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APOLLO PROGRAM: A HISTORY
FROM BEGINNING TO END
(THE COLD WAR), by
HOURLY HISTORY.
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Well written and well compiled.
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"Apollo 13 left its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center at 2:13 pm on April 11, 1970. Earth orbit and trans-lunar injection went as planned, and the crew of three astronauts—Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise—settled in for the three-day journey to the Moon. Then, at 10:08 pm, April 13, Houston received a worrying radio transmission from the craft, “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”
"The problem was an explosion in an oxygen tank that vented all the oxygen from two of the Service Module’s tanks into space. It rapidly became apparent that a Moon landing was no longer possible, and the remainder of the mission became a desperate struggle to keep the three astronauts alive while they returned to Earth. All non-essential services were shut down, and the crew used the cramped Command Module as a type of lifeboat while they looped around the Moon and returned to Earth.
"Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apollo 13 received more television coverage than any other space mission to date. Millions of people around the world waited anxiously for updates. When the capsule finally splashed down safely on April 17, this event was watched live by an estimated 100 million viewers in America and elsewhere. On April 18, The New York Times reported that this mission “in all probability united the world in mutual concern more fully than another successful landing on the Moon would have.”"
Something known only within India, not publicized by the then government owned media, was that Hindu priests in South India had performed a Yajna for safe return of the astronauts. Needless to say this was conducted not only quietly - without publicity - but also without any government or private agencies funding it.
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"Following the accident on Apollo 13, Project Apollo was once again grounded while investigators isolated the cause of the explosion and ensured that it could not re-occur. Launches resumed in February 1971 with Apollo 14, which successfully placed men in the Fra Mauro crater. Apollo 15 then launched on July 26, 1971, and was notable as the first Moon landing to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle, an electric buggy that allowed the astronauts to explore a larger area during their time on the lunar surface.
"Apollo 16 landed two astronauts in the Descartes Highlands area of the Moon on April 21, 1972. The two men spent almost three days on the Moon before the craft returned safely to Earth. Apollo 17 placed two men in the Taurus–Littrow region in December 1972. For the first time, one of these astronauts was not an ex-military pilot; Geologist Harrison Schmitt was the first NASA scientist/astronaut. Schmitt was also one of the last humans to set foot on the Moon. Public interest in Moon landings was lessening. The Apollo 17 Moonwalks were not even broadcast on live television, despite the quality of images being significantly improved from earlier missions. With the successful completion of the Apollo 17 mission, Project Apollo came to an end."
Wouldn't have anything to do with Watergate, would that?
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"Ironically, NASA’s success in completing the first Moon landing within the period set by President Kennedy was also the root of a reduction of interest in space exploration. While it was fighting to attain this milestone, NASA enjoyed virtually unopposed political support in the United States. When the Moon landing was accomplished, many people began to question whether the continued expenditure of vast sums on spaceflight was justified, and from 1969 on, NASA’s annual budget decreased each year."
It's also that during sixties - an era that saw relaxation of standards of education, so much so that in eighties a college student would as likely as not know that one divided by two is half - a celebration of illiteracy and a mistaken ideology or thinking that placed idiots on par with the best and the brilliant had those lots question if their daily dozen beers must be foregone for taxes to pay for NASA, leading them to question NASA and even accuse NASA of perpetrating fraud by having shot lunar landing in a studio. Those virulent verbal attacks are rampant across internet, especially by flatearthers and bible belt.
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"Part of the issue was that America itself had changed from the early 1960s when President Kennedy made his bold and optimistic claim. In 1962, America was at peace, even though it faced the Soviet Union in the Cold War. The American economy was recovering from the recession of 1960-1961, and most Americans were optimistic about the future. By the time that Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, America was about to enter a new recession, partly caused by U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. By April 1969, more than half a million U.S. troops were serving in Vietnam, and a growing anti-war movement was beginning to question whether this was appropriate or desirable.
"By the time of the last Moon landings in 1972, America was facing another recession and massive inflation prompted partly by rising oil prices. In these circumstances, it is unsurprising that many people began to question the vast sums being spent on space exploration.
"When Apollo 12 splashed down in November 1969, it had already been decided that all the remaining Saturn V rockets would not be used for Moon missions. One was to be used to launch the Skylab orbital laboratory—that eliminated Apollo 20. After the successful completion of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, President Richard Nixon proposed canceling all remaining Apollo missions. He was persuaded to allow two more to go ahead, but the last two Saturn V rockets (originally intended to be used on Apollo missions 18 and 19) were to be donated to museums in Florida and Texas."
Why does author refrain from mention of Watergate?
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"During Project Apollo, many people in NASA had assumed that a successful Moon landing would be followed by the establishment of a permanent base on the Moon and perhaps also by manned missions to Mars. In October 1969, the NASA Headquarters Office of Manned Space Flight published details of a proposed new project that would lead to a manned landing on Mars by either 1981 or 1983. President Nixon rejected this proposal and suggested that NASA look instead at the possibility of developing some form of less expensive, reusable, winged spacecraft. NASA then produced the Space Transportation System (STS), which looked at a number of possible future space projects. The only one given funding was the development of a reusable spacecraft."
Of course! Had to be Nixon that took an axe to NASA and aspirations for space, while prioritising spying on political opponents.
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"Of course, the race to put a human on the Moon wasn’t simply about altruism or exploration. It was also part of the ongoing competition in the development of arms and technology between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Space Race was simply the most obvious part of this competition, and there seemed little doubt that the nation that won this race would gain a lasting advantage over the other.
"The first Moon landing in 1969 became one of the most enduring memories of the twentieth century for many people. A nation had committed a great part of its wealth not to fighting a war but to pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and creativity. It seemed that perhaps the human race was finally ready to abandon wars on this planet in order to find the resources to explore the vastness of space.
"That wasn’t quite how things worked out. Although Project Apollo was a triumphant success, instead of spurring further space exploration, the huge costs involved convinced many people that this was not something any single nation, no matter how wealthy, could afford to pursue. The money that America might have used to fund the establishment of permanent bases on the Moon or even manned missions to Mars was instead spent on fighting the disastrous war in Vietnam."
It wouldn't have gone that way had JFK lived. Hence, as stated by Jim Garrison, the assassination in November 1963. Subsequent presidents were key to tremendous profits for military industry and war machinery.
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"Humanity has dreamed of traveling to space for a very long time. The notion that this might be a practical possibility was first explored in fiction. In 1865, French novelist Jules Verne published one of his most popular works, From the Earth to the Moon. This imagined men being sent to the Moon in a vehicle fired from a giant gun. Although it later became apparent that this wasn’t a practical proposition, ... "
This is too literal an interpretation of gun by this author - and if one takes overall principles and general sketches, "sent to the Moon in a vehicle fired from a giant gun" isn't so far ftom the eventual facts of a vehicle lifted off planet via rockets firing.
" ... Verne was one of the first to describe in this book and its sequel—Around the Moon (1870)—the hazards that astronauts might face, including weightlessness and the fiery heat of re-entry. Other popular romantic novels followed, including The First Men in the Moon (1900) by British novelist H. G. Wells.
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"Partly inspired by these popular proto-science fiction writers, two men began independently looking at the practical development of space flight early in the twentieth century. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was an eccentric recluse who lived and worked in an isolated log cabin near the town of Kaluga in Russia. Inspired by his love of the works of Jules Verne, Tsiolkovsky started looking at the practical possibilities for space flight. In 1903, he published the very first scientific work to look at the prospect of using rockets to propel spacecraft beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, entitled Exploration of Outer Space by Means of Rocket Devices. Tsiolkovsky then continued his research for the new Bolshevik regime that took control of the Russian Empire in 1917, though he never built or launched a rocket.
"Meanwhile, in America, inventor, physicist, and engineer Robert Hutchings Goddard began to look at ways to turn Tsiolkovsky’s ideas into practical vehicles. His 1919 work, A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes, is widely regarded as one of the classic texts of twentieth-century rocket science and one of the first to approach space flight as an engineering rather than a philosophical problem. In 1926, Goddard turned theory into reality when he launched the first small liquid-fueled rocket from a field near Clark University. “Nell” flew for less than three seconds before crashing into a cabbage field, but this launch can be seen as the first step on humankind’s voyage into the cosmos.
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"Goddard then relocated to Roswell in New Mexico, where he built and launched a series of increasingly powerful and sophisticated rockets throughout the 1930s. In light of the later Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States, it is more than a little ironic that the two earliest pioneers of rocketry were based in Russia and America."
But author fails to notice that the name Roswell was later associated with incidents involving aliens being sighted.
Could this be because the earlier firing of rocket was noticed and it took them a few decades to arrive?
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"In the beginning, many scientists regarded rocketry as the province of cranks and eccentrics. It didn’t help that comic strips and serials in the 1930s covered the exploits of heroes such as Flash Gordon who rode to distant planets on spluttering rockets. When the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) began federally funded research into rocketry in the 1930s, they were so concerned to avoid being identified with science fiction that the new group was called the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), even though no work was ever done there on jets. It would take another country to turn rocketry from a faintly embarrassing eccentricity into sinister reality."
Presumably that "sinister reality" bit is about missiles?
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"Rocketry was pursued in Nazi Germany not with a view to achieving space flight but as a means of creating new and terrifying weapons. ... "
Little else could be expected of a nation that turned seating arrangements at royal weddings and funerals into excuses for a war, claiming affront; but then, crusades to weren't different - while English and French rode to Jerusalem, Germans decided it was too much trouble, and used crusade to slaughter civilian population East, taking over the land.
The very memory of the people and language that was Prussian, not connected to German, has been almost completely wiped off from history as taught, especially in global school curriculums.
" ... The first rocket to reach space was a German V-2, launched in June 1944. V-2 rockets bombarded London and other targets in England and Europe for the remainder of the war, causing an estimated 10,000 civilian deaths. Suddenly, rockets were not at all amusing. When the fighting ended in Europe in May 1945, America, Britain, and the Soviet Union scrambled to acquire as much information as possible on this potentially devastating new weapon."
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"“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.”
"—Konstantin Tsiolkovsky"
Or, possibly, the only home?
If there's life elsewhere, or possibilities thereof, why assume it's oxygen based?
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"During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies fighting against Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire. However, almost as soon as that war ended, it became clear that these two nations were the new superpowers that would dominate the post-war world. Political and philosophical differences ensured that the alliance between the two did not endure, and within a few years of the end of the war, Russia and America faced one another on terms of barely concealed hostility."
It's exaggeration to say "within a few years of the end of the war", except when lying deliberately - or in total ignorance.
Russians had reasons enough to be askance, but attitudes of the likes of Patton, Dulles et al didn't help, either - the latter along with several other US personnel helped German and other war criminals escape, or integrate back into German and other societies, while the former could single-handedly have caused the third world war, but definitely did set in motion a higher level of distrust in Soviets, leading perhaps to cold war all by himself.
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"World War II had seen the emergence of another terrifying new weapon in addition to rockets: nuclear weapons. America had dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities, allowing the world to glimpse the potential horrors of nuclear war. Initially, only America had nuclear weapons, but by 1949, the Soviet Union had exploded its first atomic bomb. Humanity found itself in a precarious situation where the two superpowers built arsenals of nuclear weapons capable of ending all life on Earth. That this growing confrontation between east and west did not erupt into open war was mainly due to a particularly fitting acronym: MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction).
"The availability of nuclear weapons meant that even the victor in a global war would find itself ruling only a radioactive wasteland. Open war had simply become too costly to contemplate, and instead, overt and covert competition between America and the Soviet Union turned into what became known as the Cold War. In addition to covert operations, including spying and attempting to bring other nations into the sphere of influence of Russia or America, this period saw intense competition between the two superpowers in attempting to develop new technology that could be used for defense or to enable the more effective delivery of weapons.
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"The notion of holding high ground has always been important in military terms. The side that holds high ground can observe the enemy and use long-range weapons to attack at will. Even before the end of World War II, a completely new concept began to develop: that space might represent the ultimate high ground. If either Russia or America could gain ascendance in space, they could establish satellites and space stations from which they could observe and perhaps even attack the other. Thus, the side that established a lead in space travel might also gain a decisive advantage in the Cold War.
"Rocketry was suddenly seen as a key technology; rockets were the only technology capable of sending vehicles and people into space. However, neither Russia nor America had rocket programs or scientists with knowledge in this field. The only nation with an advanced rocket program and associated technical experts was Nazi Germany. As Germany slid towards eventual defeat in World War II, teams of Russian and American agents began to scour Europe for German rocket scientists who might be willing to work for either side.
"America created the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency, whose remit was to bring to the U.S. German technology, engineers, and scientists. However, there was an important caveat: U.S. President Harry S. Truman specifically forbade the recruitment of active or former members of the Nazi Party and of members of proscribed Nazi organizations such as the Schutzstaffel (SS)."
But the personnel on ground in Europe could either skirt around that, or be fooled easily enough.
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"Even though the term would not see common usage for some time, members of the American intelligence community were very aware of the Space Race and the importance of any technology that would allow the U.S. to dominate space before the Soviet Union. They were also aware that German rocket scientists were almost all trusted members of the Nazi Party. A few had even been members of the SS. A secret decision was made to ignore the president’s orders and to recruit any German rocket scientist that could be found, regardless of their background. Records would then be purged to remove any reference to Nazi affiliation.
"Operation Paperclip was a secret intelligence program designed to identify potentially useful German personnel (the name was used because the files of useful people were marked by the attachment of a large paperclip). In all, this operation would see over 1,500 German scientists, engineers, and technicians brought to America, mainly to work on military projects. A large proportion of these people had been associated with the Nazi rocket program."
If only that were all!
But it wasn't.
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"Concurrently, the Soviet Union was running an identical program that resulted in over 2,000 senior Nazi scientists being relocated to Russia. Both sides were clearly aware of the importance of space. The covert race to be the first to exploit this potential new theater of war began even before World War II ended and while the United States and Soviet Union were still officially allies."
Readers are seemingly led to infer that the progress in space was possible, in either nation, only due to the nazis.
If there's any shred of Truth there, why not say so, flat out?
Germans do, and not necessarily in context of space.
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"In addition to enrolling German scientists, American forces had also been able to capture a large number of German V-2 rockets and the equipment and facilities needed to launch them. With the help of their new German recruits, between March 1946 and September 1952, more than 50 of these rockets were launched from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. These launches were overseen by the first official American body set up to work on rocketry: the Upper Atmosphere Research Panel.
"Even as this work was progressing, another group in America, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), was looking at whether it might be possible to combine rockets with nuclear warheads to create what would become known as ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) that would be capable of delivering nuclear missiles over great distances. The man in charge of this program was a German scientist recruited under Operation Paperclip, Wernher von Braun. Only much later would it become known that von Braun had not only been a member of the Nazi Party but had also held the rank of Sturmbannführer (Major) in the SS."
One may safely bet that the "Only much later would it become known" is only in context of general public and media of US.
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"Von Braun was interested not just in building missiles but in using this technology for space exploration. The army chiefs in charge of the ABMA were aware of the need to develop space flight before the Soviet Union, and they encouraged von Braun to investigate the possibilities of using the new missiles that the U.S. was developing as space launch vehicles. The first significant milestone was being able to place an object in Earth’s orbit. In July 1955, it was announced that the U.S. expected to be able to place a satellite in orbit by “mid-1958.” Just four days later, the Soviet Union responded with an announcement that it also planned to place an object in orbit “in the near future.”
"This was the first time that both superpowers had made a public announcement that they were working toward the development of space flight. Coming so close together, the announcements also made it clear that both wanted to be the first to develop this new technology. For the first time, people around the world became aware of what would become known as the Space Race, the competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to be the first to develop practical space flight.
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"In America, most people in the military, scientific, and political communities were very confident. After all, American industry and technology were generally far ahead of that of the Soviet Union. The Space Race was all about the rapid development of new technology, and few doubted that America would soon take a decisive lead. That confidence lasted until October 4, 1957. On that day, a rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan placed the first man-made object in Earth’s orbit.
"Sputnik 1 wasn’t particularly impressive; it was little larger than a basketball, and all it was capable of doing was emitting a series of bleeps as it circled the Earth. Nevertheless, Russia had beaten America to the first important milestone in space: placing an object in orbit. In January 1958, America launched its own first satellite, Explorer 1. By this point, the Soviets had already successfully launched the first animal into Earth’s orbit—a dog named Laika—on November 3, 1957. The next significant step would be putting a man into space, and this time, America was determined to be first.
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"In April 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented a bill to Congress requesting funding for the creation of a civilian agency to drive the U.S. space program. As a direct result, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in August of the same year. As its first objective, the president assigned NASA the task of developing manned space flight as quickly as possible—before the Soviet Union.
"The only viable rocket available to NASA was the Redstone, an ICBM created by Wernher von Braun and his team. This was little more than an enlarged and improved version of the Nazi V-2, but it was all that was available. The Redstone wasn’t particularly powerful (though an improved version, the Atlas was under development), and no one was certain how it would perform with a one-ton spacecraft attached. Early tests were not encouraging.
"The first launch of a Redstone rocket carrying a dummy, unmanned Mercury capsule was scheduled for August 1959. The rocket exploded before leaving the launch pad. In July 1960, the first launch of the improved Atlas rocket carrying a real (but still unmanned) Mercury capsule took place. The flight lasted less than one minute before the rocket exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
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"A successful launch was desperately needed to assure the American public that the U.S. was winning the Space Race and that the vast sums of money being spent on research and development were justified. On November 21, 1960, a Redstone rocket carrying a Mercury capsule lifted off from its launch pad at the U.S. Air Force Cape Canaveral Launch Complex in Florida. It attained an altitude of approximately four inches (ten centimeters) before settling back down on the launch pad.
"It wasn’t until the end of January 1961 that NASA finally successfully launched a spacecraft with a living occupant: a chimpanzee named Ham. Ham survived the flight, and it seemed that America was finally on the verge of achieving the first manned space flight. Then, on April 12, 1961, disaster struck. The Soviet news agency, TASS, issued a press release, “The world’s first space ship Vostok with a man on board, has been launched on April 12 in the Soviet Union on a round-the-earth orbit. The first space navigator is Soviet citizen pilot Major Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin.”
"Russia had beaten America to placing the first man in space. Once again, it seemed that America was losing the Space Race. However, the nation had a new president who was determined that America would regain the lead in space exploration. Though no one in NASA knew, he was about to publicly commit America to one of the boldest and most challenging milestones in space exploration."
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"“No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind.”
"—John F. Kennedy"
And, indeed, one thinks of him in the context of who was responsible for Neil Armstrong stepping on the Moon.
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"Democrat John F. Kennedy took office as the 35th president of the United States in January 1961 after winning the November 1960 presidential election against his main rival, Republican Richard Nixon. One of the issues raised by Kennedy during his election campaign was whether America was lagging behind in space and ICBM technology compared to the Soviet Union. Kennedy claimed that this was so and pledged that, as president, he would turn this situation around. Kennedy saw Yuri Gagarin’s space flight in April 1961 as a direct challenge to America’s position in the world, and he was determined not just to match the Russians in terms of space technology but to move ahead of them.
"NASA was able to place the first American in space, astronaut Alan Shepard, on May 5, 1961. However, this was not as impressive as the previous Russian launch; Yuri Gagarin’s craft had achieved a complete orbit of the Earth, while Shepard’s flight was only a short, sub-orbital hop that barely passed outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Nevertheless, on May 25, less than three weeks after this first U.S. manned space flight, President Kennedy addressed Congress and announced that, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”
"Given the context of America’s space program at this time, this was a staggering challenge. Kennedy returned to the same theme in a speech given at Rice University Stadium in Houston, Texas, in September 1961, telling an enthusiastic crowd that, “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”
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"President Kennedy had committed the nation to being the first to achieve the next, greatest, and most difficult milestone in space flight: placing a person on the Moon. This commitment had been discussed with NASA before the president’s announcements. Still, personnel in the space agency were all too well aware that going from a first short, sub-orbital flight to a manned Moon landing in just eight years would present a whole range of problems.
"The first NASA missions under Project Mercury had always been intended as little more than test flights to try out new equipment and techniques. The tiny, one-man Mercury capsule simply wasn’t capable of undertaking longer and more complex flights. Fortunately, NASA had already started planning for a much more ambitious series of space missions in Project Apollo. These were first discussed in early 1960 and would involve the design and development of a much larger rocket capable of lifting a three-man capsule out of Earth’s atmosphere.
"In the early stages, a number of missions were considered for the Apollo craft: ferrying astronauts to build and live in a manned space station, lunar orbit flights, and eventually, perhaps a Moon landing. President Kennedy’s announcements changed all that. America was now committed to achieving a manned Moon landing within eight years. No one in NASA doubted that this was possible, but many had serious reservations that it could be achieved in this incredibly tight timescale.
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"NASA’s budgets were immediately increased by over 80% in 1962 and by over 100% in 1963. It would soon need all the funds it could find. A new Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) was constructed in Houston, Texas, and this was quickly expanded to include a new Mission Control Center (MCC) from which all Apollo missions would be controlled. Work began on the construction of an entirely new launch site and assembly area for the new spacecraft. This Launch Operations Center (LOC) was constructed on open land north of Canaveral at Merritt Island in Florida. This site, originally known as Cape Canaveral LOC, was renamed following the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963. From that time on, it would become world-famous as the Kennedy Space Center.
"NASA’s main research and development center, the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, was meanwhile expanded and would become the heart of the design of the new spacecraft. In mid-1963, Dr. George Mueller was recruited to become the new NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight. He would head Project Apollo, and the heads of the three main locations—Wernher von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Robert Gilruth at the MSC, and Kurt Debus at the LOC—would all report directly to him.
"The first task facing the new teams was daunting: just what would a manned Moon mission look like? Given the timescales involved, there simply wasn’t time for a trial-and-error approach. These engineers and scientists were required to create a mission that would undertake something never before attempted, and they had to get it right the first time."
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"Four possible mission profiles were considered for Project Apollo. Each had its own merits and drawbacks and in the early stages, most of Nasa’s time was spent refining the options into a single approach. The mission profiles were:
"Direct Ascent. This was the simplest possible approach. The spacecraft would lift off from Earth and travel directly to the Moon, where it would land without first entering orbit. Once the mission was complete, the Earth Return vehicle would blast off from the Moon, leaving behind the Descent Propulsion stage. Though it was relatively simple, this approach had one major drawback: it would require a rocket capable of carrying a payload of over 163,000 pounds (74,000 kilograms) into space. That was beyond the capabilities of even the most advanced rockets then in the design stage, and there was little confidence that a suitable rocket could be designed and built in sufficient time to meet President Kennedy’s timescale.
"Earth Orbit Rendezvous. This was a different approach to the Direct Ascent mission. Up to 15 smaller rockets would carry parts of the Earth Return vehicle and the Descent Propulsion stage into orbit, where they would be assembled. These would then fly from Earth’s orbit directly to the Moon. This approach avoided the problem of needing a single, massively powerful rocket, but it introduced new complexities of having men live and work in space, something that had never been attempted.
"Lunar Surface Rendezvous. This approach involved the launch of two separate missions. One would carry the Descent Propulsion stage to the Moon; the other would take the Earth Return vehicle. Separating the launches meant that existing rockets could be used, but it meant designing and building equipment that could perform a completely automated landing on the Moon for the Descent Propulsion stage, something that was extremely challenging using early 1960s technology.
"Lunar Orbit Rendezvous. A single rocket would take a 100,000-pound (45,000-kilogram) payload comprising two crafts out of Earth’s atmosphere. These two vehicles—the Command and Service module (CSM) and the Lunar Module—would then fly from Earth to lunar orbit. The Lunar Module would descend to the Moon’s surface while the CSM remained in lunar orbit. Once the mission was complete, the Lunar Module would blast off from the surface and rendezvous in lunar orbit with the CSM. The Lunar module would then be discarded, and the CSM would bring all three astronauts back to Earth.
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"Of these four options, the last, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), was originally the least favored. It was thought to be too dangerous; if the Lunar Module was unable to rendezvous and dock successfully with the CSM for any reason, the two astronauts in the Lunar Module would be doomed. However, the other approaches all required the development of new technology and the learning of new techniques. There simply wasn’t time to accomplish these things before the end of the 1960s.
"Throughout 1960 and 1961, there was intense debate within NASA about which mission profile to select. Gradually it became clear that LOR—while presenting new and unknown variables and involving some inherent risk—was the only approach that could lead to a Moon landing within the time period specified by President Kennedy. Ironically, although NASA selected this profile, there was initially some opposition from within the Kennedy administration. While the president wanted to achieve a Moon landing before the end of 1969, many people were terrified at the public reaction if American astronauts were left stranded in space if the Lunar Module was unable to dock with the CSM in lunar orbit.
"It wasn’t until November 1962 that it was finally agreed that the LOR mission profile would be used for Project Apollo. Once this had been agreed upon, it was possible to begin detailed design work on the Apollo launch vehicle and spacecraft."
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"Even before Project Apollo began, Wernher von Braun and his team of rocket engineers working for the U.S. Army had begun work to design the next generation of launch vehicles which would produce much more power than the Redstone and Atlas rockets used in Project Mercury. Unlike these earlier rockets, the next generation, the Saturn series, were not converted ICBMs; they were the first American rockets specifically designed for space flight. These rockets were originally conceived as being used to launch military satellites into Earth’s orbit, but when von Braun transferred from the U.S. Army to become director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, these Saturn rockets became an essential part of Project Apollo.
"The first of the new rockets, Saturn I, was launched on October 27, 1961, and to the great relief of all involved, the flight was a complete success. By the fifth launch in January 1964, the new rocket had proven to be entirely reliable. It was able to lift a payload of 20,000 pounds (9,000 kilograms) and stood 180 feet (55 meters) tall on the launch tower. In comparison, the earlier Redstone rocket was just 83 feet (25 meters) tall and could lift a payload of 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms).
"However, impressive as Saturn I was, it wasn’t even close to what was needed for Project Apollo. For that, work started on the giant Saturn V.
"“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
"—Neil Armstrong" massive rocket was bigger than anything that had come before at over 30 feet (10 meters) in diameter and standing over 360 feet (110 meters) tall. It was intended to be capable of lifting a payload of almost 100,000 pounds (45,000 kilograms). Just getting this launch vehicle onto a launch pad presented new technical problems.
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"The Saturn V had to be assembled along with its payload on a mobile transporter, and this had to be done inside, protected from the weather. The solution was the Vehicle Assembly Building, constructed at the Kennedy Space Center in 1966. This was (and still is) one of the largest buildings by volume in the world and the largest single-story building ever constructed. Again and again, Project Apollo would throw up new issues that required bold and innovative engineering and technical solutions.
"Despite the challenges, the pace of development of the new launch vehicle was little short of amazing; the first successful launch of a Saturn V rocket took place on November 9, 1967, only six years after America’s first manned space flight. However, the launch vehicle was only one element of Project Apollo, and NASA still needed to design and build the CSM and Lunar Module needed to place a person on the Moon.
"The CSM would comprise two parts: the conical command module that would house the three Apollo astronauts, and a cylindrical service module provided with a propulsion engine and thrusters for maneuvering. On its return to Earth, the service module would be discarded, while the command module would re-enter the atmosphere before descending by parachute to an ocean landing.
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"The contract for building the CSM had been awarded to North American Aviation on November 28, 1961. However, at that time, there was still a great deal of discussion about just what the Apollo mission profile would be. The initial specification called for a CSM that could be landed on the Moon and that could then take off and return to Earth. For this reason, the initial design required a powerful engine but had no requirement for docking with a Lunar Module. When the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous mission profile was adopted, North American Aviation was required to adapt the CSM design to be capable of docking in lunar orbit, but it was no longer required to be able to land on the Moon.
"By the time the mission profile was agreed upon, North American Aviation had already completed more than one CSM, but these weren’t suitable for the LOR mission. NASA agreed to go ahead with two quite different versions of the CSM: the original design, what became known as the Block 1 craft, was to be retained and used only for Earth-orbit test flights. The redesigned Block 2 version, capable of lunar docking, was to be used for all Moon missions.
................................................................................................
"The final component of the Apollo craft was the Lunar Module. Because it would operate exclusively in the low gravity, airless lunar environment, there was no need to make this craft streamlined or particularly strong. Compared to aircraft intended for use in the Earth’s atmosphere, the Lunar Module looked clumsy and fragile. The contract to build it was awarded to Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in November 1962. The design called for two separate components: a Descent Stage equipped with an engine and thrusters that would allow the craft to safely land on the lunar surface and an Ascent Stage, also provided with an engine and thrusters that would take the astronauts back into lunar orbit to rendezvous with the CSM.
"Several successful uncrewed test launches were undertaken using Saturn I rockets carrying Block 1 CSMs. These seemed to prove that the new spacecraft was viable. Soon it would be time for the next significant Apollo milestone: the first manned launch."
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
"“If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business.”
"—Virgil I. Grissom"
................................................................................................
"Thirty-two astronauts were selected to take part in the Apollo missions. Some were veterans of previous Mercury or Gemini space flights; other were new recruits who had successfully completed NASA astronaut training. When the first crewed Apollo mission launch was announced for February 21, 1967, the astronauts included two with space experience: the commander was Virgil “Gus” Grissom, who had taken part in flights in both Mercury and Gemini crafts, and Ed White, who had flown in Gemini 4. The third crew member, Roger B. Chaffee, was a naval pilot and aeronautical engineer who had yet to fly in space.
"This mission, later named Apollo 1, would involve the launch of a Block 1 CSM into Earth orbit on a Saturn 1 rocket. The mission, which was expected to last two weeks, would be an opportunity to test the CSM in orbit and to check the ability of tracking stations on the ground. On January 27, all three astronauts entered the Apollo capsule for a “plugs out” flight simulation on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34. The purpose of this test was to confirm the ability of the Apollo craft to function after it was disconnected from its attachment to the launch gantry. Because the craft contained no fuel, this was classed as a “non-hazardous” test, and, critically, the explosive bolts that could be used to jettison the main hatch in an emergency were not fitted.
................................................................................................
"At around 2:45 pm, the hatches were sealed, the capsule flooded with pure oxygen, and the simulated countdown began. There were several interruptions due to technical problems, and at 6:31 pm, while the astronauts were waiting for the countdown to resume, there was an unexpected radio transmission from inside the capsule, “We’ve got a fire in the cockpit.” Seven seconds later, there was a second frantic radio call, “We’ve got a bad fire. Let’s get out. We’re burning up.”
"Fueled by the oxygen-rich atmosphere inside the capsule, the fire raged. It took five minutes to get the hatch open. By the time the ground crew were able to see inside, it was clear that all three astronauts had died. Although three other U.S. astronauts had died in aircraft crashes, this was the first fatal accident during Project Apollo. The program was grounded while the causes of the fire were investigated.
"Investigations showed that an electrical fault had caused a spark that ignited the oxygen-rich atmosphere inside the capsule. The Block 1 CSM was also found to be hazardous and carelessly assembled (for example, a discarded wrench was found inside). It was agreed that Block 1 craft would only be used for uncrewed tests and that all manned launches would use the Block 2 design. This included, amongst many other improvements, a crew hatch that could be opened from the inside in less than five seconds.
................................................................................................
"Uncrewed testing continued from November 1967 to April 1968. Apollo 4, launched on November 9, 1967, saw a Saturn V launch vehicle take a Block 2 CSM into Earth’s orbit. Apollo 5, on January 22, 1968, saw both a Block 2 CSM and a Lunar Module placed in Earth’s orbit. Apollo 6 launched on April 4, 1968, and successfully tested the CSM and LM on a trans-lunar injection and a simulated abort to return both crafts to Earth. The success of these missions allowed a manned mission, Apollo 7, which launched on October 11, 1968. This saw astronauts Walter Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Ronnie Cunningham spending 11 days in Earth’s orbit testing CSM systems. This mission was a success, and the capsule and astronauts returned safely to Earth.
"The completion of the first successful manned mission was a giant step forward for NASA and Project Apollo. The next launch was scheduled for December 1968. However, the truth was that Project Apollo was behind schedule and in danger of failing to meet the deadline of placing a man on the Moon in the 1960s. Barely two years remained, and an Apollo craft had not yet traveled outside the orbit of the Earth. Meanwhile, in September 1968, Russia sent the Zond 5 spacecraft to orbit the Moon, carrying a tortoise and mealworms which were safely returned to Earth. Many in NASA were worried that it was only a matter of time before Soviet cosmonauts carried out the same mission. Once again, it seemed that America might be at risk of falling behind in the Space Race.
"Apollo 8 had been intended as another Earth orbit mission, sending both a Block 2 CSM and a Lunar Module into orbit for testing. However, it became clear that the next Lunar Module would not be completed in time to be used on this mission. Instead, NASA made a bold decision: the Apollo 8 mission would instead be sent to complete the first manned orbit of the Moon."
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
"Apollo 8 was only the second manned Apollo mission, but astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders were expected to achieve a number of significant firsts. They would take part in the first manned spaceflight to reach the Moon. They would be the first humans to see the dark side of the Moon. If all went well, they would also become the first people to travel to the Moon and return safely to Earth. However, many in NASA felt that the mission was too risky; some gave the mission no more than a 50% possibility of success.
"Apollo 8 left its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center at 07:51on December 21, 1968. It spent more than two hours in Earth’s orbit while the astronauts and flight controllers in Houston checked systems. Two hours and twenty minutes after launch, the mission controller sent a radio message to the astronauts, “Apollo 8. You are Go for TLI.” Apollo 8 was ready for trans-lunar injection—the three-day trip to the Moon. A little more than 69 hours after launch, Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit. The tiny craft made ten orbits around the Moon, regularly disappearing and losing radio contact when it passed behind the dark side.
"Media interest in the mission was overwhelming. On Christmas Eve 1968, in a live transmission from the craft, each astronaut read ... Frank Borman then closed the transmission with a moving message, “And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you—all of you on the good Earth.”
................................................................................................
"Over 1,200 journalists from 54 countries covered the mission in 15 languages. It has been estimated that more than one-quarter of the population of the Earth saw (either live or recorded) the Christmas Eve broadcast from Apollo 8. Even the Soviet newspaper Pravda carried a quote from the chairman of the Soviet Interkosmos program, who hailed the mission as an “outstanding achievement of American space sciences and technology.” A photograph taken during this mission, showing the Earth’s rise over the lunar surface, became Life magazine’s first of 100 Photographs That Changed the World (this image is also claimed to be the inspiration behind the first Earth Day, which took place in 1970).
"On Christmas Day, Apollo 8 left the Moon’s orbit to return to Earth. Two days later, the capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, and all three astronauts were safely recovered by the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown. Apollo 8 represented a huge step forward for NASA and Project Apollo. America had not only sent astronauts to orbit the Moon and safely brought them back to Earth, but they had also done so before Russia. It seemed that Project Apollo was back on track.
................................................................................................
"Apollo 9, while important, was something of an anti-climax. This was another Earth orbit mission to test the ability of the Lunar Module to dock in space with the CSM. The mission launched on March 3, 1969. In the first flight of the full Apollo spacecraft, the Lunar Module was flown separately and then docked safely with the CSM. A spacewalk was undertaken by one of the astronauts, and all the data suggested that Apollo was almost ready for another trip to the Moon, this time taking a Lunar Module along.
"Apollo 10, launched on May 18, 1969, was a full dress rehearsal for a Moon landing, testing all equipment and procedures and doing everything short of actually landing on the Moon. Astronauts Thomas Stafford, John Young, and Gene Cernan were all veterans of Project Gemini, making this the first Apollo mission where all the astronauts had flown in space before.
................................................................................................
"After entering lunar orbit, Stafford and Cernan in the Lunar Module (named Snoopy) detached from the CSM (named Charlie Brown), where Young remained. The Lunar Module descended to within 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) of the Moon’s surface (the altitude at which final descent would begin in a landing mission) and surveyed possible landing sites in the Sea of Tranquility area of the Moon. They then jettisoned the unused Descent Stage and returned to the most critical maneuver of the mission: docking with the CSM. This was achieved without problems, and on May 26, the capsule safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, where the three astronauts were picked up by the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Princeton.
"There was one modification after this mission: NASA required astronauts to choose more “dignified” call signs and names for the craft. Apollo 10 had used characters from the Peanuts cartoon for this mission, and the cartoon’s creator, Charles Schulz, had even provided artwork for the mission. Just seven months remained before the end of the 1960s, the deadline set by President Kennedy. The next mission would be an attempt to place a man on the Moon, and NASA was determined that this would not involve craft names based on a kid’s cartoon."
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................................................................................................
"“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
"—Neil Armstrong"
................................................................................................
"Apollo 11 was scheduled for launch on July 16, 1969. By that time, it was clear that Russia was not close to being able to compete in placing a man on the lunar surface. Nevertheless, at the last minute, the Soviet Union launched a mission to beat the Americans to bring back to Earth the first samples from the Moon. Luna 15, an uncrewed and automated probe, was launched on July 13, but the Russian craft malfunctioned and was destroyed when it crashed into the Moon’s surface.
"The three astronauts chosen for Apollo 11 were once again veterans of Project Gemini; the mission commander was Neil Armstrong, the Lunar Module pilot was Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and the CSM pilot was Michael Collins. Complying with NASA’s instructions, the three men agreed on less flippant names for their craft. The Lunar module was named Eagle after the eagle motif in the mission insignia. At the suggestion of NASA assistant manager for public affairs Julian Scheer, the CSM was named Columbia, a reference to the cannon Columbiad used to launch a spacecraft to the Moon in Jules Verne’s novel From the Earth to the Moon.
"The choice of a landing site was a major issue during mission planning. Originally, it had been decided that a site without craters was essential. When high-resolution images of the Moon were obtained, it was discovered that there was no such area: every part of the surface was pock-marked with craters. During the flight of Apollo 10, an area in the Sea of Tranquility had been examined, and it was decided that this would make the most suitable site for a landing. Still, there was one major concern. Although it was known that the lunar surface was covered in a layer of dust, no one was certain if this was uniform or how deep it was. The Lunar Module would be descending into the unknown, and if the dust was very deep or if it masked uneven ground, it might not be able to take off again.
................................................................................................
"Nevertheless, Apollo 11 left the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. It was watched by an estimated one million people who had gathered on beaches and next to highways close to the launch site. The launch was broadcast live in 33 countries and watched by millions of people (25 million in the U.S. alone). At 5:21 pm on July 19, Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and entered lunar orbit. The following day, Armstrong and Aldrin climbed through the docking tunnel from Columbia to Eagle to prepare for the Moon landing. At 5:44 pm, Eagle then separated from Columbia, where Collins remained alone. Millions of television viewers heard Armstrong excitedly report, “The Eagle has wings!”
"The most difficult (and dangerous) part of the mission was about to begin. As the Eagle descended under computer control, Neil Armstrong realized that the planned landing area was dangerously strewn with rocks. He took manual control of the craft in an effort to guide it to a safer area. However, he discovered that the new area had a large crater in it. Eagle was now less than 100 feet (30 meters) from the surface with less than 90 seconds of propellant remaining. Despite the dust kicked up by the engine, Armstrong was somehow able to guide the module to a safe manual landing. Soon after 8:17 pm, Mission Control and millions of television viewers heard the message from Armstrong they had been waiting for, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
"At 02:39 am on July 21, 1969, the Eagle’s hatches were opened, and Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the surface of the Moon. He was watched by an estimated 600 million people back on Earth as he became the first human to set foot on another world. His first words, “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind,” were heard around the world. A few minutes later, Armstrong collected a small soil sample and tucked it into a pocket in his space suit; if the Eagle had to leave unexpectedly early, NASA wanted to have a least one sample from the lunar surface.
................................................................................................
"After 20 hours on the surface (and after collecting more than 47 pounds or 21 kilograms of samples), Armstrong and Aldrin prepared to lift off. In addition to scientific instruments, the two astronauts left behind a U.S. flag, a plaque commemorating Chaffee, Grissom, and White, the three astronauts who had died in the Apollo 1 fire, as well as two memorial medals for Soviet cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin, who had died in 1967 and 1968.
"At 5:54 pm on July 21, the Eagle took off and, three and a half hours later, successfully docked with Columbia. Armstrong and Aldrin transferred from the Eagle to Colombia, and the Lunar Module was then discarded as Columbia began the voyage back to Earth. At around 4:50 pm on July 24, they splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Millions of television viewers watched as the three heroes were transferred by helicopter to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet.
"Somehow, incredibly, NASA had accomplished its prime mission set by President Kennedy just eight years earlier: the landing of men on the Moon and their safe recovery “before the decade was out.” However, though the first Moon landing had been a triumphant success, Project Apollo was far from over."
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
"The success of the Apollo 11 mission abruptly took the pressure off NASA. The next mission had been intended as a backup to allow another attempt at a Moon landing if Apollo 11 had not succeeded. Since it did succeed, the schedule for Apollo 12 was put back two months until November 1969. This was essentially a direct repeat of the previous mission, placing two astronauts, Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan Bean, on the Moon’s surface while Richard Gordon remained in orbit in the CSM. The mission was completely successful, but coming as it did just a few months after the success of the first Moon landing, Apollo 12 attracted far less attention from the public.
"Removed from their main deadline, the planners at NASA were now able to take time to consider how the remainder of Project Apollo would play out. NASA had placed contracts for the construction of 15 Saturn V rockets, sufficient to allow missions up to and including Apollo 20. Shortly after the completion of the Apollo 12 mission, NASA announced eight more scheduled Apollo missions to the Moon. The next mission, Apollo 13, had a completely new planned landing site near the Fra Mauro crater. It was hoped that analysis of samples from this area would reveal a great deal about the history of both the Earth and the Moon.
................................................................................................
"Apollo 13 left its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center at 2:13 pm on April 11, 1970. Earth orbit and trans-lunar injection went as planned, and the crew of three astronauts—Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise—settled in for the three-day journey to the Moon. Then, at 10:08 pm, April 13, Houston received a worrying radio transmission from the craft, “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”
"The problem was an explosion in an oxygen tank that vented all the oxygen from two of the Service Module’s tanks into space. It rapidly became apparent that a Moon landing was no longer possible, and the remainder of the mission became a desperate struggle to keep the three astronauts alive while they returned to Earth. All non-essential services were shut down, and the crew used the cramped Command Module as a type of lifeboat while they looped around the Moon and returned to Earth.
"Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apollo 13 received more television coverage than any other space mission to date. Millions of people around the world waited anxiously for updates. When the capsule finally splashed down safely on April 17, this event was watched live by an estimated 100 million viewers in America and elsewhere. On April 18, The New York Times reported that this mission “in all probability united the world in mutual concern more fully than another successful landing on the Moon would have.”"
Something known only within India, not publicized by the then government owned media, was that Hindu priests in South India had performed a Yajna for safe return of the astronauts. Needless to say this was conducted not only quietly - without publicity - but also without any government or private agencies funding it.
................................................................................................
"Following the accident on Apollo 13, Project Apollo was once again grounded while investigators isolated the cause of the explosion and ensured that it could not re-occur. Launches resumed in February 1971 with Apollo 14, which successfully placed men in the Fra Mauro crater. Apollo 15 then launched on July 26, 1971, and was notable as the first Moon landing to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle, an electric buggy that allowed the astronauts to explore a larger area during their time on the lunar surface.
"Apollo 16 landed two astronauts in the Descartes Highlands area of the Moon on April 21, 1972. The two men spent almost three days on the Moon before the craft returned safely to Earth. Apollo 17 placed two men in the Taurus–Littrow region in December 1972. For the first time, one of these astronauts was not an ex-military pilot; Geologist Harrison Schmitt was the first NASA scientist/astronaut. Schmitt was also one of the last humans to set foot on the Moon. Public interest in Moon landings was lessening. The Apollo 17 Moonwalks were not even broadcast on live television, despite the quality of images being significantly improved from earlier missions. With the successful completion of the Apollo 17 mission, Project Apollo came to an end."
Wouldn't have anything to do with Watergate, would that?
................................................................................................
"During its course, this project placed 12 people on the surface of the Moon and returned all astronauts safely to Earth. These men collected more than 830 pounds (380 kilograms) of samples and brought them back to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston. Today, over 75% of these samples remain in storage in the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility constructed in 1979. Analysis of these samples have greatly increased our understanding of the geology of the Moon.
"However, the price of Project Apollo was staggering. If the costs of the preceding Project Gemini (which tested equipment and systems for Project Apollo) and the unmanned Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter programs (which gathered essential information needed to support the Moon landings) are included, the total cost was somewhere in the region of $28 billion (around $285 billion in current value).
................................................................................................
"Set against these costs, Project Apollo has been described as the greatest technological achievement in human history. It also led to a large number (possibly over 2,000) of spin-off projects that made these technological advances commercially available outside the space program. This included general research into integrated circuits and semiconductor electronic technology that led directly to the development of smaller but more powerful computers. Amongst many hundreds of commercial products that came directly from this project, some of the best-known include the incorporation of digital imaging processing into medical CAT scan and MRI imaging, the creation of memory foam, improved fire-fighting and fire-protection equipment, mylar space blankets, and freeze-dried food.
"In retrospect, it is clear that the Apollo missions were a unique period in human history. With the success of the Moon missions, many people (including those at the head of NASA) assumed that space exploration would continue, perhaps with manned missions to other worlds. Instead, the whole focus of humankind’s attempts to explore space changed."
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
"Ironically, NASA’s success in completing the first Moon landing within the period set by President Kennedy was also the root of a reduction of interest in space exploration. While it was fighting to attain this milestone, NASA enjoyed virtually unopposed political support in the United States. When the Moon landing was accomplished, many people began to question whether the continued expenditure of vast sums on spaceflight was justified, and from 1969 on, NASA’s annual budget decreased each year."
It's also that during sixties - an era that saw relaxation of standards of education, so much so that in eighties a college student would as likely as not know that one divided by two is half - a celebration of illiteracy and a mistaken ideology or thinking that placed idiots on par with the best and the brilliant had those lots question if their daily dozen beers must be foregone for taxes to pay for NASA, leading them to question NASA and even accuse NASA of perpetrating fraud by having shot lunar landing in a studio. Those virulent verbal attacks are rampant across internet, especially by flatearthers and bible belt.
................................................................................................
"Part of the issue was that America itself had changed from the early 1960s when President Kennedy made his bold and optimistic claim. In 1962, America was at peace, even though it faced the Soviet Union in the Cold War. The American economy was recovering from the recession of 1960-1961, and most Americans were optimistic about the future. By the time that Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, America was about to enter a new recession, partly caused by U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. By April 1969, more than half a million U.S. troops were serving in Vietnam, and a growing anti-war movement was beginning to question whether this was appropriate or desirable.
"By the time of the last Moon landings in 1972, America was facing another recession and massive inflation prompted partly by rising oil prices. In these circumstances, it is unsurprising that many people began to question the vast sums being spent on space exploration.
"When Apollo 12 splashed down in November 1969, it had already been decided that all the remaining Saturn V rockets would not be used for Moon missions. One was to be used to launch the Skylab orbital laboratory—that eliminated Apollo 20. After the successful completion of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, President Richard Nixon proposed canceling all remaining Apollo missions. He was persuaded to allow two more to go ahead, but the last two Saturn V rockets (originally intended to be used on Apollo missions 18 and 19) were to be donated to museums in Florida and Texas."
Why does author refrain from mention of Watergate?
................................................................................................
"During Project Apollo, many people in NASA had assumed that a successful Moon landing would be followed by the establishment of a permanent base on the Moon and perhaps also by manned missions to Mars. In October 1969, the NASA Headquarters Office of Manned Space Flight published details of a proposed new project that would lead to a manned landing on Mars by either 1981 or 1983. President Nixon rejected this proposal and suggested that NASA look instead at the possibility of developing some form of less expensive, reusable, winged spacecraft. NASA then produced the Space Transportation System (STS), which looked at a number of possible future space projects. The only one given funding was the development of a reusable spacecraft."
Of course! Had to be Nixon that took an axe to NASA and aspirations for space, while prioritising spying on political opponents.
................................................................................................
"This led directly to the Space Shuttle Program, which would provide regular transportation to Earth’s orbit for astronauts and passengers from 1981 to 2011. The Shuttle Program was generally successful, but for many people, a project that undertook only relatively short orbital hops was a distinct let-down after the pioneering voyages of the Apollo craft. Two disasters involving the loss of the Space Shuttles STS-51-L (Challenger) in 1986 and STS-107 (Columbia) in 2003 also undermined confidence in the safety of the Shuttle. In January 2004, President George W. Bush announced the gradual retirement of the remaining Space Shuttles. In July 2011, STS-135 (Atlantis) took off from the Kennedy Space Center. This was to be the last shuttle flight—after 50 years, America would no longer be directly involved in manned space flight.
"Ironically, following the termination of the Space Shuttle Program, American astronauts who were to be based on the International Space Station had to hitch a ride on Russian Soyuz spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan. Many saw that as a positive development; the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of the Cold War between Russia and America led to a gradual improvement in relations between the two nations. Many began to see international cooperation between governments as the only way to continue manned space programs.
................................................................................................
"However, the latest developments suggest something entirely different. In May 2020, two U.S. astronauts—Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley—flew into orbit after a launch from the Kennedy Space Center. This was the first manned space launch on American soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program. However, the rocket that took them into space was not built by NASA or funded by the U.S. government. Instead, the Falcon 9 launch vehicle was designed and manufactured by SpaceX, a private company created by multi-billionaire Elon Musk.
"This isn’t the only private venture looking at space. In 2006, Bigelow Aerospace launched the Genesis I. In 2021, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin (founded by Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, respectively) both launched flights into space. In the same year, a mission operated by SpaceX became the first orbital spaceflight to include only private citizens aboard. With the rise of commercial spaceflight, it seems unlikely that we will ever again see a massive, government-funded space program to equal Project Apollo."
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
"Between October 11, 1968, and December 19, 1972, Project Apollo launched 11 crewed missions that sent 33 astronauts into space. Twelve of these men became the only humans (so far) to set foot on another world. This was one of the boldest and most challenging technological projects ever undertaken, and it was also done within a timescale that seemed unachievable in its early stages.
"When President Kennedy made his historic speech to Congress in May 1961 that America should not only commit to sending a man to the Moon but that this should be done before the end of 1969, many people doubted that this was remotely possible. NASA had been in existence for only three years and had yet to send an astronaut into orbit, and Russia was clearly leading the Space Race. Yet the result of the president’s public announcement of America’s intention spurred NASA into a frenzy of design and development on an accelerated scale. The assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963 did nothing to lessen the impact of his speeches on the topic of space. For many people, achieving the president’s goals within the timescale he had set became a kind of memorial to a man many people saw as one of America’s greatest leaders.
................................................................................................
"Of course, the race to put a human on the Moon wasn’t simply about altruism or exploration. It was also part of the ongoing competition in the development of arms and technology between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Space Race was simply the most obvious part of this competition, and there seemed little doubt that the nation that won this race would gain a lasting advantage over the other.
"The first Moon landing in 1969 became one of the most enduring memories of the twentieth century for many people. A nation had committed a great part of its wealth not to fighting a war but to pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and creativity. It seemed that perhaps the human race was finally ready to abandon wars on this planet in order to find the resources to explore the vastness of space.
"That wasn’t quite how things worked out. Although Project Apollo was a triumphant success, instead of spurring further space exploration, the huge costs involved convinced many people that this was not something any single nation, no matter how wealthy, could afford to pursue. The money that America might have used to fund the establishment of permanent bases on the Moon or even manned missions to Mars was instead spent on fighting the disastrous war in Vietnam."
It wouldn't have gone that way had JFK lived. Hence, as stated by Jim Garrison, the assassination in November 1963. Subsequent presidents were key to tremendous profits for military industry and war machinery.
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
The Space Race
First Tentative Steps into Space
Aiming at the Moon
Defining the Mission
Designing and Manufacturing the Spacecraft
Apollo 1: The Fatal Fire
Orbiting the Moon
Apollo 11: The Moon Landing
Subsequent Apollo Missions
An Uncertain Future
Conclusion
Bibliography
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REVIEW
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Introduction
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"Humanity has dreamed of traveling to space for a very long time. The notion that this might be a practical possibility was first explored in fiction. In 1865, French novelist Jules Verne published one of his most popular works, From the Earth to the Moon. This imagined men being sent to the Moon in a vehicle fired from a giant gun. Although it later became apparent that this wasn’t a practical proposition, ... "
This is too literal an interpretation of gun by this author - and if one takes overall principles and general sketches, "sent to the Moon in a vehicle fired from a giant gun" isn't so far ftom the eventual facts of a vehicle lifted off planet via rockets firing.
" ... Verne was one of the first to describe in this book and its sequel—Around the Moon (1870)—the hazards that astronauts might face, including weightlessness and the fiery heat of re-entry. Other popular romantic novels followed, including The First Men in the Moon (1900) by British novelist H. G. Wells.
................................................................................................
"Partly inspired by these popular proto-science fiction writers, two men began independently looking at the practical development of space flight early in the twentieth century. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was an eccentric recluse who lived and worked in an isolated log cabin near the town of Kaluga in Russia. Inspired by his love of the works of Jules Verne, Tsiolkovsky started looking at the practical possibilities for space flight. In 1903, he published the very first scientific work to look at the prospect of using rockets to propel spacecraft beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, entitled Exploration of Outer Space by Means of Rocket Devices. Tsiolkovsky then continued his research for the new Bolshevik regime that took control of the Russian Empire in 1917, though he never built or launched a rocket.
"Meanwhile, in America, inventor, physicist, and engineer Robert Hutchings Goddard began to look at ways to turn Tsiolkovsky’s ideas into practical vehicles. His 1919 work, A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes, is widely regarded as one of the classic texts of twentieth-century rocket science and one of the first to approach space flight as an engineering rather than a philosophical problem. In 1926, Goddard turned theory into reality when he launched the first small liquid-fueled rocket from a field near Clark University. “Nell” flew for less than three seconds before crashing into a cabbage field, but this launch can be seen as the first step on humankind’s voyage into the cosmos.
................................................................................................
"Goddard then relocated to Roswell in New Mexico, where he built and launched a series of increasingly powerful and sophisticated rockets throughout the 1930s. In light of the later Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States, it is more than a little ironic that the two earliest pioneers of rocketry were based in Russia and America."
But author fails to notice that the name Roswell was later associated with incidents involving aliens being sighted.
Could this be because the earlier firing of rocket was noticed and it took them a few decades to arrive?
................................................................................................
"In the beginning, many scientists regarded rocketry as the province of cranks and eccentrics. It didn’t help that comic strips and serials in the 1930s covered the exploits of heroes such as Flash Gordon who rode to distant planets on spluttering rockets. When the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) began federally funded research into rocketry in the 1930s, they were so concerned to avoid being identified with science fiction that the new group was called the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), even though no work was ever done there on jets. It would take another country to turn rocketry from a faintly embarrassing eccentricity into sinister reality."
Presumably that "sinister reality" bit is about missiles?
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"Rocketry was pursued in Nazi Germany not with a view to achieving space flight but as a means of creating new and terrifying weapons. ... "
Little else could be expected of a nation that turned seating arrangements at royal weddings and funerals into excuses for a war, claiming affront; but then, crusades to weren't different - while English and French rode to Jerusalem, Germans decided it was too much trouble, and used crusade to slaughter civilian population East, taking over the land.
The very memory of the people and language that was Prussian, not connected to German, has been almost completely wiped off from history as taught, especially in global school curriculums.
" ... The first rocket to reach space was a German V-2, launched in June 1944. V-2 rockets bombarded London and other targets in England and Europe for the remainder of the war, causing an estimated 10,000 civilian deaths. Suddenly, rockets were not at all amusing. When the fighting ended in Europe in May 1945, America, Britain, and the Soviet Union scrambled to acquire as much information as possible on this potentially devastating new weapon."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 1. The Space Race
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"“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.”
"—Konstantin Tsiolkovsky"
Or, possibly, the only home?
If there's life elsewhere, or possibilities thereof, why assume it's oxygen based?
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"During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies fighting against Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire. However, almost as soon as that war ended, it became clear that these two nations were the new superpowers that would dominate the post-war world. Political and philosophical differences ensured that the alliance between the two did not endure, and within a few years of the end of the war, Russia and America faced one another on terms of barely concealed hostility."
It's exaggeration to say "within a few years of the end of the war", except when lying deliberately - or in total ignorance.
Russians had reasons enough to be askance, but attitudes of the likes of Patton, Dulles et al didn't help, either - the latter along with several other US personnel helped German and other war criminals escape, or integrate back into German and other societies, while the former could single-handedly have caused the third world war, but definitely did set in motion a higher level of distrust in Soviets, leading perhaps to cold war all by himself.
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"World War II had seen the emergence of another terrifying new weapon in addition to rockets: nuclear weapons. America had dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities, allowing the world to glimpse the potential horrors of nuclear war. Initially, only America had nuclear weapons, but by 1949, the Soviet Union had exploded its first atomic bomb. Humanity found itself in a precarious situation where the two superpowers built arsenals of nuclear weapons capable of ending all life on Earth. That this growing confrontation between east and west did not erupt into open war was mainly due to a particularly fitting acronym: MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction).
"The availability of nuclear weapons meant that even the victor in a global war would find itself ruling only a radioactive wasteland. Open war had simply become too costly to contemplate, and instead, overt and covert competition between America and the Soviet Union turned into what became known as the Cold War. In addition to covert operations, including spying and attempting to bring other nations into the sphere of influence of Russia or America, this period saw intense competition between the two superpowers in attempting to develop new technology that could be used for defense or to enable the more effective delivery of weapons.
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"The notion of holding high ground has always been important in military terms. The side that holds high ground can observe the enemy and use long-range weapons to attack at will. Even before the end of World War II, a completely new concept began to develop: that space might represent the ultimate high ground. If either Russia or America could gain ascendance in space, they could establish satellites and space stations from which they could observe and perhaps even attack the other. Thus, the side that established a lead in space travel might also gain a decisive advantage in the Cold War.
"Rocketry was suddenly seen as a key technology; rockets were the only technology capable of sending vehicles and people into space. However, neither Russia nor America had rocket programs or scientists with knowledge in this field. The only nation with an advanced rocket program and associated technical experts was Nazi Germany. As Germany slid towards eventual defeat in World War II, teams of Russian and American agents began to scour Europe for German rocket scientists who might be willing to work for either side.
"America created the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency, whose remit was to bring to the U.S. German technology, engineers, and scientists. However, there was an important caveat: U.S. President Harry S. Truman specifically forbade the recruitment of active or former members of the Nazi Party and of members of proscribed Nazi organizations such as the Schutzstaffel (SS)."
But the personnel on ground in Europe could either skirt around that, or be fooled easily enough.
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"Even though the term would not see common usage for some time, members of the American intelligence community were very aware of the Space Race and the importance of any technology that would allow the U.S. to dominate space before the Soviet Union. They were also aware that German rocket scientists were almost all trusted members of the Nazi Party. A few had even been members of the SS. A secret decision was made to ignore the president’s orders and to recruit any German rocket scientist that could be found, regardless of their background. Records would then be purged to remove any reference to Nazi affiliation.
"Operation Paperclip was a secret intelligence program designed to identify potentially useful German personnel (the name was used because the files of useful people were marked by the attachment of a large paperclip). In all, this operation would see over 1,500 German scientists, engineers, and technicians brought to America, mainly to work on military projects. A large proportion of these people had been associated with the Nazi rocket program."
If only that were all!
But it wasn't.
................................................................................................
"Concurrently, the Soviet Union was running an identical program that resulted in over 2,000 senior Nazi scientists being relocated to Russia. Both sides were clearly aware of the importance of space. The covert race to be the first to exploit this potential new theater of war began even before World War II ended and while the United States and Soviet Union were still officially allies."
Readers are seemingly led to infer that the progress in space was possible, in either nation, only due to the nazis.
If there's any shred of Truth there, why not say so, flat out?
Germans do, and not necessarily in context of space.
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 2. First Tentative Steps into Space
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"In addition to enrolling German scientists, American forces had also been able to capture a large number of German V-2 rockets and the equipment and facilities needed to launch them. With the help of their new German recruits, between March 1946 and September 1952, more than 50 of these rockets were launched from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. These launches were overseen by the first official American body set up to work on rocketry: the Upper Atmosphere Research Panel.
"Even as this work was progressing, another group in America, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), was looking at whether it might be possible to combine rockets with nuclear warheads to create what would become known as ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) that would be capable of delivering nuclear missiles over great distances. The man in charge of this program was a German scientist recruited under Operation Paperclip, Wernher von Braun. Only much later would it become known that von Braun had not only been a member of the Nazi Party but had also held the rank of Sturmbannführer (Major) in the SS."
One may safely bet that the "Only much later would it become known" is only in context of general public and media of US.
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"Von Braun was interested not just in building missiles but in using this technology for space exploration. The army chiefs in charge of the ABMA were aware of the need to develop space flight before the Soviet Union, and they encouraged von Braun to investigate the possibilities of using the new missiles that the U.S. was developing as space launch vehicles. The first significant milestone was being able to place an object in Earth’s orbit. In July 1955, it was announced that the U.S. expected to be able to place a satellite in orbit by “mid-1958.” Just four days later, the Soviet Union responded with an announcement that it also planned to place an object in orbit “in the near future.”
"This was the first time that both superpowers had made a public announcement that they were working toward the development of space flight. Coming so close together, the announcements also made it clear that both wanted to be the first to develop this new technology. For the first time, people around the world became aware of what would become known as the Space Race, the competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to be the first to develop practical space flight.
................................................................................................
"In America, most people in the military, scientific, and political communities were very confident. After all, American industry and technology were generally far ahead of that of the Soviet Union. The Space Race was all about the rapid development of new technology, and few doubted that America would soon take a decisive lead. That confidence lasted until October 4, 1957. On that day, a rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan placed the first man-made object in Earth’s orbit.
"Sputnik 1 wasn’t particularly impressive; it was little larger than a basketball, and all it was capable of doing was emitting a series of bleeps as it circled the Earth. Nevertheless, Russia had beaten America to the first important milestone in space: placing an object in orbit. In January 1958, America launched its own first satellite, Explorer 1. By this point, the Soviets had already successfully launched the first animal into Earth’s orbit—a dog named Laika—on November 3, 1957. The next significant step would be putting a man into space, and this time, America was determined to be first.
................................................................................................
"In April 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented a bill to Congress requesting funding for the creation of a civilian agency to drive the U.S. space program. As a direct result, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in August of the same year. As its first objective, the president assigned NASA the task of developing manned space flight as quickly as possible—before the Soviet Union.
"The only viable rocket available to NASA was the Redstone, an ICBM created by Wernher von Braun and his team. This was little more than an enlarged and improved version of the Nazi V-2, but it was all that was available. The Redstone wasn’t particularly powerful (though an improved version, the Atlas was under development), and no one was certain how it would perform with a one-ton spacecraft attached. Early tests were not encouraging.
"The first launch of a Redstone rocket carrying a dummy, unmanned Mercury capsule was scheduled for August 1959. The rocket exploded before leaving the launch pad. In July 1960, the first launch of the improved Atlas rocket carrying a real (but still unmanned) Mercury capsule took place. The flight lasted less than one minute before the rocket exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
................................................................................................
"A successful launch was desperately needed to assure the American public that the U.S. was winning the Space Race and that the vast sums of money being spent on research and development were justified. On November 21, 1960, a Redstone rocket carrying a Mercury capsule lifted off from its launch pad at the U.S. Air Force Cape Canaveral Launch Complex in Florida. It attained an altitude of approximately four inches (ten centimeters) before settling back down on the launch pad.
"It wasn’t until the end of January 1961 that NASA finally successfully launched a spacecraft with a living occupant: a chimpanzee named Ham. Ham survived the flight, and it seemed that America was finally on the verge of achieving the first manned space flight. Then, on April 12, 1961, disaster struck. The Soviet news agency, TASS, issued a press release, “The world’s first space ship Vostok with a man on board, has been launched on April 12 in the Soviet Union on a round-the-earth orbit. The first space navigator is Soviet citizen pilot Major Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin.”
"Russia had beaten America to placing the first man in space. Once again, it seemed that America was losing the Space Race. However, the nation had a new president who was determined that America would regain the lead in space exploration. Though no one in NASA knew, he was about to publicly commit America to one of the boldest and most challenging milestones in space exploration."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 3. Aiming at the Moon
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"“No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind.”
"—John F. Kennedy"
And, indeed, one thinks of him in the context of who was responsible for Neil Armstrong stepping on the Moon.
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"Democrat John F. Kennedy took office as the 35th president of the United States in January 1961 after winning the November 1960 presidential election against his main rival, Republican Richard Nixon. One of the issues raised by Kennedy during his election campaign was whether America was lagging behind in space and ICBM technology compared to the Soviet Union. Kennedy claimed that this was so and pledged that, as president, he would turn this situation around. Kennedy saw Yuri Gagarin’s space flight in April 1961 as a direct challenge to America’s position in the world, and he was determined not just to match the Russians in terms of space technology but to move ahead of them.
"NASA was able to place the first American in space, astronaut Alan Shepard, on May 5, 1961. However, this was not as impressive as the previous Russian launch; Yuri Gagarin’s craft had achieved a complete orbit of the Earth, while Shepard’s flight was only a short, sub-orbital hop that barely passed outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Nevertheless, on May 25, less than three weeks after this first U.S. manned space flight, President Kennedy addressed Congress and announced that, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”
"Given the context of America’s space program at this time, this was a staggering challenge. Kennedy returned to the same theme in a speech given at Rice University Stadium in Houston, Texas, in September 1961, telling an enthusiastic crowd that, “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”
................................................................................................
"President Kennedy had committed the nation to being the first to achieve the next, greatest, and most difficult milestone in space flight: placing a person on the Moon. This commitment had been discussed with NASA before the president’s announcements. Still, personnel in the space agency were all too well aware that going from a first short, sub-orbital flight to a manned Moon landing in just eight years would present a whole range of problems.
"The first NASA missions under Project Mercury had always been intended as little more than test flights to try out new equipment and techniques. The tiny, one-man Mercury capsule simply wasn’t capable of undertaking longer and more complex flights. Fortunately, NASA had already started planning for a much more ambitious series of space missions in Project Apollo. These were first discussed in early 1960 and would involve the design and development of a much larger rocket capable of lifting a three-man capsule out of Earth’s atmosphere.
"In the early stages, a number of missions were considered for the Apollo craft: ferrying astronauts to build and live in a manned space station, lunar orbit flights, and eventually, perhaps a Moon landing. President Kennedy’s announcements changed all that. America was now committed to achieving a manned Moon landing within eight years. No one in NASA doubted that this was possible, but many had serious reservations that it could be achieved in this incredibly tight timescale.
................................................................................................
"NASA’s budgets were immediately increased by over 80% in 1962 and by over 100% in 1963. It would soon need all the funds it could find. A new Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) was constructed in Houston, Texas, and this was quickly expanded to include a new Mission Control Center (MCC) from which all Apollo missions would be controlled. Work began on the construction of an entirely new launch site and assembly area for the new spacecraft. This Launch Operations Center (LOC) was constructed on open land north of Canaveral at Merritt Island in Florida. This site, originally known as Cape Canaveral LOC, was renamed following the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963. From that time on, it would become world-famous as the Kennedy Space Center.
"NASA’s main research and development center, the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, was meanwhile expanded and would become the heart of the design of the new spacecraft. In mid-1963, Dr. George Mueller was recruited to become the new NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight. He would head Project Apollo, and the heads of the three main locations—Wernher von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Robert Gilruth at the MSC, and Kurt Debus at the LOC—would all report directly to him.
"The first task facing the new teams was daunting: just what would a manned Moon mission look like? Given the timescales involved, there simply wasn’t time for a trial-and-error approach. These engineers and scientists were required to create a mission that would undertake something never before attempted, and they had to get it right the first time."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 4. Defining the Mission
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"Four possible mission profiles were considered for Project Apollo. Each had its own merits and drawbacks and in the early stages, most of Nasa’s time was spent refining the options into a single approach. The mission profiles were:
"Direct Ascent. This was the simplest possible approach. The spacecraft would lift off from Earth and travel directly to the Moon, where it would land without first entering orbit. Once the mission was complete, the Earth Return vehicle would blast off from the Moon, leaving behind the Descent Propulsion stage. Though it was relatively simple, this approach had one major drawback: it would require a rocket capable of carrying a payload of over 163,000 pounds (74,000 kilograms) into space. That was beyond the capabilities of even the most advanced rockets then in the design stage, and there was little confidence that a suitable rocket could be designed and built in sufficient time to meet President Kennedy’s timescale.
"Earth Orbit Rendezvous. This was a different approach to the Direct Ascent mission. Up to 15 smaller rockets would carry parts of the Earth Return vehicle and the Descent Propulsion stage into orbit, where they would be assembled. These would then fly from Earth’s orbit directly to the Moon. This approach avoided the problem of needing a single, massively powerful rocket, but it introduced new complexities of having men live and work in space, something that had never been attempted.
"Lunar Surface Rendezvous. This approach involved the launch of two separate missions. One would carry the Descent Propulsion stage to the Moon; the other would take the Earth Return vehicle. Separating the launches meant that existing rockets could be used, but it meant designing and building equipment that could perform a completely automated landing on the Moon for the Descent Propulsion stage, something that was extremely challenging using early 1960s technology.
"Lunar Orbit Rendezvous. A single rocket would take a 100,000-pound (45,000-kilogram) payload comprising two crafts out of Earth’s atmosphere. These two vehicles—the Command and Service module (CSM) and the Lunar Module—would then fly from Earth to lunar orbit. The Lunar Module would descend to the Moon’s surface while the CSM remained in lunar orbit. Once the mission was complete, the Lunar Module would blast off from the surface and rendezvous in lunar orbit with the CSM. The Lunar module would then be discarded, and the CSM would bring all three astronauts back to Earth.
...............................................................................................
"Of these four options, the last, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), was originally the least favored. It was thought to be too dangerous; if the Lunar Module was unable to rendezvous and dock successfully with the CSM for any reason, the two astronauts in the Lunar Module would be doomed. However, the other approaches all required the development of new technology and the learning of new techniques. There simply wasn’t time to accomplish these things before the end of the 1960s.
"Throughout 1960 and 1961, there was intense debate within NASA about which mission profile to select. Gradually it became clear that LOR—while presenting new and unknown variables and involving some inherent risk—was the only approach that could lead to a Moon landing within the time period specified by President Kennedy. Ironically, although NASA selected this profile, there was initially some opposition from within the Kennedy administration. While the president wanted to achieve a Moon landing before the end of 1969, many people were terrified at the public reaction if American astronauts were left stranded in space if the Lunar Module was unable to dock with the CSM in lunar orbit.
"It wasn’t until November 1962 that it was finally agreed that the LOR mission profile would be used for Project Apollo. Once this had been agreed upon, it was possible to begin detailed design work on the Apollo launch vehicle and spacecraft."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 5. Designing and Manufacturing the Spacecraft
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"Even before Project Apollo began, Wernher von Braun and his team of rocket engineers working for the U.S. Army had begun work to design the next generation of launch vehicles which would produce much more power than the Redstone and Atlas rockets used in Project Mercury. Unlike these earlier rockets, the next generation, the Saturn series, were not converted ICBMs; they were the first American rockets specifically designed for space flight. These rockets were originally conceived as being used to launch military satellites into Earth’s orbit, but when von Braun transferred from the U.S. Army to become director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, these Saturn rockets became an essential part of Project Apollo.
"The first of the new rockets, Saturn I, was launched on October 27, 1961, and to the great relief of all involved, the flight was a complete success. By the fifth launch in January 1964, the new rocket had proven to be entirely reliable. It was able to lift a payload of 20,000 pounds (9,000 kilograms) and stood 180 feet (55 meters) tall on the launch tower. In comparison, the earlier Redstone rocket was just 83 feet (25 meters) tall and could lift a payload of 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms).
"However, impressive as Saturn I was, it wasn’t even close to what was needed for Project Apollo. For that, work started on the giant Saturn V. This massive rocket was bigger than anything that had come before at over 30 feet (10 meters) in diameter and standing over 360 feet (110 meters) tall. It was intended to be capable of lifting a payload of almost 100,000 pounds (45,000 kilograms). Just getting this launch vehicle onto a launch pad presented new technical problems.
................................................................................................
"The Saturn V had to be assembled along with its payload on a mobile transporter, and this had to be done inside, protected from the weather. The solution was the Vehicle Assembly Building, constructed at the Kennedy Space Center in 1966. This was (and still is) one of the largest buildings by volume in the world and the largest single-story building ever constructed. Again and again, Project Apollo would throw up new issues that required bold and innovative engineering and technical solutions.
"Despite the challenges, the pace of development of the new launch vehicle was little short of amazing; the first successful launch of a Saturn V rocket took place on November 9, 1967, only six years after America’s first manned space flight. However, the launch vehicle was only one element of Project Apollo, and NASA still needed to design and build the CSM and Lunar Module needed to place a person on the Moon.
"The CSM would comprise two parts: the conical command module that would house the three Apollo astronauts, and a cylindrical service module provided with a propulsion engine and thrusters for maneuvering. On its return to Earth, the service module would be discarded, while the command module would re-enter the atmosphere before descending by parachute to an ocean landing.
................................................................................................
"The contract for building the CSM had been awarded to North American Aviation on November 28, 1961. However, at that time, there was still a great deal of discussion about just what the Apollo mission profile would be. The initial specification called for a CSM that could be landed on the Moon and that could then take off and return to Earth. For this reason, the initial design required a powerful engine but had no requirement for docking with a Lunar Module. When the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous mission profile was adopted, North American Aviation was required to adapt the CSM design to be capable of docking in lunar orbit, but it was no longer required to be able to land on the Moon.
"By the time the mission profile was agreed upon, North American Aviation had already completed more than one CSM, but these weren’t suitable for the LOR mission. NASA agreed to go ahead with two quite different versions of the CSM: the original design, what became known as the Block 1 craft, was to be retained and used only for Earth-orbit test flights. The redesigned Block 2 version, capable of lunar docking, was to be used for all Moon missions.
................................................................................................
"The final component of the Apollo craft was the Lunar Module. Because it would operate exclusively in the low gravity, airless lunar environment, there was no need to make this craft streamlined or particularly strong. Compared to aircraft intended for use in the Earth’s atmosphere, the Lunar Module looked clumsy and fragile. The contract to build it was awarded to Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in November 1962. The design called for two separate components: a Descent Stage equipped with an engine and thrusters that would allow the craft to safely land on the lunar surface and an Ascent Stage, also provided with an engine and thrusters that would take the astronauts back into lunar orbit to rendezvous with the CSM.
"Several successful uncrewed test launches were undertaken using Saturn I rockets carrying Block 1 CSMs. These seemed to prove that the new spacecraft was viable. Soon it would be time for the next significant Apollo milestone: the first manned launch."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 6. Apollo 1: The Fatal Fire
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"“If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business.”
"—Virgil I. Grissom"
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"Thirty-two astronauts were selected to take part in the Apollo missions. Some were veterans of previous Mercury or Gemini space flights; other were new recruits who had successfully completed NASA astronaut training. When the first crewed Apollo mission launch was announced for February 21, 1967, the astronauts included two with space experience: the commander was Virgil “Gus” Grissom, who had taken part in flights in both Mercury and Gemini crafts, and Ed White, who had flown in Gemini 4. The third crew member, Roger B. Chaffee, was a naval pilot and aeronautical engineer who had yet to fly in space.
"This mission, later named Apollo 1, would involve the launch of a Block 1 CSM into Earth orbit on a Saturn 1 rocket. The mission, which was expected to last two weeks, would be an opportunity to test the CSM in orbit and to check the ability of tracking stations on the ground. On January 27, all three astronauts entered the Apollo capsule for a “plugs out” flight simulation on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34. The purpose of this test was to confirm the ability of the Apollo craft to function after it was disconnected from its attachment to the launch gantry. Because the craft contained no fuel, this was classed as a “non-hazardous” test, and, critically, the explosive bolts that could be used to jettison the main hatch in an emergency were not fitted.
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"At around 2:45 pm, the hatches were sealed, the capsule flooded with pure oxygen, and the simulated countdown began. There were several interruptions due to technical problems, and at 6:31 pm, while the astronauts were waiting for the countdown to resume, there was an unexpected radio transmission from inside the capsule, “We’ve got a fire in the cockpit.” Seven seconds later, there was a second frantic radio call, “We’ve got a bad fire. Let’s get out. We’re burning up.”
"Fueled by the oxygen-rich atmosphere inside the capsule, the fire raged. It took five minutes to get the hatch open. By the time the ground crew were able to see inside, it was clear that all three astronauts had died. Although three other U.S. astronauts had died in aircraft crashes, this was the first fatal accident during Project Apollo. The program was grounded while the causes of the fire were investigated.
"Investigations showed that an electrical fault had caused a spark that ignited the oxygen-rich atmosphere inside the capsule. The Block 1 CSM was also found to be hazardous and carelessly assembled (for example, a discarded wrench was found inside). It was agreed that Block 1 craft would only be used for uncrewed tests and that all manned launches would use the Block 2 design. This included, amongst many other improvements, a crew hatch that could be opened from the inside in less than five seconds.
................................................................................................
"Uncrewed testing continued from November 1967 to April 1968. Apollo 4, launched on November 9, 1967, saw a Saturn V launch vehicle take a Block 2 CSM into Earth’s orbit. Apollo 5, on January 22, 1968, saw both a Block 2 CSM and a Lunar Module placed in Earth’s orbit. Apollo 6 launched on April 4, 1968, and successfully tested the CSM and LM on a trans-lunar injection and a simulated abort to return both crafts to Earth. The success of these missions allowed a manned mission, Apollo 7, which launched on October 11, 1968. This saw astronauts Walter Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Ronnie Cunningham spending 11 days in Earth’s orbit testing CSM systems. This mission was a success, and the capsule and astronauts returned safely to Earth.
"The completion of the first successful manned mission was a giant step forward for NASA and Project Apollo. The next launch was scheduled for December 1968. However, the truth was that Project Apollo was behind schedule and in danger of failing to meet the deadline of placing a man on the Moon in the 1960s. Barely two years remained, and an Apollo craft had not yet traveled outside the orbit of the Earth. Meanwhile, in September 1968, Russia sent the Zond 5 spacecraft to orbit the Moon, carrying a tortoise and mealworms which were safely returned to Earth. Many in NASA were worried that it was only a matter of time before Soviet cosmonauts carried out the same mission. Once again, it seemed that America might be at risk of falling behind in the Space Race.
"Apollo 8 had been intended as another Earth orbit mission, sending both a Block 2 CSM and a Lunar Module into orbit for testing. However, it became clear that the next Lunar Module would not be completed in time to be used on this mission. Instead, NASA made a bold decision: the Apollo 8 mission would instead be sent to complete the first manned orbit of the Moon."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 7. Orbiting the Moon
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"Apollo 8 was only the second manned Apollo mission, but astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders were expected to achieve a number of significant firsts. They would take part in the first manned spaceflight to reach the Moon. They would be the first humans to see the dark side of the Moon. If all went well, they would also become the first people to travel to the Moon and return safely to Earth. However, many in NASA felt that the mission was too risky; some gave the mission no more than a 50% possibility of success.
"Apollo 8 left its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center at 07:51on December 21, 1968. It spent more than two hours in Earth’s orbit while the astronauts and flight controllers in Houston checked systems. Two hours and twenty minutes after launch, the mission controller sent a radio message to the astronauts, “Apollo 8. You are Go for TLI.” Apollo 8 was ready for trans-lunar injection—the three-day trip to the Moon. A little more than 69 hours after launch, Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit. The tiny craft made ten orbits around the Moon, regularly disappearing and losing radio contact when it passed behind the dark side.
"Media interest in the mission was overwhelming. On Christmas Eve 1968, in a live transmission from the craft, each astronaut read ... Frank Borman then closed the transmission with a moving message, “And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you—all of you on the good Earth.”
................................................................................................
"Over 1,200 journalists from 54 countries covered the mission in 15 languages. It has been estimated that more than one-quarter of the population of the Earth saw (either live or recorded) the Christmas Eve broadcast from Apollo 8. Even the Soviet newspaper Pravda carried a quote from the chairman of the Soviet Interkosmos program, who hailed the mission as an “outstanding achievement of American space sciences and technology.” A photograph taken during this mission, showing the Earth’s rise over the lunar surface, became Life magazine’s first of 100 Photographs That Changed the World (this image is also claimed to be the inspiration behind the first Earth Day, which took place in 1970).
"On Christmas Day, Apollo 8 left the Moon’s orbit to return to Earth. Two days later, the capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, and all three astronauts were safely recovered by the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown. Apollo 8 represented a huge step forward for NASA and Project Apollo. America had not only sent astronauts to orbit the Moon and safely brought them back to Earth, but they had also done so before Russia. It seemed that Project Apollo was back on track.
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"Apollo 9, while important, was something of an anti-climax. This was another Earth orbit mission to test the ability of the Lunar Module to dock in space with the CSM. The mission launched on March 3, 1969. In the first flight of the full Apollo spacecraft, the Lunar Module was flown separately and then docked safely with the CSM. A spacewalk was undertaken by one of the astronauts, and all the data suggested that Apollo was almost ready for another trip to the Moon, this time taking a Lunar Module along.
"Apollo 10, launched on May 18, 1969, was a full dress rehearsal for a Moon landing, testing all equipment and procedures and doing everything short of actually landing on the Moon. Astronauts Thomas Stafford, John Young, and Gene Cernan were all veterans of Project Gemini, making this the first Apollo mission where all the astronauts had flown in space before.
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"After entering lunar orbit, Stafford and Cernan in the Lunar Module (named Snoopy) detached from the CSM (named Charlie Brown), where Young remained. The Lunar Module descended to within 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) of the Moon’s surface (the altitude at which final descent would begin in a landing mission) and surveyed possible landing sites in the Sea of Tranquility area of the Moon. They then jettisoned the unused Descent Stage and returned to the most critical maneuver of the mission: docking with the CSM. This was achieved without problems, and on May 26, the capsule safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, where the three astronauts were picked up by the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Princeton.
"There was one modification after this mission: NASA required astronauts to choose more “dignified” call signs and names for the craft. Apollo 10 had used characters from the Peanuts cartoon for this mission, and the cartoon’s creator, Charles Schulz, had even provided artwork for the mission. Just seven months remained before the end of the 1960s, the deadline set by President Kennedy. The next mission would be an attempt to place a man on the Moon, and NASA was determined that this would not involve craft names based on a kid’s cartoon."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 8. Apollo 11: The Moon Landing
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"“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
"—Neil Armstrong"
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"Apollo 11 was scheduled for launch on July 16, 1969. By that time, it was clear that Russia was not close to being able to compete in placing a man on the lunar surface. Nevertheless, at the last minute, the Soviet Union launched a mission to beat the Americans to bring back to Earth the first samples from the Moon. Luna 15, an uncrewed and automated probe, was launched on July 13, but the Russian craft malfunctioned and was destroyed when it crashed into the Moon’s surface.
"The three astronauts chosen for Apollo 11 were once again veterans of Project Gemini; the mission commander was Neil Armstrong, the Lunar Module pilot was Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and the CSM pilot was Michael Collins. Complying with NASA’s instructions, the three men agreed on less flippant names for their craft. The Lunar module was named Eagle after the eagle motif in the mission insignia. At the suggestion of NASA assistant manager for public affairs Julian Scheer, the CSM was named Columbia, a reference to the cannon Columbiad used to launch a spacecraft to the Moon in Jules Verne’s novel From the Earth to the Moon.
"The choice of a landing site was a major issue during mission planning. Originally, it had been decided that a site without craters was essential. When high-resolution images of the Moon were obtained, it was discovered that there was no such area: every part of the surface was pock-marked with craters. During the flight of Apollo 10, an area in the Sea of Tranquility had been examined, and it was decided that this would make the most suitable site for a landing. Still, there was one major concern. Although it was known that the lunar surface was covered in a layer of dust, no one was certain if this was uniform or how deep it was. The Lunar Module would be descending into the unknown, and if the dust was very deep or if it masked uneven ground, it might not be able to take off again.
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"Nevertheless, Apollo 11 left the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. It was watched by an estimated one million people who had gathered on beaches and next to highways close to the launch site. The launch was broadcast live in 33 countries and watched by millions of people (25 million in the U.S. alone). At 5:21 pm on July 19, Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and entered lunar orbit. The following day, Armstrong and Aldrin climbed through the docking tunnel from Columbia to Eagle to prepare for the Moon landing. At 5:44 pm, Eagle then separated from Columbia, where Collins remained alone. Millions of television viewers heard Armstrong excitedly report, “The Eagle has wings!”
"The most difficult (and dangerous) part of the mission was about to begin. As the Eagle descended under computer control, Neil Armstrong realized that the planned landing area was dangerously strewn with rocks. He took manual control of the craft in an effort to guide it to a safer area. However, he discovered that the new area had a large crater in it. Eagle was now less than 100 feet (30 meters) from the surface with less than 90 seconds of propellant remaining. Despite the dust kicked up by the engine, Armstrong was somehow able to guide the module to a safe manual landing. Soon after 8:17 pm, Mission Control and millions of television viewers heard the message from Armstrong they had been waiting for, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
"At 02:39 am on July 21, 1969, the Eagle’s hatches were opened, and Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the surface of the Moon. He was watched by an estimated 600 million people back on Earth as he became the first human to set foot on another world. His first words, “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind,” were heard around the world. A few minutes later, Armstrong collected a small soil sample and tucked it into a pocket in his space suit; if the Eagle had to leave unexpectedly early, NASA wanted to have a least one sample from the lunar surface.
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"After 20 hours on the surface (and after collecting more than 47 pounds or 21 kilograms of samples), Armstrong and Aldrin prepared to lift off. In addition to scientific instruments, the two astronauts left behind a U.S. flag, a plaque commemorating Chaffee, Grissom, and White, the three astronauts who had died in the Apollo 1 fire, as well as two memorial medals for Soviet cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin, who had died in 1967 and 1968.
"At 5:54 pm on July 21, the Eagle took off and, three and a half hours later, successfully docked with Columbia. Armstrong and Aldrin transferred from the Eagle to Colombia, and the Lunar Module was then discarded as Columbia began the voyage back to Earth. At around 4:50 pm on July 24, they splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Millions of television viewers watched as the three heroes were transferred by helicopter to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet.
"Somehow, incredibly, NASA had accomplished its prime mission set by President Kennedy just eight years earlier: the landing of men on the Moon and their safe recovery “before the decade was out.” However, though the first Moon landing had been a triumphant success, Project Apollo was far from over."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 9. Subsequent Apollo Missions
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"The success of the Apollo 11 mission abruptly took the pressure off NASA. The next mission had been intended as a backup to allow another attempt at a Moon landing if Apollo 11 had not succeeded. Since it did succeed, the schedule for Apollo 12 was put back two months until November 1969. This was essentially a direct repeat of the previous mission, placing two astronauts, Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan Bean, on the Moon’s surface while Richard Gordon remained in orbit in the CSM. The mission was completely successful, but coming as it did just a few months after the success of the first Moon landing, Apollo 12 attracted far less attention from the public.
"Removed from their main deadline, the planners at NASA were now able to take time to consider how the remainder of Project Apollo would play out. NASA had placed contracts for the construction of 15 Saturn V rockets, sufficient to allow missions up to and including Apollo 20. Shortly after the completion of the Apollo 12 mission, NASA announced eight more scheduled Apollo missions to the Moon. The next mission, Apollo 13, had a completely new planned landing site near the Fra Mauro crater. It was hoped that analysis of samples from this area would reveal a great deal about the history of both the Earth and the Moon.
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"Apollo 13 left its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center at 2:13 pm on April 11, 1970. Earth orbit and trans-lunar injection went as planned, and the crew of three astronauts—Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise—settled in for the three-day journey to the Moon. Then, at 10:08 pm, April 13, Houston received a worrying radio transmission from the craft, “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”
"The problem was an explosion in an oxygen tank that vented all the oxygen from two of the Service Module’s tanks into space. It rapidly became apparent that a Moon landing was no longer possible, and the remainder of the mission became a desperate struggle to keep the three astronauts alive while they returned to Earth. All non-essential services were shut down, and the crew used the cramped Command Module as a type of lifeboat while they looped around the Moon and returned to Earth.
"Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apollo 13 received more television coverage than any other space mission to date. Millions of people around the world waited anxiously for updates. When the capsule finally splashed down safely on April 17, this event was watched live by an estimated 100 million viewers in America and elsewhere. On April 18, The New York Times reported that this mission “in all probability united the world in mutual concern more fully than another successful landing on the Moon would have.”"
Something known only within India, not publicized by the then government owned media, was that Hindu priests in South India had performed a Yajna for safe return of the astronauts. Needless to say this was conducted not only quietly - without publicity - but also without any government or private agencies funding it.
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"Following the accident on Apollo 13, Project Apollo was once again grounded while investigators isolated the cause of the explosion and ensured that it could not re-occur. Launches resumed in February 1971 with Apollo 14, which successfully placed men in the Fra Mauro crater. Apollo 15 then launched on July 26, 1971, and was notable as the first Moon landing to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle, an electric buggy that allowed the astronauts to explore a larger area during their time on the lunar surface.
"Apollo 16 landed two astronauts in the Descartes Highlands area of the Moon on April 21, 1972. The two men spent almost three days on the Moon before the craft returned safely to Earth. Apollo 17 placed two men in the Taurus–Littrow region in December 1972. For the first time, one of these astronauts was not an ex-military pilot; Geologist Harrison Schmitt was the first NASA scientist/astronaut. Schmitt was also one of the last humans to set foot on the Moon. Public interest in Moon landings was lessening. The Apollo 17 Moonwalks were not even broadcast on live television, despite the quality of images being significantly improved from earlier missions. With the successful completion of the Apollo 17 mission, Project Apollo came to an end."
Wouldn't have anything to do with Watergate, would that?
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"During its course, this project placed 12 people on the surface of the Moon and returned all astronauts safely to Earth. These men collected more than 830 pounds (380 kilograms) of samples and brought them back to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston. Today, over 75% of these samples remain in storage in the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility constructed in 1979. Analysis of these samples have greatly increased our understanding of the geology of the Moon.
"However, the price of Project Apollo was staggering. If the costs of the preceding Project Gemini (which tested equipment and systems for Project Apollo) and the unmanned Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter programs (which gathered essential information needed to support the Moon landings) are included, the total cost was somewhere in the region of $28 billion (around $285 billion in current value).
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"Set against these costs, Project Apollo has been described as the greatest technological achievement in human history. It also led to a large number (possibly over 2,000) of spin-off projects that made these technological advances commercially available outside the space program. This included general research into integrated circuits and semiconductor electronic technology that led directly to the development of smaller but more powerful computers. Amongst many hundreds of commercial products that came directly from this project, some of the best-known include the incorporation of digital imaging processing into medical CAT scan and MRI imaging, the creation of memory foam, improved fire-fighting and fire-protection equipment, mylar space blankets, and freeze-dried food.
"In retrospect, it is clear that the Apollo missions were a unique period in human history. With the success of the Moon missions, many people (including those at the head of NASA) assumed that space exploration would continue, perhaps with manned missions to other worlds. Instead, the whole focus of humankind’s attempts to explore space changed."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Chapter 10. An Uncertain Future
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"Ironically, NASA’s success in completing the first Moon landing within the period set by President Kennedy was also the root of a reduction of interest in space exploration. While it was fighting to attain this milestone, NASA enjoyed virtually unopposed political support in the United States. When the Moon landing was accomplished, many people began to question whether the continued expenditure of vast sums on spaceflight was justified, and from 1969 on, NASA’s annual budget decreased each year."
It's also that during sixties - an era that saw relaxation of standards of education, so much so that in eighties a college student would as likely as not know that one divided by two is half - a celebration of illiteracy and a mistaken ideology or thinking that placed idiots on par with the best and the brilliant had those lots question if their daily dozen beers must be foregone for taxes to pay for NASA, leading them to question NASA and even accuse NASA of perpetrating fraud by having shot lunar landing in a studio. Those virulent verbal attacks are rampant across internet, especially by flatearthers and bible belt.
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"Part of the issue was that America itself had changed from the early 1960s when President Kennedy made his bold and optimistic claim. In 1962, America was at peace, even though it faced the Soviet Union in the Cold War. The American economy was recovering from the recession of 1960-1961, and most Americans were optimistic about the future. By the time that Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, America was about to enter a new recession, partly caused by U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. By April 1969, more than half a million U.S. troops were serving in Vietnam, and a growing anti-war movement was beginning to question whether this was appropriate or desirable.
"By the time of the last Moon landings in 1972, America was facing another recession and massive inflation prompted partly by rising oil prices. In these circumstances, it is unsurprising that many people began to question the vast sums being spent on space exploration.
"When Apollo 12 splashed down in November 1969, it had already been decided that all the remaining Saturn V rockets would not be used for Moon missions. One was to be used to launch the Skylab orbital laboratory—that eliminated Apollo 20. After the successful completion of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, President Richard Nixon proposed canceling all remaining Apollo missions. He was persuaded to allow two more to go ahead, but the last two Saturn V rockets (originally intended to be used on Apollo missions 18 and 19) were to be donated to museums in Florida and Texas."
Why does author refrain from mention of Watergate?
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"During Project Apollo, many people in NASA had assumed that a successful Moon landing would be followed by the establishment of a permanent base on the Moon and perhaps also by manned missions to Mars. In October 1969, the NASA Headquarters Office of Manned Space Flight published details of a proposed new project that would lead to a manned landing on Mars by either 1981 or 1983. President Nixon rejected this proposal and suggested that NASA look instead at the possibility of developing some form of less expensive, reusable, winged spacecraft. NASA then produced the Space Transportation System (STS), which looked at a number of possible future space projects. The only one given funding was the development of a reusable spacecraft."
Of course! Had to be Nixon that took an axe to NASA and aspirations for space, while prioritising spying on political opponents.
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"This led directly to the Space Shuttle Program, which would provide regular transportation to Earth’s orbit for astronauts and passengers from 1981 to 2011. The Shuttle Program was generally successful, but for many people, a project that undertook only relatively short orbital hops was a distinct let-down after the pioneering voyages of the Apollo craft. Two disasters involving the loss of the Space Shuttles STS-51-L (Challenger) in 1986 and STS-107 (Columbia) in 2003 also undermined confidence in the safety of the Shuttle. In January 2004, President George W. Bush announced the gradual retirement of the remaining Space Shuttles. In July 2011, STS-135 (Atlantis) took off from the Kennedy Space Center. This was to be the last shuttle flight—after 50 years, America would no longer be directly involved in manned space flight.
"Ironically, following the termination of the Space Shuttle Program, American astronauts who were to be based on the International Space Station had to hitch a ride on Russian Soyuz spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan. Many saw that as a positive development; the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of the Cold War between Russia and America led to a gradual improvement in relations between the two nations. Many began to see international cooperation between governments as the only way to continue manned space programs.
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"However, the latest developments suggest something entirely different. In May 2020, two U.S. astronauts—Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley—flew into orbit after a launch from the Kennedy Space Center. This was the first manned space launch on American soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program. However, the rocket that took them into space was not built by NASA or funded by the U.S. government. Instead, the Falcon 9 launch vehicle was designed and manufactured by SpaceX, a private company created by multi-billionaire Elon Musk.
"This isn’t the only private venture looking at space. In 2006, Bigelow Aerospace launched the Genesis I. In 2021, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin (founded by Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, respectively) both launched flights into space. In the same year, a mission operated by SpaceX became the first orbital spaceflight to include only private citizens aboard. With the rise of commercial spaceflight, it seems unlikely that we will ever again see a massive, government-funded space program to equal Project Apollo."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Conclusion
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"Between October 11, 1968, and December 19, 1972, Project Apollo launched 11 crewed missions that sent 33 astronauts into space. Twelve of these men became the only humans (so far) to set foot on another world. This was one of the boldest and most challenging technological projects ever undertaken, and it was also done within a timescale that seemed unachievable in its early stages.
"When President Kennedy made his historic speech to Congress in May 1961 that America should not only commit to sending a man to the Moon but that this should be done before the end of 1969, many people doubted that this was remotely possible. NASA had been in existence for only three years and had yet to send an astronaut into orbit, and Russia was clearly leading the Space Race. Yet the result of the president’s public announcement of America’s intention spurred NASA into a frenzy of design and development on an accelerated scale. The assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963 did nothing to lessen the impact of his speeches on the topic of space. For many people, achieving the president’s goals within the timescale he had set became a kind of memorial to a man many people saw as one of America’s greatest leaders.
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"Of course, the race to put a human on the Moon wasn’t simply about altruism or exploration. It was also part of the ongoing competition in the development of arms and technology between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Space Race was simply the most obvious part of this competition, and there seemed little doubt that the nation that won this race would gain a lasting advantage over the other.
"The first Moon landing in 1969 became one of the most enduring memories of the twentieth century for many people. A nation had committed a great part of its wealth not to fighting a war but to pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and creativity. It seemed that perhaps the human race was finally ready to abandon wars on this planet in order to find the resources to explore the vastness of space.
"That wasn’t quite how things worked out. Although Project Apollo was a triumphant success, instead of spurring further space exploration, the huge costs involved convinced many people that this was not something any single nation, no matter how wealthy, could afford to pursue. The money that America might have used to fund the establishment of permanent bases on the Moon or even manned missions to Mars was instead spent on fighting the disastrous war in Vietnam."
It wouldn't have gone that way had JFK lived. Hence, as stated by Jim Garrison, the assassination in November 1963. Subsequent presidents were key to tremendous profits for military industry and war machinery.
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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Bibliography
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"Chaikin, A. (2007). A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts.
"Hansen, J. R. (2012). First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong.
"Launius, R. D. (2019). Apollo's Legacy: Perspectives on the Moon Landings.
"Logsdon, J (2010). John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon.
"Murray, C & Cox, C. B. (1989). Apollo: The Race to the Moon."
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December 23, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
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APOLLO PROGRAM: A HISTORY
FROM BEGINNING TO END
(THE COLD WAR), by
HOURLY HISTORY.
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December 20, 2022 - December 23, 2022.
Purchased December 20, 2022.
Publisher: Hourly History
(9 October 2022)
ASIN:- B0BHSL1DNS
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5173118372
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