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.
Forty-seven years ago this week, the USAF/General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark tactical strike aircraft successfully swept its variable-geometry wings for the first time in flight. Company test pilots Dick Johnson and Val Prahl flew this test on what was the second flight of Ship No 1. (S/N 63-9766). Flying out of Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, the aircraft’s wings were swept through the full range of wing sweep (16 to 72.5-deg) without incident. This important milestone in the development of the all-weather, supersonic-capable, low-level penetration F-111A took place on Wednesday, 06 January 1965.
Twenty-five years ago this month, the storied Rutan Model 76 Voyager aircraft successfully completed history’s first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world. The crew of Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager departed Edwards Air Force on Sunday, 14 December 1986 and returned 216 hours, 3 minutes and 44 seconds later on Tuesday, 23 December 1986. The FAI-official distance covered during the flight was 21,707.6 nm. For their efforts, the flight crew, Burt Rutan (designer), and Bruce Evans (builder and crew chief) received the 1986 Collier Trophy.
Fifty-seven years ago today, the No. 1 USAF/Convair YF-102A (S/N 53-1787) aircraft flew for the first time on a flight that originated from Lindbergh Field near San Diego, California. A redesigned variant of the USAF/Convair YF-102, the delta wing aircraft incorporated a new drag-reducing design feature known as Whitecomb’s Area Rule. Applied for the first time on the YF-102A airframe, this innovative design technique proved to be entirely successful. Whereas the YF-102 could not go supersonic in level flight, the YF-102A was able easily exceed Mach 1 in a climb and cruise at Mach 1.2.
