Launch vehicles with strap on fuel tanks

[markododa]

Aside from the space shuttle and proton(if i remmember correctly) is there any other launch vehicle that uses strap on fuel tanks that are jettisoned during flight?, seems like a nice idea to simplify things.

 

[Boris_Badenov]

Titan, Delta, Atlas, Ariane & the future Falcon 9H.

 

[bdewoody]

Strap on fuel tanks are different from strap on boosters. The shuttle's strap on fuel tank provides no additional thrust, just the fuel to make the shuttles three main engines run. I'm not sure whether there are any other space launch vehicles that use this system. A lot of military aircraft use external fuel tanks though.

 

[markododa]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Bono this guy had some intresting designs for drop tanks on rockets.

 

[bdewoody]

Lots of ideas but only one actual operating system that I know of.

 

[vulture4]

The only concept that used _only_ drop tanks was the Starclipper, a Space Shuttle phase A design from Lockheed. It looked a little like the X-33, a large triangular vehicle with the V-shaped tank surrounding it. It was not even given a Phase B by NASA because (pardon me while I roll on the ground laughing) because the tank was expendable and so it wasn't FULLY reusable, which was a NASA requiremnt for the Shuttle! Of course Rockwell bid a flyback first stage, then switched to the ET and SRBs when it became obvious there was no money to develop the flyback booster.

 

[scottb50]

The only concept that used _only_ drop tanks was the Starclipper, a Space Shuttle phase A design from Lockheed. It looked a little like the X-33, a large triangular vehicle with the V-shaped tank surrounding it. It was not even given a Phase B by NASA because (pardon me while I roll on the ground laughing) because the tank was expendable and so it wasn't FULLY reusable, which was a NASA requiremnt for the Shuttle! Of course Rockwell bid a flyback first stage, then switched to the ET and SRBs when it became obvious there was no money to develop the flyback booster.

If you strap on a drop tank you still have to get it off the ground, payload is about the only place to get the extra weight on most rockets that I know of.

 

[vulture4]

Here is the link. Starclipper http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/staipper.htm was a SSTO concept with a liquid-fueled reusable orbiter surrounded by a large drop tank. Engines and payload were carried by the orbiter.