DH-1 (rocket)

The DH-1 was a circa-2005 reusable two-stage-to-orbit rocket concept proposed in the book The Rocket Company by Patrick J. G. Stiennon, David M. Hoerr, Doug Birkholz (AIAA, 2005). The concept is described in the expired US patent 5568901. The DH-1 was never built, and its manufacturing company, AM&M, is also fictional. The book highlighted and sought to solve many problems of building a cheap reusable vehicle via the DH-1 design.

The Rocket Company is a work of fiction, but the science, engineering and politics that underlies the design of the DH-1 are described as highly-feasible. The design is notable in that it attempts to avoid new or nonexistent wonder technologies, to rely on human rather than computer control, to consider the possible economics of a very small 5,000-pound (2,300 kg) payload capacity (including pilot), to make use of a 'pop up first stage' launch profile, to market the vehicle for 'space access' rather than 'cargo delivery', and to offer a business plan whose intention is to sell the DH-1 vehicles themselves, rather than payload space on a company launch vehicle, as is currently the norm.

First stage

The first stage is cylindrical in shape, 25 ft wide (7.6 m) and 30 ft high (9.1 m). It has an empty weight of 40,000 pounds (18,000 kg), carries 168,000 pounds (76,000 kg) of methane and oxygen, and a gross lift-off weight (GLOW) of 209,000 pounds (95,000 kg), including the second stage. It is fitted with five RL-60 and 4 RL10 sustainer engines, and 4 small jet landing engines, all modified to burn methane. At launch it is mounted on four internal launch-rails fitted with pneumatic shock absorbers, rather than locked to the launch frame with explosive bolts.