Project Apollo

For other meanings, see Apollo (disambiguation).

North American Apollo CSM
Missing image Apollo_CSM_lunar_orbit.jpg Apollo CSM in lunar orbit. Apollo CSM in lunar orbit.
Description
Role:	Earth and Lunar Orbit
Crew:	3; CDR, CM pilot, LM pilot
Dimensions
Height:	36.2 ft	11.03 m
Diameter:	12.8 ft	3.9 m
Volume:	218 ft3	6.17 m3
Weights
Command module:	12,807 lb	5,809 kg
Service module:	54,064 lb	24,523 kg
Total:	66,871 lb	30,332 kg
Rocket engines
CM RCS (N2O4/UDMH) x 12:	92 lbf ea	412 N
SM RCS (N2O4/UDMH) x 16:	100 lbf ea	441 N
Service Propulsion System (N2O4/UDMH) x 1:	22,000 lbf ea	97.86 kN
Performance
Endurance:	14 days	200 orbits
Apogee:	240,000 miles	386,242 km
Perigee:	100 miles	160 km
Spacecraft delta v:	9,200 ft/s	2,804 m/s
Apollo CSM diagram
Missing image Apollo-linedrawing.png Apollo CSM diagram (NASA) Apollo CSM diagram (NASA)
North American Apollo CSM

Project Apollo was a series of human spaceflight missions undertaken by the United States of America using the Apollo spacecraft, conducted during the years 1961-1972. It was devoted to the goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth within the decade of the 1960s. This goal was achieved with the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. The program continued into the early 1970s to carry out the initial hands-on scientific exploration of the Moon. As of 2005, there has not been any further human spaceflight beyond low earth orbit.

Contents

1 Background 2 Choosing a mission mode 3 Flights 4 Apollo Applications Program 5 End of the Program 6 Reasons for Apollo 7 Miscellaneous information 8 Missions 8.1 Unmanned Saturn I 8.2 Unmanned pad abort tests 8.3 Unmanned Little Joe II 8.4 Unmanned Apollo-Saturn IB and Saturn V 8.5 Manned 8.6 Cancelled missions 8.7 Later missions using leftover Apollo hardware 8.8 Apollo Launch Complex utilization 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Background

The Apollo Program was the second United States human spaceflight program, though its flights followed both the first such program (Mercury) and the third (Gemini). Apollo was originally conceived late in the Eisenhower administration as a follow-on to Mercury for advanced manned earth-orbital missions. It was dramatically reoriented to an aggressive lunar landing goal by President Kennedy with his announcement at a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961:

"...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. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish..." (Excerpt from "Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs" [1] (http://www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/j052561.htm))

Choosing a mission mode

Having settled upon the Moon as a target, the Apollo mission planners were faced with the challenge of designing a flight plan attaining Kennedy's stated goal while minimizing risk to human life, cost and demands on technology and astronaut skill.

Three possible plans were considered.

• Direct ascent: The first was to boost a spaceship directly to the moon. This would have required a Nova rocket far more powerful than any in existence at the time. The entire spacecraft would land on and return from the moon.

• Earth orbit rendezvous: The second, known as Earth orbit rendezvous (EOR), would have required the launch of two Saturn V rockets, one containing the space ship and one containing fuel. The spaceship would have docked in earth orbit and be fueled with enough fuel to make it to the moon and back. The entire spacecraft would have landed on the moon in this case as well.

• Lunar orbit rendezvous: The plan which was actually adopted is credited to John Houbolt and used the technique of 'Lunar Orbit Rendezvous' (LOR). The spacecraft was modular, composed of a 'Command/Service Module' (CSM) and a 'Lunar Module' (LM; pronounced LEM, for Lunar Excursion Module, its initial name). The CSM contained the life support systems for the three man crew's five day round trip to the moon and the heat shield for their reentry to Earth's atmosphere. The LM would separate from the CSM in lunar orbit and carry two astronauts for the descent to the lunar surface.

In contrast with the other plans, the LOR plan required only a small part of the spacecraft to land on the moon, thereby minimizing the mass to be launched from the moon's surface for the return trip.

Grumman Apollo LM
Missing image Apollo_16_LM.jpg Apollo LM on lunar surface. Apollo LM on lunar surface.
Description
Role:	Lunar landing
Crew:	2; CDR, LM pilot
Dimensions
Height:	20.9 ft	6.37 m
Diameter:	14 ft	4.27 m
Landing gear span:	29.75 ft	9.07 m
Volume:	235 ft3	6.65 m3
Weights
Ascent module:	10,024 lb	4,547 kg
Descent module:	22,375 lb	10,149 kg
Total:	32,399 lb	14,696 kg
Rocket engines
LM RCS (N2O4/UDMH) x 16:	100 lbf ea	441 N
Ascent Propulsion System (N2O4/UDMH) x 1:	3,500 lbf ea	15.57 kN
Descent Propulsion System (N2O4/UDMH) x 1:	9,982 lbf ea	44.4 kN
Performance
Endurance:	3 days	72 hours
Apogee:	100 miles	160 km
Perigee:	surface	surface
Spacecraft delta v:	15,387 ft/s	4,690 m/s
Apollo LM diagram
Missing image LEM-linedrawing.png Apollo LM diagram (NASA) Apollo LM diagram (NASA)
Grumman Apollo LM

The Lunar Module itself was composed of a descent stage and an ascent stage, the former serving as a launch platform for the latter when the lunar exploration party blasted off for lunar orbit where they would dock with the CSM prior to returning to Earth. The plan had the advantage that since the LM was to be discarded, it could be made very light and allow for the moon mission to be launched with a single Saturn V rocket. However, at the time that LOR was decided, some mission planners were uneasy at the large numbers of dockings and undockings needed to make the plan succeed.

To learn lunar landing techniques, astronauts practiced in the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV), a flying vehicle that simulated the Lunar Module on earth.

Flights

The Apollo program included eleven manned flights, designated Apollo 7 through Apollo 17, all launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Apollo 4 through Apollo 6 were unmanned test flights (officially there was no Apollo 2 or Apollo 3); the Apollo 1 designation was retroactively applied to the originally planned first manned flight which ended in a disastrous fire during a launch pad test that killed three astronauts. The first of the manned flights employed the Saturn IB launch vehicle, the following flights all used the more powerful Saturn V. Two of the flights (Apollo 7 and Apollo 9) were earth orbital missions, two of the flights (Apollo 8 and Apollo 10) were lunar orbital missions, and the remaining 7 flights were lunar landing missions (although one, Apollo 13, failed to land).

Apollo 7 tested the Apollo command and service modules (CSM) in earth orbit. Apollo 8 tested the CSM in lunar orbit. Apollo 9 tested the lunar module (LM) in earth orbit. Apollo 10 tested the LM in lunar orbit. Apollo 11 achieved the first human lunar landing. Apollo 12 achieved the first lunar landing at a precise location. Apollo 13 failed to achieve a lunar landing, but succeeded in returning the crew safely to earth following a potentially disastrous in-flight explosion. Apollo 14 resumed the lunar exploration program. Apollo 15 introduced a new level of lunar exploration capability, with a long-stay-time LM and a lunar roving vehicle. Apollo 16 was the first manned landing in the lunar highlands. Apollo 17, the final mission, was the first to include a scientist-astronaut.

Apollo Applications Program

In the speech which initiated Apollo, Kennedy declared that no other program would have as great a long-range effect on America's ambitions in outer space. Following the success of Project Apollo, both NASA and its major contractors investigated several post-lunar applications for the Apollo hardware. The "Apollo Extension Series", later called the "Apollo Applications Program", proposed at least ten flights. Many of these would use the space that the lunar module took up in the Saturn rocket to carry scientific equipment.

One plan involved using the Saturn IB to take the CSM to a variety of low-earth orbits for missions lasting up to 45 days. Some missions would involve the docking of two CSMs, and transfer of supplies. The Saturn V would be necessary to take it to polar orbit, or sun-synchronous orbit (neither of which has yet been achieved by any manned spacecraft), and even to the geosynchronous orbit of Syncom 3, a communications satellite not quite in geostationary orbit. This was the first functioning communications satellite at that now-common great distance from the Earth, and it was small enough to be carried through the hatch and taken back to Earth for study as to the effects of radiation on its electronic components in that environment over a period of years. A return to the moon was also planned, this time to orbit for a longer time to map the surface with high-precision equipment. This mission would not include a landing.

Of all the plans only two were implemented; the Skylab space station (May 1973 - February 1974), and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (July 1975). Skylab's fuselage was constructed from the second stage of a Saturn IB, and the station was equipped with the Apollo Telescope Mount, itself based on a lunar module. The station's three crews were ferried into orbit atop Saturn IBs, riding in CSMs; the station itself had been launched with a modified Saturn V. Skylab's last crew departed the station on February 8, 1974, whilst the station itself returned prematurely to Earth in 1979, by which time it had become the oldest operational Apollo component.

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project involved a docking in Earth orbit between an un-named CSM and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. The mission lasted from July 15 to July 24, 1975. Although the Soviet Union continued to operate the Soyuz and Salyut space vehicles, NASA's next manned mission would not be until STS-1 on April 12, 1981.

End of the Program

Originally three additional lunar landing missions had been planned, as Apollos 18 through 20. In light of the drastically shrinking NASA budget and the decision not to produce a second batch of Saturn Vs, these missions were cancelled to make funds available for the development of the Space Shuttle, and to make their Apollo spacecraft and Saturn V launch vehicles available to the Skylab program. Only one of the Saturn Vs was actually used; the others became museum exhibits.

Another excerpt from Kennedy's Special Message to Congress:

"I believe we should go to the moon. But I think every citizen of this country as well as the Members of the Congress should consider the matter carefully in making their judgment, to which we have given attention over many weeks and months, because it is a heavy burden, and there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful. If we are not, we should decide today and this year.

"This decision demands a major national commitment of scientific and technical manpower, material and facilities, and the possibility of their diversion from other important activities where they are already thinly spread. It means a degree of dedication, organization and discipline which have not always characterized our research and development efforts. It means we cannot afford undue work stoppages, inflated costs of material or talent, wasteful interagency rivalries, or a high turnover of key personnel.

"New objectives and new money cannot solve these problems. They could in fact, aggravate them further--unless every scientist, every engineer, every serviceman, every technician, contractor, and civil servant gives his personal pledge that this nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space." (Excerpt from "Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs")

Reasons for Apollo

The Apollo program was at least partly motivated by psycho-political considerations, in response to persistent perceptions of American inferiority in space technology vis-a-vis the Soviets, in the context of the Cold War and Space race. In this respect it succeeded brilliantly. In fact, American superiority in manned spaceflight was achieved in the precursory Gemini program, even before the first Apollo flight.

The Apollo program stimulated many areas of technology. The flight computer design used in both the lunar and command modules was, along with the Minuteman Missile System, the driving force behind early research into integrated circuits. The fuel cell developed for this program was the first practical fuel cell. Computer controlled machining (CNC) was pioneered in fabricating Apollo structural components.

Many astronauts and cosmonauts have commented on the profound effects that seeing earth from space has had on them. One of the most important legacies of the Apollo program was the now-common, but not universal view of Earth as a fragile, small planet, captured in the photographs taken by the astronauts during the lunar missions. The most famous of these photographs, taken by the Apollo 17 astronauts, is "The Blue Marble." These photographs have also motivated many people toward environmentalism and space colonization.

Miscellaneous information

• The cost of the entire Apollo program: USD $25.4 billion -1969 Dollars ($135-billion in 2005 Dollars). See NASA Budget. (Includes Mercury, Gemini, Ranger, Surveyor, Lunar Orbitar, Apollo programs.) Apollo spacecraft and Saturn rocket cost alone, was about $ 83-billion 2005 Dollars (Apollo spacecraft cost $ 28-billion (CS/M $ 17-billion; LM $ 11-billion), Saturn I, IB, V costs about $ 46-billion 2005 dollars).
• Amount of moon material brought back by the Apollo program: 381.7 kg (841.5 lb). Most of the material is stored at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston.

Missions

The Apollo program used four types of launch vehicles:

• Little Joe II - unmanned suborbital launch escape system development.
• Saturn I - unmanned suborbital and orbital hardware development.
• Saturn IB - unmanned and manned earth orbit development and operational missions.
• Saturn V - unmanned and manned earth orbit and lunar missions.

Something to note with Apollo flights is that Marshall Space Flight Center who designed the Saturn rockets referred to the flights as Saturn-Apollo (SA) whereas Kennedy Space Center referred to the flights as Apollo-Saturn (AS). This is why the unmanned Saturn 1 flights are referred to as SA and the unmanned Saturn 1B are referred to as AS.

Unmanned Saturn I

• SA-1 - Test of the S-1 Rocket
• SA-2 - Test of the S-1 Rocket and carried 109 m³ of water into the upper atmosphere to investigate effects on radio transmission and changes in local weather conditions.
• SA-3 - Same as SA-2
• SA-4 - Test effects of premature engine shutdown
• SA-5 - First flight of live second stage
• A-101 - Tested the structural integrity of a boilerplate Apollo Command and Service Module
• A-102 - Carried the first programmable computer on the Saturn I vehicle; last test flight
• A-103 - carried Pegasus A micrometeorite satellite
• A-104 - carried Pegasus B micrometeorite satellite
• A-105 - carried Pegasus C micrometeorite satellite

Unmanned pad abort tests

• Pad Abort Test-1 - Launch Escape System (LES) abort test from launch pad.
• Pad Abort Test-2 - LES pad abort test of near Block-I CM.

Unmanned Little Joe II

• QTV - Little Joe II qualification test.
• A-001 - LES transonic abort test.
• A-002 - LES maximum altitude, Max-Q abort test.
• A-003 - LES canard maximum altitude abort test.
• A-004 - LES test of maximum weight, tumbling Block-I CM.

Unmanned Apollo-Saturn IB and Saturn V

• AS-201 - first test flight of Saturn IB rocket
• AS-203 - investigate weightlessness on fuel tanks of S-IVB
• AS-202 - sub-orbital test flight of Command and Service Module
• Apollo 4 - first test of the Saturn V booster
• Apollo 5 - test of the Saturn IB booster and Lunar Module
• Apollo 6 - test of the Saturn V booster

Manned

• Apollo 1 - crew died in spacecraft fire atop launch vehicle during pre-launch tests
• Apollo 7 - first manned Apollo flight, first manned flight of the Saturn IB
• Apollo 8 - first manned flight around the Moon, first manned flight of the Saturn V
• Apollo 9 - first manned flight of the Lunar Module
• Apollo 10 - first manned flight of the Lunar Module around the Moon
• Apollo 11 - first manned landing on the Moon
• Apollo 12 - first precise manned landing on the Moon
• Apollo 13 - oxygen tank explodes en route to the Moon, landing on the Moon is cancelled, crew survives
• Apollo 14 - Alan Shepard becomes the only Mercury astronaut to walk on the Moon
• Apollo 15 - first mission with the Lunar Rover vehicle
• Apollo 16 - first landing in the lunar highlands
• Apollo 17 - final Apollo lunar mission, first mission with a geologist

Cancelled missions

The original pre-lunar landing programme was more conservative but as the 'all-up' test flights for the Saturn V proved successful missions were deleted. The revised schedule published in October 1967 had the first manned Apollo CSM earth orbit mission (Apollo 7) followed by and Earth Orbit Rendezvous of the CSM and LM launched on two Saturn 1Bs (Apollo 8) followed by a Saturn V launched CSM on a Large Earth Orbit Mission (Apollo 9) followed by the Saturn V launched dress rehearsal in Lunar Orbit with Apollo 10. In the Spring of 1968 the CIA informed NASA administrator James Webb that the Soviet Union was preparing a manned circum-lunar mission within the year. As the LM was delayed Webb opted to switch the planned Apollo 9 to a CSM only Lunar Orbit mission as Apollo 8. The original idea for this switch was the brainchild of George Low. As a consequence this decision resulted in Neil Armstrong becoming the first man on the moon.

• Apollo 18
• Apollo 19
• Apollo 20

Later missions using leftover Apollo hardware

• Skylab
• Apollo-Soyuz

Apollo Launch Complex utilization

• Launch Complex 34 - SA-1, SA-2, SA-3, SA-4, AS-201, AS-202, AS-204 (Apollo 1), AS-205 (Apollo 7)
• Launch Complex 37A - no launches
• Launch Complex 37B - SA-5, A-101, A-102, A-103, A-104, A-105, AS-203, AS-204 (Apollo 5)
• Launch Complex 39A - AS-501 (Apollo 4), AS-502 (Apollo 6), AS-503(Apollo 8), AS-504 (Apollo 9), AS-506 (Apollo 11), AS-507 (Apollo 12), AS-508 (Apollo 13), AS-509 (Apollo 14), AS-510 (Apollo 15), AS-511 (Apollo 16), AS-512 (Apollo 17), AS-513 (Skylab 1)
• Launch Complex 39B - AS-505 (Apollo 10), AS-206 (Skylab 2), AS-207 (Skylab 3), AS-208 (Skylab 4), AS-210 (ASTP).

See also

• List of lunar astronauts
• List of artificial objects on the Moon
• Extra-vehicular activity - List and duration of moonwalks
• Apollo moon landing hoax accusations
• Splashdown
• Ranger program
• Soviet moonshot
• Surveyor program
• Lunar Orbiter program
• Crew Exploration Vehicle
• Space race
• Launch complex 39

Template:US manned space programs

References

• Kranz, Gene, Failure is Not an Option. Factual, from the standpoint of a chief flight controller during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs. ISBN 0743200799
• Chaikin, Andrew. A Man on the Moon. ISBN 0140272011. Chaikin has interviewed all the surviving astronauts, plus many others who worked with the program.
• Murray, Charles; Cox, Catherine B. Apollo: The Race to the Moon. ISBN 0671611011. This is an excellent account of what it took to build and fly Apollo.
• Cooper, Henry S. F. Jr. Thirteen: The Flight That Failed. ISBN 0801850975. Although this book focuses on Apollo 13, it is extremely well-researched and provides a wealth of background information on Apollo technology and procedures.
• Wilhelms, Don E. To a Rocky Moon. ISBN 0816510652. Tells the history of Lunar exploration from a geologist's point of view.
• Pellegrino, Charles R.; Stoff, Joshua. Chariots for Apollo: The Untold Story Behind the Race to the Moon. ISBN 0380802619. Tells Grumman's story of building the Lunar Modules.
• Lovell, Jim; Kluger, Jeffrey. Lost Moon: The perilous voyage of Apollo 13 aka Apollo 13: Lost Moon. ISBN 0618056653. Details the flight of Apollo 13.
• Collins, Michael . Carrying the Fire; an Astronaut's journeys. Astronaut Mike Collins autobiography of his experiences as an astronaut, including his flight aboard Apollo 11, the first landing on the Moon
• Slayton, Donald K.; Cassutt, Michael. Deke! An Autobiograpy. ISBN 031285918X. This is an excellent account of Deke Slayton's life as an astronaut and of his work as chief of the astronaut office, including selection of the crews which flew Apollo to the Moon.
• Chariots for Apollo: A history of Manned Lunar Spacecraft - NASA report (PDF format) (http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790020032_1979020032.pdf)
• The Apollo spacecraft. Volume 1 - A chronology: From origin to 7 Nov. 1962 - (PDF format) (http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19690022643_1969022643.pdf)
• The Apollo spacecraft: Volume 2 - A chronology: 8 November 1962 - 30 September 1964 - (PDF format) (http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740004394_1974004394.pdf)
• The Apollo spacecraft: Volume 3 - A chronology: 1 October 1964 - 20 January 1966 - (PDF format) (http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19760014180_1976014180.pdf)
• The Apollo spacecraft: Volume 4 - A chronology: 21 January 1966 - 13 July 1974 - (PDF format) (http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19800011953_1980011953.pdf)
• Apollo program summary report: Synopsis of the Apollo program - NASA report (PDF format) (http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750013242_1975013242.pdf)

External links

• Official Apollo program website (http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/apollo/index.html)
• Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft By Courtney G Brooks, James M. Grimwood, Loyd S. Swenson (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/contents.html)
• NASA SP-4009 The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4009/cover.htm)
• SP-4029 Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference by Richard W. Orloff (http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/SP-4029.htm)
• The Apollo Program (1963 - 1972) (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo.html)
• The Apollo Lunar Surface Journal (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/frame.html)
• Project Apollo (Kennedy Space Center) (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo.html)
• Project Apollo Drawings and Technical Diagrams (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/apollo.html)
• Technical Diagrams and Drawings (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/diagrams.htm)
• Lunar Rock Inventory (http://www.lunarrock.com/Inventory.asp)
• The Project Apollo Archive (http://www.apolloarchive.com/)
• The Apollo Program (National Air and Space Museum) (http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/apollo.htm)
• OMWorld's ASTP Docking Trainer Page (http://www.io.com/~o_m/ssh_forgotten_astp.html)
• Project Apollo for Orbiter spaceflight simulator (http://sourceforge.net/projects/nassp/)ca:Programa Apollo

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