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How the Apollo Fire Propelled NASA to the Moon
- js2 9y agoIf you're interested in the Apollo program, you'll find no better telling of it than A Man On The Moon by Andrew Chaikin. http://www.andrewchaikin.com/books/a-man-on-the-moon/ http://www.andrewchaikin.com/books/a-man-on-the-moon/ The book was adapted into the excellent miniseries From the Earth to the Moon by HBO.
- pjmorris 9y ago'A Man on the Moon' is a terrific book focused on the astronauts. Consider also reading 'Apollo: Race to the Moon', Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox for more of the engineering perspective. They cover everything from building the F-1 engines used in the Saturn V first stage, to the lunar module, to the vehicles used to transport the assembled rockets to the launch pad, to the organization of mission control and the project overall. My favorite book on the Apollo program.
- sizzzzlerz 9y agoThis is one of the few DVD sets I've ever bought. The episode documenting the fire and its aftermath is in my top 3 episodes (Spider and Apollo 11 being the others). The hearing at the end where Frank Borman offers a look at the three dead astronauts and then tells Mondale and the other panel members to stop the witch hunt and let us go to the moon is perhaps the most satisfying scene in the entire episode. Great show and great series.
- matthewmcg 9y agoSecond this recommendation for the book and miniseries. Jeff Kluger and Jim Lovell's Lost Moon (retitled Apollo 13 after the movie based on it) and Kluger's Apollo 8 are also good reads. For podcast listeners, these episodes of the Omega Tau podcast cover the Apollo hardware at a very high level of detail: http://omegataupodcast.net/239-the-saturn-v-launch-vehicle/ http://omegataupodcast.net/239-the-saturn-v-launch-vehicle/ http://omegataupodcast.net/83-how-apollo-flew-to-the-moon/ http://omegataupodcast.net/83-how-apollo-flew-to-the-moon/ http://omegataupodcast.net/97-how-apollo-explored-the-moon/ http://omegataupodcast.net/97-how-apollo-explored-the-moon/ http://omegataupodcast.net/167-the-apollo-guidance-computer/ http://omegataupodcast.net/167-the-apollo-guidance-computer/ http://omegataupodcast.net/218-a-life-in-apollo/ http://omegataupodcast.net/218-a-life-in-apollo/
- pixelmonkey 9y agoI was also pleasantly surprised by the film, Mission Control, which focused on the mission control staff during the Apollo missions, rather than focusing on astronauts and scientists. Fascinating lessons in "ops management" embedded in the collective experiences of that staff. The film also has amazing production quality for reliving the struggles and successes of those missions, and especially how the suspenseful moments felt "on the ground". http://missioncontrol.movie http://missioncontrol.movie
- dmerrick 9y agoAgreed, this movie was excellent
- js2 9y agoYou would probably enjoy Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Gene Kranz.
- stefanpie 9y agoSecond this recommendation. Really opened my eyes up to the entire mission control teams who are just as involved as the astronaut in getting to the moon.
- moioci 9y agoAlso worthwhile: https://www.amazon.com/Flight-My-Life-Mission-Control/dp/0452283043 https://www.amazon.com/Flight-My-Life-Mission-Control/dp/045...
- GlenTheMachine 9y agoSpace flight is essentially a systems engineering enterprise. You live or die by your systems engineering expertise. The fire forced NASA to become a systems engineering center, probably the best such team ever assembled. The fact that they were able to land on the moon on schedule, with no schedule margin, given where they were in 1966, is astounding.
- maxxxxx 9y agoIt's interesting that today they can't even build a rocket like the SLS from already tested components in a comparable time.
- jpk 9y agoTo be fair, the political will today isn't comparable to what it was during the Apollo program.
- sithadmin 9y agoAlso, way, way more of the design and production process is farmed out to aerospace/defense contractors than it was during the early space program. The extra layers of bureaucracy between teams is a big problem, and the profit motives of the contractors almost always influences solution design and delivery in a negative way.
- maxxxxx 9y agoTotally agree. Still pretty sad.
- avar 9y agoThere's way more political will today, it's just directed at maintaining jobs programs in perpetuity instead of at a worthwhile goal like going to the moon.
- monocasa 9y agoIt might be (at least in part) because they're trying to build a hodge podge rocket out of existing .gov contracts rather than a new cohesive system for an unwavering goal.