Rockets, Missiles, and Spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Chapter II: Part 2

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The American pioneer of astronautics, Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) not only outlined the physical principles that would govern space flight, but he also constructed and tested many rocket engines, airframes, control devices, and guidance mechanisms between 1926 and 1942.

Goddard held a doctorate in physics, and was a professor at Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts. The Smithsonian Institution began funding Goddard’s experiments as early as 1917 and published his first major work, _A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes_, in 1919.

Goddard was not only a trained scientist, but a talented and ingenious engineer as well. On March 16, 1926, he launched the world’s first liquid-propellant rocket. By 1930, he had established a rocket test facility at Mescalero Ranch, near Roswell, New Mexico. Here, he conducted research, funded by the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation, on rocket power plants, pumps and fuel systems, control mechanisms, and other vital elements of the modern rocket.

The Rocket of May 4, 1926

This vehicle is the oldest surviving liquid-propellant rocket in the world. Built of parts employed in the first liquid-propellant rocket launched on March 16, 1926, the engine was moved from the nose of the vehicle to the rear for the May 4 trial. Other changes were introduced to reduce the weight of the rocket to 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds). The motor burned gasoline and liquid oxygen.

The alcohol burner under the liquid oxygen tank was inadvertently not ignited, causing the May 4 attempted launch to fail. A second test on May 5 also proved unsuccessful. However, the rocket engine was fired on both occasions.

The May 4 rocket is from Mrs. Robert H. Goddard and the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation.

May 1926 rocket

Length 1.95 m. (6 ft., 4 in.)
Weight 2.5 kg. (5.5 lb.)
Fuel Gasoline
Oxidizer Liquid oxygen

The “Hoopskirt” Rocket

Developed by Dr. Goddard during the late summer and early fall of 1928, the “Hoopskirt” rocket featured a small rocket engine mounted in the nose and a system of tanks and alcohol burners—to maintain fuel pressure—mounted on two legs. On December 26, 1928, the rocket flew 62.33 meters (204.5 feet) in 3.2 seconds—its most successful flight. Like all Goddard rockets, the “Hoopskirt” burned gasoline and liquid oxygen.

The “Hoopskirt” rocket is from Mrs. Robert H. Goddard.

“Hoopskirt”

Height 4.5 m. (14 ft., 8 in.)
Weight 12.93 kg. (28.5 lb.)
Fuel Gasoline
Oxidizer Liquid oxygen

19th-Century Rockets: Congreve and Hale

The rebirth of European interest in military rocketry can be traced to the English conquest of India during the late 18th century. William Congreve, an artillery expert, was intrigued by the tactical success of the Indian war rockets. He began a research program in 1804 that led to the development of a metal-cased, stick-guided artillery rocket that could be fired in barrages against enemy troops. The rocket carried incendiary or explosive warheads.

The 14.5-kilogram (32-pound) Congreve war rocket models on display show the early side-mounting of the stabilizing guide stick and the later (1815) design in which the guide stick was center-mounted to give greater accuracy. Congreve rockets played an important role during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.

The experimental 45.4-kilogram (100-pound) Congreve incendiary rocket was developed as a siege weapon for use against fortresses or entrenched enemy positions, although it is not known to have been used in combat. The 6.7-meter (22-foot) guide stick screwed together and fitted to the side of the projectile before firing. Like the smaller Congreve rockets, it could be launched from a frame or earthen embankment.

William Hale was an English engineer and ordnance expert who made cumbersome guide sticks obsolete with the introduction of spin stabilization to rocketry. Hale’s first design of a stickless, or rotary, rocket was patented in 1844. Although the 5.4-kilogram (12-pound) rocket was used during the Mexican War (1846-1847) and the Civil War, Hale subsequently refined it because the rocket had a tendency to oscillate in the air following exhaustion of the propellant.

Hale’s intermediate pattern rocket of 1862—on display—was never produced, giving way in 1865 to a rocket weighing 11 kilograms (24 pounds) with a maximum range of 2012 meters (2200 yards) when fired from a 4.6-meter (15-foot) elevation. The propellant burned for 5 to 10 seconds, producing an estimated maximum thrust of 136 kilograms (300 pounds).

The American version of the Hale rocket has two sets of gas nozzles. The major aperture on the base of the case allowed the propellant gases to escape. The smaller holes above the rocket’s midpoint are angled; the exhaust gases spin the projectile, stabilizing it during flight. Hale rocket designs were employed by both sides during the Civil War.

The Congreve 14.5-kilogram (32-pound) war rocket model was copied from the original at the Royal Artillery Institution; the experimental Congreve incendiary rocket on display is a gift of that Institution. Hale’s 1844 design rocket, his 1862 experimental rocket, and the 1865 rocket are on loan from the Science Museum, London. The American Hale rocket is on loan from F. C. Durant III.

American Rocket Society: Engines and Parts

Thrust stud for fastening to rocket
Blast chamber
Fuel feed
Oxygen feed
Nozzle
Water jacket
Nozzles
Thrust and fuel column attached to rocket
Fuel feed
Oxygen feed

The American Rocket Society (ARS) was the first organization in the United States dedicated to rocket research. The society was founded in New York City in March 1930 by G. E. Pendray and David Laser. The first successful ARS rocket was launched on May 13, 1933. The group continued to build and test rocket engines until the outbreak of World War II. After 1945, the ARS became a professional society for engineers involved in astronautics. The ARS joined with other aeronautical engineering groups to form the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1963.

The first liquid-propellant rocket engines built by the American Rocket Society were machined from blanks of heat-resistant, cast-aluminum alloy. Engine No. 1 powered the first two rockets designed and constructed by the ARS. It featured combustion chamber walls 12.7 millimeters (½ inch) thick and burned liquid oxygen and gasoline to produce a thrust of 27.22 kilograms (60 pounds). Liquid oxygen was pressurized by partial evaporation, while bottled nitrogen forced gasoline from the tank to the engine.

ARS Engine No. 4, like its predecessors, was mounted in the nose, rather than the tail, of the rocket. The engine featured a single combustion chamber and four nozzles. The nozzles directed the jet gases to the rear and slightly away from the top of the gasoline tank on which the engine was mounted. The rocket powered by this engine was tested on September 9, 1934. It rose several hundred feet, at which point one of the nozzles burned out, bringing the flight to a close. In 1938, ARS member James Wyld suggested a cooling system whereby propellants circulate through a jacket surrounding the combustion chamber. Engines using this system are termed “regeneratively cooled.” The first Wyld rocket motor tested developed 41 kilograms (90 pounds) of thrust for 13½ seconds. It proved so successful that Wyld and other members of the ARS founded Reaction Motors, Inc., to produce and sell rocket engines based on this design.

The performance of motors developed by the ARS prior to World War II was measured on a test stand with built-in fuel and oxidizer tanks and bottled nitrogen gas. The engine was mounted on a carriage, and connected to the stand’s propellant tanks by flexible metal hoses. Thrust was indicated on a pressure gauge. The stand was first used in 1938.

All American Rocket Society artifacts are from G. E. Pendray and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

H-1 Engine

The H-1 liquid-propellant rocket engine was an outgrowth of the LR-79 which served as the basic power plant for the USAF Thor missile. The H-1 was used in the 8-engine cluster of the first stage of the Saturn 1 and 1B launch vehicles.

The H-1 burns liquid oxygen and a grade of aviation kerosene to produce a total thrust of 92,986 kilograms (205,000 pounds). Each engine functions as an independent unit, with its own combustion chamber and turbopump, but fuel is drawn from common tanks.

The Saturn 1B was first launched on February 26, 1966, and most recently on July 15, 1975, in the launch of the U.S. crew of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

It was developed by Rocketdyne, a division of North American Rockwell Corporation.

The engine on exhibit is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

RL-10 Engine

The RL-10 is an upper stage propulsion system that can be stopped and restarted in space. It is a regeneratively cooled engine which burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to produce 6800 kilograms (15,000 pounds) of thrust. RL-10s pioneered the use of liquid hydrogen as a rocket fuel. They powered the Centaur launch vehicles that boosted such craft as Surveyor and Viking into space. A six-engine cluster of RL-10s was also used to propel the S4 stage of the Saturn 1.

The RL-10 was developed by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft division of the United Aircraft Corporation.

The RL-10 engine is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

JATO Units

JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) rockets boost heavy aircraft from short runways or from high-altitude airports where long take-off runs are required. The development of more powerful airplane engines has reduced the use of JATOs in recent years.

The first American JATO units were tested at March Field, California, on August 12, 1941. Six solid-propellant engines, each developing 12.8 kilograms (28 pounds) of thrust, boosted a light plane piloted by Capt. Homer Boushey into the air on this occasion. These motors were designed and built by staff members of the Air Corps Jet Propulsion Research Project of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology.

During World War II, work continued on JATO prototypes: the M17G was developed by Reaction Motors, Inc., to provide 590 kilograms (1300 pounds) of thrust to assist the take-off of PBM flying boats; the M19G, also built by Reaction Motors, Inc., was fueled by gasoline with liquid oxygen as an oxidizer.

The liquid-propellant 25ALD1000, developed during World War II. produced 453 kilograms (1000 pounds) of thrust and burned red-fuming nitric acid as an oxidizer and aniline as a fuel. It was successfully used on a variety of aircraft, including the B-24, B-25, C-40, and P-38.

After the war ended, JATO engines were used on military aircraft such as the B-47 and F-84 in the United States, while in Britain the JATO Super Sprite became the first rocket engine to receive official type approval for quantity production.

The first U.S. JATO unit and the 25ALD1000 are gifts of the Aerojet General Division of the General Tire and Rubber Company. The M17G and M19G JATOs are from the Thiokol Chemical Corporation, and Rolls Royce, Ltd., provided the Super Sprite.

LR-87 Engine

The LR-87 was a twin-chamber liquid-propellant rocket engine developed to power the Titan I intercontinental ballistic missile. The engine developed a total thrust of 136,078 kilograms (300,000 pounds) at sea level. It burned liquid oxygen and a grade of aviation kerosene. The combustion chambers were gimbal mounted to allow them to swivel, controlling the missile trajectory during the powered phase of flight. The engine was developed by Aerojet General Corporation.

The LR-87 on exhibit is from the U.S. Air Force.

Toward 2076: The Future of Rocket Propulsion

During the first twenty years of the space age, all launch vehicles were propelled by solid or liquid chemical rockets; however, nuclear and electric rocket motors are needed to provide the higher thrusts and velocities required for possible future manned journeys to other planets. Robert H. Goddard, the American rocket pioneer, was the first to suggest the possibility of electric rocket motors, but it was not until 1964 that electric rockets were actually tested in space.

Two types of ion engines represent the most fully developed electric propulsion systems. In contact ion engines, a propellant gas (mercury or cesium, for example) is ionized, or given an electrical charge, by passage through a hot porous metal. The resulting ions are accelerated out of the engine by an electrical field. The charged ions are neutralized as they approach the nozzle to form an exhaust beam that imparts the thrust. Bombardment ion engines rely on the bombardment of the propellant gas by electrons from a cathode, or negative electrode, to create ions. The ions are accelerated from the engine in the same manner as in the contact ion engine.

A Cesium Ion Rocket Engine

This small contact ion engine produces .0009 kilogram (.002 pound) of thrust by passing vaporized cesium through hot tungsten. On Earth this amount of power is scarcely enough to lift a one-carat jewel an inch off a table, but in the frictionless vacuum of space, it is sufficient to provide attitude control for satellites. It can also accelerate a spacecraft to high interplanetary velocities by operating continuously for thousands of hours.

An ion engine of this type was first tested in space in 1964. On that occasion, it provided .0009 kilogram (.002 pound) of thrust for 2 hours, 10 minutes. It was able to control the attitude of the attached instrument package.

This ion engine is a gift from Electro-Optical Systems, Inc., the company that developed it.

Project Orion

Project Orion was an attempt to solve the problems of propulsion for long-term manned journeys to other planets by creating an engine that would use successive nuclear explosions to propel very large space vehicles. The Orion spacecraft was designed to carry many small nuclear explosive systems which would be ejected sequentially from the rear of the vehicle. These units would explode some distance behind the spacecraft. The expanding debris, in the form of high-velocity, high-density plasma, would strike a pusher plate at the rear of the Orion vehicle.

Work on Project Orion was halted in 1963 when the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atmospheric tests of the propulsion system, was signed.

The Project Orion Test Vehicle—on display—demonstrated the basic principle of intermittent thrust from explosive charges. Test data provided by this model would have assisted engineers in developing the full-scale spacecraft.

The test vehicle carried five high-explosive plastic charges which were ejected from the rear of the craft. Compressed nitrogen powered the ejection system. Each charge was attached to the vehicle by a .9-meter (3-foot) cord. A microswitch exploded the individual packages. The Project Orion Test Vehicle was first flown successfully in October 1959.

From the Gulf Energy and Environmental Systems, Inc.

The Plug-Nozzle Rocket Engine

Although this engine is a liquid-propellant rocket, it substitutes a series of small combustion chambers and nozzles for the traditional single large chamber and nozzle to achieve additional thrust. This innovative combustion system features chambers and nozzles mounted on an annular ring at the base of the engine. Thrust is derived from the expansion of the exhaust gases against a large segmented plug in the center of the engine. Flight control is achieved by varying the amount of propellant introduced into the individual chamber sections. The engine on exhibit burned liquid oxygen and kerosene to provide a thrust of 22,680 kilograms (50,000 pounds).

The plug-nose rocket engine was developed at the General Electric Company’s Malta Test Station in 1961.

The engine on exhibit is from the New York State Atomic and Space Authority.

Space Suits

Modern space suits are direct descendants of the simple “pressure suits” designed as early as 1907 for deep-sea divers. In 1911 an English respiratory physiologist, J. S. Haldane, proposed the use of an oxygen pressurized suit for ascent to high altitudes. The first U.S. patent was granted for a pressure suit in 1918.

Through the early 1960s, all such suits were pressure containers. Project Mercury astronauts wore suits adapted from the U.S. Navy MK-IV pressure suit. It consisted of an inner layer of neoprene-coated fabric and a restraint layer of aluminized nylon fabric. The garment design provided a fair degree of mobility, although the suit could not bend with the full hinge motion of the human elbow or knee because it folded in at the joints, reducing overall volume and increasing internal pressure. The Mercury suit would have been pressurized only if spacecraft cabin pressure had been lost.

Space suits require a great deal of sophistication. They must meet many vital criteria, including low leakage, thermal control, comfort, stowage, and protection from micrometeoroid strikes.

_Gemini 4_ was the first American mission to explore the problems of man functioning outside his spacecraft, with only his space suit for protection. This extravehicular activity required the space suit to be a prime system rather than a precautionary measure.

Designed and created primarily for moon-walking, the 28.6-kilogram (63-pound) Apollo space suits, with backpack environmental and communication systems, enabled the lunar astronauts to dispense with the tether used on the Gemini “spacewalks.” The suit’s 21 layers are materials such as teflon fabric, nonwoven dacron, and aluminized mylar. These alternating layers of specialized materials protected the astronauts from the extreme temperatures of space and possibility of micrometeroids striking. Boots and gloves contain a stainless steel cloth to protect against abrasion. Suits had to fit the wearers so precisely that 67 anthropometric measurements were required of each astronaut.

When the astronauts ventured outside the spacecraft and explored the lunar surface, the following equipment was worn under the suit: a fecal containment system for emergency containment of solid-waste material; a liquid-cooling garment; a bio-belt assembly, urine collection and transfer system. Together with a portable life-support system, this constituted the complete Environmental Mobility Unit (EMU).

The liquid-cooling garment consists of an outer layer of nylon spandex material, a network of polyvinyl-chloride tubing, and a nylon-chiffon comfort liner. Even spacing of the plastic tubing permitted the efficient transfer of body heat to the cooling liquid (water) as it circulated through the suit.

The bio-belt assembly, worn over the liquid-cooling garment, contains preamplifiers for sensors placed next to the skin. The sensors acquired electrical signals which determined respiration rate and electrocardiograms of the astronauts. The preamplifiers relayed the signals to the spacecraft telemetry system for transmission to Earth.

The urine collection and transfer assembly provided for emergency containment of liquid waste when spacecraft facilities were not available. Liquid waste was subsequently transferred from the collection assembly to the spacecraft waste-management system.

The portable life-support system (PLSS) created and maintained a livable atmosphere inside an astronaut’s space suit during activity on the lunar surface. Worn as a backpack, the PLSS could be used for as long as four hours at a time.

The PLSS supplied oxygen for breathing purposes, suit pressurization, and ventilation. It also removed contaminants from oxygen circulating through the suit and supplied water and oxygen for body cooling. Conversion of exhaled carbon dioxide into oxygen was accomplished through a lithium-hydroxide cartridge also contained in the PLSS. An emergency supply of oxygen was contained in the oxygen purge system mounted on top of the PLSS.

When fully charged, the pack weighs 38 kilograms (84 pounds) on Earth or 6.3 kilograms (14 pounds) on the Moon.

The space suit on exhibit is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

V-2 (A-4)

The German V-2, originally designated A-4, represents the beginning of modern rocketry. The V-2 was the first proof that large rockets of the sort described by the space-flight pioneers of the early twentieth century could be successfully built and flown. It was also the forerunner of the intercontinental ballistic missile system.

Developed by a team of engineers working under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun at Peenemunde, Germany, the V-2 work laid the foundation for the Redstone missile through the Saturn series of space launch vehicles.

Four-thousand V-2s were fired against Allied targets in England and on the continent in 1944 and 1945. After World War II, captured V-2 rockets were used to train American technicians in missile launch procedures and to carry the first payloads of scientific instruments into the upper atmosphere in the United States.

The operational V-2 rocket structure consisted of three sections. The nose housed the warhead and control mechanisms. The fuel tanks carried liquid oxygen and alcohol propellants. The rocket engine, turbopumps, and control surfaces were contained in the tail section.

Jet deflector vanes positioned in the stream of exhaust gases and external vanes maintained attitude and directional control during the powered portion of flight.

Length 14 m. (46 ft., 1 in.)
Diameter 1.6 m. (5 ft., 5 in.)
Propellants Alcohol and liquid oxygen
Thrust 25,400 kg. (56,000 lb.)
Velocity 5633 km./hr. (3500 mi./hr.)
Altitude Peak of operational trajectory, 89 km. (55 mi.)

V-1

GERMAN PILOTLESS AIRCRAFT
Warhead: approx. 1000 kg.
Fuel filler cap
Lifting lug
Fuel tank. (Capacity 130 galls. petrol)
Wirebound spherical compressed air bottles
Grill incorporation shutters & petrol injection jets
Impulse duct engine
Light alloy nose fairing probably containing compass
Launching rail
Steel tubular main spar passing through fuel tank
Pressed steel wing ribs
Sheet steel wing covering
Automatic pilot: 3 airdriven gyros: height & range setting controls
Pneumatic servo mechanism operating rudder & elevators

The German-developed V-1 was an automatically controlled pilotless aircraft for use against Allied cities during World War II.

The missile was launched from ground ramps. Once in the air, automatic controls on board the craft took over. The V-1 climbed to a predetermined altitude, followed a compass course, and dove to the ground after a preset distance had been covered.

This mid-wing monoplane was powered by a unique pulsejet engine above the rear portion of the fuselage.

The relatively low speed of the missile made it easy prey for antiaircraft guns or fighters.

The V-1 on exhibit is from the U.S. Air Force, Park Ridge Depot.

German Antiaircraft Missiles

Rheintochter I

The Rheintochter I (Rhine Maiden) was intended for use against Allied bomber formations late in World War II. The German ground-to-air rocket was fin-stabilized, and controlled by radio. The flight of the two-stage vehicle was controlled by the four movable vanes on the nose of the craft.

The first stage carried the missile away from the launching rail, while the second stage brought the missile up to full speed and propelled it to the target.

Both the booster and sustainer engines used solid fuel. After a six-tenths of a second burn, the booster dropped off and the sustainer motor ignited. The missile warhead was housed at the rear of the sustainer stage. Exhaust gases were expelled through six nozzles located between the main fins.

The program was abandoned in December 1944, after 82 Rheintochter I rockets had been test fired. By then it had become apparent that the missile could not reach the operational altitude of modern bomber aircraft.

Hs-298

The Hs-298 was designed to combat the Allied bomber threat to wartime Germany. This air-to-air missile could be launched from either fighter or bomber aircraft and was in quantity production early in 1945.

It carried 45.4 kilograms (100 pounds) of high explosives that were detonated by proximity fuse when the missile was within 9.1 meters (30 feet) of an enemy airplane.

X-4

The fin-stabilized X-4 air-to-air missile was guided to its target by means of electrical impulses which passed through two wires connecting the rocket to the launch aircraft until detonation. Once the missile was on its way to the target bomber, the fighter pilot directed its course with a separate small control stick in his cockpit. Because the control wires streamed out ahead of the launching aircraft, the pilot was prevented from evasive maneuvering.

Launched from German fighter aircraft, usually a FW-190, the X-4 was powered by either a solid-propellant engine or a bi-propellant liquid-rocket engine. It carried a 20-kilogram (44-pound) warhead.

Jupiter-C

Jupiter-C carried the first successful American artificial earth satellite, _Explorer 1_, into orbit on January 31, 1958. Jupiter-C launched additional Explorer satellites on March 26 and July 26, 1958.

Jupiter-C, or Juno 1, is a modified version of the Redstone Ballistic Missile and a direct descendant of the V-2 (A-4) rocket developed in Germany during the second World War.

The vehicle’s main stage is powered by a rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and a hydrazine mixture. The second and third stages are contained in the “tub” on the nose of the rocket. Both use scaled-down Sergeant solid-propellant rockets: eleven in the second stage and three in the third. A final Sergeant motor is attached to the base of the satellite to provide the velocity necessary to place the vehicle in orbit. An electric motor spun the entire “tub” prior to launch and during the climb into space in order to stabilize the satellite.

The Jupiter-C was built by the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency.

Vanguard

Standing 21.6 meters (70.8 feet) high and weighing more than 10,000 kilograms (20,000 pounds), the Vanguard launch vehicle successfully orbited three satellites. The first was _Vanguard 1_, launched on March 17, 1958.

The rocket has three stages. The first-stage motor, burning kerosene and liquid oxygen, operated for 2 minutes and 20 seconds. The second stage carried the vehicle to an altitude of 210 kilometers (130 miles), propelled by white-fuming nitric acid and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH). With propellants exhausted, the upper stages then coasted to 480 kilometers (300 miles) above the surface of the Earth where the solid-propellant third-stage motor fired to place the satellite into orbit.

The Vanguard was designed and built by the Martin Company for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

Scout

On February 16, 1961, Scout became the first solid-propellant vehicle to orbit a satellite (_Explorer 9_). It is a four-stage launch vehicle that can perform a variety of space and reentry research tasks. Its relatively low cost has made it a popular choice for many satellite programs, including Transit navigation satellites, the Small Astronomy and Small Scientific Satellites, the Beacon Explorer, Hawkeye, Micrometeoroid, Meteoroid Technology, and Solrad satellites. The rocket has also been used extensively to launch foreign satellites. ANS-A (Netherlands), GRP-A (Germany), UK-5 (England), Eole (France), San Marco 5 (Italy), and the ESRO satellites for the European Space Research Organization (now European Space Agency) have all gone aloft aboard Scout launch vehicles.

The satellite in the nose of the Scout on exhibit is an INJUN/Air Density Explorer identical to that launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, on August 8, 1968.

Scout was built by the LTV Aerospace Corporation for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Defense.

The Scout is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and LTV Aerospace Corporation.

Minuteman III

The Minuteman III is the standard U.S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missile. This three-stage solid-propellant missile is launched from underground silos that are 24.4 meters (80 feet) deep and 3.7 meters (12 feet) in diameter. These missiles can be launched either from underground control centers or by an airborne launch control center installed in KC-135 aircraft.

Minuteman III was first test-fired on August 16, 1968, and has since replaced earlier Minuteman series ICBMs in the operational system. This missile was designed by Boeing for the Air Force Strategic Air Command.

This missile is from the US. Air Force and Boeing Aerospace Corporation.

Poseidon C-3

This two-stage solid-propellant Fleet Ballistic Missile is launched underwater from nuclear-powered submarines. The Poseidon is launched by compressed air, with first-stage ignition just after the missile is clear of the hull. Poseidon carried the Mk-3 Multiple Independently targeted Reentry Vehicles (MIRV)—thermonuclear weapons which enable a single missile to cover a number of targets.

The first successful test flight of Poseidon was from Cape Canaveral on August 16, 1968, and the first submarine launch was from the U.S.S. _James Madison_ on August 3, 1970.

The Poseidon C-3 is from the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.

Skylab

Launched into earth orbit on May 14, 1973, Skylab was a research center that housed three-man crews on three different visits to the space station. The longest mission lasted nearly three months.

Equipment and experiments on board the orbiting station were designed to accommodate four areas of research: earth observation to further knowledge of natural resources and the earth’s environment; solar observation to increase understanding of solar processes and influences on earth’s environment; study of the effects of long duration weightlessness on man, basic biological processes and adaptability to space flight conditions; and experiments in processing of materials under the unique conditions of weightlessness and vacuum environment of space. All missions were highly successful in obtaining data and photographs.

Skylab consisted of four major components: the Orbital Work Shop (OWS), Airlock Module (AM). Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA), and the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM).

The cylindrical Orbital Work Shop is 15 meters (48 feet) in length and 6.5 meters (22 feet) in diameter. The workshop is divided into two major areas by an open-grid partition. By wearing special shoes, the astronauts can use this grid to anchor themselves in the weightlessness of space. The lower portion contains the crew quarters, food preparation and dining areas, washroom, and waste processing and disposal facilities.

I
M131 chair control
Sleep compartment 70 sq ft
II
Head 30 sq ft
Wardroom 97 sq ft
III
M507 gravity substitute work bench
Experiment compartment 181 sq ft
M171 gas analyzer
M171 helmet stowage
ESS
IV
M092 LBNPD
Electric power control console
M131 rotating chair

The upper portion contains a large work-activity area, water-storage tanks, food freezers, film vaults, and experiment equipment.

The Airlock Module enabled spacesuited crew members to make excursions outside the Skylab to replace or adjust equipment, change film, or carry out other extra-vehicular activities. This capability was vital to emergency repairs by the astronauts on the first mission. The Airlock Module was attached to the OWS and passage to the module was accomplished through a hatch which connected the module to the interior of the workshop. When an astronaut entered the module, he would vent the atmosphere of the module into space. When the pressure in the airlock reached zero, the crew member could open the outer hatch and float out into space.

The Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA) was used by crews arriving or departing from the Skylab workshop. The Apollo command/service modules delivered crews to the MDA from which the astronauts could enter Skylab through the hatch in the docking port. In an emergency, two command/service modules could dock at the MDA. The MDA also held equipment for earth resources multispectral photography, materials processing, and astronomy. The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) was on top of and controlled by the MDA. It contained six astronomical instruments to obtain information about the Sun.

Solar energy is the prime source of electric power on Skylab. Two systems of solar electric-cell arrays—one wing on the OWS and four panels on the ATM—deployed after the Skylab reached orbit. Principal contractors: OWS—McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company; AM—McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company; MDA—Martin Marietta Aerospace.

The Skylab components on display were presented to the museum by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

On May 24, 1972, President Richard Nixon and Aleksey Kosygin, Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers, signed an agreement “concerning cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.” The signing represented a formal endorsement of negotiations that had been held between the two nations over several years. The agreement established the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) to develop and fly a standardized docking system “to enhance the safety of manned flight in space and to provide the opportunity for conducting joint scientific missions in the future.”

On July 15, 1975, the afternoon countdown for the Soviet launch was completed and _Soyuz_ lifted off from the Baykonur complex near Tyuratum in Central Asia, some 3200 kilometers (2000 miles) southeast of Moscow. _Soyuz_ carried cosmonauts Alexey Leonov and Valeriy Kubasov.

Taking advantage of _Apollo_’s larger fuel supply for maneuvering, _Apollo_ followed _Soyuz_ into orbit 7½ hours later. _Apollo_ was launched atop a Saturn 1B from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

After careful maneuvering, the two craft linked up around noon on July 18. Some 225 kilometers (140 miles) above Earth, the astronauts and cosmonauts visited each other’s craft, performed joint experiments, and made further tests of the new docking system.

Following the undocking Saturday, _Apollo_ fired its engines briefly and moved away from _Soyuz_. _Soyuz_ descended from orbit and landed in the south-central USSR early Monday morning, July 21.

Astronauts Stafford, Slayton, and Brand remained in orbit conducting research and making science demonstrations. Splashdown into the Pacific Ocean occurred in late afternoon on Thursday, July 24.

The historic ASTP mission was accomplished by using existing systems and a new docking module. The _Apollo_ spacecraft was made available when the lunar-landing program was curtailed. Since the command module was built with a docking system designed to work only with U.S. spacecraft, a method of incorporating the new docking system had to be devised.

A second important problem was the difference between the spacecraft atmospheres. The _Apollo_ used a pure oxygen atmosphere at about one-third of the atmospheric pressure on earth’s surface; _Soyuz_ used a nitrogen-oxygen mixture at normal atmospheric pressure. To permit crews to pass from _Soyuz_ to _Apollo_ without suffering from the “bends” (a painful condition experienced when nitrogen gas bubbles form in the body fluids), engineers had to design an airlock to equalize the pressure.

The docking module, 3 meters long and 1.5 meters in diameter (10 feet long and 5 feet in diameter), also solved the problem of incompatible docking mechanisms by carrying the new docking system on one end and a system compatible with _Apollo_ on the other.

Prime contractor for Apollo Command Module, Service Module, and Docking Module was Rockwell International.

The _Apollo_ hardware is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the _Soyuz_ spacecraft is on loan from the USSR Academy of Sciences.

_Apollo_

Command module
Base diameter 3.90 m. (12.8 ft.)
Length 3.66 m. (12 ft.)
Weight 5896 kg. (13,000 lb.)
Service module
Diameter 3.9 m. (12.8 ft.)
Length 6.71 m. (22 ft.)
Weight at launch 24,947 kg. (55,000 lb.)
Docking module
Diameter 1.52 m. (5 ft.)
Length 3.05 m. (10 ft.)
Weight 1882 kg. (4155 lb.)

_Soyuz_

Orbital module
Diameter 2.29 m. (7.5 ft.)
Length 2.65 m. (8.7 ft.)
Weight 1224 kg. (2700 lb.)
Descent module
Diameter 2.29 m. (7.5 ft.)
Length 2.20 m. (7.2 ft.)
Weight 2802 kg. (6200 lb.)
Instrument module
Diameter 2.77 m. (9.75 ft.)
Length 2.29 m. (7.5 ft.)
Weight 2654 kg. (5850 lb.)

M2-F3 Lifting Body

This wingless craft is called a lifting body, because it derives its lift from the fuselage rather than from wings. Removing the wings reduces the weight of the craft, but adds significant control problems. The lifting body concept was developed early in the last decade to explore the problems of aerodynamic heating and vehicle control during reentry from earth orbit. These are the problems that will be especially critical in the space shuttle of the 1980s.

The M2-F3 tested flight behavior of wingless craft over a wide range of speeds.

The M2-F3’s forerunner, the M2-F2, made 16 flights—all unpowered—between July 1966 and May 1967. On May 10, it crashed on landing, partly due to control instability. The craft was rebuilt, and the center fin was added. This modification effectively solved the control problem, and the new craft, designated M2-F3, logged 27 more flights by December 1972. Some of the M2-F3’s flights were powered by a 3630-kilogram (8000-pound) thrust rocket which boosted the craft to a higher altitude.

The M2-F3 was launched from a B-52 bomber at a height of about 13,300 meters (45,000 feet) and a usual speed of 730 kilometers (450 miles) per hour. The maximum altitude achieved was 21,800 meters (71,500 feet). The M2-F3’s record speed was 1718 kilometers (1066 miles) per hour. The M2-F3 was built by Northrop.

The craft on exhibit is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Length 6.8 m. (22 ft., 2 in.)
Span 2.9 m. (9 ft., 7 in.)
Height 2.5 m. (8 ft., 10 in.)
Weight 2720 kg. (6000 lb.) empty; 4540 kg. (10,000 lb.)
fueled
Speed 1718 km. per hr. (1066 m. per hr.) max. achieved
Altitude 21,800 m. (71,500 ft.) max. achieved
Mach number 1.5 max. achieved

Freedom 7

On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., became the first American in space. He flew this Mercury spacecraft, _Freedom 7_, through a 15-minute, 22-second sub-orbital, or ballistic, space flight.

A Redstone booster, burning liquid oxygen and hydrazine-base fuel, lifted _Freedom 7_ from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. The vehicle’s single engine developed 35,380 kilograms (78,000 pounds) of thrust.

The structure of the Mercury is titanium, covered with steel and beryllium shingles. The heat shield at the base of the spacecraft is of beryllium.

The heat shield served as a “heat sink” by storing the heat created by the spacecraft’s reentry into the earth’s atmosphere. The spacecraft reached the ocean before the heat could penetrate the interior of the craft. (Later flights used ablative heat shields, which protected the spacecraft by vaporizing and burning away during reentry.)

_Freedom 7_ traveled at a maximum speed of 8335 kilometers (5180 miles) per hour, going 485 kilometers (302 miles) downrange. The maximum altitude was 187 kilometers (116 miles).

Prime contractor for Mercury was the McDonnell Aircraft Company.

The _Freedom 7_ is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Diameter 2 m. (6 ft., 6 in.) max.
Length 2.8 m. (9 ft., 2 in.) at launch
Weight 1660 kg. (3650 lb.) at launch; 1100 kg. (2422
lb.) as exhibited

Gemini 7

_Gemini 7_ was launched on December 4, 1965, carrying astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell, Jr., into a two-week flight. _Gemini 6_ and _7_ accomplished the first manned rendezvous in space. It was an historic flight for the United States’ manned space program and an important step in the preparation for the Apollo lunar flights.

The story of the _Gemini 7/6_ mission had begun two months earlier. The October launch of _Gemini 6_ had to be delayed when _Gemini 6_’s Agena target vehicle failed to reach orbit. It was then decided that _Gemini 6_ would attempt to rendezvous with _Gemini 7_. Eight days after the launch of _Gemini 7_, _Gemini 6_ was ready. But once again, the launch had to be delayed—this time an electrical plug became detached from the Titan booster prematurely, shutting down the engines. Finally, on December 15, _Gemini 6_’s Titan II launch vehicle lifted off. _Gemini 6_ began a 6-hour chase to catch _Gemini 7_, which was in a near-circular orbit 300 kilometers (186 miles) high.

_Gemini 6_’s launch put it 1175 kilometers (730 miles) behind _Gemini 7_ in an orbit which varied from 161 to 272 kilometers (100 to 169 miles) in height. By flying in a lower altitude orbit, _Gemini 6_ astronauts Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford circled the Earth at a higher velocity, slowing down as they moved to match speed with _Gemini 7_ at the higher orbit. Finally, Schirra jockeyed the _Gemini 6_ spacecraft to within 30 centimeters (1 foot) from _Gemini 7_.

They stayed in formation for four revolutions while all four pilots practiced maneuvering. Then _Gemini 6_ broke off and reentered, splashing down on December 16, 1965.

_Gemini 7_ went on to complete its 14-day mission which set a record for the longest U.S.-manned space flight which stood until the first Skylab mission. _Gemini 7_ splashed down on December 18.

Prime contractor for Gemini was the McDonnell Aircraft Company.

_Gemini 7_ is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Rendezvous and Recovery Section
Ejection Seat
Adapter Equipment Section
Reaction Control System Section
Cabin
Retrograde Section

F-1 Engine

Five F-1 engines powered the first stage of the Saturn 5 launch vehicle that launched the manned Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. These engines developed a total thrust of 3.5 million kilograms (7.6 million pounds). They burn liquid oxygen and a form of kerosene at a rate of 13,475 liters (3560 gallons) per second.

The propellants are supplied to the thrust chambers by turbopumps driven by gas generators that use a fuel-rich mixture ratio of the same propellants used in the engine.

The F-l was developed and produced by Rocketdyne, a division of Rockwell International, under the technical direction of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville. Alabama.

The engine on exhibit is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Function Cluster of five providing 3.4 million kg. (7.5
million lb.) of thrust for Saturn 5 first stage
Thrust 690,000 kg. (1,522,000 lb.)
Propellants Kerosene (fuel) and liquid oxygen (oxidizer)
Length 5.8 m. (19 ft.) with nozzle extension
Diameter 3.8 m. (12 ft., 4. in.) with nozzle extension

Lunar Roving Vehicle

The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a spacecraft designed to carry two astronauts, their life-support systems, scientific equipment, and lunar samples on the airless, low-gravity surface of the Moon.

Lunar Roving Vehicles were used on Apollo missions _15_, _16_, and _17_ and were driven a total of 90 kilometers (56 miles) on the Moon.

The crew of _Apollo 15_, the first to use an LRV, drove their vehicle 27.9 kilometers (17.3 miles) at speeds up to 19-21 kilometers (12-13 miles) per hour. In comparison the _Apollo 14_ astronauts traveled only 4.2 kilometers (2.6 miles) on foot.

LRVs enabled the astronauts to carry heavy, bulky equipment and to place scientific instruments at considerable distances from the lunar module.

An LRV could carry two astronauts as far as 91.5 kilometers (57 miles) across the lunar surface or operate for up to 78 hours.

Each LRV was transported to the Moon in a compartment of the descent stage of a lunar module.

Four LRVs were built by the Boeing Company. Three were used on the Moon; the LRV on display was used in tests.

The LRV on exhibit is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Weight
On Earth 210 kg. (462 lb.)
On Moon 34 kg. (76 lb.)
Payload
On Earth 490 kg. (1080 lb.)
On Moon 80 kg. (178 lb.)
Length 3.1 m. (10 ft., 2 in.)
Width 1.8 m. (6 ft.)
Wheel base 2.3 m. (7 ft., 6 in.)
Turning radius 3 m. (10 ft.)
Drive One ¼ h.p. motor in each wheel; total 1 h.p.
Power source Two 36-v. silver-zinc batteries

Apollo Lunar Tools and Equipment

Penetrometer
Tongs
Extension handle
Core tube caps assy.
Color chart & traverse map
Core tubes
16mm camera
Camera staff
35-bag dispenser
Core tubes
Scoop
Hammer
Lens/brush
Gnomon

Most tools and other pieces of equipment used by Apollo astronauts on the Moon were left behind as the astronauts departed to return to the Earth. This was done to conserve weight in the lunar module ascent stage so that the maximum quantity of samples of lunar soil and rocks could be brought back to the Earth.

Some tools and pieces of equipment, however, were returned to the Earth. These include such items as a lunar hammer, a 16-mm camera, film cassettes, lunar sample return containers, parts of a lunar roving vehicle fender, and parts of the unmanned spacecraft _Surveyor 3_ visited by _Apollo 12_ astronauts.

In addition, astronauts carried small mementos with them when they landed on the Moon.

Other lunar tools and instruments on exhibit were backup, prototype, or used by the astronauts in pre-flight training.

The lunar hammer is on loan from Alan L. Bean; other tools and instruments are from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Apollo Command Module: Skylab 4

The _Skylab 4_ command module ferried the crew of the last Skylab mission—astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue. The _Skylab 4_ crew lived in the Skylab for 84 days, from November 16, 1973, to February 8, 1974.

In flight, the Apollo command module operated with a service module—an equipment section, 7.4 meters (24 feet) long and 4 meters (13 feet) in diameter—attached to the command module. The service module provided electrical power, oxygen, and water for the command module for most of a typical flight.

In addition, the service module contained the 9300-kilogram (20,500-pound) thrust Service Propulsion System, an engine capable of being throttled and restarted. During Apollo lunar flights, the engine provided thrust for mid-course trajectory changes and boosted the command/service module combination out of lunar orbit and back to Earth. The service module was jettisoned just before reentry into the earth’s atmosphere.

During reentry, the command module’s exterior was subjected to temperatures of around 2800°C (5000°F). The command module is covered with an ablative heat shield composed of a phenolic epoxy resin in a fiberglass honeycomb structure. As friction with the earth’s atmosphere caused the heat shield to char and vaporize, the heat was carried away from the spacecraft. The heat shield varies in thickness from 7 centimeters (2.75 inches) at the base to .6 centimeter (.25 inch) at the forward section. Total weight of the heat shield is about 1400 kilograms (3000 pounds).

The prime contractor for the Apollo Command Module was North American Rockwell Corporation.

The command module is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Diameter 3.9 m. (12 ft., 10 in.) max.
Length 3.2 m. (10 ft., 7 in.)

Moon Rocks

During the six Apollo program moon landings, astronauts collected and returned to Earth samples of the lunar surface. The samples were collected both from the flat maria regions—great basins created by ancient meteoric impacts and later filled with lava from the moon’s interior—and from the highland regions.

Subsequent analysis of the samples has indicated that the moon’s surface is largely composed of three kinds of rock.

Basalt, the rock of the maria regions, was formed as lavas from the interior of the Moon welled to the surface, filled the great meteoric impact basins, and then cooled.

Anorthosite, the highland rock, is believed by many scientists to have formed when the original crust of the Moon cooled and solidified. According to this theory, a light mineral, plagioclase, floated to the surface of the Moon and formed the anorthosite.

Breccia, the shocked rock, is composed of large and small fragments of rocks which were shattered and redistributed on the lunar surface by meteoric impacts. Subsequently, the fragments were recombined into new rocks by heat and pressure.

Lunar soils are largely composed of fragments of the three types of rocks and their minerals, and glass produced by meteoric impacts and volcanic eruptions.

Lunar rock samples are on loan from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Rockets, Missiles, and Spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian InstitutionChapter II: Part 2

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