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

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

LYNNE C. MURPHY

Published by the Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1976

Welcome to the National Air and Space Museum, part of the Smithsonian family. The flight of the Wrights in 1903 opened the door to ever more rapid and powerful ascents into the third dimension. This country, putting its scientific and technical talents to work, has produced an array of fascinating and complex machines. Fortunately, nearly all of the most significant ones have been preserved, and a sampling of them is included in this booklet. I hope that you will enjoy it, and that it will add to your understanding of what air and space progress has meant to all of us.

Michael Collins

Director, National Air and Space Museum

Viking 2—bound for Mars—is launched aboard Titan Centaur on September 9, 1975.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

National Air and Space Museum. Rockets, missiles, and spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Bibliography: p. 1. Astronautics—United States—Exhibitions. 2. National Air and Space Museum. I. Murphy, Lynne C. II. Title: Rockets, missiles, and spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum ... TL506.U6W376 1976 629.4′0973′0740153 76-6961

Printed in the U.S.A.

Designed by Elizabeth Sur

Negative numbers and photo credits

1, A-42103 (SI); 2, 74-H-1066 (NASA); 3, 74-H-1244 (NASA); 4, A-3757 (SI); 5, 72-8670 (SI); 6, 58-Explorer I-1 (NASA); 7, 62-Mariner II-34 (NASA); 8, 63-Mariner II-26 (NASA); 9, 62-MA 6-74 (NASA); 10, 62-MA6-111 (NASA); 11, 65-H-934 (NASA); 12, 65-H-937 (NASA); 13, 69-H-1199 (NASA); 14, 69-H-1367 (NASA); 15, 76-4880-81 (SI); 16, P-14054 (JPL, NASA, Pasadena, California); 17, 73-H-993 (NASA); 18, 74-H-239 (NASA); 19, 75-15926 (SI); 20, 74-H-1220 (NASA); 21, A-50483 (SI); 22, 65-H-817 (NASA); 23, 76-1706 (SI); 24, 76-1705 (SI); 25, 71-H-413 (NASA); 26, 62-NC-2 (NASA); 27, 63-ARCAS-1 (NASA); 28, 75-16094 (SI); 29, 75-16228 (SI); 30, 75-16276 (SI); 31, 61-DELTA-4-6 (NASA); 32, 66-H-223 (NASA); 33, VAN-11 (NASA); 34, 67-H-1008 (NASA); 35, 66-H-28 (NASA); 36, 60-TIROS-5 (NASA); 37, 69-H-1915 (NASA); 38, 68-H-111 (NASA); 39, 62-RELAY-17 (NASA); 40, 71-H-1414 (NASA); 41, 69-H-285 (NASA); 42, 66-H-871 (NASA); 43, 76-H-1182 (NASA); 44, 69-H-1986 (NASA); 45, 76-1704 (SI); 46, A-459994 (SI); 47, A-5293 (SI); 48, A-1085 (SI); 49, 75-11488 (SI); 50, A-4554 (SI); 51, 72-H-1240 (NASA); 52, 63-CENTAUR-15 (NASA); 53, 75-13753 (SI); 54, 76-2756 (SI); 55, 76-2687 (SI); 56, 75-H-461 (NASA); 57, 76-4479-6 (SI); 58, 62-MA6-109 (NASA); 59, 71-H-1380 (NASA); 60, 65-H-1021 (NASA); 61, A-5367 (SI); 62, 75-10232 (SI); 63, A-5073 (SI); 64, 75-16091 (SI); 65, 76-1625-11 (SI); 66, 73-733 (SI); 67, SPACE-12 (NASA); 68, 67-H-1609 (NASA); 69, 64-H-2795 (NASA); 70, 65-H-674 (NASA); 71, 76-1707 (SI); 72, 76-1708 (SI); 73, 73-H-928 (NASA); 74, 71-H-398 (NASA); 75, 68-H-423 (NASA); 76, 68-H-422 (NASA); 77, 75-H-248 (NASA); 78, 75-H-1081 (NASA); 79, 75-H-891 (NASA); 80, 75-H-1077 (NASA); 81, 71-H-525 (NASA); 82, 61-MR3-76 (NASA); 83, 65-H-2355 (NASA); 84, 72-H-734 (NASA); 85, 62-F1-2 (NASA); 86, 67-H-1205 (NASA); 87, 71-H-1416 (NASA); 88, 70-H-1392 (NASA); 89, 71-H-335 (NASA); 90, 74-H-63 (NASA); 91, S-71-45480 (NASA, Johnson Space Center); 92, 72-H-1571 (NASA).

Contents

[Introduction] 6 [a]Milestones of Flight] Gallery 100 [Robert H. Goddard’s Rockets: March 16, 1926, and 1941] 7 [Sputnik 1] 8 [Explorer 1] 9 [Mariner 2] 10 [Friendship 7] 11 [Gemini 4] 12 [Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia] 13 [a]Life in the Universe] Gallery 107 [Ponnamperuma Experiments] 14 [Photomosaic Globe of Mars] 15 [Mariner 10] 16 [U.S.S. Enterprise] 17 [a]Satellites] Gallery 110 [Goddard A-Series Rocket, 1935] 18 [WAC Corporal] 19 [Aerobee 150] 20 [Farside] 21 [Nike-Cajun] 22 [ARCAS] 23 [Cricket] 24 [Viking 12] 25 [MOUSE] 26 [Agena-B] 27 [Science Satellites] 28 [Meteorological Satellites] 30 [Communications Satellites] 32 [a]East Gallery] Gallery 112 [Lunar Module] 34 [Lunar Orbiter] 35 [Surveyor] 36 [a]Rocketry and Space Flight] Gallery 113 [Goddard Rockets: May 1926 and “Hoopskirt,” 1928] 37 [19th-Century Rockets: Congreve and Hale] 38 [American Rocket Society: Engines and Parts] 39 [H-1 Engine] 40 [RL-10 Engine] 41 [JATO Units] 42 [LR-87 Engine] 43 [Toward 2076: The Future of Rocket Propulsion] 44 [Project Orion] 45 [Space Suits] 46 [a]Space Hall] Gallery 114 [V-2 (A-4)] 48 [V-1] 49 [German Antiaircraft Missiles] 50 [Jupiter-C] 51 [Vanguard] 52 [Scout] 53 [Minuteman III] 54 [Poseidon C-3] 55 [Skylab] 56 [Apollo-Soyuz Test Project] 58 [M2-F3 Lifting Body] 60 [a]Apollo to the Moon] Gallery 210 [Freedom 7] 61 [Gemini 7] 62 [F-1 Engine] 63 [Lunar Roving Vehicle] 64 [Apollo Lunar Tools and Equipment] 65 [Apollo Command Module: Skylab 4] 66 [Moon Rocks] 67 [Suggested Reading] 68

Introduction

There is an obvious relationship between aeronautics and astronautics since the same principles of physics apply and many materials and techniques of construction are common. Nevertheless, in the decades following World War II, rocketry, guided missiles, and space flights were rapidly developing a complex history and lore quite different from that of aviation. Accordingly, in 1965, the Museum established a Department of Astronautics parallel with a Department of Aeronautics.

At that time, artifacts in categories of rocket propulsion, guided missiles, and space-flight programs were placed under curatorial control of the Astronautics Department. In 1967 the Smithsonian Institution and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration signed an agreement which provided for transfer of title to and custody of significant space artifacts by the Museum after their technical need had passed. Through provisions of this instrument the preservation and exhibit of this country’s most important spacecraft, rocket engines, launch vehicles, and missiles has been assured for posterity.

With the construction of the new Museum building on the Mall literally dozens of exciting and fascinating astronautical artifacts have been acquired, some just a few months before our opening in July 1976. All major artifacts on exhibit at the opening are described herein with brief historical summaries.

F. C. Durant III

Assistant Director, Astronautics

January 13, 1976

Robert H. Goddard’s Rockets: March 16, 1926, and 1941

1. Robert H. Goddard beside his liquid-fuel rocket prior to launch on March 16, 1926.

2. “It looked almost magical as it rose, without any appreciable greater noise or flame, as if it said, ‘I’ve been here long enough; I think I’ll be going somewhere else’....”—Robert H. Goddard.

3. Rocket with turbopumps on its assembly frame in the Goddard shop at Roswell, New Mexico, 1940.

Robert H. Goddard contributed the first major astronautical breakthrough on our way to space exploration—a liquid-propellant rocket. A replica of the first successful rocket of this type is displayed in this hall as is Dr. Goddard’s last sounding rocket design.

The first of Dr. Goddard’s successful rockets was launched on March 16, 1926. It traveled to an altitude of 12.5 meters (41 feet) powered by liquid oxygen and gasoline. Its flight lasted 2.5 seconds with an average speed in flight of about 96.6 kilometers (60 miles) per hour. Part of the rocket’s nozzle was burned away during the flight, and other parts were damaged by ground impact; however, pieces of the original rocket were reassembled and flown again on April 3, 1926.

The last and most advanced of Dr. Goddard’s liquid-propellant rockets were those tested between 1939 and 1941. This series incorporated most of the basic principles and elements later used in all long-range rockets and space boosters. Design improvements for this series included a fuel system that used turbopumps to force propellants from the tanks to the combustion chamber. The rocket on display did not fly, because a malfunction in the umbilical cord caused the engine to shut down shortly after ignition.

The March 16 rocket replica is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The 1941 rocket is from Mrs. Robert H. Goddard.

Sputnik 1

4. Model of Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to be placed in Earth-orbit.

Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to be placed in orbit around Earth, was launched by the USSR on October 4, 1957.

A 29-meter (96-foot) rocket with 510,037 kilograms (1,124,440 pounds) of thrust boosted Sputnik 1 into orbit. The satellite’s orbital and radio data provided scientists with information on atmospheric and electron densities. Sputnik 1 transmitted temperature data for 22 days before its batteries ran down.

The 83.5-kilogram (184-pound) satellite reentered the earth’s atmosphere and burned up on January 4, 1958.

This Sputnik model is from the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Explorer 1

5. Trial firing of a full-size mockup of Explorer 1 on the third-stage assembly of the Jupiter-C launch vehicle.

6. On the launch pad prior to sending the first American satellite into orbit. Explorer 1, launched January 31, 1958, discovered the first two circular radiation belts surrounding the Earth.

The International Geophysical Year (1957-58) provided the impetus for the first official American satellite effort, designated Project Vanguard in 1955. Vanguard was a civilian effort that relied on a launch vehicle built especially for the project’s purposes. The launch by the Soviet Union of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, caused the work on Project Vanguard to go forward under great pressure. When Vanguard Test Vehicle 3, carrying the first American earth satellite, exploded on its launch pad on December 6, 1957, United States prestige reached a low point.

On January 31, 1958, Explorer 1 became the first successful American satellite. It originated in Project Orbiter, a joint study program of the U.S. Army and the Office of Naval Research—a project that lapsed after the 1955 decision to designate Vanguard as the official American satellite effort. Following the Sputnik success, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency was instructed to proceed with its satellite plans.

Explorer 1’s launch vehicle was a four-stage Jupiter-C rocket designed, built, and launched by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency team headed by Wernher von Braun. The satellite’s instrumentation was prepared by James Van Allen and George Ludwig of the State University of Iowa under project direction of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.

Explorer 1 measured three phenomena—cosmic ray and radiation levels (data that led to the discovery of the earth’s radiation belts), the temperature in the vehicle (important in the design of future spacecraft), and the frequency of collisions with micrometeorites. There was no provision for data storage, and therefore the satellite transmitted its information continually.

Explorer 1 was not the only orbiting American satellite for long. In spite of the early problems, Project Vanguard succeeded in launching the second American earth satellite on March 17, 1958.

The back-up Explorer 1 on exhibit is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. California Institute of Technology.

Mariner 2

7. Artist’s conception of Mariner 2 as it flew by Venus.

The first successful interplanetary spacecraft probed the environment of Venus, Earth’s closest neighbor. Mariner 2, working flawlessly, swept by the hot and cloudy planet at a closest approach of 34,834 kilometers (21,645 miles) on December 14, 1962.

The journey began with lift-off on August 27 from Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas Agena-B launch vehicle. During the 109-day trip to the planet, Mariner’s on-board instruments sampled the environment of interplanetary space and telemetered information to Earth stations. Ground-based measurements of the Venerian surface temperature were confirmed by the probe to be around 425° C (800° F).

Mariner 2 detected no measurable magnetic field or radiation belts, indicating that Venus may have a very different history than has Earth.

Mariner 2 passed out of tracking range on January 4, 1963, when the spacecraft was about 87 million kilometers (54 million miles) from Earth. The probe is presently in orbit around the Sun.

The back-up craft on display would have been launched toward Venus if Mariner 2 had failed to reach the planet.

Prime contractor for Mariner 2 was the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.

Mariner 2 is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

8. Enlarged facsimile of coded Mariner 2 tape transmitted December 14, 1962, from the vicinity of Venus. Encircled portions show microwave and infrared coding.

Friendship 7

9. Close-up of Friendship 7 atop Atlas launch vehicle with escape tower.

10. Launch of America’s first man in orbit on February 20, 1962, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

On the morning of February 20, 1962, a 29-meter (95-foot) Mercury Atlas launch vehicle rose from Cape Canaveral carrying John H. Glenn, Jr., in his Mercury spacecraft, Friendship 7. This was the lift-off for the first U.S.-manned orbital space flight.

In slightly more than 5 minutes the Atlas accelerated Friendship 7 to its orbital velocity of 28,230 kilometers per hour (17,540 miles per hour). Astronaut Glenn completed three orbits in 4 hours, 55 minutes. From the orbital path, which varied between 160 and 260 kilometers (100 and 160 miles) above Earth, the first American in orbit described the four sunsets he saw and reported that he was able to distinguish a ship’s wake on the ocean below.

Mercury spacecraft had been used in two previous manned suborbital flights which proved that it was a safe vehicle for manned space flights. Later orbital Mercury missions demonstrated that man could live and work in space. Friendship 7’s flight tested the performance of the pilot in weightless conditions and the interaction of the human pilot with the various automatic systems in the spacecraft.

Friendship 7 reentered the earth’s atmosphere and splashed into the Atlantic Ocean only 64 kilometers (40 miles) from the planned site. Glenn and Friendship 7 were recovered by the U.S.S. Noa near Grand Turk Island in the Bahamas.

The Mercury spacecraft consists of a conical pressure section topped by a cylindrical recovery-system section.

During flight, the Mercury spacecraft was equipped with three 454-kilogram (1000-pound) thrust solid-propellant retro-rockets mounted in a package on the heat shield. After the three rockets were fired to slow the spacecraft, the retro-rocket package was jettisoned.

Prime contractor for Friendship 7 was McDonnell Aircraft Company.

Friendship 7 is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Gemini 4

11. Gemini 4 lifts off, June 3, 1965.

12. Well over 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) later, Gemini 4 is hoisted from the Atlantic Ocean.

Floating at the end of a gold “umbilical cord” attached to the Gemini 4 spacecraft, Edward H. White II became the first American to have only his space suit for protection from the space environment. White directed his movements during the historic 20-minute “walk” with a hand-held maneuvering device, while command pilot James A. McDivitt took pictures from within the craft.

Launched June 3, 1965 atop 3 Titan II booster, the Gemini 4 spacecraft made 62 revolutions during the four-day flight. Although Gemini 4 failed to rendezvous with the Titan II’s second stage as planned, because the stage fell away too rapidly to catch, astronauts McDivitt and White did demonstrate that the Spacecraft could be moved in and out of its orbital plane with ease.

The crew also photographed the Earth successfully. The pictures brought back from Gemini 4 enhanced interest in photographic surveys of Earth from space.

Gemini 4 splashed down in the Atlantic at 12:12 P.M. (EST) on June 7, 1965. McDivitt and White were on the deck of recovery carrier U.S.S. Wasp in less than one hour.

The spacecraft frame is titanium and it is covered with steel and beryllium shingles. Displayed here is the basic spacecraft which includes the pressurized cabin vessel, the heat shield at the base, and the cylindrical reentry attitude-control system section on the nose.

The heat shield is a curved section of fiberglass honeycomb filled with a phenolic-epoxy resin. During reentry, the craft’s kinetic energy was converted to heat by friction with the atmosphere. The heat-shield material melted and vaporized and was blown away from the craft, carrying the heat with it. This process is called ablation.

The Gemini was a true spacecraft, capable of maneuvering widely in space, changing its configuration for different phases of the flight, and allowing the two-man crew to work both inside and outside the craft.

Prime contractor for Gemini 4 was the McDonnell Aircraft Company.

Gemini 4 is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia

13. Three inflated bags repositioned the spacecraft following splashdown. The astronauts watch pararescue-man shut hatch during recovery.

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” Neil A. Armstrong radioed Houston from Tranquility Base on the Moon. The first footprint had been left on the lunar surface. It was 10:56 P.M. (EDT) on July 20, 1969.

Neil Armstrong was Apollo 11’s commander, Michael Collins was command-module pilot, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin was the lunar-module pilot. Their journey began at 9:30 A.M. (EDT) when their Saturn 5 lifted off under 3.4 million kilograms (7.5 million pounds) of thrust.

The three-man crew made the 383,000-kilometer (238,000-mile) journey to the Moon in three days, traveling in command-module Columbia.

At 1:46 P.M. (EDT), on July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin separated the lunar module from the Columbia and began the descent to the lunar plain.

During the 2 hours and 47 minutes that the astronauts were out on the surface of the Moon, they collected samples, deployed instruments, took photographs, and explored Tranquility Base around the lunar module.

After completing their tasks on the Moon, the astronauts rendezvoused with Collins in the command module. Jettisoning the ascent stage, they began the three-day journey back to Earth.

Splashdown occurred in the central Pacific Ocean on July 24. The astronauts climbed out of this command module and were recovered by helicopters that took them to the carrier U.S.S. Hornet.

Prime contractor for Apollo 11’s command module was North American Rockwell Corporation.

The Columbia is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

14. View of the Apollo 11 Command Module with Astronaut Collins aboard as seen from the Lunar Module. Terrain in background is the far side of the Moon.

Ponnamperuma Experiments

15. Equipment for Ponnamperuma Experiments.

These experimental devices were constructed by Cyril Ponnamperuma and his colleagues to show that various forms of energy may be used to produce organic molecules of the type found in living organisms.

In one experiment, electron beams were fired through a glass tube which contained a mixture of gases believed to resemble the atmosphere of primitive Earth. A number of organic molecules, including amino acids, the “building blocks” of life, were formed as a result.

In another experiment—the apparatus on display—electric spark discharges were used to add energy to a mixture of gases and water vapor contained in the device’s upper sphere. The lower sphere contained a solution of water and salts, a solution believed to resemble the slightly salty water of ancient seas. When heat and sparks were added to the gases and salty water, a number of complex organic molecules formed.

The results of these experiments supported the hypothesis that cosmic rays and other high-energy particles bombarding the primitive atmosphere could have been responsible for the origin of life on Earth.

The experimental devices were constructed and donated by Cyril Ponnamperuma and the Laboratory of Chemical Evolution, University of Maryland.

Photomosaic Globe of Mars

16. Photomosaic globe of Mars made of more than 1500 computer-corrected pictures taken by Mariner 9 in 1971 and 1972. The residual North Pole ice cap is at the top.

This 1.2-meter (4-foot) diameter globe of Mars was assembled from photographs taken by Mariner 9, an unmanned spacecraft that orbited the planet from November 14, 1971, until October 27, 1972. This globe is the first such photomosaic ever made of a planet.

Launched on May 30, 1971, Mariner 9 succeeded in photographing the entire surface of the planet. In its 349 days of orbit around Mars, Mariner 9 circled the planet 698 times and took more than 7300 photographs.

In its highly elliptical orbit, Mariner 9 obtained a sequence of overlapping wide-angle photographs. These were processed by a computer to remove the known variations in Mariner 9 camera response and geometric distortions, as well as to enhance surface detail. The mosaic made from the processed photographs is a pictorial presentation of the Martian surface which shows ridges and craters in the dark regions and on the bright polar caps with equal clarity. Surface features are in correct relationship and perspective, with only a minimum of shading difference between individual photographs.

In assembling the photomosaic, each picture was taped in place on the globe. Then, the match of adjacent pictures was assessed to determine where to trim the edges so that sharp features would not be intersected. The edges of each print were feathered so that when the prints were glued into place, the lines between pieces were almost indistinguishable. The complete globe received a thin protective coating.

This globe and copies of it enable scientists to study the geology and morphology of Mars from a perspective never before possible.

The photomosaic globe was designed and assembled at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California.

The Mars Globe is on loan from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Mariner 10

17. Mariner 10 returned data and photographs from the vicinities of Venus and Mercury.

18. This computer-enhanced image of Mercury’s surface was returned by Mariner 10 from 200,000 kilometers (124,000 miles) and 6 hours away from closest approach to Mercury on March 29, 1974.

Mariner 10 returned closeup pictures of the cloud cover around Venus and of Mercury’s sunbaked surface. Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to photograph Mercury, the innermost planet. The spacecraft’s instruments also measured particles, fields, and radiation from these planets.

Mariner 10 flew by Venus on February 5, 1974, after a three-month, 240-million-kilometer (150-million-mile) journey that took the Spacecraft halfway around the Sun. Mariner 10 swung around the planet, taking a variety of measurements and photographs of the clouds that obscure the planet’s face. Using the planet’s gravity to “bend” its flight path, Mariner 10 flew on toward encounter with Mercury.

On March 29, 1974. Mariner sped across the night side of the little planet closest to the Sun. Only 703 kilometers (436 miles) above the rugged surface, Mariner’s cameras captured the first closeup views of the planet’s daylight hemisphere. The pictures show craters, scarps—cliffs nearly 3 kilometers (2 miles) high and stretching as far as 500 kilometers (300 miles) across the surface—basins, and hilly furrowed terrain.

After providing our first glimpse of Mercury’s surface, Mariner raced on around the Sun and back out across Venus’ orbit. With some trajectory adjustments using on-board thrusters. Mariner returned to within 48,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) of Mercury on September 21, 176 days after the first encounter, again returning pictures and data. Mariner’s orbit brought it back to the planet for a third pass in another 176 days. On-board propellant exhausted, the spacecraft continues its orbit of the Sun and innermost planet.

Mariner 10 is the first complex spacecraft designed to travel to the inner reaches of the solar system. At closest approach to the Sun, the spacecraft received five times as much light and heat as it did on leaving Earth. Thus the solar panels, which collect and convert solar radiation into electrical energy for the spacecraft’s instruments and controls, were designed to tilt more and more away from the sunlight as Mariner approached the Sun.

Mariner could transmit much more information to Earth than earlier flyby spacecraft. This higher data rate enabled the craft to send back more live pictures of the planets as it flew by them. Some information was stored on magnetic tape for later transmission. This capability permitted Mariner to collect data when it was hidden from Earth behind a planet, and send the information when it emerged.

Prime contractor for Mariner 10 was Hughes Aircraft Company.

Mariner 10 is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

U.S.S. Enterprise

19. The starship Enterprise used in the filming of the “Star Trek” television series.

This studio model of an interstellar space ship was used in the filming of the science-fiction television series, “Star Trek.” Many of the series’ 78 episodes dealt speculatively with the problems and results of human contacts with extraterrestrial life forms and civilizations.

The model of U.S.S. Enterprise was designed by Walter M. Jeffries and Gene Roddenberry.

The model is from Paramount Television, a division of Paramount Pictures.

Goddard A-Series Rocket, 1935

20. Dr. Goddard in his workshop at Roswell, New Mexico, October 1935.

Robert Hutchings Goddard, the American rocket pioneer, was one of the first to suggest the use of the rocket to gather scientific information from high altitudes. As seamen use sounding lines to measure the depth of unknown waters, so scientists use sounding rockets to investigate the nature of our atmosphere. As early as 1917, the Smithsonian Institution agreed to fund Dr. Goddard’s studies. In 1926, he built and flew the world’s first successful liquid-propellant rocket which rose to an altitude of 12.5 meters (41 feet) over a field in Massachusetts.

After the scientist received substantial grants from the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation, he established a facility near Roswell, New Mexico, where he built and tested a series of rockets and engines between 1930 and 1942.

A-Series rockets—one on exhibit—were flown during the summer of 1935, as part of Dr. Goddard’s program to develop methods of stabilizing his rockets in vertical flight. The principles he pioneered in this area were among his greatest contributions to the field of rocketry.

The greatest height reached by an A-Series rocket was about 2130 meters (7000 feet) and the greatest speed in flight was more than 1130 kilometers per hour (700 miles per hour).

The rocket on exhibit is from Robert H. Goddard.

WAC Corporal

21. Frank Malina, project leader in the development of the WAC Corporal, stands beside the high-altitude sounding rocket.

The WAC Corporal was the first successful American sounding rocket to reach significant altitude. The first WAC Corporal, launched in 1944 from White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico, reached a height of 71,600 meters (235,000 feet). The fin-stabilized rocket was powered by a liquid-propellant engine that burned a self-igniting fuel and oxidizer combination. Use of these propellants eliminated the need for an ignition system. By March 1946, these rockets had attained altitudes of over 72.4 kilometers (45 miles) with a booster. The WAC Corporal was later used as a second stage on a German V-2 rocket. This U.S. program, code-named “Bumper,” tested techniques for ignition and separation of stages at high altitudes.

The WAC Corporal was designed in 1944 by the staff of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.

The rocket on exhibit is from the California Institute of Technology.

Aerobee 150

22. A booster lifts Aerobee 150 out of its launch rail.

The half-ton Aerobee could carry a 45.4-kilogram (100-pound) payload to an altitude of 120.6 kilometers (75 miles). For many years, the Aerobee was the standard American sounding rocket due to its reliability and relatively low cost. Several versions of the original Aerobee were produced. The Aerobee relied on a short-duration, solid-fuel booster for launching, after which the main-stage, liquid-propellant engine ignited.

On display at the NASM is an Aerobee 150, a more sophisticated version of the rocket. An Aerobee 150 can lift a 68.1-kilogram (150-pound) payload to an altitude of 274 kilometers (170 miles). Payloads consisted of a variety of scientific experiments.

The Aerobee concept originated early in 1946 when Dr. James Van Allen, then of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, suggested that the Office of Naval Research contract for a rocket with these particular capabilities. The Aerojet General Corporation (then Aerojet, Inc.) was awarded the contract, with the Douglas Aircraft Corporation subcontracting for aerodynamic studies on the nose, fins, and tail cone, and for the final assembly of the rocket.

The Aerobee 150 is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center.

Farside

23. Artist’s rendering of four-stage Farside sounding rocket, in launcher below balloon.

24. Rocket was fired directly through the apex of the balloon. Drawing shows the first stage falling away as second-stage rocket takes over.

Farside was a four-stage rocket launched from a balloon as an extremely high-altitude research vehicle. Achieving heights estimated at 6400 kilometers (4000 miles). Farside’s instrument payload was intended to study cosmic rays, earth’s magnetic field, certain forms of electromagnetic radiation in space, the presence of interplanetary gases, and the nature of meteoric dust.

The 908-kilogram (2000-pound) Farside was lifted to an altitude of 30.5 kilometers (19 miles) by a polyethylene balloon. An aluminum structure suspended from the balloon carried the 7.3-meter (24-foot) rocket to launch altitude. Positioned vertically in its casing, Farside was fired directly through the balloon.

Six Farsides were launched by the United States in 1957 from Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific.

Farside’s first stage consisted of four solid-fuel Recruit rockets, manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Company. A single Recruit served as the second stage. Four Arrow II solid-fuel rockets by the Grand Central Rocket Company constituted the third stage. The final stage, a single Arrow II, carried the instrument payload provided by S. F. Singer of the University of Maryland.

Farside was developed by Aeronutronics Systems, Inc., for the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and Development.

The rocket on exhibit is from the Aeronutronics Division, Ford Motor Company.

Nike-Cajun

25. Nike-Cajun ready for launch.

26. Nike-Cajun launch.

The Nike-Cajun was used extensively during International Geophysical Year (1957-58) to perform a variety of research tasks. These included weather photography, studies of water-vapor distribution in the upper atmosphere, and magnetic soundings in the ionosphere.

For photographic studies, the instrument package separated from the nose cone at about 80 kilometers (50 miles) and then coasted to a peak altitude of about 120 kilometers (75 miles), during which time data was collected. Then parachutes opened, lowering the cameras for recovery. Other data was radioed to Earth.

The Cajun rocket was developed by the Pilotless Aircraft Division of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the University of Michigan. The solid-fuel engine was designed and manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Company. The Nike booster was also solid fuel.

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

ARCAS

27. Loading ARCAS into launcher.

All-purpose Rocket for Collecting Atmospheric Sounding (ARCAS) gathers local meteorological data helpful to weather forecasters. Its 5.4-kilogram (12-pound) payload may include instruments which measure temperature, pressure, humidity, wind velocity and direction, and magnetic conditions. The single-stage ARCAS vehicle reaches an altitude of 64 kilometers (40 miles), propelled by a slow-burning solid-fuel engine which produces 141.4 kilograms (312 pounds) of thrust.

When the ARCAS is boosted by a Sparrow or Sidewinder missile engine, it can reach altitudes of 182,880 meters (600,000 feet).

The 32-kilogram (71-pound) ARCAS is far less expensive than the larger two-stage weather rockets it has replaced. It was developed and produced by the Atlantic Research Corporation.

The ARCAS is from the Atlantic Research Corporation.

Cricket

28. Preparing Cricket for launch.

The reusable Cricket, often called the “meteorologist’s handyman,” weighs only 2.5 kilograms (5½ pounds), 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds) of which is propellant. Recovered by parachute after each flight, Cricket costs less than $10 to refuel.

The Cricket’s .34-kilogram (three-fourth pound) instrument package zooms to 975 meters (3200 feet) in only 12 seconds, gathering data on air temperature, pressure and wind direction.

One of the rocket’s most noteworthy features is that it uses “cold” propellants. Compressed carbon dioxide to which acetone is added is pumped into a storage tank in the rocket at a pressure of 56.3 kilograms per square centimeter (800 pounds per square inch). Release of the pressurized mixture gives Cricket its thrust. Cricket is fired from its launcher by a separate charge of carbon dioxide in order to preserve the rocket’s fuel for flight.

This rocket was developed by Texaco Experiment, Inc., for the U.S. Air Force’s Cambridge Research Laboratory.

The Cricket is from Texaco, Inc.

Viking 12

29. Viking 12 lift-off.

The Viking rocket family, numbering 14, grew out of the Navy’s efforts to develop an upper atmosphere research program. With enough time between launches to incorporate modifications suggested by experience with earlier Vikings, no two rockets of the series were exactly alike; however, there were two basic types of Vikings. The first seven rockets were taller, thinner, and had larger fins than those numbered 8-14; rockets in the second set were heavier, with fuel capacity greatly increased, and were designed either to go higher than the early Vikings or to carry heavier payloads to the same altitude.

Viking’s highest altitude was 254 kilometers (158 miles) following a launch from White Sands on May 24, 1954. Experiments flown on these rockets measured air temperature, density, pressure, and composition, as well as providing cosmic and solar radiation data.

One of the few failures in this program was Viking 8, the first rocket of the second set, which unexpectedly tore loose from the launch stand while being test-fired.

Viking was conceived at the Naval Research Laboratory, designed and produced by the Glenn L. Martin Company of Baltimore, Maryland, and powered by a liquid-propellant engine by Reaction Motors, Inc.

The rocket on exhibit is from the Hayden Planetarium and Martin Marietta Aerospace.

MOUSE

30. MOUSE model displays some of the earliest solar cells made (under square cover on front).

The concept of artificial earth satellites was a logical extension of existing sounding-rocket programs. The MOUSE, or Minimum Orbital Unmanned Satellite of Earth, was conceived in 1951 as the smallest possible orbital vehicle capable of performing scientific tasks. While the MOUSE was never built or flown, it demonstrated what could be accomplished by an orbiting vehicle of modest size and weight.

The MOUSE would have weighed 45.4 kilograms (100 pounds). It was designed to study cosmic rays, interplanetary dust, and solar ultraviolet and X rays, with the instruments attached to rods projecting from either end. The satellite was to be powered by solar cells.

MOUSE was conceived by Kenneth W. Gatland, Anthony Kunesch, and Alan Dixon of England. Dr. S. F. Singer of the University of Maryland designed the MOUSE and constructed the model on exhibit. The model displays some of the earliest solar cells produced by the Bell Telephone Laboratories.

The MOUSE is from S. F. Singer.

Agena-B

31. Thor-Agena launch vehicle and its satellite payload before launch.

The Agena launch vehicle has been an integral part of both unmanned and manned space programs. Flown as an upper stage on Thor and Atlas boosters, Agena orbited an impressive roster of spacecraft including the Echo communications satellites, the Ranger and Lunar Orbiter Moon probes, and the Mariner vehicles that traveled to Venus and Mars.

As the target for docking experiments during Project Gemini, Agena made substantial contributions to the eventual success of the Apollo program. The vehicle earned the distinction of being the first to place a payload in polar orbit, and was also the first to achieve circular orbit. The Agena engine was the first which could be stopped and restarted in space.

The Agena launch vehicle was developed and manufactured by the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company for the United States Air Force.

The Agena-B is from the United States Air Force and the Lockheed Missile and Space Company.

32. The Agena Target Docking Vehicle seen from the Gemini 8 spacecraft during rendezvous approach.

Science Satellites

33. Vanguard 1, second American satellite launched. Information from Vanguard showed that the Earth is not quite round.

The first artificial earth satellites were sometimes called “long-playing rockets” because they carried the same instruments and investigated the same problems as had the sounding rockets. The great advantage of the satellite was its ability to provide a continuous flow of information for long periods of time. The first science satellites were the forerunners of later vehicles that would demonstrate the direct benefits that satellites could offer to such varied fields as weather observation and communication.

The advent of the earth satellite provided scientists with a new and valuable research tool. Science satellites have been used for such tasks as solar and astronomical observations, biology experiments, or atmospheric investigation. Explorer 1 (launched January 31, 1958) and Vanguard 1 (launched March 17, 1958), the first American earth satellites, carried scientific payloads into space.

Project Vanguard’s important contributions to America’s space program were the creation of the minitrack tracking system, the first use of silicon solar cells for electric power in a satellite, as well as the discovery that Earth is not quite round. The Vanguard program drew to a close with the 1959 launch of Vanguard 3. This satellite studied variations in solar and x-ray radiation and the earth’s magnetosphere. It also determined air density in the upper atmosphere.

The mysteries of the near-earth space environment drew Explorer 6, launched August 7, 1959. Explorer 6 instruments measured radiation levels in the Van Allen radiation belts, mapped the earth’s magnetic field, counted micrometeorites, and studied the behavior of radio waves in space. In addition, Explorer 6 carried a scanning device which returned the first complete television cloud-cover picture of the earth’s surface.

34. Artist’s concept of IMP-E. This satellite’s primary mission is to study solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field at lunar distance and their interaction with the Moon.

Explorer 10, launched on board a Thor-Delta rocket on March 25, 1961, confirmed the existence of the solar wind—the stream of particles that carries the Sun’s magnetic field beyond the orbit of Earth. During the satellite’s planned 52 hours in orbit, it relayed information on the relationship between terrestrial and interplanetary magnetic fields and the solar wind.

To continue the study of solar wind and interplanetary magnetic fields, Explorer 12 was orbited by a Delta launch vehicle on August 16, 1961. It was the first in a series of satellites to study energetic particles in space. These electrons and protons constitute the earth’s radiation belts and they affect weather and other phenomena on Earth.

Atmosphere Explorer-A was the first of NASA’s aeronomy satellites. It was designed to remain in operation three months, studying the composition, density, pressure, and temperature of the upper atmosphere. This satellite discovered a belt of neutral helium atoms around the Earth.

Deriving its name from a spirit in Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, Ariel 1 explored the ionosphere, a region of electrically charged air which begins about 40 kilometers (25 miles) above the surface of the Earth. Launched April 26, 1962, Ariel was a cooperative venture between Great Britain and the United States. It was both the first British satellite and NASA’s first international satellite. The Royal Society’s British National Committee on Space Research coordinated the experimental program; NASA scientists and technicians built the craft.

Two small scientific laboratories, called Interplanetary Monitoring Platforms, were launched in 1967 to study the solar wind and other phenomena. IMP-E investigated interplanetary magnetic fields in the vicinity of the Moon. IMP-F investigated the interplanetary magnetic field also, in addition to the earth’s magnetosphere and radiation levels in space.

Interplanetary space between the Earth and Venus was the subject area for Pioneer 5, launched March 11, 1960. The satellite tested long-range communications systems, developed methods for measuring astronomical distances, studied the effects of solar flares, and performed other tasks before it went into orbit around the Sun.

With increasing interest in the earth’s space environment, a satellite was launched on September 7, 1967, to investigate the impact of space on biological processes. Biosatellite 2 was the second satellite in the program of three such vehicles. Frog eggs, plants, micro-organisms and insects were placed in orbit to enable scientists to study the combined effects of weightlessness, artificially produced radiation, and the absence of the normal day-night cycle on these organisms. Following two days in space, the capsule containing the experimental package reentered the atmosphere and was caught in mid-air by an Air Force recovery aircraft.

Vanguard 1 is from John P. Hagan. Vanguard 3, Explorer 10, Explorer 12, AE-A, Ariel 1, IMP-E & F, and Biosatellite 2 are from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The models of Explorer 6 and Pioneer 5 are from Space Technology Laboratories.

Meteorological Satellites

35. TOS satellite is covered with solar cells.

Weather forecasts are important to everyone—in planning whether or not to carry an umbrella, when to plant crops, when to evacuate riverbank areas. Nineteenth-century American meteorologists relied on local weather observations telegraphed to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and then plotted on a large map of the nation from which forecasts were prepared.

When Tiros-1 returned the first global cloud-cover picture in 1960, meteorologists were on their way to more accurate forecasts. Since the satellite pictures offered more comprehensive weather data over a larger geographic area, the identification of weather patterns became more reliable.

While our knowledge of atmospheric conditions is still imperfect, we have learned to make reasonably accurate regional weather forecasts and to identify and track violent storms and hurricanes based on satellite information.

The TIROS series (Television Infrared Observations Satellites) were designed to test the feasibility of weather observation from orbit. The TIROS satellite on exhibit was the prototype for the entire series of vehicles. The prototype made eight trips to the launch stand at Cape Kennedy, where it was used to check communications and handling procedures prior to the launch of the scheduled TIROS. All 10 TIROS satellites were successful. Launched between April 1, 1960, and July 1, 1965, they carried a variety of camera systems for experimental purposes.

Nine TIROS Operational Satellites (TOS) followed TIROS 1-10. Except for the first TOS, these satellites flew in pairs with one craft storing pictures on board for later transmission to major receiving centers, while the other broadcast its photographs continuously to any ground station within range. The satellite on display is of the latter type. These vehicles were launched between 1966 and 1969. They were placed in near-polar orbits by reliable Thor-Delta launch vehicles.

36. TIROS I photo showing a section of the East coast of the United States, including the Boston and New England area.

After launch, TOS vehicles were referred to as ESSA satellites. ESSA was an acronym both for Environmental Survey Satellite and for the Environmental Science Service Administration, the federal agency that operated the spacecraft. This organization became a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which currently has responsibility for operational meteorological satellite programs.

From about 1392 kilometers (865 miles) above Earth, two wide-angle television cameras mounted on either side of the spacecraft took in 10.4-million square kilometers (4-million square miles) per photo.

The Improved TIROS Operational Satellite (ITOS) opened the world of radiometric measurement to meteorologists—information about surface temperatures on the ground, at sea level, or at the cloud tops obtained by scanning devices sensitive to energy that is invisible to the naked eye. ITOS spacecraft could return accurate day or night surface and cloud-cover images. Seven of these satellites were launched between 1970 and 1973.

TIROS was presented to the National Air and Space Museum by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; TOS is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; ITOS is from the Astro-Electronics Division of RCA, Inc.

37. Artist’s concept of ITOS weather satellite illustrating how the weather eye takes night-time (infrared) cloud-cover pictures.

Communications Satellites

38. Ground inflation test on Echo 1, the world’s first passive communications satellite.

Communications satellites can be grouped into two broad categories. Passive vehicles reflect signals from one ground station to another. Active satellites accept ground signals and either amplify and rebroadcast them immediately or record messages for later transmission.

The Echo satellite balloons typified the passive category of communications spacecraft. These satellites “bounced” radio signals from one ground station to another. Uninflated Echo payloads were carried into orbit packed in special storage containers. When released in space, the balloon was inflated by chemicals packed inside which subliminated to produce inflating gas. The mylar plastic skin of the satellite was sandwiched between two layers of aluminum foil. Echo 2—on display—included a system for releasing gas over a long period of time to maintain the satellite’s spherical shape. Launched January 25, 1964, Echo 2 was the first satellite used for communication experiments between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Project West Ford, launched May 9, 1963, was a unique experiment in passive satellite communications. It was not a solid vehicle, but a series of 400-million tiny individual copper filaments called dipoles. The dipoles formed a reflective layer some 64,300 kilometers (40,000 miles) long, 32 kilometers (20 miles) thick, and 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide. The distance between the individual dipoles averaged 536 meters (one-third mile). The West Ford experiment proved disappointing, and advances in the design of active communications satellites made further experiments of this nature unnecessary.

Oscar 1 (Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) was conceived, designed, and constructed by American amateur radio “hams.” Launched as a “piggyback” satellite on December 12, 1963, Oscar transmitted a series of Morse code dots spelling “hi.” The message was picked up by 5000 operators in 28 nations during the 18 days of transmission. Oscar investigated radio propagation phenomena in space on that portion of the radio frequency spectrum allocated to amateur radio (144-146 megaherz).

Testing the use of a “delayed-repeater” satellite in global military communications, Courier 1-B was placed in a high-altitude orbit on October 4, 1960. The craft accepted and stored messages as it passed over one ground station, then replayed them on command.

Relay, another active repeater satellite, was placed in orbit on December 13, 1962. Relay carried communications experiments to test a variety of relay equipment—including that for photofacsimile, teleprinter, and data transmission. During its 25-month lifespan, Relay 1 introduced the nations of the world to satellite communication. A second, improved Relay was launched in 1964.