Thanks to Geologie for sponsoring today’s video.
The Apollo Program.
An iconic part of human scientific history.
To this day, we have never beaten some of the landmarks set by the Apollo missions.
It is still the only program to get a human beyond a low Earth orbit.
And with recent efforts being made by some nations to return people to the moon by as
soon as 2024, it seemed like a good idea to look back at mankind’s first “giant leap”
to visit our closest neighbour.
But what drove humanity to visit the Moon in the first place?
And what did we learn once we were there?
There’s a lot to discuss.
The program consisted of 12 crewed flights and over a dozen unmanned ones.
There were challenges, breakthroughs in technology, triumphs and tragedies.
I’m Alex McColgan, and you’re watching Astrum.
Join with me as today we explore the first steps in getting a man on the moon with the
Apollo program, the intro to this new series I’m planning on this incredible group of
missions.
NASA’s Apollo program was and still is the single largest research and development program
that has ever been conducted by a nation during peacetime.
During its peak, NASA was employing 400,000 people, drawing on the support of 20,000 different
industrial companies and universities, and represented 4.4% of the entire US government’s
budgetary spending.
Given that nowadays NASA only represents about 0.5% of the US government’s spending, this
raises an important question.
Why was the US so focused on achieving this goal?
Firstly, we must understand a little of the context that led up to the creation of the
Apollo program.
And that begins with understanding the Cold War.
In the aftermath of World War Two, tensions began to rise between the two global super-powers,
the United States and the Soviet Union, who each wanted to prove that their nation was
superior.
This was more than a rivalry between two nations striving to compete, however.
Due to political differences, each saw the success of the other as a threat to their
very way of life.
America was worried that if the Soviet Union did too well, it could be the end of capitalism
and democracy, while the USSR was concerned that if they didn’t do better than America
it could spell the end of the communist dream.
Each side viewed the other with a deep suspicion, and each was adamant that they wouldn’t
be left behind.
And so, it was a great alarm to the American people that, on 4 October 1957, the USSR had
successfully launched the first ever artificial satellite to orbit the Earth - Sputnik 1.
Sputnik 1 weighed 83 kg (8 times the size of any satellite the US was considering launching),
and it went around the earth 1440 times during the 3 months it remained in orbit.
By sending signals to and from it, Soviet scientists were able to use it to acquire
information about the density of the Earth’s upper atmosphere and its ionosphere.
The rocket that launched Sputnik 1 was called the R-7, and was capable of producing 4,400,000
N of thrust.
American rockets, by comparison, could only produce 670,000 N of thrust.
This breakthrough unsettled the American people for two reasons.
Firstly, in an era where the threat of nuclear war was never far away, knowing that an enemy
nation had access to such powerful rockets made Americans feel vulnerable.
It seemed perfectly possible that such rockets could carry nuclear payloads instead of scientific
ones (a valid concern, as the R-7 was designed with a nuclear payload in mind), and up until
that point the US had never been worried about such attacks on their home soil due to their
geographical distance from other nations.
But more than that, Americans were worried that the Soviet Union was advancing further
than them in terms of science and technology.
To reassure the people, the then-unelected President Kennedy ran for office on a promise
that he would ensure American supremacy over the USSR in space technology.
When he was successfully elected, he began looking at ways to keep this promise, and
was shocked when he realised how much the whole thing would cost.
However, when the USSR completed another space landmark on April 12, 1961, by getting the
first human into space, President Kennedy began to ask his researchers what they could
do to match or exceed the Soviet progress.
The answer came back on April 20th of that same year – if they wanted to beat the Soviet
Union (who were already ahead in the space race thanks to their powerful R-7 rockets)
they would need to aim for something that was currently outside both nations’ capabilities.
The target suggested was an intentionally lofty one – designed to impress the world.
NASA would put a man on the Moon.
This challenge would require vast improvements to America’s existing rocket technology.
They would need to produce 50 times as much force to lift all the rocketry and modules
necessary to get a person to the moon and back.
NASA would also require a significantly higher budget, which was swiftly approved.
In 1961 NASA was given $744 million for their various projects.
Just a few years later, as the budgetary requirements ramped up, NASA was receiving over $5 billion.
NASA began using these funds to expand their operations, building new launch sites and
Mission Control Centres, hiring new staff, and purchasing research and development equipment
such as vacuum chambers capable of nearly simulating a perfect vacuum.
NASA had already been considering how to get a man to the moon in early 1960, but with
this infusion of resources and political impetus they began to consider the problem much more
seriously.
There were various plans drawn up to explain how to go about getting a person on the moon.
Should they build one giant rocket that would fly straight to the moon and back again, in
a plan called “Direct Ascent”?
Or maybe instead an “Earth Orbit Rendezvous” might be a better option, where over the course
of up to 15 rocket launches various spacecraft parts could be carried up to and assembled
in space?
There were various difficulties with these plans.
Firstly, a rocket just flying straight to the moon and back again would be extremely
heavy and would need incredible lift.
It would have to carry enough fuel to exit both the Earth’s and Moon’s orbits, and
this much extra weight was even further beyond the USA’s rocket capabilities.
The second idea, namely the Earth Orbit Rendezvous to build a rocket in space, was problematic
too.
It would get around the lift issue, as carrying only a part of a spacecraft would be much
lighter for each individual rocket.
But launching so many rockets would massively increase the overall costs and complexity
of the project, as each rocket launched would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and
assembling a spacecraft in space would be no easy feat either.
Finally, NASA decided on a plan that could use the best elements of both.
Their idea was to create a rocket that could come apart, with a mission plan they called
the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous.
The rocket would take two modules – a capsule-like Command Module and another segment called
the Lunar Module – out of Earth’s orbit.
These two modules would travel together to the Moon.
The Lunar Module, which was much smaller than the overall rocket, would detach from the
Command Module and would take Astronauts down to the surface.
Once they were done there, it would take them back up again to rendezvous with the Command
Module.
Once all the astronauts and samples were transferred back onto the Command Module, the Command
Module would travel alone back to Earth, before finally splashing down in the ocean.
It seems a little complex, but it was hoped to be the most economical model, both in terms
of cost and in terms of weight-thrust requirements.
With this plan in place, NASA could begin construction and testing.
They would need to create rockets that were significantly larger and more powerful than
anything they had ever done before.
They would need to put their own astronauts into space, and thoroughly test each stage
of the journey to ensure the success of the program.
But they were underway.
The Apollo program had begun.
Thanks again to Geologie for sponsoring today’s video.
Now, space science requires a lot of work to get right, and the same can be said for
the science behind skincare.
Geologie is a skincare brand aimed at men that uses science to get skincare right just
for you.
Purchasing it, I found their application process really interesting.
They quiz you about what you are looking for from the product and your skin condition so
that the formula is personalised for you.
As someone that doesn’t typically use skincare products, this eased me into the concept.
Once the product arrived, I was also really impressed with the tips I was sent via email
about how to use it best.
So, if you need help with acne, wrinkles, or other blemishes, or simply just want to
treat your skin, I suggest you give this a go!
If you use the link in the description and the promo code ASTRUM50, you can get 50% off
a 30-day trial set.
Want to know what happened with each of the Apollo missions?
Then please show your interest in the series by leaving a like and a comment, and if you’re
not already, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out.
A big thanks to my patrons and members who support the channel, if you want to support
too and have your name added to this list, check the links in the description.
All the best, and see you next time.