Portal:Spaceflight/Selected article/Week 13 2008

The Shuttle-C was a NASA proposal to turn the Space Shuttle launch stack into a dedicated non-reusable unmanned cargo launcher. This would use the Space Shuttle external tank and Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), combined with a cargo module that would attach to Shuttle hardpoints (the bipod, etc) and include the Space shuttle main engines. Various Shuttle-C concepts were investigated between 1984 and 1995.

The Shuttle-C concept would theoretically cut development costs for a heavy launch vehicle by re-using technology developed for the shuttle programme. The proposal involved using, at various times, existing spaceframes, Space Shuttle Main Engines that had reached maintenance lifetime limits, and spare navigation computers. One proposal even involved converting the Space Shuttle Columbia or Enterprise into a single-use cargo launcher. NASA had expected over 14 shuttle flights a year after the Challenger incident. They soon realised that this launch rate would not be achievable considering the time each orbiter spends in the Orbiter Processing Facility after each flight. With the Shuttle-C, it was thought that the lower maintenance and safety requirements for the unmanned vehicle would allow a higher flight rate. (more...)