john f. kennedy space center brevard county, florida - Environmental ...

Space Shuttle Program Historic Properties 3-2
NASA Kennedy Space Center
The conceptual origins of NASA’s Space Shuttle began in the mid-1950s, when the
Department of Defense (DoD) began to explore the feasibility of a reusable launch
vehicle in space. The primary use of the vehicle was for military operations including
piloted reconnaissance, anti-satellite interception, and weapons delivery (Williamson
1999:162). A wide variety of concepts were explored and the X-20 Dyna-Soar (Dynamic
Soaring) was chosen. In November 1958, NASA joined with the Air Force on the Dyna-
Soar project, which envisioned a “delta-winged glider that would take one pilot to orbit,
carry out a mission, and glide back to a runway landing” boosted into orbit atop a Titan II
or III (Williamson 1999:162). However, given limited available funds and the competing
priorities of other programs, the Dyna-Soar program was cancelled in December 1963
(Williamson 1999:162).
In 1965, the Air Force and NASA established an ad hoc subpanel to determine the status
of the technology that was needed to support the development of a Reusable Launch
Vehicle. Included in their 1966 report were a variety of design and launch concepts using
fully and partially reusable systems (Williamson 1999:164).
George Mueller, the head of the Office of Manned Space Flight at NASA Headquarters,
believed that following Apollo, a large space station, supported by low-cost, reliable
launch vehicles, was the next logical program for NASA (Jenkins 2001:77; Logsdon et
al. 1999:202-205). Testifying before the Senate Space Committee on February 28, 1968,
he stressed the importance of a new approach to space logistics. Later that year, in an
August speech before the British Interplanetary Society, Mueller stated:
Essential to the continuous operation of the space shuttle will be the
capability to resupply expendables as well as to change and/or augment
crews and laboratory equipment . . . Our studies show that using today’s
hardware, the resupply cost for a year equals the original cost of the
space station. . . Therefore, there is a real requirement for an efficient
earth-to-orbit transportation system - an economical space shuttle . . . The
shuttle ideally would be able to operate in a mode similar to that of large
commercial air transports and be compatible with the environment at
major airports. . . (Jenkins 2001: 78).
In 1968, NASA convened the Space Shuttle Task Group and, through the Manned
Spacecraft Center (MSC) (later named Johnson Space Center [JSC]) and the MSFC, the
group issued a request for proposals for an Integral Launch and Reentry Vehicle (ILRV)
system. As initially conceptualized, the Space Shuttle, designed to be completely
reusable, would be part rocket, part orbiting spacecraft, and part airplane. Supported by a
fleet of five vehicles, each designed for a maximum of 100 reuses, the primary use of this
low-cost space transportation system was to provide logistical support of the Space
Station. The reusable nature was expected to reduce payload costs.
October 2007
Archaeological Consultants, Inc.