Project Horizon
Encyclopedia
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 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.
This program required a total of 61 Saturn I and 88 Saturn II launches up to November 1966. During this period some 220 tonnes of useful cargo would be transported to the Moon
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.
Army Ballistic Missile Agency
The Army Ballistic Missile Agency was the agency formed to develop the US Army's first intermediate range ballistic missile. It was established at Redstone Arsenal on February 1, 1956 and commanded by Major General John B...
(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
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
, head of ABMA, appointed Heinz-Hermann Koelle
Heinz-Hermann Koelle
Heinz-Hermann Koelle was an aeronautical engineer who made the preliminary designs on the rocket that would emerge as the Saturn I...
to head the project team at Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base and a census-designated place adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area...
.
Plans called for 147 early Saturn A-class rocket launches to loft spacecraft components for assembly in low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
at a spent-tank space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
.
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.
Location
Rocket-vehicle energy requirements would have limited the location of the base to an area of 20 deg latitude/longitude on the Moon, from ~20° N, ~20° W to ~20º S, ~20º E. Within this area, the Project selected three particular sites:- northern part of Sinus AestuumSinus AestuumSinus Aestuum forms a northeastern extension to Mare Insularum. It has selenographic coordinates 10.9° N, 8.8° W, and it lies within a diameter of 290 km....
, near the Eratosthenes craterEratosthenes (crater)Eratosthenes is a relatively deep lunar impact crater that lies on the boundary between the Mare Imbrium and Sinus Aestuum mare regions. It forms the western terminus of the Montes Apenninus mountain range. The crater has a well-defined circular rim, terraced inner wall, central mountain peaks, an... - southern part of Sinus AestuumSinus AestuumSinus Aestuum forms a northeastern extension to Mare Insularum. It has selenographic coordinates 10.9° N, 8.8° W, and it lies within a diameter of 290 km....
near Sinus MediiSinus MediiSinus Medii is a small lunar mare that is located at the intersection of the Moon's equator and prime meridian. As seen from the Earth, this feature is located in the central part of the Moon's near side, and it is the point closest to the Earth... - southwest coast of Mare ImbriumMare ImbriumMare Imbrium, Latin for "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains", is a vast lunar mare filling a basin on Earth's Moon and one of the larger craters in the Solar System. Mare Imbrium was created when lava flooded the giant crater formed when a very large object hit the Moon long ago...
, just north of the Montes ApenninusMontes ApenninusMontes Apenninus are a rugged mountain range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. They are named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy....
mountains
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 be continued 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 some 220 tonnes of useful cargo would be transported to the Moon
- December 1966 through 1967: First operational year of the lunar outpost. A total of 64 launches were scheduled. These would result in an additional 120 tons of useful cargo.
Defenses
The base would be defended against Soviet overland attack by man-fired weapons:- Unguided Davy Crockett rocketsDavy Crockett (nuclear device)The M-28 or M-29 Davy Crockett Weapon System was a tactical nuclear recoilless gun for firing the M388 nuclear projectile that was deployed by the United States during the Cold War...
with low-yield nuclear warheads - Conventional Claymore mines modified to puncture pressure suits
Layout
The basic building block for the outpost would be cylindrical metal tanks, 3.05 m in diameter and 6.10 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
Parabolic antenna
A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or parabolic dish...
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.
See also
- Saturn (rocket family)Saturn (rocket family)The Saturn family of American rocket boosters was developed by a team of mostly German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun to launch heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. Originally proposed as a military satellite launcher, they were adopted as the launch vehicles for the Apollo moon...
- Lunex ProjectLunex ProjectThe Lunex Project was a US Air Force 1958 plan for a manned lunar landing prior to the Apollo Program. The final lunar expedition plan in 1961 was for a 21-airman underground Air Force base on the Moon by 1968 at a total cost of $ 7.5 billion....
- Colonization of the MoonColonization of the MoonThe colonization of the Moon is the proposed establishment of permanent human communities on the Moon. Advocates of space exploration have seen settlement of the Moon as a logical step in the expansion of humanity beyond the Earth. Recent indication that water might be present in noteworthy...
- Project A119Project A119Project A119, also known as "A Study of Lunar Research Flights", was a top-secret plan developed in the late 1950s by the United States Air Force. The aim of the project was to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon to boost public morale in the United States after the Soviet Union took an early lead...
- Zvezda (moonbase)Zvezda (moonbase)Zvezda moonbase , also DLB Lunar Base — plan and project of 1962—1974 of Soviet manned moonbase as successor N1-L3 manned lunar expedition program. It was the first detailed such project more developed than early US Horizon and Lunex projects and later Apollo Lunar Base Wernher von Braun and NASA...