CHAPTER 2
PRECURSORS OF THE SHUTTLE

Akridge, Max. "Space Shuttle." 8 January 1970. Document in the NASA History Office Reference Collection. Written by a member of the Marshall Space Flight Center's Space Shuttle Task Team, this monograph-length work, without footnotes, discusses the history of the Space Shuttle concept from 1950 through the Integral Launch and Reentry Vehicle Studies (Phase A). It addresses the economics, marketability, conceptualization, and preliminary design of reusable launch vehicles as devised in various "Space Shuttle" studies.

"Ancestors of the Space Shuttle: The X-15, Dyna-Soar, X-23 and X- 24 Programs." Space World: The Magazine of Space News. December 1978, pp. 4-14. Deliberately ties the Shuttle design to the hypersonic aircraft named in the title. Each aircraft is profiled in an encyclopedia format.

Becker, John V. "The Development of Winged Reentry Vehicles, 1952- 1963." Unpublished study, 57 pp. Copy in NASA History Office Reference Collection. An interesting discussion of the search for a fully reusable spacecraft.

Blaine, J.C.D. The End of an Era in Space Exploration. San Diego, CA: American Astronautical Society, 1976. Reviews earlier efforts to place men in space and has some discussion of the Shuttle program.

Bono, Philip. "The Rombus Concept." Astronautics & Aeronautics. January 1964, pp. 28-34. One of several articles in this issue devoted to the possibility of a reusable transportation system between the earth and the moon.

Bono, Philip, and Gatland, Kenneth. Frontiers of Space. New York: Macmillan Pub. Co., 1969. Profiles efforts to explore space, as well as several proposed methods and objectives for future space activities including a lunar base and a space station. There is a lengthy discussion in the book of the Space Shuttle, as well as its precursors, emphasizing its reusable nature and how it would lower launch costs. There is also a commentary on the 1968 discussion of George Mueller, NASA's Manned Space Flight head, before the British Interplanetary Society about NASA's plans for a Space Shuttle. The commentary is oriented toward the fully- reusable concept, NASA's preference at that time. The narrative is especially interesting for its representation of what was thought about the Shuttle in 1969.

Ehricke, K.A., and D'Vincent, F. "The Nexus Concept." Astronautics & Aeronautics. 3 (January 1964): 18-26. One of several articles in this issue devoted to exploring the possibility of a reusable transportation system between the earth and the moon.

Hallion, Richard P., ed. The Hypersonic Revolution: Eight Case Studies in the History of Hypersonic Technology. Wright- Patterson Air Force Base, OH: Aeronautical Systems Division Special Staff Office, 1987. 2 Vols. This two volume work contains studies of eight hypersonic R&D programs: the X-15, the X-20A Dyna-Soar, winged reentry vehicles, ASSET, Project PRIME, the Scramjet, lifting bodies, and the Space Shuttle. This study was done to provide information on the evolution of hypersonic technology to program personnel working on the National Aero-space Plane (NASP). It places the Shuttle in the context of what has gone before and suggests that it is just one program in a continuum that led toward the present state of technology, the NASP. The studies in this two-volume set were written over a lengthy period from the 1960s to the present. Some were completed by Air Force historians as internal publications, while others were done in NASA. Hallion pulled them together, and in many cases rewrote sections of them. It is a most detailed, academic, and useful presentation of information.

Hallion, Richard P. "Lifting Bodies: These 'Flying Fish' Were the Forebears of Today's Space Shuttle." Air & Space. March- April 1980, pp. 6-7. This short article, written by a leading historian of aeronautical technology, deals with the study, testing and evaluation of lifting bodies during the 1950s and 1960s. With an acknowledgment extended to Eugen S„nger, Hallion briefly describes the development of such programs as Dyna-Soar and other experimental programs. It is oriented toward hardware, and emphasizes the holdings in the National Air and Space Museum of many of these various types of craft.

Hallion, Richard P. The Path to the Space Shuttle: The Evolution of Lifting Reentry Technology. Edwards AFB, CA: Air Force Flight Test Center History Office, 1983. An outstanding monograph by one of the leading historians of aviation technology, this study emphasizes the evolution of technology toward the development of a reusable spacecraft. It describes the evolution of the reusable spacecraft concept, emphasizing the work of Eugen S„nger, lifting body studies, and the technological breakthroughs that allowed the Shuttle to be built.

Hallion, Richard P. "The Path to Space Shuttle: The Evolution of Lifting Reentry Technology." Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 30 (December 1983): 523-41. This is a shortened version of Hallion's 1983 monograph by the same title. It describes and shows the evolution of the reusable spacecraft concept, emphasizing the work of Eugen S„nger, the lifting body studies, and the technological breakthroughs that allowed the Shuttle to be built. It is an especially important article because it shows how the technological problems solved in one program were incorporated into the beginnings of the next attempt.

Hallion, Richard P. "The Space Shuttle's Family Tree." Air & Space. April-May 1991, pp. 44-46. This short article, taken from Hallion's discussion of the early history of the Shuttle published in The Hypersonic Revolution, deals with hundreds of paper studies, experiments, and a handful of aircraft that actually flew and were the antecedents of the Shuttle. It traces the general design of the Shuttle from lifting body technology to the actual configuration that was built and launched in 1981.

Kocivar, Ben. "Flying NASA's X-24B Lifting Body." Popular Science. November 1973, pp. 87-91. Short but interesting article on one of the precursors of the Shuttle in the 1960s.

Koelle, H.H., and Rutland, C.H. "Toward a Reusable Earth-Moon Transportation System." Astronautics & Aeronautics. 3 (January 1964): 14-17. One of several articles in this issue devoted to exploring the possibility of a reusable transportation system between the earth and the moon. The others in the issue detail different concepts for such an effort.

Lore, Eugene S. "Manned Lifting Entry." Astronautics & Aeronautics. May 1966, pp. 54-64. This is a technical article on the potential of spacecraft that could be flown like an airplane. It identified many of the characteristics that were later incorporated into the Shuttle.

Moise, J.C., Henry, C.S., and Swanson, R.S. "The Astroplane Concept." Astronautics & Aeronautics. January 1964, pp. 35- 40. One of several articles in this issue devoted to exploring the possibility of a reusable transportation system between the earth and the moon.

Office of Manned Space Flight. NASA's Manned Space Flight Program. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 29 April 1969. Describes the efforts of NASA to place men in orbit and on the moon. It also discusses the next phase of manned flight, the development of a reusable spacecraft for movement of people and supplies to and from orbit.

Peebles, Curtis. "On Wings Into Space." Spaceflight. 28 (June 1986): 276-80. A rather general article on the development of the idea and then the technology for a reusable spacecraft. It has a lengthy discussion of 1930s and 1940s research in such aircraft as the X-1. There is also mention of the X-20A Dyna-Soar program, which had many of the same aspirations as the Shuttle program. Finally, there is a discussion of the lifting body studies and the development of the Shuttle concept in the 1960s and 1970s.

Peebles, Curtis. "Project Bomi." Spaceflight. 22 (July- August 1980): 270-72. Interesting story of a program by Bell Aircraft to build a reusable spacecraft. This project tried to develop a booster that could lift a Shuttle-type orbiter into space. It was undertaken in the 1950s but abandoned by Bell because it could not undertake an R&D effort of this magnitude without government sponsorship; the company withdrew to concentrate on more immediately commercial prospects.

Peebles, Curtis. "The Origins of the U.S. Space Shuttle-1." Spaceflight. 21 (November 1979): 435-42. The first of two articles, this one discusses some of the early scientific work on reusable spacecraft, especially the work of Eugen S„nger. There is also a lengthy description of Project Bomi, the Bell Aircraft Co. program to develop a large delta-winged reusable spacecraft during the 1950s. Peebles also pays close attention to Dyna-Soar, the ill-fated Air Force program to build a reusable vehicle. Finally, there is a discussion of lifting body technology in the 1960s, including the ASSET and M2-F1 programs.

Peebles, Curtis. "The Origins of the U.S. Space Shuttle-2." Spaceflight. 21 (December 1979): 487-92. This article follows on from the previous one and extends the discussion of the Shuttle's development from the lifting body studies of the 1960s through the development of the NASA Shuttle. Major components of this effort were the X-23, X-24, and HL-10 research craft.

Phillips, William H. "Flying Qualities from Early Airplanes to the Space Shuttle." Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics. 12 (July-August 1989): 449-59. Originally published as an AIAA paper, this is a fine discussion of the development of aircraft technology, firmly concluding that the Shuttle orbiter is a hybrid, the first spacecraft with aerodynamic lift characteristics.

Plattner, C.M. "NASA to Begin Unmanned Tests of New Type of Lifting Shape for Hypersonic Maneuvers." Aviation Week & Space Technology. 29 September 1969, pp. 52-58. This news story discusses in detail early plans for a reusable spacecraft with many of the same features as the Shuttle.

S„nger-Bredt, Irene. "The Silver Bird Story." Spaceflight. 15 (May 1973): 166-81. This is an article about early, 1930s- 1950s, engineering work done by Austrian aerospace designer Eugen S„nger (1905-1961) on a winged means of escaping the atmosphere along the lines of the Space Shuttle. The vehicle was especially to be used as the first stage of booster rockets or to ferry, supply, and furnish rescue equipment for space stations. The basic concepts of the Shuttle, a cross between a powered booster rocket and an aerodynamic glider are presented. The article was written by his former student, co-worker, and wife.

S„nger-Bredt, Irene. "The Silver Bird Story: A Memoir." in Hall, R. Cargill, ed. Essays on the History of Rocketry and Astronautics: Proceedings of the Third Through the Sixth History Symposia of the International Academy of Astronautics. vol. 1. NASA Conference Publication 2014, 1977. Examines Eugen S„nger's vision of a "Silver Bird" rocketplane designed in the 1930s to be used as the first stage of booster rockets or to transport rescue equipment for manned space stations. The article continues with a discussion of S„nger's life and research work until his death in 1961. It is written by his collaborator and wife, Irene S„nger- Bredt.

Von Braun, Wernher, and Ryan, C. "Can We Get To Mars?" Colliers. 30 April 1954, pp. 22-29. During the Second World War German scientists, including Wernher von Braun, began testing spacecraft models based on S„nger's concepts as well as theories of their own. This article popularized the idea of a reusable earth-to-orbit space transportation system.

Wilkinson, Stephan. "The Legacy of the Lifting Body." Air & Space. April/May 1991, pp. 51-62. Solid, popularly written article which deals with a precursor of the Space Shuttle. Lifting bodies were first tested at Dryden Flight Test Facility in 1963 and served to provide data for the design of the Shuttle. This article details the interesting story of how they were developed on a shoestring and without NASA headquarters approval.

Winter, Frank. "1928-1929 Forerunners of the Shuttle: The 'Von Opel Flights'." Spaceflight. 21 (February 1979): 75-83, 92. Well-done story of the pioneering efforts to design and build reusable spacecraft.