1958 (Cont.)
February 20
and missiles as well as aircraft. The Aerodynamics Committee had been studying spacecraft research problems for the past 6 years.[1]
February 27
Experience with the X-15 design indicated that many of the weight figures advanced by the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory for the drag or lift configurations of the reentry vehicle (later to become the Mercury spacecraft) were too low, according to Walter C. Williams, Chief of the NACA High-Speed Flight Station. Weights of auxiliary-power fuel, research instrumentation, and cockpit equipment as set by Langley were too low in terms of X-15 experience. Williams stated the total weight should be 2,300 pounds for the drag configuration and 2,500 pounds for the lifting configuration.[2]
March 10
Reports were made on recoverable manned satellite configurations being considered by NACA. One involved a blunt, high-drag, zero-lift vehicle that would depend on a parachute landing for final deceleration. Another was a winged vehicle that would glide to a landing after reentering the atmosphere. The third proposal involved features of each of the above. Besides the configuration studies, significant reports were completed relative to motion and heating, stabilization, and attitude control.[3]
March 10-12
A working conference in support of the Air Force "Man in Space Soonest" (MISS) was held at the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division in Los Angeles, California. General Bernard Schriever, opening the conference, stated that events were moving faster than expected. By this statement he meant that Roy Johnson, the new head of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, had asked the Air Force to report to him on its approach to putting a man in space soonest. Johnson indicated that the Air Force would be assigned the task, and the purpose of the conference was to produce a rough-draft proposal. At that time the Air Force concept consisted of three stages: a high-drag, no-lift, blunt-shaped spacecraft to get man in space soonest, with landing to be accomplished by a parachute; a more sophisticated approach by possibly employing a lifting vehicle or one with a modified drag; and a long-range program that might end in a space station or a trip to the moon.[4]
- ↑ Minutes of Meeting, Committee on Aircraft, Missile and Spacecraft Aerodynamics, Mar. 21, 1958, p. 2.
- ↑ Letter, NACA Hq. to Langley, subject: Comments on Suggested Ground Rules for Satellite Reentry Vehicles, Feb. 27, 1958.
- ↑ Study, "Satellite and Spacecraft," Current NACA Aerodynamic Research Relating to Upper Atmosphere and Space Technology, Mar. 10, 1958, p. 15.
- ↑ Memo, Lawrence A. Clousing to Director, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, subject: Working Conference for the Air Force "Man in Space Soonest" Program, held Mar. 10-12, 1958, at the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division Offices, Los Angeles, Mar. 24, 1958.
