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Jan 29

Space Rocket History #98 – Apollo Beginnings

Posted on January 29, 2015 by spac9750

President Kennedy proposed the manned lunar landing as the focus of the US space program but, at the time of his address, only one American, Alan B. Shepard, Jr. had been into space, on a suborbital lob shot lasting 15 minutes. No rocket launch vehicle was available for a lunar voyage and there was no agreed upon method for placing any kind of spacecraft safely on the lunar surface and getting it back to the earth. Nor was there agreement within NASA itself on how it should be done.

Astronauts leave the spacecraft to investigate the lunar surface.

The return vehicle takes off from the moon.

The reentry vehicle begins to enter the atmosphere after jettisoning the propulsion unit.

Aug 14

Space Rocket History #75 – Luna 10, Surveyor 1, and Lunar Orbiter 1 – Scouting the Moon

Posted on August 14, 2014 by spac9750

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In the 1960s, during the cold war, the US and Soviet Union turned their attention to the moon. The question was, who could place a man on the moon and return him safely to the earth first? Obtaining the necessary data on the moon to risk sending a person there was crucial. The US and Soviet Union chose unmanned spacecraft to scout for this information…

Luna 10

Surveyor 1 Mockup

Surveyor 1 Launch

S 1 Foot Pad on Moon

S 1 Shadow on Moon

Lunar Orbiter 1

First View of Earth from Moon

Jul 03

Space Rocket History #69 – Zond 3, Venera 3, and Asterix

Posted on July 3, 2014 by spac9750

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The Zond program was one of two lunar exploration programs conducted by the Soviet Union to investigate the Moon and its vicinity. The program began in 1964 and ended in 1979. The early Zond’s 1-3 were originally designed for planetary exploration, while the latter Zonds (4-8) were sent on circum lunar flights. Additionally, the latter Zond vehicles were of a totally different in design. They were in fact automated versions of the manned Soyuz spacecraft…

Zond 3

Far Side of the Moon

Venera 3

Asterix

Diamant

By Dave.

May 22

Space Rocket History #64 – Gemini V with Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad – 8 Days or Bust -Part 2

Posted on May 22, 2014 by spac9750

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This was Flight Director Chris Kraft’s first major problem at the new Mission Control Center in Houston. He knew the spacecraft had enough battery power for reentry even if the fuel cells failed completely, but he needed to know if there would be time enough to reach a good reentry zone, such as the mid-Pacific near Hawaii on the sixth orbit…