To the Moon by Christmas

The year is 1968. It is a turbulent time in American history. To have men land on the moon by the end of the decade is a deadline that is fast approaching. There is less than two years left until 1970 and not a single manned Apollo spacecraft has gone into space.

In 1968 it appeared that going to the moon would be a process that evolved out of a series of small steps. In April of 1968, the race to the moon would be won by a list of missions each a little more dangerous and bold than the last:

Apollo 7 would be the first manned mission of Apollo. It would test the Command Module (CM) for the first time in space.

Apollo 8 would test the CM and the Lunar Module (LM) in Earth orbit.

Apollo 9 would test the CM and the LM in high Earth orbit.

Apollo 10 would enter lunar orbit and test the LM. It would also gain information for a future manned landing.

Apollo 11 or 12 would make the first manned landing on the moon.

This plan however was not to be. A new plan was born to perch America on top of the space race. George Low, an engineer who managed the development of the Apollo spacecraft, realized that it might be possible to inject the CM, with no LM, into lunar orbit by the end of the year. He reasoned that if Apollo 7 went well in October it might be possible to send the CM designated for Apollo 9 to the moon. After pitching this idea to other NASA notables such as NASA Administrator James Webb and Associate Administrator Thomas Paine, this idea was suddenly a possibility. Despite the inherent risk, this mission became reality for one big reason: the Soviets were believed to be planning something big. CIA spy photos indicated to NASA that the Soviets were building a massive rocket; possibly designed to send men to the moon by the end of the year. America could simply not afford to be beaten in another space first.

It is difficult to state the danger involved in this decision. By the summer of 1968, the lunar module would not be ready to enter Earth orbit until the spring of 1969, let alone lunar orbit. Apollo 8 would be going to the moon with only the CM, and thus only one engine to escape lunar orbit. If it did not work, or malfunctioned in any way, the astronauts could be stranded with no hope for rescue. To make this mission even more risky, only a year and a half earlier the Apollo 1 fire had resulted in the redesign of the Apollo spacecraft. After Apollo 7, Apollo 8 would be only the second manned test of this machine in space, and it would be leaving the influence of Earth’s gravity. The crew of Apollo 8 would be entering the moon’s gravity 376,745 kilometers away in basically an experimental spacecraft.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic