North American SKYLINE

North American Aviation (and later North American Rockwell) published a quarterly 32-page glossy-paper magazine for employees which was entitled Skyline. Despite the slant you would expect from a corporate publication, I found the contemporary accounts of the ongoing work on the Apollo hardware to be rather interesting. There are also a lot of photos I've never seen anywhere else, showing amazing details of the hardware and the processes employed to produce it and analyze its performance. After the merger with Rockwell Standard in 1967 a lot of the content was on less interesting topics.

Skyline Vol. 25 No. 3 (1967)

32 pages, 69 Mb

Apollo 4: The Big Test

NASA’s Moon Vehicle, on the pad at Florida, waits for start of momentous first flight.
The Ramrods

Three booster stages will take on weight-lifting, speed accelerator chores in first flight of combined units.
The Strength of Giants

F-1, world’s largest liquid rocket engine, shares spotlight with crucial mission task assigned J-2 liquid hydrogen engine.
And a Safe Return Home

New strength of Apollo 4 to permit vital test on heat shield impossible to perform on earth.
Launch Window Opening

Kennedy Space Center prepares the site, ignites the engines, then Manned Spacecraft Center guides Apollo 4 through mission.
Who Builds for Apollo?

300,000 American Workmen Pool Their Skills for the Moon Effort

Skyline Vol. 26 No. 1 (1968)

13 pages, 24 Mb

The Ageless Moon, the Young Apollo

Multiple Changes Have Been Made in Command Module at Space Division Since Start of Contract in 1961

Skyline Vol. 26 No. 2 (1968)

30 pages, 61 Mb

Lift It Up Tenderly

Following splashdown, Apollo 4 is dissected by NASA and Space Division post flight evaluation teams.

[An interesting description (with photos) of post-flight analysis of the Apollo 4 CM.]
Apollo: The Strength of a Nation
Beryllium: Very Rough, Very Tough, Very Good

Metal’s Unique Characteristics Have Multiple Applications in Aerospace Industry

[An interesting article about beryllium, which I thought played down the hazards involved with machining this metal.]
Breakfast at Zero G

Skyline Vol. 26 No. 3 (1968)

9 pages, 20 Mb

[I’ve included the tail end of an article that is otherwise not about Apollo: the part I include describes (with photos) a failure of one of the titanium tanks used for the SM RCS.]
The Toughest Weld of All

Half mile of delicately fused metal unites panels of thin-skinned Saturn S-II, second stage of moon vehicle

Skyline Vol. 26 No. 4 (1968)

6 Pages, 14 Mb

Three to Get Ready

122 Days of Test and Mounting Tension Preceded Launch of Apollo Module Outward to the Moon

Skyline Vol. 27 No. 2 (1969)

15 pages, 29 Mb

Bits of Another World

50 Pounds of Rocks Brought Back from the Moon Will Help Unravel Age-Old Scientific Mysteries
Home is 200 Miles Up

Apollo Applications Program Precedes Day When Man Will Live on Orbiting Space Stations

Skyline Vol. 27 No. 3 (1969)

8 pages, 15 Mb

Is It Good Enough for Charlie?

For Homeward-Bound Moon Explorers, the Lunar Module Ascent Engine HAS to Fire.

Skyline Vol. 27 No. 4 (1969)

17 pages, 32 Mb

The Day Apollo 11 Was Launched

A Candid, at-the-Scene Account of Events Leading to Man’s Grandest Adventure
The Moon ... Earth’s Book of Life?

In the Never-Ending Pursuit of Knowledge, Scientists Hope to Exploit Man’s Newly-Gained Capability of Reaching the Lunar Surface

[Describes the future “ALEM” (Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions), an appelation I was heretofor unfamiliar with. I always just thought of them as the “J-Series” missions. Includes an artist concept of the trans-Earth EVA that I’d never seen before.]

skyline