The Apollo Project was the US space project to land a person on the moon in order to prove to the world the ideological superiority of the American system over that of Communist Russia. It was reportedly achieved by Apollo 11 in July 1969. The three-stage vehicle to carry the astronauts to the moon was code named Saturn, and the contract to develop the Apollo three-man spacecraft was awarded to North American Aviation Incorporated in 1961 by NASA. The first launch into orbit of an Apollo command module was made by Saturn SA-6 on May the 28th 1964, and the first manned flight was made after a fire during ground tests killed the three astronauts - Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee - on January the 27th 1967.
Controversy surrounds the supposed moon landing, with theories abounding that in 1969 it was technically impossible to land on the moon, and as a result NASA faked the moon landing, filming the 'landing' at the top secret military base, Area 51, in the Nevada desert while the astronauts actually orbited the earth for eight days before returning. This theory was later illustrated in the film 'Capricorn One' which told the fictional story of a faked landing on the planetMars. Research Apollo Project
An accelerometer is an apparatus, either mechanical or electromechanical, for measuring acceleration or deceleration - that is, the rate of increase or decrease in the velocity of a moving object.
Accelerometers are used to measure the efficiency of the braking systems on road and rail vehicles; those used in aircraft and spacecraft can determine accelerations in several directions simultaneously. There are also accelerometers for detecting vibrations in machinery. Research Accelerometer
Project Gemini was the second phase of the American manned space programme of the 1960's. Gemini followed on from the Mercuryproject and utilised a two-man spacecraft. The object of Gemini was to demonstrate the ability of the astronauts and their spacecraft to manoeuvre in space using manual controls, the feasability and techniques for orbital rendezvous and docking, and various spacecraft systems. Project Gemini was managed by NASA, but the American Department of Defense was also strongly involved and the project had to meet requirements and objectives of both organisations. Twelve flights were made during the Gemini project during the period 1964 to 1965. Research Gemini
Gyroscopic inertia is the rigidity in space of a gyroscope. It is a consequence of Newton's first law of motion which states that a body tends to continue in its state of rest or uniform motion unless subject to outside forces. Thus, the wheel of a gyroscope, when started spinning, tends to continue to rotate in the same plane about the same axis in space. An example of this tendency is a spinning top, which has freedom about two axes in addition to the spinningaxis. Another example is a riflebullet that, because it spins or revolves in flight, exhibits gyroscopic inertia, tending to maintain a straighter line of flight than it would if not rotating. Rigidity in space can best be demonstrated, however, by a model gyroscope consisting of a flywheel supported in rings in such a way that the axle of the flywheel can assume any angle in space.
When the flywheel is spinning, the model can be moved about, tipped, or turned at the will of the demonstrator, but the flywheel will maintain its original plane of rotation as long as it continues to spin with sufficient velocity to overcome the friction with its supporting bearings. Gyroscopes constitute an important part of automatic-navigation or inertial-guidance systems in aircraft, spacecraft, guided missiles, rockets, and ships and submarines. In these systems, inertial-guidance instruments comprise gyroscopes and accelerometers that continuously calculate exact speed and direction of the craft in motion. These signals are fed into a computer, which records and compensates for course aberrations.
The most advanced research craft and missiles also obtain guidance from so-called laser gyros, which are not really inertial devices but instead measure changes in counter rotating beams of laser light caused by changes in craft direction. Another advanced system, called the electrically suspended gyro, uses a hollow berylliumsphere suspended in a magnetic cradle; fibre-optic systems are also being developed. Research Gyroscopic Inertia
Soyuz was the Soviet manned space programme that started in the 1960's. Soyuz 1 was launched in April 1967 carrying colonel Vladimir Komarov with the object of checking the craft's systems and elements in conditions of spaceflight and to conduct related experiments. During re-entry the parachute cords became entangled resulting in the parachute failing and the cosmonaut being killed in the impact when the spacecraft hit the earth. Research Soyuz
The France I or FR-1A was the first French spacecraft to be launched. The FR-1A was a scientific satellite launched in 1965 into a near-polar orbit, and designed to measure the components of both the electrical field and the magnetic field of an electromagnetic wave emitted by a ground station within the VLF range of 15-20 kHz, the local electronic density and the Earth's magnetic field with the objective of studying wave-field properties in the magnetosphere and ionisation irregularities within the magnetosphere and thus promote a better understanding of radio wave propagation. The FR-1A consisted of a central body surmounted by pylons and aerials. Research FR-1A
The Lunar Orbiter was a series of American unmanned spacecraft developed primarily by Boeing for NASA during the 1960's. Lunar Orbiter 1 was launched on August 10th 1966 and returned high-quality photographs of the moon's surface. Lunar Orbiter 2 was launched on November 6th 1966 and returned photographs of the moon's surface. Lunar Orbiter 3 was launched on February 5th 1967 and returned photographs of the moon's surface. Lunar Orbiter 4 was launched on May 4th 1967. Research Lunar Orbiter
Scanner was an American scientific spacecraft developed by Honeywell for NASA to measure the natural radiation gradients that define the horizon of Earth as seen from a spacecraft during a sub-orbital flight, and the altitude relationship of these gradients to the solid Earth horizon. Scanner comprised a probe launched by a two-stage solid-propellant booster. Research Scanner
Surveyor were a series of American soft-landing lunar exploration spacecraft developed the Hughes Aircraft company during the 1960's for NASA's unmanned lunar exploration programme.
The Surveyor spacecraft were launched by the Centaur rockets, the first Surveyor, Surveyor 1 being launched successfully in 1966 from Cape Kennedy, landing on the moon's surface and sending back over 10,000 photographs of the moon's surface.
Surveyor 2 was launched in 1966, but crashed into the moon after a vernierrocket failed during mid-course correction manoeuvres.
Surveyor 3 was launched in 1967 and landed successfully in the Ocean of Storms on the moon's surface, and sent back photographs and television images and also data about the moon's surface material.
Surveyor 4 was launched in 1967 but crashed into the surface of the moon.
Surveyor 5 was launched in 1967 and landed successfully in the Sea of Tranquility on the moon despite a valve failure. Surveyor 5 carried radioactive material which was used to bombard the moon's surface with alpha particles to allow identification of atoms in the lunar surface. Research Surveyor
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Apollo Project
