Counting Down to Apollo

One American's account of watching humanity reach the Moon

Tag: near-miss

Lightning Hit the Rocket
Apollo 12 November 14, 1969

Lightning Hit the Rocket

Apollo 12 launched today into a stormy sky. Thirty-six seconds after liftoff, lightning struck the Saturn V. Twice. The spacecraft lost power to most of its systems. Mission Control nearly called an abort. One flight controller — twenty-six-year-old John Aaron — knew exactly which switch to throw. They continued to…
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Gemini March 17, 1966

Neil Armstrong Almost Died Up There

The Gemini 8 mission nearly ended in catastrophe yesterday. Neil Armstrong and David Scott were in an uncontrolled spin — one revolution per second — when Armstrong managed to use the reentry thrusters to stop the tumbling. They had to abort the mission. Armstrong is home. But reading the account…
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