On April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union shocked the world when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to be launched into space. His single earth-orbit flight aboard the Vostok-1 spacecraft and his safe return to earth was a tremendous achievement and more significantly, it demonstrated to the United States, its staunch competitor, the superior level of its space technology.
Kennedy’s Ambitious Goal
Although President John F. Kennedy had been somewhat reluctant to commit to the enormous financial cost of a U.S. moon landing program, his priorities were suddenly shifted when news of the Soviet flight became known. Fearing that U.S. space technology would be left behind, one month later before a joint session of Congress, the president announced that the United States was now committed to a goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” within 10 years.
With that goal established by the president, the Apollo Space Program was launched and the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), the agency responsible for the nation’s future in space exploration, focused on carrying out this mission.
Apollo Spacecraft Design
The completed design for the Apollo spacecraft consisted of two principal sections:
One section was the two-part Command/Service Module (CSM). The command module contained the 3-man crew, computerized controls, guidance and navigation systems, etc., while the service module held such components as the propulsion system and its propellants, fuel cells, etc.
The second section was the Lunar Module, which was attached to the CSM. While orbiting the moon, the Lunar Module would undock from the CSM with two astronauts aboard, descend to the surface of the moon and at the conclusion of the mission return to the CSM. The Lunar Module assent stage was then left in moon orbit. Just prior to reentry, the service module would be jettisoned leaving the Command Module to reenter the earth’s atmosphere and the final ocean splashdown.
The Launch Vehicle – Saturn V Rocket
The launch vehicle used for most of the Apollo moon landing flights was the Saturn V, a three-stage liquid-fuel expendable rocket. Standing at 363 ft. the first stage consisted of 5 engines capable of launching the spacecraft the initial 42 miles in just 150 seconds. The five engines of the second stage burned for 360 seconds boasting the spacecraft to 109 miles at 15,647 miles per hour. Finally, the single engine third stage sent the Apollo into low-earth orbit 150 seconds later at 17,450 miles per hour. From launch to low earth- orbit took approximately 12 minutes.