MUSTARD
Encyclopedia
The Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device or MUSTARD was a concept explored by the British Aircraft Corporation
(BAC) around 1968 for launching payloads weighing as much as 5,000 lb. into orbit. MUSTARD was a winged three-stage reusable vehicle which used the triamese concept .
The three components of the design were three largely identical lifting bodies
(each similar to the Northrop
HL-10), stacked back-to-belly. The units would be stacked for launch, and two of them would act as boosters to launch the third into Earth orbit. The booster units would feed any excess fuel to the unit which was to be the spacecraft. At 150,000 to 200,000 ft. (45,750 to 60,960 m) the booster units would separate and land like aircraft. The spacecraft would place its payload into orbit and then return in a like manner.
British Aircraft Corporation
The British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
(BAC) around 1968 for launching payloads weighing as much as 5,000 lb. into orbit. MUSTARD was a winged three-stage reusable vehicle which used the triamese concept .
The three components of the design were three largely identical lifting bodies
Lifting body
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...
(each similar to the Northrop
Northrop Corporation
Northrop Corporation was a leading United States aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman in 1994. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, although only a few of these have entered service.-History:Jack...
HL-10), stacked back-to-belly. The units would be stacked for launch, and two of them would act as boosters to launch the third into Earth orbit. The booster units would feed any excess fuel to the unit which was to be the spacecraft. At 150,000 to 200,000 ft. (45,750 to 60,960 m) the booster units would separate and land like aircraft. The spacecraft would place its payload into orbit and then return in a like manner.
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 SpacemasterMartin Marietta SpacemasterThe Martin Marietta Spacemaster was a proposed configuration for what became the Space Shuttle, which featured an X-24-derived orbiter, and an unusual “catamaran style” booster stage. During launch and ascent, the orbiter would be located in a recess in the booster. The booster's 14 engines would...
)