Dec 28

An Encore Presentation of Space Rocket History #17 – The Mercury 7

Posted on December 28, 2016

On April 1, 1959, Robert Gilruth, the head of the Space Task Group, Charles Donlan, Warren North, and Stanley White selected the first American astronauts. The “Mercury Seven” were Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., John H. Glenn, Jr., Virgil I....

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Deke, Gordon Cooper, Gus, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Mercury, Nasa, Rocket

Dec 15

An Encore Presentation of Space Rocket History #30 – Godspeed John Glenn – Mercury-Atlas 6 – Friendship 7 – Part 1

Posted on December 15, 2016

“I am in a big mass of some very small particles, they’re brilliantly lit up like they’re luminescent. I never saw anything like it! They round a little: they’re coming by the capsule and they look like little stars. A whole shower of them coming by....

Tagged:Africa, Alan Shepard, Apollo, Atlas, Australia, Canton Island, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Exploration, Fireflies, Friendship 7, Godspeed John Glenn, Hawaii, History, Indian Ocean, John Glenn, Kano, Lyndon Johnson, Mercury, Mercury 7, Mexico, Muchea, Nasa, Nigeria, Nikita Khrushchev, Perth, Rocket, Russia, Segment 51, Sensor, Soviet, Space, Titov, Wally Schirra, Walter Schirra

Dec 16

An Encore Presentation of Space Rocket History #31 – Godspeed John Glenn – Mercury-Atlas 6 – Friendship 7 – Part 2

Posted on December 16, 2016

Mercury Control was still undecided on the course of action to take with the heat shield problem. Some controllers thought the retrorocket pack should be jettisoned after retrofire, while other controllers thought the retro pack should be retained, a...

Tagged:Africa, Alan Shepard, Apollo, Atlas, Australia, Canton Island, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Exploration, Fireflies, Friendship 7, Godspeed John Glenn, Hawaii, History, Indian Ocean, John Glenn, Kano, Lyndon Johnson, Mercury, Mercury 7, Mexico, Muchea, Nasa, Nigeria, Nikita Khrushchev, Perth, Rocket, Russia, Segment 51, Sensor, Soviet, Space, Titov, Wally Schirra, Walter Schirra

Feb 12

Space Rocket History #100 – Apollo: Preliminary Design

Posted on February 12, 2015

In January 1960, President Eisenhower directed NASA Administrator Glennan to accelerate the Super Booster Program that had recently been assigned to NASA. This order ensured the transfer of the von Braun group from the Army Ballistic Missile Agency t...

Using a model at upper left, William Rector of General Dynamics Corp. describes the design his company proposed for the Apollo lunar mission

Spacecraft modules in this drawing were identified in the Space Task Group’s request for proposals from contractors for developing and producing the command module

Saturn 1 test

Saturn 1 test 2

mySuperLamePic_c1194b7fa9498eb5af694d8530d3ebf8

At lower left, E. E. Clark and Carlos de Moraes of the Martin Company display three of a dozen command module configurations considered before the choice of the one to the right

ASA’s second Administrator, James E. Webb (at center above), and George M. Low (right above) of NASA Headquarters receive a model of General Electric’s proposed vehicle

Tagged:A Plan For Manned Lunar Landing, Abbott, Alan Shepard, Apollo, Avco, C 2 Saturn, Cape Kennedy, Charles Houbolt, Circumlunar, Congress, Convair, Docking, Dolan, Donlan, Eisenhower, Eldon Hall, Exploration, Faget, Feasibility Studies, Gagarin, Gemini Project, General Electric, George Low, Gilruth, Glennan, Goett, History, Houston, Hugh Dryden, J R Clark, James Killian, James Webb, Jerome Wiesner, Jfk, John Disher, John Lee, Jpl, Kennedy, Kieth Glennan, Langley, Lbj, Lovelace Foundation, Low, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lyndon Johnson, Manned Lunar Landing Task Group, Manned Spacecraft Center, Markley, Marshall Space Flight Center, Martin, Mercury, Moon, Nasa, Nova, Oran Nicks, Ostrandersiepert, Pickering, Piland, Project Apollo, Rendezvous, Richard S Johnston, Robert Chilton, Rocket, Saturn, Seamans, Silverstein, Soviet, Space, Space Task Group, Sputnik, Stanley White, Strass, Von Braun, Vought Astronautics, Webb, William Petynia

Feb 19

Space Rocket History #101 – Apollo: Preliminary Design Part 2 – Mode, Command Module, and Astronavigation.

Posted on February 19, 2015

In May 1961, NASA was not really prepared to direct an enormous Apollo program designed to fly its spacecraft to the moon. New and special facilities would be needed and the aerospace industry would have to be marshaled to develop vehicles not easily...

David G. Hoag, technical design director at the laboratory, examines the inertial measuring unit that would measure changes in Apollo spacecraft velocity when propulsion systems were fired

MIT Instrumentation Laboratory Director C. Stark Draper inspects a mockup of the Apollo guidance and control system in the September 1963

astronaut positions

Tagged:Apollo, Avco, C 2 Saturn, Cape Kennedy, Charles Houbolt, Circumlunar, Congress, Convair, Docking, Dolan, Donlan, Eisenhower, Eldon Hall, Exploration, Faget, Feasibility Studies, General Electric, George Low, Gilruth, Glennan, Goett, History, Houston, Hugh Dryden, J R Clark, James Killian, James Webb, Jerome Wiesner, Jfk, John Disher, John Lee, Jpl, Kennedy, Kieth Glennan, Langley, Lbj, Lovelace Foundation, Low, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lyndon Johnson, Manned Lunar Landing Task Group, Manned Spacecraft Center, Markley, Marshall Space Flight Center, Martin, Mercury, Moon, Nasa, Nova, Oran Nicks, Ostrandersiepert, Pickering, Piland, Project Apollo, Rendezvous, Richard S Johnston, Robert Chilton, Rocket, Saturn, Seamans, Silverstein, Soviet, Space, Space Task Group, Sputnik, Stanley White, Strass, Von Braun, Webb

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 23

Space Rocket History #110 – Early Apollo Command Module Design

Posted on April 23, 2015

The Apollo contract specified a shirt-sleeve environment. For this reason, North American was told not to include in its design a hatch that opened by explosives, like Mercury’s. An accidentally blown hatch in space would cause an instant vacuum and ...

The impact facility at North American was used to drop-test the CM

Selection of Little Joe II completed the Apollo family of launch vehicles.

Scott Carpenter, John Glenn, and Walter Schirra in 1963 inspect a full-scale mock up of the Apollo CM

North American Aviation Stormy,

Interior of a partial full-scale mockup of the Apollo command module

major parts of the command module structure

Tagged:Ablator, Ac Spark Plug, Aerojet General, Airesearch Manufacturing, Ames, Apollo, Apollo Spacecraft Project Office, Avco, B 25, B 45, Block I, Brainerd Holmes, California, California Institute Of Technology, Cambridge, Carpenter, Charles Frick, Charles H Feltz, Collins Radio Company, Direct Ascent, Downey, Dryden, Exploration, F 86, F100, Gemini, George Low, Gilruth, Glenn, Harrison Storms, History, Holmes, Honeycomb, Honeywell Regulator Company, Houston, Hugh Dryden, Impact Facility, John Paup, Langley, Lewis Research Center, Little Joe Ii, Lockheed, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, Man In Space Soonest, Manned Space Flight, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marquardt Corporation, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Mit, Mode, Moon, Msc, Msfc, Nasa, Norman J Ryker, North American Aviation, Northrop, P 51, Phase A, Project Apollo, Radioplane, Robert Seamans, Rocket, Rocketdyne, S Ii, Saturn, Schirra, Seamans, Service Module, Shirt Sleve Environment, Smedal, Space, Stormy, Thiokol, White Sands, X 15, Xb 70

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

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...

4-SIV-SIVB

3-Saturn 1b-V

2-Cutaways

1- SIV_rocket_stage

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

Aug 27

Space Rocket History #127 – Apollo Mission Control: Christopher Columbus Kraft – Part 1

Posted on August 27, 2015

Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr. was Born on February 28, 1924 in a town that no longer exist, Phoebus, Virginia. The town has now been engulfed by Hampton, Virginia. Kraft was named after his father, Christopher Columbus Kraft, who was born in New Yor...

3-Christopher_Kraft,_flight_director_during_Project_Mercury,_works_at_his_console_inside_the_Flight_Control_area_at_Mercury_Mission_Control

2-Wally Schirra (right) consults the flight plan for his Mercury-Atlas-8 (MA-8) mission with Flight Director Chris Kraft

1-Chris Kraft and Rober Gilruth

Tagged:Alan Shepard, American Legion, Apollo, Atlas, Bugle Corp, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Christopher Kraft, Chuck Mathews, Columbus, Corps Of Cadets, Eisenhower, Enos, Exploration, Flight Director, Gagarin, Gemini, Gus Grissom, Ham, Hampton, History, John Glenn, Manned Spacecraft Center, Mercury, Mercury Redstone 2, Mercury Atlas 4, Mercury Atlas 5, Midas, Msc, Naca, Nasa, New York City, Phoebus, Prop Wash, Redstone, Robert Gilruth, Soviet, Space, Space Task Group, Sputnik 1, University Of Kentucky, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wingtip Vortices, Yuri Gagarin

Sep 3

Space Rocket History #128 – Apollo Mission Control: Christopher Columbus Kraft – Part 2

Posted on September 3, 2015

At the beginning of the Apollo program, Kraft retired as a flight director to concentrate on management and mission planning. In 1972, he became director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, following the path of his mentor Robert Gilruth.

3-Robert F. Thompson (center) and Christopher C. Kraft Jr. (right) brief Rear Admiral W.C. Abhau

2-Kraft with his new flight directors before the Gemini 4 mission Clockwise from lower right Kraft, Gene Kranz, Glynn Lunney and John Hodge

1-Kraft Kranz Gemini Fuel Cell problem

Tagged:Alan Shepard, American Legion, Apollo, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Apollo 8, Atlas, Betty Turnbull, Bugle Corp, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Christopher C Kraft Jr Mission Control Center, Christopher Kraft, Chuck Mathews, Columbus, Ed White, Eisenhower, Episcopalian, Exploration, Flight Director, Gagarin, Gemini, Gemini 4, Gemini 7, Gene Kranz, George Low, Glynn S Lunney, Goddard Memorial Trophy, Gordon Kraft, Gus Grissom, Ham, Hampton, Heat Shield, History, John Glenn, John Hodge, John J Montgomery Award, John Mccain, Kristi Anne Kraft, Manned Spacecraft Center, Max Faget, Mercury, Mercury Atlas 6, Mercury Atlas 7, Midas, Msc, Naca, Nasa, Nasa Distinguished Service Medals, Nasa Outstanding Leadership Medal, New York City, Phoebus, Prop Wash, Redstone, Robert Gilruth, Rotary National Award For Space Achievement, Scott Carpenter, Soviet, Space, Space Task Group, Sputnik 1, Sy Liebergot, University Of Kentucky, Us Navy, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wally Schirra, Wingtip Vortices, Yuri Gagarin

Sep 10

Space Rocket History #129 – Apollo Mission Control: An Introduction to Eugene Frances Kranz

Posted on September 10, 2015

As Procedures Officer, Kranz was put in charge of integrating Mercury Control with the Launch Control Team at Cape Canaveral, Florida, writing the “Go/NoGo” procedures that allowed missions to continue as planned or be aborted, along with serving as ...

3-Kranz and his teacher Kraft

2-Kranz at his console on May 30, 1965, in the Mission Operations Control Room, Mission Control Center, Houston

1-Kranz-F86 Sabre Cat

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Apollo, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Apollo 8, Atlas, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Christopher C Kraft Jr Mission Control Center, Christopher Kraft, Chuck Mathews, Exploration, Flight Director, Gagarin, Gemini, Gemini 4, Gemini 7, Gene Kranz, George Low, Glynn S Lunney, Gus Grissom, Hampton, History, John Glenn, John Hodge, Manned Spacecraft Center, Max Faget, Mercury, Mercury Atlas 6, Mercury Atlas 7, Msc, Nasa, Nasa Distinguished Service Medals, Redstone, Robert Gilruth, Rotary National Award For Space Achievement, Scott Carpenter, Soviet, Space, Space Task Group, Wally Schirra, Yuri Gagarin

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 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…

3-apollo

2-c216a

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

Mar 23

Space Rocket History #154 – Apollo 7 – The Crew

Posted on March 23, 2016

Had it not been for the fact that Eisele damaged his shoulder during a zero-G training flight aboard a KC-135 aircraft just before Christmas 1965, he might have been in the senior pilot’s seat aboard Apollo 1, instead of Ed White.

3-Cunningham during the Apollo 7 mission

2-Donn_F._Eisele prior to launch of ap17

1- Schirra as the Commander of Apollo 7 crew

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Apollo 1, Apollo 10, Apollo 13, Apollo 4, Apollo 5, Apollo 6, Apollo 7, Apollo Stack, Commandservice Module, Csm, Deke Slayton, Donald Slayton, Donn Eisele, Downey, Duane Graveline, Eagle Scout, Edward H White, F 4h, F7u 3, Fj 3, Florida, Gemini, Goodfellow, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Guenter Wendt, Gus Grissom, Houston, Huntsville, Jim Webb, Langley Research Center, Lm 3, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercury, Michoud, Mike Collins, Mississippi Test, Mueller, Naca, Nasa Distinguished Service Medals, North American Rockwell, Peace Corps, President Johnson, Roger Chaffee, S Ii, Satuen Ib, Saturn V, Skylab, Tyndall, Wally Schirra, Walter Cunningham, Wernher Von Braun, Wheelus, Wright Patterson

Mar 30

Space Rocket History #155 – Apollo 7 – Assembly, Testing, Training, and Launch

Posted on March 30, 2016

Command Service Module-101 started through the manufacturing cycle early in 1966. By July, it had been formed, wired, fitted with subsystems, and made ready for testing. After the Apollo 1 fire in January 1967, changes had to be made, mainly in the w...

3-Apollo 7 Launch

2-Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham (left to right) practice climbing out of the spacecraft into a life raft, to perfect recovery procedures

1-Saturn 205’s first stage rests on the pedestal at Launch Complex 34 before mating with other stages for launch

Tagged:Apollo 1, Apollo 4, Apollo 5, Apollo 6, Apollo 7, Apollo Stack, Chysler, Commandservice Module, Csm, Csm 101, Donn Eisele, Douglas, Douglas Aircraft, Downey, Florida, Gemini, Gene Kranz, Gerald Griffin, Glynn Lunney, Griffith Planetarium, Grumman, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Houston, Huntsville, J 2, Jim Webb, John Hodge, John Young, Lm, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercury, Michoud, Mississippi Test, Morehead Planetarium, North American Rockwell, S Ib, S Ii, S Ivb, Satuen Ib, Saturn V, T 38, Wally Schirra, Walter Cunningham, Wernher Von Braun

Apr 6

Space Rocket History #156 – Apollo 7-The Flight Part 1

Posted on April 6, 2016

SCHIRRA: You’ve added two burns to this flight schedule, and you’ve added a urine water dump; and we have a new vehicle up here, and I can tell you at this point TV will be delayed without any further discussion until after the rendezvous. CAPCOM (J...

Untitled

2u-Distant view of the S-IVB stage

1u-Apollo 7 S-IVB rocket stage in orbit

Tagged:Apollo 1, Apollo 7, Chysler, Commandservice Module, Csm, Csm 101, Donn Eisele, Douglas Aircraft, Downey, Florida, Gemini, Gene Kranz, Gerald Griffin, Glynn Lunney, Grumman, Houston, Huntsville, Iva, John Hodge, John Young, Lm, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercury, Mississippi Test, North American Rockwell, S Ib, S Ii, S Ivb, Satuen Ib, Saturn V, T 38, Tom Stafford, Wally Schirra, Walter Cunningham

Apr 13

Space Rocket History #157 – Apollo 7-The Flight Part 2

Posted on April 13, 2016

CAPCOM Number 1 (Deke Slayton): Okay. I think you ought to clearly understand there is absolutely no experience at all with landing without the helmet on. SCHIRRA: And there no experience with the helmet either on that one. CAPCOM: That one we’ve g...

10-The Apollo 7 Command Module as exhibited at The Frontiers of Flight Museum

9-Barbara Eden, Bob Hope, the Apollo 7 astronauts, and Paul Haney (voice of Mission Control) on The Bob Hope Show (November 6, 1968)

8-Crew after recovery aboard USS Essex

6-The crew is welcomed aboard the USS Essex

5-A crewmember being hoisted into the recovery helicopter

3U-At the end of the nearly 11-day mission, flight controllers Gene Kranz, Glynn Lunney, and Gerald Griffin left to right with cigars celebrate splashdown

2U-View of Florida from Apollo 7

1u-Mission Control watches the first live television beamed by an American spacecraft, as Eisele and Schirra signal, %22Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming in, Folks

Tagged:Actifed, Apollo 1, Apollo 7, Bob Hope, Chris Kraft, Chysler, Commandservice Module, Csm, Csm 101, Deke Slayton, Donn Eisele, Douglas Aircraft, Downey, Florida, Fuel Cell, Gemini, Gene Kranz, Gerald Griffin, Glenn Lunney, Glynn Lunney, Grumman, Houston, Huntsville, Intravehicular Activity, Iva, John Hodge, John Young, Lbj, Lh2, Lm, Lox, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercury, Mississippi Test, North American Rockwell, Paul Haney, S Ib, S Ii, S Ivb, Satuen Ib, Saturn V, T 38, Tom Stafford, Wally Schirra, Walter Cunningham

Jun 13

Space Rocket History #16 – Astronaut Candidates

Posted on June 13, 2013

Candidates were given continuous psychiatric interviews throughout the week, and extensive self-examination through a battery of 13 psychological tests for personality and motivation, and another dozen different tests on intellectual functions and sp...

Cent

gustraining

GPN

Centrifuge

Scott

472046main_GPN-2000-000596-4x3_946-710

gustraining

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Allen Gamble, Apollo, Astronaut, Bill Bridgeman, Charles J Donlan, Chuck Yeager, Donald Slayton, Edwin Levy, Eisenhower, Gemini, George Ruff, Gordon Cooper, History, Icbm, Ike, John Glenn, Man In Space Soonest, Mercury, Mercury 7, Nasa, National Aeronautics And Space Administration, Neil Armstrong, Project Mercury, Robert Gilruth, Robert Rushworth, Robert Voas, Scott Carpenter, Scott Crossfield, Space, Space Task Group, Stanley White, T Keith Glennan, Test Pilot, Virgil Grissom, Walter Schirra, Warren North, William Argerson, Wright Air Development Center

Jun 20

Space Rocket History #17 – The Mercury 7

Posted on June 20, 2013

On April 1, 1959, Robert Gilruth, the head of the Space Task Group, Charles Donlan, Warren North, and Stanley White selected the first American astronauts. The “Mercury Seven” were Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., John H. Glenn, Jr., Virgil I....

m7-capsule

Mercury 7

Tagged:Air Force Flight Test Center, Alan Shepard, Charles J Donlan, Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, Deke, Donald Slayton, Edwards Air Force, Glennan, Gordo, Gordon Cooper, Gus, Gus Grissom, History, John Glenn, Mercury, Mercury 7, Mercury Seven, Nasa, Patuxent, Project Mercury, Robert Gilruth, Rocket, Scott Carpenter, Stanley White, Virgil Grissom, Walter Schirra, Warren North

Dec 14

Space Rocket History #189 – John Glenn Remembered

Posted on December 14, 2016

With the passing of John Glenn last week, I thought it would be appropriate to pause my coverage of Apollo 10 for a week and create an episode that celebrates the life of the American Icon, John Glenn. I covered John Glenn’s Mercury flight in episod...

174537main_glenn_john_hr_1

2-sen-john-glenn

1-jgma6

Tagged:Air Force Flight Test Center, Alan Shepard, Charles J Donlan, Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, Deke, Donald Slayton, Edwards Air Force, Glennan, Godspeed John Glenn, Gordo, Gordon Cooper, Gus, Gus Grissom, History, John Glenn, Mercury, Mercury 7, Mercury Seven, Nasa, Patuxent, Project Mercury, Robert Gilruth, Rocket, Scott Carpenter, Senator John Glenn, Stanley White, Virgil Grissom, Walter Schirra, Warren North

Jul 4

Space Rocket History #19 – Little Joe: Mercury’s Test Vehicle

Posted on July 4, 2013

“The designers made the Little Joe booster assembly to approximate the same performance that the Army’s Redstone booster would have with the capsule payload. But in addition to being flexible enough to perform a variety of missions, Little Joe could ...

480px-Little_Joe_on_launcher_at_Wallops_Island_-_GPN-2000-001883

Little_Joe_6_launch_10-4-1959_from_Wallops_Is._Virginia

143px-Little_Joe_Launch_Vehicle_-_GPN-2000-001270

Monkey_Sam_Before_The_Flight_On_Little_Joe_2

S61-01673

Monkey_Sam_Before_The_Flight_On_Little_Joe_2

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Atlas, Capsule, Exploration, John Glenn, Little Joe, Lj 1, Lj 1a, Lj 1b, Lj 2, Lj 5, Lj 5a, Lj 5b, Lj 6, Max Faget, Max Q, Mercury, Mercury 7, Miss Sam, Nasa, Paul Purser, Redstone, Sam, Sargent, School Of Aviation Medicine, Space, Virgil Grissom, Wallops

Aug 8

Space Rocket History #24 – Mercury Redstone Test Flights – Ham in a Can

Posted on August 8, 2013

The objectives of the Mercury Project, were as follows: 1. Place a manned spacecraft in orbital flight around the earth. 2. Investigate man’s performance capabilities and his ability to function in the environment of space. 3. Recover the man and ...

mr-1-patch

HamPostMission

WhiteRoom

SurvivalEquipment

Parachute Canister

mercurycontrolPanel

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mercury9

mercury8

mercury7

mercury6

mercury5

mercury3

mercury1

MerCapInt

MerCapEscSys

Ham

CapandEsc

Assembly

3AxisHandController

Tagged:Blunt Body, Booster Development, Cape Canaveral, Exploration, Ham, Heat Shield, History, Huntsville, Marshall Space Flight Center, Max Faget, Mercury, Mr 1, Mr 1a, Mr 2, Mr Bd, Posigrade, Redstone, Rene 41, Retro, Rocket, Space, The 4 Inch Flight, Vostok

Aug 15

Space Rocket History #25 – Mercury Redstone 3 – Freedom 7 with Alan Shepard

Posted on August 15, 2013

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...

WhiteRoom

tumblr_ma6ui4M49C1r6kbseo1_500

The_Celebration_for_Freedom_7_at_Huntsville,_Alabama_

SurvivalEquipment

shepard_freedom7_big

mercurycontrolPanel

mercury8

mercury7

mercury5

mercury3

kennedy-awarding-medal-to-astronaut-shepard

Kennedy,_Johnson,_and_others_watching_flight_of_Astronaut_Shepard_on_television,_05_May_1961

freedom7redstone

Freedom_7_Diagram

Freedom_7_Diagram – Copy

Untitled

Astronaut_Alan_Shepard_1961 – Copy

Alan_Shepard_pouso – Copy

Alan_Shepard_in_Mercury_flight_suit – Copy

800px-Mr3-flight-timeline – Copy

448px-Shepard_in_Space_Suit_MSFC-6417073 – Copy

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

Aug 22

Space Rocket History #26 – Why the Moon?

Posted on August 22, 2013

“We have been plunged into a race for the conquest of outer space. As a reason for this undertaking some look to the new and exciting scientific discoveries which are certain to be made. Others feel the challenge to transport man beyond frontiers he ...

mime-attachment2

1658

413px-John_F._Kennedy_speaks_at_Rice_University

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Apollo, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Chemical, Eisenhower, Exploration, History, Houston, Icbm, Jfk, Lbj, Liquid, Lloyd Berkner, Lyndon Johnson, Mercury, Moon, Nasa, Nuclear, Rice, Rocket, Saturn, Solid Fuel, Soviet, Space, Space Race, Von Braun, Webb, Werner, Wiesner, Yuri Gagarin

Aug 29

Space Rocket History #27 – Mercury-Redstone 4 – Liberty Bell 7 with Gus Grissom

Posted on August 29, 2013

Mercury-Redstone 4 was the fourth mission in the Mercury-Redstone series and the second U.S. manned suborbital spaceflight. The mission was essentially a repeat of Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 flight. So why was it necessary to launch another sub-orbit...

Liberty_Bell_7_The_Kansas_Cosmosphere_and_Space_Center

513px-Grissom_lifted_from_water_61-MR4-82

Mercury_4_Hatch

1137px-Grissom_prepares_to_enter_Liberty_Bell_7_61-MR4-76

GusSuitup

460px-Mercury-Redstone_4_Launch_MSFC-6414824

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Apollo, Apollo 11, Cape Canaveral, Corning Glass Works, Dr Who, Ed White, Exploration, Explosive Hatch, Freedom 7, Gilruth, Gus Grissom, History, Hunt Club 1, Icbm, John Glenn, Liberty Bell 7, Man In Space, Mercury, Mercury 4, Mercury 7, Mercury Redstone 3, Mercury Redstone 4, Mr 3, Mr 4, Nasa, Pitch, Posigrade, Redstone, Retro, Rocket, Roger Chaffee, Roll, Sigma 7, Soviet, Space, Space Task Group, Virgil Grissom, Vostok, Vostok 1, Vycor, Wally Schirra, Yaw

Sep 5

Space Rocket History #28 – Vostok 2 With Gherman Titov

Posted on September 5, 2013

After Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom’s suborbital flights and less than four months after Gagarin’s became the first man in space, the soviet union stunned the world with yet another manned mission.

space rocket history pic15

is

Gherman_Titov_2

1

2

vostok-2_launch

Titov

PreLaunch

Tagged:3ka, 8k72k, Alan Shepard, Capsule, Crimea, Exploration, Gagarin, Gherman, Gus Grissom, History, Instrument Module, Kamanin, Khrushchev, Korolev, Krolev, Mercury, Nasa, Nikolaev, R 7, R7, Rocket, Russia, Saratov, Soviet, Space, Space Helmet Kiss, Titov, Tyurantam, Ussr, Vostok, Yazdovsky

Sep 12

Space Rocket History #29 – Mercury-Atlas 5 With Enos

Posted on September 12, 2013

Following the successful suborbital missions of Allan Shepard and Gus Grissom, NASA believed the Mercury capsule was ready for an orbital mission. But, there was a problem, the Redstone booster did not have the power to place the Mercury capsule int...

Enos-MA-5a

t189

space rocket history pic18

Mercury-Atlas_5_display

Atlas_D_with_Mercury-Atlas_5_(Nov._29_1961)

163088main_unmanned-collage

Tagged:1 5 Stage, 34 Degree, Alan Shepard, Arguello, Atlas, Atlas D, Balloon Tank, Bermuda, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Christopher Kraft, Compton, Couch Suit, Enos, Exploration, Flight Director, Gagarin, Gimbaled, Gus Grissom, History, Holloman, Icbm, John Glenn, Korolev, Mercury, Mercury Atlas 4, Mercury Atlas 5, Midas, Muchea, Nasa, One Stage To Orbit, Psychomotor, Redstone, Samos, Soviet, Space, Stage And A Half, Stormes, Sustainer, Titov, University Of Kentucky, Wd 40, Woomera

Sep 19

Space Rocket History #30 – Godspeed John Glenn – Mercury-Atlas 6 – Friendship 7 – Part 1

Posted on September 19, 2013

“I am in a big mass of some very small particles, they’re brilliantly lit up like they’re luminescent. I never saw anything like it! They round a little: they’re coming by the capsule and they look like little stars. A whole shower of them coming by....

space rocket history pic21

Mercury-Atlas_6_Earth_photo

Launch_of_Friendship_7_-_GPN-2000-000686

Houston_control_center_during_Mercury_Atlas_6_mission_1962

Glenn62

800px-Glenn_Enters_his_Mercury_Capsule_-_GPN-2000-001029

415px-Mercury_6,_John_H_Glenn_Jr

Tagged:Africa, Alan Shepard, Atlas, Australia, Canary Islands, Canton Island, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Donalk Slayton, Enos, Exploration, Fireflies, Friendship 7, Goddard, Godspeed, Gordon Cooper, Guaymas, Gus Grissom, Hawaii, History, Icbm, Indian Ocean, John Glenn, Kano Nigeria, Kauai, Luminescent, Lyndon Johnson, Max Q, Mercury, Mercury 6, Mercury 7, Mercury Control, Mercury Atlas 6, Mexico, Muchea, Nasa, Pacific, Perth, Posigrade, Robert Gilruth, Rocket, Rockingham, Russia, Scott Carpenter, Segment 51, Soviet, Space, Vostok, Walter Schirra, Zanzibar

Sep 26

Space Rocket History #31 – Godspeed John Glenn – Mercury-Atlas 6 – Friendship 7 – Part 2

Posted on September 26, 2013

Mercury Control was still undecided on the course of action to take with the heat shield problem. Some controllers thought the retrorocket pack should be jettisoned after retrofire, while other controllers thought the retro pack should be retained, a...

mercury-flight-27[3]

mercury-flight-26[3]

mercury-flight-25[3]

mercury-flight-24[3]

mercury-flight-24[3] (1)

Ma6Smith

MA6-dye released

MA6 on tv

Tagged:Africa, Alan Shepard, Apollo, Atlas, Australia, Canton Island, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Exploration, Fireflies, Friendship 7, Hawaii, History, Indian Ocean, John Glenn, Kano, Lyndon Johnson, Mercury, Mercury 7, Mexico, Muchea, Nasa, Nigeria, Nikita Khrushchev, Perth, Rocket, Russia, Segment 51, Sensor, Soviet, Space, Titov, Wally Schirra, Walter Schirra

Oct 10

Space Rocket History #33 – Science Overload – Mercury-Atlas 7, Aurora 7 with Scott Carpenter

Posted on October 10, 2013

After the successful completion of the Mercury-Atlas 6 flight that carried John Glenn into orbit, it was Scott Carpenter’s turn to pilot Mercury-Atlas 7, which he named Aurora 7. The mission was essentially a repeat of John Glenn’s 3 orbit mission, ...

Carpenter-Inspectes-Spacecraft-0512a

NASA-Scott-Carpenter-0512a

Carpenter-Aboard-Raft-0512a

aurora7nasa

458px-Aurora_7_launch

Scott_Carpennter_thumbnail

Tagged:Alan Shepard, Ascs, Atlas, Aurora 7, Cape Canaveral, Deke Slayton, Exploration, Fireflies, Friendship 7, Frost, Gordon Cooper, Gus Grissom, Guymas, Hawaii, History, John Glenn, Launch Complex, Mercury, Mercury 7, Muchea, Rocket, Scott Carptenter, Space, Space Particles, Venus, Walter Schirra

Oct 17

Space Rocket History #34 – Group Flight – Vostok 3 and 4

Posted on October 17, 2013

In February of 1962, the United States put John Glenn into orbit. This prompted Soviet leadership to suddenly asked Chief Designer Korolev to launch the next space spectacular promptly. To make this mission truly spectacular the Soviets decided to la...

me10

space rocket history pic29

800px-Vostok_3_4_Mission_Patch.svg

w3crew

vostok-4_popovich

vostok-4_pad

vostkalu

space rocket history pic29

SlavaVostok3Vostok4PC

Popovich

nikolaev_backup_2

Tagged:3ka, 8k72k, Balkhash, Bykovsky, Chertok, Exploration, Gagarin, Groza, History, John Glenn, Kamanin, Kazakhstan, Keldysh, Korolev, Mercury, Nelyubov, Nikolaev, Nikolai Kamanin, Popovich, R 7, R7, Rocket, Rudenko, Russia, Scott Carpenter, Smirnov, Soviet, Space, Tass, Titov, Vostok, Vostok 3, Vostok 4, Zenit

Oct 24

Space Rocket History #35 – Textbook Spaceflight – Mercury-Atlas 8, Sigmac 7 with Wally Schirra

Posted on October 24, 2013

After Scott Carpenter’s science heavy Mercury-Atlas 7 flight, Nasa’s next mission would concentrate on the technical and engineering aspects of space travel. Mercury Atlas 8 became the third manned orbital flight of the Mercury program. The pilot se...

Recovery_of_Sigma_7_spcae_capsule_by_USS_Kearsarge_October_1962

MA-8_landing_under_parachute

MA-8_liftoff

163085main_sigma7-sm

760px-Mercury_Astronaut_Wally_Schirra_-_GPN-2000-001351

479px-Mercury_8_in_Hanger_-_GPN-2000-001441

018

163085main_sigma7-sm

Tagged:Apollo, Atlas, Australia, Brisbane, Canary Islands, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Christopher Kraft, Deke Slayton, Echo 1, Ecuador, Fireflies, Gyroscopes, History, Hypergolic Fuel Igniter, Indian Ocean, John Glenn, Kennedy, Liberty Bell 7, Mercury, Mercury 7, Mercury Atlas 7, Mesico, Muchea, Nasa, Naval Academy At Annapolis, Philippines, Port Elizabeth, Quito, Retrorocket, Rocket, Seventh Fleet, Sigma 7, South America, Spacecraft, Spaceflight, Telstar, Turtle Club, Uss Kearsarg, Wally, Walter Schirra, Weightlessness

Nov 7

Space Rocket History #37 – Flight of Faith 7, Mercury-Atlas 9 with Gordon Cooper

Posted on November 7, 2013

Mercury-Atlas 9 was the fourth and final manned orbital flight of the Mercury program. The flight objectives were to: (1) evaluate the effects on the astronaut of approximately one day in orbital flight; (2) verify that man can function for an exte...

space rocket history pic36

S63-07856

Mercury9_tibet

Gordon_Cooper_Jr._-_cropped

773px-Mercury_On_Deck_-_GPN-2000-001403

479px-Cooper_-_GPN-2000-000997

Tagged:0 05g, Airglow, Apollo, Atlas, Beco, Boy Scouts Of America, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Coastal Sentry Quebec, Exploration, Faith 7, Gordo, Gordon Cooper, Gus Grissom, Himalayas, History, John Glenn, Kearsarge, Kentucky, Kyushu Japan, Leroy G Cooper, Life Scout, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Mercury 7, Mercury 9, Mercury Control, Mercury Atlas 8, Mercury Atlas 9, Murray, Nasa, Oklahoma, Prayer, President Kennedy, Retro, Rocket, Scott Carpenter, Seco, Shawnee, Space, Tibetan, University Of Ohio, Virgil Grissom, Visual Acquisition And Perception, Walter Schirra, Xenon Strobe Lights, Zanzibar, Zodiacal Light

Apr 6

Space Rocket History #386 – Skylab – Pre-history

Posted on April 6, 2022

A scant five months after Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean in December of 1972, NASA launched Skylab to begin a new phase of American manned spaceflight – space station operations.

P3-apollo A

P2-wetstage a home in space

P1-Outpost

Tagged:A Home In Space, Apollo 17, Apollo A, Apollo Soyuz, Atlas, Brick Moon, Gemini, Mercury, Outpost, Skylab, Wernher Von Braun

Apr 20

Space Rocket History #387 – Skylab – Pre-history – Dyna-Soar & MOL

Posted on April 20, 2022

NASA feasibility studies determined that a research space laboratory could be placed in orbit by 1967. However, to fund such a project it had to be justified by achieving a national goal, or an important science goal, or test of technology.

P1-Dyna-Soar

P3-Dorian_9_

P3-MOL_01

P2-MOL_configuration

Tagged:Dyna Soar, Gemini, Gemini B, Gemini Blue, Manned Orbiting Laboratory, Mercury, Mol, Skylab, Titan Iii

Apr 19

Space Rocket History #437 – Mariner 10 – Venus & Mercury

Posted on April 19, 2024

Scientists had long been intrigued by Mercury, the innermost planet of our solar system. Despite its proximity to the Sun, Mercury remained largely unexplored, with many questions remaining about its surface features, geological composition, and magn...

p3-Mercury’s_Southern_Hemisphere

P2-Venus-real_color

P1-Mariner10

Tagged:Atlas Centaur, Canopus, Deep Space Network, Giuseppe Colombo, Kohoutek, Mariner 10, Mercury, Nasa, Titan, Venus

Jan 16

Space Rocket History #46 – Mariner 4

Posted on January 16, 2014

Mariner 4’s primary objective was to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and to transmit these observations to Earth. Additional goals included performing field and particle measurements in interplanetary space, and providing experience a...

Cratered Hilands Mars

mariner04

Pickering-Johnson

Mariner_4_launch_2

Mariner Crater

20121209_Mars_Mariner_4_f840 Nasa

Tagged:Agena, Atlas, Canals, Canopus, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Comet, Cosmic Dust Detector, Cosmic Rays, Crater, Dswift, Earth, Exobiology, Exploration, Flagstaff, Geiger Counter, H G Wells, Helium Magnetometer, History, Ionization Chamber, Jpl, Looney Tunes, Lyndon Johnson, Mariner 3, Mariner 4, Mars, Marvin The Martian, Mercury, Micrometeoroid, Monopropellant Hydrazine, Moon, Nasa, Percival Lowell, Rocket, Solar Cells, Solar Plasma Probe, Space, The Twilight Zone, Trapped Radiation Detector, War Of The Worlds

Jan 23

Space Rocket History #47 – Gemini Concepts

Posted on January 23, 2014

This brings us to Project Gemini. Gemini started after Apollo had begun, in part to answer a crucial question for Apollo. Was rendezvous and docking in orbit a feasible basis for a manned lunar landing mission?

fig6 (1)McDonnell-proposed two-man Mercury spacecraft. Shown is the interior arrangement of spacecraft equipment

fig4

fig3

Tagged:Ames, Apollo, Demarquis D Wyatt, Exploration, Gemini, Goddard, History, Houbolt, Jpl, Kehlet, Kondratyuk, Langley, Lewis, Luna, Lunar, Mark Ii, Marshall, Mercury, Moon, Nasa, National Space Vehicle Program, Noordung, Nova, Oberth, Pirquet, Post Mercury, Rca, Rendezvous, Rocket, Seamans, Soviet, Space, Space Task Group, Station, Stg, Strass, Tsander, Tsiolkovskii, Von Braun, Werner, William Michael

Jan 30

Space Rocket History #48 – Gemini Design – 1961

Posted on January 30, 2014

“The main trouble with the Mercury capsule was that most system components were in the pilot’s cabin; and often, to pack them in this very confined space, they had to be stacked like a layer cake and components of one system had to be scattered about...

The operating principle of the fuel cell designed by General Electric, adopted for use in the Gemini spacecraft

modified Titan II booster

Gemini spacecraft to be released publicly

Adapter Section of Mark II

Four stages in a rendezvous mission as conceived early in 1962

An artist’s version of the use of ejection seats to escape from the Gemini spacecraft

fig8 proposed lunar lander to be used with an advanced version of the Mercury spacecraft

Tagged:Adapter Ring, Agena, Apollo, Atlas Agena B, Cape Kennedy, Ejection Seat, Escape Tower, Eva, Exploration, Extravehicular Activity, Gemini, Goddard, History, Hypergolic, James Chamberlin, James Decker, Lunar, Manned Spacecraft Center, Mark Ii, Martin Company, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Modularization, Nasa, Paraglider, President Kennedy, Robert Gilruth, Rocket, Saturn C 3, Space, Space Task Group, Stg, Titan, Titan Ii

Feb 6

Space Rocket History #49 – Gemini Systems Design – 1962

Posted on February 6, 2014

On January 3 1962, “Gemini” became the official designation of the Mercury Mark II program. The name had been suggested by Alex Nagy of NASA Headquarters because the twin stars Castor and Pollux in constellation Gemini (the Twins) seemed to him to s...

The general arrangement of liquid rocket systems (OAMS and RCS) in the Gemini spacecraft

Gemini landing gear part of the land landing system along with the paraglider

fig41The B. F. Goodrich partial-wear full-pressure suit being developed for the Gemini program

fig33Figure 33. The emergency parachute recovery system for the half-scale paraglider flight test vehicle for Phase II-A of the development program – Copy

fig27Gemini spacecraft nomenclature – Copy

Agena B

Tagged:Agena, Airesearch, Ames A Mcdivitt, Apollo, B F Goodrich, Cape Canaveral, Charles Conrad, Dcs, Edward H White Ii, Ejection Seat, Electrocardiogram, Electroenecephalogram, Elliot M See, Exploration, Frank Borman, Gemini, Gemini Procurement Office, Gemini Project Office, Gilruth, Goddard, Gpo, History, Houston, Ibm, Icbm, James A Lovell, James Chamberlin, John W Young, Manned Spacecraft Center, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Mercury 7, Msc, Nasa, Neil A Armstrong, Oams, Paraglider, Phoncardiogram, Rcs, Rocket, Rocketdyne, Space, Thiokol, Thomas P Stafford, Titan, Titan Ii, Us Army Quartermaster, Us Naval Ordance, Webb, Weber Aircraft, Whirlpool

Feb 12

Space Rocket History #50 – Blue Gemini – 1963

Posted on February 12, 2014

“Blue Gemini” was the tag name for an Air Force manned space flight program to develop rendezvous, docking, and transfer for military purposes, using Gemini-type spacecraft. The concept became firmer in June, when the Air Force Space Systems Division...

fig58 Astronauts after a training session in desert near Stead Air Force Base, Nevada

Goal

fig54 Instrumented mannequin being lowered into a boilerplate Gemini spacecraft in preparation for a dynamic sled test of the Gemini ejection system

fig52 Gemini launch vehicle 1 undergoing tests in the vertical test facility at Martin’s Baltimore plant

fig51 POGO suppression equipment proved out in the Titan II development program

fig48 Proposed deployment sequence for the ballute stabilization device

fig47 Titan II flight N-15 was launched from Cape Canaveral on January 10, 1963

Tagged:Agena, Air Force, Atlas Agena, Blue Gemini, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Chamberlin, Charles Matthews, Curtis Lemay, Department Of Defense, Dod, Dyna Soar, Exploration, Gemini, Gemini Program, Gilruth, History, Holmes, Icbm, Jpl, Kennedy, Manned Spacecraft Center, Mercury, Mods, Moon, Msc, Nasa, Pogo, Project Gemini, Robert Mcnamara, Rocket, Russia, Soviet, Webb

Mar 6

Space Rocket History #53 – Gemini 2 – Part 1

Posted on March 6, 2014

The bright outlook that was prevalent in April turned dark in the late summer of 1964 when a series of natural disasters struck the Cape. First lightning, then hurricanes, damaged the Gemini 2 launch vehicle to delay its flight long past the schedule...

Retro Adapter

Mercury and Gemini

Ejection

Retro Adapter

GT2_S-64-40154

Figure 74. Special instrumentation pallets to be installed in Gemini spacecraft No. 2 in the same positions that astronauts would occupy in later flights

Figure 75. The first stage of Gemini launch vehicle 2 being unloaded from an Air Force C-133 at Cape Kennedy

Tagged:Agena, Air Force, C 133b, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Cleo, Communications, Complex 19, Csat, Dei, Delta, Design Engineering Inspection, Electrical Power, Environmental System, Escape, Exploration, Gemini, Gemini Titan 2, Glv 2, Guidance, History, Hurricane, Landing, Lyndon Johnson, Martin, Martin Marietta, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Msc, Nasa, Pirotechnics, Propulsion, Rocket, Russia, Sequential, Soviet, Space, Titan Iiia, Walter Matthews

Mar 13

Space Rocket History #54 – Gemini 2 – Part 2

Posted on March 13, 2014

Gemini Launch Vehicle Two’s misfortunes during August and September 1964 forced NASA to forego its goal of a manned Gemini 3 flight before the end of the year, Gemini-Titan 2 was now scheduled for mid-November 1964, and Gemini 3 for the end of Januar...

800px-Gemini2xrear

Gemini B spacecraft on display at the Air Force Space & Missile Museum, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

View of the earth and space from the unmanned Gemini 2 cabin window during reentry

Tagged:Act Of God, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Charles Matthews, Chris Kraft, Christopher Kraft, Dry Ice, Fuel Cell, Gatv 5001, Gemini Agena, Gemini Titan 2, Gene Krantz, Glv 2, Goddard, Gt 2, Gus Grissom, History, John Glenn, Lc 40, Leroy E Day, Lyndon Johnson, Martin, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Mercury 7, Moog Servocontrols, Moon, Nasa, P2b, Robert Gilruth, Rocket, Space, Ten Point Plan For Cc Equipment, Titan Ii, Titan Iiia, United States Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory, Uss Lake Champlain, Virgil Grissom, Voskhod, Walter Schirra

Mar 20

Space Rocket History #55 – First Space Walk – Voskhod 2 with Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyayev – Part 1

Posted on March 20, 2014

Voskhod 2 was a high risk mission. It was the final space race victory for the Soviet Union before NASA claimed the lead and ultimately won with the lunar landing of 1969. Voskhod 2 was the peak of the Soviet Space Program. It nearly killed its two...

ivokhod2

IMAGE-of-berkut-spacesuit

Pavel_Belyayev

alexei-leonov

450px-Voskhod-2_airlock_and_spacesuit

Voskhod_spacecraft_diagram

Tagged:11a57, 3kd, Airbooms, Airlock, Alexey, Babushkinsky, Baikonur, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Berkut, Chelishchevo, Cosmonaut, Eva, Exploration, Gagarin, Gemini, Golden Eagle, History, Icbm, Inflatable Airlock, Komarov, Korolev, Leonov, Mercury, Nasa, Npp Zvezda, Oblast, Pavel Belyayev, R 7, R7, Rocket, Russia, Soviet, Space, Stalin, Vologda, Voskhod, Vostok

Jul 17

Space Rocket History #71 – Agena vs. the Augmented Target Docking Adapter, with Some EVA Equipment on the Side

Posted on July 17, 2014

Many doubted that Agena could be ready in time to meet Gemini’s tight launch schedules. The end of 1965 saw Agena’s usefulness in manned space flight once again called into question, but this time time a substitute target had already been approved fo...

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Gemini Augmented Target Docking Adapter during pre-flight checkout

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Tagged:Abbott, Aerojet, Agena, Amu, Apollo, Atda, Augmented Target Docking Adapter, Bell Aerosystems, Canton Island, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Chis Kraft, Crew Systems Division, Ed White, Elss, Esp, Exploration, Extravehicular Life Support System, Extravehicular Support Package, Gatv, Gemini, Gemini 4, Gemini 5, Gemini 6a, Gemini 7, Gemini Iv, Gemini Project, Gemini V, Gemini Vi, Gemini Via, Gemini Vii, Gemini Viii, Gene Kranz, General Ben Funk, General Bernard Schriever, George Mueller, History, Horace Whitacre, Houston, Hudson, James Webb, Jerome Hammack, Jingle Bells, Lawrence Smith, Manned Space Center, Martin, Mcdonnell, Mercury, Mission Control Center, Msc, Nasa, Noeggerath, Rendezvous, Ritland, Robert Gilruth, Rocket, Roughing It, Seamans, Space, Super Tiger, Yardley

Nov 13

Space Rocket History #88 – Gemini XII With Jim Lovell and and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin – Part 3

Posted on November 13, 2014

We left off last week after Buzz Aldrin’s third and final EVA. The hard work for the Gemini 12 mission was now complete. Even with the problems with the radar, the Agena main engines, and the fuel cells, Gemini XII as a whole had gone very well…

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Tagged:Agena, Agena 12, Apollo, Apollo 13, Buzz Aldrin, Cape Kennedy, Charles Mattews, Charlesworth, Christopher Kraft, Coastal Sentry Qebec, Computer Controlled Reentry, Conrad, Csq, Docking, Edwin Aldrin, Eva, Exploration, Fuel Cell, Gatv, Gemini 10, Gemini 12, Gemini 4, Gemini 5, Gemini 6, Gemini 8, Gemini 9, Gemini 9a, Gemini Ix, Gemini Ix A, Gemini Ixa, Gemini Mission Review Board, Gemini Project, Gemini Project Office, Gemini V, Gemini Vi, Gemini Viii, Gemini X, Gemini Xii, Gpo, Gravity Gradient, Grumman, Hawaii, History, Homer Newell, Houston, Howard Tindall, Ibm 7094, James Bates, Jfk, John Glen, John Young, Joseph Loftus, Kennedy, Kieth Glennan, Lbj, Leonov, Lima Peru, Lunar Module, Lunney, Lyndon Johnson, Manned Spacecraft Center, Mcdonnell, Mcdonogh, Mercury, Mike Collins, Mission Control Center, Mit, Moon, Msc, Mueller, Nasa, North American, Paraglider, Pps, Rendezvous, Richard Gordon, Rocket, Rolf Lanzkron, Soviet, Space, T 2, Tether, Umbillical, Uss Wasp, William Schneider, Wright Brothers

Jan 29

Space Rocket History #98 – Apollo Beginnings

Posted on January 29, 2015

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 vehic...

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Tagged:Abe Silverstein, Abraham Hyatt, Air Force, Ames, Apollo, Army, Caldwell Johnson, Cape Kennedy, Circumlunar, Csq, Docking, Eisenhower, Eldon Hall, Exploration, F 1, Gatv, Gemini, Gemini Project, George Sutton, Glennon, Goddard, Goett, History, Homer Newell, Houston, Jfk, John Hodge, Jpl, Kennedy, Kieth Glennan, Lbj, Lewis, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lyndon Johnson, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Max Faget, Mercury, Mit, Moon, Naca, Nasa, Nova, Project Apollo, Rendezvous, Robert Piland, Rocket, Rocketdyne, Saturn, Soviet, Space, Space Task Group, Sputnik, Strass, Thomas Muse, Von Braun, William Schneider, X 15

Feb 5

Space Rocket History #99 – Apollo: The Opposition

Posted on February 5, 2015

The goal of the nation’s space program should be the scientific exploration of the moon and the planets but also to recognize that nontechnical factors are vital to public acceptance of a space program. Human exploration of the moon and planets would...

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Tagged:Alan Shepard, Alfred Sloan, Apollo, Brainerd Holmes, Cape Kennedy, Circumlunar, Clinton Anderson, Congress, Docking, Eisenhower, Exploration, Gagarin, Gemini Project, Goett, History, Houston, Hugh Dryden, James Killian, James Webb, Jerome Wiesner, Jfk, Jpl, Kennedy, Kieth Glennan, Lbj, Lunar, Lunar Module, Lyndon Johnson, Manned Spacecraft Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercury, Moon, Nasa, Philip Abelson, Project Apollo, Rendezvous, Rocket, Saturn, Sky Scientist, Soviet, Space, Space Science Board, Space Task Group, Sputnik, Strass, Urgent National Needs, Von Braun, Warren Weaver

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

Sep 24

Space Rocket History an Encore Presentation of Episode #27 – Mercury-Redstone 4 – Liberty Bell 7 with Gus Grissom

Posted on September 24, 2015

Mercury-Redstone 4 was the fourth mission in the Mercury-Redstone series and the second U.S. manned suborbital spaceflight. The mission was essentially a repeat of Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 flight. So why was it necessary to launch another sub-orbit...

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

Apr 20

Space Rocket History An Encore Presentation of Episode #35 – Textbook Spaceflight – Mercury-Atlas 8, Sigmac 7 with Wally Schirra

Posted on April 20, 2016

After Scott Carpenter’s science heavy Mercury-Atlas 7 flight, Nasa’s next mission would concentrate on the technical and engineering aspects of space travel. Mercury Atlas 8 became the third manned orbital flight of the Mercury program. The pilot se...

Tagged:Apollo, Atlas, Australia, Brisbane, Canary Islands, Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy, Christopher Kraft, Deke Slayton, Echo 1, Ecuador, Fireflies, Gyroscopes, History, Hypergolic Fuel Igniter, Indian Ocean, John Glenn, Kennedy, Liberty Bell 7, Mercury, Mercury 7, Mercury Atlas 7, Mesico, Muchea, Nasa, Naval Academy At Annapolis, Philippines, Port Elizabeth, Quito, Retrorocket, Rocket, Seventh Fleet, Sigma 7, South America, Spacecraft, Spaceflight, Telstar, Turtle Club, Uss Kearsarg, Wally, Walter Schirra, Weightlessness

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