U.S. Planning For Landing On Moon

Press, Volume C, Issue 29536, 10 June 1961, Page 11

U.S. Planning For Landing On Moon

(AZ Press Association—Copyright) WASHINGTON, June 9. America’s Civilian Space Agency is now “getting the tools” to accomplish an unmanned landing on the moon. The Deputy Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (N.A.S.A.), Dr. Hugh Dryden, said yesterday that deep space probes launched by a Centaur rocket were planned for this year as a prelude to landing instruments on the moon.

Dr. Dryden said N.A.S.A. hoped to hit the moon next year with a package which would enable pictures to be sent back to earth and which would carry seismographic equipment to measure earthquakes. or moon quakes. With o'her N.A.S.A. officials. Dr. Dryden outlined the agency's programme before the Senate Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee. The Director of N.A.S.A.’s Office of Launch Vehicle Programmes (Major - General Don Ostrander) told the committee that the first manned rocket to the moon would be more than 3(X)ft high, weigh about 5000 tons and generate about 12.000.000 pounds of thrust on take-off. Design work on the 22engined mammoth vehicle, named “Nova.” was due to begin before the end of this year, he said The five-stage

rocket would be 30 times more powerful than any missile used by the United States so far. General Ostrander said current plans called for permitting the spent test rocket to sink into the ocean, rather than attempting to recover the contaminaed material. It would have 15 times more thrust than the Soviet Union’s present rockets. Nuclear Engine General Ostrander also discussed the nuclear rocket engine to be used later, as an upper stage, to send vehicles on inter-planetary missions. He showed diagrams for test launchings of the nuclear rocket, to be aimed at an altitude of about 950 miles and landing in deep water 1150 miles south-east of Cape Canaveral. Florida. The nuclear stage would be activated only after the vehicle had climbed beyond the period of maximum dynamic stress, shortly after its speed exceeded that of sound, to reduce the hazard at the launching site.