Jan 122012
The SPS (Solar Power Satellite) program of the mid/late 1970’s was the last time that truly big heavy lift launch vehicles were granted any real amount of serious consideration by NASA. Below is one such design, a fully reusable two stage ballistically recovered unmanned cargo launcher from Boeing. Payload was 391,000 kg/ 860,200 pounds. Not the biggest launcher by a wide margin, but still more than three times the capacity of the Saturn V.
