Tag Archives: Moon
Considering the Moon
What is it about the Moon that captures the fancy of humankind? A silvery disk hanging in the night sky, it conjures up images of romance and magic. It has been counted upon to foreshadow important events, both of good … Continue reading
Three Canopies into the Pacific: Coming Home during Project Apollo
Since July 24 is the 48th anniversary of the return from space of Apollo 11, here is a short account the return via parachutes of the Apollo spacecraft. For all of the earlier work on the Gemini Earth landing system … Continue reading
Redirect: “How should we protect and preserve our history — on the Moon?”
Lucas Laursen has a good piece in ideas.ted.com entitled: “How should we protect and preserve our history — on the Moon?” I spoke to him about this story of preserving the lunar landing sites, as did others associated with pursuing … Continue reading
Apollo 13 and Nostalgia for an Earlier Time
A cultural debate has raged during the first part of the twenty-first century over the meaning of the Apollo program. Much of the recollection of Apollo’s legacy revolves around ideas of ‘progress’ for the American nation. At the same time, Apollo … Continue reading
A Brief on the Apollo 1 (Capsule 204) Fire on its 50th Anniversary
What happened? The Apollo 1 (204) Command Module was on the ground at the Kennedy Space Center on January 27, 1967 when a fire broke out in the capsule. The three crew members (Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Edward … Continue reading
A Truly Hilarious Cartoon on the Apollo/Saturn Stack
This cartoon from the XKCD website helps explain with considerable humor the awesomeness of the Saturn V. It uses onlty the most common words in English to rescribe the stack. You may find the original here. Enjoy!
Chronology of Key Space Anniversaries for 2017
1942—75 Years Ago 3 October—Germany launched its V-2 rocket and is the first spacecraft to cross the Kármán line (100 km). 1947—70 Years Ago 20 February—The United States sent fruit flies into space. 1952—65 Years Ago 1 April—The U.S. Army … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Soviet Robots in the Solar System: Mission Technologies and Discoveries”
Soviet Robots in the Solar System: Mission Technologies and Discoveries. By Wesley T. Huntress Jr. and Mikhail Ya. Marov. Chichester, UK: Springer Praxis, 2011. Paperback, 467 pp., illustrations, ISBN 978-1-4419-7897-4. $44.95. It seems hard to believe now, but once there … Continue reading
The Surveyor Landers on the Moon
Like so many other point of intersection, soft landing on the Moon with robotic probes proved a venue for Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The Soviets won that competition February 3, … Continue reading
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