Here's an interesting study done by Boeing for NASA way back in November of 1961, about large launch vehicles using solid propellants. The study covers a variety of launch vehicles ranging from 30,000 pound payloads, up to 100,000 pounds, and even up to 350,000 pound to orbit payloads, about double that of Saturn V. The approaches looked at all used solid propellant first stages, either of "unitized" (monolithic) solid propellant motors, or segmented solid propellant motors, either singly (for the lower weight class payload vehicles) or in clusters (for the higher payload weight class vehicles) and some even using parallel staging techniques to increase the performance of the vehicle. All the proposals used liquid hydrogen powered upper stages for high performance, either an S-IVB-like single J-2 engine powered upper stage, or a more "S-II"-like larger upper stage powered by a cluster of four J-2 engines, for the larger rocket payload proposals.

The vehicles all used fins on the first stage, to ensure stability for the length of time required to perform an abort off the stack in a man-rated vehicle configuration. There's some interesting information about fin sizing for this purpose and the effects of the fins and their sizes based on the design layout of the first stage itself. All clustered solid motors would have used nozzles canted through the vehicle CG to prevent dispersions to the trajectory due to the thrust tail-off and burnout phases common with solid propellant motors.

SO, here is a summary of the study text itself, presented below, and screencaps of the relevant pics and graphics that would be of interest to modelers wishing to create their own models of the vehicles presented in this study, along with whatever interesting concepts, proposals, or historically interesting tidbits (like the development timelines, which are always interesting to me compared to the glacial pace of NASA programs today!) that modelers and space enthusiasts might find of interest.

The pics are as follows:

First, the 30,000 pound to orbit payload vehicle. The diameter is listed in a later pic as 13.3 feet...

Second, the 100,000 pound payload vehicle proposals... (one with segmented motors, the other with unitized (monolithic) motors). Diameter is listed in a later pic as 26.7 feet...

Third, the 180,000 pound payload vehicle proposals-- on a clustered SRM first stage, the other a parallel staged SRM first stage vehicle... Diameter is listed as 26.7 feet for the second stage, with the first stages being comprised of clusters or parallel staged SRM's of 13.3 feet diameter each.

Fourth, the 350,000 pound payload vehicle proposal-- diameter listed as 33 feet for the second stage (powered by a cluster of four proposed engines similar to M-1) and a cluster of first stage SRM's with a diameter of 16 feet each.

Enjoy!
OL JR

Attached Thumbnails

       

Attached Files

STUDY SUMMARY-Study Of Large Launch Vehicles Using Solid Propellants.txt (27.9 KB, 16 views)

__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

First, the solid motor clustering concept, permanently attaching the cluster of solid motor casings together fore and aft with connections possessing the necessary rigidity while still allowing for dynamic loads and flexibility required.

Second, a summary of the design limits...

Third, preliminary performance of the J-2 engine on a per-engine basis...

Fourth, preliminary vehicle selection...

Fifth, more preliminary vehicle selection...

More to come! OL JR

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

First, trajectory characteristics of the various proposed vehicles (trajectory modeling depending on initial thrust-weight ratio, considering max-q and maximum gee force limits, and the effects of upper stage thrust/weight ratio on payload performance requirements).

Second, trajectory characteristics, particularly pertaining to max q and max acceleration (gees of acceleration)...

Third, performance comparison of the finally selected vehicles.

Fourth, more performance comparisons...

Fifth, the motor concept-- comparing core mandrel shapes on performance and burn times...

More to come! OL JR

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

First, staging sequence (relating to stabilization of the vehicle during the staging events).

Second, motor optimization studies, relating to chamber pressure of SRM's and nozzle expansion ratios specifically...

Third, thrust termination requirements for successful abort of predicted Apollo class vehicles...

Fourth, stability and control characteristics, specifically relating to staging and aborts of Apollo class spacecraft from the booster...

Fifth, Effects of first stage fin size on vehicle stability characteristics...

More coming... OL JR

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

First, vehicle characteristics, with the lengths and diameters noted for each vehicle proposal concept...

Second, propellant processing requirements for industry/contractors for various solid propellant vehicles at anticipated flight rates... (most of which fall into the "absurdly high" category)...

Third, motor production facilities in an integrated construct/assemble/launch facility concept...

Fourth, vehicle assembly concepts in the integrated approach...

Fifth, checkout equipment for assembled vehicles...

More to come! OL JR

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

First, vehicle launch complex proposals...

Second, launch control equipment proposals...

Third, static test facilities for solid motors (using vertically inverted motor casings in special text fixtures...)

Fourth, a flight test program using "all up testing" in repeated tests for vehicle qualification...

More to come! OL JR

Attached Thumbnails

       

__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

First, upper half of a program phasing chart showing milestones and timelines...

Last, lower half of the same program phasing chart...

Enjoy! OL JR

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

So cool!

The first thing I thought when I looked it over - how would they get that beast out to the pad? It has to be "fueld" in the VAB - so you're goin to need some ginormous crawlers!

__________________
John Adams
"There is a lot of rocketry under 20ns"

Attached Thumbnails

   

Interestingly enough, this thing was going to use BARGES... one of the other solid rocket proposals I summarized a year or so ago did the same thing... I think it was the 260 inch monolithic SRM Saturn IB replacement vehicle. Basically, it was the only realistic way to move such incredibly massive fully-fueled solid propellant vehicles, unless you plan to assemble them ON THE PAD into a launch-ready configuration, as they were planning to do with the Saturn V's with four solid rocket boosters, which would be assembled and mated to the rocket on the pad (and which I also summarized).

The Russians use rail transport to move the rockets from the assembly building to the pad, and horizontal integration, then stand them upright at the pad (even their gigantic N-1 and Energia/Buran shuttle was integrated this way), BUT everything the Russians fly is liquid propellant, even boosters... Hence they're moved to the pad EMPTY and thus are MUCH lighter than fully fueled in flight configuration... Similarly, despite the Saturn V's empty weight with the fully integrated lunar stack, and the massive weight of the main launch platform and service tower being carried by the transporter, it was still feasible to move the thing via a crawler and crawlerway (though I did see a rail transport system that was proposed in some of the earlier concepts). But basically, Ares V, in its second iteration with a massive 33 foot diameter core vehicle with the four segment boosters, maxed out the crawler and crawlerways... when it still wasn't enough and the switch was made to five segment boosters were baselined, and even talk of adding a sixth RS-68 and two additional half-segments to the boosters to make them 5.5 segments, or even 6 segment boosters were proposed, it was all going to be nonstarters, without COMPLETELY reworking the crawlers and crawlerways... perhaps with six-truck crawlers it would be possible, but there was no money for it. Even SLS, using the smaller ET-diameter core, more efficient SSME's (thus a smaller core vehicle, which is lighter) and the five segment boosters, stacked on the "lightweight" Ares I MLP that was modified for SLS, is still going to be maxing out the capabilities of the crawlers, and required upgrades to the crawlers.

This proposal, in using barges, would be very straightforward, and probably the easiest and most realistic way to move such massive fully fuelled SRM-based vehicles from the assembly building to the pad. They also suggested using a "fully integrated base concept" where railroad cars of raw materials come into the facility, the casings would be constructed and tested on-site, then propellant mixed and poured to produce the SRMs, they would be cured and finished, radiographed, inspected and tested, and moved to the assembly building to be integrated into a launch vehicle, all on waterborne barges. The final vehicle would be moved to the pad on a barge as well. While simplifying the movement of the extremely heavy SRM's, it complicates the facilities quite a bit-- imagine if the VAB were constructed without a floor, per se, but an indoor pond probably 20 feet deep to accommodate barges hauling the MLP's and stacked vehicles in and out, with low bays similarly having a pond for barges coming in carrying individual SRM's and upper stages to be stacked into the final vehicle (technically, they'd probably have a "floored" low bay for truck transported upper stages or payloads to be brought in and transferred across to the vehicle being stacked. Such an integrated base would have to be constructed around a lagoon or at least a network of canals between the various buildings and long canals out to the launching pads... KSC would look more like Venice than the Cape we know!

One has to wonder at what point it's simply easier to move the assembly building over the pads and construct the rocket and check it out directly on the launch pad, and then move the assembly building away from it to a safe distance, either via barge or rail...

Anyway, it is an interesting idea...

Later! OL JR

__________________
The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!