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LRV Specifications Strategic Nuclear Strike/ Reconnaissance Spacecraft Role User USAF North American Aviation Contractor Four Dimensions Diameter 4oft (12.19m) 90in (228.6cm) Gin (15.2cm) 1,548ft (144.0m*) Centre Edges Wing Area 45,000 Ib (20,412kg) 33,395 Ib (15,148kg) 17,000 1b (7,711kg) Engines Main Liquid fuel rocket engines or NERVA nuclear propulsion Solid fuel 50,000 Ib (222.2kN) thrust rocket motor Capsule inrust rocket motor Much of the work undertaken by the tnnust roc Sangers found its way into later US and Soviet _ Electric power 7Kw Thermal Nuclear manned spacecraft projects and the LRV can be seen as a direct descendant of the Weapons Four missiles with Sanger’s wartime research. Like the Shuttle thermonuclear warheads Orbiter, the LRV would have been equipped __ Launch vehicle Sled-launched two-stage with its own rocket propulsion system burn- re-usable spaceplane system ing liquid fuel, although there have been sug- gestions that a nuclear NERVA option was under consideration. Power for the vehicle’s electrical systems was to be provided by a small 7kW nuclear reactor and the central section of the LRV was built as an escape cap- sule for emergencies, using a separate 50,000 Ib (222.2kN)-thrust solid fuel rocket. This escape capsule would double as the LRV’s flightdeck and could be detached in the event of an unspecified emergency. The capsule would behave like a small lifting body while making its re-entry, with final descent and landing controlled by para- chutes. On completion of an orbital mission, the LRV would use its main propulsion system to leave orbit and would then enter the atmos- phere edge-on, with much of the disc’s exter- nal surface area being used to dissipate heat. When the re-entry phase was completed, the disc shape would act as a wing and the small tail fins and ailerons would provide direc- tional control. Landing on an area of dry lakebed would be accomplished using small Assisted by the mathematician Dr Irene Bredt (one of his students who eventually became his wife), Sanger produced plans for a very sophisticated single-seat vehicle with an overall length of 91ft (27.74m) and an esti- mated empty weight of 22,000lb (9,979kg). The idea was to launch the spaceplane from a 2-mile (3.2km)-long monorail using a very powerful booster stage. This massive rocket would burn for eleven seconds and the spacecraft would leave the monorail an angle of 30°. After reaching a height of about 1 mile (1.6km) and a speed approaching Mach 1.5, the spaceplane’s main engine would ignite and burn for a further eight min- utes until a velocity of nearly 14,000mph (22,530kph) was achieved at an altitude in excess of 100 miles (160km). The vehicle would then progressively bounce down through the atmosphere and it was hoped this would prevent the airframe from over- heating. After delivering its single bomb (believed to be a dirty radiological weapon) to a US city, Sanger’s spacecraft would glide to a safe landing site. It was thought that only two or three missions would be required to bring the Americans to the bargaining table. Sanger and Bredt continued to develop this concept. Some experimental engines were given trials and the construction of a full-size mock-up was undertaken at the Lofer research facility near Salzburg. However, it became obvious that relatively little was known about the behaviour of metals and other materials at ultra-high temperatures and the spaceplane project was abandoned. 7Kw Thermal Nuclear Electric power Four missiles with thermonuclear warheads Sled-launched two-stage re-usable spaceplane system Launch vehicle chutes. On completion of an orbital mission, the LRV would use its main propulsion system to leave orbit and would then enter the atmos- phere edge-on, with much of the disc’s exter- nal surface area being used to dissipate heat. When the re-entry phase was completed, the disc shape would act as a wing and the small tail fins and ailerons would provide direc- tional control. Landing on an area of dry lakebed would be accomplished using small retractable skids. It is also possible that para- chutes or an inflatable wing were considered as an additional means of controlling the LRV’s descent and landing. Although this pro- The Austrian scientist Eugen Sanger, who is rightly credited with designing the first spaceplane. His work was very influential and can still be seen today. via Bill Rose 125 Following a serious emergency, the crew of the North American Space Bomber use the escape capsule to return to Earth. Bill Rose Flying Saucer Spacecraft