Launching Payloads Into Orbit at Relatively Low Cost

A report proposes the development of a system for launching payloads into orbit at about one-fifth the cost per unit payload weight of current systems. The system would be based on the formerly secret PILOT micro-satellite-launching system developed in response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik-1. The PILOT system was a solid-fuel, aerodynamically spun and spin-stabilized, five-stage rocket with onboard controls including little more than an optoelectronic horizon sensor and a timer for triggering the second and fifth stages, respectively. The proposal calls for four improvements over the PILOT system to enable control of orbital parameters: