[bvw]

I like whirlygigs pivoted at the L points.

[Paul Ross]

Here is one example of your 'whirligig' SSTO, called the 'Roton':

[Paul Ross]

Tom Clancy was on the board of Directors when they rolled this out in 1999 and test-flew it successfully. I don't know what the status of the prototype is currently. (As we know, a competing concept-vehicle for SSTO the DC-X, suffered an unfortunate explosion from combustible vapor buildup under its engines and was destroyed)

[Paul Ross]

Home

SPACE

TRANSPORT :

Spacecraft :

Roton

Yep, what you see above is no computer graphic. Of all the wannabes in the aerospace private industry, Rotaryrocket is the only one which has tested a 100% scale prototype. While the Roton ATV ( Atmospheric Test Vehicle ) is not capable of even sub-orbital flight, but it is atleast a start.

	Content	Design
rotaryrocket.com : Rotary Rocket Company's official website.	6/10	3+3+1/10
scaled.com/projects/roton/roton.htm : Read about Scaled Composites association with Roton.
spacefuture.com/vehicles/designs.shtml : Spacefuture.com's vehicle designs page.