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

Exploring the Unknown 533
lunar rendezvous approach contains a number of features which tend to raise the
schedule confidence level; the most impor tant of these are:
(a) The Apollo vehicle, the lander, and the rendezvous experiment can
all proceed on an independent parallel basis, thus avoiding schedule con flicts;
further, the overall development is simplified because each vehicle has only a
single function to perform.
(b) The lunar rendezvous approach permits complete system development
to be done with C-l, which will be available and well developed, and makes the
entire C-3 picture exceptionally clean and simple, thus resulting in a minimum
cost program.
In amplification of these general remarks, the following specific
conclusions are drawn from the technical studies which are summarized in the
body of this report:
A. Mission Approach and Scheduling:
1. The lunar rendezvous method requires only a single C- 3 or C-4 launch
vehicle. Earth orbital weights required for various system arrange ments are summarized
in figure 1. (See also tables VI and VII later in the text.) [not provided]
2. The lunar rendezvous method schedules the first landing in March 1966.
3. The lunar rendezvous method does not require that the Apollo vehicle
be compromised because of landing considerations.
4. The lunar rendezvous method allows the landing vehicle configura tion to
be optimized for landing.
5. The lunar rendezvous method requires only C-l boosters for com plete
system deve1opment.
[2]
6. The lunar rendezvous method provides for complete lander checkout
and crew training in the lunar landing, lunar launch, and rendezvous docking
operations on the actual vehicle.
B. Funding:
The lunar rendezvous method results in a program cost which will be less
than the cost of other methods for the following reasons:
1. Requires fewer (20 to 40 percent) large boosters than other programs.
2. Requires no Nova vehicles.
3. Requires less C-3 or C-4 vehicles than other programs.
4. Programs most flights on best-developed booster (C-1).