Although humans have long dreamed of going to the moon for centuries, writers such as Jules Verne or H. G. Wells started to consider how technology could be used to realize this dream. Combining the excitement generated by these concepts with the escalating Cold War made it possible to explore, propagandize, and exploit the moon. The result was a series of top-secret plans by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and private contractors.
The USAF wanted to be a leader in rocketry and spacecraft development, as it felt the need to respond to Sputnik 1's launch by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. The Aero Club in Washington was addressed by USAF Brigadier General Homer A. Boushey on January 28, 1958. He stated that "He who controls and controls the moon controls and controls the Earth." This statement must be carefully evaluated by our planners. If true, I believe it to be then the U.S. must have control of the moon.
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The USAF was chosen by the new Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), to manage the nation's space programs in February 1958. A comprehensive plan to conquer the universe was presented quickly by Harry Lee Evans. The proposal was called Man In Space Soonest (MISS) to emphasize the urgency. Six robotic flights would test the hardware and flight capabilities for a cone-shaped, one-person capsule. Then, six additional missions using animals would be used to test life-support system functionality. Crewed flights will begin once these tests are passed. The crew would then check the guidance and control systems and reentry techniques. Finally, they would land at sea with a parachute.
According to Air & Space, the next phase would have included Man In Space Sophisticated. There were three phases to this program. The first stage was robotic and animal testing for a capsule that could remain in space for up to two weeks, the same time as it would take to travel to the moon. MISSOPH II would send a satellite to a distance of 40,000 miles (6,374 km) and test its ability to withstand a reentry speed of 23,864 mph (38,405 kph), which is the speed at which a craft returning from orbit would reach. MISSOPH III will test a spacecraft that could land on Earth as an aircraft. It was designed for Earth orbital and lunar missions.
The USAF would also have operated the Lunar Reconnaissance program (LUREC), using robotic craft, in addition to the MISSOPH missions. It began in April 1960. LUREC I would test communications and tracking with a spacecraft at 250,000 miles (402 336 km) from Earth, while LUREC II will test the guidance systems to make sure they can land a craft on the moon. These craft would collect scientific information and TV images of the moon for planners. Then LUREC III would use retrograde rockets for landing on the moon and send back additional data.
These major studies were done by the U.S. Air Force and Army, as well as private contractors before NASA was created. Image credit: All About Space
Project LUMAN was born in May 1962, only after these phases. LUMAN I would fly animals around the moon in order to test the hardware. LUMAN II would send astronauts on a circumlunar flight. LUMAN III would send robot crafts to place a payload on a moon surface, while LUMAN IV would return to Earth from the moon.
It was with LUMAN V (planned for 1965) that a single astronaut would travel on a 'Big B’ rocket to make the historic journey to the moon surface. It was not met with enthusiasm and was criticised for being too ambitious. The USAF should not be interested in missions to the Moon, and any space project should include a military requirement.
Under the guidance of Thomas Dolan in December 1958, Chance Vought, an aerospace contractor, formed a team to examine vehicle concepts that could be used by NASA's Mercury program. Conrad "Connie" Lau was appointed to Project MALLAR (Manned Lunar Landing and Return).
This scheme had modular components and used rendezvous and docking technologies. The payload module could be used as a space station for up to 14 days and was attached to the entry vehicle module. It could hold two or three people. The modules needed for a lunar landing mission would be assembled in Earth orbit. They would include a two-person vehicle, a lunar mission module and a lunar landing module. A rocket stage will send it to the Moon. The two astronaut crew would then transfer to the lunar landing platform and descend to the Moon.
Related: Lunar timeline: Human explorations of the Moon
They would return to their orbiting modules after 24 hours, then jettison and return to Earth the ascent stage from the lunar lander. If necessary, the lunar mission module could be kept in Earth orbit. The astronauts would then use the remaining entry vehicle for their return journey home. It had a circular solar array to provide electricity, which was fanned from the craft following launch. Additionally, there were spherical propulsion tank attachments to the craft's exterior.
The design's most important feature was the fact that it used a lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR), rather than sending a craft directly towards the moon. This would reduce 50% of total mission weight. NASA considered a LOR too complicated and dangerous. However, John Houbolt (an engineer at Langley Research Center) worked tirelessly to promote the idea and his MALLIR proposal was approved for the Apollo program. Dolan was unable to secure NASA support for MALLAR and his group lost interest in the moon landing missions due to further failures to obtain contracts.
Wie the USAF's Project LUMAN saw, Wernher von Braun's Army Ballistic Missile Agency team recognized the need for military supremacy by establishing a lunar base. This could also be used to conduct scientific studies on the moon and advance space exploration.
Von Braun and his team believed that it was impossible to produce a large enough rocket booster to allow for a direct lunar landing. Instead, he advocated Earth orbit rendezvous (EOR) as a method to produce a large enough rocket booster for a direct moon landing. His Juno V, later renamed Saturn V rockets, would build a lunar rocket stage in Earth orbit that would rendezvous with an astronaut. The rocket stage would launch the crewed craft to the moon. It would then slow down to make a lunar landing. In 1952, he proposed an ambitious plan to use EOR to build three massive spacecraft of 3,964 tons that could carry 50 astronauts to and from the moon.
Frank Williams and Heinz Koelle presented less ambitious plans for the base in their June 1959 'Project Horizon’ report. It suggested that a cargo of 6,000 pounds be carried. (2,721 kg) could be soft-landed on the moon using the direct method. Crewed missions would then be assembled in Earth orbit with a space station.
In 1964, 40 Saturn I boosters and an improved Saturn II booster would be ready to make it possible for a two-person lunar landing in April 1965. With the launch of nearly 150 Saturn rockets, 220 tonnes of cargo would be delivered to the moon. This would kickstart the construction of the base. The base was expected to be ready in November 1966 for a 12-member permanent task force. Between December 1966 and 1967, another 120 tons of cargo was delivered to the base via 64 Saturn V launches. It was expected that 42 astronauts would have reached the moon by 1967 and 26 would have returned from their duty at the base.
Related: Saturn V rockets & Apollo spacecraft
Base would include living quarters, a science lab, medical and communication facilities, as well as storage rooms within metal cylinders that are connected and arranged in an L shape. To protect the occupants against radiation, meteoroids and the hostile lunar environment, they would be submerged beneath the surface. Two underground nuclear reactors would provide power, located at a distance of the main base.
An underwater construction vehicle would dig the channels and place the metal living units in their proper places. A lunar rover would carry cargo and be used for exploration and cargo transport. The base would be protected from intruders using nuclear-tipped rockets and handheld claymore mines. These projects fell into history after Project Horizon was discontinued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which was established in 1958.
This large, open-wheeled construction vehicle is equipped with a crane, digger, and robot arm. It was designed for the Project Horizon moon base. Image credit: US Army
On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy declared to Congress: "I believe this nation should be committed to achieving the goal before this decade is over, landing a man safely on the Moon and returning him to Earth safely." The USAF presented a new moon landing plan, the Lunex Project.
It was the intention to send three astronauts to Mars by August 1967. It was planned to use a lifting-body spacecraft that was inspired by Boeing's Dyna-Soar Delta-winged spaceplan program. This plan was abandoned in 1963. It would use an Atlas rocket to launch five test flights with scale models of the vehicle. Then, in 1964 and 1965, full-scale, unmanned, and then manned missions would be conducted. Further testing would lead to a robotic landing craft capable of delivering cargo to the Moon in July 1966.
The program was supported by numerous manned and unmanned missions. (Image credit to All About Space).
In September 1966, a circumlunar mission with astronauts was conducted. Only after robotic testing of the entire system could astronauts travel to the moon. A mixture of cargo-delivering and manned vehicles would create an underground base for 21 people on the moon by July 1968. NASA's Apollo program quickly defeated the project similar to Project Horizon.
"It is not surprising that so many of these ideas failed to materialize." Michael Neufeld, senior curator at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., says that it took a special set of international and political circumstances in 1961 to get the Kennedy administration to spend billions for a landing program.
These projects were ultimately abandoned, but they had a significant impact on the determination of the best route to the moon. The debate was centered on whether to use an EOR, direct ascent or LOR technique for a moon landing. NASA agreed to the LOR technique and determined the types of vehicles and techniques needed to build and test them to visit the moon within the timeframe set by Kennedy.
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