Joint Base Andrews, MD -- The Air Force Declassification Office has just released a 1960 Air Photographic and Charting Service script for a documentary created about the Boeing X-20 Dynamic Soarer or "Dyna-Soar." This 64-page document contains detailed storyboards of what was intended to be a mostly animated, narrated movie showcasing the capabilities of the legendary spaceplane. The Dyna-Soar was one of a handful of ambitious projects sprung into development by the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957. The concept of the aircraft was that it was a plane that would be launched into space by a powerful rocket, glide through Earth's orbit, conducting reconnaissance, bombing, interception, maintenance, and rescue missions. It would be both manned and maneuverable, unlike the other US spacecraft at the time. It would fly back down to Earth's surface and land like a plane. In the end, the project did not advance beyond flight testing of the boosters. Due to technical hurdles, high costs, and competition with NASA's manned space program, Dyna-Soar was cancelled in 1963. Although it was never completed, the Air Force's Dyna-Soar program helped in the development of NASA's Space Shuttles and today's reusable spaceplanes, such as the Boeing X-37.
Find the new document below or on our "Space" page:
The Story of Dyna-Soar, 19 July 1960