Apollo was America's manned program to land on the moon. It began on May 25, 1961, shortly after Alan Shapard's short, 15 minute, sub-orbital spaceflight. On that date President John F. Kennedy stated before a Special Joint Session of Congress. "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important to the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."
The Apollo Spacecraft consisted of three parts: the command module (CM), the service module (SM), and the lunar module (LM). The command module was used as the crew's quarters and was the main control section of of the spacecraft. The service module contained most of the support systems of the spacecraft and the main propulsion system. The lunar module was used to take two men to the surface of the Moon, support them while there where there, and ferry them back to the command module that would remain in lunar orbit.
The command module would carry three men to the moon and back. The cabin was pressurized at 5 lb/sq. in. oxygen. The command module was the only part of the spacecraft that carried a heat shield and therefore was the only part of the spacecraft that could re-enter the earth's atmosphere. It would splashdown in the ocean at the end of the flight with the help of a drogue and three main parachutes.
The command module was attached to the service module and contained most of the essentials the astronauts would need to stay alive. Included in the service module were: the service propulsion system (main engine for the spacecraft), reaction control system, fuel cell batteries, oxygen and hydrogen tanks, and the environmental control system. The service propulsion system was used to get the spacecraft in and out of lunor orbit. It was also used to make course correction burns and changes in orbit.
The lunor module was used to land on the moon. Once in lunar orbit two men would crawl into the lunar module and prepare for the descent to the lunar service. After the lunar module landed on the surface it would support the men for their planned length of stay and then get them back into orbit to rendezvous with the command module. The lunar module consisted of two stages: the descent stage and the ascent stage. The descent stage was used to break the fall to the lunar surface. It also contained most of the oxygen and power for the lunar module for the stay on the surface. The ascent stage housed the astronauts and launched them back into orbit.
 |
 |
 |
 |
A series of Saturn rockets were developed to launched the spacecraft towards the moon. The Saturn rockets were developed by Werner Von Braun's team at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Saturn V was the largest of these rockets that were built at 363 ft. tall, becoming the largest and most powerful rocket ever developed in America. This rocket consisted of 3 stages. The first stage would burn for the first 2 1/2 minutes after launch, the the second stage would take over and fire for just over 6 minutes. After the first 2 stages had finished their work the spacecraft would be 120 miles high and the third stage would provide a 3 minute burn to boost the spacecraft into orbit around the earth. The third stage would fire again 3 hours after launch for the Translunar Injection manuever to place the crew on a trip to the moon.
 |
 |
|
|
Return to the Early U.S. Manned Space Program Page.
Return to my Home Page.