History of the Apollo Program Essay

The Apollo Program (1963-1972) was a series of missions with a goal to land humans on the moon. The program’s objective, set by President Kennedy in 1961, was achieved nine short years later (The Apollo Missions). Of the program, six were successful in doing so, Apollo 11 being the first to achieve that goal (Williams). The crew contained Neil Armstrong, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. , and Michael Collins.

Kennedy traveled the country during the early 1960s advocating for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. On September 12th, 1962, he delivered the “Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort” at the Rice Stadium, in Houston, Texas, the home of NASA’s mission control. He began the speech by thanking the Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the President of Rice University, Kenneth Pitzer. He commends Rice University for its knowledge, progress and strength and advocates for these virtues nationwide. JFK alludes to the Space Race by saying “the greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds" (John F. Kennedy). He speaks of advances made throughout history including the wheel, printing press, steam engine, electricity, telephones, automobiles, planes and penicillin. He compares the past 50,000 years of to half a century to prove the amount of advancement that has occurred over a relatively short amount of time. He comments “this country was founded by those who move forward - and so will space.” (John F. Kennedy). JFK explains that we choose to go to the moon because it is a necessary challenge and part of our goal to lead as a nation. He highlights how close we are to achieving such goals by mentioning the testing of a Saturn C-1 booster rocket, the Saturn missile, satellites and the Mariner spacecraft. JFK points out that the space industry has created new jobs for Americans and puts the space budget in perspective by showing it is less that the annual spending on cigarettes and cigars. JFK concludes with a quote from Mt. Everest climber George Mallory who responded "Because it is there," when asked why he wanted to climb the mountain. JFK states, “Well, space is there and we're going to climb it." (John F. Kennedy) He ends by asking for God's blessing on the journey and thanking his

Although The Space Race was concluded, the tension was not quite resolved. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project took flight in 1975. This mission was “designed to test the compatibility of rendezvous

A new space program, Project Mercury, was initiated two years later, during President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration. Seven men were selected to take part in the program: Scott Carpenter, Leroy Gordon Cooper, John Glenn Jr., Virgil Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan Shepard Jr., and Donald Slayton. Project Mercury’s goals were to orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, investigate the ability of astronauts to function in space, and recover astronauts and spacecraft safely.

As a result, the space program gained the support of the American people needed to fund the research, technology, and development required to land a man on the moon, allowing Neil Armstrong to beat Russia to the moon and win the space race. John F. Kennedy’s masterful use of logos, pathos, and ethos in his “To the Moon” speech allowed him to connect with his audience and gain the necessary support for the space

Shepard Jr. is the first American man to be launched into space. He was in the Mercury space capsule in a 15 minute suborbital mission (meaning it reaches the atmosphere and falls back on Earth). John H. Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962. After Project Mercury, Project Gemini started. Gemini 4's, Edward H. White Jr. conducted the first spacewalk (when an astronaut get’s out the space vehicle). Project Apollo began to be NASA’S priority in May 25, 1951. President John F. Kennedy announced the plan of launching a man in space to land on the Moon. He used this as a tool to subtly announce the US’s superiority of the Cold War enemies. It took 11 years to carry out. It took $25.4 billion dollars to achieve. This withstood challenges including lives of Roger B. Chaffee, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, and Edward H. White Jr. Jr. after a fire that took place in the Apollo capsule (January 27, 1967). October 1968 they launched different Apollo missions such as Apollo 7 (orbit earth) and Apollo 8 (orbit moon). July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong steps foot on the Moon after Apollo 11 landed with Edwin E. Buzz Aldrin Jr. Michael Collins remained in the capsule. Apollo 13 almost launched however the oxygen tank exploded. Harrison H. Jack Schmitt was a geologist that was chosen to become an astronaut. NASA and the Soviet Union allied to make the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). It served testing purposes and the crew launched separately,

The news came as an ugly surprise to the Americans, who were not expecting the Soviets to beat them to space, but the United States responded quickly with a project of their own. Less than a year after Sputnik’s launch into space the US launched their own satellite, Explorer 1 into the atmosphere. Later that year, on the 29th of July, president Eisenhower signed off on the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA. For the years following the launch of Explorer 1 the Soviets and Americans would send many satellites and probes into space, each more impressive than the last. On May 25th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy addressed congress, attempting to boost the funding for NASA.

“First, I believe that this nation should commit 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 period 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 development of the appropriate lunar space craft.”

The Apollo 11 mission was one of the most significant events in the space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. after the USSR launched Sputnik, the first satellite, and successfully sent a man into space, America rushed to develop the technology that the Soviets already had, prompting the creation of the Apollo program. Apollo 11 was a mission to complete the first manned lunar landing. The mission was considered a great success, and was a win for the United States in the Space Race. The Apollo 11 mission had a crew of three men: Neil Armstrong, the commander, Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot, and Michael Collins, the Command module pilot. All three men had previous experience in space on various Gemini missions. Armstrong

Gemini was a two manned spaceflight that would orbit Earth for two weeks before landing (two weeks as it was the time for a rocket to make a round trip to the moon). Gemini was a success as all ten of the manned spaceflights had accomplished their goals. The Apollo Program had begun in 1961. With the confident space program at a high, the presence of excitement was expected during the first step in the Apollo Program. Known as Apollo 204, on January 27, 1967, tragedy struck. At 6:31 in the evening, shouting was heard as the command module of the Saturn 1-B was engulfed in flames, killing the three astronauts (Breuer 178). Said to be a short circuit, the capsule was completely destroyed, but the rest of the rocket was unharmed. The tragedy shocked all of America, freezing the space program for months. The time left to land man on the moon had become that much shorter. Many Apollo missions later, on July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 lifted off hoping to finish the Space Race. Four days later, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon, defeating the Soviets (“Cold” para. 9). Americans now could say they had beaten the Soviets, showing pride in the country. They who have been behind in the Space Race were now

In 1961, the United States of America was embroiled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This confrontation was taking place not only on land, sea and air, but in space as well. On May 25th, 1961 recently elected US President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress, during which he outlined his now famous Man on the Moon challenge. It was through this ambitious dream that the creation of the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) came about, which President Kennedy challenged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Although he didn't live to see the achievement of his dreams, the United States successfully landed Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon on July 20, 1969 and

However on the day of the Agena launch it was unable to launch. So it was decided that now, because the Gemini 6 could not dock with the Agena, that the Gemini 6 mission would be bumped to a later date so that it could launch and, instead of docking, come within feet of the Gemini 7. This procedure went flawlessly and proved that our space technology as good enough to some within reach of another object in space. Five days after coming right up next to Gemini 6 the Gemini 7 mission was complete.

Although The New Frontier was largely unsuccessful, Kennedy had an abundance of success in other areas of his presidency. One of Kennedy’s primary focuses was space exploration. During Eisenhower’s presidency, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik, and then at the beginning of Kennedy’s presidency, the Soviet Union launched the first man to orbit the earth. Kennedy took space exploration on as a challenge and urged Americans to support him by funding the Apollo missions. Kennedy challenged Americans to commit themselves to landing a man on the moon before 1970. “In February 1962 the United States caught up with the Soviets by sending John Glenn into orbit” (107).

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the united state running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely ideally before the Soviet Union. Taken over from the U.S. Air Force by the newly created civilian space agency NASA, it conducted twenty unmanned developmental flights (some using animals), and six successful flights by astronauts. The program, which took its name from the god of travel in Roman mythology, cost $277 million in 1965 US dollars and involved the work of 2 million people. The astronauts were collectively knows as the Mercury Seven and each space craft was given a name with a "7" by its pilot.

NASA soon responded with the Mercury Missions. These Missions put Americans in orbit and many believe was the real start of the America’s space program. This brought one of the biggest changes to the Nation’s space program. Every tool had to either be built or adapted from another tool to fit the requirement needed. The procedures and systems all had to be redesigned. After the 10 missions, NASA moved on to project Gemini, which concentrated on learning the skills to be able to descend onto the lunar surface. This included docking in space and performing EVAs, or extra vehicular activities, more commonly known as a space walks.