The applications of the shuttle will probably be oriented more towards manned missions than the US vehicle, which is also used for the launch of unmanned spacecraft - a role which does not necessarily require a manned vehicle. Therefore, manned missions which require the use of a large payload bay need to be considered. As stated earlier, the payload bay can accommodate a Salyut space station and this capability will permit the recovery of such craft to return them to Earth for refurbishment. Currently, at the end of their operational life, Salyuts are reentered and burn up over the Pacific Ocean. Recovery capability will be more important when associated with the multi-module Mir complex, the first element of which was launched in February 1986. 4.2 The lunar programme The SLW (6) seems to replace the capability of the ill fated (and hence never revealed) TT-5 manned lunar launcher. It is possible to deduce that the second and third stages of the Proton launcher were designed originally for the manned lunar programme. They would have been orbited, fully fuelled, by means of the TT-5, which the Soviets had in development in the late 1960s-early 1970s (Fig. 11). The Proton 2nd stage would have injected the lunar mission into the lunar transfer orbit and the 3rd stage would have handled lunar orbit, landing, take off, and earth return.
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