FYI - I do not know how common that kind of two-engine clustered “Cable Pulling” rocket may be. But seeing that photo made me think immediately of an Escape system that was tested but not adopted, for pulling individual astronauts out of the shuttle orbiter when new safety systems were added after the Challenger accident.
To allow for Astronauts to parachute to safety, in case the orbiter had to ditch in the ocean or could not make it to a runway, the plan was (and is) to put it into autopilot in a stable glide, for the side hatch to be blown, and the crew members come out one by one. But the concerns were that the airflow would blow them into the wing.
So, one idea was for a “tractor rocket” to be used to yank each one out, clear of the wing. Fortunately, they did not do that. instead, they worked up an extendable curved pole, that the astronauts can hook up to, and slide down, to end up below the wing by the time they leave the end of the pole.
Back to the tractor rocket, I remember seeing video. IIRC, the nozzles were skewed a bit, to make the tractor rocket assembly roll. That helped to keep things even. I am so surprised that the Deuces Wild models fly so straight. If I had worked up a design like that, I’d have misaligned the engine mounts a bit to skew them, to make the model roll (I do that with some conventional clustered rockets)
I found a page with a photo and info. The page is slow loading, so I’m going to include the text and photo here too:
https://www.nasaimages.org/luna/ser...54~141704:Shuttle-crew-escape-systems--CES--r
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Title:
Shuttle crew escape systems (CES) rocket test at Hurricane Mesa, Utah
Description:
Shuttle crew escape systems (CES) tractor rocket tests conducted at Hurricane Mesa, Utah. This preliminary ground test of the tractor rocket will lead up to in-air evaluations. View shows tractor rocket as it is fired from side hatch mockup. The tractor rocket concept is one of two escape methods being studied to provide crew egress capability during Space Shuttle controlled gliding flight. In-air tests of the system, utilizing a Convair-240 aircraft, will begin 11-19-87 at the Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California.
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- George Gassaway
