Photos (courtesy Dennis R. Jenkins) showing a few models of the Shuttle orbiter circa 1973, just before the final configuration was settled upon. Notable differences include hiding the forward RCS jets behind doors and extending the fairing for the OMS pods forward onto the cargo bay doors (presumably an aerodynamics consideration). The moldline in the area of the cockpit also looks a bit different.
The boosters and the external tank are much more different, however. This is presumably due to the model being made by Rockwell, while the boosters were still effectively as-yet undesigned – and unwon – by Thiokol. The external tank certainly looks pretty narrow. The C-5 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft model was probably built by or for Lockheed.
4 Responses to “Almost the Shuttle”
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It looks like the SRBs have the blow-out thrust termination ports on them towards the top, unless that’s where a rocket goes to slow them down on separation.
> blow-out thrust termination ports
That’s what they are. Early on, the Shuttle SRBs were to have them just as the early Titan IIIC SRMs had them in preparation for the Dyna Soar. However, I suspect the model maker got this wrong… there should be two such ports, on opposite sides of the SRBs, and rotated 90 degrees (so that they don;t exhaust towards the ET).
Any compelling reason why they did not include blow-out thrust termination ports in the final design of the SRBs?
Added weight, added complexity, added cost and uncertainty about how effective they’d be. It’s not unreasonable to suspect that the forward plumes would tear into the ET or the wings of the Shuttle., or that separation would be unpredictable and unpleasant.