The last big rocket with fins

[techrat]

The Saturn 1b and the Saturn 5 both had fins. And I assume these were because the rockets were under development in the late 50's, when everything still had fins... although oddly enough the Gemini Missions launched on Titan rockets, which did not have fins. Now almost nothing has fins, except New Shepard, and those are pretty small. Are there any "big" rockets that still use fins?

Almost all air launched or ground launched missiles seem to have fins, but that's because they are all for "within the atmosphere" flight. Is there anything going to space still using fins, or has gimballing supplanted the need for fins?

 

[dhbarr]

Gridfins on the SpaceX boosters is about all I can think of.

 

[kuririn]

 

[kuririn]

 

[bjphoenix]

The Saturn 1b and the Saturn 5 both had fins. And I assume these were because the rockets were under development in the late 50's, when everything still had fins... although oddly enough the Gemini Missions launched on Titan rockets, which did not have fins.

There have been fairly recent threads about why the Saturn boosters had fins. The Mercury-Atlas didn't have fins as far as I can tell, and the Gemini-Titan didn't have fins (unless they were clear plastic). (I had a Gemini-Titan kit right after Estes introduced it. I was too young to have the patience or skill to properly build the plastic fins so I made some balsa fins and changed the whole look of the rocket.)

 

[Scott_650]

The Soyuz has fins, as does the Long March 8 and the Ariane 4 had fins. Variations of India’s GSLV have fins too. So there’s several still in use and one recently replaced orbital launch vehicles with fins.

 

[cls]

does reentry count? X37 and Sierra Nevada's Dreamchaser.

 

[OverTheTop]

The Saturn fins were something to do with limited control authority in the engine gimbal IIRC. The fins gave more margin in the control system at a critical time during flight.

[Edit] https://apollo11space.com/why-did-the-saturn-v-have-fins/

 

[manixFan]

View attachment 606910

The Starhip has both kinds of fins – Country and Western! In addition to the huge fixed fins, it also has movable grid fins. It’s a crazy combination of technologies and flight profiles.


Tony

 

[smstachwick]

The Flying Pickle has a set of four (Edit: Didn’t read the OP clearly enough, apparently!)

 

[smstachwick]

Actual contribution: Improved Orion, a sounding rocket that’s been flying out of Wallops this year.

 

[techrat]

The Flying Pickle has a set of four (Edit: Didn’t read the OP clearly enough, apparently!)

View attachment 608841

That design has always bothered me a little. That the tiny nozzle at the bottom produces enough thrust to lift all that mass just doesn't work in my head. Although, we've seen that Blue Origin appears to run that engine at 110%, which is probably why the last flight blew up.

 

[cvanc]

I've read the Saturn V fins were to be deleted on a second production run, should one have occurred. By that time they were confident they didn't really need them.

 

[Art Upton]

Early Saturn 1's had no fins, until SA-5 round that JFK was looking with Wernher with the pointy tipped nose cone. The Saturns had fins after SA-5.

On the Saturn 1B I "heard" have no proof that it did not need fins at just like Saturn1. When asked about why it had those KEWL swept fins Wernher "Supposedly" said ; "Because the Public Expects fins on a rocket"

Like all of history it is who does or does not record it.

 

[Art Upton]

 

[Art Upton]

I still have a Dr. Zooch Kit for SA-5 and a 3d printed Builders kit for it.

 

[Art Upton]

Here is a pic of Saturn SA-2 ; no fins at all. So did Wernher put fins on SA-5 because JFK was going to inspect it ???

 

[JoePfeiffer]

The Starhip has both kinds of fins – Country and Western! In addition to the huge fixed fins, it also has movable grid fins. It’s a crazy combination of technologies and flight profiles.


Tony

"Crazy" is a good summary of that whole project...

 

[Rob Campbell]

The Saturn's were the Cadillacs of rockets in the era, hence the stylish fins.

 

[Aeva]

Does virgin galactic’s space plane count? It’s more fins and wings than anything else almost.