Dec 232011
An “F-1 Glideback” booster… basically a winged Saturn V S-Ic first stage. Every major American aerospace corporation studied variants of this basic idea. Most used delta wings and a single vertical stabilizer, but a wide range of configurations was put forward. This particular design does not seem to have turbojet engines, which would make it very difficult for the booster to make it back to the launch site.
More on F-1 Flyback boosters can be found in issue V1N2 of Aerospace Project Review.
