The Saturn V Production Line Shuts Down
The last Saturn V has been built. The production line is shutting down. There will be no more Saturn V rockets after the ones already in the inventory.
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Mission Log: Technology
The hardware, the rockets, the mission systems — explained for the rest of us
Nixon Approves the Shuttle
Nixon announced today that NASA will develop the Space Transportation System — the Space Shuttle. First flight expected in the late 1970s.
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How They Talk to Spacecraft
I've been reading about the Deep Space Network — the antennas NASA uses to communicate with spacecraft at the Moon. It's a global system that had to be invented.
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The Television Camera on the Moon
I've been thinking about the camera. The one that showed us Armstrong's first step. How did they get a picture from the Moon?
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The Lunar Module Descent — Step by Step
I've spent the past few weeks trying to understand the powered descent to the lunar surface in detail. Let me write out what I know.
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The Saturn V Shook the Earth
The Saturn V rocket fired for the first time today. Unmanned. All five engines. 7.5 million pounds of thrust. They say people thirty miles away felt it in their chests. They say the sound cracked windows. The cameras at the press site showed the shock wave rolling toward them through…
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What I’ve Learned About Rocket Engines
I've spent several weekends this fall reading about rocket propulsion because I wanted to understand why liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are used instead of, say, gasoline.
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The Agena — The Target That Keeps Coming Back
The Agena target vehicle is flying on more Gemini missions than I can easily count. Let me explain what it is and why it matters.
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Lunar Orbiter Maps the Moon
Lunar Orbiter 1 is photographing the Moon from orbit right now. The images coming back show the lunar surface in detail we've never had before.
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Surveyor Lands on the Moon
The United States landed a spacecraft on the Moon today. Unmanned, but on the Moon. Softly, without crashing. The first successful American soft landing on the lunar surface.
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