Aerospace Projects Review Blog – Page 50 – Unbuilt aircraft and Spacecraft Projects

Manned Mars Spacecraft

nukes, Patreon, rockets, spacecraft, US Spacecraft Projects No Responses »

Nov 022018

This is what a manned mission to Mars dating from the late Apollo era would have looked like: a cluster of hydrogen tanks with a small number of NERVA nuclear rockets. The spacecraft would have been relatively gigantic as it leaves Earth orbit; large enough that it would have been assembled in space from at least six Saturn V launches. When it returns to Earth it would have been little more than the mission module; this would blast past Earth and continue in solar orbit while the astronauts and a few trifling hundreds of pounds of Martian souvenirs would have plowed into Earths atmosphere in a compact entry capsule. The mission module itself is described fully and heavily illustrated in US Spacecraft Projects #3.

I’ve uploaded the full rez versions of these renderings to the 2018-11 APR Extras folder on Dropbox, available to all APR Patrons at the $4 level and above. If this sort of thing is of interest, please consider signing up for the APR Patreon.

APR Patreon October 2018 rewards

hi-rez, hypersonic, launch vehicles, nukes, Patreon, research, rockets, space station, spacecraft, spaceplane, transports No Responses »

Oct 282018

I’ve just sent out the rewards for October, 2018, to APR Patrons. This months rewards include:

CAD diagram: 20-meter Orion spacecraft

Diagram: Genealogy of Piper aircraft

Document: “Story of the Uprated Saturn I” NASA-MSFC brochure circa 1966 describing the Saturn Ib, including future possibilities

Document: “Preliminary Design Study of a Three Stage Satellite Ferry Rocket Vehicle,” 1954 Goodyear paper describing the METEOR launch vehicle. First of a number of METEOR documents I have.

Document: “The Rocket Research Aircraft Program 1946-1962,” Edwards AFB booklet describing the various rocket aircraft tested up to the x-15

If this sort of thing is of interest, please consider signing up for the APR Patreon.

Open the pod bay doors, Lockheed

spacecraft No Responses »

Oct 272018

A one-man “space pod” very similar in concept to the ones in “2001,” but designed by Lockheed in 1964. This *could* perhaps have influenced the film makers and/or their designers.

B-47C Concept

bomber No Responses »

Oct 222018

The B-47C was a 1950 Boeing proposal to re-engine the six-engine B-47 with four engines. It is usually depicted as being largely indistinguishable from the standard B-47 except that the inboard engine nacelles only had a single engine. However, in early 1952 the Model 450-155-33 was designed and designated the B-47C that not only had four P&W J-57-P-1 engines but also a very different fuselage. Most obviously, the cockpit was completely redesigned and was now indistinguishable from that of the B-52.

747 Evolution

jetliner, transports No Responses »

Oct 212018

A double-page spread from Aviation Week in 1967 showing models of various designs leading to the final 747 configuration.

Maintenance Station in Space

nukes, rockets, space station, spacecraft No Responses »

Oct 142018

A piece of art from 1962 depicting a Westinghouse Electric Corp. concept for a space station meant to provide servicing for nuclear powered spacecraft. it appears to be more of a space craft than a space station, since it is equipped with a substantial nuclear propulsion system of its own. It’s unclear what the set of rings at the “front” of the space station are meant to do.

Early Martin Co. Satellite Art

launch vehicles, rockets, spacecraft No Responses »

Oct 112018

An illustration from circa 1960 showing the launch of a communications satellite. Note the booster falling away in the background… unlike pretty much every booster the US actually built, this one is a slim cone. The caption very likely does not accurately describe this; it is unlikely to be a geosynchronous satellite given not only the low altitude depicted but also the fins on the booster stage.

VTOL Gulfstream

research, transports, VTOL No Responses »

Oct 062018

A photo found for sale on ebay a while back shows a display model (circa 1973) of a Rockwell International concept for a Grumman Gulfstream 2 corporate jet modified for VTOL capability. This was not meant to be an operational concept, but a research vehicle to demonstrate VTOL technologies and operations in a jetliner-like aircraft, with the potential to be implemented into larger passenger-carrying jetliners such as the DC-9. This would allow such airliners to operate from smaller airfields. But the fuel-hungry nature of VTOL aircraft put an end to such notions in the 1970s. This aircraft would have used lift fans in flattened pods on the wings (each pod containing two YJ97 GE-100 gas generating turbojets) and vectorable-nozzle forward-thrust fans (again with two gas generators), for a total of six jet engines.

Forthcoming

hypersonic, jetliner, rockets, spaceplane, transports, US Transport Projects 1 Response »

Oct 052018

A glimpse at the first draft of the diagrams for US Transport Projects #8. The careful observer will note that there have been a number of “Forthcoming” posts over the last several months with no followup of a final product. There will be, at some point, a mass release of a larger than usual number of USxP issues.

Nuclear powered probe, 1963

nukes, rockets, spacecraft 1 Response »

Oct 032018

An advertisement from 1963 illustrating a quite-possibly artistic license nuclear powered space probe heading towards Jupiter. The probe was to use the SNAP-50/SPUR powerplant (300 to 1200 kilowatts of electricity) to power a circular bank of ion engines. The realistic nature of the design should be questioned due to the lack of any apparent communication system… no great big radio dish, in other words.

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