North American DC-3
NASA Space Shuttle design candidate / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The DC-3 was one of several early design proposals for the NASA Space Shuttle designed by Maxime Faget at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston. It was nominally developed by North American Aviation (NAA), although it was a purely NASA-internal design. Unlike the design that eventually emerged, the DC-3 was a fully reusable launch vehicle two-stage-to-orbit spaceplane design with a small payload capacity of about 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) and limited maneuverability. Its inherent strengths were good low-speed handling during landing, and a low-risk development that was relatively immune to changes in weight and balance.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (September 2011) |
Designer | Maxime Faget |
---|---|
Country of origin | United States |
Specifications | |
Payload capacity | 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg) |
Work on the DC-3 program ended when the US Air Force joined the Shuttle program and demanded a much greater "cross-range" maneuverability than the DC-3 could deliver. There were also serious concerns about its stability during re-entry, as well as heating conditions on its straight wings. NAA eventually won the Shuttle Orbiter contract, based on a very different design from another team at MSC.