"Project Horizon, Vol I." (vollst. Titel: "Project Horizon Report. A U.S. Army Study for the establishment of a lunar outpost")

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S.7

By the end of 1964, a total of 72 SATURN vehicles should have been launched in US programs, of which 40 are expected to contribute to the accomplishment of HORIZON. Cargo delivery to the moon begins in January 1965. The first manned landing by two men will be made in April 1965. The buildup and construction phase will be continued without interruption until the outpost is ready for beneficial occupancy and is manned by a task force 12 men in November 1966.

This buildup program requires 61 SATURN 1 and 88 SATURN II launchings through November 1966, the average launching rate being 5.3 per month. During this time period 490,000 pounds of useful cargo will be transported to the moon.

During the first operational year of the lunar outpost, December 1966 through 167, a total of 64 launchings have been scheduled. These will result in an additional 266,000 pounds of useful cargo on the moon.

The total cost of the eight-and-a-half year program presented in this study is estimated to be six billion dollars. This is an average of approximately $700 million per year. These figures are a valid appraisal and, while preliminary, they represent the best estimates of experienced, non-commercial agenices of the government. Substantial funding is undeniably required for the establishment of a U.S. lunar outpost; however, the implications of the fact that the average annual funding required for Project HORIZON would be les than two percent of the current annual defense budget.

Figure I-1 shows the HORIZON outpost as it would appear in late 1965, after about six months of construction effort. The basic building block for the outpost will be cylindrical metal tanks ten feet in diameter and 20 feet in length. (Details of typical tnaks are shown in Fig. I-2.) The buried cylindral tanks at the left-center of Fig. I-1 constitue the living quarters of the initial construction crew of nine men who will arrive in July 1965. (Details in Fig. I-3.) During the constructoin period, this force will be gradually augmented until a final complement of 12 men is reached. The construction camp is a minimum facility and will be made operational within 15 days after the beginning of active work at the poutpose site. Two nuclear reactors are located in holes as shown oin the left portion of Fig. I-1. These provide power for the operation of the preliminary quarters and for the equipment used in the construction in the construction of the permanent facility. The main quarters and supporting facilities are shown being assembled in the open excavation to the right-center of the figure. These cylinders will also ultimately be covered with lunar material.

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https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB...B-Moon01_sm.pdf

Um den Bericht mal in Perspektive zu setzen: Als die AMBA-Gruppe am 20. März 1959 durch Generalleutnant Arthur G. Trudeau den Auftrag zur Erstellung dieser Planstudie erhalten hat, hatten die USA insgesamt 6 Satelliten gestartet, davon war die erste Mondsonde, Pioneer 4, gestartet am 3.3.59, nur ein Teilerfolg gewesen, weil der Vorbeiflug am Mond aufgrund der zu langen Brenndauer der 2. Stufe mit 60.000 km zu weit entfernt ausfiel, um Meßdaten oder Photos vom Mond zu erhalten. Die UdSSR hatte bis zu diesenm Zeitpunkt 3 Satelliten gestartet: Sputnik 1 und 2, und Luna 1 am 2.1.59. Luna/Lunik 3, die die ersten Bilder von der Mondrückseite aufnahm, startete erst im Oktober 1959. Dafür waren in den USA im gleichen Zeitraum 16 Starts als Fehlschläge geendet, darunter die beiden ersten Discoverer-Spionagesatelliten der "Keyhole"-Serie (die die aufgenommenen Teleskop-Photos mit einer Rückkehrkapsel abwerfen sollten) - dieses Programm kam natürlich nicht tagesaktuell in den Nachrichten vor.

Wenn man das als Folie hat, dann wirken die derzeitgen Planvorgaben für das Artemis-Programm nicht mehr ganz so größenwahnsinnig.