Product Description

On 25 May 1961, John F Kennedy announced the goal of landing an American man on the Moon by the end of the decade. This challenge forced NASA to review the planned lunar landing of a three-man spaceship named Apollo in the mid-1970s. In 1962, it was decided that a specialized vehicle would accompany the main spacecraft, to make the lunar landing while the mothership remained in lunar orbit. To send these vehicles to the Moon would require the development of an enormous rocket. Development was protracted, but in December 1968 Apollo 8 was launched on a pioneering mission to perform an initial reconnaissance in lunar orbit. When Apollo 17 lifted off from the Moon in December 1972, the program was concluded. Now, at long last, there is a real prospect of a resumption of human exploration of the Moon. This book provides an overview of the origins of the Apollo program and descriptions of the ground facilities, launch vehicles and spacecraft that will serve as an invaluable single-volume sourcebook for space enthusiasts, space historians, journalists, and programme-makers on radio and TV. It supplements tha other books that have focused on the politics and management of the Apollo program, the astronauts, and their training and exploits.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #469331 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 633 pages

About the Author
Richard Orloff is a historian of the Apollo program who, in 2000, compiled a review of the Apollo missions, supplemented by a comprehensive tabular statistical reference.  This was published by NASA and is now out of print.  David Harland is also a space historian who has studied and written extensively about the Apollo program.

Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Apollo Reference
I have read and enjoyed several of the Springer Praxis Space Exploration series of boks and this one was no execption. It's not really a book for the casual reader, but for those of you with a keen interest in the Apollo Project, this book provides all the facts and figures you could want in one place. The authors have gone back to the original documents to ensure that the information presented is accurate. The book starts with a look at the deveolpment and testing of the various parts of the space craft, including the Saturn 1, 1b and V before going on to detail each mission. With over 600 pages, each flight is fully covered and has a set of tables that really do include just about everything you could possibly want to know about that mission from pre-launch through to recovery. So, if you are interested in the details that go beyond the scope of many books about the Moon landings, this is the volume for you.