Apollo and America's Moon Landing Program: The Apollo Spacecraft - A Chronology - Four Volumes (SP-4009) - Complete Official History of the Apollo Program from Inception Through 1974
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), World Spaceflight News, Ivan D. Ertel, Roland W. Newkirk, Courtney G. Brooks, Mary Louise Morse, Jean Kernahan Bays
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The Apollo Spacecraft Chronology
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The Apollo Spacecraft - A Chronology
Special Publication-4009
Volume I by Ivan D. Ertel and Mary Louise Morse Through November 7, 1962 (NASA SP-4009, 1969)
PREFACE
Project Apollo, conceived as a successor to the Mercury program in this nation's manned exploration of space and originally planned as a circumlunar flight, now has as its primary objective a manned lunar landing and return within the decade. As a bridge between Mercury and Apollo, the Gemini program has provided essential experience in space rendezvous and demonstrated the feasibility of long-duration space flight. Like Mercury and Gemini, Apollo is a program of complex and interrelated elements: launch vehicles; spacecraft; and launch, tracking, and recovery facilities. This is the first volume of a chronology dealing with the spacecraft.
It is planned to publish The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology in several volumes. The intent of the authors is to concentrate on the important events that have affected the concept, design, and development of the Apollo spacecraft rather than to cover in detail the entire Apollo program. In keeping with this intent, the authors have tried to give a balanced overview of the Apollo spacecraft program, not limiting the chronology to the activities of a single NASA Center.
Part I, "Concept to Apollo," reviews the earliest years up to the official announcement of the Apollo program. Part II, "Design-Decision-Contract," continues through the selection of the principal contractor for the command and service modules. Part III, "Lunar Orbit Rendezvous: Mode and Module," completes Volume I, ending with the naming of the contractor for the lunar module.
As far as possible, primary sources were consulted. These included congressional documents, Apollo program status reports, Manned Spacecraft Center and Apollo Spacecraft Project Office weekly activity reports, contractors' progress reports, Apollo working papers, letters, memoranda, NASA and industry staff reports, minutes of meetings, and interviews with persons directly involved in the early years of the Apollo program. In addition, books, newspaper accounts, press releases, chronologies, and magazine articles were researched for material. The present volume was extensively revised several times as new sources of information came to light.
This and succeeding volumes are meant not only to provide a useful and accurate reference work for the scientist, historian, and general reader, but also to serve as a foundation for a narrative history of the Apollo program as part of the NASA Historical Series.
The materials used in this chronology were accumulated from a wide variety of sources and so the authors are indebted to a number of individuals and organizations for outstanding cooperation and assistance. Some have assisted to such a degree that special recognition seems warranted. This group includes: Rose Sidick, Redstone Scientific Information Center, and Lois Robertson, Marshall Space Flight Center, for their invaluable assistance in research and documentation retrieval;
Jack C. Heberlig, MSC Office of Engineering and Development, and J. Thomas Markley, MSC Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, who proffered many early Apollo documents; Charles F. Allyn, MSC Technical Information Preparation Branch, for development of a technical documentation retrieval system; the staff of the NASA Historical Office in Washington, D.C., and especially William D. Putnam, Assistant NASA Historian for Manned Space Flight, who performed yeoman research and documentation service and offered many cogent suggestions concerning the content and format of this publication; Jean K. Bays, Contract Historian on the Apollo chronology project from the University of Houston, who helped materially in the preparation of the appendixes and in the final revision of the comment draft; and MSC Historian James M. Grimwood for his thorough review and constructive criticism of the draft version. Catherine A. De Leon and Phyllis R. Hagan typed the comment draft edition and Sally D. Gates was responsible for preparation of the final product. Especial thanks is given to Billie D. Rowell, MSC Historical Office archivist, for her outstanding service in setting up and maintaining the research files.
This volume of the chronology was written under the sponsorship of NASA at its Manned Spacecraft Center, with principal reliance on a contract with the University of Houston.
I.D.E. M.L.M.
August 1968
The Authors
Ivan D. Ertel has been the Assistant Historian of the Manned Spacecraft Center since September 1964. Born in Marion, New York (1914) he received his B.B.A. degree from Georgia State College, Atlanta, Georgia (1958). He was news editor of Atlanta's Suburban Reporter, East Point, Georgia, and the Decatur-DeKalb News, Decatur, Georgia (1954-1957). Before coming to NASA in 1961 he was Press Officer at Headquarters, Third Army. Ertel established the MSC official news organ, Space News Roundup, and authored brochures and fact sheets about each Mercury and Gemini manned flight. He is married and has three daughters.
Mary Louise Morse has been a Research Associate with the Department of History of the University of Houston since the fall of 1966. Born in Beverly. Massachusetts, she received her B.S. in Education from Salem State College, Salem, Massachusetts (1947), and her M.A. in History from Columbia University (1950). She was a senior editor with the MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, before moving to Houston.
Foreword
The chronology of the development of the Apollo spacecraft and the lunar mission provides specific documented information covering a wide range of happenings both directly and indirectly related to the program. This wealth of material should be of value to historians and others interested in the events of the great adventure. The foreword presents a synopsis of the first several years of the program as seen from the vantage point of the first Apollo Project Office Manager. It is hoped that it will aid the user of the chronology by providing context for some of the material presented.
A discussion of the Apollo Spacecraft Program must include reference to the Mercury and Gemini Programs, not because they are manned space programs but because of the interrelationship between the programs in time, in people, and in organizations, and the differences and similarities in the requirements of the programs. The Mercury Program had a very specific objective, namely to place a man in orbit and return him to earth. The Gemini Program was somewhat different. It was operating in the same earth orbital environment as Mercury but had as its goal a number of objectives which were intended to explore and develop our capabilities to work in this environment. In doing this, the Gemini Program had more resources than Mercury, in terms of increased payload weight in orbit. Apollo is more like Mercury. It has a well-defined objective that involves moving into a new environment deep space - and resources that offer little if any payload capability beyond that required to achieve the objective. Perhaps the Apollo Applications Program will be to Apollo what Gemini has been to Mercury, establishing an operational capability in an environment which has been first explored in a prior program.
The Mercury project was formally initiated in October 1958 and at that time the Space Task Group was formed to manage the project. This group and others had been studying the specifics of the program for over a year at Langley and other NACA Centers. During 1959, the requirements of the Mercury Program left no time for advanced program study by the Space Task Group. In 1960, the first organized activity related to advanced mission study began. Committee studies, such as that carried out by the Goett Committee, had indicated that the lunar mission should be the next major manned objective. With this in mind, a series of technical guidelines was developed to guide the spacecraft studies. These guidelines were based on assumptions that launch vehicles then planned were capable only of circumlunar flight rather than lunar landing and that there were enough unknowns related to the lunar mission that the hardware should be equally capable of advanced earth orbital missions as an alternative.
Based on the technical guidelines, three efforts were undertaken. A formal liaison activity was set up with other NASA Centers to stimulate and encourage their research and studies toward the lunar mission, using the guidelines as a general reference. Three system study contracts were let to industry and a preliminary design study was conducted by Space Task Group personnel. This total effort took approximately one year and culminated in a conference held in Washington in June 1961. These studies were primarily based on a circumlunar mission with the intent that the hardware elements developed would have application to a later lunar mission.
Concurrent with the completion of this year of study effort in the Spring of 1961, two events of utmost significance to the program took place. The first U.S. manned suborbital flight, of Lt. Cdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., was successful. Shortly thereafter, President John F. Kennedy announced the national objective of a manned lunar landing mission within the decade.
As a follow-on to the study effort of the previous year, specifications were being prepared for the command and service modules so a contract could be let to industry. These specifications were changed to acknowledge the requirement for a lunar landing rather than a circumlunar mission. Since the lunar-mission launch vehicle had not been determined, it was assumed that a single launch vehicle would insert a spacecraft into the lunar trajectory and that the command and service modules would land on the lunar surface with the aid of a third module which would decelerate the total spacecraft as it approached the surface. The launch vehicle required for this approach was never fully defined but was of the class referred to as the Nova.
During the Spring and Summer of 1961, work statements and specifications were completed and issued to industry for the command and service modules. During the Fall, proposals were evaluated and a contractor was selected in November 1961. Throughout this period, practically all Space Task Group activity had been directed toward the command and service modules; launch vehicle studies by Marshall Space Flight Center and others had led to a selection of the Saturn C-5 as the lunar launch vehicle in the Fall of 1961.
This decision eliminated the lunar mission approach previously described, involving the Nova class vehicle, and offered two alternatives. The first involved the use of two Saturn C-5's and an earth orbit rendezvous to mate the spacecraft module, plus an earth-to-moon rocket stage. This would allow a landing of the entire spacecraft, employing a third module to decelerate the command and service modules to the lunar surface; then a launch from the lunar surface would use the servicemodule propulsion. The other alternative was to use a single Saturn C-5 launch vehicle carrying the entire spacecraft, consisting of three modules. The third module, instead of being an unmanned module whose purpose was to decelerate the other two modules to the lunar surface, would be a manned module which would go to the lunar surface from lunar orbit and return, while the command and service modules waited in lunar orbit to rendezvous with the third module.
This latter approach had been studied by the Langley Research Center and others during 1960 and 1961. At first it was not received enthusiastically by the Space Task Group in comparison with the Nova direct approach previously described.
In late 1961, the Space Task Group (redesignated Manned Spacecraft Center, November 1, 1961) personnel moved to Houston and initiated studies of the two remaining approaches offered by the C-5 vehicle. Studies were also being conducted by Marshall, Headquarters, and other groups. The Manned Spacecraft Center study concentrated on the feasibility of the lunar orbit rendezvous method and the definition of the lunar module, then known as the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module). In the Spring of 1962, the Manned Spacecraft Center studies indicated the desirability of the lunar orbit rendezvous approach as opposed to the earth orbit rendezvous approach. Discussions were held with Headquarters and Marshall. It was decided to complete preparation of the work statement and specifications for the LEM and to issue them to industry.
This was done in the Summer and contractors' proposals were evaluated. In early November, the final decision was made to go the lunar orbit rendezvous approach. A contractor was selected and negotiations were completed by the end of 1962.
Parallel to the effort related to mission selection, specifications preparation, and contractor selection for the major modules, additional work was being done on the navigation and guidance system. During this 1960 study phase previously described, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was conducting a study of concepts for the Apollo system. It was subsequently decided that MIT would be given the navigation and guidance system task, with support from appropriate industrial contractors. The contract with MIT was signed in August 1961, the support contractor work statements and specifications were prepared and issued in early 1962, and three contractors were selected in the Spring of that year.
In summary, the period through 1962 was one of mission definition and major contractor selection. With the selection of the lunar orbit rendezvous mission mode and the LEM contractor, the program was in a position to move into specific design efforts.
Robert O. Piland
Science and Applications Directorate Manned Spacecraft Center
The Key Events
1955
March: The feasibility of a million-pound-thrust liquid-fueled rocket engine established by the Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation, Inc.
1957
April: Studies of a large clustered-engine booster to generate 1.5 million pounds of thrust begun by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA).
October 4: Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite, successfully launched by the Soviet Union. 1958
January 31: Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite, launched successfully.
June 23: Preliminary design begun by Rocketdyne Division on a single-chamber liquid-fueled rocket engine (the F-1) of 1.5 million pounds of thrust.
July 29: The National Aeronautics and Space Act signed, authorizing the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
August 15: Development begun of the Juno V (later named Saturn) booster under Advanced Research Projects Agency Order 14.
October 1: NASA officially constituted and charged with responsibility for the U.S. civilian space program.
October 11: Letter contract signed by NASA with Rocketdyne Division for development of the H-1 engine designed for use in the clustered-engine booster.
November 5: Space Task Group (STG) officially organized to implement the manned satellite project.
1959
January 19: Contract signed by NASA with Rocketdyne Division for design and development of the F-1 engine.
April 9: First group of astronauts selected for the manned space flight program.
April-December: Detailed study of advanced manned space flight missions by the Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight (Goett Committee).
August-September: Meetings of the STG New Projects Panel to discuss an advanced manned space flight program.
September 12: Launching by the Soviet Union of Lunik II, which crash-landed on the moon about 35 hours later.
October 4: Launching by the Soviet Union of Lunik III, which photographed the far side of the moon three days later.
December 31: NASA approval of the Saturn C-1 configuration and the long-range Saturn development program.
1960
January 28: NASA's Ten-Year Plan presented to Congress during testimony before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics.
March 15: ABMA's Development Operations Division and the Saturn program transferred to NASA cognizance.
April-May: Presentation by STG members of the guidelines for an advanced manned spacecraft program to NASA Centers.
April 26: NASA selection of the Douglas Aircraft Company to build the second stage (S-IV) of the Saturn C-1.
April 29: All eight H-1 engines of the Saturn C-1 first stage ground-tested simultaneously for the first time.
May 25: STG Advanced Vehicle Team formed to conduct research and make preliminary design studies leading to the definition of requirements for an advanced multiman spacecraft.
May 31: Selection of Rocketdyne Division by NASA to develop the 200,000-pound-thrust J-2 rocket engine.
July 28-29: The announcement of the Apollo program to representatives of American industry.
August 30: Industry briefing by Goddard Space Flight Center on feasibility studies for the Apollo spacecraft.
September 1: The Apollo Project Office formed under the Space Task Group (STG) Flight Systems Division.
September 13: STG briefing for prospective bidders on the feasibility studies for the Apollo spacecraft.
October 21: STG selection of the Apollo command module design.
October 25: Selection by NASA of Convair/Astronautics Division of General Dynamics Corporation, the General Electric Company, and The Martin Company to prepare feasibility studies for the Apollo spacecraft.
1961
January 6-12: First meetings of the Apollo Technical Liaison Groups, formed to coordinate NASA inter-Center information exchange.
February 7: Six-month study contract for Apollo guidance and navigation support signed by NASA with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Instrumentation Laboratory.
February 7: Final report of the Low Committee outlining a manned lunar landing within the decade using either the earth orbit rendezvous or direct ascent technique.
April 12: First successful manned orbital flight, by Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin of the Soviet Union.
May 5: First successful American suborbital flight, by Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
May 5: Completion of the first draft of the Apollo spacecraft specifications by STG.
May 15-17: Submission of final reports by contractors on the feasibility studies on the Apollo spacecraft.
May 22: Completion of the second draft of the Apollo spacecraft specifications by STG.
May 25: President John F. Kennedy's proposal to Congress and the nation of an accelerated space program including a manned lunar landing within the decade.
June 10: Report of the Lundin Committee recommending a low-altitude earth orbit rendezvous mode using the Saturn C-3 to accomplish the manned lunar landing mission.
June 16: Report of the Fleming Committee identifying the chief pacing items of a manned lunar landing mission within the decade as the development of and facilities for the launch vehicle.
July 28: NASA invitation to 12 companies to submit bids on the prime Apollo spacecraft contract.
August 9: Selection of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory to develop under STG direction the Apollo navigation and guidance system - first major Apollo contract.
August: Report of the Heaton Committee recommending the earth orbit rendezvous technique and use of the Saturn C-4 for the manned lunar landing mission.
October 11: Presentations to NASA representatives by five industrial teams bidding on the Apollo spacecraft contract.
October 27: Successful flight of the first Saturn C-1 (SA-1) booster.
November. 1: Formal redesignation of the Space Task Group as the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC).
November 8: First meeting of the MSC-MSFC Coordination Panels, formed to find solutions to the interrelated problems of the Apollo launch vehicle and spacecraft.
November 20: Report of the Rosen working group to the NASA Office of Manned Space Flight, recommending direct ascent as the primary lunar landing mission mode with a backup rendezvous capability development.
November 28: Selection of North American Aviation, Inc., as principal contractor for the Apollo spacecraft under MSC direction.
1961
December 15: Selection of The Boeing Company for negotiations as the prime contractor for the first stage (S-IC) of the Saturn C-5, under the direction of Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).
December 20: Selection of the Douglas Aircraft Company to develop the S-IVB stage of the Saturn C-5, under the direction of MSFC.
December 21: Letter contract No. NAS 9-150 signed by NASA and North American Aviation, Inc. (NAA), authorizing work to begin on the Apollo spacecraft development program.
December 21: Decision by the Manned Space flight Management Council on the Saturn C-5 configuration.
December 21: Four major subcontractors on the Apollo spacecraft systems chosen by NAA.
1962
January 15: Apollo Spacecraft Project Office established at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC).
February 20: First successful American orbital flight, by Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr.
March 12: Primary activities for the Apollo program relocated at MSC, Houston, Tex.
April 11: Assignment by the President of DX (highest) priority to the Apollo program.
May 8: Three major associate contractors on the Apollo spacecraft guidance and navigation system selected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Instrumentation Laboratory.
May 11: General Dynamics/Convair awarded contract by NASA to design and manufacture the Little Joe II test launch vehicle.
July 11: Announcement by NASA that the Saturn C-IB launch vehicle would be developed to test the Apollo spacecraft in earth orbit missions.
July 11: Selection by NASA of the lunar orbit rendezvous mode for the manned lunar landing mission.
July 20: Announcement by NASA that the Mission Control Center would be located at MSC.
July 25: Invitations by NASA to 11 companies to bid on the lunar excursion module contract.
July: Hamilton Standard Division of United Aircraft Corporation selected by NASA to develop the Apollo space suit.
September 5: Nine industry proposals for the lunar excursion module contract received by NASA.
October 30: Contract signed by NASA with NAA for the development and production of the S-II (second) stage of the Saturn C-5, directed by MSFC.
November 7: Selection of the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation by NASA to design and develop the lunar excursion module under MSC direction.
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PART 1
Concept to Apollo
Beginnings through July 1960
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1923
During the Year
In a discussion of the uses of an interplanetary rocket, Hermann Oberth proposed circumlunar flight to explore the hidden face of the moon and discussed the possibility of storing cryogenic fuels in space. A spacecraft could rendezvous and dock in earth orbit with a fuel capsule. When the spacecraft reached the vicinity of a planet, it would detach itself from the capsule and descend to the surface. On departure, the spacecraft would ascend and reconnect to its fuel supply for the return trip.
Hermann Oberth, Die Rakete zu den Planetenuraumen (The Rocket in Interplanetary Space) (1923), pp. 94, 96-97.
1929
July - September
Hermann Noordung pseudonym for Capt. Potocnik of the Austrian Imperial Army) expanded the ideas of Hermann Oberth on space flight in a detailed description of an orbiting space observatory. The problems of weightlessness, space communications, maintaining a livable environment for the crew, and extravehicular activity were considered. Among the uses of such an observatory were chemical and physical experiments in a vacuum, telescopes of great size and efficiency, detailed mapping of the earth's surface, weather observation, surveillance of shipping routes, and military reconnaissance.
Hermann Noordung, "The Problems of Space Flying," translated from the German, Science Wonder Stories, July-September, 1929; Wernher von Braun and Frederick I. Ordway III, History of Rocketry and Space Travel (1966), p. 202.
1945
During the Year
As part of a summary of his work on rockets during World War II, Wernher von Braun speculated on future uses of rocket power. These included an observatory in space, the construction of space stations in earth orbit, a space mirror, and interplanetary travel, beginning with trips to the moon.
Wernher von Braun, "Survey of the Development of Liquid Rockets in Germany and Their Future Prospects," in F. Zwicky, Report on Certain Phases of War Research in Germany, Summary Report No. F-SU-3-RE (Headquarters Air Material Command, January 1947), pp. 3842.
1948
November 13
A paper read to the British Interplanetary Society by H. E. Ross described a manned lunar landing mission which would require a combination of the earth orbit and lunar orbit rendezvous techniques. Three spacecraft would be launched simultaneously into earth orbit, each carrying a pilot. After rendezvous, the crew would transfer to ship A, which would refuel from ships B and C. Ship C would be discarded completely, but ship B would be fueled with the surplus not needed by A. The spacecraft would then be fired into a translunar trajectory. Upon reaching the vicinity of the moon, the spacecraft would go into lunar orbit, detach fuel tanks, and descend to the lunar surface. To return to earth, the spacecraft would rendezvous with the fuel tanks, refuel, and fire into a transearth trajectory. On approaching the earth, the spacecraft would rendezvous with ship B, the crew would transfer to ship B, and descend to earth. The ability to rendezvous in space was seen to be the essential element of such a project. The total payload weight at launch would be 1,326 tons equally divided among the three ships as compared to 2.6 times this weight required for a direct ascent and return from the moon.
H. E. Ross, "Orbital Bases," Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 8 (1949), pp. 1-7.
1949-1952
The awakening public interest in the scientific exploration of space was shown by the publication in September 1949 of The Conquest of Space by Willy Ley, illustrations by Chesley Bonestell. Featured in this book was a detailed description of a manned lunar landing and return, using the direct ascent technique. In the same year the Technicolor film "Destination Moon" went into production. Again the direct ascent mode was used in a four-man lunar landing mission. The movie premiered in New York City in 1950. On October 12, 1951, the First Symposium on Space Flight was held at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, Collier's published papers from this Symposium on March 22, 1952, under the title "Man Will Conquer Space Soon." Contributors were Wernher von Braun, Joseph Kaplan, Heinz Haber, Willy Ley, Oscar Schachter, and Fred L. Whipple. Among the topics discussed were an orbiting astronomical observatory, problems of survival in space, circumlunar flight, a manned orbiting space station, and the question of sovereignty in outer space. In 1952, Arthur C. Clarke's The Exploration of Space became a Book of the Month Club selection. First published in England in 1951, the book included an alternative to the direct ascent technique: assembling or refueling the space vehicle in earth orbit before injection into translunar trajectory, to be followed, possibly, by rendezvous in lunar orbit with fuel tanker rockets launched from the earth.
Willy Ley, "Target for Tonight: Luna!," The Conquest of Space (1949), pp. 41-88; "Destination Moon" (1950), produced by George Pal; Collier's (March 22, 1952), pp. 22-36, 65-67, 70-72, 74; Arthur C. Clarke, The Exploration of Space (1952), pp. 62-82.
1951
September
The uses of rendezvous techniques in space were discussed in a paper read to the Second International Congress on Astronautics in London, England. The problems involved in refueling in space might be simplified considerably if astronauts could maneuver freely, perhaps using a gas-jet pistol and a lifeline. The construction of a space station might then be possible. Mechanical linkage of objects in space was described as the most difficult task of all. While computing the position of an object in orbit might be comparatively easy, linking up with the object without damage by impact would require human intelligence to anticipate error in the attitude of approach.
R. A. Smith, "Establishing Contact Between Orbiting Vehicles," Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 10 (1951), pp. 295-297.
November
During the Month
The first symposium on space medicine was held under U.S. Air Force and Lovelace Foundation sponsorship at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Tex.
Loyd S. Swenson, Jr., James M, Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander, This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury (NASA SP-4201, 1966), p. 34.
1952
January 30
Robert J. Woods of the Bell Aircraft Company recommended to the Committee on Aerodynamics of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) that a small study group be formed to investigate the problems of space flight. On June 24, the NACA Committee adopted a resolution (1) that NACA research effort on problems of manned and unmanned flight in the upper stratosphere at altitudes between 12 and 50 miles and at Mach numbers between 4 and 10 be increased, and (2) that NACA devote a modest effort to problems associated with manned and unmanned flight at altitudes from 50 miles to infinity and at speeds from Mach 10 to the velocity of escape from earth's gravity. On July 14, the NACA Executive Committee approved an almost identical resolution and a month later authorized Langley Aeronautical Laboratory to set up a preliminary study group. Other NACA laboratories were requested to submit comments and recommendations. Formal authorization for the research study was forwarded to Langley on September 8.
Minutes of meeting, NACA Committee on Aerodynamics, June 24, 1952, pp. 19, 21 ; letters, Milton B. Ames, Jr., Acting Assistant Director for Research, to Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, July 10, 1952; John W. Crowley, Associate Director for Research, to Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, August 14, 1952; Research Authorization A73L95, NACA, September 8, 1952.
1955
March
During the Month
Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation, Inc. (NAA), established the feasibility of a million-pound-thrust liquid-fueled rocket engine for the U.S. Air Force.
Rocketdyne Skywriter, May 20, 1960, p. 1.
1956
May 28
The RAND Corporation issued the first of a series of reports on the feasibility of a lunar instrument carrier, based on the use of an Atlas booster. A braking rocket would decelerate the vehicle before lunar landing, and a penetration spike on the forward point of the instrument package would help to absorb the 500 feet per second impact velocity. Instruments would then transmit information on the lunar surface to earth.
Historical Division, Office of Information, Space Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, U.S. Air Force, "Chronology of Early Air Force Man-in-Space Activity, 1955-1960" (1964), unpublished, p. 5; H. A. Lang, Lunar Instrument Carrier: Landing Factors, RM-1725 (The RAND Corporation, June 4, 1956), pp. 1-3, 29, 31, 33-34.
1957
April
During the Month
The U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., began studies of a large clustered-engine booster to generate 1.5 million pounds of thrust, as one of a related group of space vehicles. During 1957-1958, approximately 50,000 man-hours were expended in this effort.
H. H. Koelle, F. L. Williams, W. G. Huber, and R. C. Callaway, Jr., Juno Space Vehicle Development Program; (Phase I): Booster Feasibility Demonstration (Army Ballistic Missile Agency, October 13, 1958), p. 1.
October 4
Sputnik I, the first man-made earth satellite, was launched by the Soviet Union and remained in orbit until January 4, 1958.
Henry L. Richter, Jr., Editor, Instruments and Spacecraft: Space Measurements Survey, October 1957-March 1965 (NASA SP-3028, 1966), p. 2.
October 14
The Rocket and Satellite Research Panel, established in 1946 as the V-2 Upper Atmosphere Research Panel and renamed the Upper Atmosphere Rocket Research Panel in 1948, together with the American Rocket Society proposed a national space flight program and a unified National Space Establishment. The mission of such an Establishment would be nonmilitary in nature, specifically excluding space weapons development and military operations in space. By 1959, this Establishment should have achieved an unmanned instrumented hard lunar landing and, by 1960, an unmanned instrumented lunar satellite and soft lunar landing. Manned circumnavigation of the moon with return to earth should have been accomplished by 1965 with a manned lunar landing mission taking place by 1968. Beginning in 1970, a permanent lunar base should be possible.
U.S. Congress, Senate, Special Committee on Space and Astronautics, Compilation of Materials on Space and Astronautics No. 1, 85th Congress, 2nd Session (1958), pp.17-19.
November 14
The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution 1148 (XII), calling, in part, for "the joint study of an inspection system designed to ensure that the sending of objects through outer space shall be exclusively for peaceful and scientific purposes."
John Michael Kemp, Evolution Toward a Space Treaty: An Historical Analysis (NASA HHN-64, 1967), pp. 8-9.
December 9
The Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee on Space Technology recommended acceleration of specific military projects and a vigorous space program with the immediate goal of landings on the moon because "Sputnik and the Russian ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) capability have created a national emergency."
Thomas A. Sturm, The USAF Scientific Advisory Board: Its First Twenty Years, 1944-1964
(1967), pp. 82-83.
December 10
The Army Ballistic Missile Agency completed and forwarded to higher authority the first edition of A National Integrated Missile and Space Vehicle Development Program, which had been in preparation since April 1957. Included was a "short-cut development program" for large payload capabilities, covering the clustered-engine booster of 1.5 million pounds of thrust to be operational in 1963. The total development cost of $850 million during the years 1958-1963 covered 30 research and development flights, some carrying manned and unmanned space payloads. One of six conclusions given in the document was that "Development of the large (1520 K-pounds thrust) booster is considered the key to space exploration and warfare." Later vehicles with greater thrust were also described.
A National Integrated Missile and Space Vehicle Development Program (Army Ballistic Missile Agency, 1957), pp. 3, 6, Table XV.
During the Month
The Martin Company proposed to the Department of Defense (DOD) that a stage of the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile be combined with the Vanguard rocket to provide a launch vehicle capable of placing an instrument package into lunar orbit and, ultimately, on the lunar surface.
The Martin Company, Lunar Vehicle (1957), p. 2.
1958
January 12
NACA established a Special Committee on Space Technology to study the problems of space flight. H. Guyford Stever of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was named Chairman. On November 21, 1957, NACA had authorized formation of the Committee.
NACA News Release, "Space Technology Committee Established by NACA," January 13, 1958.
January 16
NACA adopted a resolution recommending that the national space program be a cooperative effort by DOD, NACA, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Science Foundation, together with the universities, research institutions, and industrial companies. NACA viewed the development and operation of military space vehicles as the responsibility of DOD, while NACA's primary interest lay in the scientific exploration of space.
"National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Resolution on the Subject of Space Flight, Adopted January 16, 1958."
January 31
Explorer I, the first U.S. earth satellite, was launched by a modified Army Ballistic Missile Agency Jupiter-C. Explorer I, developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, carried the U.S.-IGY (International Geophysical Year) experiment of James A. Van Allen and resulted in the discovery of the radiation belt around the earth.
U.S. Congress, Senate, Special Committee on Space and Astronautics, Compilation of Materials on Space and Astronautics No. 2, 85th Congress, 2nd Session (1958), p. 365; Fletcher G. Watson, Between the Planets (1962), pp. 210-211.
February 7
To further the national space effort pending a decision as to permanent organization, the Secretary of Defense created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). ARPA was authorized to direct or perform advanced projects in the field of research and development. It was also empowered to deal directly with operational elements on all aspects of ARPA projects; for example, to bypass the Army Staff and the Chief of Ordnance in dealing with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency on what was to be the Saturn project. Roy W. Johnson was named ARPA Director.
U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Manned Space Flight Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, Staff Report, 87th Congress, 2nd Session (1962), p. 156.
February 10
A greatly expanded NACA program of space flight research was proposed in a paper, "A Program for Expansion of NACA Research in Space Flight Technology," written principally by senior engineers of the Lewis Aeronautical Laboratory under the leadership of Abe Silverstein. The goal of the program would be "to provide basic research in support of the development of manned satellites and the travel of man to the moon and nearby planets." The cost of the program was estimated at $241 million per year above the current NACA budget.
NACA Staff, "A Program for Expansion of NACA Research in Space Flight Technology," February 10, 1958, pp. 1-2, 29 ; Swenson et al., This New Ocean, pp. 76-77.
March 5
President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the recommendations of his Advisory Committee on Government Organization that the "leadership of the civil space effort be lodged in a strengthened and redesignated National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics," and that legislation be enacted to "give NACA the authority and flexibility" to carry out its expanded responsibilities.
Robert L. Rosholt, An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963 (NASA SP-4101, 1966), p.8.
April 1
A $61,000 contract was signed by the Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, and the Air Force. Gerard P. Kuiper, principal investigator, was to produce a new lunar photographic atlas. The moon's visible surface would be divided into 44 areas, and each would be represented by at least four photographs taken under varying lighting conditions. The photographs would be assembled from the following observatories: Yerkes, Williams Bay, Wisc.; Lick, Mount Hamilton, Calif.; Mount Wilson-Palomar, Mount Wilson, Calif.; Pic-du-Midi, France; and McDonald, Fort Davis, Tex. The contract was to run from April 1, 1958, to March 31, 1959. It was extended on February 25, 1959, to September 3, 1959, with increase in funds of $52,500, and again on November 18, 1959, to April 30, 1960, with no increase in funds.
U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Army Lunar Construction and Mapping Program, Committee Report, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), Appendix.
April 2
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in a message to Congress, proposed the establishment of a National Aeronautics and Space Agency into which the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics would be absorbed. The new agency would conduct the civilian space program through research in its own facilities or by contract and would also perform military research required by DOD. Projects primarily military in character would remain the responsibility of DOD. A National Aeronautics and Space Board, appointed by the President and composed of eminent persons outside the government and representatives of interested government agencies (with at least one member from DOD), was to assist the President and the Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency.
Senate Committee Print, Compilation of Materials on Space and Astronautics No. 2, pp. 79-83. April 25
The Air Force Ballistic Missile Division published the first development plan for an Air Force manned military space systems program. The objective was to "achieve an early capability to land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth." The program called for the start of a high priority effort (similar to that enjoyed by ballistic missiles), characterized by "concurrency" and single Air Force agency management. The complete program would be carried out in four phases: first, "Man-in-Space Soonest"; second, "Man-in-Space Sophisticated"; third, "Lunar Reconnaissance," exploring the moon by television camera and by a soft landing of an instrumented package on the moon's surface; and finally, "Manned Lunar Landing and Return," which would first test equipment by circumlunar flights returning to earth with instrumented capsules containing animals. At this stage of project development, the payload capacity would be increased to 9,000 pounds. The spacecraft would then undertake a full-scale flight to the moon and safe return with an animal passenger. The climax would be a manned lunar landing, brief surface exploration, and return. This would be followed by other flights to explore the lunar surface thoroughly and gather additional data. The program was scheduled for completion in December 1965 at a cost of $1.5 billion.
Space Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, and the USAF Historical Division Liaison Office, "Chronology of Early USAF Man-in-Space Activity, 1945-1958" (U.S. Air Force, 1965). unpublished, pp. 21-22.
June 23
The U.S. Air Force contracted with NAA, Rocketdyne Division, for preliminary design of a single-chamber, kerosene and liquid-oxygen rocket engine capable of 1 to 1.5 million pounds of thrust. During the last week in July, Rocketdyne was awarded the contract to develop this engine, designated the F-1.
Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 158; Rocketdyne Valley Skywriter, August 1, 1958, p. 1.
July 29
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Public Law 85-568, which established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 159; Eugene M. Emme, Aeronautics and Astronautics: An American Chronology of Science and Technology in the Exploration of Space, 1915-1960 (NASA, 1961), p. 100.
August 8
T. Keith Glennan, President of Case Institute of Technology, and Hugh L. Dryden, Director of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, were nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to be Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NASA. The Senate confirmed their nominations one week later.
Rosholt, An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963, pp. 40-42. August 15
The Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA provided the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) with authority and initial funding to develop the Juno V (later named Saturn launch vehicle. ARPA Order 14 described the project: "Initiate a development program to provide a large space vehicle booster of approximately 1.5 million pounds of thrust based on a cluster of available rocket engines. The immediate goal of this program is to demonstrate a full-scale captive dynamic firing by the end of calendar year 1959." Within AOMC, the Juno V project was assigned to the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal Huntsville, Ala.
Koelle et al., Juno Space Vehicle Demonstration; (Phase I), p. 2.
August 17
The first Air Force lunar probe was launched, using a Thor-Able booster. An explosion ripped it apart 77 seconds after launch.
Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 27.
September 11
A letter contract was signed by NASA with NAA's Rocketdyne Division for the development of the H-1 rocket engine, designed for use in a clustered-engine booster.
MSFC Saturn Systems Office and MSFC Historical Office, Saturn Illustrated Chronology (George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, MHR-3, 1964), pp. 2-3.
September 23
Following a Memorandum of Agreement between Maj. Gen. John B. Medaris of Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) and Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) Director Roy W. Johnson on this date and a meeting on November 4, ARPA and AOMC representatives agreed to extend the Juno V project. The objective of ARPA Order 14 was changed from booster feasibility demonstration to "the development of a reliable high performance booster to serve as the first stage of a multistage carrier vehicle capable of performing advanced missions."
H. H. Koelle, F. L. Williams, W. G. Huber, and R. C. Callaway, Jr., Juno VSpace Vehicle Development Program (Status Report-15 November 1958) (Army Ballistic Missile Agency, November 15, 1958), p. 2.
October 1
NASA was organized and NACA was abolished, at the close of business on September 30, with all personnel and facilities transferred to the new agency. At the same time, several space projects were transferred to NASA from DOD. Among these were two Air Force and two Army lunar probes; the services kept the actual work of construction and launching.
Rosholt, An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963, pp. 44-48; Swenson et al., This New Ocean, p. 538.
October 11
Pioneer I, intended as a lunar probe, was launched by a Thor-Able rocket from the Atlantic Missile Range, with the Air Force acting as executive agent to NASA. The 39-pound instrumented payload did not reach escape velocity.
Instruments and Spacecraft, pp. 30-32.
October 25
The Stever Committee, which had been set up on January 1 2, submitted its report on the civilian space program to NASA. Among the recommendations:
• A vigorous, coordinated attack should be made upon the problems of maintaining the performance capabilities of man in the space environment as a prerequisite to sophisticated space exploration.
• Sustained support should be given to a comprehensive instrumentation development program, establishment of versatile dynamic flight simulators, and provision of a coordinated series of vehicles for testing components and subsystems.
• Serious study should be made of an equatorial launch capability.
• Lifting reentry vehicles should be developed.
• Both the clustered- and single-engine boosters of million-pound thrust should be developed.
• Research on high-energy propellant systems for launch vehicle upper stages should receive full support.
• The performance capabilities of various combinations of existing boosters and upper stages should be evaluated, and intensive development concentrated on those promising greatest usefulness in different categories of payload.
NASA Special Committee on Space Technology, "Recommendations Regarding a National Civil Space Program," October 28, 1958, pp. 1-2.
November 1
A contract was signed by the University of Manchester, Manchester, England, and the Air Force [AF 61(052)-168] for $21,509. Z. Kopal, principal investigator, was to provide topographical information on the lunar surface for production of accurate lunar maps. Kopal would work at the Pic-du-Midi Observatory in France, and the data would be transmitted to the Air Force Aeronautical Chart and Information Center for reduction. The lunar charts produced would be used for intelligence purposes and for the national space effort led by NASA. The contract was extended on August 4, 1959, to April 30, 1960, and was to include exploratory spectroscopic observations of the moon.
House Committee Report, Army Lunar Construction and Mapping Program, Appendix. November 5
The Space Task Group (STG) was officially organized at Langley Field, Va., to implement the manned satellite project (later Project Mercury), NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan had approved the formation of the Group, which had been working together for some months, on October 7. Its members were designated on November 3 by Robert R. Gilruth, Project Manager, and authorization was given by Floyd L. Thompson, Acting Director of Langley Research Center. STG would report directly to NASA Headquarters.
Memorandum, Gilruth, Project Manager, to Associate Director, "Space Task Group," November 3, 1958; Swenson et al., This New Ocean, p. 114.
November 8
Pioneer II was launched from the Atlantic Missile Range, using a Thor-Able booster, the Air Force acting as executive agent to NASA. The 86.3-pound instrumented payload, intended as a lunar probe, failed to reach escape velocity.
Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 34.
December 3
By Executive Order, President Dwight D. Eisenhower transferred the Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL, a government-owned facility staffed and operated by the California Institute of Technology, from Army to NASA jurisdiction. The new JPL radio telescope at Camp Irwin, Calif., called the Goldstone Tracking Facility, was capable of maintaining radio contact at distances of up to 400,000 miles and was the first of NASA's deep-space tracking stations.
First Semiannual Report to Congress of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, October 1, 1958-March 31, 1959 (1959), pp. 24, 36, 42-43; U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, A Chronology of Missile and Astronautic Events, 87th Congress, 1st Session (1961), p. 61.
December 3
Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker and NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan signed cooperative agreements concerning NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Army Ordnance Missile Command AOMC, and Department of the Army relationships. The agreement covering NASA utilization of the von Braun team made "the AOMC and its subordinate organizations immediately, directly, and continuously responsive to NASA requirements."
First NASA Semiannual Report, pp. 81-87. December 6
Pioneer III, the third U.S.-IGY intended lunar probe under the direction of NASA with the Army acting as executive agent, was hunched from the Atlantic Missile Range by a Juno II rocket. The primary objective, to place the 12.95pound scientific payload in the vicinity of the moon, failed. Pioneer III reached an altitude of approximately 70,000 miles and revealed that the earth's radiation belt comprised at least two distinct bands.
Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 35. New York Times, December 7, 1958
December 17
NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan announced that the manned satellite program would be called "Project Mercury."
Swenson et al., This New Ocean, p. 132
December 17
Representatives of Advanced Research Projects Agency, the military services, and NASA met to consider the development of future launch vehicle systems. Agreement was reached on the principle of developing a small number of versatile launch vehicle systems of different thrust capabilities, the reliability of which could be expected to be improved through use by both the military services and NASA.
NASA-Industry Program Plans Conference, July 28-29, 1960 (1960), p. 2. December 17
The H-1 engine successfully completed its first full-power firing at NAA's Rocketdyne facility in Canoga Park, Calif.
Saturn Illustrated Chronology, p. 4.
During the Year
The U.S. Army Map Service studied methods of mapping the moon. This effort evolved into Project LAMP Lunar Analysis and Mapping Program) in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey. By spring 1960, the first maps were in preparation. Four stages were incorporated in the project:
Stage I:
Moon map on scale of 1:500,000 and feasibility studies, through 1960 ($200,000)
Stage II:
Expansion and acceleration of Stage I, including balloon photographic reconnaissance and radar investigation, through 1961 ($800,000)
Stage III:
System design per requirements of the lunar mission, through 1962 ($2 million)
Stage IV:
Operational program assembling all system components for lunar mission, through 1963 ($5 million)
U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Lunar Mapping and Construction in Support of Space Programs, Hearings, 86th Congress, 2nd Session (1960), p. 4.
1959
January 2
The Soviet Union announced the successful launching of Mechta ("Dream"), popularly called Lunik I, toward the moon. Carrying nearly 800 pounds of instruments, Lunik I missed the moon and became the first man-made solar satellite.
Instruments and Spacecraft, p. 38.
January 2
In a staff report of the House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration, Wernher von Braun of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency predicted manned circumlunar flight within the next eight to ten years and a manned lunar landing and return mission a few years thereafter. Administrator T. Keith Glennan, Deputy Administrator Hugh L. Dryden, Abe Silverstein, John P. Hagen, and Homer E. Newell, all of NASA, also foresaw manned circumlunar flight within the decade as well as instrumented probes soft-landed on the moon. Roy K. Knutson, Chairman of the Corporate Space Committee, NAA, projected a manned lunar landing expedition for the early 1970's with extensive unmanned instrumented soft lunar landings during the last half of the 1960's.
U.S. Congress, House, Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration, The Next Ten Years in Space, 1959-1969, Staff Report, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), pp. 96, 122, 211.
January 6
The Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC), the Air Force, and missile contractors presented to the ARPA-NASA Large Booster Review Committee their views on the quickest and surest way for the United States to attain large booster capability. The Committee decided that the Juno V approach advocated by AOMC was best and NASA started plans to utilize the Juno V booster.
Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 165.
January 19
NASA signed a definitive contract with Rocketdyne Division, NAA, for $102 million covering the design and development of a single-chamber, liquid-propellant rocket engine in the 1- to 1.5 million-pound-thrust class (the F-1, to be used in the Nova superbooster concept). NASA had announced the selection of Rocketdyne on December 12.
First NASA Semiannual Report, p. 27.
January 27
After consultation and discussion with DOD, NASA formulated a national space vehicle program. The central idea of the program was that a single launch vehicle should be developed for use in each series of future space missions. The launch vehicle would thus achieve a high degree of reliability, while the guidance and payload could be varied according to purpose of the mission. Four general-purpose launch vehicles were described: Vega, Centaur, Saturn, and Nova. The Nova booster stage would be powered by a cluster of four F-1 engines, the second stage by a single F-1, and the third stage would be the size of an intercontinental ballistic missile but would use liquid hydrogen as a fuel. This launch vehicle would be the first in a series that could transport a man to the lunar surface and return him safely to earth in a direct ascent mission. Four additional stages would be required in such a mission.
"A National Space Vehicle Program," NASA report to the President, January 27, 1959. February 2
The Army proposed that the name of the large clustered-engine booster be changed from Juno V to Saturn, since Saturn was the next planet after Jupiter. Roy W. Johnson, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, approved the name on February 3.
Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 165; Saturn Illustrated Chronology, p. 5. February 4
Maj. Gen. John B. Medaris of the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) and Roy W. Johnson of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) discussed the urgency of early agreement between ARPA and NASA on the configuration of the Saturn upper stages. Several discussions between ARPA and NASA had been held on this subject. Johnson expected to reach agreement with NASA the following week. He agreed that AOMC would participate in the overall upper stage planning to ensure compatibility of the booster and upper stages.
Senate Staff Report, Manned Space Flight Program, p. 166.
February 5
A Working Group on Lunar Exploration was established by NASA at a meeting at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Members of NASA, JPL, Army Ballistic Missile Agency, California Institute of Technology, and the University of California participated in the meeting. The Working Group was assigned the responsibility of preparing a lunar exploration program, which was outlined: circumlunar vehicles, unmanned and manned; hard lunar impact; close lunar satellites; soft lunar landings (instrumented). Preliminary studies showed that the Saturn booster with an intercontinental ballistic missile as a second stage and a Centaur as a third stage, would be capable of launching manned lunar circumnavigation spacecraft and instrumented packages of about one ton to a soft landing on the moon.
U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command, A Lunar Exploration Program Based Upon Saturn-Boosted Systems, DV-TR-2-60 (February 1, 1960), p. i.
February 17
Roy W. Johnson, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), testified before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics that DOD and ARPA had no lunar landing program. Herbert F. York, DOD Director of Defense Research and Engineering, testified that exploration of the moon was a NASA responsibility.
U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Science and Astronautics, Missile Development and Space Sciences, Hearings, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), pp. 346, 359.
February 20
In testimony before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Deputy Administrator Hugh L. Dryden and DeMarquis D. Wyatt described the long-range objectives of the NASA space program: an orbiting space station with several men, operating for several days; a permanent manned orbiting laboratory; unmanned hard-landing and soft-landing lunar probes; manned circumlunar flight; manned lunar landing and return; and, ultimately, interplanetary flight.
U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, NASA Supplemental Authorization for Fiscal Year 1959, Hearings, 86th Congress, 1st Session (1959), pp. 46, 81.
March 3
The fourth U.S.-IGY lunar probe effort, Pioneer IV, a joint project of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the direction of NASA, was launched by a Juno II rocket from the Atlantic Missile Range. Intended to impact on the lunar surface, Pioneer IV achieved earth-moon trajectory, passing within 37,300 miles of the moon before going into permanent orbit around the sun.
Instruments and Spacecraft, pp. 45-46.
March 6
The thrust chamber of the F-1 engine was successfully static-fired at the Santa Susana Air Force-Rocketdyne Propulsion Laboratory in California. More than one million pounds of thrust were produced, the greatest amount attained to that time in the United States.
Washington Evening Star, April 1, 1959.
March 13
The Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) submitted the "Saturn System Study" which had been requested by the Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA on December 18, 1958. From the 1375 possible configurations screened, and the 14 most promising given detailed study, the Atlas and Titan families were selected as the most attractive for upper staging. Either the 120-inch or the 160inch diameter was acceptable. The study included the statement: "An immediate decision by ARPA as to choice of upper stages on the first generation vehicle is mandatory if flight hardware is to be available to meet the proposed Saturn schedule." On March 17, AOMC presented the study to NASA, DOD, and ARPA reiterating the urgent need for an early decision on upper staging. Roy W. Johnson, ARPA Director, formed a Saturn ad hoc committee of NASA and DOD personnel to recommend upper stages and payload missions.