posted 06-10-2015 01:50 PM               

It and McDonnell ranked equally in terms of technical and managerial skills, but NASA felt an award to Grumman might disrupt its current design and development work of Navy aircraft (This New Ocean, Ch. 6).

posted 06-11-2015 02:35 PM            

Martin was considered the "outstanding source for the Apollo prime contractor," but this NASA source explains why North American was chosen "...although its detailed Technical Approach was assessed as the weakest submitted."

North American Aviation [NAA] ...rated highest of all proposers in the major area of Technical Qualifications. North American's pertinent experience consisting of the X-15, Navajo, and Hound Dog coupled with an outstanding performance in the development of manned aircraft (F-100 and F-86) resulted in it[s] being the highest rated in this area. The lead personnel proposed showed a strong background in development projects and were judged to be the best of any proposed. Like Martin, NAA proposed a project managed by a single prime contractor with subsystems obtained by subcontracting, which also had the good features described for the Martin proposal. Their project organization, however, did not enjoy quite as strong a position within the corporate structure as Martin's did. The high Technical Qualification rating resulting from these features of the proposal was therefore high enough to give North American a rating of second in the total Technical Evaluation although its detailed Technical Approach was assessed as the weakest submitted. This relative weakness might be attributed to the advantage of the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation's Mercury experience, and the other three proposers' experience on the Apollo study contracts. The Source Evaluation Board is convinced that NAA is well qualified to carry out the assignment of Apollo prime contractor and that the shortcomings in its proposal could be rectified through further design effort on their part. North American submitted a low cost estimate which, however, contained a number of discrepancies. North American's cost history was evaluated as the best.

posted 06-19-2015 11:05 AM               

Briefly set out, the choices were as follows -

• Northrop – a boost-glide system to orbital speed
  
• Martin – a zero lift vehicle launched by Titan with the possibility of flight readiness by 1961
  
• McDonnell – a ballistic re-entry vehicle based on the proposals of Maxine Faget, weighing 2400lbs, launched by an Atlas with a Polaris second stage
  
• Lockheed – a twenty degree semi-apex cone with a one foot radius hemi-spherical tip, the pilot facing rearward and launched by an Atlas-Hustler combination
  
• Convair – re-iterated a previous proposal for a manned space station but also stated that a minimum vehicle – a 1000lb sphere – could be launched in a year using an Atlas launcher
  
• Aeronutronics – a cone with a one foot radius spherical tip, the pilot enclosed in a rotating sphere inside the vehicle so as to line-up with acceleration forces and to be launched by any one of several two stage launchers
  
• Republic – a lifting body re-entry vehicle, triangular in shape with a 75 degree leading edge sweep and weighing 1000lbs; launched by a three stage rocket; the pilot would eject and land by parachute following a glide re-entry: ;later the launch vehicle was up-graded to a four stage rocket made up from a Minuteman first stage, Polaris second stage, Minuteman second stage as third and a Jumbo rocket as fourth stage
  
• AVCO – a 1500lb sphere equipped with a stainless steel parachute the diameter being controlled by compressed air bellows so providing orientation in orbit, deceleration and controlled drag for re-entry and to be launched by a Titan
  
• Bell – proposed boost-gliders but also offered a minimum spherical vehicle weighing 3000lbs
  
• Goodyear – a spherical shape with a rear facing tail cone and ablative surface; flaps extending from the cone would provide drag and control for re-entry; launched by Atlas or Titan with a Vanguard second stage
  
• North American – an X-15 launched by a three stage rocket into a single orbit landing in the Gulf of Mexico, the pilot ejecting before landing; there were no plans to recover the vehicle.

posted 06-22-2015 01:47 AM               

Firm proposals for a 'manned satellite' were discussed throughout June 1958. This led to the Cook Electric Company submitting a proposal to McDonnell as part of this company's eleven month study of the design of a manned satellite. At the end of the month Republic Aviation briefed NACA on their proposals.

On the 7th November 1958 there was a briefing meeting attended by 40 firms who were prospective bidders for the contract. The actual specifications (Spec. #S-6) were issued a week later and final copies sent out to twenty firms. A month later, on 11th December, eleven firms submitted detailed proposals. These companies were AVCO, Cha nce-Vought, Convair, Douglas, Grumman, Lockheed, Martin, McDonnell, North American, Northrop and Republic. There was also an incomplete proposal from Winzen Research Laboratories.

In between the final decision to select McDonnell as the prime contractor for the Mercury spacecraft made on 9th January 1959, North American had been chosen to provide the air frame for the Little Joe rockets. Perhaps this was one of the reasons they didn't get the Mercury contract as NASA sought to share out the work load of putting a man into space.