Page 3 - Aerotech News and Review, July 19, 2019

Fifty years ago; one “giant leap for mankind”
Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, the world watched in wonder as the first humans landed on the Moon.
Five days earlier, a giant Saturn V rocket lifted off from the Ken- nedy Space Center in Florida, with the Apollo 11 space vehicle and its three astronauts — Neil Armstrong, commander, Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot, and Michael Collins, command module pilot — on board.
And at 4:17 p.m., EDT, Armstrong transmitted the message “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed,” indicat- ing to the waiting world that the lunar module had safely landed on the Moon.
Collins remained in lunar orbit onboard the command module.
Six hours later, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon, telling the world “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Aldrin joined him on the lunar surface 19 mintutes later.
All told, the two spent 21.5 hours on the lunar surface, and about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and col- lected 47.5 pounds of lunar material to bring back to Earth.
Apollo 11 was the fifth crewed mission of NASA’s Apollo pro- gram. The Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a command module with a cabin for the three astronauts, and the only part that returned to Earth; a service module, which supported the command module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a lunar module that had two stages — a descent stage for landing on the Moon, and an ascent stage to place the astronauts back into lunar orbit.
After being sent to the Moon by the Saturn V’s third stage, the as- tronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into Eagle and landed in the Sea of Tranquillity. The astronauts used Eagle’s ascent stage to lift off from the lunar surface and rejoin Collins in the command module. They jettisoned Eagle before they performed the maneuvers that propelled the ship out of the last of its 30 lunar orbits on a trajectory back to Earth. They returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, after more than eight days in space.
NASA photograph
Official crew photo of the Apollo 11 Prime Crew. From left to right are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Commander; Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot; and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot.
Moon landing culmination of years of work
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United States was engaged in the Cold War, a geopolitical rivalry with the So- viet Union. On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first arti- ficial satellite. This surprise success fired fears and imaginations around the world. It demonstrated that the Soviet Union had the capability to deliver nuclear weapons over intercontinental distances, and challenged American claims of mili- tary, economic and technological superi- ority. This precipitated the Sputnik crisis, and triggered the Space Race. President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded to the Sputnik challenge by creating the Na- tional Aeronautics and Space Admin- istration (NASA), and initiating Project
Mercury, which aimed to launch a man into Earth orbit. But on April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, and the first to orbit the Earth. It was another body blow to American pride. In spite of that, the Apollo program faced the opposition of many Americans and was dubbed “Moondoggle.” Nearly a month later, on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, completing a 15-minute suborbital journey. After be- ing recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, he received a congratulatory telephone call from Eisenhower’s successor, John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy believed that it was in the national interest of the United States
to be superior to other nations, and that the perception of American power was at least as important as the actuality. It was therefore intolerable that the Soviet Union was more advanced in the field of space exploration. He was determined that the United States should compete, and sought a challenge that maximized its chances of winning. Since the Soviet Union had better booster rockets, he re- quired a challenge that was beyond the capacity of the existing generation of rocketry, one where the United States and the Soviet Union would be starting from a position of equality. Something spectacular, even if it could not be jus- tified on military, economic or scien- tific grounds. After consulting with his
NASA photograph
On Jan. 9, 1969, NASA announced the prime crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. This portrait was taken on Jan. 10, the day after the announcement of the crew assignment. Later that year in July 1969, the crew launched to the Moon and into history. From left to right are lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin; commander Neil Armstrong; and command module pilot Michael Collins. They were photographed in front of a lunar module mockup beside Building 1 at what is now Johnson Space Center, following a press conference at the Center to introduce the crew.
Apollo Mission Emblem
The Apollo 11 mission emblem was designed by com- mand module pilot Michael Collins, who wanted a symbol for “peaceful lunar landing by the United States.”
At the suggestion of fellow Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell, he chose the bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, as the symbol.
Tom Wilson, a simulator instructor, suggested that they put an olive branch in its beak to represent their peaceful mission. Collins added a lunar background with the Earth in the distance. The sunlight in the image was coming from the wrong direction; the shadow should have been in the lower part of the Earth instead of the left. Aldrin, Arm- strong and Collins decided that the Eagle and the Moon would be in their natural colors, and decided on a blue and gold border. Armstrong was concerned that “eleven” would not be understood by non-English speakers, so they went with “Apollo 11,” and they decided not to put their names on the patch, so it would “be representative of ev-
eryone who had worked toward a lunar landing”.
An illustrator at
the MSC did the
artwork, which
was then sent off
to NASA officials
for approval. The
design was reject-
ed. Bob Gilruth,
the director of the
MSC felt that the talons of the eagle looked “too warlike.” After some discussion, the olive branch was moved to the talons. When the Eisenhower dollar coin was released in 1971, the patch design provided the eagle for its reverse side. The design was also used for the smaller Susan B. Anthony dollar unveiled in 1979.
July 19, 2019
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experts and advisers, he chose such a project. On May 25, 1961, he addressed the United States Congress on “Urgent National Needs” and declared:
“I believe that this nation should com- mit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this pe- riod will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.
We propose to accelerate the develop- ment of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations — explora- tions which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who
See APOLLO, Page 4
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