The Apollo Command, Service and Lunar modules, from 1963. The CSM is largely recognizable, but the lunar module is quite different from what actually got built. The ascent stage, for instance, still features very large – and very heavy – windows for the crew to look out of. This was due to the fact that the crew at this time were seated during landing, putting them well back from the windows.
NASA artwork of the Saturn V, from 1963. It’s close to what actually got built, but the practiced eye can spot some important differences.
A brief look at part of what will be in the next issue of APR… diagrams for the Douglas C-132 article.
The November/December 2012 issue of AIAA-Houston “Horizons” is available to download (has been for a while). This issue has two things which I’ve contributed:
“Man On The Moon: The Exploration,” Collier’s magazine, October 25, 1952 : the third in the series of eight articles reprinting the famed “Man Will Conquer Space Soon!” articles from Collier’s magazine. I scanned a vintage copy and cleaned up the images for this.
“Hubble meets Skylab:” a short article on an early Lockheed design study for a Hubble-predecessor which was to have been attached to Skylab. This was when what would become Hubble was planned to use film rather than digital imaging, and would require regular and fairly frequent visits by astronauts to change out the film canisters.
A with the previous issues with the Collier’s reprints, this issue is available in both high and low resolution, from the AIAA-Houston website HERE.
Artwork of the Model 300.
One of the last aircraft proposed by the Curtis-Wright company (early 1960’s), this version of the Model 300 featured a single main wing with wingtip engine pods. Each pod contained to Wankel rotary internal combustion engines; each engine drove a broad-bladed propeller (one at the front of the pod, one at the rear) of the type that had been successfully demonstrated on the Curtis-Wright X-19 VTOL aircraft. In order to attain vertical lift, the forward propeller would tilt up, the aft propeller would tilt down.
At the time, there was considerable interest in fast short-ranged VTOL transport. The idea was that small VTOL aircraft would operate from various small “ports” in and around major cities, flying to and from the nearest major airport (along with other transportation hubs). The VTOL would provide a bus service for the busy businessman on the go, who might need to leave his office in a hurry and catch the next jetliner to, say, London. While no VTOL aircraft such as the Model 300 were built and put into service for this role, several attempts to fill the “VTOL bus” role were attempted with helicopter, but due to noise and cost the concept never caught on.
OK, now that the first set of prints is out and available for purchase, I’m looking down the road to the next. A couple of the ones I’m looking at are pretty bignormous, and thus expensive, so I’m considering the possibility of smaller versions of a few. However, I’ll probably only do one size, rather than both. Shown below are the next set of candidates; some are prepared, or nearly so; some have a lot of work to do. All are shown at 10% the full-size original image, so you can put ’em side by side if you want to see how they’d compare.
If you see something you like, speak up! Either in the comments or via email. Only the ones that reach a certain number of up-votes will be produced, so if you want one, ya gotta say so. Additionally, this next go-around, those who vote early will be given the chance to buy the first print run of these at some savings compared to the public release. 
First: V-2 (A-4) Rocket brownline, full size. 16.5X56 inches, $45
Second:V-2 (A-4) Rocket brownline, reduced size size. 12X41 inches, $24
Third: V-2 (A-4) Rocket Engine brownline, 24X33 inches, $40
Fourth: X-15A-3 (Delta Wing) Blueprint, 10X40 inches, $20
Fifth: B-29 Blueprint (full scale), 36X84 inches, $150 (BIG!)
Sixth: B-29 Blueprint (half size), 18X42 inches, $37
Seventh: Apollo Blueprints (full size), 24.5X47 inches, $55
Eighth: Apollo Blueprints (smaller size), 18X34 inches, $30
Ninth: Apollo trajectory plot, 8X24 inches, $10
1/72 Saturn V
1/72 Saturn Ib
1/72 Saturn Ib w/SRBs
Lunar Module Equipment
Skylab cutaway
Come and get ’em! They’re awesome!
Found and photographed at the NASA-HQ historical archive was this painting depicting work being done upon an orbiting S-IVb stage. What’s happening is that small secondary payloads were to be installed in the Instrument Unit which ringed the top of the S-IVb stage below the conical main payload shroud, and they could be accessed by astronauts for use or retrieval. This is described in the Saturn V Payload Planner’s Guide (available HERE).
A computer rendered side view of the MPCV (Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle), showing the abort tower and surprisingly voluminous boost protective cover over the capsule.
