NASA Study Summary- "Solid Boosted Nova Vehicle System Study" 1963

Here's another 400+ pages of rocket goodness distilled down into a summary... this one from 1963 dealing with another solid propellant NOVA vehicle concept- this one with a first stage consisting of a cluster of SIX 260 inch SRMs, topped by a SEVENTY FOOT DIAMETER second stage powered by a cluster of FIVE M-1 HYDROGEN ENGINES of 1.5 million pounds thrust each. Final orbital injection was performed by a hypergolic transtage 70 feet in diameter, sorta like an IU with a pair of SPS engines... :y: This monster could place over a million pounds in LEO! The study concludes with possible upgrades to this!

There was also brief discussion about a third stage powered by a pair of J-2's for direct-injection to escape velocities, but nothing was in the graphics. Very little detail was given other than the fact that such a stage was contemplated and possible.

This one has a LOT of graphics, so please bear with me. I snipped them all at exactly the same percentage size, so they should all be able to be printed off and trimmed to size and taped together to make a "centerfold" identical to the ones in the study from which they were taken, if one so desires. This one has a LOT of information in it-- virtually complete blueprints, so if one desires a highly detailed model for future/fantasy scale, this one's it...

Enjoy! OL JR

View attachment NASA Study Summary- Solid Boosted Nova Vehicle System Study.txt

Pic one is the second stage configuration studied... the first one is a 70 foot monolithic tank stage with separate LO2/LH2 tanks, the second is a cluster of 300 inch tanks assembled sorta like a gigantic Saturn I, the third is a new design, multichamber tank made up of wedge-shaped sections comprising a roughly cylindrical tank-- innovative but VERY difficult to fabricate!


Pic two is trades studied on the second stage bulkheads-- common bulkheads as well as standard 'intertank' style stages, and the multichamber tanks were studied as well...


Pic three is the various vehicle configurations that were studied-- the first is a four-SRM first stage with MUCH larger SRMs than the 260 inchers, the rest all use the 'standard' 260 inch SRM in various combinations with different upperstage structures-- some configurations were also tried that PARALLEL staged the SRMs onto the sides of the liquid second stage...


Pic four is a chart showing the various vehicle configs traded against one another in the study...


Pic five is the first section of the foldout showing the baseline vehicle...


More to come... OL JR

Pic one is the second pane of the foldout of the baseline vehicle...


Pic two is the third pane...


Pic three is the fourth pane...


Pic four is the fifth pane...


Pic five is the first pane of the foldout of the selected final vehicle...


More to come! OL JR

Pic one is the second pane of the foldout detailing the final selected vehicle...


Pic two is the third pane of the foldout...


Pic three is the beginning of a new foldout of first stage details...


Pic four is the second pane of the first stage details...


Pic five is the third pane of first stage details...


These can be printed off, trimmed to size, and taped together to recreate the centerfold from the report... that's why I saved them all at the same size "zoom" level and left a thin margin all the way around the pics...

More to come! OL JR

Pic one is the next pic in the first stage details...


Pic two is the next pic in the first stage details...


Pic three is the following pic in the first stage details...


Pic four is the last pic in the first stage details...


Pic five is the first pic showing the second stage...


More to come! OL JR

The first pic is the second pane of the second stage details following the last pane in the last post...


Second pic is the third pane of second stage details...


Third pic is a new foldout showing second stage thrust structure/engine details...


Fourth pic is pane two...


Fifth pic is pane three...


More coming! OL JR

Pic one is a foldout of details of the interstage structure...


Pic two is a continuation of that foldout...


Pic three is more of it...


Pic four finishes off the interstage foldout...


Pic five is the beginning of a new foldout detailing the transtage...


More coming! OL JR

Pic one is the first pane of a cutaway view of the second stage-- including external detail-- notice the pressurization lines on the outside of the stage-- they're almost the same size as the OXIDIZER SUPPLY LINE on the space shuttle!!! MAN that thing was HUGE!


Pic two is the second pane of the second stage cutaway...


Pic three is the third pane of the cutaway...


The FINAL pic is the fourth and last pane in the cutaway- showing the rear view of the second stage...


In 1/100 scale, this thing would use BT-80's for the SRM's, and the second stage/transtage/payload envelope/nosecone would be 8.4 inches in diameter!!! The "uprated" version would be 73 inches tall-- 6-1!!! How'd THAT look next to an Estes Saturn V?? :y:

Later! OL JR