luke strawwalker
05-24-2011, 01:28 PM
Here's an interesting study from July of 1965-- how to use a Gemini-Titan II and a slightly modded Titan IIIC with a pair of transtages to do a lunar flyby mission (not quite Apollo 8, which entered orbit-- the Gemini would only do a free return trajectory ala Apollo 13) in 1967.
This study was predicated on "complementing the Apollo program with space "firsts" to greatly increase our national prestige".
The Titan IIIC would launch first, followed four minutes later by a Gemini launched on a regular Titan II GLV. The Titan IIIC would deliver into orbit, connected to its regular transtage, a second modded transtage 2 that had been stripped of all nonessential equipment and outfitted at the forward end with a TDA (target docking adapter) from the Agena stages that Gemini docked with and performed manuevers. The Gemini would catch up as the transtages entered orbit, and within 3 hours, dock. The spent Transtage 1 would be jettisoned (it was kept mated to the transtage 2 to provide thermal control to prevent fuel line freezing in orbit, and to provide telemetry and station keeping attitude control for the second transtage until the Gemini docked with it and could take over those functions). The Gemini would then, at the proper time, ignite the second transtage for a 400 second burn at 5 gees "eyeballs out" for the translunar injection. Once the transtage 2 had burned out, the Gemini would undock and jettison the transtage, and use its OAMS system for midcourse correction and velocity trim for the lunar flyby along a free return trajectory. Thus we beat the Russians around the moon and all is well with the world!!!
It was an interesting proposal, that might have gotten more traction had Gene Cernan not had so many problems with EVA manuevers on Gemini 9. Gemini was doing well on meeting all the objectives to that point (this report was written about the time of the historic Gemini 4 spacewalk by Ed White in early June 1965 so I'm sure there was a certain amount of pride and optimism which seeps into the report) and might have had the last two flights with "little to do" that hadn't already been successfully accomplished had EVA procedures and methods been perfected before Cernan's troubled EVA on Gemini 9. As it turned out, both Collins on Gemini 10 and Gordon on Gemini 11 improved upon EVA methods, but there were still problems that weren't fully solved until Aldrin's EVA on Gemini 12. The fact that these missions had to focus so much on perfecting EVA meant that there weren't any "leftover" Gemini vehicles to perform the circumlunar mission.
Of course this proposal might not have gained much traction though, as it seems a bit 'desperate' to beat the Russians... the Soviet effort was slowing at just the time the US effort with Gemini was really ramping up and beating them, so it might have been seen as an unnecessary risk... The Soviets would have to have been in a lot better position than they were to really justify such a risk... and if they were, then that would surely have added a lot of impetus to such a mission... just as it did with Apollo 8!
At any rate, it's an interesting "what might have been" had history turned out just a little bit different. As it was, Sergei Korolev died in mid-66, stalling the Soviet lunar effort almost altogether, while Apollo appeared to be going "full speed ahead", until the January 1967 fire that killed the Apollo 1 crew, followed in April by the Soviet disaster of Soyuz one that killed cosmonaut Vladimir Kamarov. I'm sure that at this point, even had the circumlunar Gemini program been approved and nearing operational readiness, there would likely have been a critical rethinking of the mission and risks associated with it and it would have been cancelled.
It's an interesting idea-- essentially drag racing a Titan IIIC and a Gemini Titan II... Wonder if one could get mission points for that?? LOL
Enjoy! OL JR
This study was predicated on "complementing the Apollo program with space "firsts" to greatly increase our national prestige".
The Titan IIIC would launch first, followed four minutes later by a Gemini launched on a regular Titan II GLV. The Titan IIIC would deliver into orbit, connected to its regular transtage, a second modded transtage 2 that had been stripped of all nonessential equipment and outfitted at the forward end with a TDA (target docking adapter) from the Agena stages that Gemini docked with and performed manuevers. The Gemini would catch up as the transtages entered orbit, and within 3 hours, dock. The spent Transtage 1 would be jettisoned (it was kept mated to the transtage 2 to provide thermal control to prevent fuel line freezing in orbit, and to provide telemetry and station keeping attitude control for the second transtage until the Gemini docked with it and could take over those functions). The Gemini would then, at the proper time, ignite the second transtage for a 400 second burn at 5 gees "eyeballs out" for the translunar injection. Once the transtage 2 had burned out, the Gemini would undock and jettison the transtage, and use its OAMS system for midcourse correction and velocity trim for the lunar flyby along a free return trajectory. Thus we beat the Russians around the moon and all is well with the world!!!
It was an interesting proposal, that might have gotten more traction had Gene Cernan not had so many problems with EVA manuevers on Gemini 9. Gemini was doing well on meeting all the objectives to that point (this report was written about the time of the historic Gemini 4 spacewalk by Ed White in early June 1965 so I'm sure there was a certain amount of pride and optimism which seeps into the report) and might have had the last two flights with "little to do" that hadn't already been successfully accomplished had EVA procedures and methods been perfected before Cernan's troubled EVA on Gemini 9. As it turned out, both Collins on Gemini 10 and Gordon on Gemini 11 improved upon EVA methods, but there were still problems that weren't fully solved until Aldrin's EVA on Gemini 12. The fact that these missions had to focus so much on perfecting EVA meant that there weren't any "leftover" Gemini vehicles to perform the circumlunar mission.
Of course this proposal might not have gained much traction though, as it seems a bit 'desperate' to beat the Russians... the Soviet effort was slowing at just the time the US effort with Gemini was really ramping up and beating them, so it might have been seen as an unnecessary risk... The Soviets would have to have been in a lot better position than they were to really justify such a risk... and if they were, then that would surely have added a lot of impetus to such a mission... just as it did with Apollo 8!
At any rate, it's an interesting "what might have been" had history turned out just a little bit different. As it was, Sergei Korolev died in mid-66, stalling the Soviet lunar effort almost altogether, while Apollo appeared to be going "full speed ahead", until the January 1967 fire that killed the Apollo 1 crew, followed in April by the Soviet disaster of Soyuz one that killed cosmonaut Vladimir Kamarov. I'm sure that at this point, even had the circumlunar Gemini program been approved and nearing operational readiness, there would likely have been a critical rethinking of the mission and risks associated with it and it would have been cancelled.
It's an interesting idea-- essentially drag racing a Titan IIIC and a Gemini Titan II... Wonder if one could get mission points for that?? LOL
Enjoy! OL JR