Philip Bono

Philip Bono (? – 1993) was a Douglas Aircraft Company engineer. He was a pioneer of reusable vertical landing single-stage to orbit launch vehicles.

Bono pursued single-stage space launch as simpler and cheaper. He realized to do this he would need to use high specific impulse liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen rocket engines. Afterwards he proposed to make these vehicles reusable. From his ROOST design onwards Bono advocated space launch vehicles without wings, usually using rocket assisted vertical takeoff and landing or VTVL. According to his estimates, wings consisted mostly of dead weight that decreased launch payload mass. He patented a reusable plug nozzle rocket engine which had dual use as a heat shield for atmospheric reentry. His early 1960s concepts influenced later designs like the 1990s Delta Clipper, also from Douglas.

Designs

* One Stage Orbital Space Truck (OOST) [ [http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/oost.htm OOST ] ]
* Recoverable One Stage Orbital Space Truck (ROOST) [ [http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/roost.htm ROOST ] ]
* Reusable Orbital Module, Booster, and Utility Shuttle (ROMBUS) [ [http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/rombus.htm Rombus ] ]
* Ithacus [ [http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/ithacus.htm Ithacus ] ]
* Pegasus [ [http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/pegvtovl.htm Pegasus VTOVL ] ]
* Hyperion
* SASSTO [ [http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/sassto.htm SASSTO ] ]

Hyperion was HTVL, the others VTVL.

Bibliography

Philip Bono & Kenneth William Gatland, "Frontiers Of Space", ISBN 071373504X

Papers

* Bono, Philip; "ROMBUS - An Integrated Systems Concept For A Reusable Orbital Module Booster And Utility Shuttle"; AIAA-1963-271
* Bono, Philip and Goldbaum, George C.; "Ithacus" - A New Concept Of Inter-Continental Ballistic Transport (ICBT)"; AIAA-1964-280

Patents

* [http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATD201773 US Patent D201773] , "Recoverable Single Stage Spacecraft Booster", July 27 1965
* [http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT3295790 US Patent 3295790] , "Recoverable Single Stage Spacecraft Booster", January 3 1967

Other sources