sentovic

One of the proposals that involved the "Lunar Crasher" braking stage. In theory, a large ( usually solid propellant ) stage was used to slow the lander on a direct ascent trajectory from earth. This stage was then jettisoned to crash on the moon, while smaller and more controllable liquid engines were used for final approach and landing. JPL used a scaled down version of this approach on the Surveyor unmanned lunar landers. After doing the brute force main braking, the solid motor was jettisoned to lessen landing weight. Small liquid engines finished the job. JPL also proposed a manned Lunar Surface Rendezvous mode, using the lunar crasher technique and a gigantic segmented solid rocket booster. That proposal suggested landing many payloads in an area selected for a manned landing. These unmanned supply, shelter, and return fuel carriers would be pre-positioned and verified remotely, before a manned ship was dispatched to land among them. The unmanned ships were also to include a beacon to guide in the manned craft and to provide live TV coverage of the manned landing.

Project RIFT stood for Reactor In Flight Test. No such test was ever made.