Mar 5

Space Rocket History #103 – Saturn Development 1957 – 1960

Posted on March 5, 2015

Many historians agree, the U.S. took its first step toward the moon in the spring of 1957, four years before President Kennedy declared the national goal of landing a man on the Moon, and returning him safely to the Earth. While still preparing for t...

12-Second stage (S-IV)

11-Booster stage (S-I)

10-Proposed C-2

9-C-1 and earlier vehicles

8-Model of blockhouse at Launch Complex 34

7-Vehicles using Titan and Atlas stages

6-Saturn C

5-Saturn B

4-Preliminary concept of Launch Complex 34, Cape Canaveral

3-Early H-1 Engine

2-Thor-Jupiter engine

1-Proposed configuration of a clustered booster

Tagged:Abma, Air Force, Alabama, Apollo, Army Ballistic Missile Agency, Army Ordnance Missile Command, Arpa, Atlantic Missile Range, C 2 Saturn, C 4, Cape Kennedy, Centaur, Charles Wilson, Circumlunar, Congress, Dx, Eisenhower, Exploration, Explorer 1, F 1, F 86, Gilruth, Glennan, Golovin, H 1, Herbert York, History, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, James Webb, Jfk, Jpl, Jupiter, Kennedy, Kerosene, Kieth Glennan, Kurt Debus, Launch Complex 34, Lox, Lr 119, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lyndon Johnson, Marshall Space Flight Center, Medaris, Missile Firing Laboratory, Moon, Nasa, North American Aviation, Nova, Prat Whitney, Project Apollo, Rendezvous, Rocket, Rocketdyne, Roy Johnson, Rp 1, S 3d, S I, S Iv, S V, Saturn, Saturn C 3, Saturn I, Saturn Ib, Saturn V, Soviet, Space, Sputnik, Tennessee River, Thor, Titan C, Von Braun

Mar 12

Space Rocket History #104 – Saturn’s First Flight – SA-1 – Part 1

Posted on March 12, 2015

Just as launch complex 34 dwarfed its predecessors, Saturn’s checkout represented a new magnitude in launch operations. The Saturn C-1 stood three times higher, required six times more fuel, and produced ten times more thrust than the Jupiter. Its si...

Lifting the first stage from the transporter

Hoisting the stage in vertical attitude

Erecting the upper stages

Early design concepts of C-1 and C-5 versions of the Saturn launch vehicles

16-Unloading Compromise in Florida

15-S-I and S-IV stages aboard the Compromise

14-Booster movement around Wheeler Dam

11-Launch Complex 34

10-Configurations of Saturn flight vehicles

9-Saturn Barge route

7-Six-engine configuration of the S-IV stage

6-Redesigned tail of the Saturn booster

5- The barge Palaemon

3-First horizontal mating of the Saturn vehicle

2-Movement of dummy S-IV stage to checkout

Tagged:Alabama, Albert Zeiler, Apollo, Arpa, Atlantic Missile Range, Block I, Block Ii, Braunschweig, C 2 Saturn, C 4, Cape Kennedy, Centaur, Circumlunar, Compromise, Corps Of Engineers, Crunk, Dyna Soar, Exploration, Explorer 1, F 1, Fort Bliss, Grady Williams, Green Cove Springs, H 1, Hans Gruene, History, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, Intracoastal Waterway, J 2, Jupiter, Karl Sendler, Kennedy, Kerosene, Kurt Debus, Launch Complex 34, Lox, Lr 119, Lunar, Lunar Module, M 26, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercury Redstone, Milton Rosen, Missile Firing Laboratory, Missle Firing Labatory, Moon, Nasa, Nova, Palaemon, Peenemunde, Pershing, Project Apollo, Ranger, Rendezvous, Robert Gorman, Robert Moser, Rocket, Rp 1, S I, S Iv, S V, Sa 1, Saturn, Saturn C 3, Saturn I, Saturn Ib, Saturn V, Sendler, Soviet, Space, Tennessee River, Titan C, Von Braun, Wheeler Dam, White Sands

Mar 18

Space Rocket History #105 – Saturn’s First Flight – SA-1 – Part 2

Posted on March 18, 2015

No previous maiden launch had gone flawlessly, and the Saturn C-1 was considerably more complicated than any rocket launched thus far. Launch Operations Directorate officials gave the rocket a 75% chance of getting off the ground, and a 30% chance of...

To assemble the large Saturns, NASA needed a plant, preferably one already built. The Michoud facility (above), close to New Orleans, suited the requirements

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Modules of the Apollo spacecraft were tested in Florida in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building. Above, NASA officials Walt Williams, Merritt Preston, Kurt Debus, Brainerd Holmes, and Wernher von Braun

Maiden launch of the Apollo program- Saturn SA-1 from Cape Canaveral, 27 October 1961

First Saturn Launch

Liftoff of Saturn I. Note the long cable mast falling away on the right

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Abe Silverstein, NASA’s Director of Space Flight Development, is shown touring a rocket engine facility

1-Launch Complex 34, blockhouse interior

Tagged:Alabama, Albert Zeiler, Ames Research Center, Andrew Pickett, Apollo, Atlantic Missile Range, Block I, Block Ii, C 2 Saturn, C 4, Cape Kennedy, Centaur, Circumlunar, Compromise, Congressman Albert W Thomas, Corps Of Engineers, Crunk, Daniel Mcmath, Dyna Soar, Exploration, Explorer 1, F 1, Fort Bliss, Gainsville, General W K Wilson, H 1, History, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, Intracoastal Waterway, J 2, Jim White, John Parsons, Jupiter, Karl Sendler, Kennedy, Kerosene, Kurt Debus, Launch Complex 34, Launch Operations Directorate, Lc 37, Lox, Lr 119, Lunar, Lunar Module, M 26, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercury Redstone, Merritt Island, Michoud, Milton Rosen, Missile Firing Laboratory, Missile Systems Group, Missle Firing Labatory, Moon, Multiplexer, Nasa, Nova, Palaemon, Paul Dembling, Pearl River, Peenemunde, Pershing, Project Apollo, Ralph Ulmer, Ranger, Redstone Arsenal, Rendezvous, Robert Gorman, Robert Moser, Rocket, Rp 1, S 1, S I, S Iv, S V, Sa 1, Saturn, Saturn C 3, Saturn I, Saturn Ib, Saturn V, Sendler, Soviet, Space, Tennessee River, Titan C, Vice President Johnson, Von Braun, Xo 4b, Xo 6b

Apr 16

Space Rocket History #109 – Apollo: The PSAC Strikes Back and Saturn SA-2

Posted on April 16, 2015

After viewing the Apollo spaceport being built in Florida, President Kennedy flew on to Huntsville, Alabama. There, during a tour of Marshall and a briefing on the Saturn V and the lunar-rendezvous mission by von Braun, Jerome Wiesner interrupted Von...

REF: 2-903-6 SA-2 LAUNCH AT CAPE. IGNITION OF ROCKET (SATURN 1 VEHICLE)

SA-2 erected on launch pedestal

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Tagged:Apollo, Brainerd Holmes, Bruce Lundin, Csm, Direct Ascent, Docking, Downey, Dryden, Eor, Exploration, Fleming, Franklin A Long, General Dynamics Convair, George Low, Gilruth, Golovin, Grumman, High Water, Highwater, History, Holmes, Houbolt, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, James Webb, Jerome Wiesner, Jfk, Joseph Shea, Jpl, Kennedy, Kurt Debus, Langley, Lc34, Lem, Lester Lees, Lewis Research Center, Lina, Lor, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, Lunar Orbit, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercury, Mode, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, Nicholas Golovin, Nova, Presidents Science Advisory Committee, Project Apollo, Psac, Rendezvous, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Saturn, Saturn C 5, Seamans, Soviet, Space, Space Vehicle Panel, Von Braun

Apr 30

Space Rocket History #111 – Apollo: Early Lunar Module Design and Saturn SA-3”

Posted on April 30, 2015

During 1962, NASA faced three major tasks: first the mode selection and its defense (covered in episodes 106-109), second keeping North American moving on the command and service modules (covered in episode 110) and third finding a contractor to deve...

Tagged:Ames, Apollo, Apollo Spacecraft Project Office, Bell Aerosystems, Bethpage, Block I, Block Ii, Brainerd Holmes, C William Rathke, Charles Frick, Charles H Feltz, Clean Room, Cuban Missile Crisis, Dryden, E Clinton Towl, Ellington Air Force Base, Exploration, Gemini, George Low, Gilruth, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, H 1, Highwater, History, Holmes, Houston, Hugh Dryden, James Webb, John Snedeker, Joseph G Gavin, Joseph Shea, Kurt Debus, Langley, Lc 34, Lem, Leroy R Grumman, Little Joe Ii, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, M 31 Heat Shield, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Max Faget, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Mode, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, North American Aviation, Project Apollo, Promise, Ranger, Robert S Mullaney, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Sa 2, Sa 3, Saturn, Saturn 103, Saturn C Ib, Saturn Apollo 3, Seamans, Service Module, Space, Surveyor 1, Thomas J Kelly, Thomas Markley, Von Braun, White Sands, William Rector

May 7

Space Rocket History #112 – Apollo: Headquarters

Posted on May 7, 2015

“The contractor role in Houston was not very firm. Frankly, they didn’t want us. There were two things against us down there. Number one, it was a Headquarters contract, and it was decreed that the Space Centers shall use GE for certain things; and n...

General Electric employees monitor activities of a spacecraft test in the automatic-checkout-equipment spacecraft control room in 1965

comparison of spacecraft and launch vehicle configuration

Apollo tracking network in 1966. Radar stations with large antennas for continuous tracking and communications were at Goldstone, California; Madrid, Spain; and Canberra, Australia

Tagged:Ames, Apollo, Apollo Spacecraft Project Office, Bellcomm, Block I, Block Ii, Brainerd Holmes, Charles Frick, Edward S Miller, Ellington Air Force Base, Exploration, F 1, Frederick R Kappel, Gemini, General Electric, George Low, Gilruth, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, H 1, Highwater, History, Holmes, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, J 2, James Webb, John P Mayer, Joseph Shea, Kurt Debus, Langley, Lewis Research Center, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Mode, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, North American Aviation, Office Of Manned Space Flight, Project Apollo, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Rocketdyne, Saturn, Seamans, Service Module, Space, William Rector

May 14

Space Rocket History #113 – Apollo: Command Module Design and Development 1963-1964

Posted on May 14, 2015

…From the information they gathered on the existing technical problems, Disher and Tischler concluded that prospects were only one in ten that Apollo would land on the moon before the end of the decade….

Full-scale model of the command module, above- the strake aerodynamic devices may be seen at either side of the spacecraft just above the aft heatshield

Removing LM from S=IVB stage

On 16 November 1963 in Cape Canaveral’s Blockhouse 37, NASA’s new manned space flight chief George Mueller

Communications with the moon as the earth turned. Astronauts on the moon’s surface also could talk to one another

Tagged:Apollo, Apollo Spacecraft Project Office, Apollo Soyuz, Bellcomm, Block I, Block Ii, Boilerplate, Brainerd Holmes, Canards, Charles Frick, Disher, Downey, Exploration, F 1, Gemini, General Electric, George Low, George Mueller, Gilruth, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Harrison Storms, History, Holmes, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, J 2, James Webb, John P Mayer, John Paup, Joseph Shea, Kurt Debus, Langley, Lewis Research Center, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall, Marshall Space Flight Center, Max Faget, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Mockup, Mode, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, North American Aviation, Office Of Manned Space Flight, Project Apollo, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Rocketdyne, Ruben Mettler, Samuel C Phillips, Saturn, Saturn I, Saturn Ib, Saturn V, Seamans, Service Module, Skylab, Space, Space Technology Laboratories, Strakes, Thomas Markley, Tischler, Tower Flaps, Tulsa, William Rector

May 21

Space Rocket History #114 – Apollo: Command Module Design and Development 1963-1964 Part 2

Posted on May 21, 2015

Max Faget’s position was that considering the difficulty of the job, if each mission was successful half the time, it would be well worth the effort. But Gilruth thought that was too low. He want a 90% mission success ratio and a 99% ratio for Ast...

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The cabin section (or primary structure) of the CM is assembled at North American in 1965

The CM probe would slip into the LM’s dish-shaped drogue, and 12 latches on the docking ring would engage, to lock the spacecraft together, airtight

Full-scale model of the service module, resting on a mockup of a spacecraft-lunar module adapter, with panels off to reveal part of the internal arrangement

Jettison of the launch escape system (right) after successful launch, also pulls away the boost protective cover that protects the windows from flame and soot

On the drawing of the launch escape system at upper right, the canard aerodynamic devices are near the top of the escape tower

Tagged:Apollo, Apollo Spacecraft Project Office, Apollo Soyuz, Bellcomm, Block I, Block Ii, Boilerplate, Brainerd Holmes, Canards, Charles Frick, Disher, Downey, Exploration, F 1, Gemini, General Electric, George Low, George Mueller, Gilruth, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Harrison Storms, History, Holmes, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Huntsville, J 2, James Webb, John P Mayer, John Paup, Joseph Shea, Kurt Debus, Langley, Lewis Research Center, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall, Marshall Space Flight Center, Max Faget, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Mockup, Mode, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, North American Aviation, Office Of Manned Space Flight, Project Apollo, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Rocketdyne, Ruben Mettler, Samuel C Phillips, Saturn, Saturn I, Saturn Ib, Saturn V, Seamans, Service Module, Skylab, Space, Space Technology Laboratories, Strakes, Thomas Markley, Tischler, Tower Flaps, Tulsa, William Rector

Sep 17

Space Rocket History #130 – Apollo 1: Preparation

Posted on September 17, 2015

While flight-preparation crews were having problems, Grissom, White, and Chaffee were finding bottlenecks in training activities. The chief problem was keeping the Apollo mission simulator current with changes being made in spacecraft 012.

3-Astronauts Grissom, Chaffee, and White check the communications headgear in preparation for what was to have been the first manned Apollo flight – Apollo-Saturn 204, scheduled for 21 February 1967

2-CM-012 – Apollo One- arrives at Kennedy Space Center, 26 August 1966

1-Command module 012 and service module 012 in workstands at the North American Aviation plant, Downey, in 1965

Tagged:Apollo 1, As 204, Buzz Aldrin, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Charlie Feltz, Charlie Frick, Downey, Ed White, Exploration, Gemini, George Low, George Mueller, Gilruth, Gus Grissom, History, Houston, Jim Lovell, John Paup, John Shinkle, Joseph Kotanchik, Joseph Shea, Kurt Debus, Manned Spacecraft Center, Max Faget, Mercury, Msc, Nasa, New York Times, Norm Ryker, North American Aviation, Robert Gilruth, Roger Chaffe, Soviet, Space, Von Braun, William Bland

Oct 1

Space Rocket History #131 – Apollo 1: Astronauts – Part 1- Grissom & White

Posted on October 1, 2015

“So the reason I took those symbols was that I think this was the most important thing I had going for me, and I felt that while I couldn’t take one for every religion in the country, I could take the three I was most familiar with.” Ed. White

Chaffee, White, and Grissom

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the-Apollo-1-launch-pad-fire-that-killed-astronauts-Gus-Grissom-Roger-Chaffee-and-Ed-White-celebrities-who-died-young-31704639-1372-740

Tagged:Apollo 1, As 204, Buzz Aldrin, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Charlie Feltz, Charlie Frick, Downey, Ed White, Exploration, Gemini, George Low, George Mueller, Gilruth, Gus Grissom, History, Houston, Jim Lovell, John Paup, John Shinkle, Joseph Kotanchik, Joseph Shea, Kurt Debus, Manned Spacecraft Center, Max Faget, Mercury, Msc, Nasa, New York Times, Norm Ryker, North American Aviation, Robert Gilruth, Roger Chaffe, Soviet, Space, Von Braun, William Bland

Oct 8

Space Rocket History #132 – Apollo 1: Astronauts – Part 2 – Chaffee

Posted on October 8, 2015

“On my honor I will do my best, To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” The Boy Scout Oath.

3-Apollo_1_patch

2-apollo1chaffee

1-Chaffee at the consoles in Mission Control during the Gemini 3 mission

Tagged:Apollo 1, As 204, Buzz Aldrin, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Charlie Feltz, Charlie Frick, Don Chaffee, Downey, Ed White, Exploration, Gemini, George Low, George Mueller, Gilruth, Greenville, Gus Grissom, History, Houston, Jim Lovell, John Paup, John Shinkle, Joseph Kotanchik, Joseph Shea, Kurt Debus, Manned Spacecraft Center, Martha Chaffee, Max Faget, Mercury, Michigan, Msc, Nasa, New York Times, Norm Ryker, North American Aviation, Purdue, Robert Gilruth, Roger Chaffe, Roger Chaffee, Soviet, Space, Von Braun, William Bland

Oct 15

Space Rocket History #133 – Apollo 1: Plugs Out – Part 1 – The Fire

Posted on October 15, 2015

The “Plugs Out” test scheduled for Jan 27, 1967 was not the first time that spacecraft 12 had been put through a simulated run with people on board…

1-1024px-AS-204_-_hatch

3-PrimeandBackupCrews

2-PrimeCrewAltitudeChamberTest

Tagged:Apollo 1, As 204, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Charlie Feltz, Charlie Frick, Don Chaffee, Downey, Ed White, Exploration, George Low, George Mueller, Gilruth, Gus Grissom, History, Houston, Joseph Shea, Kurt Debus, Manned Spacecraft Center, Martha Chaffee, Max Faget, Msc, Nasa, North American Aviation, Purdue, Robert Gilruth, Roger Chaffee, Soviet, Space, Von Braun, William Bland

Oct 22

Space Rocket History #134 – Apollo 1: Plugs Out – Part 2 – The Price of Progress

Posted on October 22, 2015

When Deke Slayton and Stu Roosa arrived at pad 34 they saw ambulances waiting in vain at the base of the launch tower. They boarded the small elevator and rode to level A-8, 218 feet up, and headed across the swing arm to the clean room…

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1-Apollo_1’s_Command_Module_-_GPN-2003-00057

Tagged:Alan Bean, Apollo 1, Arlington National Cemetery, As 204, Babbitt, Betty Grissom, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Charlie Feltz, Charlie Frick, Chris Kraft, Clemmons, Dave Scott, Deke Slayton, Don Chaffee, Downey, Ed White, Exploration, Gemini, George Low, George Mueller, Gilruth, Gleaves, Gus Grissom, Harrison Storms, Hawkins, History, Houston, Jo Schirra, John Glen, Joseph Shea, Kurt Debus, Manned Spacecraft Center, Martha Chaffee, Max Faget, Mercury, Mike Collins, Msc, Nasa, Neil Armstrong, North American Aviation, Pat White, Purdue, Reese, Robert Gilruth, Roger Chaffee, Rogers, Soviet, Space, Stu Roosa, Von Braun, West Point, William Bland

May 12

Space Rocket History #160 – Apollo 8 – The Decision Part 1

Posted on May 12, 2016

An ‘A’ type mission would be flown with a Saturn V and be used to test the Launch vehicle, spacecraft, and a high velocity lunar return. Nasa cover the ‘A’ mission with Apollo 4 & 6. A ‘B’ type mission would be flow with a Saturn IB and test the lun...

OwenMaynardStepstotheMoon

chief of the LEM engineering office in the Apollo Program Office in Houston, TexasJPG

3-GeorgeLow

Tagged:Apollo 1, Apollo 4, Apollo 5, Apollo 6, Apollo 7, Apollo 8, Apollo Stack, Bowman, Chris Kraft, Commandservice Module, Csm, Deke Slayton, Donald Slayton, Eberhard Rees, George Hage, George Low, Gilruth, Goodfellow, Houston, Huntsville, Joseph Kotanchik, Julian Scheer, Kleinknecht, Kurt Debus, Lee James, Lm 3, Ludie Richard, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mueller, Naca, Nasa, Owen Maynard, Phillips, President Johnson, Rocco Petrone, Saturn Ib, Saturn V, Schneider, Seven Step Plan To Lunar Landing, Webb, Wernher Von Braun, Willis H Shapley

May 19

Space Rocket History #161 – Apollo 8 – The Decision Part 2

Posted on May 19, 2016

Perhaps the most significant point about the lunar-orbit flight proposed for Apollo 8 was that the command and service modules would fly the same route to the moon as would be used for the actual lunar landing.

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Tagged:Ac Electronics, Apollo 1, Apollo 4, Apollo 5, Apollo 6, Apollo 7, Apollo 8, Apollo Stack, Apollo The Race To The Moon, B O Evans, B P Blasingame, Boeing, Bowman, Carl Duckett, Chris Kraft, Chrysler, Cia, Circumlunar Simulation, Commandservice Module, Csm, Deke Slayton, Donald Slayton, Fmsac, G H Stoner, General Electric, George Low, George M Bunker, Gerald T Smiley, Gerald Truszynski, Gilruth, Grumman, Hilliard Paige, Houston, Huntsville, Ibm, Joseph Gavin, Kurt Debus, Lee James, Leland Atwood, Lieutenant General Vincent G Huston, Lm 3, Ludie Richard, Marshall Space Flight Center, Martin Marietta, Mcdonnell Douglas, Mit, Mueller, Nasa, National Intelligence Estimate, North American, Owen Maynard, Paine, Philco Ford, Phillips, President Johnson, Presidents Science Advisory Committee, R W Hubner, Robert E Hunter, Rocco Petrone, Saturn Ib, Saturn V, Schneider, Science And Technology Advisory Committee, Seven Step Plan To Lunar Landing, Stark Draper, T A Wilson, Thomas F Morrow, United Aircraft, Walter F Burke, Webb, Wernher Von Braun, William Bergen, William P Gwinn, Zond 4, Zond 5

Episodes Tagged with "Kurt Debus"