Function | Crewed LEO launch vehicle |
---|---|
Manufacturer |
Boeing (
S-IC) Martin Marietta ( External Tank) Rockwell International ( Space Shuttle orbiter) |
Country of origin | United States |
Size | |
Height | 86 m (281 ft) [1] |
Diameter | 10 m (33 ft) [1] |
Mass | 2,300,000 kg (5,070,000 lb) [1] |
Stages | 2 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | |
Mass | 60,500 kg (133,400 lb) [1] |
Launch history | |
Status | Canceled |
Launch sites | Kennedy LC-39 |
First stage – S-IC | |
Height | 137.99 ft (42.06 m) [1] |
Diameter | 33 ft (10 m) [1] |
Empty mass | 298,104 lb (135,218 kg) [1] |
Gross mass | 5,040,245 lb (2,286,217 kg) [1] |
Powered by | 5 Rocketdyne F-1 [1] |
Maximum thrust | 8,700,816 lbf (38,703.16 kN) [1] |
Specific impulse | 304 seconds (2.98 km/s) [1] |
Burn time | 161 s [1] |
Propellant | RP-1/ LOX [1] |
Second stage – External Tank | |
Height | 153.8 ft (46.9 m) [1] |
Diameter | 27.5 ft (8.4 m) [1] |
Empty mass | 65,980 lb (29,930 kg) [1] |
Gross mass | 1,655,616 lb (750,975 kg) [1] |
Specific impulse | 455 seconds (4.46 km/s) [1] |
Burn time | 480 s [1] |
Propellant | LH2 / LOX [1] |
Second stage – Orbiter plus External Tank | |
Powered by | 3 SSMEs located on Orbiter [1] |
Maximum thrust | 5,250 kN (1,180,000 lbf) [1] |
Specific impulse | 455 seconds (4.46 km/s) [1] |
Burn time | 480 s [1] |
Propellant | LH2 / LOX [1] |
The Saturn-Shuttle was a preliminary concept of launching the Space Shuttle orbiter using a modified version of the first stage of the Saturn V rocket. [1] It was studied and considered in 1971–1972. [2]
An interstage would be fitted on top of the S-IC stage to support the external tank in the space occupied by the S-II stage in the Saturn V. It was an alternative to the SRBs. [1]
The addition of wings (and some form of landing gear) on the S-IC stage would allow the booster to fly back to the Kennedy Space Center, where technicians would then refurbish the booster (by replacing only the five F-1 engines and reusing the tanks and other hardware for later flights). [1]
The Shuttle would handle space station logistics, while the Saturn V would launch components.
This would have allowed the International Space Station, using a Skylab or Mir configuration with both U.S. and Russian docking ports, to have been lifted with just a handful of launches. The Saturn-Shuttle concept also would have eliminated the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters that ultimately precipitated the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in 1986.