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The Apollo program was the third Human Spaceflight program undertaken by NASA , on behalf of the United States Of America . Its goal — "...before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth," (as U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced in 1961) — was accomplished on July 20 1969 , with the '' Apollo 11 '' landing of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin , and with Michael Collins orbiting above. To date, it is the only series of spaceflights to land humans on another world, and thus is widely respected and an inspiration for future spaceflights. The program used the Apollo Spacecraft and Saturn Launch Vehicle , and was conducted during the years 1961 – 1975, with a total of six successful landings. The later Skylab Program and the joint American-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz Test Project used equipment originally produced for Apollo, and are often considered to be part of the overall Apollo program. As Of 2007 , there has not been any further human spaceflight beyond Low Earth Orbit since the last mission in the Apollo program, '' Apollo 17 ''. Despite the many successes, there were two major failures, the first of which resulted in the deaths of three astronauts, Virgil Grissom , Ed White and Roger Chaffee , in the Apollo 1 launchpad fire (the mission designation was AS-204, which was renamed Apollo 1 to honor the astronauts and their widows). The second was an in-space explosion on Apollo 13 , which badly damaged the spacecraft on the moonward leg of its journey. The three astronauts aboard narrowly escaped with their lives, thanks to the efforts of flight controllers, project engineers, backup crew members and the skills of the astronauts themselves. The Apollo program, specifically the Lunar Landing s, are often cited as one of the greatest achievements in human history. BACKGROUND See Also: Space race The Apollo program was originally conceived early in 1960, during the Eisenhower administration, as a follow-up to America's Mercury Program . While the Mercury capsule could only support one astronaut on a limited earth orbital mission, the Apollo spacecraft was intended to be able to carry three astronauts on a circumlunar flight and perhaps even on a lunar landing. The program was named after the Greek God Of Light by NASA manager Abe Silverstein , who later said that "I was naming the spacecraft like I'd name my baby."Murray and Cox, ''Apollo'', p. 55. While NASA went ahead with planning for Apollo, funding for the program was far from certain, particularly given Eisenhower's equivocal attitude to manned spaceflight.Murray and Cox, ''Apollo'', p. 60. delivers a speech at Rice University on the subject of the American space program, September 12 , 1962 .]] In November 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected President after a campaign that promised American superiority over the Soviet Union in the fields of space exploration and missile defense. Using space exploration as a symbol of national prestige, he warned of a " Missile Gap " between the two nations, pledging to make the United States not "first but, first and, first if, but first period."Beschloss, 'Kennedy and the Decision to Go to the Moon,' in Launius and McCurdy, eds., ''Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership''. Despite Kennedy's rhetoric, he did not immediately come to a decision on the status of the Apollo program once he was elected President. He knew little about the technical details of the space program, and was put off by the massive financial commitment required by a manned moon landing.Sidey, ''John F. Kennedy'', pp. 117-118. When NASA Administrator James Webb requested a thirty percent budget increase for his agency, Kennedy supported an acceleration of NASA's large booster program but deferred a decision on the broader issue.Beschloss, 'Kennedy and the Decision to Go to the Moon,' p. 55. On , 1961 . His memo concluded that a manned moon landing was far enough in the future to make it possible that the United States could achieve it first. poses on the Moon for Neil Armstrong to take this now famous image.]] On May 25 , 1961 , Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo program as part of a special address to a joint session of Congress: At the time of Kennedy's speech, only one American had flown in space — less than a month earlier — and NASA had not yet sent a man into orbit. Some NASA employees doubted whether Kennedy's ambitious goal could be met.Murray and Cox, ''Apollo'', pp. 16-17. | |||
| Under The Leadership Of | "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Harrison_Storms" class="copylinks">Harrison Storms , North American Aviation won the contract to build the CSM for NASA Relations between North American and NASA were strained during the Apollo program, particularly after the Apollo 1 fire during which three astronauts died The cause of the accident was determined to be an electrical short in the wiring of the command module while determination of responsibility for the accident was complex, the review board concluded that "deficiencies existed in Command Module design, workmanship and quality control" Report of the Apollo 204 Review Board, Findings and Recommendations |
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