Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in ... - The Black Vault

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Project Apollo: Americans to the Moon
2. Rendezvous in lunar orbit after take-off from the
lunar surface;
3. Rendezvous in both earth and lunar orbit;
4. Rendezvous on the lunar surface.
Also possible are:
5. Rendezvous in transit to the moon;
6. Rendezvous in lunar orbit before landing.
Although advantages can be claimed for concepts 5 and 6, they are excluded
from consideration because they are clearly inferior to concepts 1 through 4.
II.
1. b: Vehicles Considered
The vehicles considered were restricted to those employing en gines
presently under development. These vehicles are:
(a) Saturn C-2 which has the capability of placing about 45,000
pounds in earth orbit and 15,000 pounds in an escape
trajectory;
[3]
(b) Saturn C-3 which has the capability of placing about 110,000
pounds in earth orbit and 35,000 pounds in an escape
trajectory. The configuration of the C-3 considered here
employs the following staging:
First
2 F-l
Second 4 J-2
Third 6 LR115
II.
1. c: Mission Requirements
The significant requirements employed in this examination of the
manned lunar mission are as follows:
1. Return spacecraft weight -- 12,500 lbs.
2. Velocity increments (60 hr. transfer)
earth orbit to escape
braking into lunar orbit
lunar landing
lunar ascent and return
10,600 fps
3,400 fps
6,860 fps
9,930 fps
3. Stage mass fractions
launch and transfer stages 0.90
lunar landing stage 0.87