McDONNELL-DOUGLAS CONCEPT-B “FR-3C” [SHUTTLE PHASE-A] [1969]
Notes:
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Like North American Rockwell, McDonnell-Douglas devoted the early part of its shuttle phase-A studies to semi-reusable concepts such as the ILRV. The company then received a $0.225-million contract extension in July 1969 to investigate the NASA Langley Research Center's HL-10 lifting body. NASA/Langley would monitor the contract. The end result (pictured above) was presented four months later. Its consisted of a fully reusable booster and lifting body orbiter mated bottom-to-bottom. The gross liftoff mass was 1,542.214t. The 32.6-meter long orbiter's lifting-body shape was derived from the HL-10 and featured two 1,847-KN thrust rocket engines. Its baseline payload capability was 11,340kg but the design could be scaled up to accomodate 22,680kg payloads if required. The 59.5m long booster was a fairly conventional delta-wing design. It would have been powered by ten 1,847-KN engines and the staging maneuver would have occurred at an altitude of 64km and 2,730 m/s velocity. The staging velocity is slightly lower than for the North American concept since the HL-10 derived orbiter has a slightly higher propellant mass fraction due to its lightweight design. McDonnell-Douglas estimated that a 3-year development program would have cost $5.946 billion, i.e. $27B at 1999 rates. The recurring launch cost would have been $67-119/lb. (=$670-$1190 per kilogram at 1999 rates) for flight rates of 100 and 12 missions per year, respectively.
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“Characteristics of the Space Shuttle” -- Jean & Scott, AAS 1970/vol.28/p.141
”Space Shuttle” -- Dennis R. Jenkins, 1981, ISBN: 0963397451