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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 1232.PDF
108 FLIGHT International. 19 July 196: Missiles and Spaceflight The Apollo and its Saturn C-5 booster would stand about 325ft tall and weigh 6m lb at launch. The first stage (S-1C) of the launch vehicle will be powered by five F-l engines generating 7.5m lb thrust; the second stage (S-2) will have five hydrogen, oxygen J-2 engines each producing 200,0001b thrust; and the third stage will be powered by a single J-2 engine. All elements of this launch vehicle are currently under contract. Using command and service modules now under development, it was found that Earth-orbital rendezvous would require the addi tional development of two propulsion modules weighing about 50 tons—a lunar braking module and a lunar touchdown module— in order to decelerate the 28-ton command and service modules to a soft landing on the lunar surface. Recent NASA studies have indicated that Earth-orbital rendez vous with the three-man Apollo spacecraft would require Earth launchings of two or more advanced Saturns for each mission. One vehicle would boost into orbit a 60ft long liquid-oxygen tanker weighing some 110 tons. This would rendezvous with the separ ately launched modular spacecraft attached to a fuelled but un taxed third stage of a Saturn C-5. The lox would be transferred and the third stage would then power the spacecraft on its flight to the Moon. A three-man direct flight would have the same requirements as for Earth-orbital rendezvous for the command and service modules and the lunar braking and touchdown stages. In addition this technique would require the immediate development of the Nova vehicle with a 12m lb thrust first stage and upper stages employing the 1.2m lb thrust hydrogen/oxygen M-l engines. Engineering aspects of the decision to use the lunar-rendezvous technique were described in London last Friday in a lecture before the British Interp\anetary Society by MT R. O. Pttand, deputy project manager, Apollo, of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration This lecture will be reported fully in next week's issue. Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation have received large new contracts for the development of the F-l rocket engine (news-item above). In this illustration final adjustments are being made to a development F-l engine at Canoga Park, Cal NEW F-1 AND J-2 CONTRACTS The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced on July 2 the signature of three preliminary contracts with Rocke . dyne Division of North American Aviation for further developmec and production of the F-l and J-2 rocket engines, both of whic < play a major part in the Saturn C-5 and Nova vehicles. Marsha ! Space Flight Center, which is managing both projects, estimates the ultimate value of the new awards at S289m. By far the largest are the two contracts for the F-l, the most powerful rocket engine of which details are known (and by far the biggest outside the Soviet Union). Rated at 1,500,0001b at sea level on liquid oxygen and kerosine, its development was started in January 1959, and full-duration, full-thrust static firings are now being satisfactorily accomplished. Continuation of R&D from September of this year to the conclusion in 1966 will cost an estimated SI25m, and Rocketdyne have already received a Sim letter contract for certain items having a long lead-time. Production of F-l engines, with supporting equipment and services, will amoum to about S124m. This will cover 55 engines to be delivered between July 1963 and August 1965. The new production letter contract is for S3.4m for the period July 1 to September 30 of this year. The J-2 is rated at 200,0001b at sea level and is the largest engine designed to burn liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Its development was started in 1960 and it is now in the static-firing stage. The production of 59 J-2s, with supporting equipment and services, is expected to cost approximately $40m, deliveries being due between July 1963 and August 1965. Rocketdyne's immediate letter contract is for S1.7m, covering work from July 1 to September 30 of this year. ELDO THIRD-STAGE PROPOSALS Two proposals for the West German third stage of the European Launcher Development Organization's launch vehicle were sub mitted to ELDO Headquarters in Paris \ast month. One was tor a conventional "medium-energy" propellant combination, and the other envisaged a high-energy combination of fluorine and liquid hydrogen. A joint working group for these projects has been set up by Bolkow and ERNO, both of whom will subcontract a certain amount of the work to other companies. The ELDO programme was discussed and agreed by the organization's technical committee and general assembly in Paris last week. German Space Budget A sum of DM155m (£12,460,000) has been requested by the West German Ministry for Nuclear Energy for space research developraent during 1963. Of this total, DM98m would be used for a national space programme and DM57m for co-operative international programmes such as those of ELDO and ESRO. Dyna-Soar Becomes X-20 The US Air Force has assigned the designation X-20 to the Dyna-Soar manned space glider under development by Boeing. It is also announced that Thiokol Chemical Corp have successfully fired the X-20's acceleration rocket at their plant at Elkton, Maryland. The solid-propellant rocket will be used to accelerate the first test X-20 vehicles to supersonic speed after being dropped from an NB-52 parent aircraft; in X-20 orbital launchings the same motor will serve as an escape motor in the event of malfunction of the SSLS 624A booster. Second Skybolt Drop On June 29 the second "hot" Dougla> XGAM-87 Skybolt was dropped over the Atlantic Missile Range by a B-52 operating from Eglin. The first-stage propulsion failed to ignite, and data defining the source of the malfunction are being analysed. On the first such test, on April 19. the first stage func tioned satisfactorily, but the second did not. X-15 Pilots Honoured Yesterday President Kennedy was to present the 1961 Robert J. Collier Trophy to four X-15 pilots: Maj Robert White, USAF; Joseph Walker, NASA; Cdr Forrest Peterson, USN: and Scott Crossfield, North American Aviation. A French X-15? Speaking at a ceremony to mark the deliver) of the thousandth SEPR rocket engine for aircraft propulsion. M Jean Fleury, a director of the firm, said that "France could construct an aeroplane similar to the X-15," because SEPR had produced a rocket engine giving "sensational results.'"
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