Oh one million thanks for that gem !

6B-7 0 V A L K Y R I E V A R I A NT S : A F U T U R E T H A T N E V E R W A S . . Left: Some vehicle types, such as the Martin SV-5 lifting body suborbital test vehicle, required only forward and aft fair-ings instead of a full enclosure.Below: Lockheed built the RM-81 Agena originally for the WS-117L reconnaissance satellite program. After WS-117L split into three separate programs, the Agena became an upper stage booster and satellite carrier. Launching the Agena from a recoverable booster such as a B-70 would save significant cost over the large, disposable rockets of the era.

I nearly fell from my chair, reading that part.

It is the exact pitch of the sci-fi / techno-thriller I've been writting for quite a long time.

"Air launch Agena NRO spysats" rather than using Thor, Atlas or Titan boosters.

I even did calculations for a B-70 - Minuteman - Agena 3-stage vehicle. It would have send 4000 pounds or more, into orbit.
- B-70 is reusable
- Minuteman stage 1 can be recovered, Shuttle SRB style
- Agena IS the spysat (Corona, Gambit, Quill...)

9.81*270*ln((23000+7200+2200)/(2300+7200+2200))
+9.81*335*ln((7200+2200)/(274+2200))
+2000
= 9084 m/s
4800 pounds (2200 kg) into orbit.
 
Last edited:
I knew they planned to land dumb rocket tin cans through parafoils. But a freakkin' B-70, even without kerosene ??WTF ?

And F-100, too. Much less a surprise. After all they launched some of them on a ramp with a huge rocket in their rear ends.
Hence the french expression "se sentir pousser des ZELL" (runs for cover)
 

Similar threads

Please donate to support the forum.

Back
Top Bottom