a_v_bw_o_n (63-Apollo-55)
“Artist’s concept of Lunar Surface Rendezvous utilizing tracked transport, center, to fuel return command module, foreground, with rocket motors. The drawing shows the Apollo manned module landing, upper right. The manned module, however, would not be committed to the mission until the return module was fueled and ready for the return flight. Modified Surveyor, right rear, mounts television cameras to provide monitoring, from earth, of landings and operations.”
From David S. F. Portree's wonderful "No Shortage of Dreams" blog:
“LSR aimed to accomplish Apollo lunar landings using technology derived from JPL's automated Surveyor soft-lander, which was under development at the time.
In the LSR mode, several automated landers would touch down on the Moon tens of feet apart before any humans arrived. The first lander to reach the chosen landing site would carry science instruments, a TV camera, and a homing beacon.
After engineers and scientists used its data to certify the site as safe for further landings, a series of Surveyor-derived cargo landers would arrive. Three or four would each carry as cargo a solid-propellant rocket motor. After the last landed successfully, another lander, this time carrying an unmanned pressurized Earth-return crew capsule, would touch down at the site. The capsule would include seating for up to three astronauts, an Earth-atmosphere reentry heat shield, and parachutes.
Controllers on Earth would guide a small rover as it collected each solid-propellant rocket motor in turn and attached it to the lander bearing the crew capsule. Alternately, they would extend a bridge truss from each cargo lander in turn to transfer the solid-propellant motors. The rover method was considered more likely to succeed.
After JPL's lander/crew capsule combination was ready, an identical crew capsule on a Surveyor-derived lander would depart Earth bearing up to three astronauts. It would slow its descent by firing solid-propellant rocket motors identical to those attached to the lander/crew capsule on the Moon. With help from homing beacons, it would then use chemical-propellant vernier rockets to land near the waiting lander/crew capsule.
Following touchdown, the astronauts would transfer to their ride home and ignite its solid-propellant rocket motors to begin their return to Earth. Nearing Earth, they would cast off the lander and spent rocket motors and position their capsule for reentry.”
The embedded diagram:
It’s associated caption:
“A robot lander transfers the last of three solid-propellant rocket motors to the Earth-return crew capsule lander using the extendible bridge truss method. The first lander to reach the site, equipped with a homing beacon and a TV camera, sits in the background at upper right. The cargo lander at lower left has transferred its rocket motor and withdrawn its extendible bridge truss, as has another cargo lander out of view to the right. Image credit: Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA.”
All above at:
"Lunar Surface Rendezvous"??? I've not seen this concept before.
No artist’s signature visible unfortunately.
www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/ch3-2.html
history.nasa.gov/SP-4308/ch8.htm
Specifically...an evolution of this vehicle, maybe?:
a_v_bw_o_n (63-Apollo-55)
“Artist’s concept of Lunar Surface Rendezvous utilizing tracked transport, center, to fuel return command module, foreground, with rocket motors. The drawing shows the Apollo manned module landing, upper right. The manned module, however, would not be committed to the mission until the return module was fueled and ready for the return flight. Modified Surveyor, right rear, mounts television cameras to provide monitoring, from earth, of landings and operations.”
From David S. F. Portree's wonderful "No Shortage of Dreams" blog:
“LSR aimed to accomplish Apollo lunar landings using technology derived from JPL's automated Surveyor soft-lander, which was under development at the time.
In the LSR mode, several automated landers would touch down on the Moon tens of feet apart before any humans arrived. The first lander to reach the chosen landing site would carry science instruments, a TV camera, and a homing beacon.
After engineers and scientists used its data to certify the site as safe for further landings, a series of Surveyor-derived cargo landers would arrive. Three or four would each carry as cargo a solid-propellant rocket motor. After the last landed successfully, another lander, this time carrying an unmanned pressurized Earth-return crew capsule, would touch down at the site. The capsule would include seating for up to three astronauts, an Earth-atmosphere reentry heat shield, and parachutes.
Controllers on Earth would guide a small rover as it collected each solid-propellant rocket motor in turn and attached it to the lander bearing the crew capsule. Alternately, they would extend a bridge truss from each cargo lander in turn to transfer the solid-propellant motors. The rover method was considered more likely to succeed.
After JPL's lander/crew capsule combination was ready, an identical crew capsule on a Surveyor-derived lander would depart Earth bearing up to three astronauts. It would slow its descent by firing solid-propellant rocket motors identical to those attached to the lander/crew capsule on the Moon. With help from homing beacons, it would then use chemical-propellant vernier rockets to land near the waiting lander/crew capsule.
Following touchdown, the astronauts would transfer to their ride home and ignite its solid-propellant rocket motors to begin their return to Earth. Nearing Earth, they would cast off the lander and spent rocket motors and position their capsule for reentry.”
The embedded diagram:
It’s associated caption:
“A robot lander transfers the last of three solid-propellant rocket motors to the Earth-return crew capsule lander using the extendible bridge truss method. The first lander to reach the site, equipped with a homing beacon and a TV camera, sits in the background at upper right. The cargo lander at lower left has transferred its rocket motor and withdrawn its extendible bridge truss, as has another cargo lander out of view to the right. Image credit: Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA.”
All above at:
"Lunar Surface Rendezvous"??? I've not seen this concept before.
No artist’s signature visible unfortunately.
www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/ch3-2.html
history.nasa.gov/SP-4308/ch8.htm
Specifically...an evolution of this vehicle, maybe?: