Lockheed Martin is developing concepts for safe, affordable Two Stage to Orbit (TSTO) reusable launch vehicles as part of NASA's Space Launch Initiative. This paper discusses the options considered for the design of the TSTO, the impact of each of these options on the vehicle configuration, the criteria used for selection of preferred configurations, and the results of the selection process. More than twenty configurations were developed in detail in order to compare options such as propellant choice, serial vs. parallel burn sequence, use of propellant crossfeed between stages, 'bimese' or optimized stage designs, and high or low staging velocities. Each configuration was analyzed not only for performance and sizing, but also for cost and reliability. The study concluded that kerosene was the superior fuel for first stages, and that bimese vehicles were not attractive.


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    Title :

    Selection of Lockheed Martin's Preferred TSTO Configurations for the Space Launch Initiative


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2003


    Size :

    12 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English





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