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1961 During the Year - Initial UR-500 studies for the GR-2 requirement - The initial design consisted simply of 4 two-stage UR-200 rockets lashed together, the first and second stages working in parallel in clusters. A third stage would be modified from the UR-200 second stage....
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3 January - NASA Space Task Group made official. - NASA's Space Task Group, charged with carrying out Project Mercury and other manned space flight programs, officially became a separate NASA field element....
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5 January - State Commission Meeting - Rudnev chaired the meeting, which first heard the failure analysis for the failed Mars launches on 10 and 14 October and the R-16 catastrophe on 24 October. All of these had been accelerated to coincide with Khrushchev's visit to the United Nations i...
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6 January - Low Committee established - The Manned Lunar Landing Task Group (Low Committee) set up by the Space Exploration Program Council was instructed to prepare a position paper for the NASA Fiscal Year 1962 budget presentation to Congress. The paper was to be a concise statement of N...
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1961 January 6-12 - First meetings of the Apollo Technical Liaison Groups - First meetings of the Apollo Technical Liaison Groups, formed to coordinate NASA inter-Center information exchange....
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11 January - Progress made in mapping the moon - John Blake of the Air Force Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) described to STG representatives the progress made by ACIC in mapping the moon. Lunar maps to the scale of 1: 5,000,000 and 1: 10,000,000 were later requested and received b...
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19 January - Studies of manned lunar and interplanetary expeditions - The Marshall Space Flight Center awarded contracts to the Douglas Aircraft Company and Chance Vought Corporation to study the launching of manned exploratory expeditions into lunar and interplanetary space from earth orbits....
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20 January - Space Task Group management discusses a follow-on Mercury program. - Space Task Group management held a Capsule Review Board meeting. The first topic on the agenda was a follow-on Mercury program. Several types of missions were considered, including long-duration, rendezvous, artificial gravity, and flight tests of ad...
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25 January - Study on the feasibility of refueling a spacecraft in orbit - NASA announced that the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation had been awarded a contract by the Marshall Space Flight Center to study the feasibility of refueling a spacecraft in orbit....
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26 January - Saturn C-1 changed to a two-stage configuration - Wernher von Braun, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center, proposed that the Saturn C-1 launch vehicle be changed from a three-stage to a two-stage configuration to meet Apollo program schedules. The planned third stage (S-V) would be dropped....
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30 January - James E Webb named as NASA Administrator - President John F. Kennedy announced that he was nominating James E. Webb as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Hugh L. Dryden as Deputy Administrator, Senate confirmation followed on February 9 and they were sworn ...
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1961 January - Saturn first stage recovery system study - Marshall Space Flight Center awarded contracts to NAA and Ryan Aeronautical Corporation to investigate the feasibility of recovering the first stage (S-I) of the Saturn launch vehicle by using a Rogallo wing paraglider....
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1961 February - Astronaut personal parachute in the Mercury program. - Instruction was provided to the astronauts to develop techniques and procedures for using the personal parachute as an additional safety feature in the Mercury program. This parachute was only used during the Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) mission manned ...
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2 February - NERVA Request for Proposal. - NASA-AEC Space Nuclear Propulsion Office invited industry to submit proposals for participation in development of Nerva (nuclear engine for rocket vehicle application), a part of Project Rover initiated in 1955 by USAF-AEC....
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7 February - Final report of the Low Committee - The Manned Lunar Landing Task Group (Low Committee) transmitted its final report to NASA Associate Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr. The Group found that the manned lunar landing mission could be accomplished during the decade, using either the ea...
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10 February - First static test of prototype F-1 thrust chamber - Rocketdyne Division's first static test of a prototype thrust chamber for the F-1 engine achieved a thrust of 1.550 million pounds in a few seconds at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif....
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10 February - Voice message sent by way of the moon - A voice message was sent from Washington, D.C., to Woomera, Australia, by way of the moon. NASA Deputy Administrator Hugh L. Dryden spoke by telephone to Goldstone, Calif., which "bounced" it to the deep-space instrumentation station at Woo...
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13 February - Beginning of Gemini - First formal NASA/McDonnell discussions on Mercury Mark II (Gemini)....
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13 February - NASA and McDonnell began discussions of an advanced Mercury spacecraft. - McDonnell had been studying the concept of a maneuverable Mercury spacecraft since 1959. On February 1, Space Task Group (STG) Director Robert R. Gilruth assigned James A. Chamberlin, Chief, STG Engineering Division, who had been working with McDonne...
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1961 February 17-20 - Rules for the Mercury MA-2 - Spacecraft, mission, and launch vehicle flight safety rules for the Mercury-Atlas 2 (MA-2) mission were reviewed by Space Task Group personnel....
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21 February - First Mercury crews selected. - NASA Space Task Group selected John H. Glenn, Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, and Alan B. Shepard, Jr., to begin special training for first manned Mercury space flight....
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24 February - Mercury spacecraft No. 9 was delivered to Cape Canaveral - Spacecraft No. 9 was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) orbital primate (Enos) mission....
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25 February - Successful drop test using Mercury boilerplate. - McDonnell conducted a successful drop test, using a boilerplate spacecraft fitted with impact skirt, straps and cables, and a beryllium heat shield. During the tests the stainless steel straps were successfully stretched to design limits....
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1 March - Current Saturn launch vehicle configurations announced - The current Saturn launch vehicle configurations were announced:...
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3 March - Mercury Atlas launch vehicle No. 100-D rolled out. - Factory roll-out inspection of Atlas launch vehicle No. 100-D was conducted at Convair-Astronautics. This launch vehicle was allocated for the Mercury-Atlas 3 (MA-3) mission....
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7 March - First flight Saturn I on test stand. - First flight model of Saturn booster (SA-1) installed on static test stand for preflight checkout, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville....
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9 March - Korabl-Sputnik 4 - Carried dog Chernushka, mannequin Ivan Ivanovich, and other biological specimens. Ivanovich was ejected from the capsule and recovered by parachute, and Chernsuhka was successfully recovered with the capsule on March 9, 1961 8:10 GMT. ...
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14 March - Mercury Atlas launch vehicle 100-D delivered to Cape Canaveral - Atlas launch vehicle 100-D was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 3 (MA-3) mission....
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15 March - Mercury Bermuda tracking station agreement. - United States and United Kingdom signed formal agreement covering Mercury tracking stations on Bermuda....
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16 March - Mercury spacecraft No. 10 was withdrawn from the flight program - It was allocated to a ground test simulating orbital flight environmental conditions at the McDonnell plant site....
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20 March - Phase III of the Mercury spacecraft airdrop program - Primary objectives of the drops were to study further the spacecraft suitability and flotation capability after water impact. Six drops were made, but later (April 24-28, 1961) the tests were extended for two additional drops to monitor hard-surface ...
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21 March - The Mercury-Atlas Missile Range Projects Office designated as a staff function - The Mercury-Atlas Missile Range Projects Office, headed by Elmer H. Buller, was designated as a staff function of the Space Task Group Director's office....
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23 March - Configuration changes for the Saturn C-1 launch vehicles - Representatives of Marshall Space Flight Center recommended configuration changes for the Saturn C-1 launch vehicles to NASA Headquarters. These included:...
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23 March - Cosmonaut Bondarenko dies at age of 24. - At Tyuratam in the morning, LII engineers brief the cosmonauts on correcting the Globus instrument in flight, which indicates their position over the earth. Korolev checks in for a few minutes to make sure the cosmonauts have everything they need. In...
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24 March - Mercury MR-BD - After analyzing launch vehicle behavior in the Mercury-Redstone 1A (MR-1A) and Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2), officials at the Marshall Space Flight Center and the Space Task Group were of the opinion that there were a number of problems that needed to b...
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25 March - Korabl-Sputnik 5 - Carried dog Zvezdochka and mannequin Ivan Ivanovich. Ivanovich was again ejected from the capsule and recovered by parachute, and Zvezdochka was successfully recovered with the capsule on March 25, 1961 7:40 GMT. ...
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1961 March 29-30 - Convair selects M-1 design for Apollo in preference to lenticular configuration - William W. Petynia of STG visited the Convair Astronautics Division of General Dynamics Corporation to monitor the Apollo feasibility study contract. A selection of the M-1 in preference to the lenticular configuration had been made by Convair. May 1...
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30 March - RIFT flight briefed to contractors. - Reactor-in-flight-test system (Rift) study, a part of the NASA-AEC program on nuclear rockets, was briefed by contractors at NASA headquarters....
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31 March - All stations of NASA's world-wide Mercury tracking network were classed as being operational. - An industrial team headed by the Western Electric Company turned over the $60,000,000 global network (figs. 48 and 49) to NASA in a formal ceremony later in the year....
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4 April - Mercury crew refresher centrifuge training. - Three astronauts selected for Mercury-Redstone flight (MR-3) were ordered to take refresher course in Navy centrifuge at Johnsville, Pa....
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6 April - 1,640 million pounds of thrust achieved in static- firing of the F-1 engine - The Marshall Space Flight Center announced that 1.640 million pounds of thrust was achieved in a static- firing of the F-1 engine thrust chamber at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. This was a record thrust for a single chamber....
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12 April - Vostok 1 - First manned spaceflight, one orbit of the earth. Three press releases were prepared, one for success, two for failures. It was only known ten minutes after burnout, 25 minutes after launch, if a stable orbit had been achieved.
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12 April - President Kennedy says United States second to Russia in space - President John F. Kennedy, in his regular press conference, stated that "no one is more tired than I am" of seeing the United States second to Russia in space. "They secured large boosters which have led to their being first in Sputnik...
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14 April - Apollo Congressional hearings. - In response to questioning by the House Science and Astronautics Committee, Associate NASA Administrator Seamans repeated the general estimate of $20 to $40 billion as the cost for the total effort required to achieve a lunar landing, that an all-out...
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14 April - Gagarin returns to Moscow - Everyone is up at the dacha on the Volga at 06:00 and are ready to leave shortly thereafter. Now the weather in Moscow is expected to be fine. At 10:40 an Il-18 takes off for Moscow with Gagarin's party. This consists of Gagarin, Agaltsov, Rytov, Yaz...
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20 April - Prospector vs Apollo program - A conference was held at NASA Headquarters on the relationship between the Prospector and Apollo programs. Representatives of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and STG discussed the possible redirection of Prospector planning to support more direct...
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25 April - Mercury MA-3 - Mercury-Atlas 3 (MA-3) was launched from Cape Canaveral in an attempt to orbit the spacecraft with a 'mechanical astronaut' aboard. After lift-off, the launch vehicle failed to roll to a 70 degree heading and to pitch over into the proper trajectory....
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28 April - Dynasoar launch by Saturn I studied. - Final NASA report on the study proposed for Saturn for use as Dyna-Soar booster was presented to the Air Force....
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29 April - Saturn I fight qualification. - The first successful flight qualification test of the Saturn SA-1 booster took place in an eight-engine test lasting 30 seconds....
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1961 April - Air transport of the Saturn C-1 second stage feasible - The Douglas Aircraft Company reported that air transport of the Saturn C-1 second stage (S-IV) was feasible....
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1 May - Webb warns of Mercury failures. - NASA Administrator Webb issued a statement concerning the 2-year Mercury manned space flight program, which said, in part: "NASA has not attempted to encourage press coverage of the first Mercury-Redstone manned flight. It has responded to press...
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2 May - Mercury MR-3 postponed. - Manned Mercury-Redstone (MR-3) launch postponed because of rain squalls in the recovery area....
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3 May - The draft project of the TKS Heavy Space Station was completed - Also known as TOSZ - Heavy Orbital Station of the Earth, this was Korolev’s first 1961 project for a large N1-launched military space station....
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5 May - First draft of the Apollo spacecraft specification - STG completed the first draft of "Project Apollo, Phase A, General Requirements for a Proposal for a Manned Space Vehicle and System" (Statement of Work), an early step toward the spacecraft specification. A circumlunar mission was the basi...
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5 May - Integrated research, development, and applied orbital operations program to cost $1 billion through 1970. - A NASA Headquarters working group, headed by Bernard Maggin, completed a staff paper presenting arguments for establishing an integrated research, development, and applied orbital operations program at an approximate cost of $1 billion through 1970. ...
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7 May - Titan II proposed for lunar landing program - Albert C. Hall of The Martin Company proposed to Robert C. Seamans, Jr., NASA's Associate Administrator, that the Titan II be considered as a launch vehicle in the lunar landing program. Although skeptical, Seamans arranged for a more formal presenta...
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7 May - Initial Study Contracts - In initial study contracts, Martin proposed vehicle similar to the Apollo configuration that would eventually fly and closest to STG concepts. GE proposed design that would lead directly to Soyuz. Convair proposed a lifting body concept. All bidders ...
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8 May - S-IV satisfactory for Apollo missions - After study and discussion by STG and Marshal! Space Flight Center officials, STG concluded that the current 154-inch diameter of the second stage (S-IV) adapter for the Apollo spacecraft would be satisfactory for the Apollo missions on Saturn flight...
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8 May - Martin briefed NASA on the Titan II weapon system. - Martin Company personnel briefed NASA officials in Washington, D.C., on the Titan II weapon system. Albert C. Hall of Martin had contacted NASA's Associate Administrator, Robert C. Seamans, Jr., on April 7 to propose the Titan II as a launch vehicle ...
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9 May - Kennedy decision to allow MR-3 flight defended. - Senator Robert S. Kerr, chairman of the Senate Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee, told a group at the National Radio and Television Convention that President Kennedy accepted the views of NASA and congressional leaders in approving the manned...
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11 May - Mercury spacecraft 8A delivered to Cape Canaveral - Mercury spacecraft 8A was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) orbital unmanned (mechanical astronaut) mission....
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13 May - Soviet response to Apollo program - Soviet Decree 'On the Revision of Plans for Space Objects for Accomplishing Goals of Defence Designations--heavy boosters, course of work on Elektron, and suspension of work of work on the Kosmoplan and Raketoplan with continuation of new Raketoplan ...
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15 May - Final study contract reports. - The final reports on the feasibility study contracts for the advanced manned spacecraft were submitted to STG at Langley Field, Va., by the General Electric Company, Convair Astronautics Division of General Dynamics Corporation, and The Martin Compan...
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17 May - Mercury MA-3 investigation board - An Atlas investigation board was convened to study the cause of the Mercury-Atlas 3 (MA-3) mission launch vehicle failure. Several possible areas were considered, and three were isolated as probable causes based on a review of test data....
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20 May - Vostok 2 discussions - Kamanin, Yazdovskiy, Bushuyev, and Feoktistov fly to Sochi. Korolev arrives on the next flight, and discussions begin on plans for the second Soviet manned spaceflight. Korolev wants a one-day/16-orbit flight, but Kamanin thinks this is too daring an...
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22 May - Second draft of the Apollo spacecraft specification - The second draft of a Statement of Work for the development of an advanced manned spacecraft was completed, incorporating results from NASA in-house and contractor feasibility studies....
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25 May - Lundin Committee to assess Lunar landing mission - Robert C. Seamans, Jr., NASA's Associate Administrator, requested the Directors of the Office of Launch Vehicle Programs and the Office of Advanced Research Programs to bring together members of their staffs with other persons from NASA Headquarters ...
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25 May - Kennedy Proclaims Moon Landing Objective - Following Gagarin's flight and Bay of Pigs failure, Kennedy announces the objective of landing an American on the moon by end of the decade. In his second State of the Union Message President Kennedy said: "With the advice of the Vice President,...
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25 May - Kennedy called for a national goal of landing a man on the moon - President Kennedy, in a major message to Congress, called for a vastly accelerated space program based on a long-range national goal of landing a man on the moon and bringing him safely back to Earth. For this and associated projects in space technol...
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26 May - Freedom 7 displayed at Paris Air Show. - Freedom 7, Mercury spacecraft in which Alan B. Shepard, Jr., made his space flight on May 5, was a major drawing card at the Paris International Air Show. Details of the spacecraft and of Shepard's flight were related to about 650,000 visitors....
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26 May - Mercury Freedom 7 at Paris Air Show. - Until June 4, 1961, the Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7 (MR-3) was displayed at the Paris International Air Show. Some 650,000 visitors received the details on the spacecraft and on Shepard's suborbital flight....
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29 May - Ranger booster erected. - Atlas booster 111-D, to be used for Ranger I, was erected on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral....
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29 May - Centrifuge training for Mercury-Atlas orbital missions. - A 30 day centrifuge training program was conducted at the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory directed entirely toward training the astronauts for the Mercury-Atlas orbital missions....
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1961 May - Lunar orbit rendezvous plan - Basic concepts of the lunar orbit rendezvous plan were presented to the Lundin Committee by John C. Houbolt of Langley Research Center....
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1961 May - Reevaluation of the Saturn C-2 to support circumlunar missions - The Marshall Space Flight Center began reevaluation of the Saturn C-2 configuration capability to support circumlunar missions. Results showed that a Saturn vehicle of even greater performance would be desirable....
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1 June - Moon program go-ahead in response to U.S. start - Chelomei is informally asked by Khruschev to begin design of a booster and spacecraft for a manned circumlunar mission (UR-500 Proton and LK-1). There is no authorization for a lunar landing program, although Korolev, Yangel, and Chelomei all begin ...
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1 June - Change in the Saturn C-1 configuration - NASA announced a change in the Saturn C-1 vehicle configuration. The first ten research and development flights would have two stages, instead of three, because of the changed second stage (S-IV) and, starting with the seventh flight vehicle, increas...
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1 June - Prelaunch mission rules for Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) were published. - ...
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2 June - Saturn I transport route interdicted. - Collapse of a lock in the Wheeler Dam below Huntsville on the Tennessee River interdicted the planned water route of the first Saturn space booster from Marshall Space Flight Center to Cape Canaveral on the barge Palaemon....
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5 June - Saturn I launch complex completed. - Huge Saturn launch complex at Cape Canaveral dedicated in brief ceremony by NASA, construction of which was supervised by the Army Corps of Engineers. Giant gantry, weighing 2,800 tons and being 310 feet high, is largest movable land structure in Nor...
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7 June - Preliminary study of Little Joe Senior - A preliminary study of a fin-stabilized solid-fuel rocket booster, the Little Joe Senior, was completed by members of STG. The booster would be capable of propelling a full-size Apollo reentry spacecraft to velocities sufficient to match critical por...
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8 June - Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) recovery requirements were published. - ...
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10 June - Lundin Committee recommended earth orbit rendezvous mode - 'The Lundin Committee completed its study of various vehicle systems for the manned lunar landing mission, as requested on May 25 by NASA associate Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr. The Committee had considered alternative methods of rendezvous: e...
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13 June - Freedom 7 exhibited in Rome. - Freedom 7 Mercury capsule displayed to approximately 750,000 visitors at the Rassegna International Electronic and Nuclear Fair at Rome, Italy....
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1961 June 13-25 - Mercury Freedom 7 in Rome, Italy. - The Freedom 7 (MR-3) spacecraft was viewed by approximately 750,000 visitors at the Rassegna International Electronic and Nuclear Fair at Rome, Italy....
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16 June - Fleming Committee Report: lunar mission could be accomplished within the decade - The Fleming Committee, which had been appointed on May 2, submitted its report to NASA associate Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr., on the feasibility of a manned lunar landing program. The Committee concluded that the lunar mission could be accom...
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22 June - First decision on Apollo launch vehicles - Meeting with Webb/Dryden, work on Saturn C-2 stopped; preliminary design of C-3 and continuing studies of larger vehicles for landing missions requested. STG push for 4 x 6.6 m diameter solid cluster first stage rejected for safety and ground handlin...
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23 June - Saturn C-1 to be operational in 1964 - NASA announced that the Saturn C-1 launch vehicle, which could place ten-ton payloads in earth orbit, would be operational in 1964....
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23 June - Saturn C-2 discontinued - NASA announced that further engineering design work on the Saturn C-2 configuration would be discontinued and that effort instead would be redirected toward clarification of the Saturn C-3 and Nova concepts. Investigations were specifically directed ...
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23 June - NASA / DOD agree to define support requirements. - NASA-DOD Executive Committee for Joint Lunar Study and a Joint Lunar Study Program Office established by letter directive to work out and define support requirements for the U.S. manned lunar landing program....
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26 June - Saturn I barge replacement. - A Navy YFNB barge was obtained by NASA to serve as a replacement for the Palaemon in transporting of the Saturn booster to Cape Canaveral....
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1961 June 29-30 - Mercury Atlas vehicle 88-D roll-out - Factory roll-out inspection of Atlas launch vehicle 88-D, designated for the Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) mission, was conducted at Convair....
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1961 June - Project Apollo feasibility studies assessed - STG completed a detailed assessment of the results of the Project Apollo feasibility studies submitted by the three study contractors: the General Electric Company, Convair/Astronautics Division of the General Dynamics Corporation, and The Martin Com...
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1961 Summer - Construction begun of lunar landing simulator - Construction began at Langley Research Center of facilities specifically oriented toward the Apollo program, including a lunar landing simulator....
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7 July - NASA and DoD to study development of large launch vehicles - The NASA Administrator and the Secretary of Defense concluded an agreement to study development of large launch vehicles for the national space program. For this purpose, the DOD-NASA Large Launch Vehicle Planning Group was created, reporting to the ...
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7 July - McDonnell studies of the redesigned Mercury spacecraft. - Walter F. Burke of McDonnell summarized the company's studies of the redesigned Mercury spacecraft for Space Task Group's senior staff. McDonnell had considered three configurations: (1) the minimum-change capsule, modified only to improve accessibil...
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11 July - F-1 engine begins static testing. - NASA announced that a complete F-1 engine had begun a series of static test firings at Edwards Rocket Test Center, Calif....
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12 July - First large space simulator in the United States - Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced that construction was under way on the first large space simulator in the United States capable of testing full-scale spacecraft of the Ranger and Mariner classes. Three primary space effects could be simulated: so...
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13 July - Mercury MR-6 static engine test - Mercury-Redstone 6 was static tested for 30 seconds at Marshall Space Flight Center to ensure satisfactory operation of the turbopump assembly....
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15 July - Mercury Atlas launch vehicle 88-D delivered to Cape Canaveral - Atlas launch vehicle 88-D was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) mission....
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18 July - NASA-Industry Apollo Technical Conference - 1,000 persons from 300 potential Project Apollo contractors and government agencies attended the conference. STG pushed the conical CM shape, in defiance of Gilruth's preference for the competitive blunt body/lifting body designs. Scientists from NAS...
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1961 July 18-19 - Two attempts made to launch Mercury MR-4 - Two attempts were made to launch Mercury-Redstone 4 (MR-4) with astronaut Virgil Grissom aboard the spacecraft, but unfavorable weather forced mission postponement....
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19 July - Mercury MR-4 launch scrubbed. - Mercury-Redstone (MR-4) with manned Liberty Bell 7 capsule canceled within minutes of launch because of adverse weather....
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20 July - Large Launch Vehicle Planning Group - The Large Launch Vehicle Planning Group, established on July 7, 1961, began its formal existence with seven DOD and seven NASA members and alternates....
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24 July - Contract for television system for Ranger - NASA issued a letter contract to the Astro-Electronic Division of Radio Corporation of America to develop and fabricate the high-resolution television system (including associated communication and electronic equipment) for the Ranger program....
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24 July - Changes in Saturn launch vehicle configurations - Changes in Saturn launch vehicle configurations were announced :...
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1961 July 27-28 - Advanced Mercury concepts - After the 2-man space concept (later designated Project Gemini) was introduced in May 1961, a briefing between McDonnell and NASA personnel was held on the matter. As a result of this meeting, space flight design effort was concentrated on the 18-orb...
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28 July - NASA invitation to bids for Apollo prime contract - NASA invited 12 companies to submit prime contractor proposals for the Apollo spacecraft by October 9: The Boeing Airplane Company, Chance Vought Corporation, Douglas Aircraft Company, General Dynamics/Convair, the General Electric Company, Goodyear ...
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31 July - NASA-DOD report on launch sites for Apollo - Phase I of a joint NASA-DOD report on facilities and resources required at launch sites to support the manned lunar landing program was submitted to Associate Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr., by Kurt H. Debus, Director, Launch Operations Directo...
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1961 July - Improved Mercury proposed for lunar landing - James A. Chamberlin and James T. Rose of STG proposed adapting the improved Mercury spacecraft to a 35,000-pound payload, including a 5,000-pound "lunar lander." This payload would be launched by a Saturn C-3 in the lunar orbit rendezvous m...
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1 August - McDonnell proposal for Gemini - Baseline 10 earth orbit flights; also proposed for docking with Centaur and circumlunar flights by March 1965. NASA not interested - threat to Apollo....
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2 August - Apollo launch site study begun. - NASA headquarters announced that it was making a world-wide study of possible launching sites for Moon vehicles; the size, power, noise, and possible hazards of Saturn-Nova type rockets requiring greater isolation for public safety than presently ava...
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5 August - First Saturn I leaves factory. - First Saturn (SA-1) booster began water trip to Cape Canaveral on Navy barge Compromise after overland detour around Wheeler Dam....
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1961 August 5 to October 12 - Tests conducted on the Mercury spacecraft explosive hatch - A series of environmental tests was conducted on the spacecraft explosive egress hatch because of the difficulties experienced during the Mercury-Redstone 4 (MR-4) mission....
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6 August - Vostok 2 - Second manned orbital flight. The Soviet Union successfully launched ...
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7 August - Gagarin World Tour Completed - Between 27 May and 7 August Gagarin and Kamanin travel to Czechoslovakia, Finland, England, Iceland, Cuba, Brazil, Canada, Hungary. In July they are at Paris at the FAI, where the records supporting the record flights of Shepard and Gagarin are exami...
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7 August - Landing of Vostok 2 - After 17.5 orbits, the spacecraft reentered on August 7 and landed safely at 7:18 GMT near Krasny Kut, Saratov. Titov made a separate parachute landing after riding his ejection seat out of the capsule....
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9 August - First Apollo development contract - NASA selected MIT's Instrumentation Laboratory to develop the guidance-navigation system for Project Apollo spacecraft. This first major Apollo contract was required since guidance-navigation system is basic to overall Apollo mission. The Instrumenta...
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9 August - Key personnel operational assignments for the Mercury MA-4 - Key personnel operational assignments for the Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) unmanned orbital mission were made by the Space Task Group....
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9 August - Retrofire-from-orbit mission rules for Mercury MA-4 - Retrofire-from-orbit mission rules were published for the unmanned Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) orbital flight....
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14 August - First Saturn I arrives at Cape Canaveral. - Navy barge Compromise, carrying first Saturn booster, stuck in the mud in the Indian River just south of Cape Canaveral. Released several hours later, the Saturn was delayed only 24 hours in its 2,200-mile journey from Huntsville....
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1961 August 14-15 - Apollo pre-proposal bidders' briefing - STG held a pre-proposal briefing at Langley Field, Va., to answer bidders' questions pertaining to the Request for Proposal for the development of the Apollo spacecraft. 14 companies (Boeing, Vought, Douglas, GD, Goodyear, Grumman, Lockheed, Martin, ...
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15 August - Chelomei begins UR-500 Proton design studies. - At first the launch vehicle was simply to consist of 4 two-stage UR-200 rockets lashed together, the first and second stages working in parallel in clusters. A third stage would be modified from the UR-200 second stage. However study of this configu...
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15 August - Korolev proposes a Vostok group flight - Korolev proposes to Kamanin the launch of three manned Vostok spacecraft at one-day intervals: the first on a three-day flight, and the second and third on two- or three-day flights. Three Soviet manned spacecraft would be in orbit at once. Kamanin h...
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16 August - First F-1 firing. - F-1 rocket engine tested in first of firing series of the complete flight system....
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18 August - Further Mercury suborbital flights cancelled. - NASA announced that analysis of Project Mercury suborbital data indicated that all objectives of that phase of the program had been achieved, and that no further Mercury-Redstone flights were planned....
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23 August - Ranger 1 - Lunar probe; failed to leave Earth orbit. Ranger 1, a test version of the spacecraft which would attempt an unmanned crash landing on the moon, was launched from the Atlantic Missile Range by an Atlas-Agena B booster. The 306 kg spacecraft did not at...
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23 August - Golovin Committee evaluates three rendezvous methods for manned lunar landing - The Large Launch Vehicle Planning Group (Golovin Committee) notified the Marshal! Space Flight Center (MSFC), Langley Research Center, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that the Group was planning to undertake a comparative evaluation of three ...
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24 August - Merritt Island selected for Saturn V launch site. - After considering Cape Canaveral, Cape Canaveral-Merritt Island, Mayaguana-Bahamas, Cumberland-Georgia, Brownville-Texas, Christmas Island, Hawaii, and White Sands, Merritt Island selected as launch site for manned lunar flights and other missions re...
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24 August - Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) unmanned orbital flight was postponed. - ...
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28 August - NERVA facilities contract. - NASA selected Vitro Engineering Co. for negotiation of a design contract for an engine maintenance and disassembly building, one of the facilities to be a part of the National Nuclear Rocket Development Center....
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29 August - Ranger launchings would be increased to nine - NASA announced that planned Ranger launchings would be increased from five to nine. These additional spacecraft would be equipped with six high-resolution television cameras. They would be programmed to begin operating at about 800 miles above the lu...
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30 August - Investigation of the Mercury MR-4 explosive egress hatch. - An investigation was conducted as a result of the premature activation of the Mercury-Redstone 4 (MR-4) explosive egress hatch. Tests were initiated in an environment more severe than had been conducted in prelaunch activities and tests, but no prema...
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1961 August - Deep-space tracking station in South Africa completed - The deep-space tracking station at Hartebeesthoek, South Africa, was completed. Dedication took place on September 8. NASA thus gained the capacity for continuous line-of-sight communication with lunar and interplanetary probes despite the earth's ro...
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1961 August - Heaton Committee recommends earth orbit rendezvous for Apollo mission - The Ad Hoc Task Group for Study of Manned Lunar Landing by Rendezvous Techniques, Donald H. Heaton, Chairman, reported its conclusions: rendezvous offered the earliest possibility for a successful lunar landing, the proposed Saturn C-4 configuration ...
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31 August - Chamberlain proposes lunar landing by Gemini - Landing by Gemini using 4,000 kg wet/680 kg empty lander and Saturn C-3 booster. Landing by January 1966....
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5 September - Purchase of land for Saturn V launch facilities. - Authorization for NASA to acquire necessary land for additional launch facilities at Cape Canaveral was approved by the Senate....
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1961 September 5, 9 and 14 - Mercury rocket sled tests - Three rocket sled tests were conducted at the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, California, to study the detailed launch vehicle-spacecraft, clamp-ring separation. From run to run, minor modifications were made, and by the third run the separa...
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7 September - Selection of Saturn first stage assembly plant - NASA announced that the government-owned Michoud Ordnance Plant near New Orleans, La., would be the site for fabrication and assembly of the Saturn C-3 first stage as well as larger vehicles. Finalists were two government-owned plants in St. Louis an...
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11 September - North American selected to build S-II stage. - NASA selected NAA to develop the second stage (S-II) for the advanced Saturn launch vehicle. The cost, including development of at least ten vehicles, would total about $140 million. The S-II configuration provided for four J-2 liquid-oxygen - liquid...
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13 September - Mercury MA-4 - Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) was launched from Cape Canaveral with special vibration and noise instrumentation and a mechanical crewman simulator aboard in addition to the normal spacecraft equipment. This was the first Mercury spacecraft to attain an eart...
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17 September - 36 companies invited to bid on the first stage of advanced Saturn - NASA invited 36 companies to bid on a contract to produce the first stage of the advanced Saturn launch vehicle. Representatives of interested companies would attend a pre-proposal conference in New Orleans, La., on September 26. Bids were to be subm...
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18 September - Mission rules for the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) orbital flight. - Mission rules for the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) orbital flight were published. Revisions were issued on October 16 and 25, 1961, and November 11, 1961....
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19 September - Selection of Houston for control center. - NASA Administrator Webb announced that location of the new Manned Spacecraft Center would be in Houston, Tex., the conclusion of an intensive nationwide study by a site selection team. The Manned Spacecraft Center would be the command center for the ...
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22 September - Mercury ship recovery provisions. - Announced at Space Task Group that a 30-cubic-foot balloon would be installed in Mercury spacecraft to allow for ship recovery should helicopter be forced to drop it as happened during the MR-4 recovery....
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24 September - NASA reorganization - NASA Administrator Webb announced major organizational changes and top-level appointments to become effective November 1. The reorganization should provide a clearer focus on major programs and allow center directors to have a louder voice in policy ...
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25 September - S-IC fabrication plant manager named. - Dr. George N. Constan of Marshall Space Flight Center named as acting manager of the new NASA Saturn fabrication plant near New Orleans by Director von Braun of Marshall Space Flight Center....
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26 September - Bidders conference for S-IC stage. - NASA bidders conference on a contract to produce the booster (S-I) stage of the Saturn vehicle was held at the Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans....
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1 October - Mercury ship recovery demonstration. - Bland demonstrated capability of a destroyer to recover MR-2 Mercury capsule, with Virgil Grissom aboard, from water in series of pickups in lower Chesapeake Bay....
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1 October - Factory roll-out inspection of Mercury Atlas booster No. 93-D - Factory roll-out inspection of Atlas booster No. 93-D was conducted at Convair. This booster was designated for the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) mission....
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3 October - S- IVB stage to have a single J-2 engine - The MSFC-STG Space Vehicle Board at NASA Headquarters discussed the S- IVB stage, which would be modified by the Douglas Aircraft Company to replace the six LR-115 engines with a single J-2 engine. Funds of $500,000 were allocated for this study to b...
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9 October - Bids received for Apollo prime contractor - Five Bidding Teams: GD/Avco; GE/Douglas/Grumman/STL; McDonnell/Lockheed/Hughes/Vought; Martin/North American...
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9 October - Mercury Atlas booster No. 93-D delivered to Cape Canaveral - Atlas booster No. 93-D was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) orbital flight mission....
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11 October - Presentations by industrial teams on the Apollo spacecraft - Officials of STG heard oral reports from representatives of five industrial teams bidding on the contract for the Apollo spacecraft: General Dynamics/Astronautics in conjunction with the Avco Corporation; General Electric Company, Missile and Space V...
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12 October - TMK-1 draft project was completed. - Design of the manned Mars flyby spacecraft had involved nearly all sections of Korolev's OKB-1. Those who worked on the TMK included A I Dylnev, A K Algypov, A A Kochkin, A A Dashkov, V N Kubasov, V E Bugrov, and N N Protacov. Kubasov would be selec...
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23 October - Freedom 7 deposited in Smithsonian. - The Freedom 7 Mercury capsule in which Alan B. Shepard, Jr., made the first suborbital space flight, was presented to the National Air Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. In his presentation, NASA Administrator Webb said: "To Americans seekin...
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23 October - Mercury Freedom 7 presented to the Smithsonian - Freedom 7, the Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) spacecraft, was presented by NASA to the National Air Museum of the Smithsonian Institution....
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24 October - Nova launch vehicle studies begun. - Studies of "unconventional" rockets using liquid fuels in the thrust range from 2 to 24 million pounds announced by NASA; 2 contracts being carried out by Aerojet-General and Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation....
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25 October - Saturn static test stand site selected. - NASA selected Pearl River site in southwestern Mississippi, 35 miles from Michoud plant in New Orleans, for static test facility for Saturn and Nova-class vehicles, completed facility to operate under direction of Marshall Space Flight Center....
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27 October - - Largest known rocket launch to date, the Saturn I 1st stage booster, successful on first test flight from Atlantic Missile Range. With its eight clustered engines developing almost 1.3 million pounds of thrust at launch, the Saturn (SA-1) hurled wate...
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28 October - Zenit-2 priority delays manned space flights - Plans for a November group flight are delayed due to the priority of the spy satellite program. Korolev wants to fly manned Vostoks in December 1961/January 1962, but Kamanin and the VVS oppose this due to poor weather during that period....
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29 October - Mercury-Scout launch announced. - NASA announced that first Mercury-Scout launch to verify the readiness of the worldwide Mercury tracking network would take place at Atlantic Missile Range....
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1 November - STG redesignated the Manned Spacecraft Center - The Space Task Group was formally redesignated the Manned Spacecraft Center, Robert R. Gilruth, Director....
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1 November - Mercury MS-1 - Small satellite was to have verified the readiness of the worldwide Mercury tracking network. An attempt was made to launch Mercury-Scout 1 (MS-1) into orbit with a communications package further to qualify the radar tracking of the Mercury global ne...
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1961 November - Preliminary design work by Chelomei on UR-500 (Proton) rocket. - OKB-52 began to collaborate with V P Glushko’s OKB-456 in developing an appropriate engine. Glushko had completed a storable liquid engine design of 150 tonnes for use in Korolev’s N1. However Korolev refused to accept this design, due to his refusa...
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6 November - Saturn S-II to use five J-2 engines - Marshall Space Flight Center directed NAA to redesign the advanced Saturn second stage (S-II) to incorporate five rather than four J-2 engines, to provide a million pounds of thrust....
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12 November - Mercury 5 launch postponed - Mercury-Atlas 5, scheduled for launch no earlier than November 14, ran into technical difficulties, postponing launch for several days....
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15 November - Development of RD-253 engine begun. - OKB-52 began to collaborate with V P Glushko’s OKB-456 in developing a high thrust storable propellant engine for the UR-500 Proton launch vehicle. Glushko had completed a storable liquid engine design of 150 tonnes for use in Korolev’s N1. However ...
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15 November - Houbolt letter on lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) plan - In a letter to NASA Associate Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr., John C. Houbolt of Langley Research Center presented the lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) plan and outlined certain deficiencies in the national booster and manned rendezvous programs. T...
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16 November - Second decision on launch vehicles - Golovin Committe studies launch vehicles through summer, but found the issue to be completely entertwined with mode (earth-orbit, lunar-orbit, lunar-surface rendezvous or direct flight. Two factions: large solids for direct flight; all-chemical with ...
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17 November - Contract issued for build of 20 Saturn I's. - NASA announced that the Chrysler Corporation had been chosen to build 20 Saturn first-stage (S-1) boosters similar to the one tested successfully on October 27 . They would be constructed at the Michoud facility near New Orleans, La. The contract, wo...
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18 November - Ranger 2 - This was a flight test of the Ranger spacecraft system designed for future lunar and interplanetary missions. The spacecraft was launched into a low earth parking orbit, but an inoperative roll gyro prevented Agena restart resulting in Ranger 2 being...
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20 November - Rosen Group recommends direct ascent for the lunar landing mission mode - Milton W. Rosen, Director of Launch Vehicles and Propulsion, NASA Office of Manned Space Flight (OMSF), submitted to D. Brainerd Holmes, Director, OMSF, the report of the working group which had been set up on November 6....
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20 November - North American to proceed with the Paraglider Development Program. - Manned Spacecraft Center notified North American to proceed with Phase II-A of the Paraglider Development Program. A letter contract, NAS 9-167, followed on November 21; contract negotiations were completed February 9, 1962; and the final contract wa...
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24 November - Bid Evaluation for Prime Contractor Completed - Bid ratings: Martin 6.9; GD 6.6; North American 6.6; GE 6.4; McDonnell 6.4...
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27 November - Apollo spacecraft Statement of Work expanded - The original Apollo spacecraft Statement of Work of July 28 had been
substantially expanded, including a single-engine service module propulsion system using Earth-storable, hypergolic propellants....
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28 November - North American awarded Apollo prime contract - Despite an announcement at Martin on 27 November that they had won the Apollo program, the decision was reversed at the highest levels of the US government. NASA announced instead that the Space and Information Systems Division of North American Avia...
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29 November - Mercury MA-5 - Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5), the second and final orbital qualification of the spacecraft prior to manned flight was launched from Cape Canaveral with Enos, a 37.5 pound chimpanzee, aboard. Scheduled for three orbits, the spacecraft was returned to earth ...
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29 November - Glenn selected for the first Mercury manned orbital flight. - Astronaut John Glenn was selected as the pilot for the first Mercury manned orbital flight, with Scott Carpenter as backup pilot. Immediately, training was started to ready these two astronauts for the mission. The five remaining astronauts concentra...
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30 November - Mercury Atlas launch vehicle 109-D delivered to Cape Canaveral - Atlas launch vehicle 109-D was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) first manned orbital mission....
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4 December - Project Apollo Statement of Work completed - The Project Apollo Statement of Work for development of the Apollo spacecraft was completed. A draft letter based on this Statement of Work was presented to NAA for review. A prenegotiation conference on the development of the Apollo spacecraft was h...
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6 December - Preliminary project plan for the Mercury Mark II program - D. Brainerd Holmes, NASA Director of Manned Space Flight, outlined the preliminary project development plan for the Mercury Mark II program in a memorandum to NASA Associate Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr. The primary objective of the program wa...
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7 December - Kiwi B-1A tests completed. - Power run completed the test series on the Kiwi B-1A reactor system being conducted at the Nevada Test Site by AEC's Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. Fourth in a series of test reactors in the joint AEC-NASA nuclear rocket propulsion program, Kiwi B...
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7 December - Mercury manned orbital flight postponed. - NASA postponed its projected manned orbital flight from December 1961 until early in 1962 because of minor problems with the cooling system and positioning devices in the Mercury capsule, Dr. Hugh Dryden, Deputy Administrator of NASA, said in a Balti...
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7 December - Two-man Mercury Mark II spacecraft announced - Plans for the development of a two-man Mercury spacecraft were announced by Robert R. Gilruth, MSC Director. The two-man spacecraft, to be built by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, would be similar in shape to the Mercury spacecraft but slightly large...
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7 December - DOD/NASA coordination for Mercury Mark II - NASA Associate Administrator Robert C. Seamans, Jr., and DOD Deputy Director of Defense Research and Engineering John H. Rubel recommended to Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and NASA Administrator James E. Webb that detailed arrangements for ...
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7 December - NASA announced plans to develop a two-man Mercury capsule. - In Houston, Director Robert R. Gilruth of Manned Spacecraft Center announced plans to develop a two-man Mercury capsule. Built by McDonnell, it would be similar in shape to the Mercury capsule but slightly larger and from two to three times heavier. ...
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7 December - Plans for Gemini announced - Plans for the development of a 2-man Mercury spacecraft were announced by Robert R. Gilruth, Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center. On January 3, 1962, this program was designated Project Gemini....
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14 December - Mercury spacecraft to be a test bed for more ambitious space programs. - Walter C. Williams told a University of Houston audience at Houston, Texas, that the Mercury spacecraft had served and would continue to serve as a test bed for developing orbital flight techniques and hardware for more ambitious space programs....
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15 December - McDonnell given letter contract for Gemini - McDonnell given letter contract for development of Gemini....
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15 December - Boeing named contractor for Saturn C-5 first stage (S-IC) - NASA announced that The Boeing Company had been selected for negotiations as a possible prime contractor for the first stage (S-IC) of the advanced Saturn launch vehicle. The S-IC stage, powered by five F-1 engines, would be 35 feet in diameter and a...
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20 December - Douglas named contractor for Saturn S-IVB stage - NASA announced that Douglas Aircraft had been selected for negotiation of a contract to modify the Saturn S-IV stage by installing a single 200,000-pound-thrust, Rocketdyne J-2 liquid-hydrogen/liquid-oxygen engine instead of six 15,000-pound-thrust P...
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20 December - International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space - The General Assembly of the United Nations unanimously adopted Resolution 1721 (XIV) on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space....
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21 December - Saturn C-5 launch vehicle configuration selected - Rosen Committee studies in November and December indicated that the most flexible choice for Apollo was the Saturn C-4, with two required for the earth orbit rendezvous approach or one for the lunar orbit rendezvous mission, with a smaller landed pay...
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28 December - Titan 2 first ground test. - Titan II, an advanced ICBM and the booster designated for NASA's two-man orbital flights, was successfully captive-fired for the first time at the Martin Co.'s Denver facilities. The test not only tested the flight vehicle but the checkout and launch...
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