Martin Marietta Spacemaster

Spacemaster

Function	Manned Re-usable orbital launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Martin Marietta
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	128 m (420 ft)
Diameter	8.0 m (26.2 ft)
Mass	1,600,000 kg (3,500,000 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	22,700 kg (50,000 lb)
Launch history
Status	Cancelled
Launch sites	LC-39 Kennedy Space Center
Total launches	0
First stage
Powered by	14 Rocketdyne SSME
Maximum thrust	28,080 kN (6,310,000 lbf)
Burn time	155 seconds
Propellant	LH2/LOX
Second stage
Powered by	2 Rocketdyne SSME
Maximum thrust	4,549 kN (1,023,000 lbf)
Burn time	276 seconds
Propellant	LH2/LOX

The Martin Marietta Spacemaster was a proposed configuration for what became the Space Shuttle, which featured an X-24-derived orbiter, and an unusual "catamaran style" booster stage. During launch and ascent, the orbiter would be located in a recess in the booster. The booster's 14 engines would be located in clusters of seven, at the bottom of both halves of the booster. Unlike the final design for the Space Shuttle, the Spacemaster would lack an external tank, and the boosters would be joined, by means of connecting struts which would also serve as the mounting for the orbiter.

The concept was evaluated in 1967, but was rejected. Martin Marietta went on to produce the Space Shuttle external tank (ET) for the final STS Space Shuttle design (by Lockheed Martin after a merger with Lockheed).

A model of the Martin Marietta Spacemaster is in the collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.^[1]

See also

• List of space launch system designs
• Space Shuttle program

References

1. "Model, Space Shuttle, Martin Marietta Spacemaster Two-Stage Concept, 1:96". National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 2018-08-19.

External links

• Spacemaster scale model in black (in the foreground to the right)