Next week marks the 50th anniversary of man walking on the moon. I’ve written an article on the men who walked on the moon. Click below to see the article in magazine format or keep scrolling for a text only version.
Moon Walkers – Text only version:
The Saturn V rocket, Apollo 11 broke free of its launch pad on the morning of 16th July 1969. As it lifted clear of its own exhaust flames and slipped the chains of gravity, the world held its breath.
On board the rocket were three men:
Mission Commander – Neil Armstrong
Command Module Pilot – Michael Collins
Lunar Module Pilot – Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin
On 17th July Michael Collins used the stars to navigate and initiated a three second engine burn to ensure that the Command Module was on course.
On 18th July the crew gave a guided tour of their spacecraft to a live global TV audience.
On 19th July Apollo 11 entered orbit around the moon.
On 20th July Lunar Module ‘Eagle’ separates from the Command Module and heads for the surface of the moon, touching down on the Sea of Tranquillity.
While Neil Armstrong’s name and “Small Step” quote have since entered into folklore, this soundbite is often as much as people know about the decades long programme to land a man on the moon.
The next few pages will explore the Space Race of the 1950’s and 1960’s and the rapid evolution of Rocket Science.
After World War I in 1918, the world’s focus was more on developing faster and more efficient means of travel from the technologies that already existed, e.g. car, rail, sea and air travel. As has so often happened throughout history, it would take a war and another Arms Race to inspire the next significant step forward in rocket technology – the missile technology developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The firs A4 rocket was launched in June 1942 but crashed soon afterwards. However another rocket launched in October of 1942 travelled 119 miles having been equipped with the first gyroscopes for guidance. The missile was re-branded as the infamous V2 which was introduced into active service shortly after D-Day in 1944. Although too late to turn the tide of the war, the 3,000 V2 attacks had proven the viability of rocket propulsion. After the fall of Nazi Germany, the allies scrambled to gather the technology and the scientists who had created these rockets.
The majority of the scientific community believe Konstantin Tsiolkovski is the father of rocket power. He was born in Russia in 1857, and while he had spent many years working on the theory of rocket propulsion he would never actually launch a rocket himself. It was only after the Russian Revolution in 1917 that the world began to take serious notice of Tsiolkovski’s theories. But while the technology was intriguing to scientists, there was little will to invest the resources needed to develop a working rocket.
After World War II, while global governments were determined to stay ahead in the new missile arms race, scientists began to look towards the stars and space exploration.
The first significant leap forward took place when Chuck Yeager piloted the X-1 rocket plane named ‘Glamorous Glennis’ on a test flight. Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier. While scientists from rival nations continued to push and develop planes that flew faster and higher, they knew that their quest to enter space would require a new approach. The main problem that they faced was fuelling a rocket for long enough to break Earth’s orbit. Secondly, solid fuels would not be suitable for use outside of the Earth’s atmosphere – without Oxygen there was no way that they could combust. While liquid using rockets already carried an Oxygen source this did not solve the problem of breaking orbit. Carrying enough fuel meant building bigger rockets with bigger tanks – this in turn created a need for even more fuel, bigger tanks etc.
The solution was to design multiple-staged rockets. By compartmentalising different areas of fuel and rocket boosters, rocket engineers could design and build new craft that would improve efficiency by extending the distance a rocket could travel for the same amounts of fuel. This multi-staged rocket technology is still in use today.
Liquid fuelled rockets have one critical advantage over solid fuelled alternatives – the ability to control the rate of burn and therefore the speed of the rocket, Where solid fuel rockets burned out at a fixed rate after they had been ignited. The drawback to liquid fuel rockets were the inherent risks of carrying dangerous and unstable chemicals inside pressurised compartments on the rockets. These chemicals were often corrosive and any fault in the pipework that fed the liquids into the combustion chamber could lead to disaster.
Rocket Travel relies on the principles of Conservation of Momentum – that the momentum of a system will stay the same unless an external force is applied. When the combustible fuel inside a typical rocket burns it creates a build up of gas. By controlling the exhaust of this gas, (in this case forcing it downwards) the body of the actual rocket is forced to move in the opposite direction. But because the rocket has more mass than the gas it takes time for the rocket to accelerate.
Designing rockets that could break free from the Earth’s atmosphere was the start of the space race between Russia and the USA. But the Russians would go on to score a huge victory on 4th October 1957 when Sputnik 1, the first ever man made satellite was launched into orbit around the Earth. Though Sputnik’s batteries ran down on 25th October 1957, before it burned up in Earth’s atmosphere it had transmitted a stream of radio signals back to Earth – a series of rhythmic bleeps that were celebrated in Russia.
But the prospect of the Russians dominating space struck terror into the hearts of Americans. This led to increasing pressure on American scientists to take action. This pressure would lead to disaster as the Army and Navy competed for the right to launch the American fightback. But the Russians did not wait for the American response and on 3rd November 1957 the larger Sputnik 2 was launched into orbit – but this time with a passenger on board. A dog named Laika (literally meaning ‘Barker’) became the first creature in space. Laika had been chosen from ten candidates for the mission. All of the dogs were bitches because the nappies were more straight-forward to design. All of the dogs were mongrels because they were deemed to be more hardy, and all of the dogs were of lighter colours so they would show up on the black & white camera footage. Laika had been a stray dog on the streets of Moscow and was trained for months to become accustomed to spending time in enclosed spaces. When Sputnik 2 had been launched it included food and water for 10 days but the Russians had installed a system to put Laika to sleep painlessly before her food ran out. When the radio signal was lost the public assumed that Laika had simply drifted off to sleep. It was only on 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union that the true story of Laika’s fate was revealed. While the launch had been a success and Laika’s heart-rate had indeed settled once Sputnik 2 reached orbit, the final separation had torn part of the heat shield from Laika’s capsule. Temperatures quickly rose to in excess of 40°C. Laika died 6 hours into the flight. But she became an early icon of the space age and the Soviet propaganda machine was quick to capitalise. Every global news report was seen as a victory for Communist Russia and another slap in the face for America.
On 31st January 1961 the Mercury-Redstone 2a set off with the first American hero on board, a chimpanzee named ‘Ham’. The chimp had been trained to pull a series of levers – if he got it right he got a treat; if he got it wrong he got an electric shock. Ham performed his job brilliantly and his survival meant that Mercury was deemed suitable for human travel. Ham would live out his retirement in Washington zoo until his death in 1983.
With the Russians having won the race to launch a satellite into orbit, and having been first to launch and return a living creature safely to Earth the Russians secured a devastating hat-trick on 12th April 1961 when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel into space on Vostok 1.
In less than 90 minutes Gagarin had completed one entire orbit of the Earth, during his flight he went out of radio contact with ground control as he passed around the curvature of the Earth. Gagarin returned safely to Earth having been ejected form the Vostok’s command module and parachuting to Earth, both he and his craft landed in rural Kazakhstan at around 11 AM local time. In one of the most low-tech moments of the entire space race the first man in space bunched up his parachute and set off to find a farmhouse with a phone so he could contact mission control. He would later describe how his first encounter with a farmer and his daughter went, “When they saw me in my spacesuit and the parachute dragging alongside as I walked, they started to back away in fear. I told them don’t be afraid. I am a soviet like you, who has descended from space, and I must find a telephone to call Moscow!”
Gagarin was thrust into the Global spotlight as he was proudly paraded by the Soviet regime – but he struggled to come to terms with the celebrity status. He was a simple engineer and pilot from humble beginnings and had little interest in media. Gagarin fell into a deep depression and faded out of the public eye. He died during a test flight for the later Soyuz missions.
On 6th December 1957 the world’s focus switched to Cape Canaveral and the USA’s response. The US Navy’s had won the honours and their Vanguard rocket had been chosen over the Army’s Redstone machine to carry their satellite into orbit. While Sputnik 1 had weighed 83 KG and Sputnik 2 508KG, the US response was to launch a tiny 1.8 KG machine, but the pressure of to respond to Russia had led to corners being cut and the launch was a disaster. Two seconds after the launch the rocket exploded less than 10 feet into the air – the headline was simple – “Flopnik’.
American pride was finally restored in January 1958 when Explorer 1 finally became the first American satellite to orbit the Earth. The 1950’s and early 1960’s went by in a series of tit-for-tat satellite launches before progressing onto craft that could be used to send a man into space. The Russian’s developed their ’Vostok’ programme while the Americans turned their focus to their own Mercury craft. In August 1960, the Russian’s Sputnik 5 was launched with two dogs, Belka and Strelka on board, but this time after 24 hours the craft and the animals returned safely to Earth.
Finally, in May of 1961 US Astronaut Alan Shephard became the first American in space. However, his trip is a sub-orbital hop – a direct up & down trip without actually completing a circuit the world. But in August of the same year Russia regained the initiative when the Vostok II piloted by Gherman Titov spent 24 hours in orbit. Perhaps having learned by the ‘Flopnik’ incident America took a more measured approach and sent another chimp, Enos, into space in November 1961. During its 3hr 20 min mission, the Mercury capsule completes two full orbits of the planet it carried Enos safely back to Earth.
Finally on 20th February 1962, the Americans had cause for celebration when Astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Once in space Glenn completed his first lap of Earth in 45 minutes leading him to describe the experience as ’The shortest day I ever ran into.” But not everything was going to plan, there were concerns that the retro boosters and parachute were faulty. Then Glenn noticed that the crafts trajectory was no longer optimal. Glenn had to manually guide the craft as it completed the three orbits during a 4hr 55min mission before guiding the craft back to earth where the parachute deployed perfectly.
The rest of 1962 and early 1963 saw both sides push each other into further advances with crafts spending longer in space but arguably it was still the Russians that held the lead.
On 16th June 1963, Vostok VI saw the Russian Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, become the first woman in space. Her craft was launched two days after Vostok V with the two craft meeting up and orbiting the Earth in tandem. When both craft returned safely to Earth the Vostok V had set a new record, having spent 4 days and 23 hours in orbit.
Perhaps the next leap forwards came on 18th March 1965 when the Russian Vokshod II craft carried Pavel Belyayev and Alexei Leonov into orbit. Aside from the craft carrying two men into space, it was also fitted with a complex airlock. Once inflated, the airlock would allow one of the men to leave the capsule and enter space. The honour fell to Leonov who became the first man to walk in space. Although his suit provided up to 45 minutes of air he returned to the craft after 12 minutes. He experienced difficulty gaining entry and head to release some pressure from his suit – a very risky operation. However he managed to get back on board safely before the crew jettisoned the air lock. They returned to Earth safely after their 24 hour mission in cramped conditions having also completed 17 orbits .
As the Russians were developing their Vokshod rockets, the Americans were working on their next generation craft at Cape Canaveral. The Gemini craft were designed to carry two astronauts – a mission commander and a craft pilot. Upon re-entry, the command module would crash land into the ocean before being picked up by support craft. The craft would release green dye on impact with the water to help guide the rescue efforts.
NASA were emboldened by John F Kennedy’s 1961 pledge to send a man to the moon by the end of the decade. There were huge advances in the Gemini programme over the two years of 1965 and 1966. These advances included numerous astronaut EVA’s (Extra Vehicular Activities) or spacewalks before leading onto ever more complex missions. One of the critical tasks would involve docking two separate craft together in space. By the time that the 12 Gemini missions had been completed in November 1966, NASA had been able to complete all of the individual tasks that would have to be achieved in order to safely complete a Lunar landing and a safe return.
Thus work began on the Saturn V rocket and the Apollo capsules that would take men to the moon. These capsules would have to be large enough to carry three astronauts, the Mission Commander, the Command Module pilot and the Lunar Module pilot. The crew of Apollo I were Mission Commander Gus Grissom , CM pilot Ed White and LM pilot Roger Chaffee. As far as NASA were concerned, this trio would be the first men to visit the moon but tragedy was to strike in the first simulated test. On 27th January 1967, Grissom and his crew were sealed into the capsule for a mission simulation, but six hours into the mission an electrical spark ignited the high oxygen air in the capsule. The crew died of smoke inhalation before the capsule could be opened.
After the tragedy NASA conducted a full review of its safety procedures. There was never any serious consideration that the Apollo programme would be cancelled. Instead it was decided that there should be a series of unmanned missions and if all went well, Apollo 7 would be the next manned mission. While the Soviet Union were developing their Soyuz craft, NASA maintained the advantage for the first time in the space race as Apollo 8 completed the first manned orbit of the moon in 1968. A feat achieved in under 7 days. The subsequent Apollo 9 & 10 carried out tests of the Lunar Module and Command Module with the craft being docked and undocked before returning safely to Earth. Finally, with all of the checks and tests having been safely completed, NASA announced that the Apollo 11 mission would be the first manned mission to the moon.
20th July 1969: The ‘Eagle’ separates from the Command Module of Apollo 11. The ’Eagle’ Lunar Module, is crewed by Neil Armstrong and Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin. The moment is captured by CM pilot Michael Collins. The CM pilot never travelled to the surface of the moon.
It is difficult to imagine what the two men aboard Eagle would have thought while waiting to leave the craft. Would the ground collapse under the weight of the craft ? Was the surface of the moon acidic – would it dissolve the craft? Were there alien bacteria attacking the craft? But finally the order came through for the men to exit Eagle. When the Lunar Module touches down in the Sea of Tranquillity, cameras on the craft’s legs capture the moment that Neil Armstrong leaves the craft and begins his descent from the Eagle.
Neil Armstrong described the fine, powdery dust that covered everything before he finally stepped down from the craft uttering the now immortal line, “That’s one small step for (a) man; one giant leap for mankind.” Buzz Aldrin followed Armstrong onto the surface of the moon and the two men spent their two hour visit conducting experiments, gathering rocks and planting the US flag. One significant problem they highlighted was the difficulty in judging distances. The horizon was much closer than on Earth and there was no heat-haze to offer a clue to distance. All too soon the men returned to the LM with their cargo of samples and the LM blasted off to return to the CM. The entire Lunar mission had lasted just 12 hours. The return flight was uneventful and the Apollo 11 landed in the pacific on 24th July 1969.
After 3 weeks in quarantine (in case the men had contracted a deadly space virus) the crew were taken on a tour of ticker-tape parades that lasted 45 days in 25 nations. The Americans had won the ultimate prize against their Soviet rivals.
There were a total of 7 Apollo missions that were intended to reach the moon, however, Apollo 13 had to abort their mission after a catastrophic failure during their flight. But this time tragedy was avoided as the crew returned safely. In the missions after Apollo 11 the astronauts stayed longer and travelled further. Subsequent missions revealed more of the Moon’s secrets as the technology NASA developed improved. Over the next three years there were colour broadcasts, games of golf and the launch of the lunar buggy.
While there had been plans for Apollo (s) 18 & 19 respectively, there was a sea change in the attitude of Washington. If all that was to be achieved was to gather a few rocks and samples it was decided that this could be achieved using remotely piloted unmanned craft. NASA had been funded to explore – now the onus was on NASA to exploit the knowledge they had developed – basically, they had to make money.
The crew of the Apollo 17 included a scientist for the first time, a geologist named Harrison Schmitt piloted the Lunar Module – he is the only civilian to have walked on the moon – and 1 of only 12 men that ever visited the lunar surface. While there were three crew members on each of the Apollo missions, the Command Module pilot never left orbit – only two men descended to the surface of the moon.
On 14th December 1972 the Mission Commander Eugene Cernan was the last man to walk on the moon, as he saluted the flag he said, “I believe that history will record that America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow.”
