50 Years ago: FIrst steps towards the shuttle designs

SV-5D Lifting Body on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, OH.

 

Fifty years ago, on March 5, 1967, the US Air Force made a second flight attempt in a series of experiments to test how a lifting body shape would control re-entry into the atmosphere. The first launch had been made in December of 1966, resulting in a crash of the test vehicle into the sea. On this second attempt, a lifting body (also known as the X-23 made by Martin Marietta) was launched atop an Atlas missile and the craft separated and simulated a re-entry. At Mach 2 a special designed parachute deployed to recover the vehicle, which was supposed to be picked up by a flying cargo aircraft which would grab the parachute.

X-23 atop an Atlas Missile before launch.

 

In the second flight, the parachute deployed but as the recovery aircraft flew by for inspection it noticed the proper parachute opening had not occurred, and so it would be dangerous to attempt an in-flight recovery. It was determined to allow the craft to descend to the sea for ship pick-up. Unfortunately the craft and parachute sank before the ship could arrive.

The third attempt on April 19 was a complete success. The parachute deployed properly, and the recovery cargo plane was able to snag the chute and bring the craft home. Although the craft was declared ready to be flown again, no further test flights with this design were made.

 

A view of the recovery cargo plane just before parachute capture.

 

First 3D Object Printed in Space

Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore of NASA holds up the first object printed aboard the ISs by the new 3D printing machine.

"Butch" Wilmore, commander of the current Expedition 42 aboard the ISS, installed the 3D printer a couple of weeks ago on November 17th. In coordination with ground engineer teams, calibration tests were made on November 20. Finally ready on November 24, the controllers sent a command to the printer to create a copy of the faceplate of the casing of the printer. This act proves that the machine can, in fact, make some replacement parts for itself. Then the next day, Commander Wilmore removed the part and inspected it. It was discovered that the adhesion of the printed object to its production tray was very strong, more than anticipated. There is some speculation that the material's bonding may be slightly different due to the Zero-G situation. After each printed object is made, analysis will help the engineers fine-tune the device to prepare it for full operational status.

Picture of the 3D printer before launch and some of the objects that are planned to be printed in space.

The 3D printer on the ISS was designed and built by Made In Space, Inc. based in Moffat Field, California. All of the parts that will be printed will eventually be flown back to Earth for greater study. With the cancellation of the Space Shuttle, that would have been difficult due to the limitations on what can be carried down from orbit on the Soyuz return capsules. However, with the success of the SpaceX Dragon cargo spaceship, experiments and equipment can be safely returned to Earth for further studies.

50 Years Ago: Lunar Module Design Reaches Milestone

Mock-up of Apollo Program LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) at Grumman.

To meet the goal originally set by President Kennedy, of landing a man on the Moon and safely returning him to the Earth by the end of the decade, NASA and its contractors had a tremendous pressure to use every available moment to prepare for that event. There comes a point where decisions have to be made to stop designing and start manufacturing. So it was with the LEM in the last week of March, 1964. Officials from the NASA Manned Space Center arrived at Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation for a three day inspection of the current design of the LEM. The goal was to arrive at a "freeze" of the main design elements of the lunar module, so that manufacturing could begin shortly. Once the engineers had decided the final design acceptance or directions, the press was allowed to enter the building and get a look at the future of manned lunar landers. For those of you familiar with the final appearance of the LEM, you can see there are still some design elements to adjust, but the major components and functions have been determined at that point.

Now let's take a look back to some interesting phases of the LEM design, using models for the previous years.

Lunar capsule concept, 1961. The multiple leg concept is well established.

Lunar Excursion Module design, 1963. There's too much heavy window in the design, which needs reduction in weight.The hatch will not permit a spacesuited astronaut with a big pack to get through.

LEM design, 1964 before final redesign. It's almost there, but the Hatch still needs to conform to allow the passage of a spacesuit with a large square backpack. The windows are in final mode.