Part 1

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

_SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION_

_LYNNE C. MURPHY_

_Published by the Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1976_

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

Michael Collins Director, National Air and Space Museum

_Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data_

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

Printed in the U.S.A. Designed by Elizabeth Sur

_Negative numbers and photo credits_

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

Contents

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

Introduction

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

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

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

F. C. Durant III Assistant Director, Astronautics January 13, 1976

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

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

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

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

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

Sputnik 1

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

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

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

This _Sputnik_ model is from the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Explorer 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mariner 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Mariner 2_ is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Friendship 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prime contractor for _Friendship 7_ was McDonnell Aircraft Company.

_Friendship 7_ is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Gemini 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prime contractor for _Gemini 4_ was the McDonnell Aircraft Company.

_Gemini 4_ is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Length 5.6 m. (18 ft., 4 in.) in orbit; 2.3 m. (7 ft., 4 in.) at splashdown Base diameter Adapter, 3.1 m. (10 ft.); spacecraft, 2.3 m. (7 ft., 6 in.)

Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The _Columbia_ is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Ponnamperuma Experiments

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

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