Apollo: Mankind's Greatest Achievement?

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by paddoboy, Sep 11, 2020.

  1. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Obviously yes, in my opinion anyway.
    Other candidates?

    As a consequence of the Apollo missions, we have access to such incredible videos as follows....to quote the second man to walk on the Moon, "Magnificent Desolation"

    http://www.panoramas.dk/moon/apollo-17.html
     
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  3. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Don't forget to go full screen!
     
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  5. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    With the recent 50th anniversary of the first Moon landings, I would imagine much has been forgotten by those of us old enough to have lived through it.....
    After the disastrous Apollo 1 fire and the demise of Chaffee, White and Grissom, how many remember Apollo's 2 and 3?
    You're forgiven if like me you had forgotten.
    Here is the account of those....
    Actually both were cancelled...as per the following account.....
    https://www.popsci.com/blog-network/vintage-space/what-happened-apollos-2-and-3/
    "Apollo 2 was, a duplicate of the Apollo 1 mission to give NASA a chance to test or revisit anything the first crew might have missed. Apollo 3 would debut the advanced Block II CSM, the lunar mission-capable version of the spacecraft designed to dock with the Lunar Module and create a tunnel through which astronauts could transfer between vehicles".
    and here.....
    "Not long after Gemini 12 splashed down on November 15, 1966, George Mueller of the Office of Manned Spaceflight cancelled Apollo 2. The missions were reorganized so Apollo 2 would debut the Lunar Module while Apollo 3, a high Earth orbit mission with both the CSM and LM, would be the first manned Saturn V launch".
    https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/2500/why-did-apollo-mission-numbering-skip-2-3-4-5-and-6
    Apollo 4 was an uncrewed test flight of the Saturn V
    Apollo 5 was the first uncrewed flight of the Lunar Module
    Apollo 6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_6

    Apollo 7 was a crewed mission in Earth orbit...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_7

    and Apollo 8 went to Lunar orbit
    Apollo 9 low Earth orbit and tests on all aspects. as per...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_9
    "and was the first flight of the full Apollo spacecraft: the command and service module (CSM) with the Lunar Module (LM). The mission was flown to qualify the LM for lunar orbit operations in preparation for the first Moon landing by demonstrating its descent and ascent propulsion systems, showing that its crew could fly it independently, then rendezvous and dock with the CSM again, as would be required for the first crewed lunar landing. Other objectives of the flight included firing the LM descent engine to propel the spacecraft stack as a backup mode (as would be required on the Apollo 13 mission), and use of the portable life support system backpack outside the LM cabin."

    Apollo 10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_10
    Apollo 10 was a May 1969 human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. It was the Fmission: a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, testing all the components and procedures just short of actually landing. While astronaut John Young remained in the Command Module orbiting the Moon, astronauts Thomas Stafford and Gene Cernan flew the Apollo Lunar Module (LM) to a descent orbit within 8.4 nautical miles (15.6 km) of the lunar surface, the point where powered descent for landing would begin.[2] After orbiting the Moon 31 times[3] Apollo 10 returned safely to Earth, and its success enabled the first actual landing (Apollo 11) two months later.
    Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, all landed on the Moon.
    Apollo 13 as we all know, looped the Moon and returned after an on board explosion.
     
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  7. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo.html
    The Apollo Program (1963 - 1972)
    30th Anniversary of Apollo 11 - July, 1999

    The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. Six of the missions (Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) achieved this goal. Apollos 7 and 9 were Earth orbiting missions to test the Command and Lunar Modules, and did not return lunar data. Apollos 8 and 10 tested various components while orbiting the Moon, and returned photography of the lunar surface. Apollo 13 did not land on the Moon due to a malfunction, but also returned photographs. The six missions that landed on the Moon returned a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms of lunar samples. Experiments included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind experiments.

    Click on the spacecraft name for information about the spacecraft and data held at NSSDCA



    Apollo Lunar Missions
    Apollo 8
    Launched 21 December 1968
    Lunar Orbit and Return
    Returned to Earth 27 December 1968
    Apollo 10
    Launched 18 May 1969
    Lunar Orbit and Return
    Returned to Earth 26 May 1969
    Apollo 11
    Launched 16 July 1969
    Landed on Moon 20 July 1969
    Sea of Tranquility
    Returned to Earth 24 July 1969
    Apollo 12
    Launched 14 November 1969
    Landed on Moon 19 November 1969
    Ocean of Storms
    Returned to Earth 24 November 1969
    Apollo 13
    Launched 11 April 1970
    Lunar Flyby and Return
    Malfunction forced cancellation of lunar landing
    Returned to Earth 17 April 1970
    Apollo 14
    Launched 31 January 1971
    Landed on Moon 5 February 1971
    Fra Mauro
    Returned to Earth 9 February 1971
    Apollo 15
    Launched 26 July 1971
    Landed on Moon 30 July 1971
    Hadley Rille
    Returned to Earth 7 August 1971
    Apollo 16
    Launched 16 April 1972
    Landed on Moon 20 April 1972
    Descartes
    Returned to Earth 27 April 1972
    Apollo 17
    Launched 07 December 1972
    Landed on Moon 11 December 1972
    Taurus-Littrow
    Returned to Earth 19 December 1972
    The Apollo mission consisted of a Command Module (CM) and a Lunar Module (LM). The CM and LM would separate after lunar orbit insertion. One crew member would stay in the CM, which would orbit the Moon, while the other two astronauts would take the LM down to the lunar surface. After exploring the surface, setting up experiments, taking pictures, collecting rock samples, etc., the astronauts would return to the CM for the journey back to Earth.



    Apollo Crewed Earth Orbiting Missions
    Apollo 7
    Launched 11 October 1968
    First crewed Apollo flight
    Splashdown 22 October 1968
    Apollo 9
    Launched 03 March 1969
    First crewed Lunar Module test
    Splashdown 13 March 1969


    The Apollo 1 Launch Pad Accident
    Apollo 1
    27 January 1967
    Tragic Loss of Three Apollo Astronauts


    Apollo/Saturn Uncrewed Earth Orbiting Missions
    SA-5
    Launched 29 January 1964
    First Block II Saturn launch
    SA-6
    Launched 28 May 1964
    First Apollo boilerplate model
    SA-7
    Launched 18 September 1964
    Apollo boilerplate model
    SA-9/Pegasus 1
    Launched 16 February 1965
    Apollo boilerplate model and micrometeoroid satellite
    SA-8/Pegasus 2
    Launched 25 May 1965
    Apollo boilerplate model and micrometeoroid satellite
    SA-10/Pegasus 3
    Launched 30 July 1965
    Apollo boilerplate model and micrometeoroid satellite
    AS-203
    Launched 5 July 1966
    First S-IVB stage orbital mission
    Apollo 4
    Launched 9 November 1967
    First all-up launch of Saturn V
    Apollo 5
    Launched 22 January 1968
    First test of Lunar Module in space
    Apollo 6
    Launched 4 April 1968
    Final uncrewed Apollo test flight


    Apollo/Saturn Uncrewed Suborbital Flights
    SA-1
    Launched 27 October 1961
    First flight of Saturn 1
    SA-2
    Launched 25 April 1962
    Project High Water I
    SA-3
    Launched 16 November 1962
    Project High Water II
    SA-4
    Launched 28 March 1963
    Engine-out capability test
    AS-201
    Launched 26 February 1966
    First flight of Saturn 1B
    AS-202
    Launched 25 August 1966
    Apollo development flight
     
  8. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    The video account and communication between Earth and the Eagle after it landed with Apollo 11
     
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  9. Seattle Valued Senior Member

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    It was an impressive feat. I wouldn't call it mankind's greatest achievement. What did it achieve...putting a man on the Moon?

    Again, impressive but I think democracy, the concept of individualism, human rights are greater achievements of mankind. The internet is a greater achievement IMO. The printing press, writing itself, the ability to pass knowledge from generation to generation rather than having to start from scratch.

    The disappointment of the Moon program was going from that to nothing but low Earth orbit for the next 50 years.
     
  10. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    More then putting just putting a man on the Moon. Human kind, finally able to leave his cradle and venture into the Universe.
    All other things you mentioned certainly up there as great...harnessing electricity also.
     
  11. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Yep, agreed. But it is certain we will return and go even further.
    I hope I'm around to see the next great achievement in setting foot on Mars.
     
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  12. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    Ditto

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  13. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    You still stuck in dreary old Bali, or back home in sunny Darwin?

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  14. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    Velcro comes to mind
     
  15. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    Stuck but got a tiny tiny less dreary when Inul current squeeze needs to be away for about week to 10 days and another squeeze will step in to keep me sane

    YES they both OK with the arrangement and know about each other

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  16. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    sane?

    oh

    ok
     
  17. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    Feel free to substitute sane with adjective of your choice

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  18. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Not much we have today will work without it.
    Nice to discuss some reality with regards to the Apollo missions and landing on the Moon, after crossing paths with the fucking nut in the conspiracy section and his craziness.

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    The portable battery from memory is a spin off from the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo missions also. Pretty hard to imagine life without them now also.
    Also cameras.
     
  19. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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  20. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    I'll nominate another one, which is obviously in conjunction witn Man's return to the Moon, and eventual manned Mars expedition/s.
    Exploration, and in recent times, exploration, in conjunction with science and the quest for knowledge, has always been a corner stone of humanity.
    My nomination is the Elon Musk inspired "reusable rocket systems"
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_reusable_launch_system_development_program

    The SpaceX reusable launch system development program is a privately funded program to develop a set of new technologies for an orbital launch system that may be reused many times in a manner similar to the reusability of aircraft. SpaceX has been developing the technologies over several years to facilitate full and rapid reusability of space launch vehicles. The project's long-term objectives include returning a launch vehicle first stage to the launch site in minutes and to return a second stage to the launch pad following orbital realignment with the launch site and atmospheric reentry in up to 24 hours. SpaceX's long term goal is that both stages of their orbital launch vehicle will be designed to allow reuse a few hours after return.[1]

    The program was publicly announced in 2011. SpaceX first achieved a successful landing and recovery of a first stage in December 2015. The first re-flight of a landed first stage occurred in March 2017[2] with the second occurring in June 2017, that one only five months after the maiden flight of the booster.[3] The third attempt occurred in October 2017 with the SES-11/EchoStar-105 mission. Second flights of refurbished first stages then became routine, with individual boosters having powered up to five missions as of March 2020.

    The reusable launch system technology was developed and initially used for the first stage of Falcon 9.[4] After stage separation, the booster flips around, an optional boostback burn is done to reverse its course, a reentry burn, controlling direction to arrive at the landing site and a landing burn to effect the final low-altitude deceleration and touchdown.

    SpaceX intended (from at least 2014) to develop technology to extend reusable flight hardware to second stages, a more challenging engineering problem because the vehicle is travelling at orbital velocity.[5][4][6] Second stage reuse is considered paramount to Elon Musk's plans to enable the settlement of Mars. Initial concepts to make the second stage of Falcon 9 reusable have been abandoned.[7]

    As of 2020, SpaceX is actively developing the Starship system, with the intent to make it a fully-reusable two-stage launch vehicle, intended to replace all of its existing launch vehicles and spacecraft used for satellite delivery and human transport—Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon—and also eventually support flights to the Moon and Mars. In addition it could be used for point-to-point transportation on Earth.
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    I for one wish this somewhat eccentric Billionare all the success in the world!
     
  21. Hipparchia Registered Senior Member

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    Mankind's Greatest Achievement?

    Fire (Or language)

    But thank you for the memories of Apollo paddoboy.
     
  22. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    No probs! It also brought back some memories for myself, and much of the stuff that was involved. As I mentioned to another who said it as simply putting a man on the Moon, it was far more then that. Man finally leaving his home planet and place of evolution and birth, and the first tentative steps into the universe beyond our fart arse little blue orb!
     

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