In the mid 1960’s, Douglas produced designs for a Manned Orbital Research Laboratory. Much like the later Skylab, MORL was to be based in part on the S-IVb stage. Unlike Skylab, MORL was to be a much more fully integrated space station, with greater emphasis on functionality and less on low cost. It was to have included an internal centrifuge, and surprisingly large solar panels.
This design was featured in the F-23 derivatives article in the recent V3N2 issue of Aerospace Projects Review. This was an attempt by Northrop to adapt F-23 design elements to a Naval role, carrier-capable.
You can download a 1.4 megabyte GIF file of the diagram. The link to the JPG file is HERE. To access it, you will need to enter a username and password. These are available on the first page of the Aerospace Projects Review V3N2 Addendum (available HERE) Note that both are case sensitive.
This design was featured in the F-23 derivatives article in the recent V3N2 issue of Aerospace Projects Review. The unusual geometry was an attempt as radar reflection shaping.
You can download a 15.5 megabyte version of this diagram; the link is HERE. To access it, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 8 of APR issue V3N2. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 24 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.
A Rockwell handout card (late 1980’s to 1990 or so) showing an artists impression of their early NASP configuration. This is the same design as shown HERE, but in painting rather than model form.
You can download 7.9 and 1.1 megabyte JPG files of the illustrations. The links to the JPG files are HERE and HERE. To access them, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 5 of APR issue V1N1. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 11 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.
A late 1950’s NASA concept for utilizing Atlas launch vehicle systems to send a sizable payload to the moon and the planets. While this never came close to being built, it was vaguely similar in concept to the actual Saturn I.
Here are images of the NG concept of the flying wing jetliner designed for the NASA “Environmentally Responsible Aviation” program. Cruise for this design is about Mach 0.82 at 36,000 feet, for a nominal range of 8,000 n.m. Fuel burn was assumed to be 41.5% reduce from a 1998 baseline.
NG has recently unveiled their concepts for next generation jetliners under the NASA “Environmentally Responsible Aviation” program. NG is not known for airliners, but rather military vehicles… most famously the B-2 stealth bomber. Not surprisingly, their jetliner concept looks a whole lot like a stealthy flying wing bomber. It seems a reasonable suspicion that their work under NASA contract either makes use of existing military design work… or will form the basis of future military design work.
Since the Northrop Grumman ERA N+2 design is revolutionary (at least in terms of airliner design), they have produced a design of a Subscale Test Vehicle. At 143-foot span, it’s about 60% the size of the passenger version and 55% the size of the cargo carrying final version.
The STV would seem to be sized right for a bomber, while the passenger and cargo carrying version would be rather large… more sized for arsenal aircraft, loaded with a vast number of cruise missiles and the like.
Another PR card showing an X-30 NASP configuration, this being a 1990 Rockwell configuration. It’s similar to but noticeably fatter than the earlier generic configuration (shown HERE).
You can download 6.7 and 2.2 megabyte JPG files of the illustrations. The links to the JPG files are HERE and HERE. To access them, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 5 of APR issue V1N1. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 11 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.
Another PR card showing an X-30 NASP configuration, this being an early design modeled off of the original du Pont configuration.
You can download 3.15 and 2.2 megabyte JPG files of the illustrations. The links to the JPG files are HERE and HERE. To access them, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 5 of APR issue V1N1. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 11 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.
In the days before the web came to domination, aerospace companies and government organizations would stamp out glossy propaganda/PR informational cards by the truckload. The X-30 NASP (National Aero Space Plane) program was no different. Below is one such card released by NASA. Note that first flight was expected by 2000 or so… just slightly behind schedule at this point. The design shown here is the final publicly revealed configuration, with the wide flat “spatula” nose. Not shown in this – or pretty much any – illustration are the rocket engines needed to put the spaceplane into a circular orbit.
You can download 2.7 and 3.5 megabyte JPG files of the illustrations. The links to the JPG files are HERE and HERE. To access them, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 5 of APR issue V1N1. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 11 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.
