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

Exploring the Unknown 447
JPL is doing a substantial amount of research on mission studies. A
report on this work has recently been published which Mr. Schurmeier agreed
to send copies of to the Secretary for distribution to all members. JPL considers
its primary mission to be that of deep space exploration. At present it is
concentrating on unmanned flight concepts although the ultimate objective is
[9] manned interplanetary travel to explore life on other planets.
The last item Mr. Schurmeier covered was JPL’s general research related
to man in space. In particular he mentioned JPL’s work in control, guidance,
navigation, tracking, communications, solid propellant rockets, storable liquid
propellent [sic] rockets, fundamental physics, nuclear propulsion and auxiliary
power. JPL every two months put out a document summarizing its fundamental
research programs and another summarizing its vehicle development programs.
Mr. Schurmeier stressed the need for a coordinated national program in the
general areas of guidance and tracking much along the lines of the present
national booster program.
Mr. Faget: - Mr. Faget endorsed selecting lunar exploration as the
present goal of the Committee although the end objective should be manned
interplanetary travel. Space rendezvous will very likely be desirable in such
operations and equatorial orbits certainly have attractive features. This places
the space vehicles in the radiation belt, however, and aggressive research is
needed to learn more about the radiation belt, its effects on living beings, antiradiation
medicines and shielding.
The Langley Space Task Group has done some preliminary thinking
about Project Mercury follow-ups. Mr. Strauss described three ideas. The first
is an enlarged Mercury type capsule (7.5 ft. diameter and 10.6 ft. long) weighing
3550 pounds to put two men in orbit for three days. The second would involve
placing a two-man Mercury capsule ahead of an 8-foot diameter 12-foot long
cylinder to put two men in space for about two weeks. The third idea was to
mount the two-man Mercury capsule at an angle to the cylinder mentioned
above, to have all of this attached by adjustable cables to the Vega motor some
distance away and to rotate the whole affair about the base of the cylinder to
provide artificial gravity. This system would weigh of the order of 6000 pounds.
Mr. Low: - Mr. Low recommended that the Committee –
[10]
(1) Adopt the lunar landing mission as its present long range objective
with proper emphasis on intermediate steps because this approach
will be easier to sell,
(2) Look into vehicle staging so that Saturn could be used for manned
lunar landings without complete reliance on Nova,
(3) Look into whether parachute or airport landing techniques should
be emphasized,
(4) Attach importance to research on auxiliary power plants such as
hydrogen-oxygen systems.