Similarities to NASA's Apollo program

The real-life Apollo program bears similarities to the story in several ways:[4]
Verne's cannon was called Columbiad; the Apollo 11 command module (Apollo CSM) was named Columbia.[5]

The spacecraft crew consisted of three persons in the book and each Apollo mission.
The physical dimensions of the projectile are very close to the dimensions of the Apollo CSM.
Verne's voyage blasted off from Florida, as did all Apollo missions. (Verne correctly states in the book that objects launch into space most easily if they are launched towards the zenith of a particular location, and that the zenith would better line up with the moon's orbit from near the Earth's equator.

In the book Florida and Texas compete for the launch, with Florida winning.) The cost of the program in the book ($12.1 billion US in 1969 dollars) is almost similar to the total cost of the Apollo program until Apollo 8 ($14.4 billion US dollars)

Both the spacecraft in the book and all Apollo craft were recovered by U.S. Navy ships.

Verne peculiarly describes the projectile of the Columbiad as made of aluminium, instead of steel that would have been usual for the time. Columbia was built mainly of aluminum alloys.

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
reply to post by Wolfenz

---

hi - i believe you are reasing far too much into comics , please read this there was a lot of serious work into unconventional aircraft before the dates of your comics that illustrators could draw on [ pun ]

thats before allowing thier imagination to run riot

T
The real-life Apollo program bears similarities to the story in several ways:[4]

Verne's cannon was called Columbiad; the Apollo 11 command module (Apollo CSM) was named Columbia.[5]
The spacecraft crew consisted of three persons in the book and each Apollo mission.

The physical dimensions of the projectile are very close to the dimensions of the Apollo CSM.

Verne's voyage blasted off from Florida, as did all Apollo missions. (Verne correctly states in the book that objects launch into space most easily if they are launched towards the zenith of a particular location, and that the zenith would better line up with the moon's orbit from near the Earth's equator. In the book Florida and Texas compete for the launch, with Florida winning.)

The cost of the program in the book ($12.1 billion US in 1969 dollars) is almost similar to the total cost of the Apollo program until Apollo 8 ($14.4 billion US dollars)

Both the spacecraft in the book and all Apollo craft were recovered by U.S. Navy ships.

Verne peculiarly describes the projectile of the Columbiad as made of aluminium, instead of steel that would have been usual for the time. Columbia was built mainly of aluminum alloys.

1. Couzinet RC360 Aerodyne Frenchman René Couzinet designed this flying saucer with two counter-rotating discs that spun around the perimeter of the craft. Each disc had 50 airfoil vanes to provide lift and control. The pilot sat under the glass bubble in the middle, and six turbojet engines embedded in the body provided the lifting power while another engine underneath was for forward thrust. (Image 1 of 2)

2. Lenticular Reentry Vehicle U.S. government documents declassified in 2000 reveal that back in the '60s, the U.S. military was working on a way to deliver nuclear missiles from orbit with a manned flying saucer called the lenticular reentry vehicle, or LRV. Launched on top of a conventional rocket, the LRV could spend six weeks in orbit while supporting a crew of four, relying on its saucer shape to dissipate heat when returning to Earth and acting as a wing to glide to a landing. (Image 1 of 2)

8. Avro Project Y Canada, as it turns out, is somewhat of an expert on building flying saucers. Or at least, they’ve had more realistic experience with them than anyone else (that we know about!). Avro Canada’s Project Y was an attempt at a VTOL fighter jet, which used jet engines to spin a giant turbine inside the body of the craft. Channels inside the airframe directed airflow from this turbine backwards to provide thrust. (Image 1 of 2)

In 1967, former U.S. Navy aviator and aviation writer Jack D. Pickett and his business partner Harold Baker visited MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa Florida to gather information for an Air Force-sponsored article on historical experimental aircraft. At the edge of the base, they were shown four decommissioned X-planes -- all of them flying discs -- measuring 20, 40, 70 and 116 feet in diameter. Through interviews with various base personnel, Pickett and Baker concluded that, during the 1950s, the USAF had developed several models of jet-powered flying discs for reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union. The discs had supersonic capabilities and had, on occasion, reached heights that approached the edge of space (50 miles). Many disc flights -- particularly those of the highly successful 40-foot version -- were no doubt responsible for many "Flying Saucer" reports during the period. By the early 1960s, all had been retired in favor of more advanced aircraft. The proposed article was ultimately cancelled, no doubt for reasons of national security. Years later, the amazing story was published by Michael Schratt, who provided the background material for this model kit.

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi
reply to post by Wolfenz

---

The AVRO Project Y was almost completed before corporate espianage lead to project failure and the remaining pieces were "acquired" by American officials.

Of course this was many years after the Soviets started flying saucers over the US (like over Washington in 1947). The US was behind in the technology since it was the Soviets who acquired the tech after WWII.

Wolfenz The Roswell Aliens found holding a Box (Cube) close to their Chest!! I don't think I've read that one before... what is the story on that..?