The Apollo Project

The purpose of the Apollo Space Program was to land a human on the surface of the moon. Included in this program were two Earth orbiting missions (Apollo 7 & 9), two Lunar orbiting missions (Apollo 8 & 10), a Lunar Swingby mmission (Apollo 13, which was meant to be a Lunar Landing mission until a Service Module oxygen tank blew up), and six Lunar Landing missions.

The goals for the Apollo Program were as follows:

1. To establish the technology to meet other national interests in space.

2. To achieve preeminence in space for the United States.

3. To carry out a program of scientific exploration of the Moon.

4. To develop man's capability to work in the lunar enviroment.

Taken from The Kennedy Space Center Apollo Page

The Apollo Program started in 1961 as an answer to the Soviet Space Program. Even though by this point America had only accomplished one human space flight President Kennedy was sure that we would land a man on the monn by the end of the decade.

Apollo Timeline

May 1961-President John F. Kennedy delivers his speech which ignited America's Space Program.
January 1967-Tragedy strikes Apollo 1 when fire sweeps through the Command Module killing the srew during a preflight test.
October 1968-Apollo 7 is launched and the Saturn 1B makes it's first trial with men abroad.
December 1968-Apollo 8 becomes the first manned Lunar Orbiting mission.
March 1969-Apollo 9 is the first manned flight of all lunar hardware in Earth orbit and first manned flight of the lunar module.
May 1969-Apollo 10 launches as the "Dress Rehearsal" for the Moon landing.
July 1969-Apollo 11 lands on the Moon and Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong become the first men to walk on the moon.
November 1969-Apollo 12 is launched and retrieves parts of the unmanned Surveyor 3, which had landed on the moon in 1967.
April 1970-The launch of Apollo 13, which was suppose to be the third manned flight to land on the moon until there was an explosion in the oxygen tanks.
January 1971-Apollo 14 launched and landed where Apollo 13 was suppose to, Fra Mauro.
July 1971-Apollo 15 is launched and is the first to carry orbital sensors in service module of CSM.
April 1972-Apollo 16 is launched and ultraviolet camera/spectrograph used for the first time on th Moon.
December 1972-Apollo 17 launched and has the first scientist-astronaut to land on the Moon.

Copyright Antonio Ortiz 2004

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