tuesday october 30, 2012 (the race to the moon: project apollo: apollo 1 – apollo 8)
TRANSCRIPT
TuesdayOctober 30, 2012
(The Race to the Moon: Project
Apollo: Apollo 1 – Apollo 8)
The Launch PadTuesday, 10/30/12
Why was there a race to the Moon in the 1960’s?
Announcements
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Assignment Currently Open
Summative or
Formative?Date Issued Date Due Date Into
GradeSpeed Final Day
Quiz 6 S1 10/5 10/5 11/2
Quiz 7 S2 10/12 10/12 11/2
Quiz 8 S3 10/19 10/19 11/2
Quiz 9 S4 10/26 10/26 11/9
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The Race to the Moon
Highlands
The Race to the MoonAt the end of 1966, America’s hopes
were high concerning the Race to the Moon.
After six Mercury flights and 10 Gemini missions, the US was feeling confident in their goal to get to the Moon ahead
of the USSR.
Russia had, of course, now declared that they were going to be the first to
land a human being on the lunar surface.
It was now time to begin flying Apollo, the three-man spacecraft that would
fulfill Kennedy’s goal.
The Race to the MoonOn the Friday evening of January 24, 1967, a Saturn 1 launch vehicle with
Apollo 1 on top stood at Cape Kennedy.
A test of spacecraft systems was scheduled for that evening, and the three astronaut inside Apollo 1 were
having trouble communicating with the controllers in the Mission Control
Center a mile or so away.
“How are we supposed to go to the Moon if we can’t talk to you guys only
a small distance away?”, asked Gus Grissom, as he sat next to his two crew
mates, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.
The Race to the MoonGrissom, White, and Chaffee had been in the spacecraft since 1:00 PM that afternoon, and the test was not going smoothly, much to the
frustration of Gus.
This was an “plugs-out” test, meaning the spacecraft was fully pressurized with 100%
oxygen and was under its own internal power.
The scheduled launch date for Apollo 1 was only about three weeks away, and much had
yet to be tested.
Some people at NASA wondered if things were moving too fast, if we were rushing to fulfill
the goal, if safety was becoming secondary to speed.
The Race to the MoonThen, at 6:31:04, Roger Chaffee was
heard to say the word, “Hey!”
For the next three seconds, mission controllers heard scuffling sounds in
the cockpit.
Grissom was heard to say, “Fire!”, then Chaffee said, “We’ve got a fire in the
cockpit!”
Just 17 seconds after the first report of a problem, the hull of Apollo 1
ruptured.
America had lost its first astronauts in a spacecraft, and it had not even left
the ground.
The Race to the MoonThree brave Americans were dead.
Ironically, the Apollo hatch had been redesigned to be harder to open due to
Grissom’s problems on the second Mercury flight.
The more difficult hatch prevented the astronauts from opening the hatch
from the inside and escaping quickly.
Beside Grissom, America’s first space-walker, Ed White was also killed.
Space rookie Roger Chaffee was going to make his first flight.
America was in shock, and Kennedy’s goal was now in major jeopardy.
The Race to the MoonThe cause of the Apollo 1 fire was
attributed to these issues:
•The pure oxygen atmosphere of the spacecraft was pressurized to
16.7 pounds per square inch, 2 psi above standard sea level atmospheric pressure. This
makes the environment highly flammable.
•There were many combustible materials inside the spacecraft.
The Race to the MoonThe cause of the Apollo 1 fire was
attributed to these issues:
•Careless wiring work has left bare wires exposed, providing an
ignition source.
•The spacecraft hatch was not deigned to allow the astronauts an easy method of escape in the
event of an emergency.
The Race to the MoonAs a result of the fire, Project
Apollo was grounded and no one knew how long it would be until
it flew again, if ever.
One thing was certain, the Apollo Command Module would have to
be completely redesigned.
Less than three years were left to meet the national goal.
The Race to the MoonAfter it was decided that the program would continue, the following major
changes were made to the spacecraft, as well as many minor ones:
The cabin atmosphere at launch was changed to 60% oxygen and 40%
nitrogen at sea-level pressure.
Nylon used in the old spacesuits was replaced with Beta cloth, a non-flammable, highly melt-resistant fabric woven from fiberglass and
coated with Teflon.
The Race to the MoonThe hatch was completely
redesigned to open outward, and could be opened in less than ten
seconds.Flammable materials in the cabin
were replaced with self-extinguishing versions.
Plumbing and wiring were covered with
protective insulation.1,407 wiring problems were
corrected.
The Race to the MoonIt took 18 months to get the Apollo spacecraft redesigned, tested, and
approved for manned flight.
Finally, on October 11, 1968, Apollo 7 (Apollos 2-6 had been unmanned)
left Cape Kennedy for an 11-day mission to test the spacecraft in
Earth orbit.
It was a highly successful first flight, but only14 months remained until
the end of the decade and the deadline to meet Kennedy’s goal.
The Race to the MoonThe second manned Apollo flight was one that truly made history, and one that some believe was the “greatest
hour” of the Apollo program.NASA had heard a rumor that the Soviets were planning to send an
unmanned probe to land on the Moon, scoop up some soil, and return to Earth
with the first lunar samples.This caused great concern that the US might be beaten again in a major step
in the Race to the Moon.Probably the biggest decision of the
Apollo program came next, a bold step that was full of risk, but one that would
yield a great reward if successful
The Race to the MoonApollo 8 left the Kennedy
spaceport on December 21, 1968 on a truly historic mission.
Frank Borman and Jim Lovell (who spent 14 days in “the front seat of a Volkswagen on Gemini
VII) and their crewmate Bill Anders were the first men to ride the giant Saturn V launch vehicle, the only booster in the world that
was powerful enough to send a spacecraft out of Earth orbit and
on to the Moon.
The Race to the MoonThe mission was bold because in only the second manned Apollo
mission, Apollo 8 would go to the Moon and insert into lunar orbit.
This would be the first time in history that mankind would leave
the gravitational influence of Earth and travel to another world.
After a three-day journey of approximately 230, 000 miles Apollo 8 reached the Moon and went into lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, 1968.
The Race to the MoonAs Christmas presents were being
exchanged and families settled down to holiday dinners, TVs were on as people from Earth watched their fellow humans orbit another celestial object for the first time.
The three astronauts were eloquent as they described the Earth as “a grand oasis in the blackness of space”, read passages from the
Bible, and gave thanks that they were fortunate enough to be a part
of such a truly historic occasion.
The Race to the MoonApollo 8 took one of the most recognizable pictures in
history that night, which shows “Earthrise” from lunar orbit.
The Race to the MoonApollo 8 broke lunar orbit on Christmas Day, and splashed
down in the Pacific Ocean 3 days later.
The rumored manned Russian craft ever made it to the Moon and back carrying soil samples.
The US was back in the race.But, the lunar lander had not yet flown, and the clock was ticking
on Kennedy’s goal – one year remained until the end of the
decade.