Project SLAM / PLUTO

With a high level of probability, it was.
 
flateric said:
With a high level of probability, it was.

I'd heard somewhere (probably here) that the idea of a nuclear powered Tu-123 was toyed with but is there any evidence that it got any further than "hey, wouldn't a nuclear-powered TU-123 be neat-o"?
 
Nuclear turboramjet versions of Tu-123 Yastreb (DBR-1) in recce and strike versions went a little further then '"hey, wouldn't it be neat" - at least Rigmant says of such modifications were studied...but he don't go further on subject.
 
Thanks, Flateric! Funnily enough, the clustered one bears a remarkable resemblance to a Revell "Atomic Powered Moonship" kit, the "XSL-01", which was used in the TV show "Men Into Space" as a Russian spacecraft - unaware that something very similar was being planned for real!
Grif
 
flateric said:
Nuclear turboramjet versions of Tu-123 Yastreb (DBR-1) in recce and strike versions went a little further then '"hey, wouldn't it be neat" - at least Rigmant says of such modifications were studied...but he don't go further on subject.

Rigmant?
 
Tupolev's OKB historian.
 
For the next issue of APR, I am putting together a series of in-scale three-view drawings of several Pluto variants. To make it a big more interesting, and to give a sense of scale, I will also be including side-view drawings of the Snark (a roughly equivalent cruise missile), the Atlas ICBM (what basically killed the Pluto) and the Convair NX-2 (the closest there was to a manned equivalent of the Pluto). IS there anythign else that would fit in here appropriately?
 
I was thinking that since it was to be silo-launched a comparison to Titan II, Minuteman, and Peacekeeper might be interesting.
 
IS there anythign else that would fit in here appropriately?

the sovjet Buran missile and GNOM
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/buran.htm
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/gnom.htm

by way this Picture
wat is this Pluto design on down left ?
 
Orionblamblam said:
IS there anythign else that would fit in here appropriately?

Maybe a conventional winged bomber like the B-52/B-58/XB-70 (or part of) to give a scale comparison across all contemporary strategic weapon systems.
 
The one down right is the Convair "Big Stick", I presume.
 
Grif said:
Wasn't there a canard "winged V2" with ramjets?
Grif

so far i know was that Hermes Study in end 1940s "Hermes B" "Hermes II"
(A-4 with Ramjet to mach 4)
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/hermes.htm
 
No, this had delta canard surfaces forward and two ramjets on the dorsal and ventral tail fins.
Grif
 
What's the vehicle on the lower right? An advanced Navaho?
 
AL said:
What's the vehicle on the lower right?

That's a vehicle that I debated putting in this article, and in the end decided "what the hell." (Such decisiveness being a hallmark of the forces on neoconperialism...) It's not exactly a Pluto, and it was not so much a design as a mathematical abstraction, but... the USAF asked the NACA to look into a *manned* nuclear ramjet propelled vehicle at the same time Pluto was getting underway. it's by no means a serious effort, but since the world doesn't seem to be slopping over with manned equivalents to Pluto, I thought it made an inteesting addition.

Rafael said:
And the bomber?

Convair NX-2. Closest the US came to actually building an operational nuclear powered aircraft.
 
Grif said:
Wasn't there a canard "winged V2" with ramjets?
...this had delta canard surfaces forward and two ramjets on the dorsal and ventral tail fins.

You speak craziness, human.

(y'all know where to go to get the higher-rez version... go, if you dare...)
 

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Michel Van said:
Grif said:
back to SLAM was there ever a Soviet version of SLAM ?

There was a Soviet version of SLAM, but it didn't progress as far. It was called the KAR (Krylataya Atomnaya Raketa). The Soviets did build some fuel elements for the reactor, but halted the project when it became apparent that the size would be enormous (5 meters in diameter if I remember correctly). I have been unable to find any further data on the project, unfortunately.
 
Having not really had much interest in missile projects before, only today I learnt about the Pluto/SLAM project and found the whole concept utterly horrific and fascinating at the same time. Digging around for material of course I came here first and also purchased Scott's APR eV2N1 with the Pluto/SLAM article in it. All amazing material! What I'd really like to see however is some larger size pictures of the 1/10 Vought scale model.
http://www.voughtaircraft.com/heritage/photo/html/pslam_0.html
http://www.voughtaircraft.com/heritage/photo/html/pslam_2.html

Would anyone have these at a larger size please? I'm particularly interested in having a closer look at the air intake configuration.
 

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Skyraider3D said:
Would anyone have these at a larger size please? I'm particularly interested in having a closer look at the air intake configuration.

Join the club. :)
 
Poit!
sl-0001-1.gif
 
Orionblamblam said:
Very nice! Will you release this in digital format as well? Personally I have no interest in prints, as my main interest in these sort of drawings is for 3D modelling purposes. I do have your eV2N1.pdf about the Pluto/SLAM, but it appears you've made some small changes plus the additional data is useful.
 
Skyraider3D said:
Orionblamblam said:
Very nice! Will you release this in digital format as well?

Possibly maybe someday in GIF format, not in the original vector format. I just got back from the printer with the first production run, incorporating improvements suggested by buyers of the protottype run. They look quite a bit better, even though the tweaks were minor.
 
From the NTRS:

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750064617_1975064617.pdf (22 mb)

Also in small parts:
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750064618_1975064618.pdf
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750064619_1975064619.pdf
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750064620_1975064620.pdf
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750064621_1975064621.pdf
etc. etc. ...
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750064639_1975064639.pdf
 
Just wondering... how much did the Soviets know about the Pluto/SLAM? Their Tu-121/Tu-123 reconnaissance drone looked very similar, and nuclear powered versions of it were proposed. It would've been near identical, except for having a delta wing.
http://www.tupolev.ru/English/Picture.asp?PubID=1800
http://nhungdoicanh.blogspot.com/2008/12/tupolev-tu-123-yastreb-hawk.html
 
Skyraider3D said:
Just wondering... how much did the Soviets know about the Pluto/SLAM?

Probably a fair amount. it was a reasonably well-publicized project in the Western aviation press at the time.

Their Tu-121/Tu-123 reconnaissance drone looked very similar, and nuclear powered versions of it were proposed.

Meh. You can't really make a nuclear powered version of a conventional vehicle without a *lot* of major changes.
 
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