The Dream of NASA’s Space Shuttle: Artwork of the ‘70s

In January 1972, President Richard Nixon approved the development of the Space Shuttle as NASA’s next major space initiative after Apollo. I first became aware of the program in a full-page newspaper article published in my local newspaper on January 29, 1972 not long after my tenth birthday. Like other space enthusiasts of the time, I was thrilled by the prospects of inexpensive, regular access to space the Space Shuttle promised. It was at this time I began dreaming of launching my own satellite into orbit someday using the Space Shuttle (see “The Space Shuttle and the Dreams of a Ten Year Old”)

A newspaper article from the author’s collection dated January 29, 1972 about the newly authorized Space Shuttle program.

While we waited over the 1970s for the first flight of the Space Shuttle, NASA supplied the public with copious artwork of the new spacecraft whetting our appetites of what the future would hold. Presented here is a sample of the prints I received from NASA as photographs and illustrations in their numerous publications at that time.

The Space Shuttle

The caption from this diagram of the Space Shuttle from Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) from 1975 gave a perfect synopsis of the new spacecraft:

The Space Shuttle represented an entirely new generation of space vehicle, the world’s first reusable spacecraft. Unlike earlier expendable rockets, the Shuttle was designed to be launched over and over again and would serve as a system for ferrying payloads and personnel to and from Earth orbit. The Shuttle’s major components are the orbiter spacecraft; the three main engines, with a combined thrust of more than 1.2 million pounds; the huge external tank (ET) that feeds the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer to the three main engines; and the two solid rocket boosters (SRB’s), with their combined thrust of some 5.8 million pounds. The SRB’s provide most of the power for the first two minutes of flight. Crucially involved with the Space Shuttle program virtually from its inception, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) played a leading role in the design, development, testing, and fabrication of many major Shuttle propulsion components. The MSFC was assigned responsibility for developing the Shuttle orbiter’s high-performance main engines, the most complex rocket engines ever built. The MSFC was also responsible for developing the Shuttle’s massive ET and the solid rocket motors and boosters.

Diagram of the Space Shuttle from c1975 showing its major components. (NASA/MSFC)

The Launch

Artwork of a Space Shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida c1973. (NASA/JSC)

A view of the ascending Space Shuttle under the power of its pair of Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). (NASA/GRC)

The jettisoning of the pair of SRBs at an altitude of 27 miles (43 kilometers) which would be subsequently recovered for reuse. The Space Shuttle would continue its ten-minute ascent into orbit using the propellant in its large External Tank. (NASA/JSC)

The Shuttle in Orbit

Once in orbit, the Space Shuttle could perform a number of activities including the deployment of satellites. Here is the original caption from the print released by Johnson Space Center (JSC) in 1975:

A Space Shuttle Orbiter places a Space Tug and payload in Earth orbit as a prelude to (the) Tug’s transporting (the) package to Earth synchronous orbit in the artist’s concept by Rockwell International Corporation’s Space Division.

The Space Shuttle deploying a space tug in orbit. (NASA/JSC)

Early on in its development, the construction and maintenance of space stations and other space-based infrastructure was studied.

This is an artist’s concept of a modular space station. In 1970 the Marshall Space Flight Center announced the completion of a study concerning a modular space station that could be launched by the planned-for reusable Space Shuttle. The study envisioned a space station composed of cylindrical sections 14 feet in diameter and of varying lengths joined to form any one of a number of possible shapes. The sections were restricted to 14 feet in diameter and 58 feet in length to be consistent with a shuttle cargo bay size of 15 by 60 feet. Center officials said that the first elements of the space station could be in orbit by about 1978 and could be manned by three or six men. This would be an interim space station with sections that could be added later to form a full 12-man station by the early 1980s.

Artist’s concept of an early Shuttle-tended space station from c1972. (NASA/MSFC)

While many of the space station concepts shown here would never fly (with construction of the International Space Station not starting with the assistance of the Shuttle starting in 1998), one concept from the 1970s that did fly was ESA’s Spacelab. A total of a half dozen Spacelab missions were flown between 1983 and 1993 with another 19 Shuttle flights carrying Spacelab components to support yet other science missions.

An artist’s rendering from c1975 of the Space Shuttle Orbiter carrying Spacelab built by ESA (the successor of ESRO – the European Space Research Organization). (NASA/ARC)

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the Johnson Space Center (JSC) were each awarded 16-month contracts in April 1976 for the Space Station Systems Analysis Study (SSSAS). Grumman Aerospace Corporation was MSFC’s contractor and McDonell Douglas Aerospace Company was JSC’s contractor. The goal of this study was to formulate plans for a permanent operational base and laboratory facility in Earth orbit in addition to developing a space construction base design for implementing the program. An expended Space Shuttle external tank was to be the central core platform of the base, and additional pressurized modules could be added to provide laboratory facilities. This artist’s concept depicts a space construction base design for implementing the SSSAS.

Another early space station concept from c1977. (NASA/MSFC)

Return from Space

An artist’s rendering of the reentry of the Space Shuttle Orbiter protected by its tiles from c1975. (NASA/ARC)

The Space Shuttle Orbiter gliding towards its landing site following reentry. (NASA/JSC)

The Space Shuttle Orbiter, escorted by an F-104 aircraft, as it is headed for a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Later, the Orbiter would land at a run way at Kennedy Space Center not far from where it was prepared and launched at Launch Complex 39. (NASA/JSC)

An artist’s concept illustrating the specially modified Boeing 747 which would ferry the Space Shuttle Orbiter from the west coast to Kennedy Space Center. (NASA/JSC)

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Related Video

Here is a Rockwell International promotional film from 1975 highlighting their work on the Space Shuttle:

Related Reading

“The Space Shuttle and the Dreams of a Ten Year Old”, Drew Ex Machina, July 8, 2018 [Post]

“Growing Up in the Space Age: Summer Vacations of the ‘70s”, Drew Ex Machina, July 22, 2019 [Post]