X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype
E515912
The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype was an experimental NASA lifting-body spacecraft designed to serve as an emergency lifeboat for astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
All labels observed (3)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Crew Return Vehicle prototype | 1 |
| X-38 | 1 |
| X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T5333604 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype Context triple: [NASA X-plane series, includes, X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype]
-
A.
Orbital Sciences X-34
The Orbital Sciences X-34 was an experimental, unmanned reusable rocket plane developed in the 1990s to test technologies for low-cost, rapid-turnaround space access.
-
B.
Lockheed Martin X-33
The Lockheed Martin X-33 was an experimental, unmanned, subscale technology demonstrator intended to validate key technologies for a reusable single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane.
-
C.
Dream Chaser spaceplane
The Dream Chaser spaceplane is a reusable lifting-body spacecraft designed by Sierra Space to carry cargo—and potentially crew—to and from low Earth orbit, landing on conventional runways like an airplane.
-
D.
Boeing X-37
The Boeing X-37 is an unmanned, reusable spaceplane operated by the U.S. Space Force that conducts long-duration, classified orbital missions and autonomous runway landings.
-
E.
Martin Marietta X-24B
The Martin Marietta X-24B was an experimental lifting-body research aircraft developed in the 1970s to study unpowered reentry and landing techniques that helped pave the way for the Space Shuttle program.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype Target entity description: The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype was an experimental NASA lifting-body spacecraft designed to serve as an emergency lifeboat for astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
-
A.
Orbital Sciences X-34
The Orbital Sciences X-34 was an experimental, unmanned reusable rocket plane developed in the 1990s to test technologies for low-cost, rapid-turnaround space access.
-
B.
Lockheed Martin X-33
The Lockheed Martin X-33 was an experimental, unmanned, subscale technology demonstrator intended to validate key technologies for a reusable single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane.
-
C.
Dream Chaser spaceplane
The Dream Chaser spaceplane is a reusable lifting-body spacecraft designed by Sierra Space to carry cargo—and potentially crew—to and from low Earth orbit, landing on conventional runways like an airplane.
-
D.
Boeing X-37
The Boeing X-37 is an unmanned, reusable spaceplane operated by the U.S. Space Force that conducts long-duration, classified orbital missions and autonomous runway landings.
-
E.
Martin Marietta X-24B
The Martin Marietta X-24B was an experimental lifting-body research aircraft developed in the 1970s to study unpowered reentry and landing techniques that helped pave the way for the Space Shuttle program.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
experimental spacecraft
ⓘ
lifting-body spacecraft ⓘ prototype re-entry vehicle ⓘ |
| agency |
NASA Johnson Space Center
ⓘ
linked to:
Johnson Space Center
|
| alsoKnownAs |
Crew Return Vehicle prototype
ⓘ
linked to:
X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype
|
| basedOn | HL-20 Personnel Launch System concept ⓘ |
| cancellationDate | 2002 ⓘ |
| cancellationReason | budget constraints ⓘ |
| carrierAircraft |
B-52 bomber
ⓘ
linked to:
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
|
| countryOfOrigin |
United States
ⓘ
linked to:
United States of America
|
| crewCapacity | 7 ⓘ |
| crewSurvivalSystem |
life support for several hours
ⓘ
pressurized cabin ⓘ |
| designation |
X-38
ⓘ
linked to:
X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype
|
| designFeature |
autonomous guidance and control
ⓘ
blunt-body thermal protection system ⓘ lifting-body aerodynamic shape ⓘ parafoil landing system ⓘ |
| firstFreeFlightTest | 1997 ⓘ |
| guidanceSystem |
GPS-based guidance
ⓘ
autonomous navigation ⓘ |
| height | approximately 3.5 meters ⓘ |
| intendedDestination | Earth surface ⓘ |
| intendedLaunchVehicle |
Space Shuttle cargo bay
ⓘ
linked to:
Space Shuttle payload bay
|
| intendedOrbit | low Earth orbit ⓘ |
| intendedRole |
crew return vehicle
ⓘ
emergency lifeboat for the International Space Station ⓘ |
| landingMode | parafoil-assisted horizontal landing ⓘ |
| length | approximately 8.8 meters ⓘ |
| manufacturer |
NASA Johnson Space Center
ⓘ
linked to:
Johnson Space Center
|
| mass | approximately 9,500 kilograms ⓘ |
| missionProfile |
autonomous deorbit from ISS
ⓘ
parafoil-guided runway landing ⓘ remain docked to ISS as lifeboat ⓘ unpowered gliding re-entry ⓘ |
| notableTest | successful parafoil landing tests ⓘ |
| operator | NASA ⓘ |
| program |
NASA X-plane program
ⓘ
linked to:
NASA X-plane series
|
| reentryMode | lifting-body glider ⓘ |
| relatedProgram | International Space Station ⓘ |
| safetyFunction |
emergency evacuation of ISS crew
ⓘ
independent crew return without Shuttle ⓘ |
| spacecraftType | uncrewed test vehicle ⓘ |
| status | canceled program ⓘ |
| successorConcept |
Orion crew module (as later NASA crew return concept)
ⓘ
linked to:
Orion spacecraft
|
| testLocation | Edwards Air Force Base ⓘ |
| testType | drop tests from carrier aircraft ⓘ |
| thermalProtection | reinforced carbon-carbon and ceramic tiles ⓘ |
| width | approximately 4.5 meters ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype Description of subject: The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype was an experimental NASA lifting-body spacecraft designed to serve as an emergency lifeboat for astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
linked to: X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype
linked to: X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype