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Project 7969
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USAF project to put a man in orbit atop an Atlas ICBM. Over a two year study period it developed into a more serious effort to prototype re-entry systems for the planned Lunex lunar base. After Sputnik it was reoriented again to 'Man In Space Soonest' to assure an American (USAF pilot) would be the first in outer space. See individual project 7969 entries for the spacecraft design of each contractor. Cancelled altogether in 1958 when NASA given responsibility for manned space program and project Mercury.
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Project Mer
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April 1958 design of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics for a Manned Earth Reconnaissance spacecraft - consisting of a cylindrical fuselage and telescoping, inflatable wings for flight in the atmosphere.
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Adam
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Project Adam began as a post-Sputnik joint-services project proposed by Wernher von Braun. Originally dubbed "Man Very High", the idea was to use an Army Ballistic Missile Agency Redstone rocket to boost a USAF Manhigh balloon gondola with a human occupant on a suborbital trajectory. Von Braun invited Manhigh's Simons and Kittinger to Huntsville to get the program moving, but by April 1958 interservice rivalry killed the project in the womb. So Project Adam was submitted to ARPA on 13 May 1958 by the Secretary of the Army as an Army-only proposal. In July 1958 the Director of ARPA decided that Project Adam was not necessary and would not be funded by ARPA. Shortly thereafter NASA's project Mercury consolidated all of the military man-in-space projects. The Mercury suborbital flights were the only remnant of the crash program that would have put an American in space by 1959.
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Aeronutronics Project 7969
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Aeronutronics's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project was a cone-shaped vehicle 2.1 m in diameter with a spherical tip of 30 cm radius. The man within was enclosed in a gimballed sphere and rotated to line the pilot up with accelerations. The vehicle would be launched by any one of several two-stage vehicles, including the USAF baseline Atlas Hustler. Deorbit would be accomplished by a retrorocket. The spacecraft was automatic and no pilot control functions were needed. The heat shield used graphite shingles. In case of booster failure during ascent to orbit the capsule would be ejected. The spacecraft had a ballistic coefficient (W/CdA) of 300 kg per square meter. Landing precision was within a 160 x 80 km footprint. It was expected that a first manned orbital flight could be only be achieved six years after go-ahead.
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Avco Project 7969
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AVCO's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project was a 690 kg, 2.1 m diameter sphere launched by a Titan. It was equipped with a unique stainless-steel-cloth parachute instead of the usual reaction control system and retrorockets. The chute's diameter could be controlled by compressed air bellows. This would orient the vehicle in orbit, provide deceleration for re-entry, and control drag during re-entry.
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Bell Project 7969
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Bell's preferred concept for the Air Force initial manned space project was the boost-glide vehicle they had been developing for the Dynasoar program. When pressed they considered briefly a minimum vehicle, spherical in shape, weighing about 1,400 kg. But their baseline was the Dynasoar approach - 'anything else would be a stunt'. It was expected that a first manned orbital flight of the boost-glide vehicle could be achieved five years after a go-ahead at a cost of $ 889 million.
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Convair Project 7969
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Convair's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project involved a large-scale manned space station. When pressed, they indicated that a minimum vehicle - a 450 kg, 1.6 m diameter sphere - could be launched by an Atlas within a year. The spacecraft would be boosted by an Atlas Hustler booster into a 270 km orbit. Deorbit would be accomplished by retrorocket. The spacecraft had a ballistic coefficient (W/CdA) of 250 kg per square meter. It was expected that a first manned orbital flight could be achieved 12 months after a go-ahead.
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Goodyear Project 7969
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Goodyear's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project was a 2.1 m diameter spherical vehicle with a rearward facing tail cone and ablative surface. Flaps were deflected from the cone during re-entry for increased drag and control. The capsule would be launched by an Atlas or a Titan, plus a Vanguard upper stage into a 650 km orbit for a five day mission. Deorbit would be accomplished by a retrorocket providing a 240 m/sec braking impulse. An ablative heat shield was planned. In case of booster failure during ascent to orbit the capsule would be ejected. The spacecraft had a ballistic coefficient (W/CdA) of 250 kg per square meter. Landing precision was within a 1300 km diameter footprint. It was expected that a first manned orbital flight could be achieved 24 months after a go-ahead at a cost of $ 100 million.
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Lockheed Project 7969
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Lockheed's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project was a 20 degree semiapex angle cone with a hemispherical tip of 30 cm radius. The pilot was in a sitting position facing rearward. The capsule would be launched by an Atlas-Hustler combination into a 480 km orbit for a 4 hour mission.
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Martin Project 7969
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Martin's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project was a zero-lift vehicle launched by a Titan I with controlled flight in orbit. The spacecraft would be boosted into a 240 km orbit for a 24 hour mission. Tracking would use the Minitrack System and deorbit would be accomplished by a retrorocket producing a 150 m/sec delta-v. Spacecraft attitude control was by rocket thrusters. The spacecraft was fully automatic and the pilot was only a passenger. Maximum G-forces during re-entry were 8-15 g's and an ablative heat shield was proposed. In case of booster failure during ascent to orbit the capsule would be ejected. The spacecraft had a ballistic coefficient (W/CdA) of 500 kg per square meter. Landing precision was within a 160 x 160 km footprint. It was expected that a first manned orbital flight could be achieved 30 months after a go-ahead.
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McDonnell Project 7969
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McDonnell's design for the Air Force initial manned space project was a ballistic vehicle resembling Faget's NACA proposal or the later Soviet Soyuz descent module. The capsule weighed 1,090 kg and would be launched by an Atlas with a Polaris second stage.
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Northrop Project 7969
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Northrop's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project was a boost-glide vehicle based on work done for the Dynasoar project. The delta wing vehicle would weigh 5,000 kg and have a hypersonic lift to drag ratio of 6.0. As with Dynasoar, a test aircraft approach was taken, with a slow build-up to orbital speed.
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Republic Project 7969
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Republic's studies for the Air Force or NACA initial manned space project started at the beginning of 1958. Their unique concept was a lifting re-entry vehicle, termed the Ferri sled.
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X-15B
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North American's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project was to extend the X-15 program. The X-15B was a 'stripped' X-15A with an empty mass of 4500 kg. It would use a three-stage Navaho-derived launch vehicle to achieve a single orbit with an apogee of 120 km and a perigee of 75 km.
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Mercury
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Mercury was America's first man-in-space project. The capsule had to be as small as possible to match the payload capability of America's first ICBM, the Atlas, which would be used for orbital missions. The resulting design was less than a third of the weight of the Russian Vostok spacecraft, and more limited as a result.
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Mercury Mark I
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Proposed derivatives of the basic one-crew Mercury capsule for investigation of earth orbit rendezvous, lifting re-entry and land landing. Two-crew derivatives of Mercury, originally designated Mercury Mark II, are covered under 'Gemini'.
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