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Since at least in the early 20th century, single-stage-to-orbit reusable launch vehicles have existed in science fiction. In the 1970s, the first reusable launch vehicle, the Space Shuttle, was developed. However, in the 1990s, due to the program's failure to meet expectations, reusable launch vehicle concepts were reduced to prototype testing.
The Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device or MUSTARD, usually written as Mustard, was a reusable launch system concept that was explored by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) during the mid-1960s. Mustard was intended to operate as a multistage rocket, the individual stages comprising near-identical spaceplane modules.
Unlike the design that eventually emerged, the DC-3 was a fully reusable launch vehicle two-stage-to-orbit spaceplane design with a small payload capacity of about 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) and limited maneuverability. Its inherent strengths were good low-speed handling during landing, and a low-risk development that was relatively immune to changes ...
Another early SSTO concept was a reusable launch vehicle named NEXUS which was proposed by Krafft Arnold Ehricke in the early 1960s. It was one of the largest spacecraft ever conceptualized with a diameter of over 50 metres and the capability to lift up to 2000 short tons into Earth orbit, intended for missions to further out locations in the ...
The NEXUS reusable rocket was a concept design created in the 1960s by a group at General Dynamics led by Krafft Arnold Ehricke. It was intended as the next leap beyond the Saturn V , carrying up to eight times more payload.
Atlas-Able (1959–1960) Thor-Agena (1959-1968) Little Joe (1959–1961) 1960s. Atlas-Agena (1960–1978) [citation needed] Thor-Ablestar (1960–1965) [citation needed] Thor-Delta (1960–1962) SM-65E Atlas (1960-1995) Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle (1960–1961) Atlas LV-3B (1960–1963) Scout (1961–1994) Saturn I (1961–1965) SM-65F ...
Eventually the entire Thor–Delta launch vehicle came to be called simply "Delta". [2] [3] NASA intended Delta as "an interim general-purpose vehicle" to be "used for communication, meteorological, and scientific satellites and lunar probes during 1960 and 1961". The plan was to replace Delta with other rocket designs when they came on-line.
Douglas Aircraft's SASSTO, short for "Saturn Application Single Stage to Orbit", was a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) reusable launch system designed by Philip Bono's team in 1967. SASSTO was a study in minimalist designs, a launcher with the specific intent of repeatedly placing a Gemini capsule in orbit for the lowest possible cost.