Saturn-Shuttle

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Saturn-Shuttle

Fact sheet
Function	Manned LEO launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Boeing (S-IC) Martin Marietta (External Tank) Rockwell International {Space Shuttle Orbiter
Country of origin	USA
Size
Height	85 m (281 ft)
Diameter	10 m (33 ft)
Mass	2,304,000 kg (5,070,000 lb)
Stages	2
	Capacity
Payload to LEO	max 60,500 kg
Launch History
Status	Cancelled
Launch Sites	LC-39, Kennedy Space Center
First Stage - S-IC
Engines	5 Rocketdyne F-1 or F-1A
Thrust	max 34.02 MN (max 7,648,000 lbf)
Burn time	212 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX
Second Stage - Shuttle Orbiter & External Tank
Engines	3 Rocketdyne SSMEs
Thrust	6,834.3 kN (1,536,312 lbf)
Burn time	~475 seconds
Fuel	LH2/LOX

The Saturn-Shuttle was a proposed interface of the Space Shuttle orbiter and external tank with the S-IC stage on the Saturn V rocket. An interstage would be fitted on top of the S-IC stage to support the external tank, formerly occupied by the S-II stage, so that NASA would have been able to steer completely away from solid rockets. The addition of wings on the S-IC stage would allow the booster to fly back to the Kennedy Space Center in which the technicians would then refurbish the booster (by only replacing the five F-1 engines and reusing the tanks and other hardware for later flights.

[edit] Performance

Because the Shuttle orbiter would be riding piggyback on the External Tank, and the need to prevent damage to the delicate thermal protection tiles, the five-enigne variant of the Saturn-Shuttle would require the center engine to be shut down 45 to 50 seconds after launch, while two of the outboard engines would have to be shut down prior to staging. Once the S-IC was jettisoned, the three onboard high-energy SSMEs would then propel the Orbiter into LEO, shutting down 6½ minutes after ignition. The external tank would then be jettisoned, as like that on the current Shuttle configuration and the Orbiter will then perform its mission.

But because of the need to keep costs down and to allow President Richard Nixon approve the Shuttle program in 1972, NASA decided to utilized segmented Solid Rocket Boosters similar to those used on the Titan III rocket instead of the S-IC, thus killing the Saturn program after the initial Saturn V order was completed. If the Saturn-Shuttle configuration was used, it would have kept Saturn V, Saturn INT-20, and Saturn INT-21 in production, thus preventing the Challenger Disaster and launching a Skylab or Mir version of the International Space Station by the mid-1980's. In addition, improvements to the F-1 engines would have allowed a throttlable, and possible reusable version, allowing the Shuttle to carry more payload into orbit.

[edit] References

• Saturn Shuttle (Astronautix)