The Race to Space - Mercury to Apollo

The "Space Race" started in 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnic 1, the first manmade satellite, into space on October 4, 1957. The United States's first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit exploded on the launch pad. However, on January 31, 1958, the United States launched Explore1 into orbit.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower saw the need for an organized space program. In April of 1958, he started NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administrations) to help America win the race to space.

After several successful satellite launches, Project Mercury was born in 1958. Project Mercury's goal was to put a manned capsule in orbit around the earth. To do this, NASA had to develop powerful rockets that could shoot the spacecraft into space. They also had to figure out how the capsule would land and how to recover it after splashdown. In order to keep track of the crafts, tracking stations were set up around the world.

NASA also had to develop methods of keeping a person alive in space. No one knew how the human body would react to space conditions, so intense medical tests were required to find if the astronauts were healthy enough to fly.

Because space was unexplored, the astronauts had to be ready for anything. They went through very intense training before they could fly. The rocket and capsule that would carry the astronaut into space had to be tested. On December 19, 1960, NASA successfully launched a Mercury capsule on top of a Redstone rocket into space.

The second Mercury flight had a passenger, a 3-year-old chimpanzee. Ham experienced 6 ½ minutes of weightlessness during his 18 minutes of flight. In preforming all of his jobs well, Ham proved that a human could function in space.

In 1961 President John F. Kennedy stated that the United States was second in the Space Race. He gave America a hard task: Put a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s. It would be hard, but America was up to the challenge.

The Soviet Union beat America in putting a man in space. Yuri Gargarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first human in space when he made one orbit around the earth on April 12, 1961. The Soviet Union was still one step ahead of the United States. Alan Shepard was the first American in space. On May 5, 1961, his Mercury capsule took him 116 miles(187 km) off the ground. He was weightless for about 5 minutes. America's first manned flight did not go into orbit, but we got a man into space.

The second manned American flight went perfectly until splashdown. At which time the hatch of Gus Grissom's capsule suddenly flew open. Grissom was able to escape, but his capsule sank in the ocean.

John Glenn, launched on February 20, 1962, was the first Mercury astronaut to orbit the earth. During his 5 hour mission, Glenn completed 3 orbits. When his automatic control systems failed, Glenn had to fly the capsule on his own. Upon reentry, his instruments showed that the heat shield might have fallen off. The instruments were wrong, though, and the first American to orbit the earth landed without a problem.

May 5, 1962, saw the launch of M. Scott Carpenter into space. Though he didn't face any big problems during his 3 orbits, he did have a little problem during reentry. He missed his splashdown sight by 250 miles(402 km) when he didn't fire his reentry rockets in time. It took the recovery ships about 2 hours to find him.

Walter Schirra was sent up on October 3, 1962. During the launch, there was a problem with the rockets, but after the craft was in orbit things went better. Schirra did have a small problem with the temperature of his spacesuit which, being an expert in spacesuit design, he was quickly able to solve. After 5¾ orbits he safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

The last Mercury mission was launched on May 15, 1963 with L. Gordon Cooper as the astronaut. His mission lasted one full day. During the 19 orbits, Cooper was able to take a 7 hour nap. Even though the automatic control systems failed, he was able to land perfectly, controlling it manually.

Project Mercury officially ended on June 12,1963. It totaled 2 days, 5 hours, 55 minutes, and 27 seconds of manned space flight. Project Mercury proved that humans could survive the harsh conditions of space.

Project Gemini, so named because the crafts held two people, was to enable a capsule to dock with the orbiting Agena rocket in space. Gemini was launched by the Titan II rockets and piloted by the astronauts.

Gemini missions 1 and 2 were unmanned. Their jobs were to test the Titan II rockets and the capsules that would carry the astronauts.

Gemini 3, the first manned Gemini mission, was launched on March 23, 1965. Gus Grissom and John Young tested the spacecraft's movements by changing its orbit several times during the 3 orbits of their 5 hour mission.

The job of Gemini IV, James McDivitt and Edward White, was to catch up with the Titan rocket that sent them into space on June 3, 1965. It was a hard task and they had to give up because they were using up too much fuel.

The spacewalk was the most exciting part of Gemini IV. Ed White opened the hatch and floated around the spacecraft for 21 minutes while attached by a string. He used a spacegun to help him move around more easily. White was having so much fun that McDivitt had to order him back inside before his oxygen ran out.

Gemini V proved that humans could live long enough to get to the Moon and back. From the day they were launched, August 21, 1965, L. Gordon Cooper and Charles(Pete) Conrad orbited the earth 120 times, the longest mission yet.

Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford were left without a mission when the Agena target rocket that Gemini VI was to dock with exploded on October 25, 1965.

NASA changed plans and launched Frank Borman and James Lovell on Gemini VII on December 4, 1965. Although they preformed 20 science experiments and tested new, lightweight spacesuits, the highlight of their mission was the meeting with Gemini VI.

On December 12, 1965, the rockets of Gemini VI shut down just as they began to fire. However, 3 days later, on December 15, Gemini VI was successfully launched. It took Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford 3 orbits and 7 changes in orbit to catch up with Borman and Lovell in Gemini VII. Shouts of joy were heard as the two crafts neared each other. At their closest point, they were less than 1 foot(.3 meters) apart. They remained close for 5 hours before Gemini VI returned to earth. Three day after Gemini VI,Gemini VII returned home.

By this time, people were starting to see space flight as routine and not all that dangerous, but Gemini VIII proved that to be very false.

Launched on March 16, 1966, Neil Armstrong and David Scott were to dock with an Agena target rocket. When they docked, the combined craft began to spin out of control. When separated, it spun even more, making one rotation every second. The astronauts were able to steady the craft on the 7th orbit and make an emergency reentry, splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

Gemini IX, launched on June 3, 1966, carried Thomas Stafford and Eugene Ceran to find the Agena rocket. They were able to find it, but because of its protective covering, docking was impossible.

Cernan still had a spacewalk to do. During his two hours outside, the heat in his spacesuit started to build up. His helmet fogged up so badly that he could not see, so Stafford had to pull him back inside.

John Young and Michael Collins were launched on July 18, 1966. The mission of Gemini x was a spacewalk to the Agena rocket. Other than the fact that Michael Collins lost his camera during the spacewalk, the mission was a complete success.Gemini XI was launched on September 12, 1966. Most Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon's work consisted of practice for Moon missions. The highlight of their mission was reaching farther into space than any mission yet [850 miles(1,360 km)]. They also had the first totally computer controlled reentry.

On November 11, 1966, the final Gemini mission was launched. The astronauts of Gemini XII flights, James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin, put to practice all of the lessons learned from the earlier flights.

By now, at the end of Project Gemini, American astronauts have spent nearly 2,000 hours in space. NASA has developed spacscrafts that can function for 2 weeks in space. Although there are still problems that need to be solved, Project Apollo could now begin. The final phase of the Space Race was Project Apollo, which had the job of getting human beings to the Moon. No one had ever been there before, in fact no one had even ever left the earth's orbit.

One of the other goals of Project Apollo, was to find out were the Earth and Moon came from. (Why they would need to go to the Moon to figure that out, I will never know, when going to the Bible is a whole lot easier then going to the Moon.)

Apollo 1 was set for launch on February 21, 1967. However, a training accident changed NASA's plans. On January 27, an electrical spark inside the spacecraft caused a fireball. Because there was mostly oxygen in the capsule, the fire spread quickly. Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, unable to get the hatch open, all died.

The Apollo 1 accident was a major setback for NASA. In order to ensure that it would not happen again, engineers filled the crafts with a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen so a fire would not spread as quickly.

The command modules for Apollo 2 and 3 were disassembled to find the cause of the fire. Therefore, there were no Apollo 2 or 3 missions.

Apollo 4, launched on November 9, 1967, was the first test flight of the Saturn V Moon rocket. The launch sent an unmanned rocket into the earth's orbit. January 22, 1968, saw the launch of Apollo 5. Using a Saturn IB rocket, the lunar module put an unmanned prototype lunar lander in orbit around the earth.

The second and final Saturn V unmanned flight test was launched on April 4, 1968. Apollo 6, revealed an engine problem called "pogo," which leads to an early engine shutdown. NASA solved the problem and was now ready for the first manned Apollo flight.

Apollo 7 was launched on October 11, 1968. Astronauts Walter Schirra, R. Walter Cunningham, and Donn Elsele preformed nearly every procedure needed to get to the Moon. The mission went so well that NASA decided to send Apollo 8 to the Moon.

After Apollo 7, it was believed that the Soviet Union was ready to send a cosmonaut to the Moon so, as planned, Apollo 8 was launched on December 21, 1968. Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders were the first men to see the Moon close up. While in orbit, they saw huge craters and smooth plains on the surface. When they returned it was clear that we were ahead in the Space Race.

The astronauts of Apollo 9, David Scott, Russell Schweickart, and James McDivitt were the first to name their spacecraft. They named the command module(CM), Gumdrop, and the lunar module(LM), Spider.

Launched on March 3, 1969, Apollo 9 did not leave earth's orbit. Instead, they stayed in orbit for 10 days testing the lunar module that would land men on the Moon.

Apollo 10 was launched on May 18, 1969. It was time for the full dress rehearsal for the Moon landing. Once in orbit around the Moon, Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan, in Snoopy(LM) separated from John Young in Charlie Brown(CM). Snoopy got within 10 miles (16km) of the surfacebefore Stafford and Cernan had to fire the rocket engines and return to Charlie Brown.

Apollo 11, launched on July 16, 1969, carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin(Buzz) Aldrin to the Moon. After a four day journey, on July 20, Apollo 11 entered the Moon's orbit at an altitude of 69 miles.

Collins, in the CM(Columbia) pressed the switch that separated him from Armstrong and Aldrin, who were in the LM(Eagle). Collins would remain in orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin had the joy of being the first humans to walk on the Moon.

Armstrong, the commander of Apollo 11, fired the engines that would slow them down for landing. On its way down, the Eagle's computers overloaded and Armstrong had to land it himself. As they neared the Sea of Tranquility, their landing point, Armstrong noticed that it was too rocky and would wreck the lunar lander. Because fuel seconds were precious, there was no time to discuss their problem with Houston. He had to find a safe place to land.

Armstrong discarded place after place to set down. Finally, with 30 seconds of fuel left, he found what he was looking for, and the Eagle finally landed. When they touched the surface, Armstrong radioed and said, " Houston. Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Six hours after landing, as he made his way out of the LM cockpit, Armstrong pulled a lanyard with which he dropped a B/W television camera out on a folding panel. The picture, which was messed up at first then corrected itself, showed on television screens around the world. Neil Armstrong, a 38-year-old American, became the first human being to stand on the Moon as he said, "That's one small for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

As Armstrong looked around the sky was completely black, the Moon was covered in moondust, he saw small and large craters, and thousands of rocks. He was standing on a vast and unexplored world.

Nineteen minutes later, when Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong, they collected soil and rock samples, and set up many science experiments.

Before returning to the Columbia, Armstrong placed the television camera on a stand, a little ways from the Eagle. It showed the two men drifting back and forth setting up the United States flag.

President Nixon wanted to talk to the astronauts, so Mission Control put a comm link through to the astronauts from the White House. Nixon said of the Moon landing, "For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all people on this earth are truly one."

All too soon, 2 hours and 21 minutes later, it was time to return to the lander. Before leaving, however, they removed a section of the gold foil on the landing leg. This revealed a plaque which read, " HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON JULY 1969 A.D. WE COME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND."

America did not shout, "Victory," around the world after the Apollo 11 Moon landing, but rather shared the special moment with all the nations of the earth. While on to Moon, Armstrong said in response to President Nixon, "It is a great honor and privilege for us to be here representing, not only the United States, but men of all peaceable nations with an interest and a vision for the future."

Apollo 12 followed Apollo 11 to the Moon, on November 14, 1969. Charles( Pete) Conrad, Alan Bean, and Richard Gordon had the job of finding Surveyor 3, which had been launched in April of 1967 to find if landing on the moon were possible. Conrad and Bean, who landed on the Moon, collected several parts of Surveyor 3 to be studied on earth. During their two moonwalks, they also gathered over 74 pounds(34kg) of moonrock.

Apollo 13, launched April 11, 1970, was going to the Moon, until an explosion halted the mission. They were rapidly losing power and oxygen. Something had to be done before they ran out completely. James Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise moved into the LM to save power in the CM for reentry. The LM, which was not damaged in the explosion, was only made to hold 2 people.

During reentry, there was fear that the heat shield may have been damaged in the explosion, however the heat shield held, and they made it back safely, just before the oxygen ran out. Apollo 13 was called a successful failure, in that they made it home safely, but never made it to the Moon.

On January 31, 1971, Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell went to the Moon on Apollo 14. During Apollo 14's two moonwalks, the astronauts collected rock samples, and completed and set up science experiments. Alan Shepard, who was the first American in space, also became the first human to hit a golf ball on the Moon.

David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin left the earth on July 26, 1971, on Apollo 15. This was the first mission to use a lunar rover, a small car-like machine used on the Moon tolet the astronauts move farther away from the lunar lander. Scott and Irwin traveled several miles away from the landing site on the first lunar rover.

Apollo 16, launched on April 16, 1972, carried astronauts Charles Duke, John Young, and Thomas Mattingly. Young traveled a full 11 miles(18km) per hour on the LR. He and Duke explored the Moon's central highlands in search of lunar volcanoes and the oldest moonrocks.

Due to cost and lack of public interest, Apollo 17 would be the last Moon mission. Apollo 17 was launched on December 17, 1972, with Geologist Harrison Schimitt, Eugene Cernan, and Ronald Evens on board. Schimitt descriptions of what he saw helped scientists on earth as they tried find the age and origin of the Earth and Moon. Eugene Cernan became the last Apollo astronaut to walk on the Moon as he climbed into the Apollo 17 lunar module.

In July of 1975, American astronauts on Apollo 18 and Soviet cosmonauts on Soyuz 19 docked together in space. This was the official ending of Project Apollo.

The most important achievement of Project Apollo was getting humans to and from the Moon safely. According to scientist, the more than 80 pounds of moonrock collected has taught them much about the age of the Earth and Moon.

The goal of Project Apollo was two-fold. The first goal, getting to and from the Moon, they accomplished. The second goal, finding the age and origin of the earth, I'm not so sure. The Bible states clearly that God created everything. The world is just to complex to believe it all happened by chance, anyway. Look at it this way, wouldn't it be more comforting to know that you were created by Someone who knew what He was doing and that you have a purpose, than believing that you came from nowhere, having no purpose, and having no reason for existence other than random happening? Space exploration helps one CLEARLY see God's hand in creation.

Bibliography

Title: A True Book: Project Mercury Author: Diane M. and Paul P. Sipiera Copyright: 1997

Title: A True Book: Project Gemini Author: Diane M. and Paul P. Sipiera Copyright: 1997

Title: A True Book: Project Apollo Author: Diane M. and Paul P. Sipiera Copyright: 1997

Title: Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon Author: David West Reynolds Copyright: 2002