The Curious Engineer

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No Shortage of Dreams

spaceflighthistory.blogspot.com

The story of spaceflight told through missions and programs that did not happen - that is, the great majority of them.

HistoryScience

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182 from 4 Mar 2015 to 2 Jun 2025
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2025 1

  1. ROMBUS: Reusable Orbital Module - Booster & Utility Shuttle (1963)

2023 7

  1. Apollo-Soyuz II (1974)
  2. Testing Shuttle Manipulator Arms During Earth-Orbital Apollo Missions (1971-1972)
  3. Viking on the Moons of Mars (1972)
  4. Space Shuttle External Tank (ET) Applications: ET as Space Facility (1982)
  5. Nomad Explorer (1992)
  6. A Long Way Home: Abort from Piloted Mars and Venus Missions (1970)
  7. The Proper Course for Lunar Exploration (1965)

2022 8

  1. Project Hyreus (1993)
  2. Human Exploration Using Real-Time Robotic Operations (HERRO) (2009-2011)
  3. S-IVB/IU Applications: The LASS Proposal (1966)
  4. Reusable One-stage Orbital Space Truck (ROOST) (1962)
  5. A Robotic and Piloted Planetary Exploration Program for the 1970s and Early 1980s (1968)
  6. A Year in Orbit Using Apollo Technology: Command and Service Module for Longevity (1966)
  7. Chronology: Piloted Flybys 1.0
  8. An Unfortunate Condition: A 1967-1968 Pitch to Launch a Comet Halley Rendezvous Mission in the Late 1970s

2021 6

  1. MSSR as MEM (1967-1968)
  2. Mars Sample Return Site Selection and Sample Acquisition Study (1980)
  3. NASA's Planetary Joint Action Group Piloted Mars Flyby Study (1966)
  4. Samuel Herrick's "Outrageously Innovative" Proposal (1971)
  5. Engineer Special Study of the Surface of the Moon (1960-1961)
  6. Integral Launch and Reentry Vehicle: Triamese (1968-1969)

2020 17

  1. Electromagnetic Launching as a Major Contribution to Space-Flight (1950)
  2. Rendezvous Concept for Circumlunar Gemini (1965)
  3. Apollo to Mars & Venus: North American Aviation's 1965 Plan for Piloted Planetary Flybys in the 1970s
  4. Star-Raker (1978)
  5. Venus is the Best Place in the Solar System to Establish a Human Settlement (2003)
  6. Mars Polar Ice Sample Return (1976-1978)
  7. Chronology: Apollo X, Apollo Extension System, and Apollo Applications Program (AAP) 1.0
  8. Chronology: Asteroids, Comets, and Other Small Bodies of the Solar System 1.0
  9. "Wobble Angle": Characteristics of 11 Apollo-derived Artificial-Gravity Space Station Designs (1963)
  10. Mars Airplane (1978)
  11. To "G" Or Not to "G" (1968)
  12. The 1980s Lunar Revival: Lunar Oxygen (1983)
  13. Apollo Applications Program: Lunar Module Relay Experiment Laboratory (1966)
  14. Visions of Spaceflight: Circa 2001 (1984)
  15. Moon Suit: 1949
  16. "Without Hiatus": The Apollo Applications Program in June 1966
  17. Flying Brickyard Postponed: A 1972-1973 Study of an Interim Ablative Space Shuttle Heat Shield

2019 10

  1. Revival: A Piloted Mars Flyby in the 1990s (1985)
  2. Astronaut Telescope Servicing at Earth-Sun L2 (1999)
  3. Apollo Science and Sites: The Sonett Report (1963)
  4. Apollo Extension System Flight Mission Assignment Plan (1965)
  5. Riccioli Outpost (1990)
  6. Gemini on the Moon (1962)
  7. Chronology: Venus 1.0
  8. High Noon on the Moon (1991)
  9. Chronology: Apollo-to-Shuttle Transition 2.0
  10. The First Voyager (1967)

2018 12

  1. Purple Pigeon: Mars Multi-Rover Mission (1977)
  2. Exploring Mars from Pole to Pole: MESUR Network (1991)
  3. Near-Term and Long-Term Goals: Space Station and Lunar Base (1983-1984)
  4. Another Look at Staged Reentry: Janus (1962-1966)
  5. Keep My Memory Green: Skill Retention During Long-Duration Spaceflight (1968)
  6. Bridging the 1970s: Lunar Viking (1970)
  7. Saturn-Apollo Applications: Combining Missions to Save Rockets, Spacecraft, and Money (1966)
  8. Log of a Moon Expedition (1969)
  9. Around the Moon in 80 Hours (1958)
  10. Creation of an Artificial Lunar Atmosphere (1974)
  11. Chronology: Failure Was an Option 1.0
  12. Alternate History of the Space Age 1.0

2017 32

  1. What If a Shuttle Orbiter Struck a Bird? (1988)
  2. X-15: Lessons for Reusable Winged Spaceflight (1966)
  3. After Venus: Pioneer Mars Orbiter with Penetrators (1974)
  4. A CSM-Only Back-Up Plan for the Apollo 13 Mission to the Moon (1970)
  5. Chrysler's Transportation and Work Station Capsule (1965)
  6. Mission to the Mantle: Michael Duke's Moonrise (1999-2009)
  7. A New Step in Spaceflight Evolution: To Mars by Flyby-Landing Excursion Mode (1966)
  8. NASA Glenn Research Center's 2001 Plan to Land Humans on Mars Three Years Ago
  9. Prelude to Mars Sample Return: The Mars 1984 Mission (1977)
  10. Relighting the FIRE: A 1966 Proposal for Piloted Interplanetary Mission Reentry Tests
  11. Flyby's Last Gasp: North American Rockwell's S-IIB Interplanetary Booster (1968)
  12. Plush Bug, Economy Bug, Shoestring Bug (1961)
  13. SEI Swan Song: International Lunar Resources Exploration Concept (1993)
  14. Mirror Universe: Star Trek as an Exemplar of Space-Age Popular Culture
  15. Safeguarding the Earth from Martians: The Antaeus Report (1978-1981)
  16. Apollo Ends at Venus: A 1967 Proposal for Single-Launch Piloted Venus Flybys in 1972, 1973, and 1975
  17. Venus As Proving Ground: A 1967 Proposal for a Piloted Venus Orbiter
  18. "Still Under Active Consideration": Five Proposed Earth-Orbital Apollo Missions for the 1970s (1971)
  19. Two for the Price of One: 1980s Piloted Missions with Stopovers at Mars and Venus (1969)
  20. Geosynchronous Drift: Krafft Ehricke's Destination Mankind Apollo Mission (1972)
  21. Floaters, Armored Landers, Radar Orbiters, and Drop Sondes: Automated Probes For Piloted Venus Flybys (1967-1968)
  22. Things to Do During a Venus-Mars-Venus Piloted Flyby Mission (1968)
  23. NASA Johnson's Plan to PEP Up Shuttle/Spacelab (1981)
  24. Lunar GAS (1987)
  25. Chronology: Space Station 1.0
  26. A 1964 Proposal for a Small Lifting-Body Shuttle with "Staged Reentry"
  27. NASA Johnson Space Center's Shuttle II (1988)
  28. As Gemini Was to an Apollo Lunar Landing by 1970, So Apollo Would Be to a Permanent Lunar Base in 1980 (1968)
  29. Footsteps to Mars (1993)
  30. From Monolithic to Modular: NASA Establishes a Baseline Configuration for a Shuttle-Launched Space Station (1970)
  31. Early Apollo Mission to a Lunar Wrinkle Ridge (1968)
  32. Robot Rendezvous at Hadley Rille (1968)

2016 27

  1. Electricity from Space: The 1970s DOE/NASA Solar Power Satellite Studies
  2. NASA Marshall's 1966 Plan for a NERVA-Electric Piloted Mars Mission
  3. "A Vision of the Future": Military Uses of the Moon and Asteroids (1983)
  4. Victory Lap
  5. Rube Goldberg's Space Shuttle
  6. An Apollo Landing Near the Great Ray Crater Tycho (1969)
  7. "Essential Data": A 1963 Pitch to Expand NASA's Robotic Exploration Programs
  8. One-Man Space Station (1960)
  9. George Landwehr von Pragenau's Quest for a Stronger, Safer Space Shuttle
  10. Talking to the Farside: A 1963 Proposal to Use the Apollo Saturn V S-IVB Stage as a Radio Relay
  11. "A Continuing Aspect of Human Endeavor": Bellcomm's January 1968 Lunar Exploration Program
  12. Naming the Space Station (1988)
  13. Dreaming A Different Apollo, Part Two: Naming Names
  14. Catching Some Comet Dust: Giotto II (1985)
  15. Could the Space Voyages in the Film and Novel "2001: A Space Odyssey" Really Happen? (Part 3)
  16. Could the Space Voyages in the Film and Novel "2001: A Space Odyssey" Really Happen? (Part 2)
  17. Could the Space Voyages in the Film and Novel "2001: A Space Odyssey" Really Happen? (Part 1)
  18. "A True Gateway": Robert Gilruth's June 1968 Space Station Presentation
  19. Chronology: Apollo-Shuttle Transition 1.0
  20. The Last Days of the Nuclear Shuttle (1971)
  21. Saturn Ring Observer (2006)
  22. What If Galileo Had Fallen to Earth? (1988)
  23. On the Moons of Mighty Jupiter (1970)
  24. Bridging the Gap Between Space Station and Mars: The IMUSE Strategy (1985)
  25. What If a Space Shuttle Orbiter Had to Ditch? (1975)
  26. Starfish and Apollo (1962)
  27. Think Big: A 1970 Flight Schedule for NASA's 1969 Integrated Program Plan

2015 62

  1. Triple-Flyby: Venus-Mars-Venus Piloted Missions in the Late 1970s/Early 1980s (1967)
  2. The Russians are Roving! The Russians are Roving! A 1970 JPL Plan for a 1979 Mars Rover
  3. Harold Urey and the Moon (1961)
  4. Space Station Gemini (1962)
  5. Space Station Resupply: The 1963 Plan to Turn the Apollo Spacecraft Into a Space Freighter
  6. Series Development: A 1969 Plan to Merge Shuttle and Saturn V to Spread Out Space Program Cost
  7. Reviving & Reusing Skylab in the Shuttle Era: NASA Marshall's November 1977 Pitch to NASA Headquarters
  8. A Bridge from Skylab to Station/Shuttle: Interim Space Station Program (1971)
  9. One Space Shuttle, Two Cargo Volumes: Martin Marietta's Aft Cargo Carrier (1982)
  10. An Alternate Station/Shuttle Evolution: The Spirit of '76 (1970)
  11. Touring Titan By Blimp & Buoy (1983)
  12. Apollo's End: NASA Cancels Apollo 15 & Apollo 19 to Save Station/Shuttle (1970)
  13. The 1991 Plan to Turn Space Shuttle Columbia Into a Low-Cost Space Station
  14. Making Rocket Propellants from Martian Air (1978)
  15. North American Aviation's 1965 Plan to Rescue Apollo Astronauts Stranded in Lunar Orbit
  16. If an Apollo Lunar Module Crashed on the Moon, Could NASA Investigate the Cause? (1967)
  17. Humans on Mars in 1995! (1980-1981)
  18. Astronaut Sally Ride's Mission to Mars (1987)
  19. The Collins Task Force Says Aim for Mars (1987)
  20. To Mars by Way of Eros (1966)
  21. Pluto: An Alternate History
  22. Peeling Away the Layers of Mars (1966)
  23. Re-Purposing Mercury: Recoverable Space Observatory (1964)
  24. Gumdrops on Mars (1966)
  25. Dyna-Soar's Martian Cousin (1960)
  26. What If a Crew Became Stranded On Board the Skylab Space Station? (1972)
  27. A Forgotten Pioneer of Mars Resource Utilization (1962-1963)
  28. What If Apollo Astronauts Could Not Ride the Saturn V Rocket? (1965)
  29. A 1974 Plan for a Slow Flyby of Comet Encke
  30. What If Apollo Astronauts Became Marooned in Lunar Orbit? (1968)
  31. Multiple Asteroid Flyby Missions (1971)
  32. Solar Flares and Moondust: The 1962 Proposal for an Interdisciplinary Science Satellite at Earth-Moon L4
  33. "He Who Controls the Moon Controls the Earth" (1958)
  34. Evolution vs. Revolution: The 1970s Battle for NASA's Future
  35. What If an Apollo Lunar Module Ran Low on Fuel and Aborted its Moon Landing? (1966)
  36. Jimmy Carter's Space Shuttle
  37. What If an Apollo Saturn Rocket Exploded on the Launch Pad? (1965)
  38. Clyde Tombaugh's Vision of Mars (1959)
  39. Rocket Belts and Rocket Chairs: Lunar Flying Units
  40. Space Race: The Notorious 1962 Proposal to Launch an Astronaut on a One-Way Trip to the Moon
  41. Skylab-Salyut Space Laboratory (1972)
  42. After EMPIRE: Using Apollo Technology to Explore Mars and Venus (1965)
  43. New Horizons II (2004-2005)
  44. A Forgotten Rocket: The Saturn IB
  45. "Assuming That Everything Goes Perfectly Well in the Apollo Program. . ." (1967)
  46. What Shuttle Should Have Been: NASA's October 1977 Space Shuttle Flight Manifest
  47. EMPIRE Building: Ford Aeronutronic's 1962 Plan for Piloted Mars/Venus Flybys
  48. MIT Saves the World: Project Icarus (1967)
  49. Pluto, Doorway to the Stars (1962)
  50. The Spacewalks That Never Were: Gemini Extravehicular Planning Group (1965)
  51. Dreaming a Different Apollo, Part One: Shameless Wishful Thinking
  52. The Seventh Planet: A Gravity-Assist Tour of the Uranian System (2003)
  53. NASA's 1992 Plan to Land Soyuz Space Station Lifeboats in Australia
  54. Cometary Explorer (1973)
  55. The Challenge of the Planets, Part Three: Gravity
  56. Where to Launch and Land the Space Shuttle? (1971-1972)
  57. The Challenge of the Planets, Part Two: High Energy
  58. Missions to Comet d'Arrest & Asteroid Eros in the 1970s (1966)
  59. The Challenge of the Planets, Part One: Ports of Call
  60. Earth-Approaching Asteroids as Targets for Exploration (1978)
  61. McDonnell Douglas Phase B Space Station (1970)
  62. Centaurs, Soviets, and Seltzer Seas: Mariner 2's Venusian Adventure (1962)