INTRODUCTION This document has been prepared jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Defense. Its purpose is to present up-to-date information on currently approved launch vehicles. This is the third revision of the original document entitled "National Launch Vehicle Program Summary", dated February 14, 1961. This revision includes approved launch vehicles and does not include proposed vehicle modifications or the reusable space shuttle. Many abbreviations have been used in this document. A table of abbreviations is given on page 3. The following launch vehicles have been approved jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Defense and provide the current national space transportation capability. The figure on page 4 shows the family of vehicles drawn to the same scale. Two graphs (pages 5 and 6) illustrate and compare the performance of these vehicles. The first shows vehicle payload capability as a function of circular orbit altitude. The second is a plot of vehicle payload versus "Characteristic Velocity". Throughout this document "payload" is defined as all weight above the last stage of the vehicle excluding the fairing, but including any spacecraft adapters that are required. The characteristic velocity requirements for planetary missions are shown on page 7. The planetary payloads for the vehicles can be determined by using the data on page 6 in conjunction with that on page 7. The vehicle launch pads at the Eastern Test Range (ETR) and the Western Test Range (WTR) are shown on pages 48 and 49, respectively. For each vehicle, there is a brief description, an outboard profile with dimensions, stage characteristics and engine data, and a graph of the vehicle payload capability. The manufacturers of the various vehicles, engines and guidance systems are also given. Values of thrust and specific impulse are given at vacuum conditions for all stages and, where appropriate, sea level values are given. The metric measurement system is used throughout this document. Conversion factors to the English system of units are provided for all data. 92-229 073-pt. 2-8 |