Lockheed California RAPT two stage to orbit system of 1966

[vulture]

In 1966, Lockheed proposed a winged two stage to orbit system (manned) to the USAF. It was called RAPT = Reusable Aerospace Passenger Transport. The first stage was to use both air breathing and rocket propulsion. The second - orbital - stage, was a dart-like vehicle with folding wings. This vehicle was featured in an issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology in 1966. It was represented by a wooden mockup of the vehicle as a "lifting re-entry vehicle" And it is shown here being held off the ground by cables. This wooden mockup was 30-ft long and its folding wings could be articulated.

 

[OM]

...Excellent find, sir! I used to have this issue back in my younger days, and had actually forgotten about RAPT.

 

[vulture]

Thanks OM. Glad that I could share what I have.

 

[mz]

Are the jets in the nose?

 

[Catch-22]

This system is in Winged Rocketry by Major Sparks

Was to be rocket sled launched and had three different 2nd stage concepts.

See also

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19680009193_1968009193.pdf

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670027660_1967027660.pdf

Could be related to http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,6741.0.html

 

[shockonlip]

The second pic in vulture's post was pictured in a Koku-Fan
special publication on the USAF ATF program. I have a copy
of it somewhere at home.

Are we sure that is RAPT?

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

Catch 22, that is an excellent book. Still have the copy my high school threw out back in the day. Such a backwards attitude about space.

Glad I saved the book.

 

[Desert Dawn]

Had the first drawing plus a complete article in an old issue of Lockheed Horizons since 1998 or 99. The 2nd pic i got also about 10 years ago through the guy who used to leak like there is no tomorrow stuff to send people in all kinds of wrong dirrections on the DLR website.. He sent it to me via email when i was asking him what he had on FDL-5. I had a good laugh.

 

[flateric]

The second pic in vulture's post was pictured in a Koku-Fan
special publication on the USAF ATF program.

you wasn't only person who was struggling with this mystery that solved now

 

[Catch-22]

.

 

[flateric]

From Tony Landis 'RECOVERABLE BOOSTER PROPOSALS - A Future That Never Was...'

 

[Archibald]

This system is in Winged Rocketry by Major Sparks

Was to be rocket sled launched and had three different 2nd stage concepts.

See also

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19680009193_1968009193.pdf

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670027660_1967027660.pdf

Could be related to http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,6741.0.html

Wayback Machine

Wayback Machine

 

[publiusr]

The California division must have had some level of autonomy to suggest that.

 

[Scott Kenny]

The California division must have had some level of autonomy to suggest that.

As I understand it, the different divisions had a decent amount of autonomy in terms of design etc.

It's how you'd end up with multiple designs from one company for a single USAF etc contract.

I believe this continued into the Special Access Programs, as it let the various companies have multiple design teams that didn't talk to each other (and weren't even in the same state a lot of the time!) each work on a different project.