Lunex Project

Lunex Project
Moon
TypeUnderground Air Force base
Site information
Controlled byUnited States
Site history
BuiltPlanned to begin after 1967
In useProject canceled
Garrison information
Garrison21 USAF personnel

The Lunex Project was a US Air Force 1958 plan for a crewed lunar landing prior to the Apollo Program. The final lunar expedition plan in 1961 was for a 21-person underground Air Force base on the Moon by 1968 at a total cost of $7.5 billion.[1] The primary distinction between the later Apollo missions and Lunex was the orbital rendezvous maneuver. The Lunex vehicle, composed of a landing module and a lifting body return/re-entry module, would land the entire vehicle and all astronauts on the surface, whereas the final Apollo mission involved a separate ascent module leaving the command module and service module connected in lunar orbit with a single astronaut. The original plan for Apollo was for direct ascent, similar to Lunex.

  1. ^ Mark Wade (2019). "Lunex". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2020.