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The Apollo 11 mission

The Apollo program was launched by John F. Kennedy May 25, 1961, mainly to reclaim the American prestige being undermined by the success of Soviet astronautics, at a time when the Cold War between the two superpowers was in full swing. The space program of NASA was conducted during the period 1961 - 1975 which allowed the U.S. to send the first men on the moon. Apollo 11 was the first space mission to have led a man on the moon. This is the third manned mission to have approached the Moon after Apollo 8 and Apollo 10, the fifth manned U.S. Apollo space program. The mission, whose ship was launched July 16, 1969, carries a crew of Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.


The crew of Apollo 11

Neil Armstrong (Commander of the mission)

Neil Alden Armstrong was born August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. The commander of the Apollo 11 mission. Neil is interested in aviation from an early age, first performing modeling, then moving his wings during the summer of 1946. In 1947, Armstrong began studying aerospace engineering at the University Purdue. Calling the Navy arrived January 26, 1949, and demanded his presence at the Naval Air Station Pensacola for his flight training. It lasted nearly eighteen months, during which he qualified for carrier landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Cabot and USS Wright. On 12 August 1950, he was informed by letter that he was now fully qualified as a naval aviator. In 1951, at age 21, he is a fighter pilot during the Korean War during which he will conduct 78 missions. He left the Navy 23 August 1952 and became a lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve. After graduating from Purdue, Armstrong decided try to become a test pilot.

Armstrong applied to the High-Speed Flight Station of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) - the former name of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA). Lil made its first flight in a rocket plane was August 15, 1957 with the Bell X-1B at an altitude of 18.3 km. In November 1960 Armstrong was chosen as part of the X-20 Dyna-Soar, a military plane for space. In 1962, he flew with the North American X-15-1 to Mach 5.74 (6615 km / h). It is becoming increasingly enthusiastic about the Apollo program and the prospect of discovering a new environment Aeronautics. On 16 March 1966, he participated in the Gemini 8 mission as pilot-commander. On April 5, 1967, Armstrong was selected from 17 other astronauts to join Apollo. Based on the normal rotation of the crew, Armstrong would command Apollo 11, which was confirmed December 23, 1968. July 21, 1969-2 pm UTC 56 minutes, in possession of his left foot on the lunar surface, he utters the following words: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for Mankind" which can be translated as " It's a small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. "

Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (Lunar Module Pilot)

Aldrin was born January 20, 1930 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. After graduating from Montclair High School, he entered the military academy at West Point, and left third in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science.

As a jet pilot, he participated in the Korean War and during its 66 combat missions over North American F-86 Sabre, he shot down two MiG-15. After the war he became an instructor at Nellis Air Force Base.

In 1963, he earned a doctorate of science in astronautics at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and was selected as an astronaut by NASA. He participated in the last flight of the Gemini program as a pilot alongside Jim Lovell, 11 November 1966. In 1969 he took part in the Apollo 11 mission during which he is the second man to walk on the Moon after Neil Armstrong. It will be the only astronaut to appear on all photos taken on the moon because it is Armstrong who owned the aircraft. By suiting, Aldrin breaks the button serves to activate the engine of the shuttle ascent. Cleverly, he will replace it with a pen cap serving as a pusher, and could restart the engine for the return.

Michael Collins (command module pilot)

Michael Collins was born October 31, 1930 in Rome. It arejoint NASA in 1963 in the third group of astronaut selection, and made his first space flight with Gemini 10 in 1966. During this flight, Collins and his teammate John W. Young set a new altitude record flight, 765 miles above Earth. It also carries out two spacewalks during this mission. Collins should have participated in the Apollo 8 mission, but it suffered from the spine, and despite having had surgery, he had to stay ground and was replaced by Jim Lovell, Apollo 8.

In July 1969 he flew as a pilot control module during the Apollo 11 mission. Collins remains in orbit around the moon in the command module, while teammates Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon and walk on the lunar surface. At the time, he was described as "the loneliest person on and off the planet" - when the control module flying over the opposite side of the moon, it was at least 3200 miles his fellow astronauts, and more than 350 000 kilometers from the rest of the world's population.

Liftoff

The July 16, 1969 at 13:32 UTC on Saturn V launch vehicle, weighing more than 3000 tons, took off from Launch Complex 39 at Cape Canaveral. After an uneventful boost phase it goes into low orbit around Earth.

The Saturn V

Saturn V was used by NASA for the Apollo and Skylab programs between 1967 and 1973, in full space race between Americans and Soviets. He was a starter on several floors, liquid propellant latest addition to the Saturn family of launch vehicles designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, in collaboration with the Boeing Company, North American Aviation, Douglas Aircraft Company and IBM as prime contractors. Saturn V remains, even in 2010, the largest launch vehicle that has been used in operation, either in terms of height, the takeoff weight or mass of the payload injected into orbit.


Apollo 11 mission, the first steps on the Moon (87 min)

Saturn V, which was designed to launch the Apollo manned spacecraft to the first steps of man on the moon, has continued his service by sending the orbiting space station Skylab. In all, NASA launched thirteen Saturn V rockets, without regret any loss of payload. The three floors that made Saturn V were developed by many subcontractors under control of NASA. These companies, due to multiple mergers and acquisitions, are now all part of the Boeing group.

Journey Earth-Moon

train Apollo space composed of the third stage of the Saturn rocket, the Command Module and Service (MSC ) and the Lunar Module (LEM) leaves Earth orbit after having parked over 2 hours on schedule. After a journey of almost 3 days, the Apollo spacecraft goes into lunar orbit. The lunar module Eagle, having completed 13 revolutions around the moon, separated from the CSM now occupied solely by Collins and begins its descent to the lunar surface.

Eagle Landing

The lunar module arises in the Sea of Tranquility, after approach in manual flight time. The site is scheduled to land exceeded 7 km due to problems encountered during the descent. Neil Armstrong was bothered by alarms on-board computer that manages and provides the autopilot navigation. The computer that has an equivalent power than a calculator low end of the 2000s (it has a ROM of 36 864 words of 16 bits and a memory of 2048 words), is saturated by signals from radar appointment you the consequences of a design error.

The First Man on the Moon: 1969 - 2009



Monopolized by alarms, Neil Armstrong passes the time when, according to the procedure, he should perform a final correction maneuver trajectory. LEM approaching a site cluttered with rocks, Armstrong will take manual control and fly the lunar module to the horizontal field to find a suitable site for the landing. This maneuver begins dangerously low fuel reserves planned: there are no more that 15 seconds of propellant reserved for landing when the device can finally lay to 4 miles of the site originally planned. Then follows a long sequence before the release of astronauts: checklists, poses spacesuits and verification, depressurization of the LEM.

Crew Walkout

The maximum range of the astronauts during spacewalks is 2: 45 pm, limit imposed by availability of oxygen and electrical energy A7L spacesuits. Armstrong made his first steps on the moon July 21, 1969 at 2 h 56 UTC (3 h 56 French time) on July 20 or 21 h 56 to Houston, before millions of viewers listened to the first impressions of the astronaut. It by placing the foot on the moon launches its message remains famous "It's a small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Buzz Aldrin joined him 15 minutes later.

The astronauts' first task is to collect lunar rock samples: in case of early departure, Earth scientists will be able to provide evidence on which to work. Then the astronauts conduct the installation of Scientific Instruments Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package. Among these are:

► aluminum reflector laser. The perpendicular to the reflector is directed by the astronauts to Earth near 5 ° and will be used to calculate the Earth-Moon distance from ground-based observatories;

► a seismometer whose life will be 21 days.

Astronauts harvested 21.7 kg of lunar soil samples, are numerous photos and film of the landing site and plant an American flag. They also receive a phone call from U.S. President Richard Nixon following the televised from the White House. The spacewalk lasted 2:31 ET about 250 meters are covered by the astronauts. When Buzz Aldrin in the lunar module back, he broke into the passenger inadvertently close the switch to ignite the engines of the LEM ascent stage. As this is a push button, he used the tip of a pen into place and allow the two astronauts left the moon.

Back on Earth

Liftoff from the Moon occurs 124 h 22 after the start of the mission. The American flag planted too close to the LEM is lying by the blowing off. The astronauts remained 21 h 36 on the Moon. LEM joined the command module and service remained in lunar orbit with Collins on board. Three days later the Apollo spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific after completing a mission of 195h18 time. The astronauts are recovered by the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. They are quarantined for 21 days, a practice that continued for three Apollo missions following, before the moon was declared sterile and without danger of contamination.

Mysteries Archives: Live from the Moon (25 min)

On 21 July the Soviet probe Luna 15, which would also bring samples of moon crashes into the lunar soil after 52 revolutions around the sun, reflecting the advance taken by the Americans in the space race.