Apollo W1 - Credit: NASA. 8,988 bytes. 313 x 584 pixels.

Martin's W-1 design for the Apollo spacecraft was an alternative to the preferred L-2C configuration. The 2652 kg command module was a blunt cone lifting body re-entry vehicle, 3.45 m in diameter, 3.61 m long. The propulsion, equipment, and mission modules were identical with those proposed for the L-2C baseline. The RV shape was heavier than the W-1 but provided higher manoeuvrability (hypersonic L/D ratio of 0.75). Flaps and a parachute landing system being used for final recovery were used as in the L-2C. The circumlunar version had a total length of 11.4 m including a short launch escape tower and a fuelled mass of 6,677 kg.

A single crewmen was seated in the forward part of the vehicle, with the other two behind, in couches that rotated 90 degrees from launch to re-entry positions. A jettisonable mission module (not used on the circumlunar version) could also serve as a solar storm cellar, a laboratory, or even the descent stage of a lunar lander.