Space Shuttle of 2 vehicles?

A while back, there was a thread which, among other things, detailed possible Space Shuttle configurations. When I was a kid, one of the most popular configurations featured twin launchers--a pilotable first stage and a space-traveling second stage.

I understand that this is viewed to be an unfeasible proposition. Does anyone know much about it? Thanks. :)
 
A while back, there was a thread which, among other things, detailed possible Space Shuttle configurations. When I was a kid, one of the most popular configurations featured twin launchers--a pilotable first stage and a space-traveling second stage.

I understand that this is viewed to be an unfeasible proposition. Does anyone know much about it? Thanks. :)

It was the original NASA configuration, and quite far from being viewed as "unfeasible", at least in the technical sense (the economic sense is rather different, but when is it not?). Most space shuttle designs featured so-called fully reusable two stage to orbit (or TSTO) layouts, aside from a few oddities like the Chrysler single stage to orbit design, until the OMB forced cuts in the budget that meant they had to fall back to a partially-reusable 1.5 stage to orbit design instead. This was cheaper to develop and (at the time) thought to be only a little more expensive to operate (though to be fair a fully reusable design would also have been expensive to operate), which (since space development was considered a high-risk, low-payoff activity) benefited it relative to the fully reusable design. We've been living with that ever since.
 

Thande

Donor
I believe the fully reusable design proposal, or one of them, would also have allowed for beyond-LEO missions.
 
I believe the fully reusable design proposal, or one of them, would also have allowed for beyond-LEO missions.

No, no, no, where did you hear that? :confused: All the orbiter designs were reasonably similar to the current orbiter, or less capable; none would have had beyond-LEO capability (if only because they were pretty much explicitly designed to carry things from Earth to orbit and back, meaning they had a lot of design features--like wings and heat shields--that would be undesirable in that role). They were viewed as part of a space transportation system that, by drastically reducing costs of launch, would have enabled beyond-LEO missions without requiring the massive surge funding of Apollo, but that's the closest they got to a beyond-LEO mission: carrying the parts needed for one.
 
The vertical take off and land SASSTO could have had a recoverable 'zero stage' booster that could give it extra push to a geostationary orbit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_SASSTO for details of SASSTO.
The Wiki article says nothing about that.

It would have been really tricky - to get the weight down like they were planning, there wouldn't have been the extra strength needed to attach boosters (on the sides, at least).
 
No, no, no, where did you hear that? :confused: All the orbiter designs were reasonably similar to the current orbiter, or less capable; none would have had beyond-LEO capability (if only because they were pretty much explicitly designed to carry things from Earth to orbit and back, meaning they had a lot of design features--like wings and heat shields--that would be undesirable in that role). They were viewed as part of a space transportation system that, by drastically reducing costs of launch, would have enabled beyond-LEO missions without requiring the massive surge funding of Apollo, but that's the closest they got to a beyond-LEO mission: carrying the parts needed for one.

they realy proposed beyond-LEO Shuttle mission

Cislunar Application of the Space Shuttle Orbiter,
Project V1086, J. E. Blahnik; undated (post-July 1971)
attachment to memorandum from Director, Science and Applications,
to Manager, Space Shuttle Program, NASA Johnson Space Center, December 14, 1971.
idea: Orbiter with Moonlander in cargo bay get refueld in LEO and goes to Lunar Orbit...
source:
http://beyondapollo.blogspot.com/2009/11/cislunar-shuttle-orbiter-1971.html
 
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