Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!indri!aplcen!aplpy.jhuapl.edu!mws
From: mws@aplpy.jhuapl.edu (Michael W. Stalnaker)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: TITAN 4
Message-ID: <1624@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu>
Date: 20 Jun 89 12:36:17 GMT
References: <4301.24986D0D@stjhmc.fidonet.org> <4127@druwy.ATT.COM>
Sender: news@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu
Reply-To: mws@aplpy.jhuapl.edu (Michael W. Stalnaker)
Organization: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Lines: 19

In article <4127@druwy.ATT.COM> deg@druwy.ATT.COM (Donald E. Gillespie) writes:
>
>From the articles I read, it seems that the Titan 4 is slightly smaller
>than the Saturn V.  However, since Saturn V no longer exists, that would
>make Titan 4 the "biggest" launcher we currently have.
>
***SLIGHTLY*** smaller???? The Titan IV has a thrust rating of right
about three million pounds, (+- 10%), and can only get about 40-50 thousand 
pounds to low earth orbit. (Henry, what's the real number?)  The Saturn V had
a total lift-off thrurst of seven and a half million pounds, and could put
about 250,000 pounds into low earth orbit.  And just think sports fans! NASA
is kinda-sorta-maybe exploring a shuttle derivative (Shuttle-C) that will let
us put a whole whopping 150,000 pounds into orbit at once.  If we had a sane
space program, that would be medium lift, *NOT* heavy lift.  There is only
one Heavy Lift booster on the planet right now, or likely to make the scene
within 20 years... it's called Energia.  

--Mike Stalnaker
mws@aplpy.jhuapl.edu		"Progress: (verb) the opposite of Congress"