Ah, 1963. When men were real men, women were real women, and hippies were a fever dream of horrors to come. When aerospace planners planned big, and aerospace engineers designed big, and the future looked freakin’ AWESOME. When NASA asked “so, what comes after the Saturn V,” Martin Marietta stepped up to the plate with a series of designs for the Nova (AKA “Post-Saturn”) . The designs were many and varied, but all were substantially badass, with a payload of about one million pounds.
But alas… instead of Nova and the expansion of human civilization into the cosmos… we got the “War on Poverty.” Bah.
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8 Responses to “Martin Nova designs”
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Thanks for gorgeous COLOR graphics of early Martin post-Saturns :-]
Thank you for posting artwork of the Martin Marrieta post-Saturn Nova launch vehicles. Would have been wonderful if Aerojet could have actually built the M-1 rocket engine.
I understand that three launch sites were considered for Nova-class launch vehicles. An island off the coast of Georgia, a location north of Cape Kennedy, and a site next to Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaiʻi. That would be a sight to see a Nova being launched from a launch pad hewn from volcanic rock.
Do you know the names of the Georgia Island or the location in Florida that was considered for Nova launches? I understand that the Florida site won because of its proximity to the cape.
I was born in 1963.
Scott – are the Martin Marrieta pic’s for sale on your website? If so, I can’t find them.
Triton – thanks for the extra information.
Here’s hoping America gets back to thinking and dreaming BIG.
> are the Martin Marrieta pic’s for sale on your website?
Nope. I’m quite leery of selling “art.” Not really sure why, but I do know that Boeing would jump my shit if I tried doing that with *their* art, so it’s just sorta an across-the-board rule. So… reduced-rez art for free.
Thanks.
Boeing would own the copyrights to Martin Marrieta atwork? Does Boeing have an archive or corporate library where you found this artwok? Is it near Boeing Field in Seattle?
No, Boeing doesn’t own the copyrights. But since I won’t be selling Boeing artwork, it’s fair and proper to not sell other artwork. Reports and diagrams in the public domain are another matter. These generally have no copyright. But artwork, and PR photos, generally does have a copyright.
This artwork was found in the NASA-Marshall historical archives back in ’03 or thereabouts.
Do you have materials on designs for the early apollo CM when direct ascent was still considered ? The time when the CM was expected to land on the moon.
Art