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Moon Shot

Page 39

by Jay Barbree


  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  ALAN SHEPARD was the first American in space. After serving as chief of the Astronaut Office, he was handed the command of the Apollo 14 mission during which he became the fifth person to walk on the moon. He retired in 1974 from both NASA and the Navy where he held the rank of rear admiral.

  DEKE SLAYTON, who was to have followed John Glenn into orbit, was grounded by an irregular heartbeat. He was named head of the astronaut office and a decade later restored to flight duty. Slayton caught the last Apollo out as a member of the historic Cold War meeting of Russians and Americans in orbit.

  JAY BARBREE is a New York Times bestselling author, a finalist to be the first journalist in space, and the only reporter to cover all astronaut flights before the 2011 hiatus. His space team received an Emmy Award for its work broadcasting America’s first moon landings. Barbree is the recipient of NASA’s highest medal for public service, and he broke the cause of the Challenger disaster on Tom Brokaw’s Nightly News. He lives in Florida.

  INDEX

  A

  ACE Control Room, 181

  Agena satellites, 168-69, 171, 174, 175

  Air Force. See Soviet Air Force; U.S. Air Force

  Aldrin, Buzz, 365

  Apollo 11 mission, 225-26, 233-47, 233-47, 233-47, 374-76

  Gemini 12 mission, 175-76

  ALSEP, 316

  America (Apollo 17 command module), 338, 339

  American Eagle. See Gemini 4

  American-Soviet joint mission. See Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

  AMU (Astronaut Maneuvering Unit), 172-74

  Anders, Bill: Apollo 8 mission, 212, 217, 219, 220

  Antares (Apollo 14 lunar module), 284, 286, 289-91, 292, 293, 295-96, 297-313, 310-13, 314-16, 379

  Apollo 1 mission (Grissom, White, and Chaffee), 177-92, 252

  cabin fire and death of crew, 185-92, 194-97, 252, 372-73

  effect on NASA and Apollo program, 201-2, 201-3, 207

  redesign of craft, 201-2

  Review Board investigation, 198-99, 201, 202

  Apollo 7 mission (Schirra, Cunningham, and Eisele), 207-9, 216, 216-17

  Apollo 8 mission (Borman, Lovell, and Anders), 207-9, 214-16, 219-20, 268, 272

  Apollo 9 mission (McDivitt, Scott, and Schweickart), 216, 227-32

  Apollo 10 mission (Stafford, Young, Cernan), 12, 229-32, 268, 337, 345

  Apollo 11 mission (Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins), 12, 225-32, 233-47, 233-47, 268, 274, 374-76

  moonwalk, 233-47, 248-50

  Apollo 12 mission (Conrad, Bean, and Gordon), 258, 260, 268, 283, 317

  Apollo 13 mission, 377

  Apollo 13 mission (Lovell, Swigert, and Haise), 258-59, 262, 264-81, 283, 285, 317

  Apollo 14 mission (Shepard, Roosa, and Mitchell), 12, 258-59, 280, 282-96, 289-91, 297-313, 378, 379

  docking problem, 292

  lunar descent phase, 304-13

  moonwalks, 314-28

  Apollo 15 mission (Scott, Irwin, and Worden), 332

  Apollo 16 mission (Young, Duke, and Mattingly), 333, 334

  Apollo 17 mission (Cernan, Schmitt, and Evans), 338

  Apollo 18 mission, 286

  See also Apollo-Soyuz Test Program

  Apollo 19 and 20 missions, 286

  Apollo program (Project Apollo), 125, 164, 177

  aftermath of Apollo 1 fire, 195-96, 201-3, 372-73

  cancelled missions, 286, 340-41

  end of, 339

  first circumlunar flight. see Apollo 10

  first lunar landing. see Apollo 11

  first manned flight. see Apollo 7

  funding and contracting of, 124, 130

  and Gemini program, 146, 157, 167, 171

  launch area (moonport), 151, 156

  lunar scientific studies, 259-62, 313-14, 317, 333, 338

  new Manned Spacecraft Center for, 151

  number of lunar voyages and landings, 7

  pressure to advance schedule, 178

  public disenchantment with, 198-99, 281, 286

  See also and entries for specific Apollo missions, above; Apollo spacecraft

  Apollo spacecraft, 164, 344, 380

  boosters. see Saturn 1B; Saturn V

  compared to Soyuz, 346

  design and mechanical problems of first craft (Spacecraft 012), 177-78, 180

  docking with Soyuz. see Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

  last, 353-54, 355

  redesign after Apollo 1 fire, 201-2

  size, 207, 341

  for Skylab missions, 341-42

  See also lunar module

  Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) proving mission (Stafford, Slayton, and Brand; Leonov and Kubasov), 380

  agreement on, 335-36, 346

  crew selection and training, 336-37, 341-42, 344-46

  rendezvous and docking activities, 346

  Slayton’s impressions from space, 356-61, 380

  Stafford and, 12

  Appenine Mountains, Moon, 332

  Aquarius (Apollo 13 lunar module), 266, 269-78

  Arlington National Cemetery, 197

  Armstrong, Neil, 9-11, 146, 363, 365

  Apollo 11 mission, 233-47, 374-76

  Gemini 8 mission, 168-71

  lunar landing phase, 225-26, 233-47

  moonwalk, 233-47, 248-50

  Army. See U.S. Army

  Associated Press, 24, 90

  ASTP

  astronaut corps: criteria for selection, 36, 48

  introduction of Mercury Seven, 48-51

  pins given to, 196, 211, 247, 252

  search for first group, 35-36, 48

  second group, 143-50

  selection of first American in space, 62-68, 75-76

  training of, 56-61

  See also Apollo-Soyuz Test Project; Mercury Seven

  Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (AMU), 172-74

  Astronaut Office, Houston, 191

  under Shepard, 10, 254, 329-30, 342-43

  under Slayton, 145-46

  Astronaut Office, Kennedy Space Center, 191

  Atlas rocket

  as Agena booster, 168

  as ICBM, 19, 56-58, 125, 130-31, 152-53

  test launch problems, 58, 89-90, 125, 130-31

  atomic energy, 10

  Atwood, Lee, 194-95

  Aurora Seven mission (Carpenter), 144-45

  A-26 Invader bombers, 37

  B

  Babbitt, Donald, 188

  Baikonur Cosmodrome, Soviet Union, 22-23, 155, 203, 223, 224, 346, 347, 351

  Bales, Steve, 237-38, 239

  ballistic missile, first, 19

  See also intercontinental range missiles

  Banshee jet fighter, 43-47

  Barbree, Jay, 10, 75, 361, 382

  Baron, Thomas, 184

  Bay of Pigs fiasco, 88-89, 117

  BBC radio, 27

  Bean, Alan: Apollo 12 mission, 259, 261, 365

  Beatty, Morgan, 25

  Belyaev, Pavel I., Voshkod 2 mission, 160-64

  Benedict, Howard, 361

  Berry, Dr. Charles (Chuck), 167, 262-63, 329, 330-31, 332

  Boeing Aircraft, 37-38

  Bonney, Walt, 50

  Borman, Frank, 146, 365

  Apollo 8 mission, 210, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220

  Gemini 7 mission, 167-68, 198

  Brand, Vance: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, 12, 337, 343, 346, 347, 348, 350, 351, 355, 357, 380

  Braun, Wernher von, 182

  and Apollo-Saturn program, 123, 156, 164, 193, 195, 199, 206, 207, 213

  and Juno 1 (Explorer 1) launch, 32-33

  and Redstone/Jupiter-C program, 17-22, 26-27, 33

  and Redstone-Mercury program, 77-78, 95

  Brezhnev, Leonid, 336, 346

  Brown & Root, 154-55

  Brucker, Wilber, 32, 33

  Bykovsky, Valery F., 155, 217

  Byrd, Harry, 151

  B-25 bombers, 37, 283

  B-26 Invader bombers, 88

  C

 
Caidin, Martin, 361

  Cape Canaveral, Florida, 57

  Atlas testing, 57-58, 126

  candidate for new Manned Spacecraft Center, 152-53

  crew quarters, 72-73

  lighthouse, 69

  preparations for first manned flight, 57-58, 69-78

  Redstone testing, 31, 58

  Vanguard explosion, 30-31

  Carpenter, Malcolm Scott, 50, 65, 133, 285, 365, 367, 368

  Aurora Seven mission, 144-45, 146

  Carr, Jerry, 219

  carrier pilots, 42-47

  Casper (Apollo 16 command module), 334

  Castro, Fidel, 86, 88

  “celestial fireflies,” 135-36, 144

  centrifuge training, 58-59, 60

  Cernan, Gene, 365

  Apollo 10 mission, 12, 229, 231, 345

  Apollo 17 mission, 338, 339

  Gemini 9 mission, 12, 172-74

  Chaffee, Martha, 191, 196

  Chaffee, Roger, 197, 365

  Apollo 1 mission, 177, 179, 186, 188, 190, 192, 196, 197, 201, 372-73

  Apollo 1 mission and death of, 185-92, 194-97, 252

  Challenger (Apollo 17 lunar module), 338

  Charlie Brown (Apollo 10 command module), 229, 229-32

  Chauvin, Skip, 181, 182-83, 186

  chimpanzees, 72, 73, 76-77, 132

  CIA, 87, 213-14, 223

  circumlunar missions

  Apollo 8 possibility, 215, 217, 218

  Soviet plans for, 164, 213-14, 345

  Clark, Sumner, 55

  Clear Lake, Texas, 154

  Cocoa Beach, Florida, 73, 101

  cold war, 335, 340, 344, 344-45

  See also U.S.-Soviet competition

  Cold war, 12, 335, 340, 344, 344-45, 346-47

  Collins, Michael, 212

  Apollo 11 mission, 233-47, 374-76

  Gemini 10 mission, 174

  Columbia (Apollo 11 command module), 234, 239, 243, 253, 375

  “common docking device,” 336, 346

  See also Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

  communications satellite system, 123

  computers, 7, 9

  lunar descent problems, 192, 224, 305-6

  Concert of the Spacecraft, 105

  Cone Crater, Moon, 311, 313, 322

  Connelly, Phil, 38

  Conrad, Charles (“Pete”), 146, 365

  Apollo 12 mission, 226, 258, 260-61, 262

  Gemini 5 mission, 217

  Convair, 56, 131-32

  Cooper, Leroy Gordon, Jr. (Gordo), 50, 65, 70-71, 73, 122-23, 147, 285, 365, 367, 368

  Apollo-Soyuz Test Project crew selection, 156, 259

  casualties, 333

  cosmonauts, 79-84, 155

  Faith Seven mission, 146-50, 155

  prelaunch communicator with Freedom Seven, 95-96

  Corsair 106-B jet, 367

  Cuba, 86, 88-89

  Cunningham, Walt: Apollo 7 mission, 207, 208

  D

  Dana, Bill (Jose Jiminez), 75, 92

  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 123

  Descartes Mountains, Moon, 334

  Diamond. See Voshkod

  Discovery (space shuttle), 13-14

  Dobrovolsky, Georgi, 333

  Dobrynin, Anatoly, 193, 194-95

  docking

  Apollo 14 problems, 292

  Gemini program, 157, 165-76

  Soyuz 1 and 2 mission, 194, 203

  of U.S. and Soviet craft, 344, 346

  dog in space (Laika), 30

  Dolly Madison House, Washington, D.C., press conference, 48-51

  Donlon, Charles, 154

  Douglas, Dr. William (Bill), 59-60, 91, 92, 93, 95, 129, 142

  Draper Labs, 306

  Duke, Charles (Charlie), 233, 233-34, 237, 240, 241, 243-46, 334, 365

  E

  Eagle (Apollo 11 lunar module), 225-32, 233-47, 274, 375

  Eagle (Vostok II). See Vostok II

  earth, 364

  geological history, 339

  moon landing contamination protection, 376

  as seen from orbit, 134-35, 166, 356-61

  as seen from the moon, 211, 220-21, 252, 318-20

  Edwards Air Force Base, 29, 35, 36, 38, 41, 49-51

  Eisele, Donn: Apollo 7 mission, 207

  Eisenhower administration, 28, 30, 87

  Eisenhower, Dwight D., 21, 26, 28, 31, 33-34, 87

  Endeavor (Apollo 15 command module), 332

  Enos (space chimpanzee), 132

  equigravisphere, 212

  escape hatch. See hatch design

  escape tower, 77, 104, 283-84

  Evans, Ron: Apollo 17 mission, 338

  Explorer 1 (Juno 1) launch, 31-33

  Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA)

  first, 161

  moon shot requirement. see also moonwalks; space walks

  Eyles, Donald, 306

  F

  F11F Tiger, 41-42

  Faith Seven mission (Cooper), 146-50, 155

  Falcon (Apollo 15 lunar module), 332

  Federation Aeronautique Internationale, 353

  fighter pilots, 29-30, 37, 43-47, 50-51, 70, 344, 345

  Fighter Test Group, Edwards AFB, 29

  “firsts” in space, 10

  docking in orbit, 183-84

  emergency, 169-71

  fatal reentry, 203-6

  manned lunar landing. see Apollo 11

  manned lunar orbit. see Apollo 8

  manned orbital flight, 79-84

  moonwalk, 233-47, 248-50, 375

  satellite in orbit, 25-31

  space walk, 160-61

  woman in space, 155

  Fitzgerald, Bill, 24-25

  flight simulators. See simulators

  Ford, Gerald, 352

  Fort Bliss, Texas, 19

  Fra Mauro, Moon, 300, 302, 303, 309, 312, 315, 317, 318, 320, 321, 323-24, 327, 379

  free return trajectory, 218, 268, 269, 271

  Freedom Seven mission (Shepard), 90-96, 97-114, 129, 258-59, 283-84, 286, 369

  selection of astronaut for, 62-68, 75-76

  White House reception and Washington celebration following, 115-21

  Friedlander, Chuck, 192

  Friendship Seven mission (Glenn), 66, 132-41, 146, 183

  F-105 Thunderchief, 36-37, 38-41

  F-106, 147

  G

  Gagarin, Yuri A., Vostok I mission, 79-84, 86, 107, 118, 130, 143, 365

  Garman, Jack, 237-38, 239

  Gemini 1 and 2 missions (unmanned), 157, 165-66

  Gemini 3 (Molly Brown) mission (Grissom and Young), 157, 165, 228

  Gemini 4 (American Eagle) mission (McDivitt and White), 171-72, 171-72

  Gemini 5 mission (Cooper and Conrad), 167-68, 217

  Gemini 6 mission, 12

  Gemini 6 mission (Schirra and Stafford), 168, 345

  Gemini 7 mission (Borman and Lovell), 167-68, 198

  Gemini 8 mission (Armstrong and Scott), 168-71

  Gemini 9 mission, 12

  Gemini 9 mission (Stafford and Cernan), 147, 172-74, 345

  Gemini 10 mission (Young and Collins), 171, 174

  Gemini 11 mission (Conrad and Gordon), 171, 174, 217

  Gemini 12 mission (Lovell and Aldrin), 171, 175-76

  Gemini Nine, 147, 157

  Gemini program (Project Gemini), 165-76, 371

  and Apollo program, 147, 157, 164

  preparation for first manned flight, 157

  Slayton grounded during, 146-47

  success of, 176, 178-79, 193-94

  See also Gemini spacecraft and entries for specific Gemini missions, above

  Gemini spacecraft, 165-66

  boosters (Titan II), 147, 157

  compared to other craft, 194, 207, 341

  oxygen pressurization, 184

  General Dynamics, Convair division, 56, 131-32

  German rocket program, 17-18

  Gilruth, Robert (Bob), 62-63, 64-65, 76, 143, 151, 193, 195, 199-200, 215, 286, 294-95<
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  Gleaves, James, 188

  Glenn, John, 50, 85, 120, 123, 144, 285, 363, 365, 367, 368

  as backup for first manned Mercury flights, 65, 72, 75-76, 128, 132

  Friendship Seven mission, 66, 132-41, 139-40, 146, 183

  peers’ evaluation of, 64

  and Shepard’s Freedom Seven mission, 90, 93, 94

  Glennan, T. Keith, 50-51

  g-loads, 39, 58-59, 60, 104, 111

  global weather forecasting, 50

  Gordon, Dick

  Apollo 12 mission, 259, 260-61

  Gemini 11 mission, 174, 175, 217

  Grand Bahama Island (GBI), 108, 110, 111-14

  gravity. See g-loads; weightlessness

  Griffin, Jerry, 306

  Grissom, Betty, 52, 191, 196

  Grissom, Mark, 52

  Grissom, Scott, 52

  Grissom, Virgil (“Gus”), 50, 63, 70-71, 72, 75-76, 122-23, 126-29, 155, 166-67, 196, 283, 285, 365, 367, 368

  Apollo 1 mission, 177-82, 184, 186, 187-88, 190, 192, 196, 201, 372-73

  Apollo 1 mission and death of, 185-92, 194-97, 252

  Gemini 3 (Molly Brown) mission, 157, 165-66, 228

  Liberty Bell Seven mission, 64-65, 66, 125

  and Shepard’s Freedom Seven mission, 90, 92, 112

  Grumman Aircraft Company, 202, 227, 280

  Grumman F11F Tiger, 41-42

  Grumman Gulfstream, 199

  Gumdrop (Apollo 9 command module), 228

  H

  Hadley Rille, Moon, 332

  Haise, Fred: Apollo 13 mission, 265, 270, 271, 272, 274, 277, 377

  Ham (space chimpanzee), 77

  Handler, Dr. Philip, 336

  Harris, Gordon, 27

  Harter, Alan, 190

  hatch design

  Apollo, 180, 187, 201-2

  Mercury, 130, 180

  Hawk (Vostok V), 155

  Hitler, Adolf, 16-17, 73

  Holiday Inn, Cocoa Beach, 73-74, 147-48, 191

  House, Dr. William, 255, 257

  House Independent Office Appropriations Committee, 152

  Houston space center. See Manned Spacecraft Center

  Humble Oil, 154

 

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