US Manned Launch Systems 1961 - 69
 

Saw a YouTube vid last night with Burt Rutan giving a lecture - he sets the recipients a challenge to identify the 10 manned space launch systems that flew between 1961 and 1969 - seven of them American.

My candidates for the American manned programs are:

Mercury-Redstone
Mercury-Atlas
Gemini-Titan
Apollo-Saturn 1
Apollo-Saturn 5
X-15

Does the Lunar Module count as a separate system? I suppose it does as it launched from the moon... Or have I missed something else?

Vostock
Voshkod

Soyuz was the third Russian system.

X-15A-2?
External tanks, sealed ablative coating and a dummy ramjet.

I think to get a total of seven American systems you have to either include the LM or (and this is a bit of a stretch IMO) put the Titan III-Gemini B system on the list..I can't think of any other options.

The later was the combination that was supposed to be used for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory programme. It never flew crewed because the programme got cancelled but there was one successful unmanned test flight of the whole stack in 1966.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned...ing_Laboratory

I'd say the X-15 only gets one tick - the upgraded version was, I think, very much a low level :bored: High Speed machine..

Agree with Vostok/Voskhod/Soyuz for the Soviet types

I think it has to be the LM as I think from the video Rutan was specific that it was manned launches.

If it pops up again, I'll post it, quite enjoyed his presentation style! Need to watch it as I got distracted and didn't see the whole thing.

Cheers!

The LM upper stage engine was certainly a launch system ... from the moon - not the earth though, so I think that it definately counts.
(The LM lower stage took Apollo 6 out of earth orbit but I don't think that I would count that!)