Phoenix Aerospace has been working for the past few months on refining its crew capabilities, and while most focus has gone to Titan and [Redacted]’s crew versions, focus has grown on our crewed vehicle for our medium-lift rocket, Nexus. We previously had a cylindrical crew vehicle which tapered down at the nose, but deemed this too expensive, complex and somewhat unsafe / unstable, so we got to work. We ditched the capsule and moved to a spaceplane design, deeming it safer, less complex, and more flexible. Plus it’s cooler :P. And so, we have now almost completed the design of the Apollo Spaceplane (not to be confused with the ‘60s and ‘70s capsule by NASA). It is a dark grey vehicle with a black Heatshield composed of protective tiles of an as-yet undecided alloy, however we are looking into niobium, or tantalum-hafnium-copper-carbide (or something similar). The engines, the ReSABREs (Refined Synthetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine) are essentially smaller, simpler and cheaper SABRE engines from the Skylon Spaceplane. These are rocket engines that can operate as jet engines by intaking air through inlets on the fuselage of the craft, then when the surrounding air gets too thin to sustain jet engine operation, the inlets are closed and the engine operates as a rocket, consuming internal fuel and oxidiser. The craft has a delta-wing-esque design, with the backs of the wings pointing forward 15°. The wings have small spoilers on the tip, partially for stability, and partially for looks. Instead of a design similar to Dreamchaser, where a separate service model is detached, Apollo is a single-body vehicle, with GNC, computers, and life support stored in the nosecone where it tapers too thin for astronauts. The cargo bay, behind the main crew compartment, has an airlock for EVAs, with the exit also being docking-compatible. I will attach images when I can. I will be happy to answer any questions, feedback or anything of the sort :)
