As soon as I branched beyond just Bombers in the “US Aerospace Projects” publications, a series on launch vehicles became both inevitable and mandatory. I haven’t yet put any together, however. I’ve been thinking about how to format them. The series on Spacecraft, of which a grand total of a single issue has been released, is very eclectic, with everything from work pods to space stations to starships; I asked the “up-ship emailing list” if that worked, and the result is that the *next* issue will be focused on a single type of spacecraft, and the one after that eclectic, rinse and repeat.
For Launchers, though, I’m considering following a pattern for each issue. As with Bombers, Transports, Spacecraft and so on, each issue will cover eight vehicles. I’m considering:
1) Designs leading up to the development of the Saturn I and V
2) Designs derived *from* the Saturn I and V
3) Heavy lifters… Nova, Post-Saturn and beyond
4) Aerospaceplanes of various types (airbreathing and non, just so’s they’re launch vehicles not payload)
5) early Space Shuttle designs
6) Shuttle derived vehicles
7) & 8) Misc
Here’s the thing: early Shuttle might often be *two* designs… the Booster and the Orbiter.
Comments? Complaints? Suggestions? Large bags of cash?
