More Details for 1959-11-01
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
Douglas contacted by Daily Mail newspaper on ideas for space stations.
Douglas Aircraft Co., Inc., was visited by a representative of the London Daily Mail newspaper who was visiting several companies to collect ideas for space stations. The Daily Mail held a highly promoted public exhibition each year called the 'London Daily Mail Home Show,' and wanted to have 'A Home in Space' as the theme for the 1959 show. Douglas offered to do a full design study (including mockup details) for him, and after visiting several other companies he returned and informed Douglas they had won the 'competition.'
W. Nissim of the Douglas Advanced Design Section was given a budget of $10 000 with which he turned out a technical report, mockup drawings, and posters to be used in the show. The full-scale mockup was built and exhibited in London in 1959. The basic concept was identical to the original Saturn "Wet Workshop" but was not connected to any projected launch vehicle. A hydrogen-fueled stage was chosen simply because it offered a larger usable volume. Several concepts for detailed equipment and techniques adopted for later programs were originally developed for this study.