Shuttle Variations And Derivatives That Never Happened

[B.J.]

Found a link on another forum to this interesting PDF:
http://www.aiaa.org/pdf/industry/ShuttleVariationsFinalAIAA.pdf
The document itself (which I believe is from 2004) is interesting enough, showing some of the shuttle derivatives that never happened. I'm familiar with many of them, but this one at the bottom of page 6 caught my eye:

Look familiar?

 

[Psion]

It looks too futuristic for early 21st century. I'd buy early 23rd ... maybe a precursor to the Constitution class ... but no earlier.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

There are rocket nozzles on the nacelles!

The warp engines aren't rockets, damnit!

Canon Violation!

 

[MANT!]

Many VERY interesting launch vehicles were proposed to NASA beginning in the early 60s and after..

some 100% reusable...(like the earliest shuttle designs) some VTVO..

All in one way or another doable with the technology of the time.. IF the money was forthcoming from Congress..

http://www.pmview.com/spaceodysseytwo/spacelvs/sld001.htm

 

[sojourner]

VTVO?? Did you mean VTVL or VTOL?

 

[MANT!]

Sorry ...VTVL (stupid typo)..

like these Douglas ROMBUS designs.. (some for sub-orbital or orbital spaceliners!) and a sub-orbital troop carrier..

 

[Samurai8472]

There are rocket nozzles on the nacelles!

The warp engines aren't rockets, damnit!

Canon Violation!

It's missing the "0" too!

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Found a link on another forum to this interesting PDF:
http://www.aiaa.org/pdf/industry/ShuttleVariationsFinalAIAA.pdf
The document itself (which I believe is from 2004) is interesting enough, showing some of the shuttle derivatives that never happened. I'm familiar with many of them, but this one at the bottom of page 6 caught my eye:

Look familiar?

Man. That pizza will feed a LOT of astronauts on the ISS.

Mark

 

[Maurice]

Found a link on another forum to this interesting PDF:
http://www.aiaa.org/pdf/industry/ShuttleVariationsFinalAIAA.pdf
The document itself (which I believe is from 2004) is interesting enough, showing some of the shuttle derivatives that never happened. I'm familiar with many of them, but this one at the bottom of page 6 caught my eye:

Look familiar?

Man. That pizza will feed a LOT of astronauts on the ISS.

Mark

Methinks that artist was just a Trek fan who decided to have a little fun.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

There are rocket nozzles on the nacelles!

The warp engines aren't rockets, damnit!

Canon Violation!

It's missing the "0" too!

And the nacelles aren't blue!

 

[Psion]

Found a link on another forum to this interesting PDF:
http://www.aiaa.org/pdf/industry/ShuttleVariationsFinalAIAA.pdf
The document itself (which I believe is from 2004) is interesting enough, showing some of the shuttle derivatives that never happened. I'm familiar with many of them, but this one at the bottom of page 6 caught my eye:

Look familiar?

Man. That pizza will feed a LOT of astronauts on the ISS.

Mark

Methinks that artist was just a Trek fan who decided to have a little fun.

I thought so, too, except the original document included several other illustrations with the same angle and positioning of the main body and solid rocket boosters. That doesn't mean the artist wasn't being clever, but there's a good chance the perspective and positioning of the components was chosen to best show each vehicle's configuration and any resemblance to something out of Trek was purely coincidental.

 

[JustAFriend]

If you ever get to the Smithsonian in D.C., they have a case there with models of various proposed Shuttles.

The Air Force Museum in Dayton OH also has a wind-tunnel model and various pieces of the X-20 Dyna-Soar spaceplane.

 

[B.J.]

If you ever get to the Smithsonian in D.C., they have a case there with models of various proposed Shuttles.

Isn't that at the Udvar-Hazy Center (not in DC), next to the Enterprise?

 

[JustAFriend]

They may have moved it to Udvar-Hazy (still part of the Smithsonian) but when I saw it several years ago it was downtown next to the Skylab. I've really got get back there sometime....