fut_v_bw_o_n (ca. 1959, orig. Convair (Astronautics) - General Dynamics photo, no. 06618A)
One of the plethora of gorgeous depictions by Convair’s master artist, John M. Sentovic. His destiny…err, I mean collaboration with Dr. Krafft Ehricke, also of Convair, gifted us with some spectacular visualizations of the good Doctor’s visionary future of space travel & space exploration not yet, if ever to be realized.
Fortunately, the image was published as part of a brief biography of Mr. Sentovic in the March 1960, Volume 2, Number 2 issue of “SPACE AGE: The Fact Reporter for the Worlds of Science and Space” magazine, with the following caption:
“This drawing shows breakaway of the nuclear stage. The chemically powered winged glider is dropped away at left, while the nuclear-powered unit, containing a passenger compartment, heads into orbit to rendezvous with permanent satellite station. Nuclear stage can also be used in glider fashion for return trips to Earth.”
WOW…a nuclear powered spacecraft gliding…ummm...NO, but still!
Additionally, per the official Convair description associated with the image:
“NUCLEAR-POWERED PASSENGER ROCKET ASCENDS TO ORBITAL SATELLITE
SAN DIEGO, Calf.--When a manned satellite has been established in an orbit around the earth, personnel may travel to and from the satellite in vehicles such as this two-stage nuclear-powered rocket glider now being studied by Krafft A. Ehricke of the Convair Division, General Dynamics Corporation. The glider would take off horizontally, as an airplane, using a wheeled undercarriage which remains on the ground as the ship rises. Picture above shows vehicle about 30 miles up, at which point the lower stage is detached and guided safely back to earth. The second stage (right), carrying the passengers, would continue to the satellite orbit. For the return trip, the firing of small retarding rockets would reduce the ship's speed to less than orbital velocity, permitting it to descend gradually to the ground. The glider would land horizontally on skids retracted during flight. The lower stage reactor would heat ammonia and the upper stage reactor would heat hydrogen to produce thrust. The ship would measure 180 feet in length and have a wingspan of 50 feet. It would weigh between 350,000 and 400,000 pounds at takeoff, approximating the maximum takeoff weight of a B-36 bomber. This weight is considerably less than that of a three-stage chemical-powered rocket designed for the same mission. The horizontal takeoff feature would provide added safety in that the ship would be under control in the event of a power failure near the ground. Also, less power would be required for take-off, which in turn reduces the requirement for shielding from nuclear radiation. Shielding remains a major design problem, however. If it can be solved satisfactorily, the nuclear-powered glider should be feasible in ten years. Ehricke is assistant to the technical director of Convair-Astronauties, builder of the Atlas ICBM.
06618A”
Fascinating!
Who knew???
Did you???
I didn’t!!!
The mystery of life. How a plodding effort you regularly consider futile, pointless & inane, albeit a labor of love, can beget something else (thanks to an esteemed colleague), along with an against all odds “sighting”, yield, in at least this instance, the following:
e05.code.blog/2022/04/19/meet-john-sentovic/
Credit: Garrett O’Donoghue/’numbers station’ blog
A WIN.
Last (for now), but NOT least:
www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/convair-nuclear-powered-...
Credit: SECRET PROJECTS Forum website
fut_v_bw_o_n (ca. 1959, orig. Convair (Astronautics) - General Dynamics photo, no. 06618A)
One of the plethora of gorgeous depictions by Convair’s master artist, John M. Sentovic. His destiny…err, I mean collaboration with Dr. Krafft Ehricke, also of Convair, gifted us with some spectacular visualizations of the good Doctor’s visionary future of space travel & space exploration not yet, if ever to be realized.
Fortunately, the image was published as part of a brief biography of Mr. Sentovic in the March 1960, Volume 2, Number 2 issue of “SPACE AGE: The Fact Reporter for the Worlds of Science and Space” magazine, with the following caption:
“This drawing shows breakaway of the nuclear stage. The chemically powered winged glider is dropped away at left, while the nuclear-powered unit, containing a passenger compartment, heads into orbit to rendezvous with permanent satellite station. Nuclear stage can also be used in glider fashion for return trips to Earth.”
WOW…a nuclear powered spacecraft gliding…ummm...NO, but still!
Additionally, per the official Convair description associated with the image:
“NUCLEAR-POWERED PASSENGER ROCKET ASCENDS TO ORBITAL SATELLITE
SAN DIEGO, Calf.--When a manned satellite has been established in an orbit around the earth, personnel may travel to and from the satellite in vehicles such as this two-stage nuclear-powered rocket glider now being studied by Krafft A. Ehricke of the Convair Division, General Dynamics Corporation. The glider would take off horizontally, as an airplane, using a wheeled undercarriage which remains on the ground as the ship rises. Picture above shows vehicle about 30 miles up, at which point the lower stage is detached and guided safely back to earth. The second stage (right), carrying the passengers, would continue to the satellite orbit. For the return trip, the firing of small retarding rockets would reduce the ship's speed to less than orbital velocity, permitting it to descend gradually to the ground. The glider would land horizontally on skids retracted during flight. The lower stage reactor would heat ammonia and the upper stage reactor would heat hydrogen to produce thrust. The ship would measure 180 feet in length and have a wingspan of 50 feet. It would weigh between 350,000 and 400,000 pounds at takeoff, approximating the maximum takeoff weight of a B-36 bomber. This weight is considerably less than that of a three-stage chemical-powered rocket designed for the same mission. The horizontal takeoff feature would provide added safety in that the ship would be under control in the event of a power failure near the ground. Also, less power would be required for take-off, which in turn reduces the requirement for shielding from nuclear radiation. Shielding remains a major design problem, however. If it can be solved satisfactorily, the nuclear-powered glider should be feasible in ten years. Ehricke is assistant to the technical director of Convair-Astronauties, builder of the Atlas ICBM.
06618A”
Fascinating!
Who knew???
Did you???
I didn’t!!!
The mystery of life. How a plodding effort you regularly consider futile, pointless & inane, albeit a labor of love, can beget something else (thanks to an esteemed colleague), along with an against all odds “sighting”, yield, in at least this instance, the following:
e05.code.blog/2022/04/19/meet-john-sentovic/
Credit: Garrett O’Donoghue/’numbers station’ blog
A WIN.
Last (for now), but NOT least:
www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/convair-nuclear-powered-...
Credit: SECRET PROJECTS Forum website