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Author
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Topic: Early shuttle concept in astronaut portraits
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RichieB16
Member Posts: 552
From: Oregon
Registered: Feb 2003
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posted 02-22-2015 07:35 PM
   
I have seen this in a couple NASA portrait photos... but am unsure what it is.This is cropped from a 1971 NASA portrait of Robert Overmyer. It appears to be a very early rendition of a space shuttle. I know the STS program has it roots as early as 1969. Is this an early artist's rendering of what the space shuttle might look like based on what they knew in 1971? If not, what is this model?  |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 02-22-2015 09:23 PM
Just one of many concepts that was looked at. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-22-2015 09:45 PM
More specifically, this was McDonnell Douglas' and Martin Marietta's concept in response to NASA's 1970 "Phase B" competition for an integrated launch and re-entry vehicle. The 12-engine rocketplane would lift the attached orbiter to a set altitude, then detach to fly home as the orbiter ignited to complete its ascent into space. The orbiter's delta wings and retractable jet engines would improve maneuverability for the return flight to landing. The Smithsonian's collection includes a cutaway version of the model. |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2475
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 02-23-2015 04:39 AM
We have a 1/96 scale model of this as well. At the Kennedy Space Center's Atlantis display they show the proposed flight profile in the opening slides. You can see a data sheet here on this thread, scroll to near the bottom. |
india-mike
Member Posts: 76
From: Linnich, Northrine Westfalia, Germany
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted 02-23-2015 02:55 PM
Seems to be a very early definition phase of a winged booster concept for a kind of space shuttle. The wing of the booster has some pairs of winglets at the wing tips. At the fuselage, we also can find so called "canards". I really don't know if this word exists in English. The Eurofighter also has canard wings as additional control surfaces.The concept is a traditional Liquid Fly Back Booster and the large fuselage is also a lifting body as I already saw this in a lot of different LFBB concepts. When I look at this study I really don't know how the rocket plumes of the space vehicle would affect the booster casing. The boosters I studied had heavy thermal protection shielding at the wing leading edges, the nose portion and the lower body of the booster. Why? After separation at a height of approximately 60 km, the booster had a velocity of more than 2 km/sec. After reaching a maximum altitude of around 100 km, the LFBB performed a reentry were the surfaces heated up. So, a good TPS was mandatory to withstand the thermal forces during reentry. Those LFBB's would be the heaviest and largest unmanned vehicles that would perform a controlled landing. The biggest drones are toys against LFBB's!!! |
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