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A STEP INTO THE FUTURE 1

The fog parts slowly and we see into the misty future. This series is my best hope as to humanity's future in Space. I intention is to inspire thought and discussion. Some of the predications will be right, some will be wrong, I am confident however, that human creativity unfettered by government assistance will find solutions to the problems of Space. And so I prognosticate. (The narrative may lapse into fictional mode occasionally to better explain the situations presented).

The first step, Earth to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

This is a two and one half stage planet. The launch vehicles of the future will be evolved versions of the currently commercially successful two and one half stage vehicles. Single Stage To Orbit sounds like a nice idea, and really great for the contractors who will sell the boondoggle to NASA, but it's not a profitable vehicle.

The half stage; commonly referred to as the strap on boosters, current designs are expendables, except for the space shuttle SRBs, and nearly always of solid propellant design with high pollution levels. The pressure fed rocket engine with clean burning liquid propellants is the booster of the future. The design allows for fast turn around time and multiple flights before overhaul. The boosters will be operated in joined pairs to allow them to glide to a controlled water landing. They will then be towed back to the spaceport for checkout and refueling.

The main stage will be a pair of the same engines used in the boosters with extended tanks for longer burn duration and extended nozzles for higher altitudes. They will also glide back to earth for reuse. A bottom view of the vehicle on the pad will show the engines appearing to be stacked in a six pack like arrangement with each pair having a set of fins for aerodynamic control.

The second stage, the stage that goes into orbit will be an enlarged version of the Lockheed X-33 design. The flat lifting body shape will sit neatly on top of the main stage pair. A flame deflector across the nose of the main stage pair provides for hot staging of the second stage and also functions as a heat shield for the reentry of the main stage. The second stage will come in two versions. A piloted passenger carrying version and an unmanned cargo version which will use lower cost non human rated engines. By using low cost pressure fed boosters and main stages the payload capacity of the reusable second stage is greatly increased. It's light weight high technology design will be an outgrowth of the aborted NASA SSTO research.

This basic design will eventually dominate the space transportation industry much as the twin engine airliner has dominated commercial aviation. With slight variations it will be manufactured by several different companies in several different sizes to be used by the many different spacelines operators.

Your arrival at a tropical latitude spaceport will be the same as changing planes at an airport. Your baggage will be forwarded to the wrong destination with the same swift speed. The counter clerk will also loose your ticket reservation just as rapidly. The passenger module you board will be transported to the launch vehicle much as you would ride in a bus. After the flight attendant checks that everyone is strapped in, the passenger module is picked off the road carrier, rotated into a vertical position, raised to the second stage level and inserted into body of the launch vehicle second stage. As the mobile loading gantry retracts away from the launch vehicle your seat monitor shows the exterior view. After flight clearance is obtained, the boosters and main engines ignite and your flight into space begins.

The next step.