Table of contents for Apollo Missions in Apollo Missions

KEY: Entered lunar orbit Walked on Moon VIRGIL ‘GUS’ GRISSOM 3 April 1926 – 27 January 1967 • US Air Force test pilot • Mercury-Redstone 4 • Gemini 3 APOLLO 1 COMMANDER EDWARD ‘ED’ WHITE 14 November 1930 – 27 January 1967 • Aeronautical engineering Master’s degree • US Air Force test pilot • Gemini 4 APOLLO 1 COMMAND PILOT ROGER CHAFFEE 15 February 1935 – 27 January 1967 • Aeronautical engineering degree • US Navy jet aircraft pilot • Gemini 4 capsule communications specialist APOLLO 1 PILOT JAMES ‘JIM’ LOVELL b. 25 March 1928 • US Navy test pilot • Gemini 7 • Gemini 12 APOLLO 8 COMMAND MODULE PILOT APOLLO 13 COMMANDER FRANK BORMAN b. 14 March 1928 • US Air Force fighter pilot • Aeronautical engineering Master’s…

Contact Lights The contact lights indicated to the module's crew that they were in close proximity to the Moon’s “surface” and that they should cut the Descent Propulsion System (DPS) engine. Broken Engine Circuit Breaker Used to arm the Ascent Propulsion System engine, the circuit breaker’s knob was broken off during Apollo 11's return. Carbon Dioxide Partial Pressure This indicated the level of carbon dioxide. Apollo 13 experienced the explosion of an oxygen tank causing a multitude of failures and forcing the astronauts to use the LM as a lifeboat. Utility Light Switch Assembly When required, utility lights were used to supplement the cabin interior lighting and connect to the overhead utility light panel. Switches allowed astronauts control over light intensity. The Alignment Optical Telescope (AOT) Used by the astronauts…

The Apollo program paved the way for human space exploration and inspired a generation of future astronauts, scientists and engineers. Apollo 11, the mission that saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin step foot on the Moon, wasn’t possible without the ten other missions before it. 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 9 mission that saw James A McDivitt, David R Scott and Russell “Rusty” Schweickart conduct the first tests of the crewed Lunar Module (LM) and Command and Service Module (CSM) along with the portable life-support systems that would be used when exploring the Moon. On 3 March 1969 these three astronauts strapped themselves in for the ride of their lives, sitting aboard a Saturn V rocket at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States.…

It’s said that Aldrin was getting Armstrong back by taking no photos of him on the Moon in retribution for the latter getting the honour of being the first to set foot on the Moon. However, and according to Aldrin, he was about to take a picture of Armstrong at the flag ceremony when President Nixon called, distracting them from the task. “As the sequence of lunar operations evolved, Neil had the camera most of the time, and the majority of the pictures taken on the Moon that include an astronaut are of me,” Aldrin states. “It wasn’t until we were back on Earth and in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory looking over the pictures that we realised there were few pictures of Neil. My fault perhaps, but we had never…

“Mission control held its breath as the crew dropped through the atmosphere” 1. Lift-off Time: 00:00:00 Apollo 13 was the third manned mission to the lunar surface, and the crew planned to explore the Fra Mauro region on the near-side of the Moon. 2. Television transmission Time: 55:14:00 Shortly before the explosion, the crew took part in a live television broadcast back to Earth, showing viewers what life was like inside the module. 3. “Houston, we’ve had a problem” Time: 55:55:20 After the broadcast had ended, the crew were asked to stir the oxygen tanks. Tank two was faulty, and the procedure triggered a catastrophic explosion in the SM, venting their vital oxygen supply and taking the fuel cells offline. 4. To the lifeboat Time: 57:43:00 As the remaining oxygen…

Apollo 15, which launched on 26 July 1971, marked the beginning of NASA's most challenging crewed missions to the Moon. This mission featured the longest stay yet on the lunar surface, three moonwalks and the first use of a "Moon buggy," or lunar rover. Only two more crewed missions followed after Apollo 15: Apollo 16 and Apollo 17. In the training for Apollo 15, the mission's three astronauts put an emphasis on geological work. They spent many hours in the field learning how to identify different types of rocks and formations. The crew, all former US Air Force pilots, had trained together in the past, serving as backups for the Apollo 12 mission. Commander Dave Scott had two spaceflight missions under his belt. He was the Command Module pilot on…

Apollo 17 took the 11th and 12th people to the surface of the Moon and marked the end of the Apollo programme. By the time the mission launched, on 7 December 1972, public interest in space exploration had declined and the government had shifted focus to the Vietnam War. These and many other factors brought the program to a close, even though three more flights were originally planned. Apollo 17 was the first mission to include a scientist in its crew. Geologist Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt was one of the first six scientist-astronauts selected in 1965 amid immense pressure to do so from the National Academy of Sciences, which was worried that only test pilots would get the opportunity to walk on the Moon. When it came time to select the…

Throughout human history there have been many times when people have worked together to achieve great goals. The construction of the Panama Canal in the early-20th century is one standout example, and the International Space Station (ISS) at the turn of the 21st is another. But perhaps none quite matches the importance, scope and sheer bravado of the Apollo programme. With an estimated 400,000 people involved and about $100 billion in today’s money spent, it was – and remains – one of the greatest accomplishments in human history. And even today, we are reaping the incredible rewards of this once-in-a-lifetime project. The Apollo missions ended in 1972 with waning public interest in the programme itself, but the appetite for space exploration had been whetted. Humans had landed on the Moon,…

*Dates in headings are mission launch dates 1961-1966 SA and AS unmanned missions In preparation for the manned Moon missions, NASA conducted a series of tests using various iterations of the Saturn rocket, in order to practice launch, Low Earth Orbit, re-entry and mission aborts. 27 January 1967 Apollo 1 Test flight, never launched See page 40 Destroyed during a pre-flight test when a fire in the Command Module tragically killed the crew. July-August 1966 AS-202 and AS-203 (Apollo 2 and 3, re-designated) Unmanned Test flights, success After Apollo 1’s launch test disaster, the nomenclature of subsequent missions was changed. Apollo 2 (which was due to be a repeat of Apollo 1) and Apollo 3 (due to be the first test of the Block II CSM) were re-designated as test…

“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,” the 35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy said resolutely to a large crowd that had gathered around his podium at Rice University Stadium in Houston, Texas, on 12 September 1962. That day, the politician had laid down a gauntlet to NASA. The space agency’s job was to find the astronauts with the right stuff. Fortunately for them, they weren’t short of those wanting to step up to the challenge. One of the first candidates came in the form of a six-foot former pilot of the US Navy. An individual who had seen action in the Korean War, flying 78 missions for a…

Getting in and out The astronauts climbed aboard the Command Module via one of two side hatches. But there was also a third hatch mounted at the top of the docking tunnel. After leaving Earth’s orbit, the Command and Service Module separated from the rocket, turned and docked with the Lunar Module. This third hatch allowed astronauts to make their way into the Lunar Module. This would land on the moon and become their home as they explored the lunar surface. Amazing views The astronauts could gaze at the stars with five windows to look out of. As well as two forward-facing rendezvous windows measuring 200x330mm (8x13in), there were two of 330mm (13in) square on either side of the outer seats and a circular one, 27cm (10.6in) in diameter within…

The Apollo programme changed forever on 27 January 1967, when a flash fire swept through the Apollo 1 command module during a launch rehearsal test. The three men inside perished despite the best efforts of the ground crew. It would take more than 18 months, and extensive redesigns, before NASA sent more men into space. NASA had a lofty goal, set by President John F Kennedy in 1961, to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of the decade. Earlier Mercury and Gemini flights had been the first steps toward that goal, testing how humans behaved in space and how to perform technical spacecraft procedures such as rendezvous. Now the Apollo missions would take astronauts all the way to the Moon for…

Apollo 7 was the programme's first successful crewed flight into space. The crew of Wally Schirra, Don Eisele and Walter Cunningham spent nearly 11 days in space as they orbited Earth and tested out the spacecraft that was designed to bring humans safely to the Moon and back again. By the time the mission launched on 11 October 1968, NASA had worked hard at improving crew safety and heeded the concerns that arose after a Command Module fire killed the Apollo 1 crew 20 months earlier during a routine launch pad test. But Apollo 7 proved to be an engineering success, despite crew illness and reports of tension between the space crew and ground crew. Apollo 7 was essentially a test flight for manned spacecraft. After Apollo 1, three unmanned…

Just a few months after the Apollo 9 mission, on 18 May 1969, was the launch of Apollo 10. This mission saw three of NASA’s finest astronauts perform the ‘rehearsal’ for the Apollo 11 mission – they left Earth, went to the Moon and made a Lunar Module descent, but didn't actually make the historic touchdown. The Apollo 10 mission put everything in place so that Apollo 11 could cement its place in history books. The trio of cosmic adventurers consisted of commander Thomas Stafford, Lunar Module pilot Eugene Cernan and Command Module pilot John Young. These three were no amateurs in spaceflight: it was Stafford’s third, Young’s third and Cernan’s second spaceflight, and it wouldn't be their last. Stafford went on to be commander of the US-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz Test…

Ignition of Saturn V 00:00:00 Liftoff Stage I-powered fligh 00:02:39 Stage I-powered cutoff 00:02:42 Stage II engine ignition 00:03:14 Launch escape tower jettison Stage II-powered flight 00:08:56 Stage II-engines cutoff 00:08:56 Stage IV engine ignition Stage IV-powered flight 00:11:23 Stage IV engine cutoff CSM guidance system reference alignment 200:16:26 CSM separation Communication blackout period 200,000ft altitude 250,000ft altitude Heat shield and chute deployed at 24,000ft Deploy main chute at 10,000ft 200:41:16 Touchdown in the Pacific Ocean 01:35:08 Stage IV engine ignition 01:40:50 Stage IV engine cutoff 01:57:05 CSM guidance system separation and LM adapter, deployment of adapter panels and high-gain antenna 01:58:42 CSM guidance system 180-degree turnaround 02:41:40 CSM/LM separation from stage IV Navigation sightings 04:43:56 SM ignition 04:44:04 SM engine cutoff 46 hours Systems status checks Eat and sleep…

Officially known as the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), NASA's state-of-the-art, $38-million-dollar Moon buggy was more spacecraft than regular vehicle. Its designers were tasked with producing a buggy that could carry two astronauts in heavy spacesuits, along with their scientific equipment, over the rugged lunar terrain where temperatures can range from +/-120 degrees Celsius (+/-250 degrees Fahrenheit) and the gravity is one-sixth the strength that it is on Earth. To fit the buggy inside the 1.8x1.2-metre (6x4-foot) Quadrant 1 bay of the Descent Stage of the Lunar Module, the wheels were folded inwards and the whole body was folded in half. A set of ropes, cloth tapes, pulleys and springs enabled it to be swung out from the craft, and the wheels and body semi-automatically snapped into place. It took the…

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Kennedy’s speech to Congress On 25 May 1961 in a speech to Congress on “Urgent National Needs”, President Kennedy stated his belief that the US should endeavour to land humans on the Moon by the end of the decade, beating the Soviets to the ultimate prize in the process. Across the nation, his speech was met with huge amounts of support, with little concern given to the risk or cost of such a programme. It was a pivotal moment in drumming up support for the lunar missions and made many believe such an effort was possible. The Soviet Union stunned the world on 4 October 1957 when it announced that it had launched a satellite into orbit for the first time, Sputnik 1. The United Statates of America, which was…

Even though Apollo was in the Sixties, when microchips were a brand-new technology and the complicated gizmos of today were nothing but science fiction, the Lunar Module’s controls took on a remarkably complicated appearance, with switches, buttons, knobs, lights and controls making up a crescent-shaped display in the cockpit. The main control was the DSKY; this enabled the crew to interface with the Apollo Guidance Computer, which controlled the navigation of the Lunar Module. This computer was the height of computing power in the late-Sixties with a 16-bit memory. The Command Module actually had two of these interfaces, while the Lunar Module that would land on the Moon had one and enabled overall control of each spacecraft. DSKY stood for Display and Keyboard’ and was often pronounced as ‘dis-key’. It…

NASA’s original plan to send humans to the Moon was daring, if not risky. Two uncrewed flights of the Saturn rocket would be followed by three crewed flights. Then there would be a lunar landing rehearsal, followed by the actual landing – just the seventh mission of the Apollo programme. And in 1966, things were looking pretty good. The agency’s Gemini missions were ticking along nicely, with about half of them complete. Early variants of the Saturn rocket had been tested, and components of the Apollo missions were far through in development. What could go wrong? The Apollo missions, before they were numbered, were designated by a letter. The initial missions in Earth orbit would begin with the ‘A mission’, which would be an uncrewed flight of the command-service module…

Apollo 8 was the second crewed mission of the Apollo program and the first mission to bring humans to the Moon. The six-day mission lifted off on 21 December 1968, with its crew of Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders. The flight included a day orbiting the Moon, during which the astronauts took the “Earthrise” picture – one of the most iconic photographs ever taken of our planet. The photo has also been credited as a major impetus for the environmental movement. This historic mission happened because of a last-minute decision from NASA management. Initially, the agency planned to test the Lunar and Command Module components of the Apollo spacecraft first before striking out for the Moon. At the time, the United States and Russia were engaged in a…

03:04:15:47 “Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston. Do you read? Over.” Bruce McCandless, CAPCOM 03:04:15:59 “Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston. Do you read? Over.” Bruce McCandless, CAPCOM 03:04:16:11 “…” Unidentified crew member, Apollo 11 03:04:16:59 “Houston, Apollo 11. Over.” Unidentified crew member, Apollo 11 03:04:17:00 “Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston. We are reading you weakly. Go ahead. Over.” Bruce McCandless, CAPCOM 03:04:19:32 “Apollo 11, this is Houston. Are you in the process of acquiring data on the burn? Over.” Bruce McCandless, CAPCOM 03:04:21:37 “Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston. How do you read? Bruce McCandless, CAPCOM 03:04:21:43 “Reading you loud and clear, Houston. How us? Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 Commander…

After performing two successful Moon landings, NASA had pulled ahead of the Soviet Union as the undisputed leader in the Space Race. But a potentially fatal accident on its third lunar surface-bound mission was about to bring it back down to Earth. Apollo 13 was surrounded with superstition from the start, the number 13 believed to be unlucky, but NASA wasn’t going to let that get in the way of science. The public and the press, however, seemed more focused on the mission’s designation than its aims, with many questioning why NASA even needed to revisit the Moon after the successes of Apollo 11 and 12. NASA knew these landings were more than just a novelty, so the Apollo program continued – for now – and Deke Slayton, director of…

Apollo 14 was the third human mission to land on the Moon, and the first one since the Apollo 13 mission that experienced a dangerous explosion in space before the crew was returned safely to Earth. NASA made changes to the Apollo spacecraft design before Apollo 14 lifted off on 31 January 1971. Today, many people remember this mission as the one where an astronaut hit golf balls, but the crew also had other adventures. The team searched for evidence of an asteroid that carved a large crater in the Moon and fought glitches and false alarms as they made their way to the Fra Mauro highlands. Their colleagues at NASA good-naturedly referred to the Apollo 14 crew as "the three rookies," because the team had only a few minutes…

Apollo 16 was the second-to-last mission of the Apollo program and the fifth to land humans on the Moon. Apollo 16 launched on 16 April 1972, and landed at the Descartes highlands, a lunar highland area near the Descartes crater. While there, the crew searched for volcanic rocks. Although the astronauts didn't come back with the rocks they were searching for, their skill in picking out geological targets and their ability to cope with changing fortunes made this mission a highlight of scientific discovery on the Moon. The Apollo 16 astronauts Cmdr John Young was among NASA's most seasoned astronauts, having already spent a decade in the career. The former US Navy aviator flew twice in the Gemini program, flying as co-pilot in the first mission (Gemini 3, 1965) and…

It’s estimated that one-sixth of the world’s population watched the historic Apollo 11 landing on the Moon in July 1969. But as the subsequent missions rolled by, interest quickly waned, and NASA’s budget became stretched. With plans also in the works to build a space station in Earth orbit, called Skylab, the remaining three Apollo missions – 18, 19, and 20 – were scrapped. The original Apollo plan had called for ten missions to the surface of the Moon in total. This would include landings across the lunar surface, and there were even some suggestions that a mission could go to the far side of the Moon. But in January 1970, NASA announced that Apollo 20 would be cancelled. Later that year, Apollo 18 and 19 were also dropped, while…