Going to the Moon

1
Going to the Moon

• As of September 30, 1998, 400 individuals from
  25 countries had flown in space.

2
This is Rocket Science

• First U.S. spy satellites, the Discoverer series
  (1960-)
• Designed to take photos, drop film canisters for
  mid-air recovery.
• Thirteen consecutive failures before success
• Eventually evolved into standard U.S. space
  intelligence systems
• Spy satellites key in keeping peace during the
  Cold War

3
The Soviets Press On

• Yuri Gagarin (one orbit) April 12, 1961
• Gherman Titov, August 6-7, 1961, more than 24
  hours in orbit.
• Andrian Nikolayev and Pavel Popovich, 1962 first
  two manned spacecraft to be simultaneously in
  orbit.
• This series of spacecraft was called Vostok
  (Russian for "east", connoting sunrise).

4
More Soviet Firsts

• In June, 1963, a second twin launch carried
  Valery Bykovsky and Valentina Tereshkova into
  orbit.
• Tereshkova became the first woman into space, and
  the last for two decades.

5
And Still More

• In 1964 the Soviets launched the first of the
  Voskhod (meaning "ascent") multi-person
  spacecraft.
• Three cosmonauts orbited on Voskhod 1 in 1964
• Two orbited on Voskhod 2 in 1965. One of these,
  Alexei Leonov, made the first space walk.

6
Project Mercury 1961-63

• U.S. response adapt a space capsule to an
  existing missile.
• The first series of U.S. manned space missions
  was called Mercury.
• Nobody had a clue what qualities would be
  necessary to travel in space.
• Military test pilots were chosen.
• Two suborbital flights
• Four orbital flights (3-22 orbits)

7
Project Gemini, 1965-66

• Two-man craft
• Ten flights up to 14 days long
• First (and only) U.S. rendezvous (Gemini 6 and 7)
• First emergency landing, also first Pacific
  landing (Gemini 8)
• Altitude record (Gemini 11, 1370 km)

8
Russians to the Moon

• In 1959 Luna II became the first spacecraft to
  strike the Moon.
• In 1960, Luna III returned the first (very crude)
  pictures ever of the Moons far side.
• 1966-68 First lunar soft landing, lunar rover
  and sample-return mission.

9
Did the Russians ever have a serious manned lunar
program?

• Critics a myth to sustain NASA through the use
  of cold war hysteria.
• In early 1990s artifacts from the supposedly
  nonexistent Soviet lunar program, including lunar
  spacesuits, went on sale at Sotheby's in New
  York.

10
Did the Russians ever have a serious manned lunar
program?

• Several catastrophic explosions of the Soviet
  lunar rocket booster made it clear that they
  would not beat the U.S. to the moon.
• Failure probably due to cutting corners and false
  economizing (Dan Goldin, are you listening?)

11
Did the Russians ever have a serious manned lunar
program?

• Author James Oberg calls continued denial of a
  Soviet lunar landing program a "cover-up".

12
Kennedys Challenge

• U.S. had 15 minutes experience in space when
  Kennedy proposed a race to the Moon.
• Reason would require both sides to develop new
  technology
• Would be a level playing field

13
U.S. Robots to the Moon, 1963-68

• Ranger series designed to impact the Moon,
  returning pictures on the way.
• Only last three of nine worked, but results were
  spectacular.
• Surveyor soft-lander series most of the seven
  worked well.
• Five Lunar Orbiter missions mapped almost all of
  the Moon.
• First pictures ever of the Earth rising above the
  lunar horizon.

14
Tragedy for the Russians

• Vladimir Komarov, on Soyuz 1, 1967, was Russia's
  first two-time space traveler. In 1967
• His parachute failed on re-entry first space
  traveler to be killed.
• Soyuz 11, 1971, lost pressurization on reentry
  three-man crew died from lack of oxygen.

15
Tragedy at the Cape

• On January 26, 1967, astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed
  White and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire.
• The Apollo Program was delayed for 18 months
  while equipment and procedures were redesigned.

16
Apollo Gets Off the Ground

• Apollo 7, October 11, 1968, was first launch of a
  manned Apollo capsule into orbit.
• Decision was made to reverse the order of the
  next two missions
• Apollo 8 lunar flyby and return.
• Live broadcast from lunar orbit on Christmas Eve,
  1968.

17
More Rehearsals

• Apollo 9 in Earth orbit, was a test of the lunar
  module.
• Apollo 10, a return to the Moon, practiced
  maneuvering the lander in lunar orbit but did not
  touch down.

18
The Eagle Has Landed

• At 41741 P.M. (EDT) on July 20, 1969, an
  estimated 500 million people watched worldwide as
  Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon, confirmed by
  the message "Tranquility Base here. The Eagle
  has landed."
• 6-1/2 hours later, Neil Armstrong became the
  first human to set foot on the moon.

19
Houston, Weve Had a Problem

• Apollo 12 landed near the site of the Surveyor 3
  lunar lander as a test of pinpoint lunar
  navigation.
• Apollo 13 side of the lunar service module blew
  out halfway to the Moon and only heroic
  innovations on the ground and in space got the
  crew back.

20
Apollo Science

• Apollo 14 first to explore lunar highlands.
• Apollo 15 first to use the lunar rover.
• Apollo 16 made three rover expeditions totaling
  27 km.
• Apollo 17 made three rover expeditions lasting 22
  hours and travelling 35 kilometers.

21
End of Apollo

• Apollo astronauts John Young (10, 16), Eugene
  Cernan (10, 17), and Jim Lovell (8, 13) each made
  two lunar flights.
• No one has actually set foot on the Moon twice.
• September 2, 1970 Apollo 18-20 cancelled.
• We just quit.