Proposed X-20 Boosters

Candidate boosters Miller lists in The X-Planes are:

  • Titan I
  • Titan II with various liquid-fueled second stages.
  • Titan C (Titan II 1st stage with a J-2 powered 2nd stage)
  • Atlas-Centaur
  • Minuteman I
  • Phoenix A388
  • Saturn C-1
  • Titan III/IIIC
  • B-52 (got to count those drop tests ;^)
Increasing orbiter weight (from 7000 to 10000 pounds) kept upping the orbital ante. Originally, the Atlas-Centaur was proposed for suborbital tests and the Titan I for orbital flights. The orbital booster ultimately chosen was the Titan IIIC.

A Martin-proposed Titan I configuration gives a practical way of overcoming the instabilities inherent in putting an airplane on the front of a rocket: large clipped delta fins near the base of a Titan booster, in the same plane as the orbiter's wings. This layout makes a good starting point for a scratch-built model rocket stage.

back to main X-20 page