The NASA Langley Research Center lifting body, called the HL-20, is shown here in front of the Langley hangar in Hampton, Virginia. Langley developed the technology for a small space vehicle which one day may be used to transport up to 10 astronauts and small cargo to and from low-Earth orbit. The HL-20 is one of two concepts being considered by NASA as a type of Personnel Launch System (PLS). The PLS is a small space taxi system envisioned as a future addition to the manned launch capability of the United States. The system would assure rapid manned access to space and minimized maintenance cost. The PLS would be launched with and expendable booster and would be capable of conventional runway landings. With its wings folded, the HL-20 PLS could fit within the Shuttle's payload bay. The full-scale engineering model is 29.5 feet long and 23.5 feet across the wingspan. The HL-20 model will be used at NASA Langley and at the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, to study crew seating arrangements, habitability, equipment layout, crew ingress and egress, pilot visibility, and maintenance and handling operations.
