An early space station concept drawing appeared in the 1959 Space The New Frontier brochure, produced by NASA. The station was designed as a laboratory to study the physical and behavioral effects of prolonged space flight, and could have possibly been crewed by 50 people.
A Dyna-Soar (Dynamic Soaring) vehicle clears the launch tower atop an Air Force Titan II launch vehicle in this 1961 artist's concept. Originally conceived by the U.S. Air Force in 1957 as a marned, rocket-propelled glider in a delta-winged configuration, the Dyna-Soar was considered by Marshall Space Flight Center planners as an upper stage for the Saturn C-2 launch vehicle.
This 1963 model depicts an early Apollo lunar lander concept, called a 'bug,' landing on the moon. Engineers designed several possible vehicle shapes for both manned and unmanned landers. In 1961, Bruce Lundin, former director of NASA's Lewis Research Center (now Glenn), chaired the 'Lundin Committee,' a NASA study group that assessed a variety of ways to accomplish a lunar landing mission.
An artist's concept of two man Gemini spacecraft in flight is seen in this 1965 illustration.
An artist concept illustrating the recovery of the Command Module following splashdown at the conclusion of an Apollo Lunar mission is seen in this 1966 drawing.
This artist's concept illustrates the module Nova concept. The Nova launch vehicle was considered by the Marshall Space Flight Center, from 1960 to 1963, as a means to achieve a marned lunar landing with a direct flight to the moon. By clustering the engines and stages of the Saturn C-3 (l.), a Nova launch vehicle would be able to launch a 50-ton escape payload (c.). Increases in payload capacity through an upper stage (r.) could launch a 70-ton escape payload, such as the lunar spacecraft shown on the far right. Although the program was canceled after NASA planners selected the lunar/orbital rendezvous mode, the proposed F-1 engine was eventually used in the Apollo program to propel the first stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle.
A 1960 concept image is seen of the United States Air Force's proposed Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) that was intended to test the military usefulness of having humans in orbit. The station's baseline configuration was that of a two-person Gemini B spacecraft that could be attached to a laboratory vehicle. The structure was planned to launch onboard a Titan IIIC rocket. The station would be used for a month and then the astronauts could return to the Gemini capsule for transport back to Earth. The first launch of the MOL was scheduled for December 15, 1969, but was then pushed back to the fall of 1971. The program was cancelled by Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird in 1969 after the estimated cost of the program had risen in excess of $3 billion.
This three-radial-module space station concept was intended to utilize Apollo hardware to deploy the station and to transfer crews to and from orbit in this 1960 illustration.
An artist's concept of the Gemini Off-the-Pad Ejection system is seen in 1964.
This is an early space station concept drawing from 1959.
This rocket, the M2-F1 could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers - the M2-F2 and the HL-10. Concepts for bodies are seen in this 1962 illustration.
In a 1952 series of articles written in Collier's, Dr. Wernher von Braun, then Technical Director of the Army Ordnance Guided Missiles Development Group at Redstone Arsenal, wrote of a large wheel-like space station in a 1,075-mile orbit. This station, made of flexible nylon, would be carried into space by a fully reusable three-stage launch vehicle. Once in space, the station's collapsible nylon body would be inflated much like an automobile tire.
An artist's concept of possible manned space station is seen in 1962. One of Langley's early concepts for a manned space station: a self-inflating 75-foot-diameter rotating hexagon.
A model of an inflatable space station concept with a solar power system collector is seen in 1961. It was 24 feet in diameter with internal fabric bulkhead which could be separately pressurized in an emergency.
This artist's concept, a cutaway illustration of the Skylab with the Command/Service Module being docked to the Multiple Docking Adapter, was painted in 1965.
An artist's drawing from 1964 depicts cut-away view of Mercury capsule orbiting the Earth, showing the astronaut and his capsule's hardware.
This 1960 artist's concept shows a 24-hour communication satellite design incorporating an arc engine with a nuclear power source. The concept was one of many missions proposed by the Marshall Space Flight Center for electrically-propelled spacecraft.
An artist's concept of prototype of Apollo Space suit from 1964 is seen.
Airborne lasers produced a detailed map of the lost city of Mahendraparvata, including highways and previously undiscovered temples, hidden beneath dense vegetation in Cambodia.
Airborne laser technology has uncovered a network of roadways and canals, illustrating a bustling ancient city linking Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temples complex.
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