Large multi engine Atlas or Titan based boosters proposals?

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Did the USA have plans to follow the original early (1954) UK duality missile booster programme? Were there Booster families planned in the fifties with four or five engine variants of Titan or Atlas?
What American Boosters had a 15ft diameter? There must have been some thing given the very close co-operation at the time?
 
If you can find a copy of of DYNA SOAR: STRATEGIC WEAPONS SYSTEM, there is a mention and a picture the proposed Arcturus booster. The first stage was planned to comprise a cluster of five Titans.

Moonbat
 
Here's an earlier thread with a mention of Arcturus about six posts down.

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4604.0
 
XP67_Moonbat said:
Here's an earlier thread with a mention of Arcturus about six posts down.

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4604.0

Thanks Moonbat, Interesting, something from the middle or late fifties? Barrington Bonds post appears to be RAF Flying Review circa Beginning of 1960? That’s a guess based on the layout and content. Barry is that about right? A very big Solid for its day, rather like going back to the BIS Moon proposal.
 
The original Atlas was to have 5 engines and was 12 feet in diameter, I believe there was a proposal for a large diameter Titan but this was abandoned when the warheads shrank!!

http://jpcolliat.free.fr/x11/x11-4.htm this shows the engineering mockup of the X-11/12 and a model of the X-12 with the launch tower.
 
in 1957 Marin proposed the Titan-C based on Titan 1 hardware.
first stage 4 meter ø with 4 x Engine LR-87-3, second stage same like Titan 1 first stage

On 27 July, 1958 Herbert York director of defense research and engineering
considert Titan-C as Launch rocket for NASA and USAF. (Dyna Soar)
the Air Force's Titan C proposed by the Glenn L. Martin Company as a launch vehicle for Dynasoar.
The first-stage was 4 meters in diameter and was powered by four Aerojet ICBM engines of 667 kilonewtons (150 000 lb thrust) each.
The second stage was powered by two of the same engines but equipped with larger nozzles for high-altitude operation.7

Source:
Telephone interview with James Powell, formerly of Glenn L. Martin Co. and responsible for the Titan C concept, now at the Energy Research and Development Administration, Washington, 17 Sept. 1975.
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4404/ch12-3.htm
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4404/ch11-5.htm

in the End NASA take Saturn I, USAF the Titan-II
Martin reused name Titan-C for a Titan-II first stage and Lox/Lh2 Second stage for Dyna Soar
in end win Titan IIIC (Titan-III with Solid Booster) for Dyna Soar

Bigger Atlas : Helios
Kraft Ehricke made study for Heavy Lift rocket
in princip like Atlas but
use of 4 big LoX/Lh2 Booster engine with Lox tank in Boosterstage
Main engine is a NERVA with 12 Gw power with Lh2 Tanks
the Helios start chemical up to 40 km high dropped booserstage and Start Nuclear Engine
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/helios.htm

another Big Titan : Barbarian
1986 Marin prposed for SDI
a 4.57 m diameter Titan vehicle with four LR-87 engines on the first stage,
and a single LR-87 engine on the second stage.
(again Titan-C this time with Titan-II hardware)

Another variant reportedly consisted of 5 Titan 4 SRM's, clustered around a 5.8 m diameter core.
This core would use 5 LR-87 engines, with tankage fabricated on Shuttle external tank tooling.
The third stage would utilize a single LR87 engine.
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/barianmm.htm
Picture from Astronautix
 

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DarkLord said:
The original Atlas was to have 5 engines and was 12 feet in diameter, I believe there was a proposal for a large diameter Titan but this was abandoned when the warheads shrank!!

...The Soviets initial inability to shrink their own warheads resulted in the brute force of the R-7. Which has one wondering just how big Mercury would have been had Atlas retained all 5 engines.
 
Good place as any for this. Question is...was this version ever flown?


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Convair_General_Dynamics_Atlas_Centaur_launch%2C_c._1965.jpg
 

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