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Nexus
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Early 1960's recoverable launch vehicle proposed by Krafft Ehricke at General Dynamics. Perhaps the largest conventionally-powered launch vehicle ever conceived,...more.
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North American Air Augmented VTOVL
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North American Aviation’s air-augmented vertical takeoff & landing single-stage-to-orbit RLV from 1963 would have used external burning ramjets which, according...more.
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OOST
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Bono's first design for an expendable single stage to orbit LH2/Lox booster, using conventional engines....more.
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OOST ISI
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Bono's first design for an expendable single stage to orbit LH2/Lox booster, using Improved Specific Impulse approach: many engines feeding into single large nozzle....more.
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ROOST
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Bono's first design for a reusable single stage to orbit LH2/Lox booster, using conventional engines....more.
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ROOST ISI
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Bono's first design for a reusable single stage to orbit LH2/Lox booster, using Improved Specific Impulse approach: many engines feeding into single large nozzle....more.
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Rombus
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Bono original design for ballistic single-stage-to-orbit (not quite - it dropped liquid hydrogen tanks on the way up) heavy lift launch vehicle. The recoverable...more.
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Ithacus
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An adaptation of Phillip Bono's enormous ROMBUS plug-nozzle semi-single-stage-orbit launch vehicle as a 1,200 soldier intercontinental troop transport!! The recoverable...more.
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Pegasus VTOVL
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Bono design for semi-single-stage-to-orbit ballistic VTOVL launch vehicle. Drop tanks were shed on the way to orbit. Pegasus could deliver either a Satun V-size...more.
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SASSTO
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Bono proposal for first step toward VTOVL SSTO vehicle - heavily modified Saturn IVB with plug nozzle engine....more.
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Beta
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In 1969 rocket pioneer Dietrich Koelle was working at MBB (Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm). There he sketched out a reusable VTOVL design called BETA using Bono's SASSTO...more.
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MLLV
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Boeing study, 1969, for Saturn follow-on. Plug nozzle, single-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle could itself put 1 million pounds payload into orbit. By addition of...more.
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Gommersall
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Edward Gomersall of NASA's Ames Research Center produced a conservative design for an SSTO in 1970. His vehicle was based on realistic structural technology and used a derivative of the J-2S engine....more.
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Shuttle SERV
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Chrysler ballistic single stage to orbit alternate shuttle proposal of June 1971. This was the most detailed design study ever performed on a VTOVL SSTO launch...more.
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ATV
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George Detko of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center produced designs for SSTO vehicles as early as 1960. The expendable vehicle had a gross listoff mass of only...more.
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Boeing SPS SSTO
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In 1977 Boeing produced a vehicle design for a 227 tonne payload vertical takeoff launch vehicle to be used to launch components for the huge Satellite Solar Power...more.
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SSOAR
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P Seigler founded a company in 1976 to promote his design for a VTOVL SSTO vehicle using a lox/hydrogen aerospike engine....more.
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VTOVL
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Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing....more.
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Phoenix C
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The larger 180 tonne Phoenix design of the 1980's was envisioned in two versions -- the Phoenix C (Cargo, unmanned) and Phoenix E (Excursion -- for use as a lunar...more.
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Phoenix L
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The small Phoenix design of the 1980's was envisioned in two versions -- the Phoenix L (Light, cargo only) and Phoenix LP (Light-Prime, crewed). The earlier versions...more.
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Phoenix M
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Intermediate versions of the Phoenix concept were sketched out in the mid-1980's. These more conservative vehicles used individual altitude-compensating bell nozzles...more.
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Beta II
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Beta II was Dietrich Koelle's nominal 350 tonne lift-off mass SSTO design for launch of a 10 tonne European spaceplane....more.
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SSX
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The X-Rocket was a VTOVL SSTO design by Maxwell Hunter II at Lockheed in the late 1980's. The 227 tonne vehicle was powered by clustered RL10 engines. Internal...more.
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Aerospatiale VTVL
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Aerospatiale vertical takeoff, vertical landing single stage to orbit study....more.
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Millenium Express
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General Dynamics Space Systems Division proposal for the 1990 SDIO competition was a VTOL SSTO named Millennium Express. The final vehicle was a 15 degree cone...more.
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Orel V7 RSSLV-2
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Fully reusable vertical takeoff / vertical landing single stage to orbit. Concept abandoned in favor of Orel V6 by 1998 due to engine reliability concerns. Version with Lox/LH2 propellants....more.
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Orel V7 RSSLV-3
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Fully reusable vertical takeoff / vertical landing single stage to orbit. Concept abandoned in favor of Orel V6 by 1998 due to engine reliability concerns. Tripropellant...more.
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DC-X
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The DC-X was an experimental vehicle, 1/3 the size of a planned DC-Y vertical-takeoff/vertical-landing, single stage to orbit prototype. It was not designed as...more.
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DC-X2
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Proposed intermediate 1/2 scale test vehicle between DC-X and DC-Y orbital version. No government agency was willing to fund the $450 million development cost --...more.
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DC-Y
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The ultimate goal of the Delta Clipper program, a prototype reusable single-stage to orbit, vertical takeoff/vertical landing space truck. The DC-I Delta Clipper...more.
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Kankoh Maru
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Kawasaki design for single stage to orbit reusable booster. Would carry 50 passengers to orbiting hotels or fast intercontinental flights....more.
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Beta III
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In 1969 Dietrich Koelle proposed his BETA III design. This was to deliver 20 tonnes to orbit with a launch mass of 600 tonnes. In 1996 and 1998 he updated the design...more.
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Beta IV
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Beta II was Dietrich Koelle's largest SSTO concept, with a nominal 2000 tonne lift-off mass SSTO design and 100 tonne payload....more.
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Roton
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The Roton was a fully reusable, single-stage-to-orbit, vertical take-off and landing piloted space vehicle designed to transport two crew members and 3200 kg of...more.
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