Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface

Chapter 1: Concept to Challenge

1957 to Mid-1961
Forging a National Space Policy
The Starting
The Goett Committee
Focusing the Aim
Priming the Pipeline
The Feasibility Studies
Portents for Apollo
The Challenge

Chapter 2: Project Planning and Contracting

May through December 1961
Committees at Work
Spacecraft Development Decision
Astronavigation - The First Apollo Contract
Contracting for the Command Module
Influences on Booster Determination
Help from the Department of Defense
Choice of Facilities
The Launch Vehicle: Question and Decision

Chapter 3: Contending Modes

1959 to Mid-1962
Proposals: Before and after May 1961
LOR Gains a NASA Adherent
Early Reaction to LOR
Analysis of LOR
Settling the Mode Issue
Casting the Die

Chapter 4: Matching Modules and Missions

1962
The Team and the Tools
Preliminary Designs for the Lunar Lander
Pressures by PSAC
Fitting the Lunar Module into Apollo
NASA Adjustments for Apollo
NASA-Grumman Negotiations
End of a Phase

Chapter 5: Command Module and Program Changes

1963-1964
The Headquarters Role
Commmand Module: Problems and Progress

Chapter 6: Lunar Module

1963-1964
External Design
Tailoring the Cockpit
Hatches and Landing Gear
Engines, Large and Small
Environment and Electricity
The "Sub-Prime" and the Radar Problem
Guidance and Navigation
Mockup Reviews
The Lunar Module and the Apollo Program

Chapter 7: Searching for Order

1965
Program Direction and the Command Module
Lunar Module Refinement
The LEM Test Program: A Pacing Item
The Manned Factor
Portents for Operations
The Course and the Future

Chapter 8: Moving Toward Operations

1966
Qualifying Missions
Troubles and Troubleshooters
Lunar Module
Plans and Progress in Space Flight
The Astronauts and the Gemini Experience
Preparations for the First Manned Apollo Mission

Chapter 9: Tragedy and Recovery

1967
Stalked by the Spectre
The Investigation
The Slow Recovery
Apollo 4 and Saturn V

Chapter 10: Race with the Decade

1968: First Half
Worries and Watchdogs
Apollo 5: The Lunar Module's Debut
The LM: Some Questions, Some Answers
Apollo 6: Saturn V's Shaky Dress Rehearsal
Pogo and Other Problems
The Outlook

Chapter 11: Tastes of Triumph

1968: Second Half
Proposal for a Lunar-Orbit Mission
Selecting and Training Crews
Apollo 7: The Magnificent Flying Machine
The Apollo 8 Decision
Apollo 8: The First Lunar Voyage

Chapter 12: The Trailblazers

1969: First Half
Schedules and Lingering Worries
A Double Workload
The Mission and the Men
Apollo 9: Earth Orbital Trials
Setting the Stage
Apollo 10: The Dress Rehearsal

Chapter 13: To Land on the Moon

1960-July 1969
Some Special Consideration
Training Mankind's Representatives
Affairs for the Public
Down to the Wire

Chapter 14: Trip to Tranquility

1969: July
The Outward Voyage
In Lunar Orbit
The First Landing
On the Surface
Return from Tranquility

Epilogue
Appendix A: Manned Spacecraft Center Site Selection Prodedure
Appendix B: Astronaut Assignments
Appendix C: Apollo Flight Program
Appendix D: Apollo 11 Experiments
Appendix E: Apollo 11 Lunar Samples
Appendix F: Major Spacecraft Component Manufacturers
Appendix G: Apollo Program Responsibilities of the Manned Space Centers
Appendix H: Funding - As of 30 June 1969