ALL SCI-FI

[Gord Green]

Project Horizon was a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a scientific / military base on the Moon. On June 8, 1959, a group at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) produced for the U.S. Department of the Army a report entitled Project Horizon, A U.S. Army Study for the Establishment of a Lunar Military Outpost. The project proposal states the requirements as:

"The lunar outpost is required to develop and protect potential United States interests on the moon; to develop techniques in moon-based surveillance of the earth and space, in communications relay, and in operations on the surface of the moon; to serve as a base for exploration of the moon, for further exploration into space and for military operations on the moon if required; and to support scientific investigations on the moon.

The permanent outpost was predicted to cost $6 billion and become operational in December 1966 with twelve soldiers.

Wernher von Braun, head of ABMA, appointed Heinz-Hermann Koelle to head the project team at Redstone Arsenal.

Plans called for 147 early Saturn A-class rocket launches to loft spacecraft components for assembly in low Earth orbit at a spent-tank space station.

A lunar landing-and-return vehicle would have shuttled up to 16 astronauts at a time to the base and back.

Horizon never progressed past the feasibility stage in an official capacity.



Construction

1964: 40 Saturn launches.

January 1965: Cargo delivery to the moon would begin.

April 1965: The first manned landing by two men. The build-up and construction phase would continue without interruption until the outpost was ready.

November 1966: Outpost manned by a task force of 12 men.

This program required a total of 61 Saturn I and 88 Saturn II launches up to November 1966. During this period the rockets would transport some 220 tonnes of useful cargo to the Moon.

December 1966 through 1967: First operational year of the lunar outpost, with a total of 64 launches scheduled. These would result in an additional 120 tons of useful cargo.




Layout

The basic building block for the outpost would be cylindrical metal tanks, 10 feet (3.0 m) in diameter and 20 feet (6.1 m) in length.

Two nuclear reactors would be located in pits to provide shielding and provide power for the operation of the preliminary quarters and for the equipment used in the construction of the permanent facility. Empty cargo and propellant containers would be assembled and used for storage of bulk supplies, weapons, and life essentials.

Two types of surface vehicles would be used, one for lifting, digging, and scraping, another for more extended distance trips needed for hauling, reconnaissance and rescue.

A lightweight parabolic antenna erected near the main quarters would provide communications with Earth. At the conclusion of the construction phase the original construction camp quarters would be converted to a bio-science and physics-science laboratory.








This project was an obvious precursor for the Apollo project which came a few years later.

But where would we be in space today if the earlier plans had gone ahead?

Adapted from Wikapedia and others.

[Gord Green]

Declassified PDFs of the project are available here:

http://www.history.army.mil/faq/horizon/Horizon_V1.pdf

and here:

http://www.history.army.mil/faq/horizon/Horizon_V2.pdf

[Krel]

SIX BILLION IN 1950s DOLLARS !?! They must have thought those people were insane!

David.

[Gord Green]

BUT-----What if we had the vision to actually do it?

The future is to those with vision....And the will to make it so!

Not to the timid or those afraid of the future.

History is made by the bold, not the cowards.

[Bud Brewster]

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Krel is right when he pointed out that $6 billion dollars back when this project was proposed would have been a staggering amount for our short-sighted government to spend on something as lofty as a moon base.

So, what DID those noble men of Congress spend our tax dollars on back on the 1960s?

They spent is on this.
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Economic Cost of the Vietnam War.

The Department of Defense (DOD) reports that the United States spent about $168 billion (worth around $950 billion in 2011 dollars) in the entire war, including $111 billion on military operations (1965 – 1972) and $28.5 billion on economic and military aid to Saigon regime (1953 – 1975).
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Good God A'mighty . . . instead of getting a moon base and huge advances in technology, we got our asses kicked in a pointless war, along with thousands of young Americans killed for no good reason!

It really pisses me off that so many people think that money spent on our space program is "wasted" and should be used to "solve our problems here on Earth".

Damn, do these idiots think we're launching rockets filled with cash into outer space and blowing up the money?

It never occurs to these voting bozos and the morons they elect to Congress that most of the money we spend on military weapons actually ARE million-dollar missiles we launch at third-world country's who hate us for doing it and strike back with terrorist attacks.

American tax dollars that are spent on American industries which develop new technology which benefit every American is a far better way to stimulate our economy. The space program of the 1960s did far more to help this country than all the military appropriations ever have.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be ready to fight the enemies of the United States. But the average person doesn't realize that ambitious and far-sighted programs which encourage technological advancement does much more to enhance the quality of our lives than making America the powerful and feared nation that invokes the hatred and resentment of other countries who want to slaughter innocent people for reasons we can't even fathom.

Think about, guys. Wouldn't we be safer from terrorism if we presented ourselves to the world as the peaceful promise of a better life — instead of the powerful nation who crushes anyone who threatens us?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

According to an inflation calculator, six billion dollars in 1959 would be $51,181,453,287.20 in 2018.

David.

[orzel-w]

If I'm reading it right, that's $51 trillion. And 20 cents.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Gord Green]

Twenty cents????
There's no room for cents in that budget!!!!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.