Chronology of Early Air Force Man in Space Activity

8/6/2019 Chronology of Early Air Force Man in Space Activity

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CHRONOLOGY OFEARLY AIR F OR CE MAN -IN-SPACE ACTIVITY

1955 - 1960

P r e p a r e d byHis tor i c a l Divis ionOffice of In fo rm at io nSpace Systems DivisionAi r For ce Sys t ems CommandUnited Sta tes Ai r Fo rc e


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FOREWORD

T h e U n i ted S t a t e s A ir F o r c e w as o n e of s ev e r a l g o v e r n m en t ag en c i e san d d ep a r t m en t s w ith an i n t e r e s t i n t h e ex p lo r a t i o n an d u t i l i za t i o n ofo u t e r s p a ce b e f o r e t h e c r e a t i o n of t h e N a tio n al A e r o n au t i c s an d S p ace 'A d m in i s t r a t i o n i n 1 9 5 8. A s t h e m an ag em en t ag en cy f o r r o c k e t s w h ichh av e l au n ch ed t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y of U n i ted S t a t e s s p a ce p r o j ec t s , t h eA i r F o r c e i s a m a j o r c o n tr i bu t o r t o t h e t ot a l n a t io n a l s p a c e p r o g r a mw h il e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r v i r t u al l y a l l t he n a t i o n ' s m i l i t a r y s p a c e a c t i v i t y .T h i s ch r o no lo gy r ec o r d s a s m a l l p o r t i o n of A i r F o r c e s p ace ac t i v i t y -s p ec i f i c a l l y , t h e pl ann in g f o r m an n ed s p ace f li g h t p r i o r t o t h e e s t a b -l i s h m en t o f P r o j e c t M er c u r y b y t h e N at ion a l A e r o n au t i c s an d S p aceA d m in i s t r a t i o n .

In h i s ch r on o log y , A i r F o r c e m an n ed s p ace f l ig h t a c t i v i ty i s v i ewedf r o m th e p e r s p e c t i v e of th e b a l l i s t i c m i s s i l e d ev e lo p m ent ag en cy -t h e A i r R es ea r c h an d D ev e lo p m ent C o m m an d ' s W es t e r n D ev e lo p m en tD iv i s i o n , l a t e r r e - n am ed t h e A i r F o r c e B a l l i s t i c M i' ss il e D iv i s i o n .D ue t o r e s o u r c e l i m i t at i o n s a t t h e S p a c e S y s t e m s D i v i s io n h i s t o r i c a lo f f i c e, r e s e a r c h f o r t h i s c h ro n ol o gy h a s b e e n g e n e r a l l y l i m i t e d tom a te r i a l s av a i l ab l e i n t h e f i l e s of t h a t o f fi c e . A ll d ocu m en t s c i t ed i nth e n o t e s w h ich fo ll o w each e n t r y a r e l o ca t ed i n t he a r ch iv e s of t h eHis to r i ca l D iv is ion , Of fice of In fo rma t ion , Space Sys tem s Div is ion ,in Los Angeles , C a l i f o r n i a .

A ge ne ra l no te of cau t ion i s o f fe red us e r s of th i s ch rono logy toh e l p m a i n t a i n h i s t o r i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e . T h e A ir F o r c e B a l l i s t i c M i s s i l eD iv i s i o n , an d i t s p r ed ece s s o r o r g an i za t i o n , h ad o ne m i s s i o n of o v e r -r i d in g im p o r t an ce - t o f i e l d a f o r c e of i n t e r co n t i n en t a l r an g e b a l l i s t i cm i s s i l e s a t th e e a r l i e s t p o ss i bl e m o m e n t . T h i s m i s s i o n w a s a c c o r d e dth e n a t i o n ' s t o p p r i o r i t y i n 1 9 5 5 , an d an y o th e r a c t i v i ty au to m a t i ca l l yto o k a s u b o r d in a t e p o s i t i o n . I t could have been no o t her way i f ther i s k of an u n f av o r ab l e s h i f t i n th e w o r ld s t r a t eg i c b a l an ce w as t o b eav o id ed . O th e r r e s p o n s ib i l i t i e s w e r e a cq u i r e d , an d b y l a t e 1 95 8execu t ion of as s ig ned spa ce p ro je c t s wa s a majo r por t ion of theo r g a n i z a t i o n ' s m i s s i o n . E v e n a t t h a t p o in t i n t i m e , h o w e v e r , thep r i n c i p a l a n d o v er r i d in g p r i o r i t y w a s s t i l l c r e a t i o n of a m i s s i l e f o r c ef o r t h e n a t i o n . T h i s s i t u a ti o n s h o uld b e k ep t i n m ind a s t h e r e ad e rr e t r a c e s t h e s t e p s t a k en by t he A i r F o r c e t o w a r d a p r o g r a m t o p u ta m a n i n s p a c e .

WD PJ a n u a r y , 1 9 6 5


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CHRONOLOGYE a r l y A ir F o r c e M a n - I n - S ~ a c eActivi tv (1955 - 19601

Gene ra l Background E ar l y a s 1955 t he A i r F o r ce r ece i ved p roposa l s f ro1955 - 1957 indus t ry for deve lopment of manned re se ar chsat el l i tes and the idea of proj ect ing boost gl idevehic l es to o rb i t a l speed wa s cons idered . In 1956

the Ai r Res earch and Development Command(ARDC) prop osed a fea sib ility st udy of a "MannedBal l i s t i c Rocket Rese arch Sys tem. " M a jo r a i r -c ra f t companies and o ther in t e res t ed organiza t ionswe re briefed on the s tudy and urged to conductindependent invest igat ions of the pro ble m - -mainlybecause A i r R ese arc h and Development Commandwa s without funds to support th is avenue of re -s e a r c h . AVCO Corporat ion was encourag ed tostudy the problem of a manned re se ar ch satel l i te .Rand Corp orat i on, a stron g proponent of rec on -na i ssance sa t e l l i t e sys t em s s ince 1947, rep or t edon space veh ic l es fo r o ther than reco nnai ssancepurp oses . In May 1956 the corp orat io n offered aconcept fo r a "L una r In s t rum en t C a r r i e r , ' andl a t e r i n t he yea r b r i e fed t he p roposa l t o va r i ousAir For ce organizat ions. Rand cont inued i t s spaces tud ies and in May 1957 presen ted to i t s m i l i t a ryadvis ory group concepts on "Space pl igh t and theAi r F orc e" and , in November 1957 , publi shed aproje ct ion of a n ove r-a l l spa ce prog ra m and wi than t ic ipated per forman ce ch ara c te r i s t i c s of comb i -nat ions of vario us exis t ing bal l i s t ic mis si le s thatcould be used a s space boos te rs . In Apr i l 1956,We ste rn Development Divis ion - Ramo-Wooldridge( the A i r Fo rc e ' s ba l l i s ti c m i s s i l e devel opm ent o rgazat ion in Los Angeles) began a stud y of using ba l-l i s ti c m i s s i l e s a s b o o s te r s . R e s u lt s w e r e p r e -sented to the Scient if ic Advisory Bo ard in a meet ingheld at Rand in the l at te r pa rt of Ju ly 1957. At thesam e meet ing a R esea rch and Development Commangroup presen ted a briefing on "Space Technology:Key to Advanced Weapon Sys tem s. I ' The s tud ies in -cluded a n invest igat ion of manned sp ace fl ight , a nar e a l a t e r s t imulated by the sensa t iona l 4 October1957 launch of Sputnik I. T h e r e a f t e r i n t e r e s t i nspace rap id ly evolved in to concre te Ai r Fo rc eplanning f o r developm ent of a manned sp ace sys tem(USAF Manned Mil i ta ry Space S ystem DevelopmentP l an , 25 A pr i l 1958, pr ep by AFBMD, 1-1-3, Vol I.)


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1955 - 1957 Many Air Fo rc e of f icers in widely sca t te red f ie ld uni t s ,without coordinated effort , prepared papers and studiesproposing mil i tar y space projects . "Small groups atHea dqu arters Air Re sea rch and Development Command,at the Ball is t ic Missi l e Division, at Holloman Air Fo rc eBa se , and a t Wright A ir Development Center (WADC)sen sed danger in the G overnment 's unwil lingness to givethe new technology the urgen t suppo rt they felt it deserved."Pr og ra ms w ere proposed which ca l led for organized spaceexper im ents , "a t the ear l ies t prac t icable da te . I ' Such

L~ experiments included orbiting satellites, manned and un-~9 mann ed, a manned space stat ion axd a spac ecra ft voyage\d 1 to the moon. (Bowen, Le e, The Thresh old of Spa ce,? Sep 1960, published by the Air F or ce H istor ical Liaiso nt, Ofc, p. 7)

28 Jun 1955 A comm itte , appointed b y Sec re tar y of the Air Fo rc e ,D. A. Qua rles, to recommend the be st method offurn ishin g the United Stat es with a s atell ite between thedat es of Jun e and D ecem ber -1958, was brie fed at W ester nDevelopment Division (WDD). The At las projec t was re -viewed and the potential of Atla s a s a bo os ter vehicle in ase lec ted sa te l l i te sy s tem was presented . The committeewa s advised that WDD.was qualified to manage the p ro -gr am if so directed but that such a prog ram would inte r-fe re , to som e extent with the high prio rity of the Atla sdevelopment effort. (Memo, Col C. H. Terhune, DepCm dr Tech Opns, WDD, t o Brig Gen B, A. Schriev er ,Cmdr WDD, 28 Ju n 55, subj: Vis it of DOD SatelliteCom mitte , 28 Jun 55. )

29 Jul 1955 The Pre sid ent annouhced that the United Sta tes , a s par tof i ts International Geophysical Yea r contrib utions,would at te m pt to launch a num be r of 21 pound sa te ll it eswithout the us e of mi lit ar y mi ssi les . The pro ject, namedVanguard, although organize d in the Departm ent ofDefense under Navy mana geme nt, would be com pletelyremoved fro m mil i tar y signif icance. (Bowen, The-hr es ho ld of Sp ac e, p. 10.)Apr 1956 The Army Ball is t ic Missi le Agency reques ted that theDep artm ent of Defense gran t perm issio n to use i tsJup i t e r C m iss i l e to l aunch a ' s a t e l l i t e , "in view ofVanguard delays and increasing evidence that the Sovietswould be f i r s t in sp ace --an event cer tain to inflict'se rio us da mag e' to the pres tig e of the United State s.


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Apr 1956(Conttd.) The Arm y's proposal was re jec ted by the Depar tment ofDefe nse, pre sum abl y in line with the policy announced bythe P re si de nt on 29 Jul y' 1955, that the United Stat esI would r em ain str ict ly within i ts Internat ional GeophysicalYear satel l i te commitment without using mil i tary missi les ,t hus c l ea r ly dem ons tr a t ing United S ta t e s in ten t t o e x ~ l o r e- Lspa ce fo r peaceful purpo ses. (Bowen, Thresh old ofSpace, pp, 10-11.)

May 1956 . Rand Corporat io n issued a s er ie s of rep orts on thefeasibili ty of a l una r ins t rum ent ca r r i e r , based on use o fan At las boost 'e r . (E arl y BMD-ARDC G enera l SpaceChronology, 11 Fe b 59, pr ep by AFBMD Hist Ofc. )3 Oct We ster n Development Division rele ase d a shor t s tudyrep or t ent it led, "Ba ll is t ic Missi l es , Satel l i te s and SpaceVehicles. " The paper recommended a detai led sur vey oftechnical developments which might anticipate "logical

extensions of our p re sent bal l is t ic mi s s i le and satel l i tep r o g r a m s . I ' Advanced sys tem s we re fo rsee n in the next20 ye ar s which might well furnish equipment and technol- \ogy fo r manned exp loratio n of space including voyages tothe moon and ne ar by planets . The pap.er also reco m-mended tha t the A ir Fo rc e p lan an ord er ly developmentof space progra ms a imed a t these f a r reaching but reason -able long te rm objec tives. (P ap er , Bal l i s t ic Mis s i le s ,Sat elli t es and Space Veh icles, 1956 to 1976, dtd 3 Oct 56,p r e p b y C ol L. D. Ely , A ss t fo r Tech Groups , TechOperations, WDD. )

Nov 1956 A ir Re se arc h and Development Command Guided Missi leand Space Vehicle Commit te repo r t , based p r ima r i ly onW est er n Development Division- -Ramo-W ooldridgesources, contained a technological forecast (1955 - 1970)and pro gra m recommendations for ba l l i s t ic miss i le s ,sa te l l i te reconnaissance sys tems, recoverable sa te l l i tes ,manned in terp lanetary-space explorat ion, and relatedfac i l i t ies , funds and manpower requi rements . It w asest i mat ed that pro gram cos ts would reach $800 mil l ionb y f isc al y ea r 1961 and continue at a le ve l of $500 mi lli ona ye ar until 1970, then s o ar to $1.9 bill ion in 1971.(E ar ly BMD-ARDC Ge ne ral Space Chronology, 11 Fe b 59.)5 Feb 1957 The Ai r Fo rc e authorized R amo -Wooldridge (GuidedMi ssi le R es ea rch D ivision) to begin a study of secondgenera t ion ba l l i s t ic m iss i le s and space vehic les .


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5 Feb 1957(Cont'd).

29 Jul

20 Sep 1957

\xl 4 Oct9 Oct

(E ar ly BMD-ARDC Gen eral Space Chronology, 11 Fe b59.)

A ir F or ce B al l is t ic Miss i le Divis ion (W estern Develop-ment Div is ion was redes ignated Ai r F or ce B a l l i s ti cMis s i le Divis ion, 1 Jun 1957) presented to the Scient if icAdv isdr y Boa rd Ad Hoc Com mitt ee, m eeting at RandCor pora tion , a s um ma ry of follow on ball ist ic m is si leweapon sy ste ms and advanced space progra ms which i twas p rep ared to under take. These prog ram s includeddevelo pmen t of high th ru st s pac e veh icle s capable ofea r t h orb i ta l and lunar f l ights . (AFBMD Pres enta t ion tothe S cientif ic Advis ory Bo ard Ad Hoc Comm ittee to StudyAdvanced Weapons Techn ology and Envir om ent, 29 Ju l 57,p r ep by AFBMD. )

F i r s t ful ly success ful te s t f light of Thor in termedia terange ba l l is t i c miss i l e . (AF Bal l i s t i c Miss i l es Prog ramStatus Report . )

Sputnik I la,unched by the Soviet Union.

The Scien tif ic Adviso ry Board Ad Koc Comm ittee onAdvanced Weapons Technology and Environment publishedi t s review of ". . . pro blem s of national defense in cis -lunar space , wi th pa r t i cu la r regard to the i r impac t onfut ure weapons technology and the operating environmenti n which th ese w eapons might function. " The committeerep or t urged development of second generat ion mi ss i lesnot only for thei r p r im ar y weapon sys tem value but fort h e i r u s e a s s p a c e b o o s t e r s . The next pr io r i ty , in thecomm it tee ' s ana lys i s , was to develop mi l i t a ry sa te l l it esy st em s fo r reconnaissance , communications and weatherpredic t ion. The Ai r For ce should a lso plan on reachingthe moon and, despi te the fa i lure of the comm it tee todef ine any specif ic mil i t ary appl icat ion resul t ing f romoccupation of the moon, app ropr iate step s should betaken to develop a spac e technology to support advancedexploratio n of space. The comm ittee was also con-cer ne d that , w hile i t appeared to be the plan of the AirRe sea rch and Development Command to place a l l bal l is t icm is s i l e prog ram s under the management of the Bal l is t icMis s i le Division, the re was not yet ". . . an officialunders tanding that Air F or ce B al l is t ic Miss i le Divis ion isa perman ent organizat ion se t up to cover th is ro le in to thef u tu r e . " The commit tee the re fore u rged that ". . . A ir


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9 Oct 1957 F o r c e B a l li st ic ~ i s s i l e iv isio n b e r ec og niz ed a t t he(Cont'd) ea r l i es t possible date as a permanent organizat ion forba l l i s ti c m iss i l es and sa te l l i te pro jec t s . ".' (Rpt of th eScientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee to StudyAdvanced Weapons Technology and En viro nm ent, 9 Oct 57.)

Oct - Nov 1957 De spite the focus of worldwide in te re st and public ac cl ai mon the laun ch of R us sia n sat ell ite s (Sputnik I , 4 October;Sputnik It, 3 November) m any high ranking governmentofficials at tempted to beli t t le this R ussian sc ientif icachievement . ' On 9 October the White House announcedthat the "United S tat es would not bec om e engaged in a -space rac e wi th other nat ions and that Project Vanguardwould not be accelerated. I ' Never the less , the Secre ta ryof the Ai r Fo rc e , Ja m es H. Douglas, calle d upon acom mitt ee of dist inguished sc ientis ts and A ir Fo rc e offi-ce r s headed by Dr . Edward Te l l e r t o p ropose a line ofposi t ive action. The comm it tee 's repor t , completed 22Octob er , contained a s t ro ng recomm endat ion for a unif iedpro gra m- -a recommendat ion which was d i s regarde d , " infav or of a divided pro gr am th at , in the opinion of m any ,tended t o d.is ipate- ra th er than concent rat e the expandedeffort . " (Bowen, Th res ho ld of Sp ac e, p. 13.)

5 Nov The Ai r Fo rc e br ie fed the Arm ed Fo rc es Pol icy Councilon a reconnaissance satel l i te program and possiblecombinations of veh icles that could be used f or "cold wa rand scient i f ic programs. " The Ai r Fo rce recommendedusing the avai lable intermediate range bal l i s t ic m is s i leas a boos te r to has ten l aunching an orb i ta l sys tem a sea r ly a s March 1958. If approv ed' this prog ram wouldrequ i re a n addi tiona l s ix Thors and $12 mil lion to cove raddi tiona l cos t s . (L t r , Col R. J . Nunziato, As st forSpec P ro g , DCS/Dev, Hq USAF, t o SAFRD, 1 2 Nov 57,subj: Ou ter Space Vehicle.)

7 Nov 1957 In response to the nat ion 's urgent need to demonstrate a tl ea s t a n ea r ly space vehic le capabi li ty i t was suggested/ that thr ee Thor boo sters be made avai lable f r o m themi s s i l e t e s t p rog ram and f rom t hese a n ea r l y s a t e ll i te o rspace capability could be obtained. Accordingly, AirFo rc e headquar te r s reques ted Ai r R esearch and Develop-me nt Command to conduct an engineering study whichwould " . . . provide sufficient information to this head-qu ar te rs wi thin the next 30 - 45 days on which a dec ision


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7 Nov 1957(C on t rd )

12 Nov

13 Nov

can be based a s to the feas ib i li t y , capabil i ty and cos t ofsuch a p rog ram . I ' An imm edia te r ele as e of $100,000 en -ab led the command to fund pre l im inary d es ign s tud ies .(M sg, 11-033, ARDC to AFBMD, 13 Nov 57.)

A ss i s t an t Se c re t a ry of t he A i r Fo rce fo r R esea rch andDevelopment , R. E . Ho rne r , reques ted the Depar tmentof Defense app rove a space pro gr am that would furn ish anea rl y dem onst r at ion of space capabi l i ty and "provide i m -por t an t deve lopment t es t veh ic l es l ead ing to l a rg erreconnai ss ance and sc i en t if i c sa t e l l i t es . " To has tenac t ion th r ee Thor mis s i l es , 114 ,116 and 118 ". . . couldbe made ava i l ab le in a re l a t ive ly sho r t per iod of t im e wi th .m i n i m um i n t e r f e rence t o t he IRBM p r o g r a m . " T hesebo os t e rs could be used to orb i t a recoverab le an imalsa te l l i t e p r io r to 1 Ju ly 1958. T hor , i t w as a l so sugges ted ,would be a prac t i ca l veh ic l e to furn i sh the Ai r F or cesa te l l i t e s with spec i f i c mi l i t a r y capabi l i ti es . (Mem o,A s s t S A F (R&D), R. E. Ho rn er , to SOD, 12 Nov 57, subj:Oute r Space Vehicle . )

Ma jor Ge ner al B. A. Sc hri eve r , C ommander of Ai rFo rc e Ball j. s ti c Miss i l e Div i sion d i rec ted prepar a t ionof a p l a n f o r a 10 - 15 yea r p rog ram lead ing to deve lop-m en t of m an ca r r y i ng vehi cl e sy s t em s fo r space exp l o ra -t ion . A pre l im inary p lan for an orde r ly space deve lop-me nt e f for t and u l t imate manned f light had , i n fac t , a l -rea dy been pre pa red and awai ted presen ta t ion to Genera lS. *E. Ander son, Comm ander of Air Re sea rch andDevelopment Command. The plan envisioned mannedspac e f l ight wi th a minimum of new development throughthe use of exis t ing knowledge, exp erim enta l pr og ra ms ,mis s i l e -bo os te rs , and fac i l i t i es ava il ab le th roughout thecommand. (Mem o, Col L. D. Ely , Dir Tech Divs ,Weapon Sy ste ms , AFBMD, to Col C. H. Terh une , DepC m d r, Weapon Sy ste ms , AFBMD, 13 Dec 57, subj : MannedSpace F l igh t Pr ogr am ; C md rs Reference Book, Chrono -logy of Man in Space Ef fo rt , 23 M ar 59, pr ep by AFBMD.)

20 Nov 1957 A i r Fo rc e headqua r t e r s a f f i rm ed t he neces s i t y fo r theA i r Fo rc e t o acqu i r e r ecogn ized com pet ence i n"ast r onau t ics and space technology. I ' T here fo re t he A i rRe sea rch and Development Command was ins t ruc ted topr ep ar e by 1 Decem ber 19.57 an as t ronaut i cs p rogr amwi th e s t im ate s o f i t s funding requi rement s . The plan wasto rev iew those spac e prog ram s a l re ady underway and


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20 Nov 1957(Cont 'd)

20 Nov

26 Nov 1957

6 Dec 1957

9 Dec

m ake a pro jectio n of development in as tro na utic s andspac e technology over the next five ye ar s. (Msg , 11-055,Cm dr ARDC, t o Com dr AFBMD, 20 Nov 57.)I Ai r Fo rc e M issi le Development C enter (AFMDC) wasinvest igat ing vi ta l envi ronmental e le me nts appl icable tomanned space fl ight . One of two tec hn ica l developmen tpro jec t s wa s t i t l ed , "Human Fa ct o rs of Space Flight. "The invest igation covered exposure to space radiat ion,tolera nce to high g loads and weight lessnes s , problemsof descent and re covery f rom space , and phys ica l andenvironm ental prob lems of s eale d cabins. A second study,"Biodynamics of Human Fa ct or s for Aviat ion", inves t i- -gated to l e rance to abrupt dece le ra tion , t o t a l p ress urechanges , abrupt wind b las t s and a i rc ra f t c ra sh forces .The se stu dies we re symptomatic of a rena issan ce ofscient i f ic inte res t in space re se ar ch throughout the AirRe se ar ch and Development Command. (Memo, Maj D. L.Ca rt er , Dep Di r , Tech Div, Weapon Sys, AFBMD, to

Col C. H. Terh une , Dep Cm dr , Weapon Sys, 19 Dec 57,subj: Meeting With Major Simons, AFMDC.)

Ai r R es ea rc h and Development Command began a strongeffort to or ient the work of the command to me etacc ele rat ing demand s of space technology. A Bal l i s t icMi ssi le Sp ace Vehicle Working Croup, appointed by theComm ander on 18 Janu ary 1957, wa s convened to estab -l i sh "new Re sear ch and Development Pa ra m et er s for theTechnica l Program . " The group 's wor k, essent ia l ly ,was to pred ic t Ai r F orc e space veh ic le requi rements anddevelopments over the next 15 year t ime period. (L t r ,Col R. V. Dickson, As st Dep Cm dr (Rm) , o C m drAFBMD, 26 Nov.57, subj: Ball ist ic Mis si le/S pace Vehicle

' Working Group. )

The Air F or ce Scientific Advisory Board Ad HocCommittee on Space Technology recommended, because"Sputnik and the Rus sia n ICBM capability have c re at ed ana t iona l emergenc y , " acc ele rat ion of specific mil i tar ypro gra ms and a v igorous space with the impme$-at e goa l of landings- - on the moon. (Rpt, ' sAB 'A~*B&".C bkrn i t t ee o n Space ~ ' e ch i i o l og ~ , D ec 57.)

AVCO Corpo ratio n pro pose d development of a mannedsa te l li t e s ys t em to the Ai r Fo rce . The ba sic elem ents ofthe proposal included a Titan rocket to boost a manned


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9 Dec(Cont 'd)

10 De c 1957

10 Dec

16 - 17 De c

satel l i te into a 110 nautical mil e ear th orbit . Thesat ell i te would be a sph er ica l capsule containing inst ru-mentat io n and a l i fe suppo rt sys tem capable of sustainingone m an fo r t h r e e o r f ou r days. A novel fe at ur e of thesy st em would be development of a s tainless s teel c lothpara chu te which would lower the cap sule safely throughre -en t ry dece le ra tion . As t he a i r p r e s su re i nc r eased t hepara chu te would autom atically expand to i ts full si ze andland the ca psule a t a surv iva l , if bone ja rri ng , ra te of 35feet pe r second. AVCO aske d $500,000 for a thr ee monthstudy and mockup of the capsule device and estim ate d, a sa "rough guess", a to ta l develo pme nt co st of $100 mi llion .The bal l i s t ic mis s i le divis ion, however , w as not con-vinced that this was the best approach to the manned r e -en try problem. The divis ion 's posit ion was that when theA ir F or ce identi f ied i t s space goals and es tabl ishedspecif ic technical requ irem ents i t would then be wi se r to"ask fo r bids and put i t (development) on an open competi-t ive bas i s . " (Memo, Go1 L. D. E ly, t o Col C. H. Ter hun e,17 Dec 57, subj: AVCO Pro po sa l fo r Manned Satell i te.)

Lieutenant G ene ral D. L. Putt, Deputy Chief of StaffDevelopment a t Ai r Fo rc e headqua r te r s , announcedesta blish me nt of the Di rec tor ate of Ast rona utics , to beheaded by Brig adie r Gene ral Hom er A. Boushey. The rew as , howe ver , an adv ers e Depar tment of Defense react ionto th is action. The Sec re tar y of Defense objected to theus e of the te rm "astrona utics" and Will iam Holaday, De -fe ns e Di rec tor of Guided Mi ssi les ,-publicly stated the AirFo rc e "wanted to gr ab the l im e light and es tabl ish a pos i -tion. I ' Jus t th ree days l a te r Genera l Put t d i rec ted thatthe organiza tional chBnge be cancelled. (Bowen, Thres -hold of Space, p. 20.)

Although the tem po of space technology re se ar ch withinrece nt m onths had be en s ignif icant ly accelerated by theA ir R ese arc h and Development Command, a fu r t he r i n -c r ea se was yet des i r ab l e . A plan, which would inc re as espace res ear ch by 50 percent or m ore by f i sca l 1959 andplace man agem ent i-e sponsibil i ty fo r the over -al l spacetechnology p rog ram within command headqu ar te r s , wasnow adopted. (L t r , Lt Gen S. E. Anderson, Cmdr ARDCjto C m dr AFMDC, 10 Dec 57, subj: Space Technology.)

The Scientif ic Advis ory C ommittee to the Se cr et ar y of theA i r F o r c e m e t a t th e bal l is t ic m iss i le divis ion. The


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16 - 17 Dec commit tee reviewed Air F orc e p lans for advanced(Conttd) bal l i s t ic m iss i l e and space progra ms and recommendedthat space technology development be managed by the A irF o r c e Bal l i s t ic Miss i le Divis ion . (E ar ly BMD-ARDCGe nera l Space Chronology, 11 Feb 59, pr ep by AFBMDHist Ofc,)

17 Dec

18 Dec

F ir s t successful f l ight tes t of S er ie s A At las miss i le .(AF Bal l i s t ic M iss i les Pr og ram Sta tus Repor t .)

Major G enera l. B. A. Sch riev er again offered a welldefined astr ona utic s pro gram at an est imated cost of $16mill ion in fi sc al 1958 and $112 million in 1959. In addi- -t ion, $10 million i n 1958 and $20 mil lion in 1959 would beneeded to pro cure Thor hardw are and acqui re a Thorspace launch complex. Fu r th erm ore , sa id Schr ie ver , ,although use of a ll reso urce s qual if ied to par t ic ipa te inthe p rogram w as endorsed i t wa s ". . . impera t ive tha tthe to t a l Ai r Fo rce e f fo r t i n the ba l l is t i c m is s i l e andspace f ield mu st be managed by one agency and that agencymu st be the Air Fo rc e Bal l i s t ic Miss i le Divis ion. 'ISchr ie ver a l so proposed crea t ion of a r e s e a r c h an ddevelopment command commit tee , chai red by the m iss i l edivision, to formulate and recomm end technical develop-me nt in space technology. "The co mmitte e would mee tper iodica l ly and.make recommendations to the com mander ,AFBMD, f or formula t ion of the Air F or ce prog ram. "(Ltr , Maj Gen B. A. Schr iev er , Cmdr AFBMD, to LtGen S. E. And erson, Cmd r ARDC, 18 Dec 57, subj: Pr o -posa l fo r Fu tu re Ai r F orc e Ba l l i s ti c M iss i l e and SpaceTechnology Development.)

20 Dec. 1957 The technica l pro gra m of the A ir .Force rese arc h anddevelopment s t ru c tur e was be ing reor iented towardst at e of th e a r t development which would ' I . . . providethe United States s ignificant capabil i t ies in the a re a ofspa ce technology. Air F orc e Bal l i st ic Miss i leDivision was i nstr uct ed to review and revi se i ts tech-nica l pr ogr am s to . insure tha t they w ere contr ibut ing toth e dev elopment of a sound s pac e technology. (L t r , M aje en J . W. S e ss u m s, ~ / C m d r RDC, to C md r AFBMD,20 Dec 57, su bj: Spa ce Technolog y. )


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27 Dec 1957 An ap pr ai sa l of Air R es ea rc h and Development Commandre se ar ch and engineering res our ces revea led tha t thecommand was wel l prep ared to undertake immedia tedevelopment of a manned space prog ram. The bal l is t ic,

mis s i l e d iv is i on posses sed the r e sou rces t o embark onvehicle development and command head quarte rs wa sready wi th a ' I . . . fa i r l y comprehens ive prog ram laidout in su ppo rt of the manned a sp ec ts of spa ce flight. I 'In specif ic t e r m s this involved sup port f ro m the School ofAviat ion Medicine, the Aerom edica l Lab orato ry at WrightA ir D evelopment Center (WADC), and the AeromedicalFi el d La bo rato ry at AFMDC. (Memo , Col L. D. E ly, toCol C. H. Terhune , 30 Dec 57, subj: Telephone Ca ll fr omG en era l Fl ick inger and Visi t of Colonel Ka rst en s , Schoolof Av iation Med icine. )

\

30 Dec

31 D ec

The Ai r Re sea rch and Development Comnland completeda 15 yea r p l an fo r a s t ronau t i c s r e se a rc h and t echn i ca ldeve lopment. F ro m th i s e ffor t was d is t i ll ed a f ive yea ras t ron aut ics pro gra m which , on th i s da te , was presentedto Ai r Fo rce headqua r t e r s . (L t r , Br ig Gen M. C. Dem le r ,~ / ~ m d r ,&D, Hq ARDC, to C m dr AFBM D, 30 Dec 57,no subject .)

The as t ron aut ics pr ogr am "package" was under rev iew byA i r F o r c e h e a d q u a rt e r s. Some addi t ional data f r o mAFBMD was reques ted - - co st informatio n, amount ofmoney needed to per form speci fic t asks and the des i ra b lepr ib r i t i es to be ass igned each task . (M FR , Brig Gen 0 . J .Ritland, V /C m dr , AFBM D, 31 Dec 57, subj: TelephoneCal l f ro m Col Nunziato.)

3 J a n 1 95 8 Ai r Fo rc e Bal l i s t i c Miss i l e Divis ion 's recommendat ionfo r a s t rong a s t ronau t i c s p rogra m, fo rwarded t o L tGen e ra l D. L. P u tt , Deputy Chief of Staff, Deve lopm ent,a t A ir F or ce he ad qua rter s , included the following specif ic' pro pos als : (1) Thor plus a Vanguard second stage wouldbe used a s the bas ic boos te r to provide a vehic le with arecov erable da ta capsule : f i r s t o rb i ta l fl igh t wi th t e lem et ryonly by S ept em ber 1958, followed by four addit ionalfl ights during the r em ain de r of f isc al 1959. (2) Developa recoverable an imal car ry ing sa te l l i t e us ing rhes usmonkeys; fo ur f l ights dur ing f isc al 1959. (3) Lunar impactmi ss ion s could be at tempted with a high probabi li ty ofsu cc es s by adding a Vanguard thi rd s tage to the T hor andVang uard seco nd stage vehicle; four vehicle s should beplanned for this m issio n beginning dur ing the las t q ua r te r


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3 Ja n 1958(Cont d)

9 J a n

of 1958. (4) Fo ur vehic les should be ass igned the miss ionof ci rcu mlu na r f l ight . Total cost of these p rog ram s wasest im ate d at $26.8 mil l ion during f isc al 1958, and $30.4mil l io n in f i sc al 1959 including ground equipment andt e s t s . Tho r production would have to be inc rea sed by two' uni ts per month i f t he en t i r e a s tronau t i c s p rogram wer eadopted a s proposed. (Msg, WDG-1-2, Cm dr AFBMD, toCm dr ARDC, 3 Ja n 58.)

The f i r s t c l a r i fi ca t ion to em erge f ro m the na tion' samorp hous space policies was revealed on 15 November1957 when Se cr et ar y of Defense M cElr oy told a p r e s s c on -fe re nc e he wa s thinking of centr alizin g cont rol of spa ce -re se ar ch and development in a specia l agency. This wasth e fir s t public announcement of the future bir th of ARPA ,,, a s i t was l a t e r ca l l ed - - the Advanced R esea rch Pro j ec t sAgency. Confirmation of th is intent was s tated in thePr es id en t ' s S ta te-of- the -Union messag e to Congresson 9 Janu ary 1958, when he sa id tha t Sec re ta ry McElroy"has alr ead y decided to conc entrate into one organizat ionall the ant i -m issi le and s atel l i te technology undertakenwithin the De part men t of Defense. I ' (History, Hq ARDC,1 J a n - 31 Dec 1958, Vol 1 , p r e p by m ~ i s tiv, p.7.)

1 3 J a n 19 58 The A ir Fo rc e Ba l l i s t ic Miss i le Divis ion continued tostudy ant icipated ma n-i n- spa ce proble ms, chief amongwhich was safe r e-e nt r y and recove ry of a manned spacecapsu le . Decelera t ion through r e ?ent ry might w el l exceedthe. l i m it s of hum an toler anc e. Exper im enta l evidence ,however , sugges ted tha t force s high a s 18 g ' s might beto le ra t ed fo r shor t pe r iods and tha t an ac tua l s e r i e s ofte s t s conducted in Ber l in had human subjec ts enduring15 g's a s long a s two minutes wi thout harmful e f fec ts .The effec t of weigh tlessn ess was fa r more diff icul t toa s s es s and nea r ly im poss ib le to s im ula te fo r any apprec i -able length of t im e othe r than through actua l orbi talexper imenta t ion . The weigh t of evid ence s ugg ested that. manned e nt ry in to space and re t ur n to ea r th would be adi f ficult , but f a r f ro m imposs ib le , tas k and the sc ient i ficand engineering ar t-s could con trol the space en viromen twithin l im its of human tolera nce . (Memo, Col L. D. Ely,t o C ol C. H. Terh une , 13 Ja n 58, subj: Addit ional HumanFa c to r s In fo rmat ion .)

16 J a n The f i r s t rough draf t of a development plan for the Ai rF o rc e space weapons development and technology pro gra mwa s comple ted by the ba l l i s t ic mi ss i le d iv is ion , or iented


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16 J a n(Cont td)

16 J a n 1958

22 J a n

to me et f ive bas ic requi rements : reconnaissance , com-mun icat ions , manned space f l ight , technical developmentand exper im ental support . To accomplish these object ivesit wa s neces sary to make maximum use of Ai r Fo rc em is si l e hardw are and pursue a "daring and bold m er ge r

I of the aero nau tics and manned ai rc ra ft experien ce of thela s t decade with the rocket and bal l i s t ic mi ss i l e exper iencei n r ecen t yea r s . " The pr og ra m 's f isca l 1958 funding needsw er e es t im ated to be as follows: as t ro nau t ics , $16 mil lion;addi tional Thor h ardw are and launch complex fo r the ad-vanced as t ronaut ics prog ram , $10 million. (Mem o, ColC.H. Terh une , Dep Cmdr , Weapon Sys, AFBMD, to CmdrARDC, 16 J a n 58, subj: A F Astron aut ics DevelopmentP r o g r a m . )Rep resen tative s of Aeron utronic Sys tem s, Inc. , visi tedthe bal l i s t ic m is s i l e division to presen t the i r concept ofa n A i r F o r c e a s tr o n a ut i cs p r o g ra m . ' The i r p rog ram wasbase d on use of exis t ing hard war e and conservat ive evalua-t ion of new equipment to be obtained through technicalevolution. Te st f light of e art h sa tel l i te s and luna r vehicleswould acqu ire nec ess ary d ata concerning the spaceenvironment. Specific goals included biomedical ex pe ri-m en ts , development of precis io n orbi ta l f l ight , reco veryand reconnaissance sys tems , and lunar impact . F ro mthis background of successful technical achievement thepro gra m would move to manned satel l i te f l ights , lunarf l ights and manned space explorat ion. This pro gra m wasdesigned to lead toemanned f light in approximately four tos ix year s . (Memo, Col L, D. El y, t o Col C. H. Terhune ,23 'Jan 59, subj: As tron autic s Briefing by Aeron utronicSystems, Inc.)

L t Gene ra l S. E. Anderson , Commander , Ai r Researc hand Development Com mand, outl ined the command con-cept of the mi ss i le divis ionts space miss ion in answeringGen eral Sch r ieve r ' s proposals of 18 Decem ber 1957.Said Anderson: "It i s ou r intent ion to make maxim um useof the pe cu lia r talen ts of your D ivision while at the sam etim e bringing capabil i t ies of all ele m en ts of the Comm andto bea r upon the problems in th i s a re a . " Therefore i t wasthe view of the com m and er that the division should con -cen t r a t e on ". . . the development and model impro ve-ments . . . of c er ta in scheduled space sy ste m s to includeboth planning and manag emen t asso ciate d therewith. " Inapplication this p olicy meant that the divisio n would in'!cer ta in ins tanc es p erf orm technical developments inas t ronaut ics , " The Deputy Com mander for Res earc h andDevelopment a t Command Headqua r ters was to r e tain


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22 Ja n 1958 over -all respons ibi l i ty fo r formulat io n of the Ast ro -(Cont d) nautic s Techn ical Development Pr og ra m. (Lt r , Andersonto Sch r i eve r , 22 Ja n 58 , sub j: P roposa l fo r Fu tu re Ai rForce Ball is t ic Missi le and Space Technology Develop-ment . )

22 - 24 Jan The Air Re sea rch and Development Command conveneda com mitte e to pr ep ar e a f inal planning draf t of a n A irF o r c e A s t ro n a u ti c s P r o g r a m f o r p re s en t at io n t o M r .W. M. Holaday, De partm ent of Defense D ire ct or ofGuided Missi les . The Ai r F or ce p roposed f ive yea r spacepro gra m included development of r es ea rc h and te st vehi-c l e s , s a t e l l it e r econna i s sance sys t em s , a luna r based in -te l l igence sys tem , defense sys tem s, logist ic requ i rem entsof lun ar t ra nsp or t , and s t ra tegic communica t ions . If t h e ,pro gra m we re accepted in i t s ent i re ty , $1.156 bi ll ion inini tia l funding would be needed in fi sc a l 1959. (Memo,Col L. D. Ely , D ir Tech Div, to Col C. H. Terhune ,AFBMD, 28 J a n 58, subj: Tr ip Report . )

31 J a n The Ai r F or ce invi ted the National Advisory Commit teefo r Aeronaut ics (NACA) to par t ic ipa te in "a re se ar chvehicle pro gra m to explo re and solve the problems ofmanned space f l ight. ' I Specif ical ly, the Air F or ce ob-jec t ive was to achieve the ea r l ie s t poss ib le manned o r -bi t al f l ight which would signif icant ly contr ibute to develop -me nt of "fol low-on scient if ic and mi l i t ar y space sys tem s. "A n i m m e d ia t e d e c i s io n w a s t h e r e f o re n e c e s s a r y t o d e t e r -min e the best approac h to the design of an orbi t ing r e -sea rch vehic le - -should it be a glide vehicle or one de -s igned only to accompl ish the sa te l l i te miss ion? Inasmuchas both NACA and the A ir Fo rc e we re wel l a long in the i rinvest igat ions of the be st a pproach to be taken in the d e-sig n of a manned orbit ing res ea rc h vehic le i t was su g-ges ted th at , "These ef fo rts should be joined a t once andbrought prompt ly to a conclusion. " Accordingly NACAwa s invi ted to col labora te wi th A ir R esea rch and Develop-me nt Com mand on a n o.ver-all evaluation of relev antspace p lans and projec ts and any pro gra m resul t ing f ro mthe joint evaluation. would be, i t wa s sug gest ed, "managedan d funded along the l in es of the X -1 5 ef fo rt . " Specificguide l ines w er e furnished the Advisory Commit tee tofac i l it a t e i t s r e sponse to the Ai r F orc e r eques t . ( L t r , LtGen D. L. P ut t, D CS/D, Hq USAF, to Dr. H. L. Dryden,D ir NACA,' 31 J a n 58, no sub ject.)


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31 Jan 1958

31 J a n

F e b 1 9 58

A i r Fo rc e headqu ar t e r s ins t ruc ted the A i r R esea rch andDevelopment Command , in collabo ratio n with the NationalAdvisory Co mmit tee for Aeronaut ics to ". . . expeditethe evaluatio n of exi sting o r planned pro jec ts , appropr i a t eavai lable proposals and o ther compet i t ive propo sals witha view to providing an experim enta l syst em capable of a nea rl y flight of a m anned vehic le making an orbit of theea r th . " F u r t h e r m o r e , i t w a s a s s e r t e d t ha t i t w a s " v it alto the pre st ig e of the nat ion that such a feat be ac co m-pl ished a t the ea r l i es t technica l ly prac t icable da te - - i f a ta ll poss ib le be fo re the R uss ians . " It w as the re fo re i m -por tant that the evaluat ion dete rmin e whether the objectiveof a manned spac e f l ight could be accom plished mo rereadi ly under the Dyna Soar prog ram or by mea ns of anorbi t ing sa te l l i te . The minimum t ime to the f i r s t orbi ta lf l igh t and the a s soc ia t ed cos t s w er e to be de te rm ined .The approach to th is objec tive was a ls o to furnish tangiblecon t ribu tions to the ove r -a l l A i r Fo rce a s t ronau t ic s p ro -g r a m . Fu r th e rm ore , t he haza rd accom pany ing such afl ight wa s to be the m inimum dictated by sound engi-neer ing and exper ime nta l fl ight safe ty prac t ices . If a t a l lpos s ib le , p i lo t safe ty was to be secu red by furnishing anem ergen cy escape syst em . (L t r , L t G en D. L. P u t t ,DCS/D, Hq USAF, to Cm dr , ARDC, 31 J a n 58, subj: Ad-vanced Hypersonic Research Aircraf t . )

Ai r Re sea rch and Development Command head qua r tersdi rec ted the W right Air Development Center to " inves t i -gate and evaluate". the quickes t way to put a m an in spaceand recover h im . Since the cr ux of the pro blem w as theobvious lack of la rg e h igh performance boo ster , the cente rreques ted the ass is ta nc e of the Air F or ce Bal l i s t ic Miss i leDivision in f inding a solu tion to the problem. (Chrono-logical Space His tor y, 1958, pr ep by AFBMD.)

The National Advisory Commit tee fo r Aeronaut ics in-f o r m e d th e A i r F o r c e t ha t it was working on the des ignof a space capsule and would coordinate on the Air Fo rc espace p ro gram la t e in M arch when the des ign w ork w asschedu led f o r complet ion. (D F, Lt Col C. C. Stra thy,Ch Re sea rch and Tgt Sys Div, Dir of S ys tems Pla ns , DepC m dr fo r Weapon Sys , t o A ss t fo r M s l s , D ep C m dr fo rWeapon Sys , Hq ARDC, 25 Fe b 58 , subj: Man in Space;0u.tline Hi st or y of Man- In-S pac e, RPrD P r o g r a m , 10 Nov59 , p re p by C ol J . L. Martin, Hq USAF.)


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1 Fe b 1958 Sec re ta ry of the A i r F orc e Jam es H. Douglas urged theSe cr et ar y of Defense to approve Ai r Fo rc e use of Thormi ss i le s to boos t te s t sa te l l i tes in to orbi t before the c loseof t he ca lendar yea r . The Sec re ta ry of Defense was al soadv ised that i n the fac e of the impending esta blish men t of' the Advanced R esea rch Pro jec ts Agency (ARPA), the AirF o rc e continue managing development of mil i tar y sp acereconna i s sance p ro jec t s , f i r s t under the genera l d i r ec -t io n of the D ire ct or of Guided Mis sil es and then under thege ne ral direc t ion of ARPA. (Memo, SAF J . H. Douglas,to SOD, 1 Fe b 58, subj: Reconnaissance Satel l i te . )

3 F eb Exper im en ta l p re l im ina ry s t eps to a m anned space p ro - .g r a m w e r e d i r e c t ed by A i r F o r c e h e a d q ua r te r s . Thedevelopment command was assigned authori ty to develop 'a recovera ble sa te l l i te and the f i r s t launch date was se tfo r October 1958. The command was a ls o ins t ruc ted toconduct a moon impact pr ogra m a lthough the author i ty toconduct such a pro gra m had not yet been gran ted.Ne ces sar y p lanning ac t ion would be taken in or de r I t . . .to expedite the pro gram immed ia te ly upon approval f ro mthe Dep art me nt of Defense. " ( L t r , B r i g G en H. A.Bou shey , DCS/D, Hq USAF, t o Cmd.r ARDC, 3 Feb 58,sub j: A s t ronau t i c s P ro gram . )

10 Fe b

.7 Feb 1958 The Dep artm ent of Defense estab l ished the Advanced Re-sea rch P ro j ec t s A gency to d i r ec t and conduc t space r e - 'se ar ch leading toward opera tional- sys te ms. In pursui tof ' these object ives the agency was authorize d manage mentof p roj ect s which would be conducted by mi l i ta ry d ep ar t-m en t s and , i t w as a l so em pow ered to con t rac t d i r ec t lywi th individuals , pr iva te bus iness organiza t ions , sc ien-t i f ic inst i tut io ns and public agen cies. (DOD D i r 51 05.15,7 F e b 58, subj: Dep artm ent of Defense Advanced Re se ar chPr oj ec ts Agency. )

A ir R esea rch and Development Command head quar tersfo rw arded fu r the r ins t ruc t ions to the m iss i l e d iv is ion a sa guide to p lanning-for a space program . The re se ar chcom man d was to pro cee d, when Departm ent of Defenseap pr ov al wa s obtained, with development of a ba llis ticr e s e a r c h a nd t e s t s y s t e m (W S 609A, la te r cal led BlueScout) , speci f ica l ly des igned to sa t i s fy mo st r es ea rc hf l igh t t e s t r equ i rem ent s . In addition, the Tho r mi ss i lew a s to be used a s a boos te r fo r (1 )"Able" r e -en t ry t e s t s ;(2) recoverable sa te l l i tes ; ( 3 ) and moon impact . Thela t t er p ro gr am wa s not yet final ly approved but planning


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10 F e b(Cont td )

11 Fe b

1 4 F e b

act ions were author ized to "expedi te this projectimm ediate ly upon recei pt of DOD approval" and $1mi l l ion had b een s e t as id e to cover in i t i a l p ro jec t co s t s .(Msg, NIX-2-1 E, Hq ARDC to AFBMD, 10 Fe b 58.)

The ba l l i s t i c m iss i l e d iv is ion informed command head-qu a r t e r s t ha t a s many a s 14 Thor boos t e r s wou ld beava i lab le dur ing the ca lend ar yea r for spec ia l purposef l ights . The se we re tentat ively al located a s fol lows:t h r e e w e r e a s s ig n e d t o P h a s e I "Able" se r i es f l ights ,s i x we re a s s i gned t o t he p rog ram fo r r ecove rab l esa t e l l i t e s , and f i ve we re a s s igned t o Phase I1 "Able" forcontinued developm ent leading to a Tho r ICBM capabil i ty.( F o r a t im e Thor p lus a second s tage and warhead wa scons i de red a s a me ans of acqui r ing an ear ly emergen cyICBM inven tory wel l ahea d of Atlas and Titan.) How ever,only eight ad dit ional launchings could be scheduled through1958- - three for Phas e I "Able" , th re e for recoverablesate l l i te s to be launched one a month beginning in October ,and two in suppor t of P ha se II "Able" p re ci se ly guided re -ent ry vehic les. Thus th i s appeared to be the maximumeffor t possible in the categ ory of space relat ed ex per i -men t a l f l i gh t s e s sen t i a l t o a mo re advance p rogram. Ifa gre a t e r e f fo r t was des i r ab l e i t would be ne ces sa r y t oobtain addi t ional launching faci l i t ie s , a problem thatmig ht be quickly and ea sily solved by modifying Navaholaunch s tands to accept Thor vehicles . (Msg, WDT 2 - 7 -E , AFBMD to ARPC, 11 Fe b 58.)

The Sec re ta ry of the Ai r Fo rc e forwarded to the Secr e ta ryof Defens e, recom me ndati ons which "should be under -t aken p rompt ly by t he Ai r Fo rc e . I ' Other than the f i r s tpro jec t , conver t ing Thor in to an in tercont inenta l rangeweapon by adding a second s tage , the recom menda t ionsconc erned the following space prop osals : (1) develop andorbi t a satel l i te equipped with a sm al l te levis ion t r an s -m it t e r to furn i sh weather information . A Thor plus asecond s tage could acdom plish the f i rs t orbi ta l launch bySeptember 1958. (2) Develop a recoverable satel l i teequ ipped t o c a r ry a va rie ty of payloads which might bee j ec t ed f r om o rb i t by dece l e ra t i ng dev ices . This pro jec twould a ls o use a Tho r boos ter wi th a n added Vanguardseco nd stag e which could be launched by July 1958. (3)A Thor -Hu s t le r ( l a t e r ca l l ed Agena) second s tage tolaunch a 300 pound scientif ic sat el l i te by October 1958.(4) As p rev i ous ly r ecommended , t he Ai r Fo rce was p r e -pared to l aunch a moon rocket by using a Thor plus two


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14 Fe b 1958 Vanguard upper s tages . Said the se cr eta ry : "In(Conttd) addit ion to the scient ific data that can be obtained fr omsuch a f l ight , the Uni ted States could make a ma jor inte r -nat ional psychological gain by beat ing the Russ ians t o themoon. I urge tha t t h i s Ai r F or ce approach be used . I t(Memo, SAF J . H. Douglas to the SOD, 14 Fe b 58, subj:Tho r and WS 117L Pr og ra m. )24 F e b

24 Feb

26 Feb

The Office of the Se cr et ar y of Defense Ball ist ic M issi l eComm it tee, then the f inal approval authori ty for a l lba l l i s t i c m iss i l e deve lopment p ro gra ms , ac t ed to inc ludesatel l i te pro gr am s wi th object ives of "pol i tical, scient i f ic ,p ' sychological o r mi l i tar y impact" wi thin i t s review r e - -spon sibi l i t ies. (Mem o, D. W. Pat terson, Chmn, OSD ,Bal l i s t ic M iss i l es Commi tt ee Al t e rna tes , t o Execut iveSec AFBMC , 24 Fe b 58, subj: Submission of Item s fo rOSD-BMC Consideration.)

Wright Ai r Development Center and Ai r F or ce Miss i l eDevelopment Center recommended indust r ia l so urc es andprovided the money t o s tudy and design a l i fe supportsys tem fo r sustaining a ma n in orbi ta l fl ight fo r 24 hoursand fo r s tudy, design and fabric at ion of orbi ta l capsu lesequipped to ca r r y and sustain the l ife of an anima lpas senge r . WADC issued a purchase reques t va lued a t$445,954 fo r pr oc ur em en t of the study. (ChronologicalSpace Hi st , 1958.)

A i r F o r ce headqua r t e r s aga in a ff i rm ed i t s s t rong supportof a pro gra m to demonst ra t e a t t he ear l i es t poss ib le da tea "capabil i ty to launch a satel l i te and to follow a s soonthe rea f t e r as p rac t i cab le with a shot to the moon. I t Untilsuch t im e a s the Department of Defense approved ear lysa tel lite launchings in supp ort of 117L, and launch of amoon impact payload , t he rese ar ch command was d i rec ted .to " take all ac t ions ne ces sary to be in pos i tion to accom-pl i sh bo th pro jec t s a t t he ea r l i es t t ime feas ib le . " Thecommand was fur th er advi sed to des ign the f i r s t sa t e l l i teas s imply as poss ib le and cons ider i t a "wa rm up for. subsequent mo re sophi s ti ca ted veh ic l es. " Simplici ty andan ea r l y l aunch da t e w ere cons i dered m ore i m por tan tthan demonst ra t ing a capabi li ty to rec ove r payloads o rotherwise de mon st rate a n advanced s ta te of competence.(Msg, AFCVC 56978, Hq U S A F to ARDC, 26 F e b 58.)


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28 F e b 1 95 8 A dv an ce d R e s e a r c h P r o j e c t s D i r e c to r , M r . R. W.Johnson dec la red the Ai r F or ce had a ". . . long te r mdevelopment responsibi l i ty fo r manned space f light capa-bil i ty with the pr im ar y objective of accomp lishing sate ll i tef light a s soon a s t echnology permi t s . " In pur sui t of th isob jec t ive the Ai r F o r ce was to ld to deve lop a Thor booste rwith a sui table second s tage vehic le "as a n avai lable de -v ice fo r exper imenta l f l igh t s wi th l ab ora to ry an imals . "P r o v i s io n f o r the rec ove ry of the orbi t ing anim als in"fu rth era nce of the objective of man ned flight" w as al soau thor ized . (Memo, R. W. Johnson , Di r , ARPA, toSAF , 28 Fe b 58 , subj: R econnaissance Sa te l l i tes andManned Space Exploration. )

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The Se cr et ar y of Defense approved accel era tio n of the117L mi l i t a r y sa te l l i t e sy s tem , inc luding tes t veh ic leslaunched wi th the Tho r boo s te r - -a se r i es of o rb i ta l ex-p e r im e n t s t h a t w e r e a l s o c o n s id e r ed p r e l im in a r y t o am a n i n s p a c e p r o g ra m . The ba l l i s t i c mis s i l e d iv is ionwas ins t ructed to submit a complete development p lanand f i sca l e s t imate by 15 March 1958 fo r " rev iew andapprova l . " (M sg, AFCVC 57197, Hq USAF t o Hq ARDC,3 Mar 58.)

The Air F o rc e Chief of Staff d i r ect ed that space pro jec tswhich depended on the us e of bal l is t ic mi ss i le components". . . wil l be admin is te red in the sam e manner and by thes a m e p r o c e d u r e s a s t h e I C BM II RB M p r o g r a m s . I ' Thedec is ion p roc ess would be iden t ica l and , a s in the"bal l i s t ic mis s i l e programs, .approved development p lanswil l const i tu te act ion documents. " (Memo, Maj Gen J . E.S m ar t , A F A ss t Vice Chief of Staff , to Air Staff d is -t r ibu t ion , 4 M ar 58, subj: Space Pr oj ec ts InvolvingICBM/IRBM Components.)

The Office of the Se cr et ar y of Defen se, in the fi rs t signi -f icant forwa rd s te p to acce lera te development of a spac ecapabi l i ty , re i t era ted the space role of the Ai r For ce bys ta t ing that in add i tion to i t s mi ss i l e p ro gra ms the Ai r, F o r c e w a s r e sp o n sib le f o r t he 1 I 7 L system and ". . .

h a s a recognized long te rm development responsibi l i ty formanned space f l ight capabil i ty wi th the pr im ar y objectiveof a ccom plish ing sa tell i te f light as soon a s technologyp e r m i t s . I ' F u r th e r m o r e , t he A i r F o r c e w a s to ld i t w a st o c a r r y f o r w a r d a nd a c c e l e r a t e t h e A tl a s 1 17 L p r o j e c t"under the h ighest na t iona l p r io r i ty in o rde r to a t t a in anini t ia l operat iona l capabil i ty in the e ar l ie s t poss ible date ."


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5 Mar 1958(Cont 'd) But the proposed in ter i m sy ste m using a Thor boostercombined with a second s tage and reco verable capsule"should not be pursued . I ' The De pa rtm en t of Defen sedid agr ee that a T hor booster wi th a sui table secondstage "m ay be the most promptly and readi ly avai labledev ice fo r exper imenta l f l igh t s wi th l abora to ry an imals"and development of such ha rdw are including a s ys tem fo rrec ov ery of anim als was author ized. (Msg 03-014, C m d rARDC, o Cm dr AFBMD, 5 Ma r 58.)

he Ai r F or ce Ba l l i s t i c Miss i l e Divi s ion p roposed an-


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10- 1 2 M a r 1958 r e m a in a lo f t f o r 4 8 h o u r s , t e l e m e t r y -c o m m u n ic a t i o n s ,(Cont ' d) and a r e c o v e r y s y s t e m . T he A i r F o r c e B a l li s t ic M i s s i l eDiv ision approach was d i rec ted to a m o r e d i s t a n t g o a l,"Man on the Moon and Return. " By the second day of theconfe rence gener a l agreem ent on p ro gra m ob jec t ives hadbee n reached. Technical recomme ndat ions includedse lec t ion of an improved th r us t Thor with a f luor ine -hydraz ine second s ta ge , 2 ,700-3 ,00 0 pound spac ecra f tand a Gene ra l E lec t r i c gu idance sys tem. As then plannedthe comple te exper im enta l and tes t p rog ram would r e -q u i r e a p p r o x im a te ly 30 T h o r b o o s t e r s , 8 to 12 Vanguardsecond s tag es and about 20 f lour ine-hyd razine seconds ta ges fo r t e s t ing and advanced phases of the p rog ram.By the t h i r d d ay an abbrev ia ted d ra f t deve lopment planhad bee n completed . The confe rence wa s pervaded by as t ron g sen se of u rgency , mot iva ted by the d rama t ic Ai rF o r c e m i s s i o n t o g et a m a n i n s p a c e a t t h e e a r l i e s tposs ible t ime . Those a t tending the conference ant ic ipateda c c e l e r a t e d p r o g r a m a p p r ov a l an d s c h e du l ed c o n t r a c to rse lec t ion to beg in on o r abou t 10 Apr i l 1958. (Memo, ColC. H. Terhune , Dep Cm dr , Tech Opera t ions , to Maj GenB. A. Sch r ie ver , C md r , AFBMD, 25 M ar 58 , sub j: Manin Space Meet ing at AFBMD, 10- 12 Mar ch 58.)

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A ir Res ear ch and Development Command submi t ted toA i r F o r c e h e a d q u a r t e r s a M an -I n- Sp ac e a b b r e v i a t e ddevelopment p lan. (Chronological Space His t , 1958, pr epby AFBMD.)

A i r F o r c e U n d e r s e c r e t a r y , M. A. M a c I n ty r e , s u bm i tt e dto the Advanced R ese arc h Pro jec t s Agency F i sc a l 1959budge t requ i rements i f t h e A i r F o r c e m a n i n s p a c e p r o -g r a m w a s t o m e e t i ts mid-1960 o perat ional date:eBudget Ca teg ory Amount(mi11ions)

P - 1 0 0 A i r c r a f t an d M is s i l e sP-200 SupportP-300 Cons t ruc t ionP-600 Re se ar ch and Development $37.0Total $133.0


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19 M ar 1958 : this amount was not fully funded the following pro jec ts(Cont 'd) :auld be progre ss ive ly under taken, but the f i r s t mannedcap sule launch would b e delayed to some futur e date: (1)Development of sm all animal carry ing capsu les for usei n the 117L pro gram s tar t ing November 1958 - $16mil l ion. (2) Cons tructio n of launch pad a sse mb ly buildingsand instru menta t ion modif icat ions - $5 million. (3 ) Designof ma n siz e capsule, second stage boo ster ; development,procur ement , tes t of suppor t tes t vehic les - $30 million.(4) Fab rica t ion of a sm all numb er of caps ule s, seconds tages and boos te r s - $15 million. (5) Design, develop-m e n t , te st and pro cur eme nt of cap sule s, second stag es,boo s ter s and suppor t te s t vehic les leading to the ea r l i es tpossible manned space f l ight - $67 million. (Memo,Un de rse cre tar y of the Ai r Fo rc e, M. A. MacIntyre, toD i r , ARPA, 19 M ar 58, subj: Air Fo rc e Man-In-SpaceP r o g r a m . )

26 M a r 1 9 58 The Pres ide nt ' s Sc ience Advisory Commit tee af f i rmedthat d evelopment of "space technology" w as require d by,"human curio si ty , scient if ic knowledge, the maintenanceof nat ional pre st i ge , and the defense of the United States.This was the f i r s t of fic ia l dec lara tion by the governmentthat space wa s of mil i tary s ignif icance, but the re wa sst i l l no evaluat ion of space a s a re al m of m il i tar y oper a-tions. " (Bowen, Th res hol d of Sp ace , p. 14.)

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M ajor Genera l B. A. Schr i eve r , Ball is t ic Missi le DivisionCom mand er , d i rec ted the prepa ra t ion of a developmentp lan fo r a fu l l s ca l e m anned m i l i t a ry space sys t em s p r o -. g r a m . The goal of the pro gra m w as to achieve a mannedfl ight to the moon and return. (Chronological Space Hist ,1958.)

Pre s ide nt Eisenhower sen t to Congress a deta i led re -commendat ion for a na tional space progr am. T he P r e s i -' dent , basing his recommendation on the March 26th reportof h is Science Advisory Comm it tee , s ta ted i t was es s e n -t ia l tha t the na t ion adopt the program because i t r ep re -sented the next s tep forwa rd in man's compell ing urg e toexplo re and disco ver , i t would develop space technology

esse nt ia l to our defense , enhance our na t ional pre s t ig e ,and furnish the nat ion new opportunit ies f or scient if icobserv at ion and expe riment which would add to ma n' s"understanding of the eart h, the so lar s yste m and theun ive r se . I ' The Pre s ide nt therefor e advised Congress


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2 Apr 1958 th a t a Nat iona l Aeronau t ics and Space Admin is t ra t ion b e(Cont td ) c r e a t e d t o f u r n is h , "a c iv i li a n s e t t i n g f o r a d m in i s t r a t i o nof sp ac e funct ions [ which] wi l l em phas iz e the co nce rn ofour na t ion tha t o u te r space be devo ted to peacefu l andsc ien t i f i c purposes . " (His to ry , Hq ARDC, 1 Ja n - 31 Dec1958 , p . 13; Max Rose nberg , The Ai r 3 'o rce i n Space ,1959-1960, d td Ju n 62, USAF Hist Div Lia ison Ofc , p .3.)

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R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m A i r R e s e a r c h a n d D e ve lo p me n tCommand hea dqu ar te r s and f ro m c en t e rs th roughout ' thec o m m an d w e r e r e q u e s te d t o a s s e m b l e a t t he m i s s i l ed iv i s io n b y 9 A p r i l t o c o n s t i t u t e a t a s k f o r c e t o p r e p a r edevelopment p lanning da ta for a m a n n ed s p a c e p r o g r a m .(Chronolog ica l Space His t , 1958. )

The A i r Re se ar ch and Deve lopment Command in formedthe Nat iona l Advi sory Co mmit tee fo r Aeronau t ics tha t i thad in i t ia ted a 30 d a y e f f o r t a t t h e b a l l i s t i c m i s s i l e d iv i -s i on t o p r e p a r e a de ta i led deve lopment p lan fo r "an ex-tended manned spa ce veh ic le p rog ra m of which man ins p a c e at t h e e a r l i e s t p r a c t i c a bl e d a t e i s a n i n t e g r al p a r t . I 'T h e a d v i s o r y c o m m i t t e e w a s i n vi te d t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h epre par a t io n of the p lan and to adv ise the Ai r Fo rc e ofthe i r an t ic ipa ted ac t ion . (Msg , 04-9 -01 , Cm dr , ARDC,t o C m d r A F B M D, 9 Apr 58 .)

A i r F o r c e B a l l i s t i c M is s i l e D iv i si o n p r e s e n te d b r i e f in g son the manned Mi l i t a ry Space Sys tem Deve lopment P l anto h ig h e r A i r F o r c e a n d D e p a r tm e n t of D e f e n s e a u th o r i t i e sin Wash ington, to Ai r Res ear ch and Development Commandhe ad qu ar te rs , th e Vice Chief of Staff , and R. W. Johnson ,Di re c to r of the Advanced Rese ar ch Pro j ec t s Agency .(Chronolog ica l Space Hi s t , 58. )

T h e A i r F o r c e l au n ch e d a r e s e a r c h t e s t r o c k e t w hi chc a r r i e d a m o u s e i n t h e r e - e n t r y v eh i cl e. T h i s w a s t h ef i r s t sm al l beginning of a r e s e a r c h p r o g r a m t o d e te r m in ethe requ i rem ent s of a s p a c e l i fe s u p p o r t s y s t e m . ( M s g ,SAFIS-3C 47151, SAF to AFBMD, 29 Ap r 58.)

T h e A i r F o r c e B a l l i s t i c M is s i l e D iv i s io n pu b li sh e d t h ef i r s t d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n M1lJLiUyS p ac e S y s t e m s P r o g r a m . The object ive was to ". . .m h i e v e a n e a r l y c a p a bi l it y t o 1 m o n n a&r e t u r n h i m s a f e ly to e a r t h . I t T h e p r o g r a m r e p r e s e n t e d


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25 April 1958(Cont d)

28 Ap r

a rea son able le vel of accom plishm ent with a minim umof t i m e and mone y and called fo r s ta rt of a high prio rit yprog ram (s i mi la r to tha t en joyed by ba l l i s t ic mis s i l e s )charac te r ize d by "concur rency" and s ing le Ai r F or ceagency management . The com le te prog ram would beca rr i ed out in four phases:&- Man-In-Space -Soo.nest, "wa s to det erm ine funct ional capabi l it ies and l imita tionsof ma n in sp ace by mean s of ,earth orbi tal f l ights - -be -ginning with an ins t ru mented 2 ,900 pound re -e nt ry body,then a r im ate passen ger and, f inal ly , a manned capsule .The (second+ esig nate d "Man-In-Space -Sophis,ticate.d, 'would use a dr ag type 3 ,200 pound re- en try vehic le ,ca pa ble of a 14 d a y manned space fl ight. This devicewould be us ed fo r e ar th o rbita l fl ight only but i t wouldper for m exper im ents esse nt ia l to the f inal phase of thelu n a r p r o g r a m . ~ h e w ~ h a s e ,Lunar Reconna-issance,"would exp lore the moon by te lev i s ion cam er a and by meansof a soft landing of a n instr um ente d package on the m o on 'ssurfa ce . The f inal phase of the projected pro gra m was"Manned Lunar Landing and Return, I ' which would firstt e s t equ ipment by c i rcum lunar f l igh t s re tu rn ing to ea r t hwith ins t rumented capsule s containing animals . At th issta ge of pr oje ct de velopm ent payload capa city would beincre ased to 9 ,00 0 pounds. The spacec raf t would thenunder take a ful l sc ale f l ight to the moon and safe r e t ur nto e a r t h wi th a n an imal passenger . The c l imax o f a e e n -t i r e p g e c t wou ld t h e n b e a m a nn ed l u n a r la nd in g, b r ie fs x a ? e z x p lo r at io n , a nd r e t u rn t o e ar ih . This would befollowed by oth er c i rcu mlu nar f l ights to ful ly explore themo on's surf ace and gather addi t ional physical data . The

hard war e and avai lable ground faci l i t ies thus e l iminat ingmu ch new development and construc tion funding. How ever,new launch vehicle combinations would have to be developedprog ress ing in pe r fo rma nce a s fol lows: a Thor-Vanguardsecond s tage , a Th or - f luor ine second s ta ge, a "super"Ti tan with a f luor ine-h ydrazine second and th i rd s tages .Methods of landing involved use of re tr or oc ke ts to in -s u r e a sof t landing on the moon and re tur n to ea r thth rough re - en t ry to a p rede te rmined land ing a rea . (USAFManned Mil i tary Space System Development P la n, 25Apr 58 , p rep by AFBMD.)

The dir ect or of the Advanced Res earc h Pr oje cts Agencyrec.e ived a br ief review of the Air F or ce proposed ma nin s p a c e p r o g r a m . This meet ing a l so produced a n


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28 Apr 1958(Cont 'd )

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ar r an ge me nt to have the m an in space deve lopment p lanreviewed by the S ec re ta ry of the Air F or ce and Chief ofS taff p r io r to i t s f o r ma l p resen ta t io n to the AdvancedR e s e a r c h P r o j e c t s A ge nc y. T he d i r e c to r a l s o e x p r e s s e di n t e r e s t i n ". . . the ea r l y reco ver y of a s ma l l ch imp-a n z e e f r o m o r b i t a s a p r el u de t o m a n i n s p a c e. " Such afl ight not only would have significa nt scien tif ic value buta con side rabl e amount of psychological value a s wel l .T h e r e f o r e t h e m i s s i l e d ivi s io n w a s r e q u e st e d t o a n a ly z ethe value of developing a s m al l capsu le fo r a chimpanzeeorb i ta l f ligh t t e s t in addi tion to the man -s ized capsuIeand to es t im ate the c ost and poss ible t iming of such ap r o g r a m . (Msg 04-29-01, Hq ARDC, to Cm dr , AFBMD,29 A p r 58.)

An AVCO-Conva ir con t rac to r t e am submi t ted to the Ai rF o rc e a n unso l ic i t ed p roposa l fo r development of amanned sa te l l i t e a t the ea r l i e s t poss ib le da te . The p ro -p o s e d s y s t e m w a s b u il t a r o u n d a n A t l a s b o o s t e r , n osecond s tag e, mount ing a l ight double walled capsu lewhich would re ly on a s t e e l m e s h d r a g c hu te f o r d e c e l e r a -t ion and recovery . The p ropos a l was ana lyzed by Ai rF o rc e space spec ia l i s t s who concluded tha t the p lan wasf e a s ib l e b u t o f f er e d l it t le m a r g in f o r e r r o r . F u r t h e r -m o r e , w e ig h t e s t im a t e s w e r e o p t im i s t ic , i t s o r b i t a lend uran ce and a l t itude we re low and i t pos ses sed nogrowth potent ia l al though use of At las a s a boo ster ap -p e a r e d t o ha ve m e r i t . A i r F o r c e B a l l i s t ic M i s s i l e D iv i-s ion fe l t adopt ion of the pro pos al would only gain thr ee orf d u r m o n th s o v e r t h e m u c h m o r e v e r s a t i l e T h o r - fl u o r in ecombina tion veh ic le which would a l s o be f r ee f rom them aj or l im i ta t ions inheren t in the AVCO-Convai r p ro-posa l . (Memo , Col J . D. Lowe, A FBM D, t o Col H.Ev an s , A FBM D, 16 May 1958, no subject . )

The m is s i l e d iv i s ion pub li shed i t s second Man- In-SpaceDevelopment Plan. This p lan concen t ra ted on the f i r s tphase of the over - a l l manned lunar p rog ram , des igna ted"Man-In-Space -Soonest . I ' During th is phase of pro jec tdeve lopment the l aunch veh ic les would be a Th or -V a~ l -g u a r d c o m b ina t io n f o r i n s t r u m e n te d t e s t s , a nd a T h o r -f luor ine second s tag e combina t ion fo r the manned f l igh ts .Th is p lan , i f approved, would place a ma n in a 150n a u t ic a l m i l e o r b i t bv October 1960 a t an approx imateco st of $1 20 million. ' (USAF M anned ~ i l i t a i ~paceSys tem Deve lopment P lan , 2 May 1958, p re p by AFBMD)


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9 May 1958

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15 May

Data on bio-m edical aspec ts of man in space wer e to beprovided through expe rimen ts planned in the 117L pr o-g r a m . Des ign, developmen t, and fa brica tion of- fiveanima l conta iners , and a ssocia ted environmental controland tele me try equipment was planned under a f isca l 1959117L budget it em of $1.3 million. In addition, $4.7mill ion was al located fo r special ized checkout equipment ,recove ry devic es , beacons , and necessary recoveryoperat ions for bio-medical spec imens. (L tr , Lt Gen S.E. Anderson, Cm dr , ARDC, to Cm dr, AFBMD, 2 2 May58, subj: Support of Bioa strona utics Pro gr am ; Chroilo-logica l Space Hi st, 1958.)

On ins t ruc t ions f ro m command head quar ter s , the ba l l -i s t ic m iss i l e d iv ision prepa red sev era l funding a l te rn a-t iv es to me et the amount of money that might be rea l is t i -cal ly budgeted fo r the manned space progr am. Thesew er e sor ted out a t four levels : (a ) $100 mil l ion f i sc a l1959 appro priat ion which reduced the tes t pro gra m f orThor-Vanguard vehicles but maintained the October 1960date f or the f i rs t manned space f l ight ; (b) a $90 mil l ionpr og ra m for the s am e number of vehic les but postponingthe f i r s t manned f l ight fro m October 1960 to Apri l 1961;(c) a $90 mil l ion high r i sk effort inc urre d by delet ingfour mo re vehic les f ro m the program and re tain ing theOcto ber 1960 launch date; ( d) a $75 million pro gr am withthe sam e number of vehicles as (c) but delaying the f i rs tmanned flight date to October 1961. (Mem o, Col C. H.Terh une, Dep Cm dr, Tech Operat ions, AFBMD, to MajGen B. A. Sc hr ie ve r, Cm dr AFBMD, 15 May 58, subj:Rev isions to the Man-In-Space Development Plan .)

Acting on d i rec t ions f ro m Genera l S chr iever , the miss i ledivision staff pre par ed to establ ish a f luorine propulsionp r o g r a m . This development was to support the mannedmil i ta ry space sy s tem , par t icu lary the Man-In-Space -Soonest effort which was to use a T hor-f luorine seconds tage . The f i r s t act ion was to ar ran ge a meeting of Ai rFo rc e , North Am er ican Avia tion and Be l l Ai rc ra f t p ro -pulsion spec ial i s ts to determine the s tatus of the irf luorine propulsion pr og ram s, funds available and over -all development expectat ions for f luorine propulsion s ys -terns. (Chronological Space Hi st, 1958.)

19 May Air Fo rc e Bal l i s t ic M iss i le Division completed i t s th i rdMan-In-Space Development Pla n which was s im ila r to the


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19 May 1958(Cont td )

20 - 21 M ay

21 May

oth er two p lans excep t i t con ta ined add i tional f i s ca l 1959funding a l t e rna t ive s ; i. e. , $1 00 mil l ion; $90 mil l ion;$75 m i l l i on o r $67 mil l ion. It w a s c l e a r l y a p p a r e n t t ha ta m a jo r s t um b l in g b lo c k t o A i r F o r c e m a n n e d s p a c e p r o -g r a m a p p r o v al w a s i t s h ig h c o s t , p a r t ic u l a r ly f o r d e -velop ment of a new f luor ine second s tage. ( C o m m a n d e r ' sRef ere nce Book, "Chronology of Man-In-Space E ffor t ,2 3 M a r 5 9. )The ba l l i s t i c mi ss i l e d iv i s ion b r ie f ing on Man- In-Space-S o o n es t w a s p r e s e n t e d a t A i r R e s e a r c h a nd D e ve lo p me ntC o mm a nd h e a d q u a r t e r s , t o G e n e r a l C. E. LeMay andm e m b e r s of th e A i r S t af f, a nd t o A i r F o r c e U n d e r-se c r e t a r y M. A. MacTntyre and Ass i s t an t se c r e t a r yR. E. H o r n e r . F a v o r a b l e re c e p t i on w a s a c c o r d e d t heb r i e f i n g s a nd t h e c o m m a n d w a s a s s u r e d th a t a d e qu a t efunding, " som ewhe re be tween seven ty-f ive and one hundredm i l l i o n d o l l a r s " w ou ld b e a l l o c at e d th e p r o g r a m f o rf i s ca l ye ar 1959. The b r ie f ing to MacIn tyre and Horn erevoked a s p e c i fi c s u g g e s ti o n t h a t a n IC BM b e u s e d a s abo os te r in l i eu of deve loping a second s tage fo r the Thor .T h e d iv i s i o n w a s a ll o we d two w e e k s t o p r e p a r e a planus ing a n At las bo os t e r and b r ing i t to Washington fo rs e c r e t a r i a l r e v ie w . ( M e m o , C o l H. L. E v a n s , A s s t D epC m d r , S p a ce S y s , t o C o l C. H. Terhune , 23 May 58,s u bj : T r ip R e p o r t .)

In a n a t t e m p t t o dk fine m o r e c l e a r l y t h e r o l e of t h eb a l l i s t i c m i s s i l e d i v i si o n i n s p a c e p r o j e c t s , M a j o rG e n e r a l B. A . S c h r i e v e r , div i s ion com ma nde r , ou tl inedh i s u n d e r s t a nd in g t h a t h e w a s a s s ig n e d i n i t ia l r e s p o n s i -bi l i ty fo r "planning, in i t ia t ing and managing the MannedM i l i t a r y S p ac e S y s t em P r o g r a m . I ' Planning had advancedto the point of con tra cto r se lect ion , awai t ing only a l lo ca-t ion of suff ic ient funds to begin the Man-In-Space-Soonestp r o g r a m . M o r e o v e r , G e n e r a l S c h r i e ve r w a s a r r a n g i n gt o m e e t w i th D r . H. L. Dry den of the National Adv iso ry

' C o m m i t t e e f o r A e r o n a u t i c s, ". . . a t th e e a r l i e s t p r a c t i -cab le t im e , " to es ta b l i sh the h ighes t l eve l of suppor t andm u tu a l c o o p e r a ti o n p o s s ib l e. Working leve l confe rencesw e r e a l r e a d y u n d e r w a y t o d e v elo p c o n c r e t e a p p l ic a ti o nof t h i s c o o p e r a ti v e i n t e r e s t i n t h e p r o g r a m . I t w a s a l s oin te n d ed t h a t o th e r o r g a n i za t i o n s w e r e t o b e u s e d a sapp rop r ia t e to " insu re maxim um u t i l i za t ion of the Ai rR e s e a r c h a n d D e v e lo p m e nt C o m m a n d ' s R e s o u r c e s . "( L t r , M a j G e n B. A. S c h r i e v e r , C m d r , A FB M D, t o LtG e n S. E . A n d e r s o n , C m d r , AR D C, 21 May 58, no sub-ject . )


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28 May 1958 A ir F or ce B al l is t ic Miss i le Divis ion completed i tsfourth Man-In-Space Development Pla n, which, in thefo rm of c har ts ra the r than a for ma l publication, pro -posed use of the Atlas boost er plus a second stage con-sis ting of a Lockheed Hu stl er (second stag e of the 117L,la te r ca l led Agena) to p lace a m an in a 150 naut ical mileorbit during October 1960. Cost fo r th is p ro jec t was e s -t im ate d to be $106.11 mill ion fo r f isca l 1959. The planwa s 'br iefed a t command and Air F or ce hea dqua r ters ,a s w e ll a s t h e A i r F o r c e s e c r e t a r i a t l ev el . (Chrono-logic al Space His t , 1958.)

31 M ay Washington discu ssion of the Ai r Fo rc e M an-In-Spacepro pos al continued to fer me nt without any sign of theapprova l nec essa ry to s ta r t the p rogram. The AdvancedResea rch Pro jec t s Agency indica ted genera l agreementwith the Air F or ce space development p lan and theNational Sec urity Council Planning Board displayed a"feeling of g re at urgen cy to achieve anima l f l ights inspa ce with sa fe r et ur n and to achieve the Man-In-Space -Soonest a t the e ar l ie s t poss ible date ." Other than th isnebulous p rog ress the Ai r Fo rce ma n in space e f fo r t wasno ne ar er real iza t ion. (Memo, Col H. L. E v a n s , A s s tDep Cm dr , Space Sys , to Col C. H. Terhune, 31 May 58,subj: T r i p Report . )

Ju n 1958 The Air Force obta ined Advanced Research ProjectsAgency approval to proceed with s tudy contrac ts on sp aceliYe support systems - -ecological asp ect s of the mannedspace capsule environment we re to be invest igated andthe study effort wa s to include constru ction of a mockup.Two thr ee month con tracts to tal ing $740,000 we re awardedto North Ame rica n Aviat ion and General El ect r ic fo rl ife suppo rt sy ste m development. (Rpt, Com paris on ofNASA Manned Space Program and USAF Manned MilitarySpace Pro pos al , 25 Fe b 60, prep by AFBMD.)

6 J u n Ai r R ese arc h and Development Command head quar t erses tabl ished a post: of Sp ecial Assistant fo r Bio-Astronaut ics to the Deputy Commander for Bal l is t icMiss i l es . Life sc ien ces personnel were to be placed ontem por ary duty with, or ass igned to the bal l is t ic mi ss i l edivis ion and author ized to mak e appropr ia te decis ions.Command headqu ar ters was t o be informed of all decis ionsand through monthly re po rts m ainta in cognizance ofdeve lopm ent, fa bri cat ion , test ing and scheduling of the


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6 J u n 19 58( C on t ' d )

1 3 J u n

13 J u n

15 Jun 1958

l i fe sc ie nc es por t ion of the over -all pr ogr a m . TheAero medi ca l La bora t ory a t Wr ight Ai r Deve lopmentCe nt er ; USAF School of Aviati 'on M edicine; and Ae ro -m e d i c a l F i e ld La bor a to r y of A i r Fo r c e M is s i l eD e ve lopm e n t C e n t e r w er e desig nate d points of conta ctfo r weapon sy s te ms manag ement organiza tions and con-t r a c to r s c onc e r ne d w ith the li f e s c i e nc e s e xpe r im e n t sa nd ha r d w a r e de ve lopm e n t . ( C hrono logi c al Spac e H i s t ,1 9 5 8 . )

A confe rence was scheduled at A ir Fo r c e he a dqua r t' e rson 25-26 Jun 1958 to d i scus s the " ove r - a l l p roblem s ofthe m a nne d s a t e l l i t e de ve lopm e n t p r og r a m . The c on-f e r e n c e w a s s p o n s o r e d b y t h e A dv an ce d R e s e a r c h p r o j e c t sAgency with rep res en ta t iv es of the Nat ional AdvisoryC om m i t t e e f o r A e r on a u t i c s , A i r R e s e a r c h a nd D e ve lop -m e n t C om m a n d , A i r Fo r c e B a l l is t i c Mi s s i l e D iv is i on,Space Technology L abo ra to r ie s , and Conva i r inv i ted tothe mee t in g . Ques t ions to be a tt acked were : Could thebo os t e r be an At la s wi thout a second s tage ? What wouldb e the sub sys tem dis t r ibut io n of payload weig ht? Whatwa s At la s maximum payload we ight pe r fo rman ce ? Theques t ion of ab la t ion o r hea t s ink capsule des ign was to ber e s o lv e d bef o r e t he c on f e r e nc e . I it was concluded tha tAt la s we ight l i ft ing pe r for ma nce was inadequate an a l t e r -na te ch oice would be the Atlas with a 117L secon d s tage .Comple te funding p lans cove r ing prog ram options we reto be a va il a b le t o t he c on f e r ee s . (Msg , AFDRD 51947,Hq USAF, t o Hq ARDC, 13 Jun 58 . )

T h e b a l l i s t ic m i s s i l e d ivi si on i n f o r m e d c om m a nd he a d -qu a r t e r s t ha t r educ ing t he o r b i t of a m a nne d s pa c e c r a f tf r o m 150 to 100 naut ica l mi l e s would e i the r s igni f icantly(by 50 per cen t ) in c re as e the num ber of s ta t ion s neededfor t r ackin g and cont ro l of the manned sa te l l i t e or d e -c r ea se the re l i ab i l i ty and length of contac t appre c iab ly .A l s o on t h i s s a m e da te , t he m i s s i l e d iv is i on a g r e e d t op r e p a r e a r e v i s e d m a nned s pa c e p r og r a m w hich s c he du l edi t s fir s t m a nne d f l igh t i n A pr i l 1960- -moving the date upf r o m O c tobe r by s i x ' m on ths --by us ing an At las D boos t e r(Chronologica l Space His t , 1958 )

A dr a f t r ev i s ion of the Man -In -Space -Soonest develop -m e n t p la n w a s p r e p a r e d . Th i s p l a n p r opos e d us e o fan Atlas bo os t e r t o p lace a m an in 115 naut ica l mi leo r b i t du ring A pr i l 1960. In event the pe r form ance wasnot up to li f ting the req ui red payload weight , a 117 Lo r a Va nguar d s e cond s t a ge w ou ld b e a dded .


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15 Ju n 1958 Cos ts we re es t imated a t $99.3 mi l l ion for At las a lone,(Cont d) $1 05 mil l ion with a V anguard second stage (AJ l o ) , and$139.51 million i f a 117L vehic le wer e used a s thesecond stage. (Chronological Space Hi st , 1958.)

16 - 26 J u n Ai r Fo rc e Ba l l i s t i c M iss i l e Div is ion p resen ted i t sfifth Man-In-Space -Soonest development plan t o Wash -ington de cis ion points in the Ai r F o rc e and Office of theSe cr et ar y of Defense. The division was instr ucte d tocomple te i t s p lans for a n At las vehic le p lus a seconds t a ge a s a backup i n the even t the Atlas could not handlethe job alone. (Chro nologic al Space H is t, 1958.)

19 J u n The Advanced Re sea rch P ro je ct s Agency had not yetd i r ec t ed a "go ahead" for the ma n in space program.However , Ai r Fo rce headqu ar t e r s cons ide red it acer tai nty that direc t ion of an Atlas boosted mannedspace f l ight would be g iven to the Air F or ce a t a n ear lyda te, that funds for the proje ct would probably total$66 mil l ion and tha t a se r ie s of Thor boos ted , i ns t ru-men t and an ima l capsule f l ights would prece de the At lasfu l l s ized ins t rumen ted capsule , chimpanzee , andmanned shots . The Ai r Fo rc e would p robably r e -p ro -gr am to obta in whatever addit ional funds wer e requi redto suppor t the program . The bal l i s t ic miss i le d ivis ionwa s advised that while wait ing fo r a n authortat ive "goahead ' ' i t should continue pre pa rat ion of wor k sta tem en tsfo r indus t ry compet i tion and cont rac tor se lec t ion sothey might be coordinated with the Advanced Re se arc hP ro je ct s Agency and the National Advisory Committeefo r Aeronau t i cs . (L t r , M aj Gen J . E. S m a r t , A s s tV/CS, to Lt Gen S. E. Ande rson, Cm dr ARDC, 19J u n 58, no subje ct given, quoted in TWX, RDZGW-6-33-K, Hq ARDC, to Hq AFBMD, 27 Jun 58. )

23 J u n

24 J u n

A con t rac t was s igned wi th G enera l Ele c t r ic Companyfo r res ea rc h and development of a l i fe support syst emfo r the space cabin of an orbi tal vehicle. (C md rs Refboo k, "Chro nology of Man- In-Spa ce, I' 23 M a r 59.)

Inasmu ch a s avai labi l ity of basi c booste r uni ts- threa tened to l imi t se lec t ion of the most des i rabl espace p rog ram s , t he Sec r e t a ry of the Ai r F orc eauthor ized a n incr ease in mi s s i le product ion a s fo llows:four m ore Thor boos te r s , de l ive ry to begin in Decem ber


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24 Ju-n 1.958(Cont 'd)

30 J u n

1 2 J u l

1958 at a r a t e of one a month; four mo re At l as boos te r s ,de l i ve ry to beg in in May 1959 at a r a t e o f one a month;and $8 mi l l ion budge ted to the Advanced Re se arc hPr o j ec t s Agency fo r p rocure me nt of four add i t iona lLockheed 117 L veh ic l es , de l ive ry to beg in Januar y 1959at a ra te of one a month . (Memo, SA F to CIS USAF,24 Tun 58, no sub jec t .)Space Technology Labo ra to r i es was r eques ted to submi ta propos a l to pe r fo rm sys tem eng ineer ing and t echn ica ld i r e c t i o n of t h e A i r F o r c e m a n i n sp a c e p r o g r a m b a se do n t h e A i r F o r c e B a l l i st i c Miss i l e Div i s ion ' s works t a t e m e n t . I n e v e nt p r o g r a m a u t h o ri z a t io n w a s r e -ce ived p r io r to comple t ion of the p ropo sa l , work wouldbeg in under a le t t er con t rac t . Pending rece ipt of suchapprova l , t he con t r ac to r ' s wo rk on Man- In -Space -Soonest pro gr am would be conf ined to technical s taffa s s i s t a n c e , a func t ion i t was pe r fo rming a s a t echn ica lreq ui r em en t of the exis t ing cont ra ct . (ChronologicalSpace Hi s t , 1958. )

Th e A d va n ce d R e se a r c h P r o j e c t s A g en c y a d d r e s s e dtwo ques t ions to the r e se a r ch and deve lopment command:W ould t h e A i r F o r c e a c c e p t a 110 nau t i ca l mi l e o rb i tins t ead of 150 nau t i ca l mi l es f o r the manned spacef l igh t? What deg ree o f p ro gra m accompl i shment cou ldb e obta ined wi th a f i s ca l 1959 pr og ra m of $50 mi l l ionbased on an At l as - 117L second s t age ? (Chrono log ica l'Space Hi st , 1958.)

A i r F o r c e B a l l i s t i c M i s s i l e D i vi si on a n sw e r e d t h e tw oques t ions fo rwa rded on 10 Ju ly . The div is ion under -s tood tha t the Advanced Re se arc h P ro jec t s Agency wasd i sp o se d t o f a v

Chronology of Early Air Force Man in Space Activity

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