NG: Genius - Space Race

[Obviousman]

Watched the NatGeo 'Genius' series premiere called 'Space Race'.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/american-genius/episodes/space-race/

Overall I was not impressed. There were the normal film mistakes, such as the N-1 diagramme being on the wall when the R-7 was being built, the LM diagramme being shown whilst they were still talking about the mode, etc. There was also the scene where the initial group of cosmonauts where handed a model of 'the rocket they would fly' and it was an Atlas with a disfigured Mercury on the top.

 I found particularly offensive the segment on the mode decision where they credit Tom Kelly with the move to LOR and never mention John Houbolt at all. Tom Kelly was an integral part of the Apollo programme but to omit John Houbolt entirely is shameful.

I'm very surprised that they had such significant people like Andrew Chaikin in it.

This is a programme to avoid.

[bknight]

I have heard in the NOVA "To the Moon" (I think) that chronicled Apollo 8 and much of the program snippets that led to Apollo. In the parts that discussed the mode, LOR was championed by John Houbolt, but the program indicated that he was not the only one discussing the procedure, but the most vociferous.  Was Tom Kelly one of the others suggesting LOR?

[Ishkabibble]

The way I've heard the story, and seen some of it described on programs like "Moon Machines - Lunar Module" Houbolt was the only one pushing for LOR. In the letter he wrote to Seamans, he started with the phrase "Somewhat as a voice in the wilderness" which indicates to me that most everyone was behind von Braun and his DA approach.

If someone as prominent as Kelly were also pushing for LOR, wouldn't that have come out and been talked about before now?

[bknight]

The way I've heard the story, and seen some of it described on programs like "Moon Machines - Lunar Module" Houbolt was the only one pushing for LOR. In the letter he wrote to Seamans, he started with the phrase "Somewhat as a voice in the wilderness" which indicates to me that most everyone was behind von Braun and his DA approach.

If someone as prominent as Kelly were also pushing for LOR, wouldn't that have come out and been talked about before now?

In the programs Houbolt was "not the only one promting LOR", just the most vocal and persistent.

[Zakalwe]

Tom Dolan's team at Vought were the first to come up with the idea of using a second craft as part of a modular system to descend to the surface, according to Murray and Bly Cox in "The Race to the Moon". There were earlier mentions of it by Yuri Konratyuk in his 1916 paper and by the British scientist H.E. Ross in 1948, but the team that worked on it in the 1950s weren't aware of these papers.
Langley also did work on LOR- Clint Brown had the idea of using a small rocket to put a 2-pound payload into Lunar orbit. From that he started to do work on Lunar trajectories and then from there onto the idea of manned lunar orbits.  Bill Michaels worked out calculations for a manned Lunar orbit and showed that there were significant weight savings to be made. They published a paper on this in May 1960.

Houbolt did the work independently at Voight too, and he became a crusader for the cause.

[bknight]

Tom Dolan's team at Vought were the first to come up with the idea of using a second craft as part of a modular system to descend to the surface, according to Murray and Bly Cox in "The Race to the Moon". There were earlier mentions of it by Yuri Konratyuk in his 1916 paper and by the British scientist H.E. Ross in 1948, but the team that worked on it in the 1950s weren't aware of these papers.
Langley also did work on LOR- Clint Brown had the idea of using a small rocket to put a 2-pound payload into Lunar orbit. From that he started to do work on Lunar trajectories and then from there onto the idea of manned lunar orbits.  Bill Michaels worked out calculations for a manned Lunar orbit and showed that there were significant weight savings to be made. They published a paper on this in May 1960.

Houbolt did the work independently at Voight too, and he became a crusader for the cause.

Ok, so who is Tom Kelly?

[Zakalwe]

Ok, so who is Tom Kelly?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Kelly_(aerospace_engineer)

I can't say that I have ever seen a reference to Kelly and the LOR decision?

[bknight]

Ok, so who is Tom Kelly?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Kelly_(aerospace_engineer)

I can't say that I have ever seen a reference to Kelly and the LOR decision?

Looks like more of a project manager of the LM.,after the decision was made to utilize it.

[Obviousman]

Yes, Tom Kelly was the project manager for the LM. He was also involved in the initial feasibility studies for NASA and pushed strongly for Grumman to bid for building the CSM. Grumman did do various studies for the lunar landing and did recommend LOR. Their studies supported the decision to go with LOR but the driving force behind the decision was John Houboult.

[bknight]

Nice article concerning John Houbolt
http://www.pilotonline.com/news/forgotten-engineer-was-key-to-space-race-success/article_8f205f01-1ec7-54d5-a61f-1708350cbf66.html