National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft

By Courtney G Brooks, James M. Grimwood, Loyd S. Swenson

Published as NASA Special Publication-4205 in the NASA History Series, 1979.

Table of Contents

Contents

• Library of Congress Card Catalog
• Foreword
• Preface
• Chapter 1 - Concept to Challenge
  • 1957 to Mid-1961
  • Forging a National Space Policy
  • The Starting
  • The Goett Committee
  • Focusing the Aim
  • Priming the Pipeline
  • The Feasibility Studies
  • Portents for Apollo
  • The Challenge
• Chapter 2 - Project Planning and Contracting
  • May through December 1961
  • Committees at Work
  • Spacecraft Development Decision
  • Astronavigation - The First Apollo Contract
  • Contracting for the Command Module
  • Influences on Booster Determination
  • Help from the Department of Defense
  • Choice of Facilities
  • The Launch Vehicle: Question and Decision
• Chapter 3 - Contending Modes
  • 1959 to Mid-1962
  • Proposals: Before and after May 1961
  • LOR Gains a NASA Adherent
  • Early Reaction to LOR
  • Analysis of LOR
  • Settling the Mode Issue
  • Casting the Die
• Chapter 4 - Matching Modules and Missions
  • 1962
  • The Team and the Tools
  • Preliminary Designs for the Lunar Lander
  • Pressures by PSAC
  • Fitting the Lunar Module into Apollo
  • NASA Adjustments for Apollo
  • NASA-Grumman Negotiations
  • End of a Phase
• Chapter 5 - Command Module and Program Changes
  • 1963-1964
  • The Headquarters Role
  • Commmand Module: Problems and Progress
• Chapter 6 - Lunar Module
  • 1963-1964
  • External Design
  • Tailoring the Cockpit
  • Hatches and Landing Gear
  • Engines, Large and Small
  • Environment and Electricity
  • The "Sub-Prime" and the Radar Problem
  • Guidance and Navigation
  • Mockup Reviews
  • The Lunar Module and the Apollo Program
• Chapter 7 - Searching for Order
  • 1965
  • Program Direction and the Command Module
  • Lunar Module Refinement
  • The LEM Test Program: A Pacing Item
  • The Manned Factor
  • Portents for Operations
  • The Course and the Future
• Chapter 8 - Moving Toward Operations
  • 1966
  • Qualifying Missions
  • Troubles and Troubleshooters
  • Lunar Module
  • Plans and Progress in Space Flight
  • The Astronauts and the Gemini Experience
  • Preparations for the First Manned Apollo Mission
• Chapter 9 - Tragedy and Recovery
  • 1967
  • Stalked by the Spectre
  • The Investigation
  • The Slow Recovery
  • Apollo 4 and Saturn V
• Chapter 10 - Race with the Decade
  • 1968: First Half
  • Worries and Watchdogs
  • Apollo 5: The Lunar Module's Debut
  • The LM: Some Questions, Some Answers
  • Apollo 6: Saturn V's Shaky Dress Rehearsal
  • Pogo and Other Problems
  • The Outlook
• Chapter 11 - Tastes of Triumph
  • 1968: Second Half
  • Proposal for a Lunar-Orbit Mission
  • Selecting and Training Crews
  • Apollo 7: The Magnificent Flying Machine
  • The Apollo 8 Decision
  • Apollo 8: The First Lunar Voyage
• Chapter 12 - The Trailblazers
  • 1969: First Half
  • Schedules and Lingering Worries
  • A Double Workload
  • The Mission and the Men
  • Apollo 9: Earth Orbital Trials
  • Setting the Stage
  • Apollo 10: The Dress Rehearsal
• Chapter 13 - To Land on the Moon
  • 1960-July 1969
  • Some Special Consideration
  • Training Mankind's Representatives
  • Affairs for the Public
  • Down to the Wire
• Chapter 14 - Trip to Tranquility
  • 1969: July
  • The Outward Voyage
  • In Lunar Orbit
  • The First Landing
  • On the Surface
  • Return from Tranquility
• Epilogue