Chrysler SERV
Concept Led By: Chrysler
Companies Involved: Chrysler
Yes, you might be surprised to learn that Chrysler, now known as Stellantis North America, used to be in the space business. Back in the 1970s, they proposed a space launch system known as a single-stage Earth-orbital Reusable Vehicle. Today, we mostly know of it as the Chrysler SERV. It was initially designed for the Space Shuttle project and was radically different from the two-stage spaceplanes that most companies came up with. This is likely why NASA never seriously considered it for their Space Shuttle program at all. Today, it is even referred to as just the “Space Onion.”
SERV was going to be a single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft that would simply take off from the already existing Saturn V complexes. It would then land vertically at the Kennedy Space Center for reuse. Most would say it looks a lot like a massively expanded Apollo Capsule, but it had an empty central core. This core was able to carry up to 125,000 lbs of cargo…which was pretty impressive. The SERV could be launched uncrewed for cargo missions too and could eject a cargo capsule as it returned to Earth. If you wanted to do a crewed mission, a separate spaceplane known as the MURP (manned upper-stage reusable payload) would be needed to carry on top of the SERV.