From Aviation magazine 1963.
THE LARGE NASA LAUNCHER VEHICLES
THE Marshall Center for the Study of Space Flight (NASA) has been working for 15 years on
projects of large launch vehicles, with the collaboration of industry., One of these, which should be
ready in 1970, the start of work being registered in the 1966 budget, consists of a large rocket delta
and high wing bearing on its back another smaller, low-winged delta. The two wings are thus joined
together during the first part of the flight. The departure is assisted by a rocket cart traveling on a
special way. The ascent is carried out by the "second stage of the great delta". The bet on
orbit is the fact of the “third stage small delta” which carries two pilots, 10 passengers
and 3 tonnes of load, while the carrier lands in a conventional manner, De
even, the return to earth of the "little delta" can be done
at airports frequented by
current large jets (?). The
total weight of the assembly will reach 500 tonnes at the start. The
Marshall Space Flight Center
still working on two more
projects, a cargo ship for station
orbital or lunar based on
the “Nova” rocket and a device
22,000 tonnes for 50 to 100
passengers, which would be an extrapolation of the entire delta. These
last two projects would
operational respectively in
1977 and 1980 (from Aviation
Week).
)
