Most of today’s launch boosters have a long cylindrical shape. This design is effective for our space exploration efforts and is often overlooked. However, Boeing once considered a different approach that would have made boosters look like beauty queens.
Before SpaceX, the U.S. was exploring the idea of reusable boosters. Reusing this crucial component would have greatly benefited those involved, as we can see today with the success of private space companies.
Research into these designs has been ongoing since the Apollo program, with companies like Boeing involved in space exploration. Boeing was working on the X-20 Dyna-Soar for the U.S. Air Force (USAF) when they started looking into more cost-effective ways of positioning the spy space plane.
One idea was the Model 832-40, a double-body booster with wings that resembled a spacecraft rather than a fuel tank. This concept, developed in the 1960s, involved eight Rocketdyne F-1 engines in clusters of four for vertical lift. Additionally, three General Electric turbofan engines would handle horizontal flight and landing, allowing the booster to return to land like an aircraft.
While the Model 832-40 was intended for the Dyna-Soar, it could also be used for other upper stages or even a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile. Unfortunately, like many other groundbreaking ideas from the aerospace industry, the Boeing booster never made it into production. Only a basic design was tested in wind tunnels.
Thanks to modern technology and CGI, we can now witness the impressive visual design of the Boeing Model 832-40 booster in action. Watch the video below to see for yourself.
According to the Source autoevolution.com