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APPENDIX 4

Chronology Of Major Events In Manned Space Flight And In Project Apollo, 1957-1975

1957

October:
The Soviet Union placed the first artificial earth satellite (Sputnik) into orbit.

1958

April:
The Air Force contracted with the Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, to produce a new lunar photographic atlas. The Air Force published a development plan for its manned space program, which included two exploratory man-in-space projects, a lunar reconnaissance mission and a manned lunar landing and return; the plan envisioned completion of the program in seven years at a cost of $1.5 billion.
June:
The Air Force contracted with Rocketdyne to design a single-chamber rocket engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen and producing 1 to 1.5 million pounds of thrust.
July:
President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (P.L. 85-568) establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
October:
The Special Committee on Space Technology, created in January 1958 and chaired by H. Guyford Stever of MIT, reported its recommendations: development of both clustered- and single-engine boosters of million- pound thrust; vigorous attack on the problems of sustaining man in the space environment; development of lifting reentry vehicles; research on high-energy propellant systems for launch vehicle upper stages; and evaluation of existing boosters and upper stages followed by intensive development of those promising greatest utility.
November:
A Space Task Group (STG) was organized at Langley Research Center to implement NASA's first manned satellite project (Mercury). Robert R. Gilruth was named project manager.

1959

January:
In a report of the staff of the House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration entitled "The Next Ten Years in Space, 1959-1969," Wernher von Braun of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency predicted a manned flight around the moon within 8 to 10 years and a manned lunar landing and return a few years later. NASA and industry officials envisioned similar progress.
March:
The first F-1 engine was successfully test-fired by Rocketdyne, producing more than one million pounds of thrust.
April:
NASA announced the selection of seven pilots for the Mercury program. NASA created a Research Steering Committee on Manned Space Flight. Over the next several months this committee examined long-term human-in-space problems to recommend future missions and coordination of research programs at the NASA centers. At its May 25-26 meeting the committee recommended the manned lunar landing as a focal point for studies in propulsion, vehicle configuration, structure, and guidance requirements, since a lunar landing would constitute an end objective that did not have to be justified in terms of its contribution to a more useful goal.
November:
STG appointed a panel to study preliminary design of a multiperson spacecraft for a circumlunar mission, conduct mission analyses, and plan a test program.

1960

January:
NASA presented its ten-year plan to Congress, calling for a pro' gram leading to manned circumlunar flight and a permanent earth-orbiting space station to start in 1965-1967 and a manned lunar landing some time beyond 1970. Cost estimates for the plan ran to $1.5 billion annually for five years.
February:
NASA approved Project Ranger, a project to send an unmanned, hard-landing spacecraft to the moon to relay television pictures of the lunar surface to earth during the final stages of its flight.
March:
The Army Ballistic Missile Agency's Development Operations Division at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, headed by Wernher von Braun, was transferred to NASA as the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.
April-May:
STG developed guidelines for the advanced manned spacecraft program, including detailed propulsion and spacecraft requirements.
May:
A meeting on space rendezvous was held at Langley Research Center to discuss the problems of bringing two spacecraft together in space.

NASA began work on a project (later named Surveyor) to send a soft-landing spacecraft to the moon to provide scientific and engineering data on the lunar surface.

July:
The House Committee on Science and Astronautics urged NASA to intensify its efforts to send humans to the moon and back "in this decade." In the committee's view, NASA's ten-year plan did not go far enough and the space agency was not pressing forward with enough energy.
July:
The name "Apollo" was approved for the advanced manned space flight program.

NASA held its first NASA-Industry Program Plans Conference in Washington to brief industrial management on the overall space program. George M. Low, chief of NASA's Manned Space Flight program, stated that circumlunar flight and earth-orbiting missions would be carried out before 1970, leading eventually to a manned lunar landing and a permanent space station in earth orbit.

September:
NASA issued a formal request for proposals for six-month feasibility studies for advanced manned spacecraft, to define a system fulfilling STG guidelines, formulate a plan for implementing the program, identify areas requiring long lead-time research and development, and estimate the total cost of the program. In October proposals were received from 14 companies, and in November contracts were awarded to Convair/Astronautics Division of General Dynamics Corp., General Electric Company, and The Martin Company.
November:
A program of detailed studies of lunar geology was undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey, funded by NASA.

STG proposed to organize a number of Technical Liaison Groups to coordinate the activities of NASA centers in research for Apollo.

1961

January:
A meeting of the Space Exploration Program Council discussed the manned lunar landing project, with emphasis on three methods of conducting the mission: direct ascent, rendezvous of spacecraft in earth orbit, and rendezvous in lunar orbit. It was decided that all three methods should be explored thoroughly. The Council established a committee headed by George M. Low to define the elements of the project insofar as possible.
February:
The Instrumentation Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was selected to conduct a six- month study of a navigation and guidance system for the Apollo spacecraft.
March:
The Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences recommended that "scientific exploration of the moon and planets should be clearly stated as the ultimate objective of the U.S. space program for the forseeable future."
April:
The USSR launched a five-ton spacecraft (Vostok I) carrying Major Yuri A. Gagarin on a one-orbit, 108- minute flight.
May:
STG proposed a new NASA development center to manage the development of manned spacecraft and projects.

The United States launched its first human into space, Lt. Cmdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., who rode a Mercury spacecraft (Freedom 7) on a parabolic flight path 116.5 miles high and landed 320 miles down range.

Final reports of the six-month feasibility studies for advanced manned spacecraft were submitted to STG by the three contractors.

President John F. Kennedy addressed Congress on "urgent national needs," which included new long-range goals for the American space program. Kennedy expressed his belief that the nation should adopt the goal, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." He requested additional appropriations of $611 million for NASA and DoD for fiscal 1962.

NASA appointed a committee (Lundin committee) to study all possible approaches for accomplishing a manned lunar landing in the period 1967-1970 and to make rough estimates of costs and schedules.

July:
Twelve companies were invited to submit proposals for the Apollo spacecraft. A detailed statement of work, based on contractor and NASA design studies, was provided for a three-phase program terminating in a lunar landing. NASA and DoD created a Large Launch Vehicle Planning Group to study development of large launch vehicles for the national space program.
August:
NASA selected the Instrumentation Laboratory of MIT to develop the guidance and navigation system for the Apollo Spacecraft.
September:
After a study of several locations around the country, NASA selected a site near Houston, Texas, for its new development center for manned spacecraft. The center would design, develop, and test new manned spacecraft, train astronauts, and operate the control center for manned space missions. In October the Space Task Group, still based at Langley, was formally redesignated as the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC); personnel would move to Houston starting in 1962.
October:
John C. Houbolt and others at Langley Research Center presented to the Large Launch Vehicle Planning Group a study on the use of lunar-orbit rendezvous in a manned lunar landing. November: After evaluation of proposals from five companies, NASA selected the Space and Information Division of North American Aviation, Inc., Downey, California, to design and build the Apollo spacecraft. December: MSC announced a new manned program using a two-man version of the Mercury spacecraft, which would test techniques of rendezvous in earth orbit.

1962

February:
The first American to orbit the earth, Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., USMC, completed three orbits in a Mercury spacecraft and returned safely to earth. February-June: Several groups within NASA were intensively studying the various modes of going to the moon (direct ascent, rendezvous in earth orbit, rendezvous in lunar orbit). The third method required a separate spacecraft to detach itself, land on the moon, and return to lunar orbit to rendezvous with the Apollo spacecraft.
March:
At the request of the Office of Manned Space Flight, American Telephone & Telegraph established a group called Bellcomm, Inc., to provide independent analysis of systems and problems in the manned space flight program. For the duration of Apollo, Bellcomm performed many services, including advice on selection of landing sites, for OMSF.
July:
NASA Headquarters announced that the lunar-orbit rendezvous mode had been selected for the manned lunar landing project and that requests for proposals would be issued for the second spacecraft (the "lunar excursion module"). MSC invited 11 firms to submit proposals for the lunar excursion module. Nine companies responded; in November NASA selected the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Company to build the module.
August:
A summer study conducted by the Space Science Board at the State University of Iowa examined the state of NASA's space research program and made recommendations concerning future efforts. Many scientists expressed objections to Apollo (which was not specifically on their agenda), but the study cautiously endorsed the program's scientific goals.
September:
A second group of nine test-pilot astronauts was selected for the manned space flight program.
November:
MSC released sketches of the space suit assembly and portable lifesupport system to be used on the lunar surface.
December:
A contract was awarded for construction of a Vertical Assembly Building at NASA's Merritt Island Launch Area, Kennedy Space Center. The $100-million structure would provide space for assembling four Saturn V launch vehicles simultaneously.

1963

February:
The President's budget request for fiscal 1964 included $5.712 billion for NASA. $1.207 billion was for Apollo - almost a threefold increase over the previous year.
April:
Preliminary plans for Apollo scientific instruments were completed. Emphasis was placed on experiments that promised maximum return for the least weight and complexity and were man-oriented and compatible with weight and volume available in the spacecraft. Experiments would be selected after evaluation of proposals from outside scientists.
May:
The Mercury project ended with the 34-hour, 22-orbit flight of astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., in the spacecraft Faith 7.
August:
NASA Headquarters approved the Lunar Orbiter project, which would use unmanned spacecraft to take detailed photographs of the lunar surface to be used in selecting landing sites for Apollo.
September:
Dr. George E. Mueller became Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, replacing D. Brainerd Holmes.
October:
Headquarters sent MSC some general guidelines for scientific investigations of the moon. Principal scientific activity was expected to include comprehensive observation of lunar phenomena, collection of geologic samples, and emplacement of monitoring equipment.
October:
Fourteen more test pilots were selected as astronauts.
November:
A Manned Space Science Division was established in the Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA), NASA Headquarters, to coordinate the efforts of OSSA and the Office of Manned Space Flight in developing scientific experiments for Apollo.

MSC's Space Environment Division recommended 10 specific areas on the moon for evaluation as landing sites for Apollo. These sites and others would be photographed by Lunar Orbiter, after which some would be selected as targets for Surveyor, a project to land unmanned spacecraft on the moon and study the surface.

President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that NASA's Launch Operations Center at Cape Canaveral (Atlantic Missile Range) would be designated the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

December:
An ad hoc group working on Apollo experiments recommended the principal scientific objectives of the program: examination of the surface around the landed spacecraft, geological mapping, investigation of the moon's interior (with instruments), studies of the lunar atmosphere, and radio astronomy from the surface.

1964

March:
NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) began organizing groups of scientists to assist in more specific definition of the scientific objectives of Apollo. Outside scientists were called upon to propose experiments in geology, geophysics, geochemistry, biology, and atmospheric science.
April:
NASA enlisted the aid of the National Academy of Sciences in preparing a plan to recruit scientists for training as astronauts. The first flight of an unmanned Apollo spacecraft was launched from Kennedy Space Center, demonstrating the compatibility of the spacecraft and the launch vehicle. OSSA announced opportunities for scientists to fly experiments on manned space missions, including the lunar landing missions. The earliest Apollo flights expected to support scientific instruments were the fourth and fifth. Ranger VII returned the first close-up television pictures of the lunar surface, showing details as small as 1 meter across.
August:
MSC proposed to build a special lunar sample receiving laboratory in which lunar samples, protected from contamination, would be received, examined, and issued to qualified outside experimenters. The proposal set off several months of discussion between MSC, Headquarters, and the Space Science Board concerning the requirements for such a laboratory and its best location.
May:
The first flight of an unmanned Apollo Spacecraft was launched from Kennedy Space Center, demonstrating the compatibility of the spacecraft and the launch vehicle.
July:
OSSA announced opportunities for scientists to fly experiments on manned space missions, including the lunar landing missions. The earliest Apollo flights expected to support scientific instruments were the fourth and fifth.

Ranger VII returned the first close-up television pictures of the lunar surface, showing details as small as 1 meter across.

August:
MSC proposed to build a special lunar sample receiving laboratory in which lunar samples, protected from contamination, would be received, examined, and issued to qualified outside experimenters. The proposal set off several months of discussion between MSC, Headquarters, and the Space Science Board concerning the requirements for such a laboratory and its best location.

1965

March:
First manned flight of a Gemini spacecraft, a three-orbit flight to test spacecraft systems.
May:
The Space Science Board recommended that samples and astronauts returning from the moon be quarantined until it could be ascertained that they had brought back no life forms that might contaminate the earth.

The NASA Administrator and the Surgeon General agreed to form an Interagency Committee on Back Contamination to define requirements for biological isolation and testing of material returned from the moon and to advise on the construction and operation of a quarantine facility for samples and astronauts.

June:
Six scientists were selected for training as NASA astronauts. Two were qualified pilots; the other four were sent to Air Force flight training school before beginning astronaut training.
July:
OMSF established an Apollo Site Selection Board to work with OSSA, MSC, and Bellcomm in choosing the sites where Apollo missions would land on the moon.

The Space Science Board convened a Summer Study at Woods Hole, Mass., to recommend directions for future space research. The agenda included manned exploration of the moon and planets. Conferees drew up a list of 15 questions that should determine the course of lunar research. Following the Woods Hole sessions, another group met at Falmouth, Mass., to formulate specific recommendations for the Apollo and related unmanned projects.

August:
Three finns were awarded six-month contracts to design prototypes of an Apollo lunar surface experiments package, which would be left on the moon and would return data by telemetry over a period of time.
September:
Meeting with MSC scientists, Public Health Service physicians insisted on rigorous quarantine of astronauts and lunar samples following each lunar mission.
December:
Two Gemini spacecraft performed the first space rendezvous, maneuvering to a separation distance of one foot with no difficulty.

1966

February:
OSSA selected the experiment complement for the Apollo lunar surface experiments package (ALSEP).

The first Apollo spacecraft, a test version of the command and service module, was launched from Cape Canaveral on a two-stage Saturn 1-B rocket.

March:
The Gemini VIII spacecraft performed a rendezvous with an unmanned target vehicle, then docked with it - the first accomplishment of this critical procedure. The mission was aborted soon afterwards when a small thruster malfunctioned.

NASA Headquarters selected the Bendix Corporation to build the lunar surface experiments package.

May:
Surveyor I, the first instrumented spacecraft designed to soft-land on the moon and return scientific data, landed in Oceanus Procellarum.
August:
Lunar Orbiter I, the first of five photographic satellites to be launched in the following 12 months, returned detailed photographs of nine primary and seven alternate Apollo landing sites. Contracts were let for the first two phases of construction of the lunar receiving laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center.
December:
MSC created a Science and Applications Directorate to manage the scientific activities of the center, removing this responsibility from the Engineering and Development Directorate.

1967

January:
A Lunar Missions Planning Board was established at MSC.

A flash fire in Apollo command module 012 during preflight simulations at Cape Canaveral killed all three of the astronauts inside. Investigation of the cause of this tragedy by NASA and by Congress revealed serious shortcomings in the design of the spacecraft and management of manufacturing, testing, and manned simulations. Progress in the lunar landing program was drastically slowed; it was later estimated that the fire delayed the first lunar landing by 18 months.

February:
MSC announced selection of a scientist, Dr. Wilmot N. Hess, of Goddard Space Flight Center, to head its new Science and Applications Directorate.
March:
The Office of Space Science and Applications released the names of 110 principal investigators whose proposals for scientific research on the lunar samples had been accepted.

Eleven scientists were selected for astronaut training, bringing the total number of scientist-astronauts to 15.

May:
Prime and backup crews were named for Apollo 7, the first mission to fly after the fire. No launch date was announced, but assignment of crews indicated NASA's confidence that problems uncovered by the fire were on the way to solution.
July:
Construction of the lunar receiving laboratory was completed and work was under way to install its specialized scientific equipment.
August:
MSC named P. R. Bell, a radiation physicist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to head the lunar receiving laboratory. Bell would report to MSC's Director of Science and Applications.

Wilmot Hess convened a group of NASA and academic scientists at the University of California at Santa Cruz to prepare more detailed plans for lunar exploration based on current expectations for lunar missions. At the end of the conference Hess named a Group for Lunar Exploration Planning to work continuously with MSC in defining the scientific aspects of Apollo missions.

September:
A Lunar Sample Preliminary Examination Team and a Lunar Sample Analysis Planning Team, both including outside and NASA scientists, were created to assist the staff of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in the examination and apportionment of lunar samples.
November:
The first test flight of a complete Saturn V was successfully launched from NASA's new facilities at Kennedy Space Center and completed without significant anomalies.
December:
OMSF established a Lunar Exploration Office within the Apollo Program Office, merging several program units concerned with lunar exploration. A Systems Development group staffed from OMSF would direct hardware development; a Lunar Science group staffed from OSSA would approve operating plans and scientific objectives, payloads, and principal investigators for specific missions.
During the year:
The Interagency Committee on Back Contamination worked out procedures for quarantine and release of lunar astronauts and samples and defined a biological test program to search for extraterrestrial organisms.

NASA and the National Academy of Sciences worked to establish a center for research on lunar and planetary samples adjacent to the Manned Spacecraft Center. The center, to be managed by a consortium of universities, would be the organization through which interested researchers could gain access to the lunar materials for scientific work and would provide office space and other support for visiting scientists.

1968

January:
The lunar module was given its first test (unmanned) in an earth-orbiting mission.
August:
Plans were set in motion to fly a circumlunar mission on the second manned Apollo flight.

In view of problems in building the instruments and constraints appearing in mission planning, OMSF decided not to fly the lunar surface experiments package on the first lunar landing mission. Instead, a simplified set of instruments (a laser reflector and a passive seismometer) would be developed for the first mission and the more extensive set currently in development would be flown later.

October:
Apollo 7, the first manned flight of the Apollo command module, was launched for an 11-day earth-orbital test. All primary objectives of the flight were met.

An operational readiness inspection of the lunar receiving laboratory was conducted and numerous discrepancies were noted. A 10-day simulation of LRL operations similarly uncovered many shortcomings in equipment and procedures.

December:
The first flight of a manned mission on a Saturn V was launched on December 21. Apollo 8 flew to the moon, completed 10 orbits, and returned safely to earth on December 27 . While in lunar orbit the crew made numerous visual and photographic observations of potential landing sites.
During the year:
The Apollo Site Selection Board, working with the Group for Lunar Exploration Planning and Bellcomm, selected five sites as alternatives for the first lunar landing mission. Work continued into 1969 to produce and refine a list from which sites for subsequent exploration missions would be chosen.

1969

March:
Apollo 9 checked out manned operation of the lunar module, including rendezvous procedures, in a successful 10-day mission in earth orbit.
May:
Apollo 10 carried out all phases of a lunar landing mission except the final descent and landing. The lunar module descended to 50,000 feet ( 15,000 meters) above the lunar surface, visually verified the approach to the primary landing site for the first landing, and returned to lunar orbit to rendezvous with the command module.

OMSF authorized the Marshall Space Flight Center to proceed with development of a manned lunar roving vehicle capable of carrying two astronauts several kilometers from their landed lunar module. The vehicle would be used on the later Apollo exploration missions.

July:
Apollo successfully achieved its primary goal with the landing of the lunar module Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20 and the successful completion of Apollo 11 on July 24. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin spent 2.5 hours on the lunar surface, collected some 50 pounds (23 kg.) of lunar rocks and dust, and emplaced a passive seismometer and a laser retroreflector.
July-August:
The Apollo 11 samples were brought to the lunar receiving laboratory, examined, and prepared for issuance to outside scientists. After a three-week stay, the crew was certified free of any biological contamination and released.
August:
NASA Headquarters approved a package of experiments for remote sensing of the moon, to be flown in the Apollo service module on missions 12 through 20.
September-November:
Lunar samples were released for scientific examination by principal investigators.
October:
NASA awarded a contract to the Boeing Company to build the lunar roving vehicle.
November:
Apollo 12 performed the first precision landing (within 1 km. of a preselected spot) at a site in Oceanus Procellarum near the spacecraft Surveyor III. In two surface excursions (more than 7% hours spent outside the lunar module) the astronauts emplaced the first complete ALSEP instrument package, collected almost 75 pounds (34 kg.) of samples, and removed several parts from the Surveyor for analysis.

1970

January:
The Lunar Science Institute adjacent to the Manned Spacecraft Center was officially dedicated.

Detailed reports on the analysis of samples from Apollo 11 were presented at a Lunar Science Conference in Houston, the first of a series of annual conferences on lunar (and later planetary) science.

Budget restrictions and the need to get on with post-Apollo development forced NASA to cancel Apollo 20 and stretch out the remaining seven missions to six-month intervals.

April:
Apollo 13, launched on April 11, was aborted two days later when an oxygen tank containing an undetected defect exploded. Mission Control teams devised emergency procedures to conserve oxygen and electrical power, and the spacecraft and crew were brought back safely to earth on April 17 after looping around the moon. An investigation board concluded that the explosion resulted from a highly unlikely combination of circumstances that were traceable to human oversight.
September:
Two more missions, Apollo 15 and 19, were canceled because of budget cuts. The remaining four missions were designated Apollo 14, 15, I6 and 17.

1971

January:
Apollo 14 landed at a site of prime scientific interest, the Fra Mauro Formation. During two excursions to the lunar surface the astronauts emplaced a second set of scientific instruments and collected some 92 pounds (40 kg.) of samples, but failed to reach a crater that had been one of their primary objectives. The orbiting CSM carried out considerable photography during the mission, including photography of a landing site proposed for a future mission ("bootstrap" photography).
April:
On the recommendation of the Interagency Committee on Back Contamination, NASA discontinued the practice of quarantining returned lunar samples and astronauts. No evidence of viable organisms on the moon had been produced on three lunar landing missions.
July:
Apollo 15 carried the first extended lunar module and the first lunar roving vehicle to the moon. The mission landed near Mount Hadley and Hadley Rille and stayed almost 67 hours on the surface - twice as long as any prior mission. The astronauts made three trips from their lunar module, emplaced the third set of experiments (including a seismometer that completed a three-site seismic network on the moon), and drove the "rover" a total distance of 17 1/2 miles (28 km.). The orbiting CSM carried the first scientific instrument module (SIM), which housed sensors that recorded data from the moon's surface. A moon-circling subsatellite was launched to measure particles and fields in the lunar environment. During the trip back to earth the command module pilot retrieved film cassettes from the SIM experiments, the first extravehicular activity conducted during a moon-to-earth voyage.

1972

April:
Apollo 16 continued NASA's steady extension of lunar exploration missions, staying 71 hours on the surface, planting the fourth set of instruments, and returning almost 200 pounds (91 kg.) of samples. A second set of SIM instruments was operated, and another subsatellite was launched.
July:
A summer study on post-Apollo lunar science outlined priorities for future study of Apollo samples and data. The plan called for two years of organization and preliminary analysis of the data, to be followed by two years of careful examination of those data, after which priority would be given to the key problems that emerged. The study recommended continued support of the curatorial facilities at MSC and collection of data from the lunar surface experiments as long as they produced significant new information.
December:
The last lunar exploration mission, Apollo 17, carried the first scientist (geologist Harrison H. Schmitt) to the moon. After landing in the Taurus-Littrow region, the astronauts stayed 75 hours, spent 22 hours outside the lunar module, drove their rover 22 miles (35 km.), and collected nearly 250 pounds (113 km.) of samples.

1973

February:
The Manned Spacecraft Center was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
March:
A Lunar Programs Office was established in the Office of Space Sciences, NASA Headquarters, to conduct the Lunar Data Analysis and Synthesis Program. The program would oversee the collection and scientific analysis of data from the lunar surface instruments and the lunar samples.
May:
The first post-Apollo manned space flight program began with the launch of Skylab 1, a Saturn S-IVB stage converted to a laboratory module capable of supporting three-person crews for long periods in earth orbit. Skylab was the outgrowth of earlier "Apollo Applications" planning intended to use the hardware developed for Apollo to collect scientific data. Skylab 1 used the last Saturn V rocket ever launched. Crews occupied the laboratory for periods of 28, 59, and 84 days; the last mission ended on February 8, 1974.
August:
The Office of Manned Space Flight designated an official to be responsible for the final phasing out of the Apollo project.

1975

July:
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), the first international manned space mission, was conducted in cooperation with the Soviet Union. An Apollo command and service module fitted with a special adapter docked with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft to conduct joint operations in earth orbit. After separating from the Soyuz, the Apollo crew carried out a short program of scientific experiments. ASTP marked the last use of the launch vehicles and spacecraft built for the Apollo project.


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