in 2002 development of the LK variant was discontinued. The LK-1 was closely based on the Shavit-2, but with motors and other components built in the United States to satisfy U.S. government requirements. The LK-2 was a larger vehicle using a Thiokol Castor 120 motor as its first stage. The third stage was either a standard AUS-51 motor built under license by Atlantic Research Corp., or a Thiokol Star 48 motor. All launch vehicles would have had a small monopropellant hydrazine fourth stage. LK-A – for 350 kg-class satellites in 240 × 600 km elliptical polar orbits. LK-1 – for 350 kg-class satellites in 700 km circular polar orbits. LK-2 – for 800 kg-class satellites in 700 km circular polar orbits. A Shavit LK air-launched satellite launcher was proposed by ISA and Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). The booster would have been a standard Shavit-1 or Shavit-2 without a first stage that would be dropped from a Hercules C-130. An alternative proposal consisted of a full launch stack carried atop Boeing 747 aircraft, similar to how the Space Shuttle was carried, through the Straits of Tiran and past the Arabian Peninsula into open sea; this called for a zoom-climb launch over the Indian Ocean, permitting the eastward boost from the rotation of the Earth rather than launching into a westward retrograde orbit over the Mediterranean, nearly doubling the maximum payload weight. Comparable solid fuel rockets ASLV Minotaur Mu Pegasus Start-1 VLS-1 SSLV See also Comparison of orbital launchers families Comparison of orbital launch systems References Space launch vehicles of Israel Solid-fuel rockets MLM products Expendable space launch systems Vehicles introduced in 1988 Israel–South Africa relations