WI: NASA gets the Dynasoar

In the early years of transitioning from a military-led space program to a NASA led space program, as NASA was collecting pieces of the military space programs (such as Von Braun's team from the Army and the F-1 engine from the USAF), the USAF apparently considered giving NASA the Dynasoar space plane program as well.

In OTL they didn't, the program got cancelled in 1963 allowing Dynasoar to be vehicle for the dreams of space buffs who imagine that it would cure all the ills caused by OTL NASA's choices..

So what happens if NASA does get the Dynasoar? Can the space plane serve as a decent vehicle for getting men into orbit (and getting them back again), does getting the Dynasoar mean NASA might end up with Titan I (ker/LOX) or Titan II (hypergolic) based launch vehicles instead of the Saturn rockets?

Would there be any hidden treasures amongst the Dynasoar project's data that would help NASA even if it didn't use Dynasoar's space plane or Titan-derived LV?

fasquardon
 
Many of the early astronauts were test pilots and among the really good ones at the time included Armstrong and Grissom and Deke Slayton. They would have been probably tickled pink to have Dynasoar as an honest to goodness space vehicle to actually pilot in comparison to the spam in a can setup in the Mercury capsules.
 
Dyna-Soar would probably receive slight modifications to fly on Titan II or Saturn I. The Saturn family was already too advanced to cancel.

As to what it leads to, it might replace Gemini ITTL as a test-bed for rendezvous, EVA, and other objectives.
 

Archibald

Banned
Kolyma shadow was pretty good (albeit it doesn't correponds to the OP).
A NASA Dynasar would have had two role: either replacing X-15 or Gemini. The issue being that DynaSoar, being a winged / LEO vehicle, is somewhat out of place in the Apollo program.
Although... a DynaSoar - Agena climbing 800 miles high would be pretty cool.
 
It could be realistic that McNamara move the Dyna-Soar project to NASA.
but what get NASA ?
A program several years behind schedule and over budget.
Original planned as Orbital Bomber/Reconnaissance Aircraft, it lost it role to ICBM and reconnaissance Satellite.

Only way Dyna-Soar will survive at NASA is as Hyper sonic research space craft X-20, for speed and altitude beyond the X-15 program.
in this case the Program would continue with first drop test from B-52 in may 1965 and ending with drop test Nr. 20 in July 1966.
Here begin is question were goes X-20 in 1967 ?
Either drop from X-20 with rocket motor in back (low cost), or launching the X-20 on top of Titan Rocket (Expensive).
But in 1967 had NASA several problems: They were over budget and trouble in Apollo program.
There chance that X-20 is cancel or scaled down to X-15 like system is very high.
 
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In my alternate Germany I pondered the state of rocketry, the choice between a rocket/capsule or rocket/space plane, and I pondered that the bias was towards building a plane since the X-20 had its roots in German ideas certainly influencing Dornberger through to his moving to Bell. Thus I teased out how the A4 stymies on the overweight atomic warhead buildable and better carried by a big bomber and the ideal of a space plane. Without a serious Soviet competitor there is no quick fix capsule, instead a bigger booster is developed to put the plane up, the goal being to ferry crew to an orbital station, the moon is a distant goal. I merely mirrored the USA efforts where the USSR is a more distant threat, I think the booster gets support from the prospect of a smaller warhead technology, skipping the Mercury capsule interlude leaves the X-20 as the next step to manned space flight, stepping towards a 5 passenger reusable production type, optimized for an orbital station. (Bulk supplies go by disposable "cans" the way Russia did). I would suspect that as satellites prove they work the DOD (NRO) recede from the station, NASA moves forward with science and exploration, the USAF moves to solid fuelled ICBMs and leans on NASA liquid fuelled boosters for cargo, maintaining the notion that space is civilian. This pulls away Apollo from the 1960s, it has no Mercury, you get initial funding support from military interests that fall away leaving NASA with a firm path set on DynaSoar foundations, it might be the only path as money tightens and the moon race never takes off.
 
Fasquardon,
I'm about to explore some ideas that are similar to this in my Ocean of Storms series (just started but I have big plans). I hope that when you see what I develop, you'll think of it as more of an offshoot than a copy. In my TL, Dyna-Soar wasn't bad, but the interesting bit will be how we handle Dyna-Soar 2...
 
Fasquardon,
I'm about to explore some ideas that are similar to this in my Ocean of Storms series (just started but I have big plans). I hope that when you see what I develop, you'll think of it as more of an offshoot than a copy. In my TL, Dyna-Soar wasn't bad, but the interesting bit will be how we handle Dyna-Soar 2...

I wish you the best of luck with your TL.

I have doubts about whether the Dynasoar capsule itself could be a useful space vehicle. As such I reckon your TL is very different from anything I'd come up with.

I take it the USAF is using and developing the Dynasoar 2 in your TL?

fasquardon
 
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