On July 24, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin successfully descended to the Moon, taking photographs, collecting specimens from rocks and soil samples, installing a laser-ranging reflector and passive seismograph (a moonquake detector), as well as speaking with President Nixon. But their descent was far from uneventful – during a powered descent an alarm went off that…
In the 1970s, children everywhere dreamed of becoming astronauts. These real-life heroes set an example through personal sacrifice and bravery. One Apollo mission was cancelled, leaving its Saturn rocket sitting idle in a museum in Houston. Apollo 18 sheds light on why, and it wasn’t budget constraints at play. The Story Ben Anderson (Warren Christie),…
On 21 July 1969, Neil Armstrong took one small step for man and one giant leap for humanity by landing on the Moon and declaring: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. It marked the completion of 8 years’ hard work by some of history’s finest astronauts. Book Arts LLC is…
Prior to Apollo 11, Armstrong established himself as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s desert. There he flew over 200 aircraft – such as the needle-nosed X-15. He made headlines and won respect from colleagues for pushing their limits and testing each to their limits. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong successfully…
We sometimes forget that the Apollo 11 landing occurred during a time of rapid change and political upheaval in America – yet its lunar ambition galvanized an entire generation and took spaceflight to new heights. Michael Collins watched with pride as Armstrong and Aldrin descended the LM Eagle to the lunar surface despite many hurdles…
On December 24th, Borman, Anders and Lovell fired the third stage’s engines to align for a lunar flyby and make preparations for translunar injection. Capcom Michael Collins gave approval and declared: ‘All clear for translunar injection!” Houston trajectory specialists and computer wizards were overjoyed, knowing their calculations had come out correctly for once! What an…
Apollo 11 marks a monumental event: it marked the first time humans set foot on the Moon and thus altered history forever. Museums across the nation are gearing up for an exciting summer of space-related events and exhibits, and here are a few. Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit will be on display at the Smithsonian National Air…
During the Apollo program, astronauts spent a third of their training time using hardware simulators for training purposes. Simulators allowed crewmembers to not only rehearse and master their mission but also build resilience by understanding where things could potentially go wrong. Flight Director Gene Kranz quickly assumed that when his guidance computer displayed 1201 code,…
On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin embarked on their historic Apollo 11 space mission – both an extraordinary and costly venture. The Planetary Society used data NASA reported to Congress from 1960-1973 in reconstructing Project Apollo costs; these expenses have been adjusted for inflation. The Eagle One of the central tenets of…
