Goodyear Project 7969

American manned spacecraft. Study 1958. Goodyear's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project was a 2.1 m diameter spherical vehicle with a rearward facing tail cone and ablative surface.

Flaps were deflected from the cone during re-entry for increased drag and control.

The capsule would be launched by an Atlas or a Titan, plus a Vanguard upper stage into a 650 km orbit for a five day mission. Deorbit would be accomplished by a retrorocket providing a 240 m/sec braking impulse. An ablative heat shield was planned. In case of booster failure during ascent to orbit the capsule would be ejected. The spacecraft had a ballistic coefficient (W/CdA) of 250 kg per square meter. Landing precision was within a 1300 km diameter footprint. It was expected that a first manned orbital flight could be achieved 24 months after a go-ahead at a cost of $ 100 million.