Von Braun Round-the-Moon Ship 

Scale: 1/144
Initial Release: 2024
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 2
Length: 7.5"

About the Design

Before man could land on the moon, a careful survey of potential landing sites needed to conducted. For this mission, Dr. Werner von Braun proposed in 1952 what he dubbed a "Round-the-Moon" ship, an open-frame vessel that would be launched from his "Wheel" space station and carry a crew of three to within a hundred or so miles of the lunar surface. Having no braking rockets, the ship would whip around the moon and, powered by nothing but the moon's gravity, be flung back to Earth. (This "free return" trajectory was exactly what the Apollo 13 crew employed when their spacecraft's Service Module was crippled by an explosion shortly into their mission in April 1970.)

Presumably, several "Round-the-Moon" missions would be required to adequately map the surface prior to any manned landing.

If the architecture of the Von Braun "Round-the-Moon" ship looks familiar, it's because its design was liberally "adapted" (without credit) by Lindberg Line Models when they produced their "U.S. Moon Ship" kit in 1958, six years after Von Braun published his proposal.

About the Kit

This kit was released by Fantastic Plastic Models in the spring of 2024. Components included a combination of resin-cast and 3D printed pieces.

This model was built from an original issue.

Lindberg's "U.S. Moon Ship." Any resemblance between this and the Von Braun Round-the-Moon Ship is purely coincidental.