Apollo+Program



=**Apollo Program Article** =

**Overview**
In 1960, a series of missions known as the Apollo Program were conducted to efficiently land a man on the moon. The United States had made it a national goal to effectively make this hard-won target possible by the end of the decade. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) were responsible for these missions. This project lasted from 1963 to 1972. toc

**Background**
The United States had been in an arms race with the Soviet Union since World War II, and the race continued as the beginning of the Cold War swept in. Dominance in space became a crucial possession. Both the U.S.and the Soviet Union knew that sending the first humans into space and back will ensure security.

The Russians took the first step to accomplishing space superiority when they became the first to send instruments to the moon. In the April of 1961, the Soviets also beat the U.S.to the heavens when Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit Earth. These achievements concerned the U.S.citizens of an increasing military threat, but it also urged the U.S.to catch up to the Soviets and take the moon before them.

In the February of 1961, the possibility of lunar landing by the end of the decade was affirmed by the Manned Lunar Landing task group. This encouraged President John F. Kennedy to make the statement suggesting that it be a national goal to land man on the moon by the end of the 60’s to Congress on May 25, 1961. Despite NASA administrator James E. Webb’s estimation of about $20-40 billion for this project, preparation began immediately after Congress unanimously voted to go to the moon.

**The Plan**
The Apollo Program started to take shape at NASA’s first meeting in July of 1960. Flying out of Earth is extremely difficult to pursue with the minimal knowledge on it. Using the airplane methods of design, test and operation, NASA eventually developed a high-technology rocket to be launched into space. James Webb laid out the primary plan for the Apollo Program: a lunar orbit rendezvous. This operation called for a Saturn V rocket with three stages to launch two spacecrafts. One spacecraft would be a Command and Service Module (CSM) that can transport a three-person crew around the moon and back. Another spacecraft, the Lunar Module (LM), would consist of three astronauts as well; two astronauts would land on the moon while the third handled the CSM. The two astronauts on the moon would quickly gather material and leave instruments on the moon. They would use the upper stage of the LM to launch back into space, meet with the CSM and return to Earth together. With the time and money constraints, this was the most manageable method to land on the moon.

**Development of Facilities**
The Apollo Program founded the Manned Spacecraft Center in September, 1961, to test spacecraft flight, train astronauts and direct flight operations. In 1962, 35 kilometers southeast of Houston, Texas, the foundations of the spacecraft centers were being built. In 1964, the facilities were ready to be used for work. Finally, the site to launch the Saturn V rockets was established in Merritt Island, Florida. This was named the Launch Complex and later called the Kennedy Space Center.

**The Science**
NASA developed a science program for the Apollo Project with the top scientists in the nation in 1962. A conference was held in 1962 and 1965 to layout the main objectives. Astronauts sent to the moon were to closely observe the environment, collect samples for further examination in the laboratory, and install instruments that would report data to Earth over time. Experiments involved soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind experiments.

**The Missions**
Apollo 1 was supposed to be launched on January 27, 1967, but it tragically caught on fire and killed three astronauts. The fire was said to be caused by short circuits in the cock pit. Because it did not fly, it was referred to as Apollo-Saturn 204.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 4 became the first successful Saturn V rocket flight test. It was launched on November 9, 1967 to test the heat shield of the rocket under extreme conditions of reentry from the moon. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 5 orbited around Earth with an LM for robotic testing in January of 1968. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 6 was the second Saturn V flight test. It was launched on April 4 1968 and accumulated more information in the CSM. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 7 was allowed crews to fly again after what happened to Apollo 1. It went into Earth orbit to test the CSM on October 1968 and lasted for eleven days. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 8 orbited around the moon from December 21 to December 27, 1968. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 9 tested both the CSM and the LM in Earth orbit from March 3 to March 13, 1969. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 10 performed all stages of the lunar-landing mission except for landing and returning to orbit from May 18 to May 26, 1969. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 11 displayed the legendary event in history. On July 20, 1969, the U.S.had finally reached its goal. Astronauts <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. walked on the surface of the moon for 2.5 hours and gathered 21 kilograms of lunar rocks and soil and activated two scientific instruments. From this experience, NASA worked to improve their findings on the moon by building battery-powered vehicles to expand the observation field. Flight operation planners thought of ways to reach farther areas of the moon. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 13 was supposed to reach the location of ultimate scientific interest (Fra Mauro formation) on April 11, 1970, but an explosion in the Service Module disabled the spacecraft’s ability to carry out the mission.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 14 was on January 31 1971. Because Apollo 13 didn’t make it, Apollo 14 landed in Fra Mauro and the astronauts stayed for 33.5 hours and came back with 43 kg of lunar samples. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Because the U.S.had achieved its goal, the Apollo missions lost public interest. This led to budget cuts which left NASA with no choice but to cancel current missions for future ones. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 15, 16, and 17 were planned to be more productive than the others. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 15 landed about 800 kilometers north of the lunar equator. It captured numerous detailed pictures of interest, released a subsatellite that would send scientific results back to Earth, and emplaced remote-sensing instruments. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 16 landed in Descartes, 550 kilometers southeast of the moon’s equator on April 16, 1972. Astronauts performed similar experiments to the previous mission. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Apollo 17 was the last mission of the Apollo project and took the only scientist that ever traveled out of Earth. Geologist Harrison H. Schmitt went with mission commander Eugene Cernan. They arrived more than 1000 kilometers northeast of the lunar equator. They spent 75 hours on the lunar surface and returned with 110 kg of lunar samples. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Because of the loss of public support after the initial goal was reached, the Apollo Program was unfortunately forced to end early. Even so, astronauts came back as official American heroes and the information gathered from this adventure was significantly more than originally planned. =<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Apollo Program Analysis** = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">President John F. Kennedy ambitiously laid out a mission for America to fulfill. He believed the landing of the first man on the moon was extremely important and would grant the United States more than superiority in space. By the end of the Apollo era, President Kennedy had proved to be correct. The Apollo Program socially, technologically, economically and politically took America “out of this world.”

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Landing on the moon seemed so impossible that it drew in many people’s interest. The popularity that astronauts gained was considered equivalent to that of movie stars and artists. After John Glenn orbited Earth, excited fans surrounded him at airports for his autograph. He was praised for his confidence and determination to go into the dangers of another celestial body. Men raced to NASA’s doors hoping to experience space and the life of a hero as well. The space program attracted many pilots and engineers which explain why a total of about 400,000 people worked on the Apollo Project. When Apollo 11 launched off to the moon, over a half of a million people stood on Cape Kennedy to witness the blast off. The first step on the moon brought to life what people all over the world could only imagine.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The missions were mentioned and presented in the media through songs, television, magazines and more. Inspired by the space programs, one of Frank Sinatra and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra’s songs say: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">//"Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">//Let me see what spring is like in Jupiter and Mars// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">//In other words, hold my hand// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">//In other words, darling kiss me…"// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">For further public amusement, the space program signed a $500,000 contract with //Life// magazine to publish the astronauts’ experiences. Interviews of the men were aired on television, and the jaw-dropping event of the first step on the moon was also shown on TV for the world to witness. Fictional character, Snoopy from the comic //Peanuts// became the official mascot of the Apollo Program after the program discovered his secure behavior. The endurance and determination that Snoopy displayed represented the Apollo Program after the incident of Apollo 1. Apollo 10’s Lunar module and Command module were nicknamed Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Snoopy is one of the most recognizable comic characters in the world and promoted the program even more.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">As the Apollo Program inched closer to sending a man into space, it encountered many problems. One major problem was the ability to communicate to each other while in the spacecraft. During the mission of Apollo 1, Gus Grissom asked, “How are we going to get to the moon if we can’t talk between three buildings?” Deke Slayton and technicians tried to repair the defective communications, but there wasn’t enough time. By the time a clear enough transmission came through, flames were already enveloping the inside of the command module. The loss of the Apollo 1 crew led the program to perform rigorous work on improving communication in space with new instruments. A communication hat similar to the head gear of the World War I flying ace was developed along with radio headsets.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Communication wasn’t the only problem; the absence of emergency exits and an easy-open door were factors in this tragedy as well. By January, 1968, a year after the fire, a hinged hatch, which swung outward and could be opened in three seconds, replaced the heavy hatch that had prevented escape from the fire. To this day, emergency exits are found everywhere, so that people can escape danger in the case of an emergency. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Much of the equipment built for the Apollo Project’s use in space is now used to save and protect lives in this world. The cool suits used by the Apollo astronauts to protect them from the intense conditions of outer space are worn by race car drivers, nuclear reactor technicians, shipyard workers and people with disorders that don’t allow them to cool themselves today. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">In the late 1960s, the Marquardt Corporation developed a machine that purified and recycled water for long stays in space. The chemical process used to cleanse the water was found to potentially eliminate toxic waste from used dialysis fluid. The kidney dialysis machine sprouted from this valuable discovery. This machine benefited the user, for it required less electricity and water supply.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Most of the plans for the Apollo Program had little to do with science. However, the missions after the first landing on the moon increasingly drew more data for science research. From the 160 hours of lunar exploration, 97 kilometers of the lunar surface was traveled, over 60 scientific experiments were tested, six long-term scientific stations were activated, and 381.7 kg of lunar material was collected from six different regions of the moon. About 30,000 high-resolution photos of the lunar surface were also captured. With these gatherings, scientists and researchers were able to make vital conclusions about the moon and solar system.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Most important of all, the accomplishments of the Apollo Program helped theU.S. win security in their homeland. Through the climax of the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union entered what became known as the Space Race. President Kennedy was ready for cooperation not rivalry between the nations, but the Russians rejected the offer. The Soviets advanced ahead of the U.S. first, but the U.S. caught up and eventually, finished in victory. Even though the U.S. had finally gained the supremacy that both superpowers desired, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov from the Soviet Union said, “On the morning of 21 July 1969 everyone forgot, for a few moments, that we were all citizens of different countries on Earth…Even in the military center where I stood, where military men were observing the achievements of our rival superpower, there was loud applause.” The Soviet Union and the U.S. later shook hands and formed a space program together called the Apollo-Soyuz program.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">American citizens had experienced a harsh decade with the assassinations of both John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The people of the U.S.were divided because of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. Reaching the goal of landing a man on the moon strengthened the American public, brought life-saving developments to Earth, expanded our knowledge on the universe, and settled a lasting competition. This success was a miracle to our nation.

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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">"Snoopy." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. 26 May <span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoopy>.

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