Forty-one years ago this month, the first long-tank thrust-augmented Delta rocket with six Castor-2 strap-on boosters was launched from LC-17A at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Known as Delta M-6, the thrust-augmented launch vehicle was capable of placing 1,000 lbs in geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) or about 2,850 lbs in low earth orbit (LEO). Three of the solid strap-on boosters were ignited on the pad along with the MB-3-3 first stage liquid rocket motor which generated 195,000 lbs of vacuum thrust. Each solid rocket strap-on produced 58,000 lbs of vacuum thrust and burned for 37 seconds. At T+38 seconds, the remaining three strap-ons were air-ignited just as the ground-ignited motors were burning out. All of the Castor-2 solid rockets separated from the launch vehicle shortly after burnout of the trio of air-ignited motors. The ground-ignited boosters went first, followed 5 seconds later by the air-ignited set. The primary payload for the Delta M-6 mission was the Explorer 43 satellite which was inserted into a highly-elliptical orbit on Saturday, 13 March 1971. Orbital parameters included an apogee of 122,146 statute miles a perigee of 146 statute miles and an orbit inclination of 28.75 degees. Outfitted with a dozen specialized instruments, Explorer 43 obtained detailed scientific measurements of solar ray, cosmic ray, electrical field and energetic particle activity in space. These data allowed scientists to study the cislunar environmnt during a period of decreasing solar flare activity. Explorer 43 performed well right up to the day it reentered the Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday, 02 October 1974.
Forty-three years ago this month, the Apollo Lunar Module (LM) flew in space for the first time during the Apollo 9 earth-orbital mission. This technological achievement was critical to the success of the first lunar landing mission which occurred a little over 4 months later. The Apollo Lunar Module (LM) was the world’s first true spacecraft in that it was designed to operate in vacuum conditions only. It was the third and final element of the Apollo spacecraft; the first two elements being the Command Module (CM) and the Service Module (LM). The LM had its own propulsion, life-support and GNC systems. The vehicle weighed about 32,000 lbs on Earth and was used to transport a pair of astronauts from lunar orbit to the lunar surface and back into lunar orbit. The spacecraft was really a two-stage vehicle; a descent stage and an ascent stage weighing 22,000 lbs and 10,000 lbs on Earth, respectively. The descent stage rocket motor was throttable and produced a maximum thrust of 10,000 lbs while the ascent stage rocket motor was rated at 3,500 lbs of thrust. On Monday, 03 March 1969, Apollo 9 was rocketed into earth-orbit by the mighty Saturn V launch vehicle. The primary purpose of this mission was to put the first LM through its paces preparatory to the first lunar landing attempt. During the 10-day mission, the crew of Commander James A. McDivitt, CM Pilot David R. Scott and LM Pilot Russell L. “Rusty” Schweickart fully verified all moon landing-specific operational aspects (short of an actual landing) of the LM. Key activities included multiple-firings of both rocket motors and several rendezvous and docking exercises in which the LM flew as far as 113 miles from the CM/SM pair. By the time the crew splashed-down in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, 13 March 1969, America had a new operational spacecraft and a fighting chance to land men on the moon and safely return them to Earth by the end of the decade.
Fifty-two years ago this week, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) fired its first USAF/North American AGM-28 Hound Dog cruise missile. A USAF/Boeing B-52G Stratofortress from the 4135th Strategic Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida served as the air-launch platform. The AGM-28 Hound Dog was a turbojet-powered cruise missile designed to penetate enemy air space and deliver a 1 megaton-yield thermonuclear warhead. The vehicle measured 42.5 feet in length, 2.33 feet in diameter and had a wing span of 12 feet. Launch weight was 10,140 lbs. The type’s non-afterburning Pratt and Whitney J52-6 turbojet was rated at 7,500 lbs of sea level thrust and could propel it to a maximum speed of about 1,430 mph (Mach 2.1). Interestingly, the AGM-28’s turbojets were run at full power, making the B-52 carrier bomber a 10 engine aircraft. Following take-off, the Hound Dog’s engines were shutdown and its fuel tanks topped-off. The Hound Dog’s flight envelope was such that it could cruise anywhere between tree-top level and 55,000 feet. Two vehicles were externally-carried by the B-52 launch aircraft; one each from the right and left wing pylon stations. Maximum post-launch flyout range was about 617 nm. North American Aviation began development of the missile in 1957 and the first powered flight occurred in April of 1959. A series of flight tests ensued that proved the missile’s various systems including radar, guidance, navigation and control. These developmental activities culminated with the first SAC shot on Monday, 29 February 1960 and establishment of an Initial Operating Capability (IOC) shortly thereafter. A total of 772 Hound Dog airframes were built and served in the SAC inventory through 1976. The Hound Dog served well as a deterent to nuclear confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union; no Hound Dog was ever fired in anger.
Forty-seven years ago today, NASA’s Ranger 8 spacecraft successfully completed a mission to obtain high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface. The flight was the penultimate mission in the Ranger Program, the goal of which was to help scientists better understand the topography of potential Apollo lunar landing sites. Ranger 8’s mission began with launch from LC-12 at Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday, 17 February 1965. The Atlas-Agena B launch vehicle placed Ranger 8 along a direct hyperbolic trajectory that would allow the spacecraft to intercept the Moon nearly 65 hours later. The mission aim point was situated in the Mare Tranquilitatis region of the lunar surface. All of the action would take place in the final 23 minutes of flight as a complement of six (6) vidicon cameras snapped photos all the way to impact. A pair of the cameras featured a full scan capability; one wide-angle, one narrow-angle. The remaining four (4) cameras were partial scan systems; two wide-angle, two narrow-angle. Ranger 8 arrived at the Moon on Saturday, 20 February 1965. The first of 7,137 high-resolution photos was taken at an altitude of 1,388 nm above the lunar surface. The last photo, featuring a resolution of about 5 feet, was imaged when the Ranger 8 spacecraft was only 525 feet above the surface; a mere 0.09 seconds before a 6,000-mph impact with the Moon. Impact occurred only 10 nm from the mission aim point. This was exceptional accuracy considering the trip from Earth was over 205,000 nm. While Ranger 8’s mission was brief and its end violent, the photographic bounty transmitted back to Earth helped make possible America’s first manned lunar landing on Sunday, 20 July 1969. The landing site? None other than Mare Tranquilitatis.
Fifty-three years ago this week, the U.S. Navy’s first production Martin P6M-2 SeaMaster flyingboat took-off from Chesapeake Bay on its maiden flight. Martin chief test pilot George A. Rodney was at the controls of the 4-man, swept-wing naval bomber as it took to the skies on Tuesday, 17 February 1959. Featuring a fuselage length of 134 feet, wingspan of 102 feet, and a wing leading edge sweep of 40 degrees, the P6M-2 had a GTOW of about 175,000 lbs. Armament included an ordnance load of 30,000 lbs and twin 20 mm, tail-mounted cannon. Power was provided by a quartet of Pratt and Whitney J75-P-2 turbojets; each delivering a maximum sea level thrust of 17,500 lbs. The SeaMaster’s demonstrated top speed at sea level was in excess of Mach 0.90. This on-the-deck performance is comparable to that of the USAF/Rockwell B-1B Lancer and USAF/Northrup B-2 Spirit and exceeds that of the USAF/Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. P6M pilots reported that the aircraft handled well below 5,000 feet when flying at Mach numbers between 0.95 and 0.99. While designed for low altitude bombing and mine-laying, the aircraft was flown as high as 52,000 feet. As a result, the Navy even considered the SeaMaster as a nuclear weapons platform. Despite the type’s impressive performance and capabilities, the SeaMaster Program was cancelled in August of 1959. Budgetary issues and the emerging Fleet Ballistic Missile System (Polaris-Poseidon-Trident) led to this decision. Loss of the P6M SeaMaster Program was devastating to the Glenn L. Martin Company and resulted in this notable aerospace business never again producing another aircraft.
Fifty-years ago this week, the NASA TIROS IV meteorological satellite was successfully orbited by a United States Air Force Thor-Delta launch vehicle. Launch took place from LC-17A at Cape Canaveral, FL on Thursday, 08 February 1962. The TIROS (Television Infra Red Observation Satellite) Program marked the first use of satellite technology to provide near-continuous photographic coverage of global cloud formations from space. Historically, TIROS photos were instrumental in helping mature the science/art of global weather forecasting. The TIROS IV mission was designed to maintain an operational TIROS in orbit for an extended period and to obtain improved photographic data to be used in weather forecasting during the northern hemisphere hurricane season. The cylindrical spacecraft measured 42 inches in diameter and 19 inches in height. Constructed of aluminum and stainless steel, TIROS IV weighed 285 lbs. A bank of 63 onboard batteries was charged via an array of 9,260 solar cells that covered the vehicle’s external surface. The satellite carried an upgraded lens system to improve the clarity of photos taken by its twin cameras. As a result, TIROS IV photos were the best to date in the TIROS Program. An international facsimile transmission network was also instituted that allowed the US Weather Service to share photos with weather services worldwide. From its nearly circular orbit of 420 nm above the surface of the Earth, TIROS IV snapped over 32,000 photos over the course of its 161-day mission.
Forty-eight years ago this month, USAF Major Robert A. Rushworth flew the 100th flight test of the X-15 Program. Piloting his 18th mission in the manned hypersonic aircraft, Rushworth achieved a maximum speed of 3,618 mph (Mach 5.34 ) in X-15 Ship No. 1 (S/N 56-6670). The date was Tuesday, 28 January 1964. Peak altitude attained during the 8 minute and 17 second flight was 107,402 feet. Using a trio of aircraft, the X-15 Program would go on to register 199 official research missions between June of 1959 and October of 1968. Bob Rushworth flew 34 of those missions; more than any of the twelve men who piloted the famed black rocket-plane. Bob Rushworth had many notable experiences while at the controls of the X-15 including one episode where the nose gear deployed above Mach 4.2 and another where a main landing skid deployed above Mach 4.4! Each time he was able to get the airplane back on the ground in one piece. On a more positive note, Bob Rushworth flew the X-15 as fast as 4,018 mph (Mach 6.06) and as high as 285,000 feet. For this latter achievement, Rushworth was awarded Astronaut Wings by the United States Air Force.
Forty-five years ago this week (Friday, 27 January 1967), the Apollo 1 prime crew perished as fire swept through their Apollo Block I Command Module (CM) during a ground test at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The crew of Command Pilot Vigil I. “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White II and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee had been scheduled to make the first manned flight of the Apollo Program some three weeks hence. Shortly after the fire started at 23:31:04 UTC (6:31:04 pm EST), “We’ve got a fire in the cockpit” was reported across the communication network by Astronaut Chaffee. Believed to have started just below Grissom’s seat, the fire quickly erupted into an inferno that claimed the men’s lives within 30 seconds. While each received extensive 3rd degree burns, death was attributed to toxic smoke inhalation. The post-mishap investigation uncovered numerous defects in CM design, manufacturing and workmanship. The use of a (1) pure oxygen atmosphere pressurized to 16.7 psia and (2) complex 3-component hatch design (that took a minimum of 90 seconds to open) sealed the astronauts’ fate. A haunting irony of the tragedy is that America lost her first astronaut crew, not in the sideral heavens, but in a spacecraft that was firmly rooted to the ground.
Twenty-one years ago this week (Thursday, 17 January 1991), USAF/Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk aircraft were employed against more than 31 percent of Iraqi targets during the initial 24 hours of Operation Desert Storm. This high utilization rate came despite the fact that the Nighthawk comprised a mere 2.5 percent of all Coalition aircraft used in the Persian Gulf War air campaign. The Black Jet’s unique stealth characteristics allowed it to attack high-value military targets with impunity in the Baghdad area despite the city’s heavy SAM and AAA defenses. Moreover, the use of precision-guided weapons provided for target elimination while minimizing collateral damage and civilian casualties. By the end of hostilities, F-117A forces had flown 1,300 missions and dropped in excess of 2,000 tons of ordnance. Roughly 1,600 targets were struck at a success rate of 80 percent. No Nighthawk aircraft or pilot was lost in the conflict. The F-117A’s phenomenal success during Operation Desert Storm led her air and ground crews to coin this bold motto; “We own the night.”
Forty-one years ago this week (Tuesday, 12 January 1971), the USAF/Boeing Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM) was ordered into production. Known as the AGM-69, the nuclear-armed weapon was designed for both internal and external carriage by the USAF/Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. SRAM would eventually see service with the F-111A Aardvark and the B-1B Lancer as well. Featuring a maximum range of 110 nm, the Mach 3-capable missile was able to deliver its W69 variable-yield nuclear warhead with a CEP of 1,400 feet. The SRAM external airframe was completely covered with 3/4-inch of rubberized material to reduce its radar cross-section (RCS). Additional RCS reduction was achieved through the use of phenolic tail control surfaces. Approximately 1,500 SRAM’s were manufactured before the missile’s production cycle was halted in August of 1975.
