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Author
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Topic: Apollo command module concept with wings
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Rusty B
Member Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 04-08-2012 08:38 PM
   
Here's an interesting patent (patent 3576298) applied for in 1967 and issued to the North American Rockwell Corp in 1971. It's a concept to make a space shuttle/X-15 like craft out of the Apollo command and service module. The illustrations show landing skids on the rear of the service module and a nose wheel at the front, like the X-15 rocket plane. It has swing wings that retract into the sides of the service module. Weird bird, but would if fly? An aerospace vehicle is described comprising a substantially conical forward crew compartment or command module mated to a substantially cylindrical rearward service module. Aerodynamic fairings are provided along the midline on the sides of the cylindrical portion and a substantial distance aft thereof for providing lift at hypersonic velocities and approximately vertical fins are provided on the fairings for aerodynamic stability and control. Wings are mounted within the aerodynamic fairings at high velocities and pivotably extended therefrom at lower velocities and altitudes to provide low speed lift. Upon reentry into the Earth's atmosphere hypersonic lift is provided by the body and the fairings for bringing the vehicle to the area of a selected landing site and, at lower flight speeds deeper into the atmosphere, augmented lift is provided by the extended wings for landing the vehicle on a conventional runway. A rocket engine for propulsion has a large expansion ratio bell for use in the vacuum of space. The large ratio bell is jettisonable to give a low expansion ratio for use of the same engine within the atmosphere. Rear landing skids are pivotable into and out of the wake of the vehicle to reduce the requirement for heat shielding. Similarly, reaction control rocket motors are also pivotable into and out of the wake of the vehicle for minimizing heat protection requirements. Such a vehicle is readily adaptable to a broad variety of space missions such as cargo ferry or satellite recovery, and is reuseable with minimum refurbishment.  
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randy
Member Posts: 2231
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 04-08-2012 11:50 PM
Interesting concept. It probably could fly. Remember what people thought about the shuttle, when the first drawings came out? Look what happened with that. |
mode1charlie
Member Posts: 1184
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 04-10-2012 04:54 AM
Wow, interesting. This is completely new to me. Someone should send this to David Portree from the Beyond Apollo blog. |
mode1charlie
Member Posts: 1184
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 04-10-2012 11:45 PM
Just sent him a tweet with link. |
mode1charlie
Member Posts: 1184
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 04-11-2012 02:02 AM
And he replied: "Hey, thanx! I'd heard of it, never seen it. Way, way cool." |
Fra Mauro
Member Posts: 1624
From: Bethpage, N.Y.
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 04-11-2012 09:18 AM
Looks like an attempt to keep the contract going after Apollo ended. |
Rusty B
Member Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 04-11-2012 10:40 AM
Here are more patent drawings associated with the same winged Apollo CSM vehicle. 
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gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3400
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-11-2012 11:39 AM
A sort of stubby SpaceShipOne, with about 10x the wing loading and the glide ratio of a lead ingot! |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3160
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-11-2012 06:25 PM
Just the thing for the glider-pilot who wants to try something a bit different.... |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 04-11-2012 06:30 PM
quote:
Originally posted by gliderpilotuk:
A sort of stubby SpaceShipOne, with about 10x the wing loading and the glide ratio of a lead ingot!
I think a lead ingot might glide better.  To me, gliding wouldn't be so much of the problem. Landing on the otherhand... mount ejection seats. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-11-2019 02:22 PM
A contractor model of this concept (as seen on eBay [163684320132]): 
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-11-2019 02:23 PM
 
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SkyMan1958
Member Posts: 880
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 05-11-2019 05:07 PM
Cool, Robert! |
mode1charlie
Member Posts: 1184
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 05-11-2019 06:12 PM
Really interesting. What did the seller's description say about where this item came from? Thanks. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-11-2019 06:18 PM
The lot description said: This model came from the estate of a long time NASA employee (over 30 years) who worked on projects Gemini, Mercury Apollo, Skylab and the space shuttle. |
Jonnyed
Member Posts: 408
From: Dumfries, VA, USA
Registered: Aug 2014
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posted 05-11-2019 09:53 PM
Looks like (from the first set of drawings) that the maximum number of astronauts would be limited to 3, just as with the Apollo missions. |
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