Space Shuttle status report.

Abstract

A description is given of the design evolution during 1972-1973 of a reusable transportation system intended to place payloads of up to 65,000 lb in a 100 nm 28-degree inclination orbit, and to retrieve and return to earth 25,000 lb from orbit. The shuttle will be launched vertically as a rocket and will land horizontally as an airplane at about 170 kts with a cross range sufficient to return to the launch site after one orbit. The shuttle system is comprised of a reusable orbiter, two recoverable solid-propellant boosters, and an expendable liquid-propellant tank.