4 ms·
NERVA was targeting thrust to weight ratios of <5, though - which isn't high enough to lift off of the ground with. Makes a fantastic upper stage engine, but a
by laverya 6y ago
NERVA was targeting thrust to weight ratios of <5, though - which isn't high enough to lift off of the ground with. Makes a fantastic upper stage engine, but a rather useless first one.
- trothamel 6y agoAnd more specfically, it was being a proposed as a replacement for the S-IVB, the third stage of the Saturn V. Early maps (like the one shown at https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ch11-8.html https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ch11-8.ht... ) show the Nuclear Assembly Building, along with three pads, at Launch Complex 39, which launched the Saturn and Space Shuttle, and now launches the Falcon rocket.