Pioneer Rocketplane Conceptual Design Study

Abstract

The Pioneer Rocketplane is a two-seat, F-111-sized aircraft powered by turbofan engines and a kerosene/oxygen-burning RD-120 rocket engine that, using an expendable upper stage, boosts a 3000-lb satellite to a circular low Earth orbit. The Rocketplane takes off with its turbofan engines and climbs to approximately 20,000 ft, where it meets a tanker aircraft, taking on about 48,000 lb of kerosene jet fuel. The Rocketplane then moves to a second tanker aircraft, where it takes on about 130,000 lb of liquid oxygen. After disconnecting from the tanker, the vehicle ignites its rocket engine and climbs to an altitude of 70 miles. Although never reaching orbit itself, the Rocketplane is outside the sensible atmosphere. It opens its payload bay doors and releases the upper stage, which ignites and delivers the satellite payload to its intended low Earth orbit. The doors are then closed, and the aircraft reenters the atmosphere and lands. The second phase conceptual design study is described in which prior configuration design and optimization studies have been integrated into a viable baseline air vehicle concept on which performance analysis is conducted