Krafft Ehricke Space designs

[XB-35]

Hi All,

I'm looking for infos (technical drawings) about Krafft Ehricke Spacecraft designed and projected for Convair in the early 60's

see :

http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/CONVAIR%20MANNED%20LUNAR%20RECON%20VEHICLE%20PAGE.htm

http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/CONVAIR%20MANNED%20OBSERVATIONAL%20SATELLITE%20PAGE.htm


Does someone could help me in this research ?

Thanks,

XB-35

 

[Michel Van]

There littel info about
"Convair astronautics Manned observational Satellite Vehicle " short MOS from 1958

MOS is build out empty oper stage from cargo and Manned Rockets parts (one pilot 4 passengers).
Cargo rocket brings 11000 pound (4.989kg) Payload in height of 600 miles (965 km) orbit.

three stage manned Shuttle for MOS

it would take 10 years to build the station,
in middle is a Nuclear Reactor for power supply
the 400 foot (121,92 meter) long assembly rotate for artical gravity.

the Manned Observational Satellite Vehicle build 5 year later after MOS
use chemical Rocket engine with littel Oxidizer tanks and big fuel tanks

Source:
The Dream Machines by ron Miller
Page 404 to 406
(you don´t have this book ? Shame on you !)

Another Idea of Krafft Ehricke
HELIOS (Hetero-Powered Eart-Launched Inter Orbital Spacecraft)

fasten your seatbelds !
Its a two Stage Rocket to Moon 800000 kg (1.763.698 pound) Liftoff mass.
6 meter (19,6 foot) ø, 60 meter (196 foot) long, fist stage wingspan is 27 meter (88,58 foot) wide
first stage chemical engine manned Delta wing push the Crew and second stage in 45-50 km high (50 miles)
(it weight fully loaded 700000 kg empty 32000 kg 2 engine in total 1.2 million kilopound trust.)
separates and fly back to launch place
the crewcompartment separate form second stage on roll on 300 meter (1000 foot) long cable down
the Second stage ignites its NUCLEAR engine and pulls the crewcompartment toward the Moon
(total assembly weight 100000 kg)
the Reactor has power of 2600 Megawatt 100000 kilopound Trust, Acceleration of 1 G (9,81 meter/sec)

After a complex roll manover, the rocket land on the moon crewcompartment fist
the second stage 300 meter away from it...
Krafft Ehricke do not explane (in text) how they return!

who far hast to be a Astronaut to be save of a Open Nuclear Reactor ? (like running NERVA engine)
14000 Meter or 45.931 foot !!! remember cable is only 300 meter (1000 foot) long :

the Second version of HELIOS in 1960 look like a Atlas rocket only bigger
Booster stage with Lox tanks and 4 engine only to take nuclear second stage to stratosphere.
Nuclear sustainer takes payload to orbit or escape trajectory.
Payload or Crew Save on top of the Rocket.

Source:
HELIOS (old Killer version)
Raumwaffen Econ verlag 1959 page 163-164 (german)
Space Weapons, A handbook of Military Astronautics. 1959 frederic A. Praeger Inc, publisher
HELIOS (1960 Version)
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/heliosa.htm

 

[Barrington Bond]

 

[Triton]

Late 1950's Convair painting of Krafft Ehricke's Space Shuttlecraft, re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22948295@N02/

 

[Triton]

Late 1950's design of a Lunar Lander, designed by the space visionary Krafft Arnold Ehricke. He designed this during his time with Convair Astronautics in San Diego. The painting was done by Convair's resident artist at the time, John Sentovic.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22948295@N02/

 

[Triton]

Late 50's manned space shuttle designed by the space visionary Krafft Ehricke. This image is from an official late fifties Convair photo.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22948295@N02/

 

[Triton]

Late 50's lunar orbital manned spacecraft, designed by the space visionary Krafft Ehricke. This image is from an official late fifties Convair photo.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22948295@N02/

 

[Skybolt]

Quote
Late 1950's Convair painting of Krafft Ehricke's Space Shuttlecraft, re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22948295@N02/

And, by the way, you certainly caught WHICH notorious spaceplane this design spurred....

 

[archipeppe]

Late 1950's Convair painting of Krafft Ehricke's Space Shuttlecraft, re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22948295@N02/

This particular image let me think about some possible influences of Ehricke Shuttle design on the Orion Pan-Am Shuttle as seen in 2001.

 

[Skybolt]

Il signore vince una bambolina !
(That fellow wins the prize, a lttle doll..!)

 

[archipeppe]

Il signore vince una bambolina !
(That fellow wins the prize, a lttle doll..!)

Grazie compare!!!
(thanks buddy!!)

 

[HeavyG]

A lot of those pictures remind me of '50s sci-fi films.

 

[magnus_z]

...

 

[Triton]

Ehricke's design for a dumbbell-shaped space station referred to as a satellite. Rotation would create artificial gravity. Was this concept a variant of the Convair Manned Observational Satellite?

Source: Stimson Jr., Thomas E. "Taxi to Venus?" Popular Mechanics March 1957 p. 125.

 

[Triton]

Artist's impression of Ehricke shuttle craft. This shuttle craft would transfer crews to the space station concept shown above at a 600-mile altitude. Lower rocket portion detaches after take-off.

Source: Stimson Jr., Thomas E. "Taxi to Venus?" Popular Mechanics March 1957 p. 126.

 

[Triton]

Ehricke suggested that a space ship be made of a huge plastic bubble as shown in this artist's concept. Solar rays would heat liquid hydrogen to power craft.

Source: Stimson Jr., Thomas E. "Taxi to Venus?" Popular Mechanics March 1957 p. 127.

 

[Triton]

Dr. Krafft A. Ehricke pictured, circa 1957, with models of space craft and space station concepts he created at Convair during the 1950s.

Source: Life magazine archives

 

[Triton]

Ehricke, Krafft A. The Solar-Powered Spaceship Convair Astronautics Convair Division General Dynamics San Diego, CA January 1959

Abstract:

The characteristics of different propulsion systems for space vehicles are discussed and compared. The solar-powered space ship is evaluated in greater detail. A new light-weight design is presented, using spherical reflectors. Problems of design and operation are discussed by example of a hydrogen-operated prototype design. A number of basic characteristics of the vehicle system is established. A theoretical analysis of the spherical reflector as energy collector is presented.

Handle / proxy Url: http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/AD830567

 

[Justo Miranda]

Outpost lifeboat here
From
-HAWK MODELS
-Scott Evans collection
-Unknown source

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

Isn't that shuttle in Justo's last post, the "Unknown" drawing, vaguely remind anyone else of the Orion shuttlecraft?

Moonbat

 

[magnus_z]

"THIS LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE VEHICLE Is the conception of Krafft A. Ehrlcke of Convair-Astronautics, who envisions it as constructed in an earth satellite orbit, using tankage of automatic supply rockets sent up lo the satellite. The manned vehicle could be launched on an elliptical course that would take it around the moon, then back lo the earth orbit".
Source:
Sarasota Journal.- 1958.- 20 March.- p. 36.

 

[hesham]

Hi,


and early Krafft Ehricke/Convair spaceship design.


http://books.google.com.eg/books?id=xiwDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=popular+science+1956&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DqoFVM3kDcbE0QWvhYDACw&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=popular%20science%201956&f=true

 

[Skybolt]

Ehricke mid '60s controlled fusion ship. More Ehrcke designs here http://www.gravityassist.com/IAF-1%202010/Ref.%201-93.pdf
The triangle-shaped radiators remind the early iteration of 2001's Discovery. Discovery used a gas-core nuclear reactor to drive a plasma engine. So the Ehricke one is more advanced, but remember that Clarke&Kubrick insisted that they were thinking conservatively regarding the technological level. BTW, the article the design comes from is titled Solar Transportation in FY2001.....

 

[hesham]

Ehricke mid '60s controlled fusion ship. More Ehrcke designs here http://www.gravityassist.com/IAF-1%202010/Ref.%201-93.pdf
The triangle-shaped radiators remind the early iteration of 2001's Discovery. Discovery used a gas-core nuclear reactor to drive a plasma engine. So the Ehricke one is more advanced, but remember that Clarke&Kubrick insisted that they were thinking conservatively regarding the technological level. BTW, the article the design comes from is titled Solar Transportation in FY2001.....

Great idea,thanks.

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is anther articles about Krafft nuclear engine-powered spacecraft.


https://archive.org/stream/missilesrockets6196unse#page/n453/mode/2up
https://archive.org/stream/missilesrockets6196unse#page/n655/mode/2up

 

[Stargazer]

Found on Facebook today (Atomic Samba page):

Late 1950's Convair painting of Space Shuttlecraft, designed by Krafft Arnold Ehricke*, reentering the Earth's atmosphere.
*Krafft Arnold Ehricke (March 24, 1917 – December 11, 1984) was a German rocket-propulsion engineer and advocate for space colonization.

 

[hesham]

Nice find Skyblazer.

 

[Boxman]

I came across this scale illustration of projected/proposed "Earth Launched Spacecraft" dated 14 April 1959, as per the San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) caption at Flickr. Two of the illustrated designs from Missiles and Rockets recently posted by hesham resemble two of the designs included. Specifically, the illustration on page 23 of the 29 February 1960 issue resembling the "Helios" design, and the illustration on page 18 of the 21 March 1960 issue resembling the "Vulcan II" design.

Also of note on the scale illustration are the "Vulcan I," "Phoenix," and "Colossus" designs. Unfortunately, the illustrated chart has been posted at a low level of resolution, but I thought it may be of interest with respect to this topic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/23270478173/

 

[Vladimir]

Hi,

 

[Michel Van]

The SDASM Arichive on Flickr has new stuff about Ehricke project

Atlas space station in detail

more here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/page175

 

[Michel Van]

close up from station and it mini shuttle

 

[magnus_z]

Manned Interplanetary Missions 1962 NASA-General Dynamics, Krafft Ehricke:

[flash=200,200]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R86mkvU4qHw[/flash]

 

[magnus_z]

Krafft Arnold Ehricke Papers (National Air and Space Museum Archives):

Krafft Arnold Ehricke Papers | Collection | search=null | SOVA

sova.si.edu

 

[publiusr]

Hydrogen tanks wouldn’t have the hydrocarbon residue to deal with the Convair Atlas stations would have faced.

 

[NavarchNicias]

There's some great art in the Krafft Ehricke Papers, including a few designs I hadn't seen before. I definitely recommend taking the time to poke around in there if you love space concept art of this era. Anyone able to identify this design?

 

[Michel Van]

Krafft Arnold Ehricke Papers (National Air and Space Museum Archives):

A fantastic source about Ehricke work ! ! !

 

[RanulfC]

Hydrogen tanks wouldn’t have the hydrocarbon residue to deal with the Convair Atlas stations would have faced.

Used an inflatable bladder for the RP1 tank

Randy

 

[southwestforests]

I definitely recommend taking the time to poke around in there if you love space concept art of this era.

Do like that concept art. Do like that spaceplane. Don't have any info about it to offer.

 

[NavarchNicias]

Krafft Ehricke's work, in his own words and in his own voice: https://archive.org/details/csfa_000090

“Science in Action: Space Ship Architecture”
Produced by the California Academy of Sciences
Airdate: February 23, 1959
Length: 24:54

Krafft A. Ehricke of Convair Astronautics takes us through several of the spacecraft he’s designed and lays out the plan for the next decade of manned space exploration.

Designs featured: The Atlas station and lifeboat, the Convair shuttle, and HELIOS, among others.

Host: “Krafft, what are the most serious problems you’re faced with at the present time?”

Ehricke: “...well…you mean political or technical?”.

LOLOL. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

 

[hesham]

From Popular Science 1953/2,

was that the same guy or not ?.