airbreathing engines for flyback to the launch site. Landing speed for both the booster and the upper stage was 92.6 meters per second (180 knots). The second stage of the baseline vehicle was powered by seven Space Shuttle main engines, and its wings were sized to permit unpowered atmospheric glide back to the launch site after one orbit. Main propulsion systems for both stages were uprated in performance characteristics to that considered feasible in the 1995 time frame. From an assumed launch site at a latitude of 7 degrees the payload capability of the vehicle was determined; a simulated due east launch was flown to the target orbit. The payload was 466.75 metric tons (1 ,029,006 pounds).
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