The McDonnell Douglas Model 176 developments

hesham

hesham

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Hi,

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740077882_1974077882.pdf
 

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And;
 

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nice find Hesham

that was preferred Shuttle for "Cislunar Application of the Space Shuttle Orbiter"
the Idea: refuel the Orbiter in space, launch it to Moon Orbit. in cargobay a Lunar lander.

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,4011.0.html
 
That's a nice little spaceship, but what hit me was the thing looks like a big flying rocket propelled Sabot shoe with wings and fins, LOL :D Awesome!
 
1961
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That date is surprising... seems a bit early, no ? I would have thought later in the 1960's... I thought such a sophisticated shape and concept had taken years of refinements; and in 1961 the space race and lifting body research had barely started; if not at all.

Fantastic stuff and a truly amazing rocketplane.
 
Dew said:
Archibald said:
1961
Click to expand...
That date is surprising... seems a bit early, no ? I would have thought later in the 1960's...
Click to expand...

The stamp isn't the clearest ever but the '1' can't be a 7 nor 9, possibly a 4? It could be stamped incorrectly of course ! Here it is monochromed and adjusted for contrast:

View attachment 670423
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Thank you. Well to me it reads like 1951, which makes even less sense... ! Zooming on the number it really looks like a "5". So I am at lost.
 
Archibald said:
Dew said:
Archibald said:
1961
Click to expand...
That date is surprising... seems a bit early, no ? I would have thought later in the 1960's...
Click to expand...

The stamp isn't the clearest ever but the '1' can't be a 7 nor 9, possibly a 4? It could be stamped incorrectly of course ! Here it is monochromed and adjusted for contrast:

View attachment 670423
Click to expand...
Thank you. Well to me it reads like 1951, which makes even less sense... ! Zooming on the number it really looks like a "5". So I am at lost.
Click to expand...
I must admit when I first saw it I read '51 but had dismissed it and presumed it was a '61 with a dry-ink '6'

Could it possibly be not even a date but a reference number? I have seen many McDonnell prints with the D4C (catalogue?) refrerences on them (although this is clearly not D4C).

scratch that - the date is correct !

table header.jpg table entry.jpg
 
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So this really is a space fighter? very cool, any ideas on the mission requiring 12 men and 5000lbs of equipment?
 
Fluff said:
So this really is a space fighter? very cool, any ideas on the mission requiring 12 men and 5000lbs of equipment?
Click to expand...

Presumably, crew exchange for a manned space station. There were so many concepts around this time it's probably impossible to associate this vehicle with any one station design.
 
TomS said:
Fluff said:
So this really is a space fighter? very cool, any ideas on the mission requiring 12 men and 5000lbs of equipment?
Click to expand...

Presumably, crew exchange for a manned space station. There were so many concepts around this time it's probably impossible to associate this vehicle with any one station design.
Click to expand...
Note that the diagram includes "Weapons." It looks like a long-ish duration manned satellite inspector/interceptor. There were a number of such designs around that time, though again 1961 does seem a bit early.
 
Orionblamblam said:
TomS said:
Fluff said:
So this really is a space fighter? very cool, any ideas on the mission requiring 12 men and 5000lbs of equipment?
Click to expand...

Presumably, crew exchange for a manned space station. There were so many concepts around this time it's probably impossible to associate this vehicle with any one station design.
Click to expand...
Note that the diagram includes "Weapons." It looks like a long-ish duration manned satellite inspector/interceptor. There were a number of such designs around that time, though again 1961 does seem a bit early.
Click to expand...

True. But the armed satellite inspection/interceptor and passenger versions appear to be separate.
 
Dew said:
Archibald said:
Dew said:
Archibald said:
1961
Click to expand...
That date is surprising... seems a bit early, no ? I would have thought later in the 1960's...
Click to expand...

The stamp isn't the clearest ever but the '1' can't be a 7 nor 9, possibly a 4? It could be stamped incorrectly of course ! Here it is monochromed and adjusted for contrast:

View attachment 670423
Click to expand...
Thank you. Well to me it reads like 1951, which makes even less sense... ! Zooming on the number it really looks like a "5". So I am at lost.
Click to expand...
I must admit when I first saw it I read '51 but had dismissed it and presumed it was a '61 with a dry-ink '6'

Could it possibly be not even a date but a reference number? I have seen many McDonnell prints with the D4C (catalogue?) refrerences on them (although this is clearly not D4C).

scratch that - the date is correct !

View attachment 670425View attachment 670426
Click to expand...

April 17, 1961. WOW. Five days after Gagarine - and that thing surely is a bit more sophisticated than, say, a Vostok or a Mercury capsule.
 
I just realized that ISINGLASS / RHEINBERRY was the same Douglas, but Model 192 - and it all started in 1963 when Convair brought back FISH / KINGFISH to try and screw Lockheed in revenge for their 1959 defeat related to the A-12 OXCART. We have a (stupendous) thread for this: Convair went airbreathing / rocket mix up to Mach 9 and 130 000 feet; Douglas then came out of nowhere and beat them into a pulp with Model 192, all-rocket to Mach 22 and 200 000 feet.

So if Model 192 was started circa 1963, it is rather logical that Model 176 was a bit earlier, and thus 1961 makes sense.

Now what's really amazing is such an advanced aerodynamic shape at a time when Dryden lifting bodies hadn't even started yet (M2-F1 glider towed by a cadillac) started in 1962
en.wikipedia.org

NASA M2-F1 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

For some unknown reason (perhaps related to Lockheed StarClipper, L-301, FDL-5 / FDL-7 and others) I assumed Douglas own advanced studies happened in the second half of the 1960's.

(I thought about Alpha Draco, but that was McDonnell, not yet merged with Douglas...)
 
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Archibald said:
I just realized that ISINGLASS / RHEINBERRY was the same Douglas, but Model 192 - and it all started in 1963 when Convair brought back FISH / KINGFISH to try and screw Lockheed in revenge for their 1959 defeat related to the A-12 OXCART. We have a (stupendous) thread for this: Convair went airbreathing / rocket mix up to Mach 9 and 130 000 feet; Douglas then came out of nowhere and beat them into a pulp with Model 192, all-rocket to Mach 22 and 200 000 feet.

So if Model 192 was started circa 1963, it is rather logical that Model 176 was a bit earlier, and thus 1961 makes sense.

(I thought about Alpha Draco, but that was McDonnell, not yet merged with Douglas...)
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Weren't the 122, 176 & 192 all McDonnell?
Remember that the unmanned boost glide vehicle related to ISINGLASS was the (Y variant?) Model 122, which spanned from 1957 through to mid-sixties (and a little beyond?) edit: late-sixties, including the Alpha-Draco (B) & BGRV (E).
Model No. 192 was assigned in 1964 according to the 1974 project numbers list which is floating around.
 
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McDonnell and Douglas how I hate you and your merge up... @Dew's right of course. Born in the 80's when they were already one and the same... to me they are like Tom&Jerry: unseparable. Before 1967 they were not...
D'oh !
 
 
Dew said:
Model 176 General Arrangement, Config I-J
Stamped 'Reference Only', Dec. 7th 1961

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It looks that front section with pilot's cabin was to separate in the case of emergency and be rescued by parachute. Can you enlarge front section for better view? (I am just curious because I am a parachute engineer). Irek
 
overscan (PaulMM) said:
aviationarchives.blogspot.com

McDonnell Douglas Model 176

A copy of the 3-view and other info on the proposed McDonnell Douglas Model 176. From The Unwanted Blog: “The McDonnell Douglas Model 176 w...
aviationarchives.blogspot.com aviationarchives.blogspot.com
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btw the jpg was taken from Orionblamblam's blog some time ago and the pdf was made from the images (see post #15) that I'd emailed him asking if he knew more.

Anyhoo - does anyone happen to have a copy of NASA docs:
  • 19880073728 "Summary of aerodynamic studies for the McDonnell Model 176" 1964
  • 19680081244 "Heat-transfer characteristics of the upper fins of the AFFDL-McDonnell Unmanned Supersonic Test Vehicle /USTV/ at Mach 10" 1968
  • 19700079521 "Static-force tests on the AFFDL- McDonnell Unmanned Supersonic Test Vehicle /USTV/ at supersonic Mach numbers" 1968
(the USTV being the FDL-7MD)
 

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