The History of Project Apollo
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The History of Project Apollo
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The History of Project Apollo. The History of Project Apollo. The space program’s third phase was getting astronauts to the Moon Abe Silverstein, a NASA official, chose the name “Apollo” for the project; Apollo was the Greek god of music, light, and the Sun, among other things - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of The History of Project Apollo
The History of Project Apollo
The History of Project Apollo
• The space program’s third phase was getting astronauts to the Moon
• Abe Silverstein, a NASA official, chose the name “Apollo” for the project; Apollo was the Greek god of music, light, and the Sun, among other things
• Apollo program overlapped somewhat with the earlier Mercury and Gemini programs
Chapter 6, Lesson 1 Courtesy NASA/Stennis Space Center
The Goals and Accomplishments of Project Apollo
• To establish the technology to further other national interests in space
• To achieve American preeminence in space for the United States
• To explore the Moon scientifically• To develop humans’ capability to work on the
Moon
Chapter 6, Lesson 1
The Goals and Accomplishments of Project Apollo, cont.
• Project Apollo comprised 11 manned missions• Six of these were successful Moon landings• They returned a wealth of scientific data and
more than 800 pounds of lunar samples
Chapter 6, Lesson 1
The Apollo 1 Disaster and Lessons Learned
• 27 January 1967, Apollo 1 sat on the launch pad with three astronauts aboard
• A fire broke out in the spacecraft and the astronauts died of asphyxiation
• A NASA appointed panel quickly found that a short circuit in the electrical system had ignited combustible – flammable- materials in the spacecraft
Chapter 6, Lesson 1 Courtesy NASA
Neil Armstrong, the First Man to Walk on the Moon
• On 16 July 1969 Apollo 11 took off with Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins aboard
• “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
• They spent a little less than 22 hours on the Moon’s surface and two-and-a-half days in orbit around it
Chapter 6, Lesson 1 Courtesy NASA
How NASA Averted Disaster in the Apollo 13 Mission
• Apollo 13 was two-and-a-half days into its voyage to the Moon when the No. 2 oxygen tank exploded
• The astronauts saved themselves by jumping into their lifeboat – their lunar lander
• Decided to continue toward the Moon, and then “slingshot” around it to return to Earth
Chapter 6, Lesson 1 Courtesy NASA/
