageous, but this is only the beginning!