Jul 30

Space Rocket History #123 – Apollo: Astronaut Selection and Training – Part 1

Posted on July 30, 2015

Selection of Group Two virtually depleted the pool of qualified candidates from the small corps of test pilots in the country, and it was the last group for which test-pilot certification would be a requirement. The new trainees reported to Houston i...

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2-Back row- See, McDivitt, Lovell, White, & Stafford. Front row- Conrad, Borman, Armstrong, & Young

1- Project_Mercury_AstronautsBack row- Shepard, Grissom, Cooper; front row- Schirra, Slayton, Glenn, Carpenter.

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Apollo, Deke Slaton, Deke Slayton, Ed White, Exploration, Frank Borman, Gemini, George Mueller, Gilruth, Gordon Cooper, Gus Grissom, History, Houston, Hugh Dryden, James A Mcdivitt, James Webb, Jim Lovell, John Glen, John Young, Joseph Shea, Lunar, Lunar Module, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Mockup, Moon, Nasa, Neil Armstrong, Office Of Manned Space Flight, Pete C, Project Apollo, Richard E Mayo, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Scott Carpenter, Seamans, Space, Space Task Group, Tom Stafford, Wally Schirra

Jul 23

Space Rocket History #122 – Apollo: Serious Problems with the Lunar Module and Grumman

Posted on July 23, 2015

Toward the end of January 1967, it was revealed that Lunar Module 1 would not reach the Cape in February, as expected. This meant, the moon landing might be delayed because the lander was not ready. But the mission planners could not wait for the Apo...

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Tagged:Apollo, Ascent Stage, Bell, Bethpage, Block I, Block Ii, Decent Stage, Deke Slayton, Donald Sullivan, Exploration, Gemini, George Mueller, George Titterton, Gerorge Skurla, Gilruth, Ground Support Equipment, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Gse, Hamilton Standard, History, Hjornevik, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Hughes Aircraft, Huntsville, James Webb, John Rubel, Joseph Shea, Langley, Llewellyn Evans, Lm 1, Lm 2, Lm 3, Lm 4, Lm 5, Lm 6, Lm7, Lta, Lunar, Lunar Module, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Max Faget, Mockup, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, North American Aviation, Office Of Manned Space Flight, Optical Tracker, Pintle, Project Apollo, R Wayne Young, Rca, Rendezvous Radar, Richard E Mayo, Robert Brader, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Russell Schwickart, Saturn V, Seamans, Space, Space Technology Laboratories, Spacecraft Technology Division, Thomas J Kelly, Trw, William Lee, William Rector

Jul 16

Space Rocket History #121 – Pegasus Wings inside SA-8 (AS-104), SA-9 (AS-103), & SA-10 (AS-105) and a Command Module update for 1965

Posted on July 16, 2015

The Pegasus satellite was named for the winged horse of Greek mythology. Like its namesake, the Pegasus was notable for its “wings”, a pair of 29 meter long, 4.3 meter wide arrays of 104 panels fitted with sensors to detect punctures by micrometeoro...

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2- The SA-9

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7- Cutaway views show the interior of the command module (for clarity, the center couch is not shown)

6- Pegasus Deployed

5- Pegasus Stowed

4- Saturn_SA10_launch

Tagged:Apollo, As 101, As 102, As 103, As 104, As 105, Block I, Block Ii, Exploration, H 1, History, Holmes, Houston, Langley, Lc 34, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Msc, Msfc, Mueller, Nasa, Project Apollo, Rees, Rocket, S Iv, Sa 10, Sa 2, Sa 3, Sa 4, Sa 5, Sa 6, Sa 7, Sa 8, Sa 9, Saturn, Saturn 103, Saturn I, Saturn Apollo 3, Seamans, Service Module, Space, Von Braun

Jul 9

Space Rocket History #120 – Apollo: Stages S-IV and S-IVB

Posted on July 9, 2015

The key to high-energy stages was to use liquid hydrogen as the fuel. Liquid hydrogen fuel appealed to rocket designers because of its high specific impulse, which is a basic measure of rocket performance. Specific Impulse is the impulse delivered p...

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Tagged:Apollo, Block I, Block Ii, Convair, Cryogenic, Csm, Earth Orbit Rendezvouz, Exploration, Gemini, George Mueller, Gilruth, Hamilton Standard, Harold Felix, History, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, J 2, J B Gayle, James Webb, Joseph Shea, Kerosene, Liquid Hydrogen, Lm, Lox, Lunar, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercury, Mockup, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, Office Of Manned Space Flight, Project Apollo, Retro Rocket, Rl 10, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Rp 1, S Iv, S Ivb, Sa 5, Sacramento Test Operations, Sacto, Saturn I, Saturn Ib, Saturn V, Seamans, Space, Thor, Translunar, Transposition Maneuver, Ullage, W R Lucas

Jul 2

Space Rocket History #119 – Apollo: Lunar Module Design – Part 3

Posted on July 2, 2015

At various stages of lunar module design, mockup reviews were conducted to demonstrate progress and identify weaknesses. These inspections were formal occasions, with a board composed of NASA and contractor officials and presided over by a chairman f...

5-Removing the LEM

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2-Tm-1 mockup of the Lunar Module

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Tagged:Apollo, Ascent Stage, Bethpage, Block I, Block Ii, Cruciform, Decent Stage, Exploration, Father Of The Lem, George Mueller, Gilruth, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Hamilton Standard, History, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, James Webb, Joseph Shea, Langley, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mit, Mockup, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, North American Aviation, Office Of Manned Space Flight, Project Apollo, Rca, Rendezvous Radar, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Saturn V, Seamans, Space, Space Technology Laboratories, Spacecraft Technology Division, Thomas J Kelly, William Rector

Jun 24

Space Rocket History an Encore Presentation of Episode #25 – Mercury Redstone 3 – Freedom 7 with Alan Shepard

Posted on June 24, 2015

Over 52 years ago, in the early hours of May 5th, 1961 the US prepared to launch its first man into space. Three weeks earlier, the Soviet Union had sent Yuri Gagarin on an orbital mission. This was a suborbital mission planed to last only 15 minutes...

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Atlas, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Deke Slayton, Distinguished Service Medal, Dryden, Electrocardiograph, Exploration, Explorer 1, Freedom 7, Gagarin, Gilruth, Goddard Space Flight Center, Gordon Cooper, Gus, Hangar S, History, Huntsville, Inverter, James Webb, Joe Schmitt, John Glenn, Liquid Oxygen, Lyndon, Mercury, Mercury 7, Mercury Redstone 3, Nasa, President Kennedy, Project Adam, Respirometer, Soviet, Space, Space Task Force, Umbilical Cable, Vice President Johnson, Virgil Grissom, Von Braun, Wally Schirra, Werner, Why Dont You Fix Your Little Problem And Light This Candle

Jun 17

Space Rocket History #118 – Apollo: Lunar Module Design – Part 2

Posted on June 17, 2015

The Lunar Lander originally had two docking hatches, one at the top center of the cabin and another in the forward position, or nose, of the vehicle, with a tunnel in each location to permit astronauts to crawl from one pressurized vehicle to the oth...

3-improved lunar module features – ladder, porch, hatch, and rendezvous window

2-he addition of a ladder on a landing gear leg made the task much easier

1- Astronauts found a knotted rope from the lunar module difficult to climb down (or up)

Tagged:Apollo, Ascent Stage, Bethpage, Block I, Block Ii, Cruciform, Decent Stage, Exploration, Father Of The Lem, George Mueller, Gilruth, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Hamilton Standard, History, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, James Webb, Joseph Shea, Langley, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mit, Mockup, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, North American Aviation, Office Of Manned Space Flight, Project Apollo, Rca, Rendezvous Radar, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Saturn V, Seamans, Space, Space Technology Laboratories, Spacecraft Technology Division, Thomas J Kelly, William Rector

Jun 11

Space Rocket History #117 – Apollo: Lunar Module Design

Posted on June 11, 2015

Since the lunar module would fly only in space (earth orbit and lunar vicinity), the designers could ignore the aerodynamic streamlining demanded by earth’s atmosphere and build the first true manned spacecraft, designed solely for operating in the s...

6-NASA engineers in 1964 decided that astronauts could stand in the lunar module cabin during the trip to the lunar surface. Note triangular windows

7-Proposed sleeping positions for astronauts on the moon

5-Mockup of lunar module cabin with seats

4-The drawing of the stage indicates positions of components

3-underside of the lunar module descent stage shows fuel tank installation

2-Administrator James Webb examines models of the lunar and command modules in docked position

1-Lunar module generations from 1962 (above left; the vehicle originally proposed by Grumman) to 1969

Tagged:8 Ball, Ac Electronics, Apollo, Ascent Stage, Bethpage, Block I, Block Ii, Cline W Frasier, Cruciform, Decent Stage, Donn Eislee, Downey, Electroluminescence, Exploration, Father Of The Lem, George Low, George Mueller, Gilruth, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Hamilton Standard, History, Holmes, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, J 2, J T Markley, James Webb, John P Mayer, John Paup, Joseph Shea, Langley, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mit, Mockup, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, North American Aviation, Office Of Manned Space Flight, Owen Maynard, Pete Conrad, Project Apollo, Rca, Rendezvous Radar, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Saturn V, Scott Carpenter, Seamans, Service Module, Space, Space Technology Laboratories, Spacecraft Technology Division, Thomas J Kelly, William Rector

Jun 4

Space Rocket History #116 – Apollo: Little Joe II

Posted on June 4, 2015

A few seconds after liftoff, a fin-vane at the base of the booster stuck and started the 13-meter-tall spacecraft-booster combination spinning like a bullet. Twenty-six seconds into the flight the vehicle started coming apart. The abort-sensing syste...

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Little Joe II- On Pad, Complex 36 (December 7, 1964)

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A pad abort test at White Sands, left, helped determine that the launch escape system could propel the Apollo command module away from danger if a Saturn launch vehicle explosion should threaten

A desert area at White Sands Test Facility, New Mexico, was used for testing the spacecraft propulsion system module

Tagged:A 001, A 002, A 003, A 004, Alan Kehlet, Algol, Apex Cover, Apollo, Canard, Command Module, Convair, Exploration, General Dynamics, Gordon Cooper, History, Houston, John Glenn, Langley, Launch Escape System, Les, Little Joe Ii, Manned Space Flight, Max Q, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, Project Apollo, Q Ball, Qtv, Recruit Te 29, Rocket, Saturn, Saturn I, Scott Carpenter, Service Module, Space, Wally Schirra, White Sands Missile Range

May 28

Space Rocket History #115 – Saturn I: SA-4, SA-5, SA-6, and SA-7

Posted on May 28, 2015

Saturn 1, SA-6 was the first orbital launch of an Apollo Spacecraft by a Saturn Launch Vehicle and also the first flight utilizing an active ST-124 Stabilized Platform.