Project Apollo

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"...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..."

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the goal of sending astronauts to the moon before the end of the decade. Coming just three weeks after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, Kennedy's bold challenge set the nation on a journey unlike any before in human history.
Project Apollo was a series of human spaceflight missions undertaken by the United States of America using the Saturn launch vehicle, conducted during the years 1961–1974. It was devoted to the goal of (in U.S. President John F. Kennedy's famous words) "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" within the decade of the 1960s. This goal was achieved with the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969.
The Apollo SpacecraftApollo was a three-part spacecraft: the command module (CM), the crew's quarters and flight control section; the service module (SM) for the propulsion and spacecraft support systems (when together, the two modules are called CSM); and the lunar module (LM), to take two of the crew to the lunar surface, support them on the Moon, and return them to the CSM in lunar orbit.
The flight mode, lunar orbit rendezvous, was selected in 1962. The boosters for the program were the Saturn IB for Earth orbit flights and the Saturn V for lunar flights.
This is from the movie "For All Mankind"Click this picture for The Apollo ArchiveFAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION"Failure is not an option" - Gene Kranz
Apollo 7
Saturn 1B (AS-205, CSM-101)
October 11-22, 1968
Walter M. Schirra Jr. (commander), Donn F. Eisele (CM pilot), R. Walter Cunningham (LM pilot)
10 days, 20 hours
163 Earth orbits. First manned CSM operations in lunar landing program. First live TV from manned spacecraft.
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Apollo 8
Saturn V (AS-503, CSM-103)
December 21-27, 1968
Frank Borman (commander), James A. Lovell Jr. (CM pilot), William A. Anders (LM pilot)
06 days, 03 hours
In lunar orbit 20 hours, with 10 orbits. First manned lunar orbital mission. Support facilities tested. Photographs taken of Earth and Moon. Live TV broadcasts.
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Apollo 9 (Gumdrop and Spider)
Saturn V (AS-504, SM-104, CM-104, LM-3)
March 03-13, 1969
James A. McDivitt (commander), David R. Scott (CM pilot), Russell L. Schweickart (LM pilot)
10 days, 01 hour
First manned flight of all lunar hardware in Earth orbit. Schweickark performed 37 minutes EVA. Human reactions to space and weightlessness tested in 152 orbits. First manned flight of lunar module.
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Apollo 10 (Charlie Brown and Snoopy)
Saturn V (AS-505, SM-106, CM-106, LM-4)
May 18-26, 1969
Thomas P. Stafford (commander), John W. Young (CM pilot), Eugene A. Cernan (LM pilot)
08 days, 03 minutes
Dress rehearsal for Moon landing. First manned CSM/LM operations in cislunar and lunar environment; simulation of first lunar landing profile. In lunar orbit 61.6 hours, with 31 orbits. LM taken to within 15,243 m (50,000 ft) of lunar surface. First live color TV from space. LM ascent stage jettisoned in orbit.
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Apollo 11 (Columbia and Eagle)
Saturn V (AS-506, SM-107, CM-107, LM-5)
July 16-24, 1969
Neil A. Armstrong (commander), Michael Collins (CM pilot), Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. (LM pilot)
08 days, 03 hours, 18 minutes
First manned lunar landing mission and lunar surface EVA. "Houston, Tranquility base here. The eagle has landed." - July 20th, 1969
Landing site: Sea of Tranquility.
Landing Coordinates: 0.71 degrees North, 23.63 degrees East
1 EVA of 02 hours, 31 minutes. Flag and instruments deployed; unveiled plaque on the LM descent stage with inscription: "Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon. July 1969 A.D. We Came In Peace For All Mankind." Lunar surface stay time 21.6 hours; 59.5 hours in lunar orbit, with 30 orbits. LM ascent stage left in lunar orbit. 20kg (44 lbs) of material gathered.
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Apollo 12 (Yankee Clipper and Intrepid)
Saturn V (AS-507, SM-108, CM-108, LM-6)
November 14-24, 1969
Charles Conrad Jr. (commander), Richard F. Gordon Jr. (CM pilot), Alan L. Bean (LM pilot)
10 days, 04 hours, 36 minutes
Landing site: Ocean of Storms.
3.04 degrees South, 23.42 degrees West
Retrieved parts of the unmanned Surveyor 3, which had landed on the Moon in April 1967. Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) deployed. Lunar surface stay-time, 31.5 hours; in lunar orbit 89 hours, with 45 orbits. LM descent stage impacted on Moon. 34kg (75 lbs) of material gathered.
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Apollo 13 (Odyssey and Aquarius)
Saturn V (AS-508, SM-109, CM-109, LM-7)
April 11-17, 1970
James A. Lovell Jr. (commander), John L. Swigert Jr. (CM pilot), Fred W. Haise Jr. (LM pilot)
05 days, 22.9 hours
Third lunar landing attempt. Mission aborted after rupture of service module oxygen tank. Classed as "successful failure" because of experience in rescuing crew. Spent upper stage successfully impacted on the Moon.
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Apollo 14 (Kitty Hawk and Antares)
Saturn V (AS-509, SM-110, CM-110, LM-8)
January 31-February 09, 1971
Alan B. Shepard Jr. (commander), Stuart A. Roosa (CM pilot), Edgar D. Mitchell (LM pilot)
09 days
Landing site: Fra Mauro.
Landing Coordinates: 3.65 degrees south, 17.48 degrees West
ALSEP and other instruments deployed. Lunar surface stay-time, 33.5 hours; 67 hours in lunar orbit, with 34 orbits. 2 EVAs of 09 hours, 25 minutes. Third stage impacted on Moon. 42 kg (94 lbs) of materials gathered, using hand cart for first time to transport rocks.
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Saturn V (AS-510, SM-112, CM-112, LM-10)
July 26-August 07, 1971
David R. Scott (commander), Alfred M. Worden (CM pilot), James B. Irwin (LM pilot)
12 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes
Landing site: Hadley-Apennine region near Apennine Mountains.
Landing Coordinates: 26.08 degrees North, 3.66 degrees East
3 EVAs of 10 hours, 36 minutes. Worden performed 38 minutes EVA on way back to Earth. First to carry orbital sensors in service module of CSM. ALSEP deployed. Scientific payload landed on Moon doubled. Improved spacesuits gave increased mobility and stay-time. Lunar surface staytime, 66.9 hours. Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), electric-powered, 4-wheel drive car, traversed total 27.9 km (17 mi). In lunar orbit 145 hours, with 74 orbits. Small sub-satellite left in lunar orbit for first time. 76.7 kg (169 lbs) of material gathered.
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Apollo 16 (Casper and Orion)
Saturn V (AS-511, SM-113, CM-113, LM-11)
April 16-27, 1972
John W. Young (commander), Thomas K. Mattingly II (CM pilot), Charles M. Duke Jr. (LM pilot)
11 days, 01 hour, 51 minutes
Landing site: Descartes Highlands.
Landing Coordinates: 8.97 degrees South, 15.51 degrees East
First study of highlands area. Selected surface experiments deployed, ultraviolet camera/spectrograph used for first time on Moon, and LRV used for second time. Lunar surface stay-time, 71 hours; in lunar orbit 126 hours, with 64 orbits. Mattingly performed 01 hour in-flight EVA. 95 kg (209 lbs) of lunar samples collected.
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Apollo 17 (America and Challenger)
Saturn V (AS-512, SM-114, CM-114, LM-12)
December 07-19, 1972
Eugene A. Cernan (commander), Ronald E. Evans (CM pilot), Harrison H. Schmitt (LM pilot)
12 days, 13 hours, 52 minutes
Last lunar landing mission.
Landing site: Taurus-Littrow, highlands and valley area. Landing Coordinates: 20.16 degrees North, 30.77 degrees East
3 EVAs of 22 hours, 04 minutes. Evans performed trans-Earth EVA lasting 01 hour, 06 minutes. First scientist-astronaut to land on Moon: Schmitt. Sixth automated research station set up. LRV traverse total 30.5 km. Lunar surface stay-time, 75 hours. In lunar orbit 148 hours, with 75 orbits. 110.4 kg (243 lbs) of material gathered.
The Saturn V is arguably one of the most impressive machines in human history. Over 363 feet (110.6 m) high and 33 feet (10 m) in diameter, with a total mass of over three thousand short tons and a payload capacity of 260,000 pounds (118,000 kg) to LEO, the Saturn V dwarfed and overpowered all other previous rockets which had successfully flown.
On all but one of its flights, the Saturn V consisted of three stages — the S-IC first stage, S-II second stage and the S-IVB third stage — and the instrument unit. All three stages used liquid oxygen (LOX) as an oxidizer. The first stage used RP-1 for fuel, while the second and third stages used liquid hydrogen (LH2). All three stages also used small solid-fuelled ullage motors that helped to separate the stages during the launch, and to ensure that the liquid propellants were in a proper position to be drawn into the pumps.

1. A thrust of 7.6 million pounds took 2.5 minutes to take the rocket to a 40 mile (65 km) altitude, at a speed of 6,000 mph (9,600 kph).
2. After the first stage detached, falling into the Atlantic Ocean, the second stage took the craft to 115 miles (185 km) above sea level, with a thrust of one million pounds, at speeds over 15,000 mph (25,000 kph).
3. After the second stage detached, the third stage brought the craft into a stable Earth orbit.
4. The astronauts performed systems checks.
5. The third stage brought them to the moon.
6. The Apollo command/service module separated from the Saturn third stage, turned around, then re-connected, docking with the lunar module.
7. The spacecraft was ejected from the Saturn third stage.
8. The Apollo command/service module and the lunar module traveled to the Moon.
9. Three days later, the craft entered a stable orbit.
10. Two of the three astronauts went into the lunar module, while one stayed in the command/service module.
11. The lunar module detached from the command/service module and descended to the Moon, retro rockets firing in order to slow descent.
12. On board astronauts took control of computer-automated tasks in order to better specify the landing site.
13. The astronauts, after landing, got the craft ready for ascent, and then climbed out to take photographs, conduct experiments, and carry our any other mission specifications.
14. After the astronauts' liftoff (in the ascent stage of the lunar module, the rest remained), they took the lunar module into an orbit, where they docked with the command module.
15. The astronauts took their data and went into the command module, and the ascent stage of the lunar module was jettisoned.
16. The service module sent the craft back to Earth, and before re-entry, the service module was jettisoned.
17. Blunt end first (the command module was shaped like a round pyramid), the command module reached an outside hull temperature of 5,000 °F (2,800 °C), while heat shields kept the inside at livable temperatures.
18. Three main parachutes were then sent up from the craft to slow its descent to a leisurely 22 mph (35 kph).
19. Splashdown occurred in the ocean, and recovery forces on boats and aircraft were awaiting the return of the astronauts and command module.

The Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) is a facility at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (Building 37) that was constructed to quarantine astronauts and material brought back from the Moon during the Apollo program. After recovery at sea, crews from Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 14 walked from their helicopter to an isolation van on the deck of an aircraft carrier and were brought to the LRL for quarantine. Samples of rock and regolith that the astronauts collected and brought back were flown directly to the LRL and initially analyzed in glove box vacuum chambers.
After the last lunar landing, total funding for the Apollo program was about $19,408,134,000. The budget allocation was 34 percent of the NASA budget.

Music:

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Movies:

Apollo 13, For All Mankind, The Wonder of it All, In the Shadow of the Moon, The Right Stuff, October Sky, Space Cowboys, Space Camp

Television:

From the Earth to the Moon

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Books:

October Sky (LOVE IT!), The RIght Stuff, The REAL Space Cowboys, The All-American Boys

Heroes:

Remembering Apollo 1, January 27, 1967
Click picture for NASA website
Remembering STS-51L, January 28, 1986
Remembering STS-107, February 1, 2003
Apollo Astronaut
Spaceflight Histories
William Anders
Apollo 8 December 21-27, 1968 Lunar Module Pilot
Buzz Aldrin
Gemini XII November 11-15, 1966 Pilot last Gemini mission
Apollo 11 July 20-24, 1969 Lunar Module Pilot 2nd man to walk on the Moon.
Neil A. Armstrong*
Gemini VIII March 16, 1966 Command Pilot
Apollo 11 July 20-24, 1969 Commander 1st man to walk on the Moon.
Alan L. Bean
Apollo 12 November 14-24, 1969 Lunar Module Pilot
Skylab 3 July 28-Sep 25, 1973 Commander
Frank Borman*
Gemini VII December 4-18, 1965 Commander first space rendezvous w/ Gemini VI-A
Apollo 8 December 21-27, 1968 Commander
Vance D. Brand
ASTP July 15-24, 1975 Command Module Pilot
STS-5 November 11-16, 1982 Commander Space Shuttle Columbia.
STS-41B February 3-11, 1984 Commander Space Shuttle Challenger. First shuttle landing to the runway at the Kennedy Space Center.
STS-35 December 2-10, 1990 Commander Space Shuttle Columbia.
Eugene Cernan
Gemini IX-A July 18-21, 1966 Pilot
Apollo 10 May 18-26, 1969 Lunar Module Pilot lunar orbit, closest approach
Apollo 17 December 7-19, 1972 Commander Last man to walk on the Moon.
Roger B. Chaffee
Apollo 1 January 27, 1967 Died in Apollo 1 fire
Michael Collins
Gemini X July 18-21, 1966 Pilot world altitude record, third U.S. spacewalker
Apollo 11 July 20-24, 1969 Command Module Pilot
Charles (Pete) Conrad, Jr.*
Gemini V August 21-29, 1965 Pilot first use of fuel cells for electrical power
Gemini XI September 12-15, 1966 Commander
Apollo 12 November 14-24, 1969 Commander
Skylab 2 May 35-June 22 1973 Commander
R. Walter Cunningham
Apollo 7 October 11-12, 1968 Lunar Module Pilot first manned test of CSM, Earth orbit
Charles M. Duke, Jr.
Apollo 16 April 16-27, 1972 Lunar Module Pilot
Donn F. Eisele
Apollo 7 October 11-12, 1968 Command Module Pilot first manned test of CSM, Earth orbit
Ronald B. Evans
Apollo 17 December 7-19, 1972 Command Module Pilot
Richard F. Gordon, Jr.
Gemini XI September 12-15, 1966
Apollo 12 November 14-24, 1969 Command Module Pilot
Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom*
Mercury 4 "Liberty Bell 7" July 21, 1961 2nd US citizen in space.
Gemini 3 March 23, 1965 Commander first manned Gemini flight.
Apollo 1 January 27, 1967 Died in Apollo 1 fire
Fred W. Haise, Jr.
Apollo 13 April 11-17, 1970 Lunar Module Pilot aborted lunar landing mission
STS test flights - Phase III 1, 3 & 5 June-Oct. 1977
STS approach and landing test flights. "Enterprise" released from SCA (Boeing 747) and glided to landing.
James B. Irwin
Apollo 15 July 26-Aug 7, 1971 Lunar Module Pilot
James A. Lovell, Jr.*
Gemini VII December 4-18, 1965 Pilot first space rendezvous w/ Gemini VI-A
Gemini XII November 11-15, 1966 Commander last Gemini mission
Apollo 8 December 21-27, 1968 Command Module Pilot
Apollo 13 April 11-17, 1970 Commander aborted lunar landing mission
Thomas K. Mattingly II
Apollo 16 April 16-27, 1972 Command Module Pilot originally on crew of Apollo 13, replaced by Swigert
STS-4 June 27 - July 4, 1982 Commander "Columbia", final STS research & dev. flight
STS-51C Jan 24-27, 1985 Commander "Discovery" orbiter.
James A. McDivitt
Gemini IV June 3-7, 1965 Commander
Apollo 9 March 3-13, 1969 Commander
Edgar D. Mitchell
Apollo 14 Jan 31 - Feb 9, 1971 Lunar Module Pilot
Stuart A. Roosa
Apollo 14 Jan 31 - Feb 9, 1971 Command Module Pilot
Walter M. Schirra, Jr.
Mercury 8 "Sigma 7" October 3, 1962 5th US citizen in space.
Gemini VI-A December 15-17, 1965 Commander first space rendezvous w/ Gemini VII
Apollo 7 October 11-12, 1968 Commander first manned test of CSM, Earth orbit
Harrison H. Schmitt
Apollo 17 December 7-19, 1972 Lunar Module Pilot First trained scientist (geologist) to set foot on the moon.
Russell L. Schweickart
Apollo 9 March 3-13, 1969 Lunar Module Pilot
David R. Scott
Gemini VIII March 16, 1966 Pilot
Apollo 9 March 3-13, 1969 Command Module Pilot
Apollo 15 July 26-Aug 7, 1971 Commander
Alan B. Shepard, Jr.*
Mercury 3 "Freedom 7" May 5, 1961 First US citizen in space.
Apollo 14 Jan 31 - Feb 9, 1971 Commander
Donald K. "Deke" Slayton
ASTP July 15-24, 1975 Docking Module Pilot Slayton last of original Mercury 7 astronauts to fly in space.
Thomas P. Stafford*
Gemini VI-A December 15-17, 1965 Pilot first space rendezvous w/ Gemini VII
Gemini IX-A July 18-21, 1966 Commander
Apollo 10 May 18-26, 1969 Commander lunar orbit, closest approach
ASTP July 15-24, 1975 Commander
John L. Swigert, Jr.
Apollo 13 April 11-17, 1970 Command Module Pilot aborted lunar landing mission
Edward H. White, II
Gemini IV June 3-7, 1965 Pilot First US spacewalk.
Apollo 1 January 27, 1967 Died in Apollo 1 fire
Alfred M. Worden
Apollo 15 July 26-Aug 7, 1971 Command Module Pilot
John W. Young
Gemini 3 March 23, 1965 Pilot first to use computer on manned space flight.
Gemini X July 18-21, 1966 Commander
Apollo 10 May 18-26, 1969 Command Module Pilot lunar orbit, closest approach
Apollo 16 April 16-27, 1972 Commander lunar landing
STS-1 April 12-14, 1981 Commander maiden flight of Space Shuttle "Columbia"
STS-9 Nov 28 - Dec 8, 1983 Commander first flight of Spacelab