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This paper discusses several LOX/Hydrocarbon booster engines that are being considered for future launch vehicles. The various concepts are compared. ...Introducing liquid hydrogen to the liquid oxygen/hydrocarbon booster engine appears to offer many benefits.

With reusability accepted as a means of reducing operating costs, the size of the initial investment (research and development) is likely to determine the choice for the next generation boosters. High volume utilisation lifting bodies propelled by LH/LOX rockets in a vertical take-off mode are shown to be superior to several other concepts. ...Even lower costs can be shown for a modular concept (MUSTARD) in which basically identical lifting bodies units are utilised as both boosters and spacecraft. The concept is shown to be feasible, and progress on some aspects of the associated structural analysis is described.

The evolution of the booster system for the space shuttle is traced from the initial concepts employing liquid propellant,reusable boosters to the final selection of recoverable, solid rocket motors. ...The evolution of the booster system for the space shuttle is traced from the initial concepts employing liquid propellant,reusable boosters to the final selection of recoverable, solid rocket motors. The rationale associated with each of the several major decisions in the evolution process is discussed.

Continuing evolutionary booster developments and improvements, in combination with space configured upper stages and strap-on solid motors, have provided the Air Force with this versatile family of small, medium and large launch vehicles.

In conclusion, possible applications for solid motors, either as prototype systems such as Titan III or intermediate type launch vehicles combining the solid booster first stage with a liquid fueled second stage for low earth orbit or lunar probes are outlined.

After burn out and separation of a conventional cylindrical booster configuration, the outer tank portions are discarded, leaving a lifting shaped center-body capable of re-entry, pull out, flyback and landing.

However, the descendants of the vehicle are still in production as an operational space booster after undergoing continuous improvement through such methods as uprating the main engine and electronics, addition of solid propellant thrust augmentation motors, extension of the propellant tanks, and adding the ability to mate with various upper stage vehicles.

Eight fixed-wing reusable horizontal landing booster point design concepts are presented and compared on the basis of weight, cost, technical difficulty, and availability date. ...The airbreathing first stage boosters, however, may offer more mission flexibility than the rocket first stages because of their capability to fly for longer periods within the earth's atmosphere.

No wind tunnel testing was performed, despite the fact that in contrast to conventional boosters, aerodynamic forces have a major impact on both the performance and stability of Pegasus.

These missions are interrelated in the paper with regard to booster and spacecraft capabilities. It is shown that a low-cost booster based largely on current expendable booster technology can meet these interrelated requirements. ...Although currently available booster technology could allow a major decrease in space-booster costs, hardware already built in the Saturn system has precluded any development efforts in this direction. ...This paper reviews the available alternatives and describes the characteristics and capabilities of a low-cost booster system which is both desirable and practically feasible for missions beginning as early as 1973.

With this configuration, it is possible to achieve orbit, utilizing present-day technology, without requiring any additional booster. The integration of the boost propulsion system into the vehicle is a developmental problem which should be solvable utilizing existing booster technology. ...The integration of the boost propulsion system into the vehicle is a developmental problem which should be solvable utilizing existing booster technology. The operational costs of the tip tank orbital transport system are shown to be approximately one-fourth of the operational costs of a system using an expendable booster such as Titan IIIC with a reusable spacecraft. ...The operational costs of the tip tank orbital transport system are shown to be approximately one-fourth of the operational costs of a system using an expendable booster such as Titan IIIC with a reusable spacecraft.

The commonality and utilization of the booster stage “elements” as a liquid booster for a “growth” Space Shuttle are conceptually defined. ...The new developments required, such as a new large liquid booster engine and Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) modifications, are identified. New candidate launch locations and launch facility requirements are also discussed.

A program was conducted to develop stretch-formed corrugated panels made of Rene 41 for the skin of hot areas in the booster nose section of the space shuttle. The temperatures reach 1600 F there, and this superalloy was necessary.

This paper discusses operational experience with the integrated Saturn V launch vehicle, to be used as the booster for the Apollo manned lunar landing mission. Emphasis is placed on NASA's management approach to the solution of technical problems rather than on the problems themselves.

The flight environment of the X-15 research aircraft is similar to that of a first-stage rocket booster. The data obtained during the flight program is, therefore, of interest for reusable space vehicles.

Solid rocket motors for use in booster stages of launch vehicles in the post-Saturn era may be about 300 in. in diameter and weigh 6,000,000 lb.

NASA's Space Shuttle Program is designed to achieve this goal in the 1970's with a reusable space orbiter and a reusable booster. This paper identifies the structural problems inherent in these craft and discusses the structural details of the orbiter design being studied by North American Rockwell's Space Division.

Performance curves for these vehicles are presented, showing the Atlas as a direct ascent vehicle as well as a booster for currently available upper stages. Mission/payload summaries are included to show payload weights for various earth orbital and planetary missions using Atlas family combinations.

The mission objective of the TRW satellite requires four solar arrays be deployed simultaneously following separation from the inertial upper stage (IUS) booster. Due to the mechanical system's tolerances, the mass properties control procedure, and in-orbit temperature variation, as well as the potential for satellite tumbling, the possibility of sequential latch-up of flexible solar arrays becomes realistic.

Possibilities for landing multi-man crews in the direct mission mode are presented; booster system requirements and state of the art in necessary subsystems have been considered. For comparison, the advanced lunar orbital rendezvous mode spacecraft is also shown.