The following is a history of the Apollo missions:
Apollo 1 - Ended in tragedy January 27, 1967.
Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White, Roger B. Chaffee were killed in a command module fire on the launch pad during a launch simulation at the Kennedy Space Center . Originally known as Apollo 204 and scheduled for launch February 21, 1967, the mission would have been the first manned Apollo mission. The tragedy prompted NASA to suspend Saturn 1B launches for almost a year and led to a major redesign of the Apollo Command Module (CM).
In the spring of 1967, NASA's associate administrator for manned space flight announced that the mission originally scheduled for Grissom, White and Chaffee would be known as Apollo 1. He said that the first Saturn V launch, scheduled for November 1967 would be known as Apollo 4. No missions or flights were ever designated Apollo 2 and 3.
Apollo 7 - October 11-12, 1968
Launch vehicle: Saturn 1B
Crew: Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donn F. Eisele, R. Walter Cunningham.
Duration: 10 days, 20 hours with, 163 Earth orbits.
Milestones: First manned Command Service Module operations in the lunar landing program. First live TV transmission from manned spacecraft.
Apollo 8 - December 21-27, 1968
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., William A. Anders.
Duration: 6 days, 3 hours. In lunar orbit 20 hours, with 10 orbits.
Milestones: First manned lunar orbital mission. Support facilities tested. Photographs taken of Earth and Moon. Live TV broadcasts.
Apollo 9 - (Gumdrop and Spider) March 3 -13, 1969
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, Russell L. Schweickart.
Duration: 10 days, 1 hour with 152 orbits.
First manned flight of all lunar hardware in Earth orbit. Schweickart performed a 37 minutes EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity). Human reactions to space and weightlessness tested. First manned flight of lunar module (LM).
Apollo 10 (Charlie Brown and Snoopy) May 18-26, 1969
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: Eugene A. Cernan, John W. Young, Thomas P. Stafford.
Duration: 8 days, 3 minutes. In lunar orbit 61.6 hours, with 31 orbits.
Milestones: Dress rehearsal for Moon landing. First manned CSM/LM (Command and Service Module/ Lunar Module) operations in cislunar and lunar environment. Simulation of first lunar landing profile. LM taken within 50,000 feet (15,243 meters) of lunar surface. First live color TV from space. LM ascent stage jettisoned in orbit.
Apollo 11 (Columbia and Eagle) July 16-24, 1969
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.
Duration: 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes. In lunar orbit 59.5 hours, with 30 orbits.
Landing site: Sea of Tranquility (0.71 degrees North, 23.63 degrees East).
Milestones: First manned lunar landing mission and lunar surface EVA. "HOUSTON, TRANQUILITY BASE HERE. THE EAGLE HAS LANDED."--July 20, 1969. One EVA of 2 hours, 31 minutes. Flag and instruments deployed; Unveiled plaque on the LM descent stage with inscription: "Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon. July 1969 A.D. We Came In Peace For All Mankind." Lunar surface stay time 21.6 hours; LM ascent stage left in lunar orbit. Gathered 44 pounds (20 kilograms) of material.
Apollo 12(Yankee Clipper and Intrepid) November 14-24, 1969
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: Charles Conrad, Jr., Richard F. Gordon, Jr., Alan L. Bean
Duration: 10 days, 4 hours, 36 minutes. In lunar orbit 89 hours with 45 orbits. Lunar surface stay-time, 31.5 hours.
Landing site: Ocean of Storms (3.04 degrees South, 23.42 degrees West).
Milestones: Retrieved parts of the unmanned Surveyor 3, which had landed on the Moon in April 1967. Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) deployed. LM descent stage impacted on Moon. Gathered 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of lunar material.
Apollo 13 (Odyssey and Aquarius) April 11-17, 1970
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr. Fred W. Haise, Jr.
Duration: 5 days, 22.9 hours.
Milestones: Third lunar landing attempt. Mission aborted after rupture of service module oxygen tank. Classed as "successful failure" because of experience in rescuing crew. Spent upper stage successfully impacted on the Moon.
Apollo 14 (Kitty Hawk and Antares) January 31 - February 9, 1971
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Stuart A. Roosa, Edgar D. Mitchell
Duration: 9 days
Landing site: Fra Mauro (3.65 degrees south, 17.48 degrees West).
Milestones: ALSEP and other instruments deployed. Lunar surface stay-time, 33.5 hours; 67 hours in lunar orbit, with 34 orbits. 2 S (Extra-Vehicular Activities) of 9 hours, 25 minutes. Third stage impacted on Moon. Gathered 94 pounds. (42 kilograms) of lunar material using hand cart for first time to transport rocks.
Apollo 15 (Endeavor and Falcon) July 26-August 7, 1971
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: David R. Scott, James B. Irwin, Alfred M. Worden
Duration: 12 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes. In lunar orbit 145 hours with 74 orbits.
Lunar surface stay time: 66.9 hours.
Landing site: Hadley-Apennine region (26.08 degrees North, 3.66 degrees East) near Apennine Mountains.
Milestones: 3 EVAs of 10 hours, 36 minutes. Worden performed 38 minutes EVA on way back to Earth. First to carry orbital sensors in service module of CSM. ALSEP deployed. Scientific payload landed on Moon doubled. Improved spacesuits gave increased mobility and stay-time. Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), electric-powered, 4-wheel drive car, traversed total 17 miles (27.9 km) Small sub-satellite left in lunar orbit for first time. Gathered 169 pounds (6.6 kilograms) of lunar material.
Apollo 16 (Casper and Orion) April 16-27, 1972
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: John W. Young, Thomas K. Mattingly II, Charles M. Duke, Jr.
Duration: 11 days, 1 hour, 51 minutes. In lunar orbit 126 hours, with 64 orbits.
Lunar surface stay-time: 71 hours.
Landing site: Descartes Highlands (8.97 degrees South, 15.51 degrees East).
Milestones: First study of highlands area. Selected surface experiments deployed, ultraviolet camera/spectrograph used for first time on Moon, and LRV used for second time. Mattingly performed a one-hour in-flight EVA. Gathered 213 pounds (95.8 kilograms) of lunar material.
Apollo 17 (America and Challenger) December 7-19, 1972
Launch vehicle: Saturn V
Crew: Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald B. Evans, Harrison H. Schmitt
Duration: 12 days, 13 hours, 52 minutes. In lunar orbit 17 hours.
Lunar surface stay-time: 75 hours.
Landing site: Taurus-Littrow (20.16 degrees North, 30.77 degrees East), highlands and valley area.
Milestones: Three EVAs totaled 22 hours, 4 minutes. Evans performed trans-Earth EVA lasting 1 hour 6 minutes. Last lunar landing mission. First scientist-astronaut to land on Moon - Schmitt. Sixth automated research station set up. LRV traverse total 18.9 miles (30.5 km). Gathered 243 pounds (110.4 kilograms) of lunar material.
Source: NASA
This is not however how it all began. The history of the Apollo Space Programme and the race for space is steeped in the controversy of war crimes and the Nazi Party members who escaped prosecution after the end of the second world war. ..............Continue the history