Introduction to Rocket Propulsion: Lecture 2

History of Rocketry 2
 Outline

• Mercury Project
• Redstone
• Atlas
• Moon
• Gemini
• Apollo and Saturn V
• Lunar Landing
• SpaceX and beyond

https://rps.nasa.gov/internal_resources/110

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 The Mercury Project

• In October 1958, just six days after NASA

formally organized, America's first human
spaceflight program was born
• The program used two launch vehicles:
Redstone for suborbital flights and Atlas for
orbital flights

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/side_image/public/275808main_62-ma7-55__0.jpg?
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Mercury-Redstone

• Redstone was a direct descendant of the

German V2 rocket

• Redstone was the first U.S. missile to carry

a live nuclear warhead.

• Used for sub-orbital missions

• Alan Shepard was selected to be on board

the first manned Mercury launch. He
became the first American in space.

By NASA - Project Mercury Diagrams (http://history.nasa.gov/diagrams/mercury.html), Mercury-

Redstone Launch Vehicle Structure.Originally from NASA report NASA-TM-X-53107, "The Mercury-
Redstone Project", pages 4-3 and 4-4. PDF available at
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670028606_1967028606.pdf., Public
Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6638277
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 Mercury-Atlas

• John Glenn became the first American to

orbit the Earth aboard the Friendship 7

• He completed 3 orbits with a total time of

55 mins 23s

• The Atlas V (evolved from the one used to

send Glenn into orbit), is still in operation
today

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Launch_of_Friendship_7_-_GPN-2000-
000686.jpg/800px-Launch_of_Friendship_7_-_GPN-2000-000686.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Glenn62.jpg/1280px-
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 To the Moon

“ I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before
this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to
the Earth” –John F. Kennedy, 1961

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 Project Gemini

• Started in 1962 and ended in

1966

• Main objective was to perfect

EVA, space rendezvous,
docking, and orbital
maneuvers

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Gemini_7_in_orbit_-_GPN-2006-
bd/Gemini_spacecraft.jpg/1280px-Gemini_spacecraft.jpg 000035.jpg/1024px-Gemini_7_in_orbit_-_GPN-2006-000035.jpg

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 Titan II -GLV
• Adapted from the Titan II missile, used as
the Gemini launch vehicle (GLV)

• Used a hypergolic combination of

Aerozine 50 and nitrogen tetroxide

• The launch vehicle had two stages and

was simpler in design than the Atlas
family

• There was a recurring issue with

combustion instability (pogo oscillations)

By NASA/KSC - Great Images in NASA (Description), Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6449478 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Gemini_Profiles.jpg/400px-Gemini_Profiles.jpg

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 The Apollo Program

• Objective of the Apollo

program was to man on the
moon

• This culminated with Neil

Armstrong walking on the
moon in 1969, July 21

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/John_C._Houbolt_-_GPN-2000-001274.jpg/
commons/5/51/ 1280px-John_C._Houbolt_-_GPN-2000-001274.jpg
Apollo_Direct_Ascent_Concept.jpg
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 Saturn V

• 3 stages, 10m diameter, 111m height,

2938 tons

• One of the most powerful machines

ever built. Designed under direction
of Wernher Von Braun

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Apollo_11_first_stage_separation.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/
Apollo_11_Launch_-_GPN-2000-000630.jpg/800px-Apollo_11_Launch_-
_GPN-2000-000630.jpg

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 Lunar Landing

• Apollo 11 carrying Neil Armstrong,

Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin
were inserted into lunar orbit on
July 20, 1969

• On July 21 1969, Neil Armstrong

walks onto the lunar surface

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Apollo-Moon-mission-profile.png
By NASA - http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/AS11-40-5903HR.jpghttp://www.archive.org/details/AS11- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Apollo_11_Crew.jpg/1280px-
40-5903 (TIFF image), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3847764 Apollo_11_Crew.jpg
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 Shuttle, SpaceX and Beyond

• Space shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system that was
operated from 1981 to 2011 by NASA

• Falcon 9 is a partially reusable two-stage-to-orbit medium lift launch vehicle

designed and manufactured by SpaceX. It is powered by Merlin engines, also
developed by SpaceX, burning cryogenic liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene
(RP-1) as propellants.

https://media.wired.com/photos/
https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/upi/4451554466792/2019/1/f18ef4f9b07489d7e31c61cc9de93104/ 5c6f46d93e8add2cdb917279/master/w_2560%2Cc_limit/
SpaceX-Falcon-Heavy-launch-with-Arabsat-reset-for-Tuesday.jpg spaceshuttle.jpg
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