Tsiolkovsky Squadron

Downrange Glideback

Konstintine Tsiolkovsky originated the concepts of multistaged
rockets, hydrogen fuel, spinning space habitats and the rocket
squadron. The idea was to have the stages side by side with all
engines running, and pump propellant to the second and third stages so
that they will be fully fueled when the first falls away.
It might be called propellent transfer side staging. Has the
proposal ever been resurected?
A modern version might launch from the pacific. A winged glider
could return the more delicate, higher performance second stage
engines, to a soft landing, down range to the coast of California.
Its wings would serve as a structural cowling for four bosters. With
the third stage strapped to its belly, the tanks would be arranged
like a sixpack.
The boosters could be dropped back in the ocean. The oxygen tank
could collapse into the fuel tank, or vice versa, absorbing impact
when it hits the water. The old match box trick. For the first
stage, a specific impulse of only four minutes would be sufficient.
Fuel cost is negligeble and a liftoff weight of 60 or even 70 times
the payload delivered to LEO would be acceptable, if it brought down
the cost while increasing the weight and reliability, of the first
stage engines.

Stephen Kearney

In article ,
Old Physics wrote:
...The idea was to have the stages side by side with all
engines running, and pump propellant to the second and third stages so
that they will be fully fueled when the first falls away.
It might be called propellent transfer side staging. Has the
proposal ever been resurected?

Actually, it's called parallel staging with crossfeed. If the stages are
identical and reusable, it's called biamese or triamese depending on the
stage count.

Nobody's actually flown such a design, that I know of, but it's been
proposed a number of times. (Parallel staging launched Sputnik and
Gagarin; it's crossfeed that's not generally seen.) Some of the ideas
for Delta IV / Atlas V heavy-lift upgrades include crossfeed.

A modern version might launch from the pacific. A winged glider...
the third stage strapped to its belly...

Almost certainly, a modern design would have only two stages. People
argue over whether a reusable vehicle can have only one stage, but there
is little doubt that two suffice.
--
"Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend." | Henry Spencer
-- George Herbert |

(Henry Spencer) wrote in message ...
In article ,
Old Physics wrote:
...The idea was to have the stages side by side with all
engines running, and pump propellant to the second and third stages so
that they will be fully fueled when the first falls away.
It might be called propellent transfer side staging. Has the
proposal ever been resurected?

Actually, it's called parallel staging with crossfeed. If the stages are
identical and reusable, it's called biamese or triamese depending on the
stage count.

Nobody's actually flown such a design, that I know of, but it's been
proposed a number of times. (Parallel staging launched Sputnik and
Gagarin; it's crossfeed that's not generally seen.) Some of the ideas
for Delta IV / Atlas V heavy-lift upgrades include crossfeed.

A modern version might launch from the pacific. A winged glider...
the third stage strapped to its belly...

Almost certainly, a modern design would have only two stages. People
argue over whether a reusable vehicle can have only one stage, but there
is little doubt that two suffice.

Extreme thanks for the background. Has the concept ever been
refered to with an acronym, like PSC or PaSC?
While a third stage adds complexity it would keep things balanced
in this proposal. Taking wings with internal stuctural supports into
space seems a bit inefficient. Rugged boosters that can take the drop
into the ocean and a glider that softly returns the more expensive,
delicate second stage, make sense, atleast on paper.