Product Description

Out of the technological battlefield of World War II came a team of gifted German engineers and designers who developed the vengeance weapon, the V-2, which evolved into the peaceful, powerful Saturn V rocket to take men to the Moon. David Woods tells the exciting story, starting from America s post war astronautical research facilities, that used the V-2 for the development of the robust, resilient and reliable Saturn V launcher. He describes the initial launches through manned orbital spaceflights, comprehensively detailing each step, including computer configuration, the role of ground control, trajectory planning, lunar orbiting, separation of the lander, walking and working on the Moon, retrieval of the lunar astronauts and returning to Earth in this massive technical accomplishment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9844 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Review
"This is, quite simply, one of the five best books ever written about the Apollo programme ... . Most books on Apollo have dealt with the what and when of the subject; this is the first to go deeply into the how of the missions ... . Accompanying the text are many photos and diagrams, and there s also a selection of colour plates. ... There s so much to absorb in this book ... . A superb book in all respects!" --Liftoff, Issue 244, March-April, 2008

"I must personally say that I have found, what I consider, the quintessential book on flying Apollo. If you want to understand the terminology, the various systems, how they functioned together to land on the Moon and return home, then this is the book. While I have written articles on the Apollo Guidance Computer, the star charts used and proofed a new book coming out on the lunar landing, this book explains the mission simply and succinctly. David, this book is really well done." --Larry McGlynn, www.apollotribute.blogspot.com, March, 2008

"A wealth of knowledge regarding the early days of manned space exploration. ... Woods describes each phase of an Apollo Mission in intimate detail, from the stacking of the booster until the crews are safely abroad the aircraft carrier. ... Ultimately, it is an easy read. ... As an armchair historian, I have always wondered about the intricacies on Apollo. Woods book really satisfied my curiosity about systems and people." --James M. Busby, Space Times, Vol. 47 (3), 2008

From the Author
At the start of the twenty-first century, there is a new exodus to the Moon as many of the world's most powerful countries bring their gaze to our natural satellite. China and Japan have already sent probes into orbit around it and the United States is planning to disturb its dust once more after a lapse of half a century.

That first flurry of exploration was begun by an American president who was stung by the pioneering space successes of the Soviet Union. In reply, the United States gathered the best of its engineers and set itself the goal of reaching the Moon within a decade.

In How Apollo Flew to the Moon, author David Woods tells the exciting story of how the resulting Apollo flights were conducted by following a virtual flight to the Moon and back. 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.

The book contains a wealth of fascinating and accessible material: the role of the powerful Saturn V rocket, the day-to-day concerns of human and spacecraft health between two worlds, and the sheer daring involved in travelling to the Moon in the mid-twentieth century.

About the Author
Apollo arose from the depths of America s post war aeronautical research facilities and was originally conceived as a general purpose spacecraft. Between 1968 and 1972, demonstrating sheer daring, twenty four men journeyed from the Earth to the Moon in the mid-twentieth century. The techniques and procedures developed for what was seen as a political decision by President John F Kennedy, was subsequently recognised as a supreme example of human exploration at its greatest, demonstrating an apparent peak of technological excellence.

Customer Reviews

From pre-launch to splashdown
I have just finished reading this excellent book and I would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in the Apollo project, or space flight in general.

Without getting bogged down in equations, this book explains how the space craft of the Apollo era worked and where flown. Following the journey from the launch pad to splash down, every stage of this grand adventure are explained in detail. Each section contains examples from the real missions to show how a staggering series of procedures allowed the first humans to walk on the Moon.

Well worth reading!

Deserves 10 Stars!
This is a book that I've been waiting for all my life! I've read so many books about Project Apollo, many of which naturally focus on the human side of the adventures-this is after all, what the general public wants to know about. But as a reasonably intelligent and educated person I have often been left wondering how they actually did everything they needed to get to the Moon and back safely. This book fills that gap and in a way that the person with an average level of education will fully comprehend and enjoy. Mr Woods's explanations on navigation procedures are so lucid as to make it sound simple and after a few minutes reading I found I could confidently bandy phrases around such as 'state vector' at dinner parties, even though I have to take my shoes and socks off to count up to 23!

After many years of falling into the trap of thinking the Moon landings were a great but, only moderately hard task to achieve, Mr Woods superb book has reinstated my feelings of awe for what humans can achieve if they put their minds to it and polished my absolute admiration for the astronauts who put themselves into the hands of their ground-based colleagues.

I cannot praise Mr Woods efforts enough, however I worry that since the bar has been set so high by the author, every subsequent book I read on Project Apollo will compare unfavourably to 'How Apollo Flew to the Moon'.

A vivid and detailed narration of the greatest adventure of mankind
Apollo project must have been perhaps the greatest adventure of mankind. It's one of the best and solid proves that nature's secrets even though well hidden behind obscured mathematics, they can be revealed and used not only for scientific understanding but also for direct utilization in the form of elaborate technology.

This beautiful book describes in a vivid way or better tell the story of this unique adventure. The best feature of "How Apollo Flew to the Moon" is the way it is written. Traveling to the moon is an extremely complicate technical project so the one who might try to understand it might effectively be lost in technicalities. The writer managed to describe this great trip by avoiding some technical details which would surely be cumbersome to the layman. This style of writing doesn't mean that the text lacks the presentation of the most basic techniques needed to understand the difficulty, the dangers and the scientific straggle to make this endeavor successful. Someone who doesn't have detailed knowledge of orbital dynamics and celestial mechanics, can learn the few basic things necessary to understand how a gravitational field is responsible for keeping things in orbit, what do a rocket need to do in order to ascent to the desired orbit and how deceptive is the belief that objects and human observers experience zero gravity while in orbit.

One of the advantages of the book is that it deals with every possible detail of a flight to the moon. It discusses the way communication was established between the spacecraft and the Earth, the techniques used by the astronauts and the ground control to help them find their way to the vast void but also, at the other end, it deals with matters of personal hygiene, the relationship between the crew mates and their impressions from the flight. The latest feature is very informative because one can hear the astronaut themselves talking about their experiences concerning specific aspects or stages of the mission. It is as if there is culmination of a series of autobiographies from the members of the Apollo missions.

I fully recommend this book. It is not only extremely interesting but also easy going. You'll find yourselves travelling inside the Command Module of Apollo and you will understand how glorious were that moments for mankind because knowledge and science is a legacy coming from the depths of time. A great gift from our ancestors which was elaborately transformed to technology giving to humanity the ability to take the great leap to space.