In a discussion of the uses of an interplanetary rocket, Hermann Oberth proposed circumlunar flight to explore the hidden face of the moon and discussed the possibility of storing cryogenic fuels in space. A spacecraft could rendezvous and dock in earth orbit with a fuel capsule. When the spacecraft reached the vicinity of a planet, it would detach itself from the capsule and descend to the surface. On departure, the spacecraft would ascend and reconnect to its fuel supply for the return trip.

Hermann Oberth, Die Rakete zu den Planetenuraumen (The Rocket in Interplanetary Space) (1923), pp. 94, 96-97.

1929

July - September

Hermann Noordung pseudonym for Capt. Potocnik of the Austrian Imperial Army) expanded the ideas of Hermann Oberth on space flight in a detailed description of an orbiting space observatory. The problems of weightlessness, space communications, maintaining a livable environment for the crew, and extravehicular activity were considered. Among the uses of such an observatory were chemical and physical experiments in a vacuum, telescopes of great size and efficiency, detailed mapping of the earth's surface, weather observation, surveillance of shipping routes, and military reconnaissance.

Hermann Noordung, "The Problems of Space Flying," translated from the German, Science Wonder Stories, July-September, 1929; Wernher von Braun and Frederick I. Ordway III, History of Rocketry and Space Travel (1966), p. 202.

1945

During the Year

As part of a summary of his work on rockets during World War II, Wernher von Braun speculated on future uses of rocket power. These included an observatory in space, the construction of space stations in earth orbit, a space mirror, and interplanetary travel, beginning with trips to the moon.

Wernher von Braun, "Survey of the Development of Liquid Rockets in Germany and Their Future Prospects," in F. Zwicky, Report on Certain Phases of War Research in Germany, Summary Report No. F-SU-3-RE (Headquarters Air Material Command, January 1947), pp. 38-42.

1948

November 13

A paper read to the British Interplanetary Society by H. E. Ross described a manned lunar landing mission which would require a combination of the earth orbit and lunar orbit rendezvous techniques. Three spacecraft would be launched simultaneously into earth orbit, each carrying a pilot. After rendezvous, the crew would transfer to ship A, which would refuel from ships B and C. Ship C would be discarded completely, but ship B would be fueled with the surplus not needed by A. The spacecraft would then be fired into a translunar trajectory. Upon reaching the vicinity of the moon, the spacecraft would go into lunar orbit, detach fuel tanks, and descend to the lunar surface. To return to earth, the spacecraft would rendezvous with the fuel tanks, refuel, and fire into a transearth trajectory. On approaching the earth, the spacecraft would rendezvous with ship B, the crew would transfer to ship B, and descend to earth. The ability to rendezvous in space was seen to be the essential element of such a project. The total payload weight at launch would be 1,326 tons equally divided among the three ships as compared to 2.6 times this weight required for a direct ascent and return from the moon.

H. E. Ross, "Orbital Bases," Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 8 (1949), pp. 1-7.

1949-1952

The awakening public interest in the scientific exploration of space was shown by the publication in September 1949 of The Conquest of Space by Willy Ley, illustrations by Chesley Bonestell. Featured in this book was a detailed description of a manned lunar landing and return, using the direct ascent technique. In the same year the Technicolor film "Destination Moon" went into production. Again the direct ascent mode was used in a four-man lunar landing mission. The movie premiered in New York City in 1950. On October 12, 1951, the First Symposium on Space Flight was held at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, Collier's published papers from this Symposium on March 22, 1952, under the title "Man Will Conquer Space Soon." Contributors were Wernher von Braun, Joseph Kaplan, Heinz Haber, Willy Ley, Oscar Schachter, and Fred L. Whipple. Among the topics discussed were an orbiting astronomical observatory, problems of survival in space, circumlunar flight, a manned orbiting space station, and the question of sovereignty in outer space. In 1952, Arthur C. Clarke's The Exploration of Space became a Book of the Month Club selection. First published in England in 1951, the book included an alternative to the direct ascent technique: assembling or refueling the space vehicle in earth orbit before injection into translunar trajectory, to be followed, possibly, by rendezvous in lunar orbit with fuel tanker rockets launched from the earth.

Willy Ley, "Target for Tonight: Luna!," The Conquest of Space (1949), pp. 41-88;

"Destination Moon" (1950), produced by George Pal;

Collier's (March 22, 1952), pp. 22-36, 65-67, 70-72, 74;

Arthur C. Clarke, The Exploration of Space (1952), pp. 62-82.

1951

September

The uses of rendezvous techniques in space were discussed in a paper read to the Second International Congress on Astronautics in London, England. The problems involved in refueling in space might be simplified considerably if astronauts could maneuver freely, perhaps using a gas-jet pistol and a lifeline. The construction of a space station might then be possible. Mechanical linkage of objects in space was described as the most difficult task of all. While computing the position of an object in orbit might be comparatively easy, linking up with the object without damage by impact would require human intelligence to anticipate error in the attitude of approach.

R. A. Smith, "Establishing Contact Between Orbiting Vehicles," Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 10 (1951), pp. 295-297.

November

During the Month

The first symposium on space medicine was held under U.S. Air Force and Lovelace Foundation sponsorship at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Tex.

Loyd S. Swenson, Jr., James M, Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander, This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury (NASA SP-4201, 1966), p. 34.

1952

January 30

Robert J. Woods of the Bell Aircraft Company recommended to the Committee on Aerodynamics of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) that a small study group be formed to investigate the problems of space flight. On June 24, the NACA Committee adopted a resolution (1) that NACA research effort on problems of manned and unmanned flight in the upper stratosphere at altitudes between 12 and 50 miles and at Mach numbers between 4 and 10 be increased, and (2) that NACA devote a modest effort to problems associated with manned and unmanned flight at altitudes from 50 miles to infinity and at speeds from Mach 10 to the velocity of escape from earth's gravity. On July 14, the NACA Executive Committee approved an almost identical resolution and a month later authorized Langley Aeronautical Laboratory to set up a preliminary study group. Other NACA laboratories were requested to submit comments and recommendations. Formal authorization for the research study was forwarded to Langley on September 8.

Minutes of meeting, NACA Committee on Aerodynamics, June 24, 1952, pp. 19, 21 ; letters, Milton B. Ames, Jr., Acting Assistant Director for Research, to Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, July 10, 1952; John W. Crowley, Associate Director for Research, to Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, August 14, 1952; Research Authorization A73L95, NACA, September 8, 1952.

1955

March

During the Month

Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation, Inc. (NAA), established the feasibility of a million-pound-thrust liquid-fueled rocket engine for the U.S. Air Force.

Rocketdyne Skywriter, May 20, 1960, p. 1.

1956

May 28

The RAND Corporation issued the first of a series of reports on the feasibility of a lunar instrument carrier, based on the use of an Atlas booster. A braking rocket would decelerate the vehicle before lunar landing, and a penetration spike on the forward point of the instrument package would help to absorb the 500 feet per second impact velocity. Instruments would then transmit information on the lunar surface to earth.

Historical Division, Office of Information, Space Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, U.S. Air Force, "Chronology of Early Air Force Man-in-Space Activity, 1955-1960" (1964), unpublished, p. 5; H. A. Lang, Lunar Instrument Carrier: Landing Factors, RM-1725 (The RAND Corporation, June 4, 1956), pp. 1-3, 29, 31, 33-34.

1957

April

During the Month

The U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., began studies of a large clustered-engine booster to generate 1.5 million pounds of thrust, as one of a related group of space vehicles. During 1957-1958, approximately 50,000 man-hours were expended in this effort.

H. H. Koelle, F. L. Williams, W. G. Huber, and R. C. Callaway, Jr., Juno Space Vehicle Development Program; (Phase I): Booster Feasibility Demonstration (Army Ballistic Missile Agency, October 13, 1958), p. 1.

October 4

Sputnik I, the first man-made earth satellite, was launched by the Soviet Union and remained in orbit until January 4, 1958.

Henry L. Richter, Jr., Editor, Instruments and Spacecraft: Space Measurements Survey, October 1957-March 1965 (NASA SP-3028, 1966), p. 2.

October 14

The Rocket and Satellite Research Panel, established in 1946 as the V-2 Upper Atmosphere Research Panel and renamed the Upper Atmosphere Rocket Research Panel in 1948, together with the American Rocket Society proposed a national space flight program and a unified National Space Establishment. The mission of such an Establishment would be nonmilitary in nature, specifically excluding space weapons development and military operations in space. By 1959, this Establishment should have achieved an unmanned instrumented hard lunar landing and, by 1960, an unmanned instrumented lunar satellite and soft lunar landing. Manned circumnavigation of the moon with return to earth should have been accomplished by 1965 with a manned lunar landing mission taking place by 1968. Beginning in 1970, a permanent lunar base should be possible.

U.S. Congress, Senate, Special Committee on Space and Astronautics, Compilation of Materials on Space and Astronautics No. 1, 85th Congress, 2nd Session (1958), pp.17-19.

November 14

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution 1148 (XII), calling, in part, for "the joint study of an inspection system designed to ensure that the sending of objects through outer space shall be exclusively for peaceful and scientific purposes."

John Michael Kemp, Evolution Toward a Space Treaty: An Historical Analysis (NASA HHN-64, 1967), pp. 8-9.

December 9

The Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee on Space Technology recommended acceleration of specific military projects and a vigorous space program with the immediate goal of landings on the moon because "Sputnik and the Russian ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) capability have created a national emergency."

Thomas A. Sturm, The USAF Scientific Advisory Board: Its First Twenty Years, 1944-1964 (1967), pp. 82-83.

December 10

The Army Ballistic Missile Agency completed and forwarded to higher authority the first edition of A National Integrated Missile and Space Vehicle Development Program, which had been in preparation since April 1957. Included was a "short-cut development program" for large payload capabilities, covering the clustered-engine booster of 1.5 million pounds of thrust to be operational in 1963. The total development cost of $850 million during the years 1958-1963 covered 30 research and development flights, some carrying manned and unmanned space payloads. One of six conclusions given in the document was that "Development of the large (1520 K-pounds thrust) booster is considered the key to space exploration and warfare." Later vehicles with greater thrust were also described.

A National Integrated Missile and Space Vehicle Development Program (Army Ballistic Missile Agency, 1957), pp. 3, 6, Table XV.

During the Month

The Martin Company proposed to the Department of Defense (DOD) that a stage of the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile be combined with the Vanguard rocket to provide a launch vehicle capable of placing an instrument package into lunar orbit and, ultimately, on the lunar surface.

The Martin Company, Lunar Vehicle (1957), p. 2.

1958

January 12

NACA established a Special Committee on Space Technology to study the problems of space flight. H. Guyford Stever of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was named Chairman. On November 21, 1957, NACA had authorized formation of the Committee.

NACA News Release, "Space Technology Committee Established by NACA," January 13, 1958.

January 16

NACA adopted a resolution recommending that the national space program be a cooperative effort by DOD, NACA, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Science Foundation, together with the universities, research institutions, and industrial companies. NACA viewed the development and operation of military space vehicles as the responsibility of DOD, while NACA's primary interest lay in the scientific exploration of space.

"National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Resolution on the Subject of Space Flight, Adopted January 16, 1958."

January 31

Explorer I, the first U.S. earth satellite, was launched by a modified Army Ballistic Missile Agency Jupiter-C. Explorer I, developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, carried the U.S.-IGY (International Geophysical Year) experiment of James A. Van Allen and resulted in the discovery of the radiation belt around the earth.

U.S. Congress, Senate, Special Committee on Space and Astronautics, Compilation of Materials on Space and Astronautics No. 2, 85th Congress, 2nd Session (1958), p. 365; Fletcher G. Watson, Between the Planets (1962), pp. 210-211.

February 7

To further the national space effort pending a decision as to permanent organization, the Secretary of Defense created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). ARPA was authorized to direct or perform advanced projects in the field of research and development. It was also empowered to deal directly with operational elements on all aspects of ARPA projects; for example, to bypass the Army Staff and the Chief of Ordnance in dealing with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency on what was to be the Saturn project. Roy W. Johnson was named ARPA Director.

U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Manned Space Flight Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, Staff Report, 87th Congress, 2nd Session (1962), p. 156.

February 10

A greatly expanded NACA program of space flight research was proposed in a paper, "A Program for Expansion of NACA Research in Space Flight Technology," written principally by senior engineers of the Lewis Aeronautical Laboratory under the leadership of Abe Silverstein. The goal of the program would be "to provide basic research in support of the development of manned satellites and the travel of man to the moon and nearby planets." The cost of the program was estimated at $241 million per year above the current NACA budget.

NACA Staff, "A Program for Expansion of NACA Research in Space Flight Technology," February 10, 1958, pp. 1-2, 29 ; Swenson et al., This New Ocean, pp. 76-77.

March 5

President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the recommendations of his Advisory Committee on Government Organization that the "leadership of the civil space effort be lodged in a strengthened and redesignated National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics," and that legislation be enacted to "give NACA the authority and flexibility" to carry out its expanded responsibilities.

Robert L. Rosholt, An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963 (NASA SP-4101, 1966), p. 8.

April 1

A $61,000 contract was signed by the Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, and the Air Force. Gerard P. Kuiper, principal investigator, was to produce a new lunar photographic atlas. The moon's visible surface would be divided into 44 areas, and each would be represented by at least four photographs taken under varying lighting conditions. The photographs would be assembled from the following observatories: Yerkes, Williams Bay, Wisc.; Lick, Mount Hamilton, Calif.; Mount Wilson-Palomar, Mount Wilson, Calif.; Pic-du-Midi, France; and McDonald, Fort Davis, Tex. The contract was to run from April 1, 1958, to March 31, 1959. It was extended on February 25, 1959, to September 3, 1959, with increase in funds of $52,500, and again on November 18, 1959, to April 30, 1960, with no increase in funds.

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Army Lunar Construction and Mapping Program, Committee Report, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), Appendix.

April 2

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in a message to Congress, proposed the establishment of a National Aeronautics and Space Agency into which the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics would be absorbed. The new agency would conduct the civilian space program through research in its own facilities or by contract and would also perform military research required by DOD. Projects primarily military in character would remain the responsibility of DOD. A National Aeronautics and Space Board, appointed by the President and composed of eminent persons outside the government and representatives of interested government agencies (with at least one member from DOD), was to assist the President and the Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency.

Senate Committee Print, Compilation of Materials on Space and Astronautics No. 2, pp. 79-83.

April 25

The Air Force Ballistic Missile Division published the first development plan for an Air Force manned military space systems program. The objective was to "achieve an early capability to land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth." The program called for the start of a high priority effort (similar to that enjoyed by ballistic missiles), characterized by "concurrency" and single Air Force agency management. The complete program would be carried out in four phases: first, "Man-in-Space Soonest"; second, "Man-in-Space Sophisticated"; third, "Lunar Reconnaissance," exploring the moon by television camera and by a soft landing of an instrumented package on the moon's surface; and finally, "Manned Lunar Landing and Return," which would first test equipment by circumlunar flights returning to earth with instrumented capsules containing animals. At this stage of project development, the payload capacity would be increased to 9,000 pounds. The spacecraft would then undertake a full-scale flight to the moon and safe return with an animal passenger. The climax would be a manned lunar landing, brief surface exploration, and return. This would be followed by other flights to explore the lunar surface thoroughly and gather additional data. The program was scheduled for completion in December 1965 at a cost of $1.5 billion.

Space Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, and the USAF Historical Division Liaison Office, "Chronology of Early USAF Man-in-Space Activity, 1945-1958" (U.S. Air Force, 1965). unpublished, pp. 21-22.

June 23

The U.S. Air Force contracted with NAA, Rocketdyne Division, for preliminary design of a single-chamber, kerosene and liquid-oxygen rocket engine capable of 1 to 1.5 million pounds of thrust. During the last week in July, Rocketdyne was awarded the contract to develop this engine, designated the F-1.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 158; Rocketdyne Valley Skywriter, August 1, 1958, p. 1.

July 29

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Public Law 85-568, which established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 159; Eugene M. Emme, Aeronautics and Astronautics: An American Chronology of Science and Technology in the Exploration of Space, 1915-1960 (NASA, 1961), p. 100.

August 8

T. Keith Glennan, President of Case Institute of Technology, and Hugh L. Dryden, Director of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, were nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to be Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NASA. The Senate confirmed their nominations one week later.

Rosholt, An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963, pp. 40-42.

August 15

The Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA provided the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) with authority and initial funding to develop the Juno V (later named Saturn launch vehicle. ARPA Order 14 described the project: "Initiate a development program to provide a large space vehicle booster of approximately 1.5 million pounds of thrust based on a cluster of available rocket engines. The immediate goal of this program is to demonstrate a full-scale captive dynamic firing by the end of calendar year 1959." Within AOMC, the Juno V project was assigned to the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal Huntsville, Ala.

Koelle et al., Juno Space Vehicle Demonstration; (Phase I), p. 2.

August 17

The first Air Force lunar probe was launched, using a Thor-Able booster. An explosion ripped it apart 77 seconds after launch.

Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 27.

September 11

A letter contract was signed by NASA with NAA's Rocketdyne Division for the development of the H-1 rocket engine, designed for use in a clustered-engine booster.

MSFC Saturn Systems Office and MSFC Historical Office, Saturn Illustrated Chronology (George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, MHR-3, 1964), pp. 2-3.

September 23

Following a Memorandum of Agreement between Maj. Gen. John B. Medaris of Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) and Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) Director Roy W. Johnson on this date and a meeting on November 4, ARPA and AOMC representatives agreed to extend the Juno V project. The objective of ARPA Order 14 was changed from booster feasibility demonstration to "the development of a reliable high performance booster to serve as the first stage of a multistage carrier vehicle capable of performing advanced missions."

H. H. Koelle, F. L. Williams, W. G. Huber, and R. C. Callaway, Jr., Juno V Space Vehicle Development Program (Status Report-15 November 1958) (Army Ballistic Missile Agency, November 15, 1958), p. 2.

October 1

NASA was organized and NACA was abolished, at the close of business on September 30, with all personnel and facilities transferred to the new agency. At the same time, several space projects were transferred to NASA from DOD. Among these were two Air Force and two Army lunar probes; the services kept the actual work of construction and launching.

Rosholt, An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963, pp. 44-48; Swenson et al., This New Ocean, p. 538.

October 11

Pioneer I, intended as a lunar probe, was launched by a Thor-Able rocket from the Atlantic Missile Range, with the Air Force acting as executive agent to NASA. The 39-pound instrumented payload did not reach escape velocity.

Instruments and Spacecraft, pp. 30-32.

October 25

The Stever Committee, which had been set up on January 1 2, submitted its report on the civilian space program to NASA. Among the recommendations:

A vigorous, coordinated attack should be made upon the problems of maintaining the performance capabilities of man in the space environment as a prerequisite to sophisticated space exploration.
Sustained support should be given to a comprehensive instrumentation development program, establishment of versatile dynamic flight simulators, and provision of a coordinated series of vehicles for testing components and subsystems.
Serious study should be made of an equatorial launch capability.
Lifting reentry vehicles should be developed.
Both the clustered- and single-engine boosters of million-pound thrust should be developed.
Research on high-energy propellant systems for launch vehicle upper stages should receive full support.
The performance capabilities of various combinations of existing boosters and upper stages should be evaluated, and intensive development concentrated on those promising greatest usefulness in different categories of payload.

NASA Special Committee on Space Technology, "Recommendations Regarding a National Civil Space Program," October 28, 1958, pp. 1-2.

November 1

A contract was signed by the University of Manchester, Manchester, England, and the Air Force [AF 61(052)-168] for $21,509. Z. Kopal, principal investigator, was to provide topographical information on the lunar surface for production of accurate lunar maps. Kopal would work at the Pic-du-Midi Observatory in France, and the data would be transmitted to the Air Force Aeronautical Chart and Information Center for reduction. The lunar charts produced would be used for intelligence purposes and for the national space effort led by NASA. The contract was extended on August 4, 1959, to April 30, 1960, and was to include exploratory spectroscopic observations of the moon.

House Committee Report, Army Lunar Construction and Mapping Program, Appendix.

November 5

The Space Task Group (STG) was officially organized at Langley Field, Va., to implement the manned satellite project (later Project Mercury), NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan had approved the formation of the Group, which had been working together for some months, on October 7. Its members were designated on November 3 by Robert R. Gilruth, Project Manager, and authorization was given by Floyd L. Thompson, Acting Director of Langley Research Center. STG would report directly to NASA Headquarters.

Memorandum, Gilruth, Project Manager, to Associate Director, "Space Task Group," November 3, 1958; Swenson et al., This New Ocean, p. 114.

November 8

Pioneer II was launched from the Atlantic Missile Range, using a Thor-Able booster, the Air Force acting as executive agent to NASA. The 86.3-pound instrumented payload, intended as a lunar probe, failed to reach escape velocity.

Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 34.

December 3

By Executive Order, President Dwight D. Eisenhower transferred the Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL, a government-owned facility staffed and operated by the California Institute of Technology, from Army to NASA jurisdiction. The new JPL radio telescope at Camp Irwin, Calif., called the Goldstone Tracking Facility, was capable of maintaining radio contact at distances of up to 400,000 miles and was the first of NASA's deep-space tracking stations.

First Semiannual Report to Congress of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, October 1, 1958-March 31, 1959 (1959), pp. 24, 36, 42-43; U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, A Chronology of Missile and Astronautic Events, 87th Congress, 1st Session (1961), p. 61.

December 3

Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker and NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan signed cooperative agreements concerning NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Army Ordnance Missile Command AOMC, and Department of the Army relationships. The agreement covering NASA utilization of the von Braun team made "the AOMC and its subordinate organizations immediately, directly, and continuously responsive to NASA requirements."

First NASA Semiannual Report, pp. 81-87.

December 6

Pioneer III, the third U.S.-IGY intended lunar probe under the direction of NASA with the Army acting as executive agent, was hunched from the Atlantic Missile Range by a Juno II rocket. The primary objective, to place the 12.95pound scientific payload in the vicinity of the moon, failed. Pioneer III reached an altitude of approximately 70,000 miles and revealed that the earth's radiation belt comprised at least two distinct bands.

Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 35. New York Times, December 7, 1958

December 17

NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan announced that the manned satellite program would be called "Project Mercury."

Swenson et al., This New Ocean, p. 132

December 17

Representatives of Advanced Research Projects Agency, the military services, and NASA met to consider the development of future launch vehicle systems. Agreement was reached on the principle of developing a small number of versatile launch vehicle systems of different thrust capabilities, the reliability of which could be expected to be improved through use by both the military services and NASA.

NASA-Industry Program Plans Conference, July 28-29, 1960 (1960), p. 2.

December 17

The H-1 engine successfully completed its first full-power firing at NAA's Rocketdyne facility in Canoga Park, Calif.

Saturn Illustrated Chronology, p. 4.

During the Year

The U.S. Army Map Service studied methods of mapping the moon. This effort evolved into Project LAMP Lunar Analysis and Mapping Program) in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey. By spring 1960, the first maps were in preparation. Four stages were incorporated in the project:

Stage I:: Moon map on scale of 1:500,000 and feasibility studies, through 1960 ($200,000)
Stage II:: Expansion and acceleration of Stage I, including balloon photographic reconnaissance and radar investigation, through 1961 ($800,000)
Stage III:: System design per requirements of the lunar mission, through 1962 ($2 million)
Stage IV:: Operational program assembling all system components for lunar mission, through 1963 ($5 million)

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Lunar Mapping and Construction in Support of Space Programs, Hearings, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), p. 4.

1959

January 2

The Soviet Union announced the successful launching of Mechta ("Dream"), popularly called Lunik I, toward the moon. Carrying nearly 800 pounds of instruments, Lunik I missed the moon and became the first man-made solar satellite.

Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 38.

January 2

In a staff report of the House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration, Wernher von Braun of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency predicted manned circumlunar flight within the next eight to ten years and a manned lunar landing and return mission a few years thereafter. Administrator T. Keith Glennan, Deputy Administrator Hugh L. Dryden, Abe Silverstein, John P. Hagen, and Homer E. Newell, all of NASA, also foresaw manned circumlunar flight within the decade as well as instrumented probes soft-landed on the moon. Roy K. Knutson, Chairman of the Corporate Space Committee, NAA, projected a manned lunar landing expedition for the early 1970's with extensive unmanned instrumented soft lunar landings during the last half of the 1960's.

U.S. Congress, House, Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration, The Next Ten Years in Space, 1959-1969, Staff Report, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), pp. 96, 122, 211.

January 6

The Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC), the Air Force, and missile contractors presented to the ARPA-NASA Large Booster Review Committee their views on the quickest and surest way for the United States to attain large booster capability. The Committee decided that the Juno V approach advocated by AOMC was best and NASA started plans to utilize the Juno V booster.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 165.

January 19

NASA signed a definitive contract with Rocketdyne Division, NAA, for $102 million covering the design and development of a single-chamber, liquid-propellant rocket engine in the 1- to l.5-million-pound-thrust class (the F-1, to be used in the Nova superbooster concept). NASA had announced the selection of Rocketdyne on December 12.

First NASA Semiannual Report, p. 27.

January 27

After consultation and discussion with DOD, NASA formulated a national space vehicle program. The central idea of the program was that a single launch vehicle should be developed for use in each series of future space missions. The launch vehicle would thus achieve a high degree of reliability, while the guidance and payload could be varied according to purpose of the mission. Four general-purpose launch vehicles were described: Vega, Centaur, Saturn, and Nova. The Nova booster stage would be powered by a cluster of four F-1 engines, the second stage by a single F-1, and the third stage would be the size of an intercontinental ballistic missile but would use liquid hydrogen as a fuel. This launch vehicle would be the first in a series that could transport a man to the lunar surface and return him safely to earth in a direct ascent mission. Four additional stages would be required in such a mission.

"A National Space Vehicle Program," NASA report to the President, January 27, 1959.

February 2

The Army proposed that the name of the large clustered-engine booster be changed from Juno V to Saturn, since Saturn was the next planet after Jupiter. Roy W. Johnson, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, approved the name on February 3.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 165; Saturn Illustrated Chronology, p. 5.

February 4

Maj. Gen. John B. Medaris of the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) and Roy W. Johnson of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) discussed the urgency of early agreement between ARPA and NASA on the configuration of the Saturn upper stages. Several discussions between ARPA and NASA had been held on this subject. Johnson expected to reach agreement with NASA the following week. He agreed that AOMC would participate in the overall upper stage planning to ensure compatibility of the booster and upper stages.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 166.

February 5

A Working Group on Lunar Exploration was established by NASA at a meeting at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Members of NASA, JPL, Army Ballistic Missile Agency, California Institute of Technology, and the University of California participated in the meeting. The Working Group was assigned the responsibility of preparing a lunar exploration program, which was outlined: circumlunar vehicles, unmanned and manned; hard lunar impact; close lunar satellites; soft lunar landings (instrumented). Preliminary studies showed that the Saturn booster with an intercontinental ballistic missile as a second stage and a Centaur as a third stage, would be capable of launching manned lunar circumnavigation spacecraft and instrumented packages of about one ton to a soft landing on the moon.

U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command, A Lunar Exploration Program Based Upon Saturn-Boosted Systems, DV-TR-2-60 (February 1, 1960), p. i.

February 17

Roy W. Johnson, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), testified before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics that DOD and ARPA had no lunar landing program. Herbert F. York, DOD Director of Defense Research and Engineering, testified that exploration of the moon was a NASA responsibility.

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Missile Development and Space Sciences, Hearings, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), pp. 346, 359.

February 20

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Deputy Administrator Hugh L. Dryden and DeMarquis D. Wyatt described the long-range objectives of the NASA space program: an orbiting space station with several men, operating for several days; a permanent manned orbiting laboratory; unmanned hard-landing and soft-landing lunar probes; manned circumlunar flight; manned lunar landing and return; and, ultimately, interplanetary flight.

U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, NASA Supplemental Authorization for Fiscal Year 1959, Hearings, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), pp. 46, 81.

March 3

The fourth U.S.-IGY lunar probe effort, Pioneer IV, a joint project of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the direction of NASA, was launched by a Juno II rocket from the Atlantic Missile Range. Intended to impact on the lunar surface, Pioneer IV achieved earth-moon trajectory, passing within 37,300 miles of the moon before going into permanent orbit around the sun.

Instruments and Spacecraft, pp. 45-46.

March 6

The thrust chamber of the F-1 engine was successfully static-fired at the Santa Susana Air Force-Rocketdyne Propulsion Laboratory in California. More than one million pounds of thrust were produced, the greatest amount attained to that time in the United States.

Washington Evening Star, April 1, 1959.

March 13

The Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) submitted the "Saturn System Study" which had been requested by the Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA on December 18, 1958. From the 1375 possible configurations screened, and the 14 most promising given detailed study, the Atlas and Titan families were selected as the most attractive for upper staging. Either the 120-inch or the 160inch diameter was acceptable. The study included the statement: "An immediate decision by ARPA as to choice of upper stages on the first generation vehicle is mandatory if flight hardware is to be available to meet the proposed Saturn schedule." On March 17, AOMC presented the study to NASA, DOD, and ARPA reiterating the urgent need for an early decision on upper staging. Roy W. Johnson, ARPA Director, formed a Saturn ad hoc committee of NASA and DOD personnel to recommend upper stages and payload missions.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 167; Saturn Illustrated Chronology, p. 5.

March 20

An Army task force was formed to develop a plan for establishing a manned lunar outpost by the quickest practical means. The effort was called Project Horizon. The first phase of the project was to make a limited feasibility study, with estimated time and costs. The task force worked under the direction of Maj. Gen. John B. Medaris of the Army Ordnance Missile Command and in full collaboration with the von Braun team. The report was completed on June 8.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 167.

During the Month

H. Kurt Strass and Leo T. Chauvin of STG proposed a heatshield test of a fullscale Mercury spacecraft at lunar reentry speeds. This test, in which the capsule would penetrate the earth's radiation belt, was called Project Boomerang. An advanced version of the Titan missile was to be the launch vehicle. The project was postponed and ultimately dropped because of cost.

Interview with Strass, Manned Spacecraft Center, November 30, 1966; Memorandum, Strass to Chief, Flight Systems Division, "Second Meeting of the New Projects Panel," August 26, 1959.

April 1-8

John W. Crowley, Jr., NASA Director of Aeronautical and Space Research, notified the Ames, Lewis, and Langley Research Centers, the High Speed Flight Station (later Flight Research Center), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Office of Space Flight Development that a Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight would be formed. Harry J. Goett of Ames was to be Chairman of the Committee, which would assist NASA Headquarters in carrying out its responsibilities in long-range planning and basic research on manned space flight.

Memoranda, NASA Headquarters to Ames, Lewis, and Langley Research Centers and High Speed Flight Station, "Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight," April 1, 1959; Director of Aeronautical and Space Research to Director of Space Flight Development, "Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight," April 2, 1959; NASA Headquarters to Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight," April 8, 1959.

April 2-5

The advanced manned space program to follow Project Mercury was discussed at a NASA Staff Conference held in Williamsburg, Va. Three reasons for such a program were suggested:

Preliminary step to development of spacecraft for manned interplanetary exploration.
Extended duration work in the space environment.
Support of the military space mission.

Among areas requiring study were the cost of an equatorial launch site, adequacy of tracking stations and DOD-NASA coordination of tracking systems, and the need for NASA's own propulsion test stands and facilities.

"NASA Staff Conference, Williamsburg, Va., April 2-5, 1959," pp. 2-3.

April 7

NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan requested $3 million for research into rendezvous techniques as part of the NASA budget for Fiscal Year 1960. In subsequent hearings, DeMarquis D. Wyatt, Assistant to the NASA Director of Space Flight Development, explained that these funds would be used to resolve certain key problems in making space rendezvous practical. Among these were the establishment of referencing methods for fixing the relative positions of two vehicles in space; the development of accurate, lightweight target-acquisition equipment to enable the supply craft to locate the space station; the development of very accurate guidance and control systems to permit precisely determined flight paths; and the development of sources of controlled power.

U.S. Congress, Senate, NASA Authorization Subcommittee of the Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, NASA Authorization for Fiscal Year 1960, Hearings on S. 1582, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), p. 7; U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, 1960 NASA Authorization, Hearings on H.R. 6512, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), pp. 97, 170, 267-268.

April 8

Testifying before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Francis B. Smith, Chief of Tracking Programs for NASA, described the network of stations necessary for tracking a deep-space probe on a 24-hour basis. The stations should be located about 120 degrees apart in longitude. In addition to the Goldstone, Calif., site, two other locations had been selected: South Africa and Woomera, Australia.

1960 NASA Authorization, Hearings on H.R. 6512, p. 295.

April 9

At a press conference in Washington, D.C., NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan announced that seven pilots had been selected for the Mercury program. They were Lt. Cdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Navy; Capt. Virgil I. Grissom, Air Force; Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., Marines; Lt. Malcolm Scott Carpenter, Navy; Lt. Cdr. Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Navy; Capt. Donald K. Slayton, Air Force; and Capt. Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., Air Force.

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Meeting with the Astronauts, Project Mercury, Man-in-Space Program, Hearings, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959).

April 9-28

Members of the new Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight were nominated by the Ames, Lewis, and Langley Research Centers, the High Speed Flight Station (HSFS) (later Flight Research Center), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the Office of Space Flight Development OSFD), and the Office of Aeronautical and Space Research (OASR). They were: Alfred J. Eggers, Jr. (Ames); Bruce T. Lundin (Lewis); Laurence K. Loftin, Jr. (Langley); De E. Beeler (HSFS); Harris M. Schurmeier (JPL); Maxime A. Faget (STG) ; George M. Low of NASA Headquarters OSFD) ; and Milton B. Ames, Jr. (part-time) (OASR).

Memoranda, Ames, Lewis, and Langley Research Centers to NASA Headquarters, "Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight," April 9 and 17, 1959; High Speed Flight Station to NASA Headquarters, "Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight," April 28, 1959; letter, W. H. Pickering, Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to Dr. J. W. Crowley, Director of Aeronautical and Space Research, NASA, April 13, 1959; memorandum, Abe Silverstein, Director of Space Flight Development, to Director of Aeronautical and Space Research, "Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight," April 13, 1959.

April 15

In response to a request by the DOD-NASA) Saturn Ad Hoc Committee, the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) sent a supplement to the "Saturn System Study" to the Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA describing the use of Titan for Saturn upper stages. On May 19, Roy W. Johnson, ARPA Director, notified AOMC that the Saturn second stage would be the first stage of the Titan. After discussions by ARPA, AOMC, Air Force, and Martin Company personnel, ARPA authorized AOMC to enter into direct contracts for modification and procurement of Titan hardware, and on July 24 the appropriate government offices were told by Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) to conclude letter contracts with Aerojet-General Corporation and The Martin Company. Five days later, ARPA ordered all AOMC Saturn second-stage effort suspended. Johnson later testified that Herbert F. York, DOD Director of Defense Research and Engineering, had informed him: "I have decided to cancel the Saturn program on the grounds that there is no military justification therefore, on the grounds that any military requirement can be accommodated by Titan-C as proposed by the Air Force [Titan-C was a booster, not yet developed, of lower thrust than the Saturn and intended for use in the Dyna-Soar program], and on the ground that by the cancellation the Defense Department will be in a position to terminate the costly operation being conducted at ABMA." Johnson testified that he had been ready to concur in the cancellation of the Saturn program if it were established that the Titan G could be developed for about 75 percent of the cost of Saturn and if the Titan C could accomplish the military missions projected for the next ten years. York then appointed a Booster Evaluation Committee which convened on September 16.

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, To Amend the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Hearings, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), pp. 408, 412, 413; Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, pp. 171, 172, 173.

April 24

Testifying before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Maj. Gen. Bernard A. Schriever, Commander of the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, stated that all three military services should be studying the possibility of a base on the moon. Up to that point, he felt, all such studies had been "in the blue thinking."

U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Investigation of Governmental Organization for Space Activities, Hearings, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), p. 483.

May 1

The Army Ordnance Missile Command submitted to NASA a report entitled "Preliminary Study of an Unmanned Lunar Soft Landing Vehicle," recommending the use of the Saturn booster.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 168.

May 1

STG was transferred to the authority of the newly formed Goddard Space Flight Center but remained based at Langley Field, Va.

Memorandum, T. E. Jenkins to Assistant Directors and Division Chiefs, Goddard Space Flight Center, "Organization and Functions of the Goddard Space Flight Center," May 1, 1959, with attachment: Abe Silverstein, Director of Space Flight Development, "Organization of Activities of Goddard Space Flight Center," May 1, 1959.

May 3

The first Rocketdyne H-1 engine for the Saturn arrived at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA ). The H-1 engine was installed in the ABMA test stand on May 7, first test-fired on May 21, and fired for 80 seconds on May 29. The first long-duration firing - 151.03 seconds - was on June 2.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 168.

May 9

Milton W. Rosen of NASA Headquarters proposed a plan for obtaining high-resolution photographs of the moon. A three-stage Vega would place the payload within a 500-mile diameter circle on the lunar surface. A stabilized retrorocket fired at 500 miles above the moon would slow the instrument package sufficiently to permit 20 photographs to be transmitted at a rate of one picture per minute. A radio altimeter could be used to index the height at which each picture was taken. The camera system, developed by the Eastman Kodak Company for the Air Force, would be available within the year. The alternative approach of using direct television appeared less attractive because the resolution of the television system was at least an order of magnitude lower than the comparable photographic system. Because of the difficulty in placing an instrument package in a close lunar orbit, photographs taken by a vehicle orbiting the moon, including those taken of the far side and recorded on magnetic tape for later transmission, would probably have low resolution owing to the distance from the lunar surface. On June 12, Rosen described a new television system which could be used for early attempts at lunar photography. The system, which would be available within a year, would relay pictures comparable to that of the Eastman Kodak camera system.

Memoranda, Rosen to A. Silverstein, "Lunar Photography," May 9, 1959; Rosen to Silverstein, "Lunar Photography, Revisions to Memorandum of May 9, 1959," June 12, 1959.

May 25-26

The first meeting of the Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight was held at NASA Headquarters. Members of the Committee attending were: Harry J. Goett, Chairman; Milton B. Ames, Jr. (part-time); De E. Beeler; Alfred J. Eggers, Jr.; Maxime A. Faget; Laurence K. Loftin, Jr.; George M. Low; Bruce T. Lundin; and Harris M. Schurmeier. Observers were John H. Disher, Robert M. Crane, Warren J. North, Milton W. Rosen (part-time), and H. Kurt Strass.

The purpose of the Committee was to take a long-term look at man-in-space problems, leading eventually to recommendations on future missions and on broad aspects of Center research programs to ensure that the Centers were providing proper information. Committee investigations would range beyond Mercury and Dyna-Soar but would not be overly concerned with specific vehicular configurations. The Committee would report directly to the Office of Aeronautical and Space Research.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, May 25-26, 1959, pp. 1-2.

May 25-26

The national booster program, Dyna-Soar, and Project Mercury were discussed by the Research Steering Committee. Members also presented reviews of Center programs related to manned space flight. Maxime A. Faget of STG endorsed lunar exploration as the present goal of the Committee although recognizing the end objective as manned interplanetary travel. George M. Low of NASA Headquarters recommended that the Committee:

Adopt the lunar landing mission as its long-range objective.
Investigate vehicle staging so that Saturn could be used for manned lunar landings without complete reliance on Nova.
Make a study of whether parachute or airport landing techniques should be emphasized.
Consider nuclear rocket propulsion possibilities for space flight.
Attach importance to research on auxiliary power plants such as hydrogen-oxygen systems.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, May 25-26, 1959, pp. 3-10.

May 25-26

Tentative manned space flight priorities were established by the Research Steering Committee: Project Mercury, ballistic probes, environmental satellite, maneuverable manned satellite, manned space flight laboratory, lunar reconnaissance satellite, lunar landing, Mars Venus reconnaissance, and Mars-Venus landing. The Committee agreed that each NASA Center should study a manned lunar landing and return mission, the study to include the type of propulsion, vehicle configuration, structure, anti guidance requirements. Such a mission was an end objective; it did not have to be supported on the basis that it would lead to a more useful end. It would also focus attention at the Centers on the problems of true space flight.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, May 25-26, 1959, pp. 10, 11; memorandum, Harry J. Goett to Ira H. Abbott, Director of Aeronautical and Space Research, "Interim Report on Operations of 'Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight' " July 17. 1959.

May 27

Director Robert R. Gilruth met with members of his STG staff (Paul E. Purser, Charles J. Donlan, James A. Chamberlin, Raymond L. Zavasky, W. Kemble Johnson, Charles W. Mathews, Maxime A. Faget, and Charles H. Zimmeman) and George M. Low from NASA Headquarters to discuss the possibility of an advanced manned spacecraft.

Memorandum, Purser to Gilruth, "Log for the Week of May 25, 1959," p. 2.

June 3

Construction of the first Saturn launch area, Complex 34, began at Cape Canaveral, FIa.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 169.

June 4

At an STG staff meeting, Director Robert R. Gilruth suggested that study should be made of a post-Mercury program in which maneuverable Mercury spacecraft would make land landings in limited areas.

Memorandum, Paul E. Purser to Gilruth, "Log for the Week of June 1, 1959," p. 4.

June 8

The Project Horizon Phase I report was completed. In it, a U.S. manned landing on the moon in 1965 was proposed, to be followed in 1 966 by an operational lunar outpost. Expenditures would average $667 million a year from Fiscal Year 1960 through Fiscal Year 1968. The guiding philosophy of the report was one of "enlightened conservatism of technical approach." On July 28 the report was presented to the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff. In discussion following the presentations, several conclusions emerged:

The earliest possible U.S, manned lunar outpost was vital to American interests.
Project Horizon was the earliest feasible means by which the United States could achieve that objective.
The extensive and in many cases exclusive Army capabilities in this field should be used in the nation's service, regardless of who would have the responsibility for the lunar outpost.
The general reception accorded U.S. Army proposals of space operations had not been uniformly enthusiastic.
The source of the proposal should not be allowed to prejudice the reception of the proposal.

For these reasons, it was decided that the report should be recast to eliminate any U.S. Army organization to manage the lunar operation, at the same time deleting all possible military implications and inferences and emphasizing the scientific and inherently peaceful intent of the United States in its space operations. The report was accordingly revised, leaving the time frame intact, and on September 4 was submitted to the Secretary of the Army. It was later forwarded to the Secretary of Defense and (after the transfer of the von Braun team to NASA) to the NASA Administrator.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, pp. 169, 172.

June 18

NASA authorized $150,000 for Army Ordnance Missile Command studies of a lunar exploration program based on Saturn-boosted systems. To be included were circumlunar vehicles, unmanned and manned; close lunar orbiters; hard lunar impacts; and soft lunar landings with stationary or roving payloads.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 170.

June 25-26

At the second meeting of the Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, held at the Ames Research Center, members presented reports on intermediate steps toward a manned lunar landing and return.

Bruce T. Lundin of the Lewis Research Center reported to members on propulsion requirements for various modes of manned lunar landing missions, assuming a 10,000-pound spacecraft to be returned to earth. Lewis mission studies had shown that a launch into lunar orbit would require less energy than a direct approach and would be more desirable for guidance, landing reliability, etc. From a 500,000foot orbit around the moon, the spacecraft would descend in free fall, applying a constant-thrust decelerating impulse at the last moment before landing. Research would be needed to develop the variable-thrust rocket engine to be used in the descent. With the use of liquid hydrogen, the launch weight of the lunar rocket and spacecraft would be 10 to 11 million pounds.

If the earth orbit rendezvous concept were adopted, using Saturns to launch Centaurs for the lunar landing mission, nine Saturns would be needed to boost nine Centaurs into earth orbit for assembly to attain escape from earth orbit; three more Centaurs would have to be launched into earth orbit for assembly to accomplish the lunar orbit and landing; two additional Centaurs would be needed to provide for return and for the payload. The total of 14 Saturn/Centaur launches would be a formidable problem, not even considering the numerous complex rendezvous and assembly operations in space. The entire operation would have to be accomplished within two to three weeks because of the limitations on storing cryogenics in space.

Research would be needed on propulsion problems; on reliable, precisely controlled, variable-thrust engines for lunar landing; on a high-performance, storable-propellant, moon-takeoff engine; on auxiliary power systems; and on ground operations. Reduction of the ultimate payload weight was extremely vital, and more accurate information was needed on power and weight requirements for life support, capsule weight and size, and the exact scientific payload.

Lundin felt that a decision on whether to use the Saturn or Nova approach should be made as soon as possible since it would affect research and intermediate steps to be taken.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, June 25-26, 1959, pp. 2-5.

June 25-26

During the Research Steering Committee meeting, John H. Disher of NASA Headquarters discussed the lunar mission studies under way at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA):

ABMA had a large and competent group concentrating primarily on the lunar mission.
Velocity and thrust requirements agreed well with those determined by the Lewis Research Center.
ABMA was recommending a Saturn C-2 launch vehicle having a 2million-pound-thrust first stage, a 1-million-pound-thrust second stage, and a 200,000-pound-thrust third stage. Another launch vehicle six times larger than the Saturn C-2 was also being studied for direct ascent.
ABMA was interested in obtaining a NASA contract to study the Saturn C-2 vehicle.
Two approaches were being studied for the manned lunar landing, one refueling in earth orbit and the other assembling separately landed parcels on the moon for the return flight (lunar surface rendezvous).
The ABMA schedule dates were unrealistic considering present funding and problem complexities.
Orbit control and landing point control experiments were urgently needed, possibly with Mercury-type capsules.
Large-scale controlled reentry experiments at lunar reentry velocity should begin as soon as possible.

The Committee agreed that studies should continue on the direct ascent versus earth orbital assembly and that Lewis should become more familiar with ABMA studies, while concentrating on the Nova approach. It was also suggested that the High Speed Flight Station look into the operational problems of assembly in orbit.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, June 25-26, 1959, pp. 5-6.

June 25-26

A report on a projected manned space station was made to the Research Steering Committee by Laurence K. Loftin, Jr., of the Langley Research Center. In discussion, Chairman Harry J. Goett expressed his opinion that consideration of a space laboratory ought to be an integral and coordinated part of the planning for the lunar landing mission. George M. Low of NASA Headquarters warned that care should be exercised to assure that each step taken toward the goal of a lunar landing was significant, since the number of steps that could be funded was extremely limited.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, June 25 26, 1959,

June 25-26

Alfred J. Eggers, Jr., of the Ames Research Center told the members of the Research Steering Committee of studies on radiation belts, graze and orbit maneuvers on reentry, heat transfer, structural concepts and requirements, lift over drag considerations, and guidance systems which affected various aspects of the manned lunar mission. Eggers said that Ames had concentrated on a landing maneuver involving a reentry approach over one of the poles to lessen radiation exposure, a graze through the outer edge of the atmosphere to begin an earth orbit, and finally reentry and landing.

Manned steps beyond Mercury, he said, should be:

The use of the Vega or Centaur boosters to put a manned satellite into an orbit with a 50,000-mile apogee, carrying two men for two weeks to gain experience beyond Mercury with reentry techniques and extended manned space flight applicable to the lunar mission.
The use of the Saturn booster in manned flight to the vicinity of the moon and return, putting two men in a highly elliptical orbit, with an apogee of up to 250,000 miles or even one pass around the moon before heading back to earth. The flight time would be about one week, providing experience similar to that of the manned lunar mission, including hyperbolic reentry to earth. A close, direct view of the lunar surface by man would support lunar landing.
The use of the Nova or clustered-engine Saturn booster for a lunar landing and return. Two men would carry out this one-week to one-month expedition.

Eggers recommended that the same type of return capsule be used in all these missions to build up reliability and experience with the spacecraft before the lunar landing mission. Unmanned space probes should also be used to investigate certain factors related to the success of the lunar mission: polar radiation, lunar radiation, grazing reentry, lunar surface characteristics, and micrometeoroids.

The Committee unanimously agreed that investigation of a grazing reentry was necessary and would require an unmanned space probe. NASA Centers would look into experiments that might be launched by a Scout or Thor-Delta booster. Committee members would check to be sure that the basic programs in the Office of Space Flight Development space sciences programs covered the requirements for investigation of the other factors of special interest to the manned lunar mission.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, June 25-26, 1959, pp. 6-7.

June 25-26

Members of the Research Steering Committee determined the study and research areas which would require emphasis for manned flight to and from the moon and for intermediate flight steps:

Lunar mission studies:: More work would be required on determining "end" vehicle weight, life-support requirements, scientific payload requirements and objectives, exploring the possibility of using the "end" vehicle configuration in intermediate flight steps, booster requirement analysis, and Mercury stretch-out capabilities.
Direct ascent versus assembly in earth orbit:: Lewis to continue Nova studies and become familiar with Army ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) work on the rendezvous approach, High Speed Flight Station (HSFS) to study operational requirements for assembly in earth orbit, and recommended for ABMA study of assembly in earth orbit.
A reliable, precisely controlled, variable-thrust engine for lunar landing. A storable propellant lunar takeoff rocket. Storage of cryogenics in space (emissivity, absorptivity, etc.).
Structural work:: A study of molybdenum coating life at higher temperatures, a contract for test specimens to expedite NASA research, emphasis on research on ablating materials suitable for low heating rates, and study of combination radiation and ablation techniques. Life support ( short term up to one month : contract study proposed.
Space suit development:: HSFS to study desired specifications.
Guidance system studies focused on the lunar mission:: Development of light but sophisticated onboard computers, data-smoothing techniques and effects on midcourse guidance accuracies, effects of gravity anomalies on initial instrumentation, terminal guidance system including retrothrust programming, and error analysis and energy requirements for the entry corridor on return to earth.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, June 25-26, 1959, attached summary pages 1-2.

During the Month

A report entitled "Recoverable Interplanetary Space Probe" was issued at the direction of C. Stark Draper, Director of the Instrumentation Laboratory, MIT. Several organizations had participated in this study, which began in 1957.

Interview with Milton B. Trageser, Instrumentation Laboratory, MIT, April 27, 1966.

Summer

Members of STG - including H. Kurt Strass, Robert L. O'Neal, Lawrence W. Enderson, Jr., and David C. Grana - and Thomas E. Dolan of Chance Vought Corporation worked on advanced design concepts of earth orbital and lunar missions. The goal was a manned lunar landing within ten years, rather than an advanced Mercury program.

Interview with H. Kurt Strass, November 30, 1966.

July 23

Advanced Research Projects Agency representatives visited Army Ordnance Missile Command to discuss studies of a Maneuverable Recoverable Space Vehicle (MRS. V). The general purpose was to identify U.S. space needs before 1970 which might require vehicles of this type.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 171.

August 1

The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) directed the Army Ordnance Missile Command to proceed with the static firing of the first Saturn vehicle, the test booster SA-T, in early calendar year 1960 in accordance with the $70 million program and not to accelerate for a January 1960 firing. ARPA asked to be informed of the scheduled firing date.

David S. Akens, Paul K. Freiwirth, and Helen T. Wells, History of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center from July 1 to December 31, 1960 (MHM-2, 1961), Vol. 1, Appendix D, p. 23.

August 12

The STG New Projects Panel (proposed by H. Kurt Strass in June) held its first meeting to discuss NASA's future manned space program. Present were Strass, Chairman, Alan B. Kehlet, William S. Augerson, Jack Funk, and other STG members. Strass summarized the philosophy behind NASA's proposed objective of a manned lunar landing : maximum utilization of existing technology in a series of carefully chosen projects, each of which would provide a firm basis for the next step and be a significant advance in its own right. Each project would be an intermediate practical goal to focus attention on the problems and guide new technological developments. The Panel considered the following projects essential to the goal of lunar landing and return : a detailed investigation of the earth's radiation belts, recovery of radiation belt probes carrying biological specimens, an environmental satellite three men for two weeks, lunar probes, lunar reconnaissance (both manned and automatic), and lunar landing beacons and stores. The Panel recommended that work start immediately on an advanced recovery capsule that would incorporate the following features: reentry at near lunar return velocity, maneuverability both in space and in the atmosphere, and a parachute recovery for an earth landing. Kehlet was assigned to begin a program leading to a "second-generation" space capsule with a three-man capacity, space and atmospheric maneuverability, advanced abort devices, potential for near lunar return velocity, and advanced recovery techniques.

Memorandum, Strass to Chief, Flight Systems Division, "First Meeting of New Projects Panel," August 17, 1959.

August 18

At its second meeting, STG's New Projects Panel decided that the first major project to be investigated would be the second-generation reentry capsule. The Panel was presented a chart outlining the proposed sequence of events for manned lunar mission system analysis. The target date for a manned lunar landing was 1970.

Memorandum, H. Kurt Strass to Chief, Flight Systems Division, "Second Meeting of the New Projects Panel," August 26, 1959.

August 31

A House Committee Staff Report stated that lunar flights would originate from space platforms in earth orbit according to current planning. The final decision on the method to be used, "which must be made soon," would take into consideration the difficulty of space rendezvous between a space platform and space vehicles as compared with the difficulty of developing single vehicles large enough to proceed directly from the earth to the moon.

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Space Propulsion, Staff Report, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), p. 2.

August 31

Egress after lunar landing

The artist's concepts on this page were used in a presentation by M. W. Rosen and F. C. Schwenk at the Tenth International Astronautical Congress in London, England, August 31, 1959. (1) Astronauts egress from the spacecraft and prepare to investigate the lunar surface.

Lunar liftoff

(2) The takeoff from the moon.

Reentry concept

(3) The reentry vehicle starts to enter the atmosphere while the jettisoned propulsion unit, shown more clearly in the lunar takeoff concept, is at left.

In a paper presented to the Tenth International Astronautical Congress in London, England, Milton W. Rosen and F. Carl Schwenk described a five-stage launch vehicle for manned lunar exploration. The direct ascent technique would be used in landing an 8000-pound spacecraft on the moon and returning it to earth. The F-1 engine would power both the booster and second stage of the launch vehicle. The concepts presented in the paper had been developed between February and April.

Milton W. Rosen and F. Carl Schwenk, "A Rocket for Manned Lunar Exploration," Proceedings of the Tenth International Astronautical Congress, London, 1959 (1960).

September 1

McDonnell Aircraft Corporation reported to NASA the results of several company-funded studies of follow-on experiments using Mercury spacecraft with heatshields modified to withstand lunar reentry conditions. In one experiment, a Centaur booster would accelerate a Mercury spacecraft plus a third stage into an eccentric earth orbit with an apogee of about 1,200 miles, so that the capsule would reenter at an angle similar to that required for reentry from lunar orbit. The third stage would then fire, boosting the spacecraft to a speed of 36,000 feet per second as it reentered the atmosphere.

McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, Project Mercury Capsules, Follow On Experiments, Engineering Report 6919 (September 1, 1959), p. 6.0-1.

September 12

The Soviet Union launched Lunik II, total payload weight 858.4 pounds. After a flight of about 35 hours, covering a distance of 236,875 miles, Lunik II became the first man-made object to impact on the moon. Three radio transmitters sent back signals until the crash landing.

Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 63.

September 16-18

The ARPA-NASA Booster Evaluation Committee appointed by Herbert F. York, DOD Director of Defense Research and Engineering, April 15, 1959, convened to review plans for advanced launch vehicles. A comparison of the Saturn (C-1) and the Titan-C boosters showed that the Saturn, with its substantially greater payload capacity, would be ready at least one year sooner than the Titan-C. In addition, the cost estimates on the Titan-C proved to be unrealistic. On the basis of the Advanced Research Projects Agency presentation, York agreed to continue the Saturn program but, following the meeting, began negotiations with NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan to transfer the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (and, therefore, Saturn ) to NASA.

To Amend the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Hearings, p. 410; Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 175.

September 28

At the third meeting of STG's New Projects Panel, Alan B. Kehlet presented suggestions for the multimanned reentry capsule. A lenticular-shaped vehicle was proposed, to ferry three occupants safely to earth from a lunar mission at a velocity of about 36,000 feet per second.

Memorandum, H. Kurt Strass to Chief, Flight Systems Division, "Third Meeting of New Projects Panel," October 1, 1959.

During the month

A study of the guidance and control design for a variety of space missions began at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory under a NASA contract.

Interview with Milton B. Trageser, Instrumentation Laboratory, MIT, April 27, 1966.

October 4

The Soviet Union launched Lunik III toward the moon on the second anniversary of Sputnik I. The spacecraft, called an "Automatic Interplanetary Station," carried 345 pounds of instruments including cameras. On October 7, a signal from earth activated the cameras, which photographed about 70 percent of the hidden side of the moon in 40 minutes. The photographs were transmitted to Soviet stations on October 18 and released to the world press on October 27. First analyses of the photographs by Soviet astronomers seemed to indicate that the hidden side of the lunar surface had fewer craters than its visible face.

New York Times, October 27, 1959; Instruments and Spacecraft, pp. 69-71.

October 21

After a meeting with officials concerned with the missile and space program, President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced that he intended to transfer to NASA control the Army Ballistic Missile Agency's Development Operations Division personnel and facilities. The transfer, subject to congressional approval, would include the Saturn development program.

New York Times, October 22, 1959; Emme, Aeronautics and Astronautics, p. 114.

November 2

At an STG meeting, it was decided to begin planning of advanced spacecraft systems. Participants in the meeting were Director Robert R. Gilruth, Paul E. Purser, Charles J. Donlan, Maxime A. Faget, Robert O. Piland, H. Kurt Strass, Charles W. Mathews, John D. Hodge, James A. Chamberlin, and Caldwell C. Johnson. Three primary assignments were made:

The preliminary design of a multi-man (probably three-man) capsule for a circumlunar mission, with particular attention to the use of the capsule as a temporary space laboratory, lunar landing cabin, and deep-space probe;
Mission analysis studies to establish exit and reentry corridors, weights, and propulsion requirements;
Test program planning to decide on the number and purpose of launches.

A panel composed of Piland, Strass, Hodge, and Johnson was appointed to carry out these assignments. The ground rules given to the panel, which was responsible to the Director's office, were:

Use personnel necessary to accomplish the work, but do not slow down Mercury;
As many as 30 persons (10 percent of the STG staff) might possibly be used in the future.

Memorandum, Purser to Gilruth, "Log for the Week of November 2, 1959."

November 19

In a memorandum to the members of the Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, Chairman Harry J. Goett discussed the increased importance of the weight of the "end vehicle" in the lunar landing mission. This was to be an item on the agenda of the third meeting of the Committee, to be held in early December. Abe Silverstein, Director of the NASA Office of Space Flight Development, had recently mentioned to Goett that a decision would be made within the next few weeks on the configuration of successive generations of Saturn, primarily the upper stages, Silverstein and Goett had discussed the Committee's views on a lunar spacecraft. Goett expressed the hope in the memorandum that members of the Committee would have some specific ideas at their forthcoming meeting about the probable weight of the spacecraft.

In addition, Goett informed the Committee that the Vega had been eliminated as a possible booster for use in one of the intermediate steps leading to the lunar mission. The primary possibility for the earth satellite mission was now the first-generation Saturn and for the lunar flight the second-generation Saturn.

Memorandum, Goett, Chairman, to the Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, "Estimate of Weight of 'End Vehicle' for Lunar Soft Landing and Return Mission To Aid in Choice of Booster Configuration," November 19, 1959.

November 26

An intended lunar probe launched from the Atlantic Missile Range by an Atlas-Able booster disintegrated about 45 seconds later when the protective sheath covering the payload detached prematurely. The probe was sponsored by NASA, developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and launched by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division.

Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 81; New York Times, November 28, 1959.

November 27

While awaiting the formal transfer of the Saturn program, NASA formed a study group to recommend upper-stage configurations. Membership was to include the DOD Director of Defense Research and Engineering and personnel from NASA, Advanced Research Projects Agency, Army Ballistic Missile Agency, and the Air Force. This group was later known both as the Saturn Vehicle Team and the Silverstein Committee (for Abe Silverstein, Chairman).

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 179.

December 1

Twelve nations signed a treaty making the Antarctic continent a preserve for scientific research, immune from political and military strife. Signatories were Argentina, Australia, Great Britain, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, Belgium, Japan, South Africa, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Legal experts have suggested that the Antarctic Treaty provided a precedent for similar agreements demilitarizing the moon and other bodies in space.

U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Legal Problems of Space Exploration: A Symposium, 87th Congress, 1st Session (1961), pp. 1297-1303.

December 6

The initial plan for transferring the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and Saturn to NASA was drafted. It was submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower on December 1 1 and was signed by Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker and Secretary of the Air Force James H. Douglas on December 16 and by NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan on December 17.

David S. Akens, Historical Origins of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC Historical Monograph No. 1, 1960), p. 73, Appendix C, approval page.

December 7

The Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA and NASA requested the Army Ordnance Missile Command AOMC to prepare an engineering and cost study for a new Saturn configuration with a second stage of four 20,000-pound-thrust liquid-hydrogen and liquid-oxygen engines (later called the S-IV stage) and a modified Centaur third stage using two of these engines later designated the S-V stage). AOMC was also asked to indicate what significant program improvements or acceleration could be achieved with an increase in Fiscal Year 1960 funding if provided late in the fiscal year. The study was sent to ARPA and NASA by AOMC on December 10 and formally submitted on December 28.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. l80.

December 8-9

At the third meeting of the Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight held at Langley Research Center, H. Kurt Strass reported on STG's thinking on steps leading to manned lunar flight and on a particular capsule-laboratory spacecraft. The project steps beyond Mercury were: radiation experiments, minimum space and reentry vehicle (manned), temporary space laboratory (manned), lunar data acquisition (unmanned), lunar circumnavigation or lunar orbiter (unmanned), lunar base supply (unmanned), and manned lunar landing. STG felt that the lunar mission should have a three-man crew. A configuration was described in which a cylindrical laboratory was attached to the reentry capsule. This laboratory would provide working space for the astronauts until it was jettisoned before reentry. Preliminary estimates put the capsule weight at about 6,600 pounds and the capsule plus laboratory at about 10,000 pounds.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, December 8-9, 1959, p. 3.

December 8-9

H. H. Koelle told members of the Research Steering Committee of mission possibilities being considered at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. These included an engineering satellite, an orbital return capsule, a space crew training vehicle, a manned orbital laboratory, a manned circumlunar vehicle, and a manned lunar landing and return vehicle. He described the current Saturn configurations, including the "C" launch vehicle to be operational in 1967. The Saturn C (larger than the C-1) would be able to boost 85,000 pounds into earth orbit and 25,000 pounds into an escape trajectory.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, December 8-9, 1959, p. 4.

December 8-9

Several possible configurations for a manned lunar landing by direct ascent being studied at the Lewis Research Center were described to the Research Steering Committee by Seymour C. Himmel. A six-stage launch vehicle would be required, the first three stages to boost the spacecraft to orbital speed, the fourth to attain escape speed, the fifth for lunar landing, and the sixth for lunar escape with a 10,000-pound return vehicle. One representative configuration had an overall height of 320 feet. H. H. Koelle of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency argued that orbital assembly or refueling in orbit [earth orbit rendezvous] was more flexible, more straightforward, and easier than the direct ascent approach. Bruce T. Lundin of the Lewis Research Center felt that refueling in orbit presented formidable problems since handling liquid hydrogen on the ground was still not satisfactory. Lewis was working on handling cryogenic fuels in space.

Minutes, Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight, December 8-9, 1959, pp. 4-5.

December 12

The General Assembly of the United Nations unanimously approved Resolution 1472 (XIV), establishing the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to replace the Ad Hoc Committee. There were no meetings of the Committee until November 27, 1961, because of failure to agree on the composition of the Committee.

Legal Problems of Space Exploration, pp. 1274-1275.

December 21

A guideline letter was sent to William H. Pickering, Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), from Abe Silverstein, Director of NASA's Office of Space Flight Development, outlining a program of five lunar spacecraft flights, intended primarily to obtain information on the lunar surface. JPL was requested to conduct tradeoff studies on spacecraft design and mission. The scientific objective would be to "acquire and transmit a number of images of the lunar surface." In addition, JPL was asked to "evaluate the probability of useful data return from a survivable package incorporating . . . a lunar seismometer of the type . . . being developed for NASA." This letter provided the formal basis for what was subsequently the Ranger program.

U.S. Congress, House, Subcommittee on NASA Oversight of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, Investigation of Project Ranger, Hearings, 88th Congress, 2nd Session (1964), p. 56.

December 29

In a memorandum to Don R. Ostrander, Director of Office of Launch Vehicle Programs, and Abe Silverstein, Director of Office of Space Flight Programs, NASA Associate Administrator Richard E. Horner described the proposed Space Exploration Program Council, which would be concerned primarily with program development and implementation. The Council would be made up of the Directors of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Goddard Space Flight Center, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, the Office of Space Flight Programs, and the Office of Launch Vehicle Programs. Horner would be Chairman of the Council which would have its first meeting on January 28-29, 1960 [later changed to February 10-11, 1960].

Memorandum, Horner to Ostrander and Silverstein, December 29, 1959.

December 31

NASA accepted the recommendations of the Saturn Vehicle Evaluation Committee Silverstein Committee on the Saturn C-1 configuration and on a long-range Saturn program. A research and development plan of ten vehicles was approved. The C-1 configuration would include the S-1 stage (eight H-1 engines clustered, producing 1.5 million pounds of thrust), the S-IV stage (four engines producing 80,000 pounds of thrust), and the S-V stage two engines producing 40,000 pounds of thrust .

Akens et al., History of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center from July 1 to December 31, 1960, Vol. 1, Appendix D, p. 33; Saturn Illustrated Chronology, pp. 8-10.

1959-1960

For the first time, attention was focused on the lunar orbit rendezvous scheme at Langley Research Center during studies in support of the Langley Research Center Lunar Mission Steering Group. This committee was active in 1959 and 1960. In 1960, the lunar trajectory group of the Theoretical Mechanics Division prepared information for presentation to the Lunar Mission Steering Group and for circulation throughout the laboratory to stimulate interest in problems related to the lunar mission.

John D. Bird, "Short History of the Development of the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous Plan at the Langley Research Center," September 6, 1963, unpublished, pp. l-2.

1960

January 14

President Dwight D. Eisenhower directed NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan "to make a study, to be completed at the earliest date practicable, of the possible need for additional funds for the balance of FY 1960 and for FY 1961 to accelerate the super booster program for which your agency recently was given technical and management responsibility."

Letter, President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Dr. T. Keith Glennan, January 14, 1960.

January 28

In testimony before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Richard E. Horner, Associate Administrator of NASA, presented NASA's ten-year plan for 1960-1970. The essential elements had been recommended by the Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight. NASA's Office of Program Planning and Evaluation, headed by Homer J. Stewart, formalized the ten-year plan.

1960:

First launching of a meteorological satellite

First launching of a passive reflector communications satellite

First launching of the Scout vehicle

First launching of the Thor-Delta vehicle

First launching of the Atlas-Agena B (DOD)

First suborbital flight by an astronaut

1961:

First launching of a lunar impact vehicle

First launching of an Atlas-Centaur vehicle

Attainment of orbital manned space flight, Project Mercury

1962:

First launching of a probe to the vicinity of Venus or Mars

1963:

First launching of a two-stage Saturn

1963-1964:

First launching of an unmanned vehicle for controlled landing on the moon

First launching of an orbiting astronomical and radio astronomical laboratory

1964:

First launching of an unmanned circumlunar vehicle and return to earth

First reconnaissance of Mars or Venus, or both, by an unmanned vehicle

1965-1967:

First launching in a program leading to manned circumlunar flight and to a permanent near-earth space station

Beyond 1970:

Manned lunar landing and return

On February 19, NASA officials again presented the ten-year timetable to the House Committee. A lunar soft landing with a mobile vehicle had been added for 1965. On March 28, NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan described the plan to the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. He estimated the cost of the program to be more than $1 billion in Fiscal Year 1962 and at least $1.5 billion annually over the next five years, for a total cost of $12 to $15 billion.

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Review of the Space Program, Part I, Hearings, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), p. 189; U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, 1961 NASA Authorization, Hearings on H.R. 10246, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), p. 176; U.S. Congress, Senate, NASA Authorization Subcommittee of the Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Hearings on H.R. 10809, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), pp. 21-22; "Highlights of GSFC Program - Mr. Goett," NASA Staff Conference, Monterey, Calif., March 3-5, 1960; Rosholt, An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963, pp. 130-131.

During the Month

The Chance Vought Corporation completed a company-funded, independent, classified study on manned lunar landing and return (MALLAR), under the supervision of Thomas E. Dolan. Booster limitations indicated that earth orbit rendezvous would be necessary. A variety of lunar missions were described, including a two-man, 14-day lunar landing and return. This mission called for an entry vehicle of 6,600 pounds, a mission module of 9,000 pounds, and a lunar landing module of 27,000 pounds. It incorporated the idea of lunar orbit rendezvous though not specifically by name.

Interview with John D. Bird, Langley Research Center, June 20, 1966.

During the Month

At a luncheon in Washington, Abe Silverstein, Director of the Office of Space Flight Programs, suggested the name "Apollo" for the manned space flight program that was to follow Mercury. Others at the luncheon were Don R. Ostrander from NASA Headquarters and Robert R. Gilruth, Maxime A. Faget, and Charles J. Donlan from STG.

Interview with Charles J. Donlan, Langley Research Center, June 20, 1966.

February 1

The Army Ballistic Missile Agency submitted to NASA the study entitled "A Lunar Exploration Program Based Upon Saturn-Boosted Systems." In addition to the subjects specified in the preliminary report of October 1, 1959, it included manned lunar landings.

U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command, A Lunar Exploration Program Based Upon Saturn-Boosted Systems, DV-TR-2-60 (February 1, 1960).

February 10-11

The first meeting of the NASA Space Exploration Council was held at NASA Headquarters. The objective of the Council was "to provide a mechanism for the timely and direct resolution of technical and managerial problems . . . common to all NASA Centers engaged in the space flight program." Present at the meeting were Richard E. Horner, Chairman, Don R. Ostrander, Abe Silverstein, Nicholas E. Golovin, Abraham Hyatt, and Robert L. King Executive Secretary of NASA Headquarters; Wernher von Braun of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency; Harry J. Goett of Goddard Space Flight Center; and William H. Pickering of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Among the agreements were:

Membership of the Council would be expanded to include the Director of Advanced Research Programs.
Meetings would be quarterly.
A Senior Steering Group would be appointed by Homer to resolve policy issues concerning the proposed NASA Headquarters reliability staff. This staff was to develop policies and methods for ensuring the functional reliability of space systems from initial design stage through final launch.
The Council would decide whether to move up the firing date of the first Atlas-Agena B lunar mission from May to February 1961.

Minutes, Space Exploration Program Council Meeting, February 10-11, 1960, pp. 1, 3-5.

February 29

Eleven companies submitted contract proposals for the Saturn second stage (S-IV): Bell Aircraft Corporation; The Boeing Airplane Company; Chrysler Corporation; General Dynamics Corporation, Convair Astronautics Division; Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc.; Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation; Lockheed Aircraft Corporation; The Martin Company; McDonnell Aircraft Corporation; North American Aviation, Inc.; and United Aircraft Corporation.

Akens et al., History of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center from July 1 to December 31, 1960, Vol. 1, Appendix D, p. 41.

March 1

NASA established the Office of Life Sciences Programs with Clark T. Randt as Director. The Office would assist in the fields of biotechnology and basic medical and behavioral sciences. Proposed biological investigations would include work on the effects of space and planetary environments on living organisms, on evidence of extraterrestrial life forms, and on contamination problems. In addition, the Office would arrange grants and contracts and plan a life sciences research center.

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Space Medicine Research, Hearings before the Special Investigating Subcommittee, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), p. 3; U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Life Sciences and Space, Hearings, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), p. 13 ; Mae Mills Link, Space Medicine in Project Mercury (NASA SP-4003, 1965), p. 38.

March 3-5

At a NASA staff conference at Monterey, Calif., officials discussed the advanced manned space flight program, the elements of which had been presented to Congress in January. The Goddard Space Flight Center was asked to define the basic assumptions to be used by all groups in the continuing study of the lunar mission. Some problems already raised were: the type of heatshield needed for reentry and tests required to qualify it, the kind of research and development firings, and conditions that would be encountered in cislunar flight. Members of STG would visit NASA Centers during April to define the tasks and request assistance. STG representatives were directed to maintain contact with the Centers and try to identify gaps in the technology. STG was also assigned the responsibility for preparing a first draft of specifications for a lunar spacecraft.

"Highlights of GSFC Program - Mr. Goett," NASA Staff Conference, Monterey, Calif., March 3-5, 1960.

March 8

STG formulated preliminary guidelines by which an "advanced manned spacecraft and system" would be developed. These guidelines were further refined and elaborated; they were formally presented to NASA Centers during April and May.

STG, "Ground Rules for Manned Lunar Reconnaissance," March 8, 1960.

March 15

The Army Ballistic Missile Agency's Development Operations Division and the Saturn program were transferred to NASA after the expiration of the 60-day limit for congressional action on the President's proposal of January 14. [The President's decision had been made on October 21, 1959.] By Executive Order, the President named the facilities the "George C. Marshall Space Flight Center." Formal transfer took place on July 1.

Akens, Historical Origins of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, pp. 76-7.

March 28

Saturn C-1 static fired

A cloud of smoke mushroomed from the base of the static firing facility at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., when two of the eight H-1 engines of the Saturn C-1 lainch vehicle's first stage were tested for the first time.

Two of the eight H-1 engines of the Saturn C-1 first stage were successfully static-fired for approximately eight seconds. The test, conducted at Redstone Arsenal, was designated SAT-01 - the first live firing of the Saturn test booster SA-T).

Saturn Illustrated Chronology, p. 11.

April 1-May 3

Members of STG presented guidelines for an advanced manned spacecraft program to NASA Centers to enlist research assistance in formulating spacecraft and mission design.

To open these discussions, Director Robert R. Gilruth summarized the guidelines: manned lunar reconnaissance with a lunar mission module, corollary earth orbital missions with a lunar mission module and with a space laboratory, compatibility with the Saturn C-1 or C-2 boosters (weight not to exceed 15,000 pounds for a complete lunar spacecraft and 25,000 pounds for an earth orbiting spacecraft), 14-day flight time, safe recovery from aborts, ground and water landing and avoidance of local hazards, point (ten square-mile) landing, 72-hour postlanding survival period, auxiliary propulsion for maneuvering in space, a "shirtsleeve" environment, a three-man crew, radiation protection, primary command of mission on board, and expanded communications and tracking facilities. In addition, a tentative time schedule was included, projecting multiman earth orbit qualification flights beginning near the end of the first quarter of calendar year 1966.

STG, "Guidelines for Advanced Manned Space Vehicle Program," June 1960, pp. ii, 1-5.

April 1-May 3

STG's Robert O. Piland, during briefings at NASA Centers, presented a detailed description of the guidelines for missions, propulsion, and flight time in the advanced manned spacecraft program:

The spacecraft should be capable ultimately of manned circumlunar reconnaissance. As a logical intermediate step toward future goals of lunar and planetary landing many of the problems associated with manned circumlunar flight would need to be solved.
The lunar spacecraft should be capable of earth orbit missions for initial evaluation and training. The reentry component of this spacecraft should be capable of missions in conjunction with space laboratories or space stations. To accomplish lunar reconnaissance before a manned landing, it would be desirable to approach the moon closer than several thousand miles. Fifty miles appeared to be a reasonable first target for study purposes.
The spacecraft should be designed to be compatible with the Saturn C-1 or C-2 boosters for the lunar mission. The multiman advanced spacecraft should not weigh more than 15,000 pounds including auxiliary propulsion and attaching structure.
A flight-time capability of the spacecraft for 14 days without resupply should be possible. Considerable study of storage batteries, fuel cells, auxiliary power units, and solar batteries would be necessary. Items considered included the percentage of the power units to be placed in the "caboose" (space laboratory), preference for the use of storage batteries for both power and radiation shielding, and redundancy for reliability by using two different types of systems versus two of the same system.

STG, "Guidelines for Advanced Manned Space Vehicle Program," June 1960, pp. 6-14.

April 1-May 3

In discussing the advanced manned spacecraft program at NASA Centers, Maxime A. Faget of STG detailed the guidelines for aborted missions and landing:

The spacecraft must have a capability of safe crew recovery from aborted missions at any speed up to the maximum velocity, this capability to be independent of the launch propulsion system.
A satisfactory landing by the spacecraft on both water and land, avoiding local hazards in the recovery area, was necessary. This requirement was predicated on two considerations: emergency conditions or navigation errors could force a landing on either water or land; and accessibility for recovery and the relative superiority of land versus water landing would depend on local conditions and other factors. The spacecraft should be able to land in a 30-knot wind, be watertight, and be seaworthy under conditions of 10- to 12-foot waves.
Planned landing capability by the spacecraft at one of several previously designated ground surface locations, each approximately 10 square miles in area, would be necessary. Studies were needed to assess the value of impulse maneuvers, guidance quality, and aerodynamic lift over drag during the return from the lunar mission. Faget pointed out that this requirement was far less severe for the earth orbit mission than for the lunar return.
The spacecraft design should provide for crew survival for at least 72 hours after landing. Because of the unpredictability of possible emergency maneuvers, it would be impossible to provide sufficient recovery forces to cover all possible landing locations. The 72-hour requirement would permit mobilization of normally existing facilities and enough time for safe recovery. Locating devices on the spacecraft should perform adequately anywhere in the world.
Auxiliary propulsion should be provided for guidance maneuvers needed to effect a safe return in a launch emergency. Accuracy and capability of the guidance system should be studied to determine auxiliary propulsion requirements. Sufficient reserve propulsion should be included to accommodate corrections for maximum guidance errors. The single system could serve for either guidance maneuvers or escape propulsion requirements.

STG, "Guidelines for Advanced Manned Space Vehicle Program," June 1960, pp. 15-23.

April 1-May 3

Stanley C. White of STG outlined at NASA Centers the guidelines for human factors in the advanced manned spacecraft program:

A "shirtsleeve" spacecraft environment would be necessary because of the long duration of the lunar flight. This would call for a highly reliable pressurized cabin and some means of protection against rapid decompression. Such protection might be provided by a quick-donning pressure suit. Problems of supplying oxygen to the spacecraft; removing carbon dioxide, water vapor, toxic gases, and microorganisms from the capsule atmosphere; basic monitoring instrumentation; and restraint and couch design were all under study. In addition, research would be required on noise and vibration in the spacecraft, nutrition, waste disposal, interior arrangement and displays, and bioinstrumentation.
A minimum crew of three men was specified. Studies had indicated that, for a long-duration mission, multiman crews were necessary and that three was the minimum number required.
The crew should not be subjected to more than a safe radiation dose. Studies had shown that it was not yet possible to shield the crew against a solar flare. Research was indicated on structural materials and equipment for radiation protection, solar-flare prediction, minimum radiation trajectories, and the radiation environment in cislunar space.

STG, "Guidelines for Advanced Manned Space Vehicle Program," June 1960, pp. 24-38.

April 1-May 3

Command and communications guidelines for the advanced manned spacecraft program were listed by STG's Robert G. Chilton at NASA Centers:

Primary command of the mission should be on board. Since a manned spacecraft would necessarily be much more complex and its cost much greater than an unmanned spacecraft, maximum use should be made of the command decision and operational capabilities of the crew. Studies would be needed to determine the extent of these capabilities under routine, urgent, and extreme emergency conditions. Onboard guidance and navigation hardware would include inertial platforms for monitoring insertion guidance, for abort command, and for abort-reentry navigation; optical devices; computers; and displays. Attitude control would require a multimode system.
Communications and ground tracking should be provided throughout the mission except when the spacecraft was behind the moon. Voice contact once per orbit was considered sufficient for orbital missions. For the lunar mission, telemetry would be required only for backup data since the crew would relay periodic voice reports. Television might be desirable for the lunar mission. For ground tracking, a study of the Mercury system would determine whether the network could be modified and relocated to satisfy the close-in requirements of a lunar mission. The midcourse and circumlunar tracking requirements might be met by the deep-space network facilities at Goldstone, Calif., Australia, and South Africa. Both existing and proposed facilities should be studied to ensure that frequencies for all systems could be made compatible to permit use of a single beacon for midcourse and reentry tracking.

STG, "Guidelines for Advanced Manned Space Vehicle Program," June 1960, pp. 39-46.

April 5

John C. Houbolt of the Langley Research Center presented a paper at the National Aeronautical Meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers in New York City in which the problems of rendezvous in space with the minimum expenditure of fuel were considered. To resupply a space station, for example, the best solution appeared to be to launch the ferry rocket into an adjacent orbit. A minimum amount of fuel would then be needed to inject the ferry rocket into the same orbital plane as the space station. Attention was also focused on the wait time before a rendezvous launch.

If launch were made into the correct orbital plane, with subsequent lead or lag correction, wait periods of many days would be necessary, but if launch were made into an incorrect orbital plane with a later plane correction, wait periods of only a day or two would be feasible.

John C. Houbolt, "Considerations of the Rendezvous Problems for Space Vehicles," paper presented at the Society of Automotive Engineers, National Aeronautical Meeting, April 5-8, 1960.

April 6

Four of the eight H-1 engines of the Saturn C-1 first-stage booster were successfully static-fired at Redstone Arsenal for seven seconds.

Saturn Illustrated Chronology, p. 11.

April 9-16

Detailed lunar charts, consisting of 230 photographic sheets, were published by the Air Force and the University of Chicago Press. The atlas, in preparation under Air Force contract since April 1958, was assembled by Gerard P. Kuiper of the Yerkes Observatory.

New York Herald Tribune, April 10, 1960.

April 15

Briefings on the guidelines for the advanced manned spacecraft program were presented by STG representatives at NASA Headquarters.

Memorandum, John H. Disher to Abe Silverstein, May 10, 1960.

April 18

In a memorandum to NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan, Robert L. King, Executive Secretary of the Space Exploration Program Council (SEPC), reported on the status of certain actions taken up at the first meeting of the Council:

Rather than appoint a separate Senior Steering Group to resolve policy problems connected with the reliability program, SEPC itself tentatively would be used. A working committee would be appointed for each major system and would and rely on the SEPC for broad policy guidance,
Proposed rescheduling of the first Atlas-Agena 13 lunar mission for an earlier flight date was abandoned as impractical.

Memorandum, King to Glennan via Richard E. Horner, "SEPC Meeting of February 10-11, 1960 - Status of Actions," April 18, 1960.

April 15

STG members, visiting Moffett Field, Calif., briefed representatives of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Flight Research Center, and Ames Research Center on the advanced manned spacecraft program. Ames representatives then described work at their Center which would be applicable to the program: preliminary design studies of several aerodynamic configurations for reentry from a lunar trajectory, guidance and control requirements studies, potential reentry heating experiments at near-escape velocity, flight simulation, and pilot display and navigation studies. STG asked Ames to investigate heating and aerodynamics on possible lifting capsule configurations. In addition, Ames offered to tailor a payload applicable to the advanced program for a forthcoming Wallops Station launch.

Memoranda, John H. Disher to Abe Silverstein, May 10, 1960; Paul E. Purser to Robert R. Gilruth, "Log for the Week of April 18, 1960."

April 18

Memoranda, John H. Disher to Abe Silverstein, May 10, 1960; Paul E. Purser to Robert R. Gilruth, "Log for the Week of April 18, 1960."

April 21

Members of STG visited the Flight Research Center to be briefed on current effort and planned activities there. Of special interest were possibilities of the Flight Research Center's conducting research on large parachutes in cooperation with Ames Research Center, analytical and simulator studies of pilot control of launch vehicles, and full-scale tests of landing capabilities of low lift over drag configurations.

Memoranda, John H. Disher to Abe Silverstein, May 10, 1960; Paul E. Purser to Robert R. Gilruth, "Log for the Week of April 18, 1960."

April 26

NASA announced the selection of the Douglas Aircraft Company to build the second stage (S-IV) of the Saturn C-1 launch vehicle.

Wall Street Journal, April 27, 1960; Emme, Aeronautics and Astronautics, p. 122.

April 26

NASA announced that Aeronutronic Division of the Ford Motor Company had been selected from 13 bidders for a $3.5 million contract to design and build a 300pound instrumented capsule which would be crash-landed on the surface of the moon. The capsule would be launched by an Atlas-Agena B and would be attached to a larger payload currently under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The larger payload was intended to carry television cameras. When the spacecraft (later named "Ranger") had reached a point 25 miles above the lunar surface, the smaller capsule would detach itself and crash-land. The instruments, including a seismometer and a temperature recorder, would then transmit data back to earth.

New York Times, April 27, 1960.

April 29

At Redstone Arsenal, all eight H-1 engines of the first stage of the Saturn C-1 launch vehicle were static-fired simultaneously for the first time and achieved 1.3 million pounds of thrust.

New York Times, April 30, 1960.

During the Month

A study report was issued by the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory on guidance and control design for a variety of space missions. This report, approved by C. Stark Draper, Director of the Laboratory, showed that a vehicle, manned or unmanned, could have significant onboard navigation and guidance capability.

Interview with Milton B. Trageser, Instrumentation Laboratory, MIT, April 27, 1966.

Spring

Thomas E. Dolan of the Chance Vought Corporation prepared a company-funded design study of the lunar orbit rendezvous method for accomplishing the lunar landing mission.

Interview with H. Kurt Strass, MSC, November 30, 1966.

May 1

An additional contract for $10,000 was signed by the University of Manchester, Manchester, England, and the Air Force. Z. Kopal, principal investigator, would continue to work at the Pic-du-Midi Observatory in France, providing topographical information on the lunar surface for the production of accurate lunar maps. The contract [AF 61(052)380] was a continuation of one signed on November 1, 1958, and was to run from May 1, 1960, to October 31, 1960. In addition, the Air Force provided $40,000 for a 40-inch reflector telescope at the Observatory, tremendously increasing its capability for lunar topographical research. By June 1960, information on one-fourth of the visible area of the moon had been produced.

House Committee Report, Army Lunar Construction and Mapping Program, Appendix.

May 2

Members of STG presented the proposed advanced manned spacecraft program to Wernher von Braun and 25 of his staff at Marshall Space Flight Center. During the ensuing discussion, the merits of a completely automatic circumlunar mission were compared with those of a manually operated mission. Further discussions were scheduled.

Memoranda, John H. Disher to Abe Silverstein, May 10, 1960; Paul E. Purser to Robert R. Gilruth, "Log for the Week of May 2, 1960."

May 3

STG members presented the proposed advanced manned spacecraft program to the Lewis Research Center staff. Work at the Center applicable to the program included: analysis and preliminary development of the onboard propulsion system, trajectory analysis, and development of small rockets for midcourse and attitude control propulsion.

Memorandum, John H. Disher to Abe Silverstein, May 10, 1960.

May 4

Clifford I. Cummings, Jet Propulsion Laboratory spacecraft program director, announced at a meeting of the Aviation Writers Association in Los Angeles, Calif., that the spacecraft which would carry television and a detachable instrumented capsule to be crash-landed on the moon would be called "Ranger."

Baltimore Sun, May 5, 1960.

May 5

Robcrt R. Gilruth, Paul E. Purser, James A. Chamberlin, Maxime A. Faget, and H. Kurt Strass of STG met with a group from the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation to discuss advanced spacecraft programs. Grumman had been working on guidance requirements for circumlunar flights under the sponsorship of the Navy and presented Strass with a report of this work.

Memorandum, Purser to Gilruth, "Log for the Week of May 2, 1960."

May 9

The first production Mercury spacecraft, using its launch escape rocket as propulsion, was launched from Wallops Island in a successful "beach abort" test.

Swenson et al., This New Ocean, p. 262.

May 12

A discussion on the advanced manned spacecraft program was held at the Langley Research Center with members of STG and Langley Research Center, together with George M. Low and Ernest O. Pearson, Jr., of NASA Headquarters and Harry J. Goett of Goddard Space Flight Center. Floyd L. Thompson, Langley Director, said that Langley would be studying the radiation problem, making configuration tests (including a lifting Mercury) , and studying aerodynamics, heating, materials, and structures.

Memorandum, Paul E. Purser to Robert R. Gilruth, "Log for the Week of May 9, 1960."

May 15

The Soviet Union launched an unmanned spacecraft into near-earth orbit. Designated Korabl Sputnik I by the Russians and called Sputnik IV by the Western press, the spacecraft weighed approximately 10,000 pounds and contained a pressurized space cabin with a dummy astronaut. On May 19, the attempt to bring the spacecraft back to earth failed when a flaw in the guidance system deflected the ship into a higher orbit. Soviet scientists said that conditions in the cabin, which had separated from the remainder of the spacecraft, were normal.

Wall Street Journal, May 16, 1960; Baltimore Sun, May 21, 1960; Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 105.

May 16-17

A meeting on space rendezvous was held at the Langley Research Center and attended by representatives from NASA Headquarters, Flight Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Space Task Group, Langley Research Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lewis Research Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center. Bernard Maggin of NASA Headquarters was chairman. Current NASA Center programs on rendezvous were reviewed and ideas were exchanged on future projects. Many of the studies in progress involved the concept of a space ferry rendezvousing with a station in cislunar space. The consensus of the meeting was that the rendezvous technique would be essential in the foreseeable future and that experiments should be made to establish feasibility and develop the technique. There was as yet no funding for my rendezvous flight test program.

Inter-NASA Research and Development Centers Discussion on Space Rendezvous, Langley Research Center, May 16-17, 1960.

May 25

STG formed the Advanced Vehicle Team, reporting directly to Robert R. Gilruth, Director of the Mercury program. The Team would conduct research and make preliminary design studies for an advanced multiman spacecraft. In addition, the Team would maintain contacts and information flow between STG and the Langley, Lewis, Ames, and Flight Research Centers and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and would effect necessary liaison with the Marshall Space Flight Center on the development and planned use of boosters. Contacts with industrial groups and government agencies on advanced systems studies would be focused in this group. Robert O. Piland was appointed Head of the Advanced Vehicle Team ; other members assigned full-time were H. Kurt Strass, Robert G. Chilton, Jack Funk, Alan B. Kehlet, Jr., R. Bryan Erb, Owen E. Maynard, Richard B. Ferguson, and Alfred B. Eickmeier. Team members would retain their current permanent organizational status and receive technical direction and guidance in their particular areas from their supervisors, as well as support from other specialists.

Memorandum, Gilruth to Staff, STG, "Advanced Vehicle Team," May 25, 1960.

May 26

Assembly of the first Saturn flight booster, SA-1, began at Marshall Space Flight Center.

Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 187.

May 26

Eight H-1 engines of the first stage of the Saturn C-1 launch vehicle were static-fired for 35.16 seconds, producing 1.3 million pounds of thrust. This first public demonstration of the H-1 took place at Marshall Space Flight Center.

Rocketdyne Skywriter, June 3, 1960, p. 1.

May 31

NASA selected Rocketdyne Division of NAA to develop the J-2, a 200,000-pound-thrust rocket engine, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. [A decision was later made to use the J-2 in the upper stages of the Saturn C-5.]

Saturn Illustrated Chronology, pp. 13-14; Rocketdyne Skywriter, June 3, 1960.

June 15

The Saturn C-1 first stage successfully completed its first series of static tests at the Marshall Space Flight Center with a 122-second firing of all eight H-1 engines.

Rocketdyne Skywriter, June 24, 1960, p. 4.

June 21

Robert O. Piland, Head of the STG Advanced Vehicle Team, and Stanley C. White of STG attended a meeting in Washington, D. C., sponsored by the NASA Office of Life Sciences Programs, to discuss radiation and its effect on manned space flight. Three consultants presented their views: John R. Winckler of the University of Minnesota, a cosmic-ray physicist; Cornelius A. Tobias of the University of California, a radiologist specializing in radiation effects on cells and other human subsystems; and Col. John E. Pickering, Director of Research at the Air Force School of Aviation Medicine. Their research showed that it would be impracticable to shield against the inner Van Allen belt radiation but possible to shield against the outer belt with a moderate amount of protection.

Memorandum, Piland, Head, Advanced Vehicle Team, to Project Director, "Radiation and Its Effects on Manned Space Vehicles - June 21 Meeting, Washington, D.C.," June 24, 1960.

Summer

H. Kurt Strass of STG and John H. Disher of NASA Headquarters proposed that boilerplate Apollo spacecraft be used in some of the forthcoming Saturn C-1 hunches. [Boilerplates are research and development vehicles which simulate production spacecraft in size, shape, structure, mass, and center of gravity.] These flight tests would provide needed experience with Apollo systems and utilize the Saturn boosters effectively. Four or five such tests were projected. On October 5, agreement was reached between members of Marshall Space Flight Center and STG on tentative Saturn vehicle assignments and flight plans.

Interview with Strass, MSC, November 30, 1966.

July 5

The House Committee on Science and Astronautics declared: "A high priority program should be undertaken to place a manned expedition on the moon in this decade. A firm plan with this goal in view should be drawn up and submitted to the Congress by NASA. Such a plan, however, should be completely integrated with other goals, to minimize total costs. The modular concept deserves close study. Particular attention should be paid immediately to long lead-time phases of such a program." The Committee also recommended that development of the F-1 engine be expedited in expectation of the Nova launch vehicle, that there be more research on nuclear engines and less conventional engines before freezing the Nova concept, and that the Orion project be turned over to NASA. It was the view of the Committee that "NASA's 10-year program is a good program, as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. Furthermore the space program is not being pushed with sufficient energy."

U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Space, Missiles, and the Nation, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), pp. 55-56.

July 9

After reviewing proposals by 37 companies, NASA awarded contracts to the Hughes Aircraft Company, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, North American Aviation, Inc., and Space Technology Laboratories, Inc., for preliminary competitive design studies of an instrumented soft-landing lunar spacecraft, the Surveyor. The companies were scheduled to submit their reports in December.

Fourth Semiannual Report of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, April 1, 1960, through September 30, 1960 (1961), pp. 60-61; Fifth Semiannual Report to Congress of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, October 1, 1960, through June 30, 1961 (1961), p. 49; Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1960.

July 14-15

The third meeting of the Space Exploration Program Council was held at NASA Headquarters. The question of a speedup of Saturn C-2 production and the possibility of using nuclear upper stages with the Saturn booster were discussed. The Office of Launch Vehicle Programs would plan a study on the merits of using nuclear propulsion for some of NASA's more sophisticated missions. If the study substantiated such a need, the amount of in-house basic research could then be determined.

Minutes, Space Exploration Program Council Meeting, July 14-15, 1960, pp. 1, 4-5.

July 25

NASA Director of Space Flight Programs Abe Silverstein notified Harry J. Goett, Director of the Goddard Space Flight Center, that NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan had approved the name "Apollo" for the advanced manned space flight program. The program would be so designated at the forthcoming NASA-Industry Program Plans Conference.

Memorandum, NASA Headquarters to Goddard Space Flight Center, Attn: Dr. H. J. Goett, "Official Name for the Advanced Manned Space Flight Program," July 25, 1960.

Planned space flight program

This chart was used by George M. Low July 29, 1960, as he described the plans for Project Apollo during the NASA-Industry Program Plans Conference.

July 28-29

The first NASA-Industry Program Plans Conference was held in Washington, D.C. The purpose was to give industrial management an overall picture of the NASA program and to establish a basis for subsequent conferences to be held at various NASA Centers. The current status of NASA programs was outlined, including long-range planning, launch vehicles, structures and materials research, manned space flight, and life sciences.

NASA Deputy Administrator Hugh L. Dryden announced that the advanced manned space flight program had been named "Apollo." George M. Low, NASA Chief of Manned Space Flight, stated that circumlunar flight and earth orbit missions would be carried out before 1970. This program would lead eventually to a manned lunar landing and a permanent manned space station.

Three follow-up conferences were planned: Goddard Space Flight Center in August (held in Washington, D.C.), the Marshall Space Flight Center in September, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory in October. Industry representatives would receive more detailed briefings on specific phases of the NASA program.

NASA-Industry Program Plans Conference, July 28-29, 1960 (1960).

July 29

Mercury-Atlas 1 (MA-1) was launched from the Atlantic Missile Range in a test of spacecraft structural integrity under maximum heating conditions. After 58.5 seconds of flight, MA-1 exploded and the spacecraft was destroyed upon impact off-shore. None of the primary capsule test objectives were met.

Swenson et al., This New Ocean, pp. 275-278.

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