Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar
The Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar ("Dynamic Soarer") was a United States Air Force (USAF) program to develop a spaceplane that could be used for a variety of military missions, including aerial reconnaissance, bombing, space rescue, satellite maintenance, and as a space interceptor to sabotage enemy satellites.[1] The program ran from October 24, 1957, to December 10, 1963, cost US$660 million ($6.57 billion in current dollars[2]), and was cancelled just after spacecraft construction had begun.
Other spacecraft under development at the time, such as
These characteristics made Dyna-Soar a far more advanced concept than other human spaceflight missions of the period. Research into a spaceplane was realized much later in other reusable spacecraft such as the 1981–2011 Space Shuttle[4][5] and the more recent Boeing X-40 and X-37B spacecraft.
Background
Following the war, many German scientists were taken to the United States by the Office of Strategic Services's Operation Paperclip, bringing with them detailed knowledge of the Silbervogel project.[8] Among them, Walter Dornberger and Krafft Ehricke moved to Bell Aircraft, where, in 1952, they proposed what was essentially a vertical launch version of Silbervogel known as the "Bomber Missile", or "BoMi".[9][10]
These studies all proposed various rocket-powered vehicles that could travel vast distances by gliding after being boosted to high speed and altitude by a rocket stage.
There was enough interest in BoMi that by 1956 it had evolved into three separate programs:
- RoBo (Rocket Bomber), updated version of BoMi.[13][14]
- Brass Bell, a long-range reconnaissance vehicle.[15][16]
- Hywards (Hypersonic Weapons Research and Development Supporting system), a smaller prototype system to develop the technologies needed for Robo and Brass Bell.[17]
Development
Days after the launch of Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957, on either October 10[18] or October 24,[19] the USAF Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) consolidated Hywards, Brass Bell, and Robo studies into the Dyna-Soar project, or Weapons System 464L, with a three-step abbreviated development plan. The proposal drew together the existing boost-glide proposals into a single vehicle designed to carry out all the bombing and reconnaissance tasks examined by the earlier studies, and would act as successor to the X-15 research program.[19]
The three stages of the Dyna-Soar program were to be a research vehicle (Dyna-Soar I), a reconnaissance vehicle (Dyna-Soar II, previously Brass Bell), and a vehicle that added 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 by 1974.[20]
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
Spacecraft description
The overall design of the X-20 Dyna-Soar was outlined in March 1960. It had a low-wing delta shape, with
Due to changing requirements, several versions of the Dyna-Soar were considered, all sharing the same basic shape and layout. A single pilot sat at the front, with an equipment bay situated behind. This bay contained data-collection equipment, weapons, reconnaissance equipment, or a four-person mid-deck in the case of the X-20X shuttle space vehicle. A
A drawing in the Space/Aeronautics magazine from before the project's cancellation depicts the craft skimming the atmosphere for an orbital inclination change. It would then fire its rocket to resume orbit. This would be a unique ability for a spacecraft, as the laws of celestial mechanics ordinarily mean a change of plane requires an enormous expenditure of energy. The Dyna-Soar was projected to be able to use this capability to rendezvous with satellites even if the target conducted evasive maneuvers.
Unlike the later Space Shuttle, Dyna-Soar did not have wheels on its tricycle undercarriage, as rubber tires would have caught fire during re-entry. Instead Goodyear developed retractable wire-brush skids made of the same René 41 alloy as the airframe.[24]
Operational history
In April 1960, seven astronauts were secretly chosen for the Dyna-Soar program:[25]
- Neil Armstrong (1930–2012; NASA) 1960–1962
- William H. "Bill" Dana(1930–2014; NASA) 1960–1962
- Henry C. Gordon(1925–1996; Air Force) 1960–1963
- Pete Knight (1929–2004; Air Force) 1960–1963
- Russell L. Rogers (1928–1967; Air Force) 1960–1963
- Milt Thompson (1926–1993; NASA) 1960–1963
- James W. Wood (1924–1990; Air Force) 1960–1963
Neil Armstrong and Bill Dana left the program in mid-1962. On September 19, 1962, Albert Crews was added to the Dyna-Soar program and the names of the six remaining Dyna-Soar astronauts were announced to the public.[26]
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
The Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company (later the
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
: 18 as suggested by failed competitor Martin, but the Titan I was not 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. In December 1961, the Titan IIIC was chosen,[27]: 19 ) but the vacillations over the launch system delayed the project and 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 crewed space program, when that was the primary domain of NASA. 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 January 19, 1963, the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, directed the U.S. 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".[32] 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 crewed mission until the mid-1960s at the earliest. This high cost and questionable utility made it difficult for the U.S. Air Force to justify the program.
Eventually, the X-20 Dyna-Soar program was canceled on December 10, 1963.[4] On the day that X-20 was canceled, the U.S. Air Force announced another program, the Manned Orbiting Laboratory, a spin-off of Gemini. This program was also eventually canceled.
Another black program,
Legacy
Despite cancellation of the X-20, the affiliated research on spaceplanes influenced the much larger
Specifications (as designed)
General characteristics
- Crew: One pilot
- Length: 35.34 ft (10.77 m)
- Wingspan: 20.8 ft (6.3 m)
- Height: 8.5 ft (2.6 m)
- Wing area: 345 sq ft (32.1 m2)
- Empty weight: 10,395 lb (4,715 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 11,387 lb (5,165 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × AJ10-138 rocket engine, 8,000 lbf (36 kN) thrust each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 17,500 mph (28,200 km/h, 15,200 kn)
- Range: 25,000 mi (41,000 km, 22,000 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 530,000 ft (160,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 100,000 ft/min (510 m/s)
- Wing loading: 33 lb/sq ft (160 kg/m2)
Media
- The 1959 Twilight Zone season 1 episode titled "And When the Sky Was Opened" made reference to a spacecraft called the X20 which had a similar profile but could carry a crew of three.
- In 1962, the fifth book in Donald A. Wollheim's Mike Mars series, Mike Mars flies the Dyna-Soar, had the title character fly an emergency rescue mission in the Dyna-Soar.
- John Berryman's 1963 short story "The Trouble with Telstar" featured a Dyna-Soar being used to intercept communications satellites for repair.[36]
- The 1969 Hollywood film drama Mad Magazineas the XRT, the Experimental Rescue Thing.
See also
- Boeing X-37 – Reusable robotic spaceplane
- Dream Chaser
- Saturn-Shuttle – Concept of launching the Space Shuttle orbiter using the Saturn V rocket
- Hermes
- Hypersoar– US program to develop a hypersonic weapon
Related development
- Manned Orbital Laboratory
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- ASSET – a subscale reentry test vehicle designed to verify the superalloy heatshield of the DynaSoar.
- BOR-4
- BOR-5
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105
- North American X-15
- Silbervogel
References
Notes
- ^ Goebel, Greg. "The X-15, Dyna-Soar, & The Lifting Bodies – [1.2] The USAF and DYNA-SOAR". VectorSite.net. Vectors by Greg Goebel. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "History: X-20 Dyna-Soar Space Vehicle." Archived October 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Boeing. Retrieved: September 24, 2010.
- ^ a b Yenne 1985, p. 136
- ISBN 0801871581.
- ISBN 0-275-96684-4.
- ISBN 9781894643054.
- ^ Dornberger 1956, pp. 19–37.
- ^ "Bomi". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017.
- ^ "MX-2276 Advanced Strategic Weapon System Aerodynamics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ a b Duffy 2004, p. 124.
- ISBN 978-0160910647.
- ^ Neufeld 1995, pp. 19, 33, 55.
- ^ "Robo". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017.
- ^ "Brass Bell". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017.
- ^ "Brass Bell Reconnaissance Aircraft Weapon System" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ "Hywards". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ History of the X-20A Dyna-Soar, Clarence J. Geiger, Sep 1963 www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA951933
- ^ a b Godwin 2003, p. 38
- ^ Godwin 2003, p. 65
- ^ Godwin 2003, p. 286
- ^ Godwin 2003, p. 186
- ISBN 978-0-16-091064-7.
- ISBN 978-1493692569. Archived(PDF) from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1461431992.
- ^ Astronautical and Aeronautical Events of 1962 (PDF) (Report). NASA. June 12, 1963. p. 195. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 0160489458.
- ISBN 978-1580070768.
- ^ "Fiery Crash of Drone Plane Kills Two, Injures One – Four Firemen Overcome in Wake of Blaze." Playground Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Florida), Volume 16, Number 271, August 20, 1963, p. 1.
- ^ "1953 USAF Serial Numbers". www.joebaugher.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011.
- ^ Spahr, Greg, "Might have beens",B-52 Stratofortress: Celebrating 60 Remarkable Years, Key Publishing Ltd., Stamford, Lincs., UK, 2014, page 38.
- ^ Geiger 1963, pp. 349–405.
- ^ "The U-2's intended successor: Project OXCART, 1956–1968." Archived March 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Central Intelligence Agency, December 31, 1968, p. 49. Retrieved: August 10, 2010.
- ^ Marks, Paul. "Cosmonaut: Soviet space shuttle was safer than NASA's." Archived August 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine New Scientist, July 7, 2007. Retrieved: August 28, 2011.
- ^ Jenkins, Dennis R., Tony Landis and Jay Miller. American X-Vehicles: An Inventory—X-1 to X-50. Archived November 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Washington, DC: Monographs in Aerospace History No. 31, SP-2003-4531, June 2003.
- ^ Berryman, John (June 1963). "The Trouble with Telstar". Analog Science Fact & Fiction. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
Bibliography
- Caidin, Martin. Wings into Space: The History and Future of Winged Space Flight. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc., 1964.
- Dornberger, Walter R. "The Rocket-Propelled Commercial Airliner". Dyna-Soar: Hypersonic Strategic Weapons System, Research Report No 135.. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota, Institute of Technology, 1956.
- Duffy, James P. Target: America, Hitler's Plan to Attack the United States. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger, 2004. ISBN 0-275-96684-4.
- Dyna-Soar: Hypersonic Strategic Weapons System: Structure Description Report. Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland: Air Force Systems Command, 1961, pp. 145–189.
- Geiger, Clarence J. History of the X-20A Dyna-Soar. Vol. 1: AFSC Historical Publications Series 63-50-I, Document ID ASD-TR-63-50-I. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Aeronautical Systems Division Information Office, 1963.
- Godwin, Robert, ed. (2003). Dyna-Soar: Hypersonic Strategic Weapons System. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Apogee Books. ISBN 1-896522-95-5.
- Houchin, Roy. U.S. Hypersonic Research and Development: The Rise and Fall of Dyna-Soar, 1944–1963. London: Routledge, 2006. ISBN 0-415-36281-4.
- Neufeld, Michael J. (1995). The Rocket and the Reich: Peenemünde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 978-0-674-77650-0.
- Strathy, Charlton G. (1957). Dyna-Soar: Hypersonic Strategic Weapons System: Weapon System 464L Abbreviated Development Plan. pp. 38–75.
- Yenne, Bill (1985). The Encyclopedia of US Spacecraft. London: Bison Books. ISBN 978-5-551-26650-1.
External links
- Dyna Soar at Encyclopedia Astronautica
- Official United States Air Force film from the 1960 describing the spacecraft.
- Tsien Space Plane 1949 at Encyclopedia Astronautica
- 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
- LIFE 22 Feb 1963 article about X-20 and the pilots training to fly it.