On 25 May 1961, John F Kennedy announced the goal of landing an American man on the Moon by the end of the decade. This challenge forced NASA to review the planned lunar landing of a three-man spaceship named Apollo in the mid-1970s. In 1962, it was decided that a specialized vehicle would accompany the main spacecraft, to make the lunar landing while the mothership remained in lunar orbit. To send these vehicles to the Moon would require the development of an enormous rocket. Development was protracted, but in December 1968 Apollo 8 was launched on a pioneering mission to perform an initial reconnaissance in lunar orbit. When Apollo 17 lifted off from the Moon in December 1972, the program was concluded. Now, at long last, there is a real prospect of a resumption of human exploration of the Moon. This book provides an overview of the origins of the Apollo program and descriptions of the ground facilities, launch vehicles and spacecraft that will serve as an invaluable single-volume sourcebook for space enthusiasts, space historians, journalists, and programme-makers on radio and TV. It supplements tha other books that have focused on the politics and management of the Apollo program, the astronauts, and their training and exploits.
Author(s): Richard W. Orloff, David M. Harland
Edition: 1
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 633
0387300430......Page 1
Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration......Page 2
Apollo: The Definitive Sourcebook......Page 3
Table of Contents......Page 8
Introduction......Page 28
Saturn I
Development program 1961-1965......Page 89
AS-201
The first flight of the Saturn IB: a CSM on a ballistic arc 26 February 1966......Page 101
AS-203 The second flight of the Saturn IB: evaluating the S-IVB 5 July 1966......Page 110
AS-202
The third flight of the Saturn IB: testing the CM heat shield
25 August 1966......Page 117
Apollo 1
Cabin fire
27 January 1967......Page 129
Apollo 4
The first test of the Saturn V 9 November 1967......Page 145
Apollo 5
Unmanned test of the LM 22 January 1968......Page 163
Apollo 6
The second test of the Saturn V 4 April 1968......Page 175
Apollo 7
The first manned mission: testing the CSM in Earth orbit 11-22 October 1968......Page 195
Apollo 8
The second manned mission: testing the CSM in lunar orbit 21-27 December 1968......Page 219
Apollo 9
The third manned mission: testing the LM in Earth orbit 3-13 March 1969......Page 247
Apollo 10
The fourth manned mission: testing the LM in lunar orbit 18-26 May 1969......Page 278
Apollo 11
The fifth manned mission: the first lunar landing 16-24 July 1969......Page 302
Apollo 12
The sixth manned mission: the second lunar landing 14-24 November 1969......Page 349
Apollo 13
The seventh manned mission: in-flight abort 11-17 April 1970......Page 383
Apollo 14
The eighth manned mission: the third lunar landing 31 January-9 February 1971......Page 415
Apollo 15
The ninth manned mission: the fourth lunar landing 26 July-7 August 1971......Page 446
Apollo 16
The tenth manned mission: the fifth lunar landing 16-27 April 1972......Page 491
Apollo 17
The eleventh manned mission: the sixth lunar landing 7-19 December 1972......Page 526
In retrospect......Page 565
