X-20 Dyna-Soar
Encyclopedia
The X-20 Dyna-Soar was a United States Air Force
(USAF) program to develop a spaceplane
that could be used for a variety of military missions, including reconnaissance
, bombing
, space rescue, satellite
maintenance, and sabotage
of enemy satellites. The program ran from 24 October 1957 to 10 December 1963, cost US$
660 million ($ today), and was cancelled just after spacecraft construction had begun.
Other spacecraft under development at the time, such as Mercury
or Vostok, were based on space capsules which returned on ballistic re-entry profiles. Dyna-Soar was much more like the much later Space Shuttle
; it could not only be boosted and travel to distant targets at the speed of an intercontinental ballistic missile
, it was designed to glide to earth like an airplane under the control of the pilot. It could land at an airfield, rather than simply falling to earth and landing with a parachute. Dyna-Soar could also reach earth orbit, like Mercury or Gemini
.
These characteristics made Dyna-Soar far more advanced in concept than the other human spaceflight
missions of the period. The research into a spaceplane would be realized much later, in other spacecraft, starting with the Space Shuttle
which had its first orbital flight in 1981.
The development of Dyna Soar can be traced back to Eugen Sänger
's Silbervogel, a German bomber project of World War II
. The concept was to create a rocket-powered bomber that could travel vast distances by gliding to its target after being boosted to high speed (>5.5 km/s) and high altitude (50–150 km) by A-4
or A-9 rocket engines.
Essentially, these rocket engines would place the vehicle onto an exoatmospheric intercontinental ballistic missile
-like trajectory and then fall away. However, when the vehicle reentered the atmosphere
, instead of fully reentering, bleeding off its speed and landing, the vehicle would use its wings and some of its speed to generate lift
and bounce the vehicle back into space again. This would repeat until the speed was low enough that the pilot of the vehicle would need to pick a landing spot and glide the vehicle to a landing. This use of hypersonic
atmospheric lift meant that the vehicle could greatly extend its range over a ballistic trajectory using the same engines.
Such boost-glide systems could potentially strike at targets anywhere in the world (so called "antipodal bombers") at hypersonic speeds, be very difficult to intercept, and the aircraft itself could be small and lightly armed, compared to a typical heavy bomber
. In addition, a boost-glide aircraft may be recoverable, acting as a manned bomber, or as an unmanned non-recoverable missile.
Following World War II, many German scientists were taken to the United States by the Office of Strategic Services
's "Operation Paperclip
". Among them was Dr. Walter Dornberger
, the former head of Germany's wartime rocket program, who had detailed knowledge of the Silbervogel project. Working for Bell, he attempted to create interest in a boost-glide system in the USAF, and elsewhere. This resulted in the USAF requesting a number of feasibility and design studies — carried out by Bell, Boeing
, Convair
, Douglas
, Martin
, North American
, Republic, and Lockheed
— for boost-glide vehicles during the early 1950s:
On 24 October 1957, the USAF Air Research and Development Command
issued a proposal for a "Hypersonic Glide Rocket Weapon System" (Weapons System 464L): Dyna Soar. The proposal drew together the existing boost-glide proposals, as the USAF believed a single vehicle could be designed to carry out all the bombing and reconnaissance tasks intended for the separate studies, and act as successor to the X-15
research program. The Dyna-Soar program was to be conducted in three stages: a research vehicle (Dyna-Soar I), a reconnaissance vehicle (Dyna-Soar II, previously Brass Bell), and a vehicle that would add strategic bombing capability (Dyna-Soar III, previously Robo). The first glide tests for Dyna-Soar I were expected to be carried out in 1963, followed by powered flights, reaching Mach
18, the following year. A robotic glide missile was to be deployed in 1968, with the fully operational weapons system (Dyna-Soar III) expected to be deployed by 1974.
In March 1958, nine U.S. aerospace companies tendered for the Dyna-Soar contract. Of these, the field was narrowed to proposals from Bell and Boeing. Even though Bell had the advantage of six years' worth of design studies, the contract for the spaceplane was awarded to Boeing in June 1959 (by which time their original design had changed markedly and now closely resembled what Bell had submitted). In late 1961, the Titan III was eventually finalized as the launch vehicle. The Dyna-Soar was to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
, Florida.
The overall design of the X-20 Dyna-Soar was outlined in March 1960. It had a low-wing delta shape, with winglets for control rather than a more conventional tail. The framework of the craft was to be made from the René 41
"super alloy", as were the upper surface panels. The bottom surface was to be made from molybdenum
sheets placed over insulated René 41, while the nose-cone was to be made from graphite
with zirconia rods.
Due to the changing requirements, various forms of the Dyna-Soar were designed, but all variants shared the same basic shape and layout. A single pilot sat at the front, while an equipment bay was situated behind. This bay contained either data-collection equipment, weapons, reconnaissance equipment, or (in the X-20X "shuttle space vehicle") a four-man mid-deck.
After the equipment bay was the transition-stage rocket engine, which was used to maneuver the craft in orbit or fired during launch as part of an abort. This trans-stage would be jettisoned before descent into the atmosphere. While falling through the atmosphere an opaque heat shield
would protect the window at the front of the craft. This heat shield would then be jettisoned after aerobraking
so the pilot could see, and safely land.
A drawing in Space/Aeronautics magazine from before the project's cancellation depicts the craft dipping down into the atmosphere, skimming the surface, to change its orbital inclination
. It would then fire its rocket to resume orbit. This would be a unique ability for a spacecraft, for the laws of celestial mechanics
mean it requires an enormous expenditure of energy for a rocket to change its orbital inclination once it has reached orbit. Hence the Dyna-Soar could have had a military capacity of being launched into one orbit and rendezvousing with a satellite, even if the target were to expend all its propellant in changing its orbit. Acceleration forces on the pilot, however, would be severe in such a maneuver.
Unlike the later Space Shuttle, Dyna-Soar did not have wheels on its tricycle undercarriage
as it was thought the rubber would burn during re-entry. Instead Goodyear
developed retractable wire-brush skids made of the same René 41 alloy as the airframe.
and Bill Dana left the program in the summer of 1962. On 19 September 1962, Albert Crews was added to the Dyna-Soar program and the names of the six Dyna-Soar astronauts were announced to the public:
By the end of 1962, Dyna-Soar had been designated "X-20", the booster (to be used in the Dyna Soar I drop-tests) successfully fired, and the USAF had held an "unveiling" ceremony for the X-20 in Las Vegas
.
Minnesota Honeywell Corporation completed flight tests on an inertia guidance sub-system for the X-20 project at Eglin Air Force Base
, Florida, utilizing an NF-101B Voodoo by August 1963.
Many different boosters were proposed to launch Dyna-Soar into orbit. The original USAF proposal suggested LOX
/JP-4, fluorine-ammonia, fluorine-hydrazine, or RMI (X-15) engines. Boeing, the principal contractor, favored an Atlas-Centaur
combination, but eventually the Air Force stipulated a Titan
, as suggested by failed competitor Martin. However, the Titan I would not be powerful enough to launch the five-ton X-20 into orbit.
The Titan II and Titan III boosters could launch Dyna-Soar into Earth orbit, as could the Saturn C-1
(later renamed the Saturn I
), and all were proposed with various upper-stage and booster combinations. While the Titan IIIC was eventually chosen to send Dyna-Soar into space, the vacillations over the launch system delayed the project as it complicated planning.
The original intention for Dyna-Soar, outlined in the Weapons System 464L proposal, called for a project combining aeronautical research with weapons system development. Many questioned whether the USAF should have a manned space program, when that was the primary domain of NASA. However, it was frequently emphasized by the Air Force that, unlike the NASA programs, Dyna-Soar allowed for controlled re-entry, and this was where the main effort in the X-20 program was placed. On 19 January 1963 the Secretary of Defense
, Robert McNamara
, directed the Air Force to undertake a study to determine whether Gemini or Dyna-Soar was the more feasible approach to a space-based weapon system. In the middle of March 1963, after receiving the study, Secretary McNamara "stated that the Air Force had been placing too much emphasis on controlled re-entry when it did not have any real objectives for orbital flight". This was seen as a reversal of the Secretary's earlier position on the Dyna-Soar program. Dyna-Soar was also an expensive program that would not launch a manned mission until the mid-1960s at the earliest. This high cost and questionable usefulness made it hard for the Air Force to justify the program. Eventually, the X-20 Dyna-Soar program was canceled on 10 December 1963.
On the day that X-20 was canceled, the Air Force announced another program, the Manned Orbiting Laboratory
, a spin-off of Gemini, but this program was also eventually canceled.
Another black program ISINGLASS
which was to be airlaunched from a B-52 bomber was evaluated, and some engine work was done, however this eventually was cancelled also.
that would also be boosted into orbit by large rockets for launch, and the final design would also utilize delta wing
s for controlled landings, but it would not fly until decades after the cancellation of the X-20 program. The later, and much smaller Soviet BOR-4
was closer in design philosophy to the Dyna-Soar, while NASA's Martin X-23 PRIME and Martin Marietta X-24A/HL-10
research aircraft also explored aspects of sub-orbital and space flight.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
(USAF) program to develop a spaceplane
Spaceplane
A spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
that could be used for a variety of military missions, including reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, bombing
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
, space rescue, satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
maintenance, and sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
of enemy satellites. The program ran from 24 October 1957 to 10 December 1963, cost US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
660 million ($ today), and was cancelled just after spacecraft construction had begun.
Other spacecraft under development at the time, such as Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
or Vostok, were based on space capsules which returned on ballistic re-entry profiles. Dyna-Soar was much more like the much later Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
; it could not only be boosted and travel to distant targets at the speed of an intercontinental ballistic missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
, it was designed to glide to earth like an airplane under the control of the pilot. It could land at an airfield, rather than simply falling to earth and landing with a parachute. Dyna-Soar could also reach earth orbit, like Mercury or Gemini
Project Gemini
Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
.
These characteristics made Dyna-Soar far more advanced in concept than the other human spaceflight
Human spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
missions of the period. The research into a spaceplane would be realized much later, in other spacecraft, starting with the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
which had its first orbital flight in 1981.
Background
Eugen Sänger
Eugen Sänger was an Austrian-German aerospace engineer best known for his contributions to lifting body and ramjet technology.-Early career:...
's Silbervogel, a German bomber project of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The concept was to create a rocket-powered bomber that could travel vast distances by gliding to its target after being boosted to high speed (>5.5 km/s) and high altitude (50–150 km) by A-4
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
or A-9 rocket engines.
Essentially, these rocket engines would place the vehicle onto an exoatmospheric intercontinental ballistic missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
-like trajectory and then fall away. However, when the vehicle reentered the atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
, instead of fully reentering, bleeding off its speed and landing, the vehicle would use its wings and some of its speed to generate lift
Lift (force)
A fluid flowing past the surface of a body exerts a surface force on it. Lift is the component of this force that is perpendicular to the oncoming flow direction. It contrasts with the drag force, which is the component of the surface force parallel to the flow direction...
and bounce the vehicle back into space again. This would repeat until the speed was low enough that the pilot of the vehicle would need to pick a landing spot and glide the vehicle to a landing. This use of hypersonic
Hypersonic
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above...
atmospheric lift meant that the vehicle could greatly extend its range over a ballistic trajectory using the same engines.
Such boost-glide systems could potentially strike at targets anywhere in the world (so called "antipodal bombers") at hypersonic speeds, be very difficult to intercept, and the aircraft itself could be small and lightly armed, compared to a typical heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
. In addition, a boost-glide aircraft may be recoverable, acting as a manned bomber, or as an unmanned non-recoverable missile.
Following World War II, many German scientists were taken to the United States by the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
's "Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip was the Office of Strategic Services program used to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany for employment by the United States in the aftermath of World War II...
". Among them was Dr. Walter Dornberger
Walter Dornberger
Major-General Dr Walter Robert Dornberger was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World Wars I and II. He was a leader of Germany's V-2 rocket program and other projects at the Peenemünde Army Research Center....
, the former head of Germany's wartime rocket program, who had detailed knowledge of the Silbervogel project. Working for Bell, he attempted to create interest in a boost-glide system in the USAF, and elsewhere. This resulted in the USAF requesting a number of feasibility and design studies — carried out by Bell, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, Convair
Convair
Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...
, Douglas
Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...
, Martin
Glenn L. Martin Company
The Glenn L. Martin Company was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company that was founded by the aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin. The Martin Company produced many important aircraft for the defense of the United States and its allies, especially during World War II and the Cold War...
, North American
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
, Republic, and Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
— for boost-glide vehicles during the early 1950s:
- Bomi (bomber missile);
- Hywards (HYpersonic Weapons Research and Development Supporting system);
- The Brass Bell reconnaissance vehicle; and
- Rocket Bomber "Robo".
Development
Air Force Systems Command
Air Force Systems Command is a former United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland...
issued a proposal for a "Hypersonic Glide Rocket Weapon System" (Weapons System 464L): Dyna Soar. The proposal drew together the existing boost-glide proposals, as the USAF believed a single vehicle could be designed to carry out all the bombing and reconnaissance tasks intended for the separate studies, and act as successor to the X-15
North American X-15
The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...
research program. The Dyna-Soar program was to be conducted in three stages: a research vehicle (Dyna-Soar I), a reconnaissance vehicle (Dyna-Soar II, previously Brass Bell), and a vehicle that would add strategic bombing capability (Dyna-Soar III, previously Robo). The first glide tests for Dyna-Soar I were expected to be carried out in 1963, followed by powered flights, reaching Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
18, the following year. A robotic glide missile was to be deployed in 1968, with the fully operational weapons system (Dyna-Soar III) expected to be deployed by 1974.
In March 1958, nine U.S. aerospace companies tendered for the Dyna-Soar contract. Of these, the field was narrowed to proposals from Bell and Boeing. Even though Bell had the advantage of six years' worth of design studies, the contract for the spaceplane was awarded to Boeing in June 1959 (by which time their original design had changed markedly and now closely resembled what Bell had submitted). In late 1961, the Titan III was eventually finalized as the launch vehicle. The Dyna-Soar was to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...
, Florida.
Design
René 41
René 41 is a nickel-based high temperature alloy developed by General Electric which retains high strength in the 1200/1800°F temperature range...
"super alloy", as were the upper surface panels. The bottom surface was to be made from molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
sheets placed over insulated René 41, while the nose-cone was to be made from graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
with zirconia rods.
Due to the changing requirements, various forms of the Dyna-Soar were designed, but all variants shared the same basic shape and layout. A single pilot sat at the front, while an equipment bay was situated behind. This bay contained either data-collection equipment, weapons, reconnaissance equipment, or (in the X-20X "shuttle space vehicle") a four-man mid-deck.
After the equipment bay was the transition-stage rocket engine, which was used to maneuver the craft in orbit or fired during launch as part of an abort. This trans-stage would be jettisoned before descent into the atmosphere. While falling through the atmosphere an opaque heat shield
Heat shield
A heat shield is designed to shield a substance from absorbing excessive heat from an outside source by either dissipating, reflecting or simply absorbing the heat...
would protect the window at the front of the craft. This heat shield would then be jettisoned after aerobraking
Aerobraking
Aerobraking is a spaceflight maneuver that reduces the high point of an elliptical orbit by flying the vehicle through the atmosphere at the low point of the orbit . The resulting drag slows the spacecraft...
so the pilot could see, and safely land.
A drawing in Space/Aeronautics magazine from before the project's cancellation depicts the craft dipping down into the atmosphere, skimming the surface, to change its orbital inclination
Inclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
. It would then fire its rocket to resume orbit. This would be a unique ability for a spacecraft, for the laws of celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of celestial objects. The field applies principles of physics, historically classical mechanics, to astronomical objects such as stars and planets to produce ephemeris data. Orbital mechanics is a subfield which focuses on...
mean it requires an enormous expenditure of energy for a rocket to change its orbital inclination once it has reached orbit. Hence the Dyna-Soar could have had a military capacity of being launched into one orbit and rendezvousing with a satellite, even if the target were to expend all its propellant in changing its orbit. Acceleration forces on the pilot, however, would be severe in such a maneuver.
Unlike the later Space Shuttle, Dyna-Soar did not have wheels on its tricycle undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
as it was thought the rubber would burn during re-entry. Instead Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
developed retractable wire-brush skids made of the same René 41 alloy as the airframe.
Operational history
In April 1960, seven astronauts were secretly chosen for the Dyna-Soar program. Neil ArmstrongNeil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
and Bill Dana left the program in the summer of 1962. On 19 September 1962, Albert Crews was added to the Dyna-Soar program and the names of the six Dyna-Soar astronauts were announced to the public:
- Neil ArmstrongNeil ArmstrongNeil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
(NASA) 1960–1962 - Albert H. CrewsAlbert H. CrewsAlbert Hanlin Crews, Jr. is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force and a former USAF astronaut. He was born on in El Dorado, Arkansas and is married with three children....
, Jr. (Air Force) 1962–1963 - Bill DanaWilliam H. Dana-Career:Dana was born in Pasadena, California, November 3, 1930, received his Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy in 1952 and served four years as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force...
(NASA) 1960–1962 - Henry C. GordonHenry C. GordonHenry Charles Gordon was a X-20 Dyna-Soar astronaut and a colonel in the United States Air Force....
(Air Force) 1960–63 - Pete KnightWilliam J. KnightWilliam J. "Pete" Knight was a U.S. politician, combat pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. Knight holds the world's speed record for flight in a winged, powered aircraft...
(Air Force) 1960–1963 - Russell L. RogersRussell L. RogersRussell Lee Rogers was an astronaut assigned to the X-20 Dyna-Soar program. He was born on April 12, 1928 in Lawrence, Kansas. He was married with five children. Rogers was killed when the engine of his F-105 fighter plane failed near Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan on September 13, 1967...
(Air Force) 1960–1963 - Milt ThompsonMilton O. ThompsonMilton Orville Thompson was a NASA research pilot who was selected as an astronaut for the United States Air Force X-20 Dyna-Soar program in April 1960. After the Dyna-Soar program was cancelled on 10 December 1963, he remained a NASA research pilot, and went on to fly the X-15 rocket plane...
(NASA) 1960–1963 - James W. WoodJames W. WoodJames Wayne Wood was an American astronaut in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.He was born in Paragould, Arkansas on August 9, 1924....
(Air Force) 1960–1963
By the end of 1962, Dyna-Soar had been designated "X-20", the booster (to be used in the Dyna Soar I drop-tests) successfully fired, and the USAF had held an "unveiling" ceremony for the X-20 in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Minnesota Honeywell Corporation completed flight tests on an inertia guidance sub-system for the X-20 project at Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....
, Florida, utilizing an NF-101B Voodoo by August 1963.
Problems
Besides the funding issues that often accompany research efforts, the Dyna-Soar program suffered from two major problems: uncertainty over the booster to be used to send the craft into orbit, and a lack of a clear goal for the project.Many different boosters were proposed to launch Dyna-Soar into orbit. The original USAF proposal suggested LOX
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
/JP-4, fluorine-ammonia, fluorine-hydrazine, or RMI (X-15) engines. Boeing, the principal contractor, favored an Atlas-Centaur
Centaur (rocket stage)
Centaur is a rocket stage designed for use as the upper stage of space launch vehicles. Centaur boosts its satellite payload to geosynchronous orbit or, in the case of an interplanetary space probe, to or near to escape velocity...
combination, but eventually the Air Force stipulated a Titan
Titan (rocket family)
Titan was a family of U.S. expendable rockets used between 1959 and 2005. A total of 368 rockets of this family were launched, including all the Project Gemini manned flights of the mid-1960s...
, as suggested by failed competitor Martin. However, the Titan I would not be powerful enough to launch the five-ton X-20 into orbit.
The Titan II and Titan III boosters could launch Dyna-Soar into Earth orbit, as could the Saturn C-1
Saturn (rocket family)
The Saturn family of American rocket boosters was developed by a team of mostly German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun to launch heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. Originally proposed as a military satellite launcher, they were adopted as the launch vehicles for the Apollo moon...
(later renamed the Saturn I
Saturn I
The Saturn I was the United States' first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher, a rocket designed specifically to launch large payloads into low Earth orbit. Most of the rocket's power came from a clustered lower stage consisting of tanks taken from older rocket designs and strapped together to make...
), and all were proposed with various upper-stage and booster combinations. While the Titan IIIC was eventually chosen to send Dyna-Soar into space, the vacillations over the launch system delayed the project as it complicated planning.
The original intention for Dyna-Soar, outlined in the Weapons System 464L proposal, called for a project combining aeronautical research with weapons system development. Many questioned whether the USAF should have a manned space program, when that was the primary domain of NASA. However, it was frequently emphasized by the Air Force that, unlike the NASA programs, Dyna-Soar allowed for controlled re-entry, and this was where the main effort in the X-20 program was placed. On 19 January 1963 the Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
, Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
, directed the Air Force to undertake a study to determine whether Gemini or Dyna-Soar was the more feasible approach to a space-based weapon system. In the middle of March 1963, after receiving the study, Secretary McNamara "stated that the Air Force had been placing too much emphasis on controlled re-entry when it did not have any real objectives for orbital flight". This was seen as a reversal of the Secretary's earlier position on the Dyna-Soar program. Dyna-Soar was also an expensive program that would not launch a manned mission until the mid-1960s at the earliest. This high cost and questionable usefulness made it hard for the Air Force to justify the program. Eventually, the X-20 Dyna-Soar program was canceled on 10 December 1963.
On the day that X-20 was canceled, the Air Force announced another program, the Manned Orbiting Laboratory
Manned Orbiting Laboratory
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory , originally referred to as the Manned Orbital Laboratory, was part of the United States Air Force's manned spaceflight program, a successor to the cancelled Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar military reconnaissance space plane project...
, a spin-off of Gemini, but this program was also eventually canceled.
Another black program ISINGLASS
Isinglass
Isinglass is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification of wine and beer. It can also be cooked into a paste for specialized gluing purposes....
which was to be airlaunched from a B-52 bomber was evaluated, and some engine work was done, however this eventually was cancelled also.
Legacy
Despite the cancellation of the X-20, the affiliated research on spaceplanes was influential on the much larger Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
that would also be boosted into orbit by large rockets for launch, and the final design would also utilize delta wing
Delta wing
The delta wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta .-Delta-shaped stabilizers:...
s for controlled landings, but it would not fly until decades after the cancellation of the X-20 program. The later, and much smaller Soviet BOR-4
BOR-4
The BOR-4 flight vehicle is a scaled prototype of the Soviet Spiral VTHL spaceplane. An unmanned, subscale craft, its purpose was to test the heatshield tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon for the Buran space shuttle, then under development...
was closer in design philosophy to the Dyna-Soar, while NASA's Martin X-23 PRIME and Martin Marietta X-24A/HL-10
Northrop HL-10
The Northrop HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center , Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space...
research aircraft also explored aspects of sub-orbital and space flight.
Specifications (as designed)
See also
External links
- Dynasoar
- Tsien Space Plane 1949
- Tsien Space Plane 1978
- Transonic aerodynamic characteristics of the Dyna-Soar glider and Titan 3 launch vehicle configuration with various fin arrangements (PDF format) NASA report - April 1963
- American X-Vehicles: An Inventory X-1 to X-50, SP-2000-4531 - June 2003; NASA online PDF Monograph
- Deepcold: Secrets of the Cold War in Space, 1959-1969