Digital Apollo
Digital Apollo

Author: David A. Mindell

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2011-09-30

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 0262266687

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The incredible story of how human pilots and automated systems worked together to achieve the ultimate achievement in flight—the lunar landings of NASA’s Apollo program As Apollo 11’s Lunar Module descended toward the moon under automatic control, a program alarm in the guidance computer’s software nearly caused a mission abort. Neil Armstrong responded by switching off the automatic mode and taking direct control. He stopped monitoring the computer and began flying the spacecraft, relying on skill to land it and earning praise for a triumph of human over machine. In Digital Apollo, engineer-historian David Mindell takes this famous moment as a starting point for an exploration of the relationship between humans and computers in the Apollo program. In each of the six Apollo landings, the astronaut in command seized control from the computer and landed with his hand on the stick. Mindell recounts the story of astronauts’ desire to control their spacecraft in parallel with the history of the Apollo Guidance Computer. From the early days of aviation through the birth of spaceflight, test pilots and astronauts sought to be more than “spam in a can” despite the automatic controls, digital computers, and software developed by engineers. Digital Apollo examines the design and execution of each of the six Apollo moon landings, drawing on transcripts and data telemetry from the flights, astronaut interviews, and NASA’s extensive archives. Mindell’s exploration of how human pilots and automated systems worked together to achieve the ultimate in flight—a lunar landing—traces and reframes the debate over the future of humans and automation in space. The results have implications for any venture in which human roles seem threatened by automated systems, whether it is the work at our desktops or the future of exploration.

Apollo Remastered
Apollo Remastered

Author: Andy Saunders

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2022-09-01

Total Pages: 520

ISBN-13: 0141996358

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AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Discover space as you've never seen it before, with these awe-inspiring, breathtakingly restored images of our first missions to the Moon 'The next best thing to being there' Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 astronaut 'One of the best records of Apollo history ever produced' David R. Scott, Apollo 15 Commander In a frozen vault in Houston sits the original NASA photographic film of the Apollo missions. For half a century, almost every image of the Moon landings publicly available was produced from a lower-quality copy of these originals. Now we can view them as never before. Expert image restorer Andy Saunders has taken newly available digital scans and, applying pain-staking care and cutting-edge enhancement techniques, he has created the highest quality Apollo photographs ever produced. Never-before-seen spacewalks and crystal-clear portraits of astronauts in their spacecraft, along with startling new visions of the Earth and the Moon, offer astounding new insight into one of our greatest endeavours. This is the definitive record of the Apollo missions and a mesmerizing, high definition journey into the unknown.

Moon Lander
Moon Lander

Author: Thomas J. Kelly

Publisher: Smithsonian Institution

Published: 2009-09-11

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1588342735

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Chief engineer Thomas J. Kelly gives a firsthand account of designing, building, testing, and flying the Apollo lunar module. It was, he writes, “an aerospace engineer’s dream job of the century.” Kelly’s account begins with the imaginative process of sketching solutions to a host of technical challenges with an emphasis on safety, reliability, and maintainability. He catalogs numerous test failures, including propulsion-system leaks, ascent-engine instability, stress corrosion of the aluminum alloy parts, and battery problems, as well as their fixes under the ever-present constraints of budget and schedule. He also recaptures the exhilaration of hearing Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong report that “The Eagle has landed,” and the pride of having inadvertently provided a vital “lifeboat” for the crew of the disabled Apollo 13.

How Apollo Flew to the Moon
How Apollo Flew to the Moon

Author: W. David Woods

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-08-08

Total Pages: 582

ISBN-13: 1441971793

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Stung by the pioneering space successes of the Soviet Union - in particular, Gagarin being the first man in space, the United States gathered the best of its engineers and set itself the goal of reaching the Moon within a decade. In an expanding 2nd edition of How Apollo Flew to the Moon, David Woods tells the exciting story of how the resulting Apollo flights were conducted by following a virtual flight to the Moon and its exploration of the surface. From launch to splashdown, he hitches a ride in the incredible spaceships that took men to another world, exploring each step of the journey and detailing the enormous range of disciplines, techniques, and procedures the Apollo crews had to master. While describing the tremendous technological accomplishment involved, he adds the human dimension by calling on the testimony of the people who were there at the time. He provides a wealth of fascinating and accessible material: the role of the powerful Saturn V, the reasoning behind trajectories, the day-to-day concerns of human and spacecraft health between two worlds, the exploration of the lunar surface and the sheer daring involved in traveling to the Moon and the mid-twentieth century. Given the tremendous success of the original edition of How Apollo Flew to the Moon, the second edition will have a new chapter on surface activities, inspired by reader's comment on Amazon.com. There will also be additional detail in the existing chapters to incorporate all the feedback from the original edition, and will include larger illustrations.

The Apollo Guidance Computer
The Apollo Guidance Computer

Author: Frank O'Brien

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-06-25

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 1441908773

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The technological marvel that facilitated the Apollo missions to the Moon was the on-board computer. In the 1960s most computers filled an entire room, but the spacecraft’s computer was required to be compact and low power. Although people today find it difficult to accept that it was possible to control a spacecraft using such a ‘primitive’ computer, it nevertheless had capabilities that are advanced even by today’s standards. This is the first book to fully describe the Apollo guidance computer’s architecture, instruction format and programs used by the astronauts. As a comprehensive account, it will span the disciplines of computer science, electrical and aerospace engineering. However, it will also be accessible to the ‘space enthusiast’. In short, the intention is for this to be the definitive account of the Apollo guidance computer. Frank O’Brien’s interest in the Apollo program began as a serious amateur historian. About 12 years ago, he began performing research and writing essays for the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, and the Apollo Flight Journal. Much of this work centered on his primary interests, the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) and the Lunar Module. These Journals are generally considered the canonical online reference on the flights to the Moon. He was then asked to assist the curatorial staff in the creation of the Cradle of Aviation Museum, on Long Island, New York, where he helped prepare the Lunar Module simulator, a LM procedure trainer and an Apollo space suit for display. He regularly lectures on the Apollo computer and related topics to diverse groups, from NASA's computer engineering conferences, the IEEE/ACM, computer festivals and university student groups.

Apollo 11 and the First Men on the Moon
Apollo 11 and the First Men on the Moon

Author: Eric Keppeler

Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc

Published: 2018-07-15

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13: 1508168431

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When Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969, 530 million viewers watched Commander Neil Armstrong and pilots Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin leave Earth with bated breath. This book relates the significant parts of that momentous journey, including the first color TV transmission to Earth, and the 21 hours, 36 minutes that Armstrong and Aldrin spent on the moon's surface. Bourgeoning scientists will be enthralled by this captivating history of the Apollo 11 adventure, which incorporates key social studies and science concepts.

Spacesuit
Spacesuit

Author: Nicholas De Monchaux

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2011-03-18

Total Pages: 379

ISBN-13: 026201520X

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How the twenty-one-layer Apollo spacesuit, made by Playtex, was a triumph of intimacy over engineering. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface in July of 1969, they wore spacesuits made by Playtex: twenty-one layers of fabric, each with a distinct yet interrelated function, custom-sewn for them by seamstresses whose usual work was fashioning bras and girdles. This book is the story of that spacesuit. It is a story of the triumph over the military-industrial complex by the International Latex Corporation, best known by its consumer brand of "Playtex"—a victory of elegant softness over engineered hardness, of adaptation over cybernetics. Playtex's spacesuit went up against hard armor-like spacesuits designed by military contractors and favored by NASA's engineers. It was only when those attempts failed—when traditional engineering firms could not integrate the body into mission requirements—that Playtex, with its intimate expertise, got the job. In Spacesuit, Nicholas de Monchaux tells the story of the twenty-one-layer spacesuit in twenty-one chapters addressing twenty-one topics relevant to the suit, the body, and the technology of the twentieth century. He touches, among other things, on eighteenth-century androids, Christian Dior's New Look, Atlas missiles, cybernetics and cyborgs, latex, JFK's carefully cultivated image, the CBS lunar broadcast soundstage, NASA's Mission Control, and the applications of Apollo-style engineering to city planning. The twenty-one-layer spacesuit, de Monchaux argues, offers an object lesson. It tells us about redundancy and interdependence and about the distinctions between natural and man-made complexity; it teaches us to know the virtues of adaptation and to see the future as a set of possibilities rather than a scripted scenario.

The Apollo Missions
The Apollo Missions

Author: Patti Richards

Publisher: North Star Editions, Inc.

Published: 2018-01-01

Total Pages: 51

ISBN-13: 163517709X

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Explores scientists' thrilling quest to land on the moon. Engaging text, vibrant photos, and informative infographics help readers learn about this important advancement in exploring space, as well as the people and technology that made it possible.

Innovations in the exploration of outer space
Innovations in the exploration of outer space

Author: Henry R. Hertzfeld

Publisher: WIPO

Published: 2022-04-05

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13:

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Human exploration of outer space has stimulated multiple innovations from both government and private sources. The decision to invest vast sums of money over a short period of time for the moon programs of the 1960s radically increased the level of innovation. Accomplishing this required new forms of energy for launch and space operations, reductions in the weight of components, and advanced computational capabilities, among many other technological improvements. The organization and management of bringing all of the components together was also essential. This report discusses economic aspects and overall benefits of those innovations as they fit into the prior and continuing push for advanced space capabilities.

Spaceflight
Spaceflight

Author: Michael J. Neufeld

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2018-10-16

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 0262536331

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A concise history of spaceflight, from military rocketry through Sputnik, Apollo, robots in space, space culture, and human spaceflight today. Spaceflight is one of the greatest human achievements of the twentieth century. The Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite, in 1957; less than twelve years later, the American Apollo astronauts landed on the Moon. In this volume of the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Michael Neufeld offers a concise history of spaceflight, mapping the full spectrum of activities that humans have developed in space. Neufeld explains that “the space program” should not be equated only with human spaceflight. Since the 1960s, unmanned military and commercial spacecraft have been orbiting near the Earth, and robotic deep-space explorers have sent back stunning images of faraway planets. Neufeld begins with the origins of space ideas and the discovery that rocketry could be used for spaceflight. He then discusses the Soviet-U.S. Cold War space race and reminds us that NASA resisted adding female astronauts even after the Soviets sent the first female cosmonaut into orbit. He analyzes the two rationales for the Apollo program: prestige and scientific discovery (this last something of an afterthought). He describes the internationalization and privatization of human spaceflight after the Cold War, the cultural influence of space science fiction, including Star Trek and Star Wars, space tourism for the ultra-rich, and the popular desire to go into space. Whether we become a multiplanet species, as some predict, or continue to call Earth home, this book offers a useful primer.