PROJECT-APOLLO · ROCKETRY
Project Apollo
The US lunar landing program. Twelve crewed landings, 1969–1972. Twelve humans walked on the Moon. The most complex engineering undertaking in human history at the time of its execution.
Kennedy gave the deadline in May 1961, before NASA had successfully launched a human into orbit. The decision was political, the engineering was real, and 400,000 people spent eight years closing the gap.
Apollo 1 killed Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee on a launch pad during a ground test in January 1967. A spark in a 100% oxygen environment. The hatch could not be opened from inside in under 90 seconds. It was redesigned.
Apollo 8 flew to the Moon at Christmas 1968 without landing — the first humans to leave Earth's gravity well, to see the far side, to photograph Earthrise over the lunar horizon. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders read from Genesis on Christmas Eve.
Apollo 11 landed on July 20, 1969. Eagle set down in the Sea of Tranquility with 30 seconds of fuel remaining. Armstrong descended the ladder.
Apollo 13 failed and survived. An oxygen tank in the service module exploded en route to the Moon. The crew relocated to the lunar module, used the Moon's gravity to slingshot back to Earth, and executed a manual reentry with almost no power. They came home.
Apollo 17 left in December 1972. Cernan's last step. The program had landed twelve people on the Moon and brought twelve home. It has not been repeated.