BAC Mustard: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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British interest in re-usable space vehicles started life under [[English Electric]], as part of a series of wider studies into high-speed vehicles and sub-orbital [[spaceplane]]s. Their aerospace activities were later merged with other firms to form [[British Aircraft Corporation|BAC]]. American influence had already been seen, but now BAC studied the various transatlantic projects with greater interest. One in particular, the [[Douglas Astro]] impressed them and it became the starting point for their own clustered design, which they called the Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device or MUSTARD, but usually wrote as Mustard.<ref name="sharp2016">Sharp |
British interest in re-usable space vehicles started life under [[English Electric]], as part of a series of wider studies into high-speed vehicles and sub-orbital [[spaceplane]]s. Their aerospace activities were later merged with other firms to form [[British Aircraft Corporation|BAC]]. American influence had already been seen, but now BAC studied the various transatlantic projects with greater interest. One in particular, the [[Douglas Astro]] impressed them and it became the starting point for their own clustered design, which they called the Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device or MUSTARD, but usually wrote as Mustard.<ref name="sharp2016">Sharp (2016)</ref> |
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==Module design== |
==Module design== |
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Mustard was a modular re-usable space launch system, comprising multiple copies of a single vehicle design, each of which was configured for a different role as a booster stage or an orbital spaceplane. The core vehicle design followed the [[Douglas Astro]] delta-winged reusable vehicle, as would the later US [[Space Shuttle]].<ref name="sharp2016"/><ref> |
Mustard was a modular re-usable space launch system, comprising multiple copies of a single vehicle design, each of which was configured for a different role as a booster stage or an orbital spaceplane. The core vehicle design followed the [[Douglas Astro]] delta-winged reusable vehicle, as would the later US [[Space Shuttle]].<ref name="sharp2016"/><ref>"BAC MUSTARD Project Artwork Archive", ''Britain in Space'', {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926000930/http://www.britain-in-space.co.uk/info/pix-archive/mustard.html|date=26 September 2012}}</ref><ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1966/1966%20-%200663.pdf "Space Transporters for Europe?"], ''Flight International'', 10 March 1966, p.402.</ref> The design team was led by [[Tom Smith (engineer)|Tom Smith]], Chief of the Aerospace Department at BAC.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1966/1966%20-%200816.html "Economical Space Transport"], ''Flight International'', 24 March 1966, p.473.</ref> |
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The design evolved through many variants, typically comprising a deep-keeled lifting-body airframe with delta wings in a smooth [[blended wing-body]] layout, with twin tail fins rising from the wing tips and canted outwards. Some early variants had a compound-delta wing with inboard tail fins. Power was provided by anything from one to four rocket engines in the tail. |
The design evolved through many variants, typically comprising a deep-keeled lifting-body airframe with delta wings in a smooth [[blended wing-body]] layout, with twin tail fins rising from the wing tips and canted outwards. Some early variants had a compound-delta wing with inboard tail fins. Power was provided by anything from one to four rocket engines in the tail. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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===Notes=== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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===Bibliography=== |
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*Sharp, Dan; ''British Secret Projects 5: Britain's Space Shuttle'', Crécy, 2016. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Revision as of 19:14, 19 June 2018
| Manufacturer | British Aircraft Corporation / English Electric |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | UK |
| Size | |
| Height | 118 feet 0 inches (35.97 m) |
| Diameter | 13 feet 1 inch (3.99 m) |
| Mass | 424,270 kilograms (935,360 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to {{{to}}} | |
| Mass | 2,268 kilograms (5,000 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Total launches | 0 |
| stage | |
| Powered by | 1 |
| Maximum thrust | 162,963 kilograms (359,272 lb) |
| Specific impulse | 405 |
| Burn time | 215 seconds |
| Propellant | LOX/LH2 |
The Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device or MUSTARD, usually written as Mustard, was a concept explored by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) around 1968 for launching payloads weighing as much as 2,300 kg (5,000 lb) into orbit.
History
British interest in re-usable space vehicles started life under English Electric, as part of a series of wider studies into high-speed vehicles and sub-orbital spaceplanes. Their aerospace activities were later merged with other firms to form BAC. American influence had already been seen, but now BAC studied the various transatlantic projects with greater interest. One in particular, the Douglas Astro impressed them and it became the starting point for their own clustered design, which they called the Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device or MUSTARD, but usually wrote as Mustard.[1]
Module design
Mustard was a modular re-usable space launch system, comprising multiple copies of a single vehicle design, each of which was configured for a different role as a booster stage or an orbital spaceplane. The core vehicle design followed the Douglas Astro delta-winged reusable vehicle, as would the later US Space Shuttle.[1][2][3] The design team was led by Tom Smith, Chief of the Aerospace Department at BAC.[4]
The design evolved through many variants, typically comprising a deep-keeled lifting-body airframe with delta wings in a smooth blended wing-body layout, with twin tail fins rising from the wing tips and canted outwards. Some early variants had a compound-delta wing with inboard tail fins. Power was provided by anything from one to four rocket engines in the tail.
There were two primary vehicle configurations, respectively for the orbiter and booster stages. The orbiter could be manned and had ducting to receive fuel from the boosters. The boosters were unmanned and incorporated systems to pump fuel across to the orbiter or to each other. In this way the orbiter could remain fully topped-up for its long orbital injection flight, while all the vehicles could have a standard design of fuel tank.
Clustering and stacking
Various clustering and stacking arrangements were explored. Where the Astro had launched as a two-stage step-rocket with the booster much larger than the orbiter, Mustard comprised from three to five similar-sized modules.
Early studies focused around a vehicle with a shallow 120° "vee" underside to both body and wings, so that three could be clustered in a triangle. Some included a fourth, orbital vehicle mounted on top of three boosters. The most efficient regime was to empty one booster at a time, keeping the others topped up for as long as possible, so that the first-stage booster could be dropped as soon as possible. The three boosters would be emptied in turn. But this led to an asymmetric mass loading which BAC believed to be a significant problem, so later designs used a sideways stacking system in which flatter modules were stacked more like sheets of paper.[1]
At 150,000 to 200,000 ft (46,000 to 61,000 m), at around 30 nautical miles, the last of the booster units would separate and land like aircraft.
The spacecraft would place its payload into orbit at around 1000 nautical miles, after 10 minutes from launch, and then return in a like manner.
See also
References
Notes
- ^ a b c Sharp (2016)
- ^ "BAC MUSTARD Project Artwork Archive", Britain in Space, Archived 26 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Space Transporters for Europe?", Flight International, 10 March 1966, p.402.
- ^ "Economical Space Transport", Flight International, 24 March 1966, p.473.
Bibliography
- Sharp, Dan; British Secret Projects 5: Britain's Space Shuttle, Crécy, 2016.
External links
- Encyclopedia Astronautica - Mustard
- Unreal Aircraft - Weird Wings - BAC MUSTARD
- MUSTARD scale model (white one in display case backside)
- ^ same as above ^ (See also Martin Marietta Spacemaster)
- Economist, 21 June 2013, Thunderbirds are gone: A British defence firm opens its archives to reveal flights of fancy that never flew
- MUSTARD at BAE Systems