Autzoo.1217
net.columbia
utzoo!henry
Mon Dec 14 19:25:04 1981
Voyager launcher
I think the Voyager launcher was the Titan-Centaur, and that fits.
It's the heaviest booster NASA has had since the decision that the last
two Saturn 5's would not be used.  The Titan-Centaur does look somewhat
like the shuttle -- a central Titan multistage liquid-fuel core with two
big solid strapons.  And the exhaust plume would look rather similar:
the solids naturally produce lots of gup, while the storable liquid fuels
of the core burn inconspicuously because there is not enough carbon in
the fuel combination for a big bright flame (the conspicuous exhaust
of things like the Saturn 5 is hot carbon particles from engines burning
hydrocarbon-based fuels).  The distinctive feature of the T-C is a sort
of hammerhead look, since the Centaur stage on top of the Titan core
is noticeably larger in diameter than the Titan.