Apollo astronauts prepared to embark on their maiden moonwalk. Armstrong carefully eased his EVA backpack through the LM hatch, taking extra care to not snag anything on his way through.
At Mission Control, Kranz immediately conducted the final and nerve-wracking roll call, which would determine whether they landed safely or not – it all depended on Steve Bales’ decision.
Flight controllers
Apollo 11 stands as one of humanity’s great achievements, yet could have easily gone south at any moment. Thanks to their extraordinary dedication and hard work, however, astronauts, commanders, and flight controllers were all instrumental in turning Apollo 11 into a great success instead of an epic failure.
As the spacecraft circled Earth, its service module performed thrust maneuvers to separate from and separate from the command module, as well as maneuvers to return to Earth’s atmosphere. If its re-entry trajectory were too close to that of the command module, its risk was even greater and might result in its explosion or burning up in atmosphere; or worse if disintegrating pieces hit it and caused injuries or fatalities for its astronaut crew members aboard it.
Flight control teams must act swiftly during emergency situations. With time running out and astronauts using up their oxygen reserves quickly, time was running out quickly for everyone involved. Furthermore, service module oxygen tanks had been ruptured due to an explosion, increasing their chances of death from lack of oxygen.
At the same time, Kranz examined telemetry data for any indications of trouble, consulting with other controllers as well as Grumman representatives who worked on Apollo systems. After consulting them and consulting various specialists working on Apollo systems, Kranz eventually concluded that there had been an initial surge in pressure that caused temporary engine icing; heat from its engine allowed ice formation to melt away and pressures returned to normal levels once engine temperatures returned to normal levels.
Soon enough, the astronauts had reached the Moon and re-entry was imminent; but much work remained. One of Steve Bales’ duties was to ensure that the service module wouldn’t crash into its target terrain by manipulating its re-entry trajectory.
Astronauts, flight controllers, and telemetry data all came together to devise an intricate plan – and yet it succeeded flawlessly.
Astronauts
Apollo 11 astronauts were at the core of its success, and often their lives were at risk during launch rehearsals or in emergencies such as when fire broke out in Apollo 1 command module during launch rehearsal, killing three astronauts: Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee.
At reentry, another threat arose from malfunction in the reaction control system that released poisonous nitrogen tetroxide gas into the cabin, forcing its venting through various ports so as to ensure crew members could survive the ordeal.
After their arrival at the moon, the astronauts prepared to explore it and conduct several scientific experiments. Armstrong and Aldrin rode in a lunar module called Eagle while Michael Collins remained behind at base in the Command Module.
Once the astronauts had separated from the Command Module, there was an issue with their radio link to Mission Control. They eventually received their information but quickly began panicking once it did arrive.
Initial landing was successful, however it soon turned out that due to a storm in the Pacific ocean they had to land somewhere else; unfortunately this meant being far away from their recovery ship, taking longer for it to arrive and pick them up.
After an unexpected setback, however, the astronauts were still able to land safely on the moon and conduct scientific experiments including measuring density of lunar surface and collecting samples while taking pictures of its surface.
On their return trip, however, lunar gravity slowed their spacecraft down so significantly that they overshot their intended landing zone and headed towards a field of boulders surrounding a crater instead of where they needed to land. Armstrong quickly switched into manual control mode; as his heartbeat rose from its normal 77 beats per minute up to 156.
NASA was dealt a severe blow when this incident took place, prompting some to question their ability to fulfill their ambitious goals. Yet the event didn’t derail its program – the rest of the mission ran without any major glitches.
Ground controllers
The first human spaceflight was an amazing achievement of human spirit and ingenuity, yet could have ended dramatically differently. One of the most heart-stopping moments in Apollo history occurred prior to launch when during a pre-launch rehearsal a fire broke out in Apollo 1 command module on Jan 27, 1967 during a pre-launch rehearsal; three astronauts — Roger Chaffee, Ed White and Virgil “Gus” Grissom were fatally burned in this tragic fire.
The next harrowing moment was another test of humanity’s ingenuity and resilience, beginning with a flash of light on the moon’s surface and an alarm in Mission Control that resembled an amusement park’s buzzer system.
Mission Control immediately went to their telescopic window to see what was taking place before waiting patiently for further instructions from above.
Moments passed and Mission Control pen began scrawling on paper sheets with what appeared to be some sort of failure or setback announcement. Radioed numbers became clearer: Aldrin announced Delta-H, minus 2,900 feet as they should correlate with landing radar and Primary Guidance Navigation System readings but they did not.
After only minutes, the group of controllers realized what was transpiring. Decisions would need to be made quickly in order to return astronauts home safely; their dehydration and sleep deprivation would make decisions more prone to error than normal.
Controllers had to find a way to provide power for equipment connected to Main Bus B. Fuel cell power was being drawn off for redundancy purposes and half of Eagle’s equipment was attached directly to this bus – without it, their mission would have failed.
At last, an effective solution was found: astronauts would have to improvise using a sock, plastic bags and cardboard as temporary fixes – once completed everything worked again smoothly and the astronauts landed successfully on the moon amidst cheers in viewing rooms, support rooms and contractor offices throughout the nation.
Mission control
The Apollo 11 mission may be one of humanity’s crowning achievements, yet it nearly didn’t happen at all. Although NASA had planned for every possible scenario during the mission, there were several heart-racing moments during training which nearly led to disaster: two astronauts Roger Chaffee and Ed White perished when fire erupted during rehearsal for launch – killing them both before even reaching space!
Apollo 13’s tragic voyage saw three astronauts perish after an oxygen tank exploded during reentry, while Apollo 11 nearly saw disaster on the lunar surface when its landing module engine nearly overheated and became out-of-control.
But perhaps the most chilling moment came as Armstrong prepared to take his first steps on the Moon – with millions watching around the world but space flight experts in Houston bracing themselves for disaster.
As Armstrong prepared to enter the lunar module, his capcom Charlie Duke issued a stark warning: “Al, I think you may overshoot by 60 seconds; that means they would likely miss reaching the surface with less than one minute of fuel left.”
Gene Kranz was in the command module trying to assess what was transpiring when the guidance system flashed 1202. That indicated something was amiss, yet Kranz chose not to believe these alarms and advised Steve Bales (then 26 years old) to continue with landing operations.
Bales was young and inexperienced, yet had the courage to tell Kranz that he must trust his instincts. Kranz responded: “Go with that alarm.”
Apollo 11 successfully made it to and from the Moon without major incidents; however, these five terrifying moments demonstrate that space travel is never risk-free; even successful missions carry risks.
Space exploration can be risky business, but its rewards make the risk worth taking and keep people interested in discovering more about our universe.