US Hypersonic Research and Development: The Rise and Fall of Dyna-Soar, 1944-1963 (Space, Power & Politics Series)

An essential new account of some of the most valuable research and development in international military history. Roy F. Houchin II shows how the roots of US Air Force hypersonic research and development are grounded in Army Air Force General Henry H. 'Hap' Arnold's identification of the need for advanced airpower weapon systems to meet the anticipated postwar enemy threat. The technology for a smooth transition to military spaceflight seemed within reach when Bell Aircraft Corporation executive Walter Dornberger (the former commander of Nazi Germany's V-2 rocket research) made an unsolicited proposal to William E. Lamar (the chief of Wright Aeronautical Development Center's New Development Office of the Bomber Aircraft Division at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH) for a hypersonic boost-glide weapon system. Visionaries like Arnold, Dornberger, and Lamar believed a hypersonic boost-glider would represent the ultimate expression of the US Air Force's doctrine by performing strategic bombardment and reconnaissance more successfully any other type of vehicle. As this aspiration reached maturity in Dyna-Soar, the service's leadership never gave up their beliefs. This book shows how the struggle to persuade the secretary of defence and his advisors, who did not share the Air Force's vision for a military spaceplane, illustrates the ebb and flow of an advanced technology program and its powerful legacy within American society. Book Cover......Page 1 Half Title......Page 2 Series Title......Page 3 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Acknowledgements......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 1. Establishing a vision for the future: forecasting potential enemy threats, 1944-1952......Page 14 2. Pushing the state-of-the-art: justifying the need for routine access to space, April 1952―May 1955......Page 32 3. Continuing to push the state-of-the art: the gathering consensus of hypersonic flight, May1955―October 1957......Page 56 4. The debate over manned military spaceflight: the spaceflight revolution and Dyna-Soar, October 1957―May 1959......Page 86 5. Struggling to maintain the manned military mission: gaining the confidence of officials within the office of the Secretary of Defense, June 1959―December 1960......Page 123 6. Manned military space programs: integragency rivalry, January 1961―June 1962......Page 148 7. The Dyna-Soar cancellation......Page 185 Conclusion: the legacy of Dyna-Soar......Page 226 Endnotes......Page 233 Bibliography......Page 238 Index......Page 262 Om US Air Force research, doktrin og mission for at udvikle et militært rumskib. Projektet tog reelet sin begyndelse i 1944 hvor USAF udviklede en vision om den fremtidige militære trussel. Research og development blev påbegyndt i perioden op til 1955, bl.a. betingelser for at benytte sig af hypersonic flight. Et specifikt projekt Dyna-Soar blev imidlertid stoppet efter politisk inblanding i 1963. Imidlertid arbejdes videre med Hypersonic flight Establishing a vision for the future : forecasting potential enemy threats Pushing the state-of-the-art : justifying the need for routine access to space Continuing to push the state-of-the-art : the gathering consensus for Dyna-Soar The debate over manned military spaceflight : the spaceflight revolution and Dyna-Soar Maintaining the military mission Manned military space programs : interagency strife Cancellation The legacy of Dyna-Soar. Presents an account of the research and development in international military history. This title shows how the roots of US Air Force hypersonic research and development are grounded in Army Air Force General Henry H 'Hap' Arnold's identification of the need for advanced airpower weapon systems to meet the anticipated postwar enemy threat This is a history of the US military's 'Dyna-Soar' project to build a hypersonic reusable 'space plane', which lasted from 1945 to 1963.