Function | Uncrewed LEO and Lunar launch vehicle |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Von Braun |
Country of origin | United States |
Size | |
Height | 51.00 m (167.32 ft) |
Diameter | 6.61 m (21.7 ft) |
Mass | 1,511,980 kg (3,333,350 lb) |
Stages | 2 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | |
Mass | 33,000 kg (73,000 lb) |
Launch history | |
Status | Concept/study |
Launch sites | N/A |
Total launches | N/A |
Boosters – Titan UA1205 | |
No. boosters | 4 |
Powered by | 1 United Technologies UA1205 |
Maximum thrust | 5,849.411 kN (1,315,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 263 s (2.58 km/s) |
Burn time | 115 seconds |
Propellant | PBAN [1] |
First stage –S-1B | |
Powered by | 8 Rocketdyne H-1 |
Maximum thrust | 8,241.763 kN (1,852,822 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 296 s (2.90 km/s) |
Burn time | 155 seconds |
Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
Second stage –S-IVB | |
Powered by | 1 Rocketdyne J-2 |
Maximum thrust | 1,031.600 kN (231,913 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 421 s (4.13 km/s) |
Burn time | 475 seconds |
Propellant | LH2/LOX |
Studied by Douglas Aircraft Company in 1965,this rocket consisted of a whole Saturn IB with 4 strap-on SRBs that have flown on the Titan 3E interplanetary missile carriers. All components of the vehicle have flown,but not together for this concept. [2]
The Encyclopedia Astronautica is a reference web site on space travel. The encyclopedia includes 79,433 articles with 13,741 illustrations,a comprehensive catalog of missiles,spacecraft,space technology,astronauts,and spaceflight from most countries that have had an active rocket research program. It provides biographies of important pioneers of spaceflight such as Konstantin Tsiolkovsky,Hermann Oberth Robert Goddard. It outlines various concepts of space stations including the NASA Space Shuttle and the Soviet Buran programme.
The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Apollo program. It uprated the Saturn I by replacing the S-IV second stage,with the S-IVB. The S-IB first stage also increased the S-I baseline's thrust from 1,500,000 pounds-force (6,700,000 N) to 1,600,000 pounds-force (7,100,000 N) and propellant load by 3.1%. This increased the Saturn I's low Earth orbit payload capability from 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) to 46,000 pounds (21,000 kg),enough for early flight tests of a half-fueled Apollo command and service module (CSM) or a fully fueled Apollo Lunar Module (LM),before the larger Saturn V needed for lunar flight was ready.
The N1/L3 was a super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to deliver payloads beyond low Earth orbit. The N1 was the Soviet counterpart to the US Saturn V and was intended to enable crewed travel to the Moon and beyond,with studies beginning as early as 1959. Its first stage,Block A,was the most powerful rocket stage ever flown for over 50 years,generating 45.4 MN of thrust. However,each of the four attempts to launch an N1 failed in flight,with the second attempt resulting in the vehicle crashing back onto its launch pad shortly after liftoff. Adverse characteristics of the large cluster of thirty engines and its complex fuel and oxidizer feeder systems were not revealed earlier in development because static test firings had not been conducted.
The RL10 is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine built in the United States by Aerojet Rocketdyne that burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. Modern versions produce up to 110 kN (24,729 lbf) of thrust per engine in vacuum. Three RL10 versions are in production for the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V and the DCSS of the Delta IV. Three more versions are in development for the Exploration Upper Stage of the Space Launch System and the Centaur V of the Vulcan rocket.
Centaure was a two-stage French sounding rocket consisting of a Venus first stage and a Belier second stage. It belongs to a family of solid-propellant rockets consisting of the Belier,Centaure,Dragon,Dauphin,and Eridan.
Several planned missions of the Apollo crewed Moon landing program of the 1960s and 1970s were canceled,for reasons which included changes in technical direction,the Apollo 1 fire,hardware delays,and budget limitations. After the landing by Apollo 12,Apollo 20,which would have been the final crewed mission to the Moon,was canceled to allow Skylab to launch as a "dry workshop". The next two missions,Apollos 18 and 19,were later canceled after the Apollo 13 incident and further budget cuts. Two Skylab missions also ended up being canceled. Two complete Saturn V rockets remained unused and were put on display in the United States.
The Saturn INT-21 was a study for an American orbital launch vehicle of the 1970s. It was derived from the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo program,using its first and second stages,but lacking the third stage. The guidance unit would be moved from the top of the third stage to the top of the second stage. The INT-21 was never flown.
The Saturn II was a series of American expendable launch vehicles,studied by North American Aviation under a NASA contract in 1966,derived from the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo lunar program. The intent of the study was to eliminate production of the Saturn IB,and create a lower-cost heavy launch vehicle based on Saturn V hardware. North American studied three versions with the S-IC first stage removed:the INT-17,a two-stage vehicle with a low Earth orbit payload capability of 47,000 pounds (21,000 kg);the INT-18,which added Titan UA1204 or UA1207 strap-on solid rocket boosters,with payloads ranging from 47,000 pounds (21,000 kg) to 146,400 pounds (66,400 kg);and the INT-19,using solid boosters derived from the Minuteman missile first stage.
The Saturn C-4 was the fourth rocket in the Saturn C series studied from 1959 to 1962. The C-4 design was proposed in 1960 for a three-stage launch vehicle that could launch 99,000 kg (218,000 lb) to low Earth orbit and send 32,000 kg (70,000 lb) to the Moon via trans-lunar injection. It met the initial requirements for a lunar orbit rendezvous and lunar landing mission.
Studied in 1965,the same year that Project Gemini started,the Saturn IB-C was simply designed as an orbital launch vehicle like the original Saturn IB. The booster would consist of an ordinary Saturn IB with four Minuteman first stages used as strap-on boosters. The Saturn IB core booster did fly from 1966 until 1975,but never with its Minuteman strap-on boosters.
This comparison of orbital launch systems lists the attributes of all individual rocket configurations designed to reach orbit. A first list contains rockets that are operational or in development as of 2023;a second list includes all upcoming rockets and a third list includes all retired rockets For the simple list of all conventional launcher families,see:Comparison of orbital launchers families. For the list of predominantly solid-fueled orbital launch systems,see:Comparison of solid-fueled orbital launch systems.
Strela is a Russian orbital carrier rocket,derived from the Soviet/Russian UR-100NU missile. It conducted its maiden test launch on 5 December 2003,carried its first functional payload on 27 June 2013,and a second one on 19 December 2014.
The AJ10 is a hypergolic rocket engine manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne. It has been used to propel the upper stages of several launch vehicles,including the Delta II and Titan III. Variants were and are used as the service propulsion engine for the Apollo command and service module,in the Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System,and on the European Service Module –part of NASA's Orion spacecraft.
Advanced Gemini is a number of proposals that would have extended the Gemini program by the addition of various missions,including crewed low Earth orbit,circumlunar and lunar landing missions. Gemini was the second crewed spaceflight program operated by NASA,and consisted of a two-seat spacecraft capable of maneuvering in orbit,docking with uncrewed spacecraft such as Agena Target Vehicles,and allowing the crew to perform tethered extra-vehicular activities.
Spaceflight in 1977 included some important events such as the roll out of the Space Shuttle orbiter,Voyager 1 and Voyager space probes were launched. NASA received the Space Shuttle orbiter later named Enterprise,on 14 January. This unpowered sub-orbital space plane was launched off the top of a modified 747 and was flown uncrewed until 13 August until a human crew landed the Enterprise for the first time.
The LR87 was an American liquid-propellant rocket engine used on the first stages of Titan intercontinental ballistic missiles and launch vehicles. Composed of twin motors with separate combustion chambers and turbopump machinery,it is considered a single unit and was never flown as a single combustion chamber engine or designed for this. The LR87 first flew in 1959.
This page is an incomplete list of orbital rocket engine data and specifications.
Lowther, Scott, Saturn: Development, Details, Derivatives and Descendants, Work in progress. Available chapters may be ordered directly from Scott Lowther at web site indicated. Accessed at: https://web.archive.org/web/20070521083808/http://www.webcreations.com/ptm.