Spacecraft Technology: The Early Years
Charting the early Space Age, from the launch of Sputinik 1 in 1957 to the landing of men on the Moon, this book is a celebration of the importance of that early technology in shaping our global culture.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Spacecraft Technology: The Early Years
Chapter 9: Lunar Lander The Development of the Apollo Lunar Module
Overview
That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind
Neil Armstrong [1]
If the Apollo programme had been designed simply to transport three astronauts to lunar orbit, allow them to conduct remote observations of its surface and return them to Earth, it would have been an historic feat of technological development in the 1960s. But President Kennedy had set an even more impressive goal, which involved a landing, and this was the function of the lunar module.
The Apollo 11 lunar module, the first manned spacecraft to land on the Moon, made its touchdown in the Sea of Tranquillity on 20 July 1969. Although several decades have passed since that historic event, and many subsequent developments in space technology have taken place, the effort required to place men on the surface of the Moon and return them safely to the Earth set a precedent in engineering excellence that is hard to match even today.
[1]Although Armstrong has insisted he said one small step for a man , most people who listen to the recording cannot discern the a . Unfortunately, the sentence lacks the intended meaning without it.
Design overview
As with all other Apollo hardware, NASA put the lunar module out to contract across the United States. Nine firms submitted bids for the contract, which was worth at least $350 million and, on 7 November 1962, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp of Bethpage, NY, was selected to design and build 18 engineering models and flight models of the...
Copyright The Institution of Electrical Engineers 2006 under license agreement with Books24x7
