The First Space Rocket Designs

Launch Vehicle		A-10	A-11	A-12 / von Braun	Sanger Silverbird	X-15A-2
1st stage	Gross Mass	69,043 kg	770,000 kg	5,500,000 kg	34,000 kg	n/a
	Number of Engines	1	34	51	6	n/a
	Total Thrust	235,238 kgf	1,600,000 kgf	15,900,000 kgf	700,000 kgf	n/a
	Thrust each	235,238 kgf	47,059 kgf	311,765 kgf	116,666 kgf	n/a
	Isp	247	286	286	210	n/a
	Burn Time	55 seconds	124 seconds	84 seconds	10 sec	n/a
2nd stage	Gross Mass	16,259 kg	69,043 kg	770,000 kg	99,773 kg	23,095 kg
	Number of Engines	1	1	34	1 + 2	1
	Total Thrust	29,437 kgf	235,238 kgf	1,600,000 kgf	145,700 kgf	26,762 kgf
	Thrust each	29,437 kgf	235,238 kgf	47,059 kgf	n/a	26,762 kgf
	Isp	255	247	286	306	276
	Burn Time	115 seconds	55 seconds	124 seconds	168 seconds	145 seconds
3rd stage	Gross Mass	n/a	16,259 kg	69,043 kg	n/a	n/a
	Number of Engines	n/a	1	1	n/a	n/a
	Total Thrust	n/a	29,437 kgf	235,238 kgf	n/a	n/a
	Thrust each	n/a	29,437 kgf	235,238 kgf	n/a	n/a
	Isp	n/a	255	247	n/a	n/a
	Burn Time	n/a	115 seconds	55 seconds	n/a	n/a
4th stage	Gross Mass	n/a	n/a	16,259 kg	n/a	n/a
	Number of Engines	n/a	n/a	1	n/a	n/a
	Total Thrust	n/a	n/a	29,437 kgf	n/a	n/a
	Thrust each	n/a	n/a	29,437 kgf	n/a	n/a
	Isp	n/a	n/a	255	n/a	n/a
	Burn Time	n/a	n/a	115 seconds	n/a	n/a

von Braun dreamed of going into space, but Hitler was not interested. Never-the-less, in his spare time, he gave some thought to the problems of putting a man into space. The A9 / A10 was the world's first practical design for a transatlantic ballistic missile. Design of the two stage missile began in 1940 and first flight would have been in 1946. Work on the A9 / A10 was prohibited after 1943 when all efforts were to be spent on perfection and production of the A4. In late 1944 work on the A9 / A10 resumed under the code name Projekt Amerika, but no significant hardware development ensued. Guidance systems of the time were hopelessly inaccurate at the 5000 km range planned for the A9 / A10. Therefore it was decided that the A9 would have to be piloted. After cut-off of its engine at 390 km altitude and 3,400 m/s, the A9 would re-enter and begin a long glide to extend the range. The pilot was to be guided by radio beacons on surfaced German submarines in the Atlantic Ocean. After reaching the target the pilot would lock in the target in an optical sight, then eject. Death or internment as a prisoner of war would follow. The A-9 was the piloted upper stage. Below that was the A-10 stage. If one added the fat A-11 stage von Braun contemplated below that, one had the first ICBM or even the first satellite launcher. The stats on the A-12, also called the von Braun Rocket, vary from source to source. von Braun, in his book The Exploration of Mars, shows the A-12 to have about ½ of this thrust. My guess is that as time went on and von Braun learned more about the physics of space travel, he refined this into these figures. His work on the A-12 was aimed at putting 11 tons of cargo into an orbit of 1075 miles when launched from the equator.

From 1930 to 1935, Dr. Sänger had perfected a 'regeneratively cooled' liquid-fueled rocket engine. This engine produced an astounding 3048 meters/second (10000 feet/second) exhaust velocity, as compared to the later V-2 rocket's 2000 meters/second (6560 feet/second). In June 1935 and February 1936, Dr. Eugen Sänger also published articles on rocket-powered aircraft. This led to his being asked by the German High Command to build a secret aerospace research institute in Trauen to research and build his "Silverbird", a manned, winged sub orbital vehicle, under the Amerika Bomber program. The Sänger Amerika Bomber (or Orbital Bomber, or Antipodal Bomber) had a flattened fuselage, which helped create lift and the wings were short and wedge shaped. There was a horizontal tail surface located at the extreme aft end of the fuselage, which had a small conventional fin on each end. There was a huge rocket engine of 100 tons thrust mounted in the fuselage rear, and was flanked by two auxiliary rocket engines. The pilot sat in a pressurized cockpit in the forward fuselage, and a tricycle undercarriage was fitted for a gliding landing. A central bomb bay held one 3629 kg (8000 lb) free-falling bomb.

An interesting flight profile was envisioned for the "Silverbird". It was to be propelled down a 3 km (1.9 mile) long monorail track by a rocket-powered sled that developed a 600 tons of thrust for 11 seconds. After taking off at a 30 degree angle and reaching an altitude of 1.5 km (5,100 feet), a speed of 1850 km/h (1149 mph) would be reached it was hoped. At this point, the main rocket engine would be fired for 168 seconds and burn 90 tons of fuel to propel the "Silverbird" to a maximum speed of 22100 km/h (13724 mph) and an altitude of over 145 km (471,250 feet). The aircraft would then descend and hit the denser air at about 40 km (25 miles) and 'skip' back up as a stone does when skipped along water. The skips would gradually decrease until the aircraft would glide back to a normal landing using its conventional tricycle landing gear, after covering as much as 23500 km (14594 miles) if all went as planned.

The final test facilities for full-scale rocket engine tests were being built when Russia was invaded in June 1941. All futuristic programs were canceled due to the need to concentrate on proven designs. The "Silverbird" inspired many programs in America and the USSR. These programs showed that Dr. Sänger did not work out many problems of his design, chief among them, the thermodynamic problem of atmospheric heating of the skin of the craft. It would not likely have worked, but was still a fascinating design. One "space rocket plane" program that was successful was the X-15. The X-15 was able take a man to the edge of space for a brief period. The thick wedge-shaped tail fins of the X-15 provided directional stability at speeds where conventionally shaped airfoils were not effective. The lower section of the ventral fin was jettisoned before landing to give clearance for the retractable skids which formed the main landing gear. The large tail surfaces and the downward slant of the wings enabled the aircraft to remain stable during steep climbs and at high altitudes and high speeds. The X-15 was made primarily from titanium and stainless steel. The airframe was covered with Inconel X, an alloy which could withstand temperatures up to 1,200 degrees F. The modified X-15A-2 carried extra fuel allowing it to go higher and faster than the conventional X-15, this meant it was often subjected to temperatures higher than 1,200 degrees. Thus the plane was often covered with a pink ablative material (MA-25S) which could "boil" away, carrying the heat with it (this material was covered with a white material that protected the MA-25S while the X-15A-2 was in transit. Gaps along the fuselage closed as the external temperature increased to better allow the craft to survive the high temperatures. Attitude control jets in the nose and wings were used at very high altitudes where airfoil surfaces no longer provided aerodynamic control.

The X-15A-2 reached the highest speeds and altitudes of any manned space plane, but was still not capable of orbit (this is approximately 17,000 mph at an altitude of 150 miles, or 633,600 feet). The X-15A-2 has a 250 mile range, 4520 mph maximum speed, and 354,200 feet maximum altitude when launched at 45,000 feet and 500 mph from a B-52 Bomber (by comparison, the Space Shuttle leaves the ground and accelerates to 17,000 mph, and 663,000 feet in altitude and can remain in orbit for up to 28 days). The X-15A-2 is included here to allow one to compare an actual space plane to the Silverbird.

The First Space Launchers

Launch Vehicle		Redstone	Jupiter C	Atlas D	R-7	Vangaurd
1st stage	Gross Mass	28,440 kg	28,430 kg	116,100 kg	266,000 kg	7,661 kg
	Number of Engines	1	1	1 + 2	1 + 4 (x4)	1
	Total Thrust	37,470 kgf	37,630 kgf	161,850 kgf	396,300 kgf	13,745kgf
	Thrust each	37,470 kgf	37,630 kgf	n/a	n/a	13,745kgf
	Isp	235	235	309 / 282	308 / 250	270
	Burn Time	155 seconds	155 seconds	135 / 303 seconds	310 sec / 120 sec	145 seconds
2nd stage	Gross Mass	n/a	462 kg	n/a	n/a	2,164 kg
	Number of Engines	n/a	11	n/a	n/a	1
	Total Thrust	n/a	7,480 kgf	n/a	n/a	3,447kgf
	Thrust each	n/a	680 kgf	n/a	n/a	3,447kgf
	Isp	n/a	235	n/a	n/a	271
	Burn Time	n/a	6 seconds	n/a	n/a	115 seconds
3rd stage	Gross Mass	n/a	126 kg	n/a	n/a	210 kg
	Number of Engines	n/a	3	n/a	n/a	1
	Total Thrust	n/a	2,040 kgf	n/a	n/a	1,179kgf
	Thrust each	n/a	680 kgf	n/a	n/a	1,179kgf
	Isp	n/a	235	n/a	n/a	230
	Burn Time	n/a	6 seconds	n/a	n/a	31 seconds
4th stage	Gross Mass	n/a	42 kg	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Number of Engines	n/a	1	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Total Thrust	n/a	680 kg	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Thrust each	n/a	680 kg	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Isp	n/a	235	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Burn Time	n/a	6 seconds	n/a	n/a	n/a

The Russian R-7, which launched sputnik could put a payload of 500 kg in to a 200 km orbit. at 65.0 degrees. The American Vanguard can put a payload of 9 kg in to a 200 km orbit. at 33.2 degrees. Of 11 Vanguard launches, 8 failed, many in spectacular fiery explosions. von Braun's Redstone could have beat sputnik, but because it was a military rocket and not a civilian rocket like Vanguard, von Braun was ordered to modify Redstone so it would not accidentally put a satellite in orbit before Vanguard, a result of this is Russia winning the first step into space in the space race. A modified Redstone, called the Jupiter C, did eventually put America's first satellite in orbit and the Mercury / Redstone put America's first man in space for short, sub-orbital hops. The Atlas rocket eventually replaced the Redstone and Jupiter C rockets as a satellite launch vehicle and allowed American astronauts to finally orbit the globe.

Commonly Used Space Launchers

Launch Vehicle		Molniya - M	Soyuz 11A511U	Atlas Centaur SLV-3D	Titan 2	Ariane 44L
1st stage	Gross Mass	274,200 kg	283,400 kg	132,146 kg	117,866 kg	418,663 kg
	Number of Engines	1 + 4 (x4)	1 + 4 (x4)	1 + 2	2	1 + 4
	Total Thrust	409,520 kgf	411,000 kgf	426,080 kgf	193,070 kgf	549,640 kgf
	Thrust each	n/a	n/a	n/a	110,753 kgf	n/a
	Isp	315 / 257	311 / 264	316 / 259	258	248
	Burn Time	291 sec / 119 sec	286 sec / 120 sec	430 sec / 174 sec	139 seconds	142 sec / 205 sec
2nd stage	Gross Mass	24,800 kg	25,200 kg	16,258 kg	28,939 kg	37,130 kg
	Number of Engines	1 (x4)	1	2	1	1
	Total Thrust	30,400 kgf	30,400 kgf	13,380 kgf	45,359 kgf	82,087 kgf
	Thrust each	30,400 kgf	30,400 kgf	6,690 kgf	45,359 kgf	82,087 kgf
	Isp	330	330	444	316	296
	Burn Time	221 seconds	250 seconds	470 seconds	180 seconds	125 seconds
3rd stage	Gross Mass	6,660 kg	n/a	n/a	n/a	12,310 kg
	Number of Engines	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	1
	Total Thrust	6,800 kgf	n/a	n/a	n/a	6,394 kgf
	Thrust each	6,800 kgf	n/a	n/a	n/a	6,394 kgf
	Isp	340	n/a	n/a	n/a	446
	Burn Time	250 seconds	n/a	n/a	n/a	759 seconds
4th stage	Gross Mass	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Number of Engines	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Total Thrust	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Thrust each	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Isp	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Burn time	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Payload Notes	Payload: 900kg. to a: interplanetary trajectory	Payload: 6,220 kg. to a: 450 km orbit at: 51.6 degrees	Payload: 1,900kg to a: Geosynchronous transfer orbit	Payload: 3,100kg to a: 185km orbit	Payload: 7,700 kg to a: 185 km orbit or 4,520kg to a Geosynchronous Orbit

The Molniya-M was used to place satellites up to 1,800kg into a low earth orbit or 1,600kg into a geosynchronous orbit. It was also used to launch probes to the moon and other planets as part of Russia's space exploration program. The Soyuz 11A511U was designed to support launch of the Soyuz space capsules and the Zenit and Yantar reconnaissance satellites. Atlas Centaur SLV-3D is a fully developed version of Atlas with Centaur upper stage used for launching numerous satellites and interplanetary probes. Titan II was an ICBM developed at the height of the cold war. The Titan family of nuclear missiles is now a major part of America's satellite and space probe launch system. Ariane-44L is one of France's main satellite launch vehicles. One of many variations of the versatile Ariane system.

Moon Rockets and other Heavy Lift Vehicles

Launch Vehicle		N-1	UR-700	Saturn 5	Delta 4	Proton 8K82KM
1st stage	Gross Mass	1,880,000 kg	3,210,000 kg	2,286,217 kg	705,000 kg	450,400 kg
	Number of Engines	30	9	5	1+2	6
	Total Thrust	5,130,000 kgf	6,174,000 kgf	3,946,624 kgf	1,013,421 kgf	1,074,000 kgf
	Thrust each	171,000 kgf	686,000 kgf	789,325 kgf	337,807 kgf	179,000 kgf
	Isp	330	322	304	410	317
	Burn Time	125 seconds	151 seconds	161 seconds	260 seconds	108 seconds
2nd stage	Gross Mass	560,700 kg	1,072,000 kg	409,778 kg	19,078 kg	167,828 kg
	Number of Engines	8	3	5	1	4
	Total Thrust	1,431,680 kgf	2,058,000 kfd	526,764 kgf	11,222 kgf	244,652 kgf
	Thrust each	178,980 kgf	686,000 kgf	105,200 kgf	11,222 kgf	61,163 kgf
	Isp	346	322	421	462	327
	Burn Time	120 seconds	155 seconds	390 seconds	700 seconds	206 seconds
3rd stage	Gross Mass	188,700 kg	399,400 kg	119,900 kg	n/a	50,747 kg
	Number of Engines	4	3	1	n/a	1
	Total Thrust	164,000 kgf	524,100 kgf	105,200 kgf	n/a	64,260 kgf
	Thrust each	41,000 kgf	174,700 kgf	105,200 kgf	n/a	64,260 kgf
	Isp	353	328	421	n/a	325
	Burn Time	370 seconds	225 seconds	475 seconds	n/a	238 seconds
4th stage	Gross Mass	61,800 kg	33,500 kg	n/a	n/a	17,420 kg
	Number of Engines	1	1	n/a	n/a	1
	Total Thrust	45,479 kfg	45,479 kgf	n/a	n/a	2,000 kgf
	Thrust each	45479 kgf	45,479 kgf	n/a	n/a	2,000 kgf
	Isp	353	326	n/a	n/a	326
	Burn time	443 seconds	760 seconds	n/a	n/a	2,400 seconds
	Payload Notes	Payload: 70,000 kg. to a: 225 km orbit at 51.6 degrees	Payload: 151 tons to a: 200 km orbit at 51.6 degrees or 50 tons to a translunar trajectory	Payload: 118,000 kg to a: 185km orbit at 28 degrees or 47,000 kg to a translunar trajectory	Payload: 22,700kg to a: 185km orbit at 28 degrees or 13,200 kg to a geosynchronous transfer orbit	Payload: 22,000kg to a 185km orbit at 51.6 degrees or 2,500kg to a geosynchronous transfer orbit

The N1 launch vehicle, developed in the 1960's, was to be the Soviet Union's counterpart to the Saturn V. The largest of a family of launch vehicles that were to replace the ICBM-derived launchers then in use, the N series was to launch Soviet cosmonauts to the moon, to Mars and Venus, and place huge military space stations into orbit. In comparison to Saturn, the project was started late, starved of funds and priority, and dogged by political and technical struggles between the chief designers Korolev, Glushko, and Chelomei. The end result was four launch failures and cancellation of the project five years after Apollo landed on the moon. Not only did a Soviet cosmonaut never land on the moon, but the Soviet Union even denied that the huge project ever existed. The UR-700 was Chelomei's design that competed with the N-1 to allow direct manned flight by the LK-700 spacecraft to the surface of the moon. The basic configuration of the UR-700 was established in January 1962 as part of the UR-500 Proton draft project. However Korolev's N1 was the selected Soviet super-booster design. Only when the N1 ran into schedule problems in 1967 was work on the UR-700 resumed. The draft project foresaw first launch in May 1972. But no financing for full scale development was forthcoming when it became apparent that the moon race was lost. The Saturn V was the rocket that won the race to the moon for America. The Delta series of rockets has put up satellites and probes almost too numerous to count with there now being at least 6 variations of Delta IV rockets to launch many sizes and shapes of satellites and probes. Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomei was an ambitious Chief Designer who was Korolev's constant competitor. His OKB-52 was formed in 1953 to develop winged rockets, and by the end of the 1950''s had produced some complex cruise missiles for the Soviet navy. Chelomei, partially through employment of Khrushchev''s son, had convinced the Soviet leader that he could meet the country''s missile and space requirements ''faster, cheaper, better'' than Korolev or Yangel. Chelomei''s ambitious plan was the creation of a series of related 'Universal Rockets' - UR's - which would serve equally well in the missile and space launch role. The previously mentioned UR-700 being one of these. The Proton launch vehicle has been the workhorse of the Soviet and Russian space programs, and will continue in use into the next century, launching Russian elements of the International Space Station.