LDC - friznit/Unofficial-BDB-Wiki GitHub Wiki
Background
Titan III LDC (Large Diameter Core) was a proposal to handle heavier MOL payloads than Titan III-M. Employing four LR87-AJ11 engines, a pair of UA1207 SRBs and a vacuum optimised LR-91-AJ11 second stage, LDC-2 can lift 23 tonnes to near-polar orbit. Only two main engines start at lift off with all four burning just before and after SRB separation.
Titan 3L2 and 3L4 are extensions of the LDC design using 2 or 4x UA1207 SRBs and the addition of a Centaur D upper stage, providing a lift capability of up to 36 tonnes. The 3L4 air starts all main engines just before SRB burnout.
The Zenith Star laser missile defence programme dusted off the concept 20 years later. Barbarian uses a widened Large Diameter Core powered by 5x LR87-AJ11 engines, topped by a second stage using a single vacuum optimised LR87 and boosted by 5x UA1207 SRBs. All engines fire at lift off providing a 45 tonne lift capability to low orbit.
In the end, none of the LDC concepts ever flew.
Tags: Konan, Barbarian
Variants
| Launch Vehicle | First Stage | Boosters | Second Stage | Third Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titan 3 LDC-2 (1966) | 4x LR87-AJ11 | 2x UA1207 SRB | 1x LR-91 | |
| Titan 3L2 / 4 | 4x LR87-AJ11 | 2/4x UA1207 SRB | 1x LR-91 | Inon D |
| Barbarian | 5x LR87-AJ11 | 5x UA1207 SRB | 1x LR-87 |
Basic Build Guide
From top to bottom
Upper Stages
- Centaur D
Titan 3L2