X-RV lifting body from "Marooned" (1969)

[Triton]

The X-RV lifting body from the Columbia Pictures motion picture Marooned (1969). The fictional craft strongly resembles the Martin Marietta PRIME (Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry) lifting body (SV-5D and X-23). The full-scale prop now resides in the Marshall Spaceflight Center Museum in Huntsville, AL.
http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/Marooned/MaroonedTop.htm

 

[Triton]

The full-scale X-RV prop as it now appears at the Marshall Spaceflight Center Museum in Huntsville, AL.

 

[Stargazer]

Wow... Looked pretty good, especially in the B&W pics, even credible in the eyes of a non-expert!
Could such a design actually have flown in real life, or would it have sunk like a stone?

 

[archipeppe]

My personal contribution about the matter.

Enjoy it!

 

[Triton]

Wow... Looked pretty good, especially in the B&W pics, even credible in the eyes of a non-expert!
Could such a design actually have flown in real life, or would it have sunk like a stone?

Author Martin Caidin served as technical adviser for the film. In addition to writing science fiction novels, Caidin was an authority on aeronautics and astronautics and wrote 50 books and 1,000 magazine articles including Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38, about the P-38 Lightning, and Zero!, about the Mitsubishi Zero. Caidin's other claim to fame is that he is author of the book Cyborg! that became the basis of The Six Million Dollar Man television series.

In the film, a shroud covers the X-RV during launch so that stock footage of a Titan launch could be used in the film. Wikipedia says stock footage of a Titan II launch was used, but I seem to remember it was a Titan IIIC when I last saw the film on DVD. Will need to see the film again to verify which launch vehicle was used.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marooned_(1969_film)

NASA and North American Aviation also provided technical assistance to the production and North American Aviation provided an actual Apollo spacecraft to be used for the fictional Ironman One. The space station shown in the film is based on designs of the Apollo Applications Program OWS (Orbital Work Shop) that would later become the Skylab OWS.

The film won an Academy Award for Visual Effects.

Attached are images of the Ironman One spacecraft and the Apollo OWS seen in the film.

The Turner Classic Movies web site has an interesting history of the film.
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=152600

 

[robunos]

Makes an interesting comparison with the 'Dove' lifting body vehicle from the
'Doppelganger' movie, see here :-

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2250.msg60370.html#msg60370

and here :-

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/Doppleganger/DopplegangerTop.htm

In the SPF thrread, it's described as being like the 'Spiral' vehicle,
but I think it's more like the M2 shape, with that curved underside...although it does have
a 'Spiral' style single fin, and separate wings...'105-M2', perhaps?


cheers,
Robin.

 

[Skycop]

My personal contribution about the matter.

Enjoy it!

Great drawings!!!

Thanks
Dennis

 

[dannydale]

Wow... Looked pretty good, especially in the B&W pics, even credible in the eyes of a non-expert!
Could such a design actually have flown in real life, or would it have sunk like a stone?

Overall shape looked pretty good with its rather X24Aish shape, but the big rocket engine makes the CoG look way too far aft, and the blunt bulge of its fairing's front-bottom looks like a really bad spot for stagnation points and shock-shock interactions. The bell looks unprotected from high-AoA reentry flows as well.

I'd have made it a larger vehicle by extending the wing area to the aft end of the rocket module with a flap to protect the bell and smoothing the belly bump, or simply made the engine a separate jettisonable service module like Dynasoar and Kliper. Otherwise, nice try.

 

[archipeppe]

I'd have made it a larger vehicle by extending the wing area to the aft end of the rocket module with a flap to protect the bell and smoothing the belly bump, or simply made the engine a separate jettisonable service module like Dynasoar and Kliper. Otherwise, nice try.

I always thought that the rear engine was to be jettisonable. It makes sense....

 

[martinbayer]

The following is a description from http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/Marooned/MaroonedTop.htm, although it doesn't give a source for the information and contains at least some speculation:

"In actual operation the main engine assembly at the rear would only be used for on-orbit maneuvering then it would be jettisoned before re-entry, leaving the fully aerodynamic lifting body to make the final landing. Although not seen in the film, the XRV would also be equipped with retractable landing gear featuring wheels or skids and it would likely have a small engine buried in the tail such as the XLR-11 (the same type used in the X-1 rocket plane)."

Martin

 

[dannydale]

Ah, so they were doing their homework. That's awesome ;D

 

[aliensporebomb]

I always thought that thing was a little too close to a real piece of hardware than a movie prop but that film scared me as a kid - you can tell it was good if I'm still talking about it 50 years later.

 

[TMD]

If anyone wants a model of the XRV, it's available here: Fantastic Plastic Models

Note: This is a resin kit, so the standard "tube glue" doesn't work. Resin kit builds are a bit different in materials and technique. I have built over two dozen resin submarine kits (Iron Shipwright, MB Models, Yankee Model Works, to name some). If anyone wants this kit but is hesitant on a resin build, I'd be happy to build it for you. I also have used an airbrush for 20+ years to paint the resin kits, so I can do that as well. It gives a very even and fine finish to the models.

Not looking for any payment. I enjoy this group, the information and the people in it, so I am happy to help anyone out.

 

[TMA1]

Incredible. I had never heard of this film before. Definitely on my radar now.

 

[Michel Van]

Incredible. I had never heard of this film before. Definitely on my radar now.

Watch it, is dam good movie.

 

[Byeman]

Incredible. I had never heard of this film before. Definitely on my radar now.

It was a book first.

 

[TMD]

The book has an interesting history. The original Martin Caidin novel in 1964 had an astronaut (Pruitt) becoming stranded in a Mercury flight longer than the final Cooper 22 orbit flight. NASA actually had built a Mercury for an extended 3 day orbit, to be flown by Alan Shepard, but that was never flown, instead moving onto the Gemini program. The original novel had (Richard, not Jim) Pruett stranded in orbit (failed retrorockets), and Pruett was rescued with a hastily prepared early Gemini spacecraft, flown by Jim (not Ted) Dougherty (no relation ). There was a Russian cosmonaut and spacecraft involved also.

In the film and updated book, it is an

Later Caidin updated the book to reflect the Apollo mission to docked to the S IV-B "wet workshop" concept of Skylab and the subsequent stranding in orbit of the Apollo, with the XRV as the rescue vehicle. The Apollo Spacecraft is commanded by Jim Pruitt, Pruitt is joined by two other crew members. Many of the complications that were confronted in the first book (launching the rescue mission through the eye of a hurricane) were carried over to the rewritten version. This update was then the basis for the film. Pruett's outcome was different in the updated version. Most of the actors in the film were 1960's TV vintage, with the exception of Gregory Peck (to give gravity to the film, pun intended) and Apollo crew member Gene Hackman (pre-French Connection Popeye Doyle days). 1960's TV stalwarts such as Richard Crenna, David Jansen, and James Franciscus had major roles.

Photos of the Mercury MA-10 15B, never flown, which was the basis for the original 1964 Marooned novel version. Alan Shepard pushed for this mission, and the spacecraft was prepared but the decision was to concentrate resources on the Project Gemini spacecraft. Extra batteries and oxygen stored on the retro pack for the planned extended mission. Currently in Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum at Dulles.