PROJECT APOLLO The Tough Decisions ppt

d Monographs in Aerospace History No. 37 • SP-2005-4537 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of External Relations History Division Washington, DC 20546 Robert C. Seamans, Jr. PROJECT APOLLO The Tough Decisions PROJECT APOLLO: The Tough Decisions Robert C. Seamans, Jr. I-38949 Seamans BookCVR.Fin 4/26/05 3:31 PM Page 1 [...]... preeminence in space the prestige of the United States was on the line The report again correctly pointed out that the inability of U.S rockets to lift large payloads into space seriously limited our program But then, in the section on Man-inSpace, the report stated that by placing a high priority on the Mercury Project, we had strengthened the popular view of its importance as compared with the “acquisition... difficult objective we may surpass them here as well Accepting the goal gives us a chance Finally, even if the Soviets get there first, as they may, and as 11 Intercontinental ballistic missile 12 Webb and McNamara 20 PROJECT APOLLO | THE TOUGH DECISIONS some think they will, it is better for us to get there second than not at all In any event we will have mastered the technology If we fail to accept... progress that didn’t rely entirely on what the eye could perceive Ultimately, the project teams agreed that success was not just the opposite of calamity, but rather the achievement of all stated objectives The general manager became the arbiter In the early sixties, the success level was around 55 percent for all manned and unmanned missions By the mid-sixties, the success level rose to 80 percent.2 NASA... participate However, in the same report, there was the already-mentioned acknowledgment that the United States was operating at a disadvantage because our boosters had limited capability compared to those of the Soviets The Saturn booster was endorsed, along with the Centaur rocket and the F-1 engine—all part of Glennan’s legacy The report had another strong plug for the past scientific: “In the three years... extended their time in orbit and as missions moved farther from Earth and the protective shielding of Earth’s atmosphere and the magnetically induced Van Allen radiation belts The Apollo A using the Saturn C-1 would allow multimanned orbital flights in 1965 The advanced, long-duration Apollo B launched by the Saturn C-2 would provide the capability for circumlunar and lunar orbital missions in 1967 The. .. demurred, saying that the issues couldn’t wait, and so a session took place with the President, the Vice President, their staff, and the Director of BoB on 22 March First Meeting with President Kennedy As was the custom, the Director of BoB started the meeting by advising the President that additional funding should await the review of the following year’s requirements Mr Webb then said that I would... multi-manned circumlunar flight requires the Saturn C-2 and a spacecraft which will evolve from the design of the THE KENNEDY CHALLENGE 13 Figure 2 NASA Management Triad in the office of James E Webb (center) He and Dr Robert C Seamans, Jr (right), listen as Dr Hugh Dryden (left) has the floor (NASA Image Number 66-H-93) 14 PROJECT APOLLO | THE TOUGH DECISIONS orbital spacecraft The recommended $73 million increase... 1961 16 PROJECT APOLLO | THE TOUGH DECISIONS MR CHENOWETH: It is a decision to be made at a higher level DR SEAMANS: I think it is a decision to be made by the people of the United States ment by Bob Seamans before a congressional committee gave the newspapers and through them the public, the idea that this flight [lunar landing] was to be accomplished by late 1967.” MR CHENOWETH: How will they make... was to head the study, and the individuals assigned to the study were to be on a full-time basis for the duration of the effort Friday, 5 May 1961, Mercury Redstone (MR-3), Alan Shepard Later in the week, all eyes were on Alan Shepard at Cape Canaveral Jerry Wiesner, in his interregnum report, had alerted the Kennedy administration that if they weren’t careful, they’d own the Mercury project The hour... for the Weather Bureau Seven astronauts had been recruited and trained, and they were prepared to orbit Earth Technicians and engineers were at Cape Canaveral preparing the Mercury capsule, the Redstone and Atlas boosters, and the launch facilities for 90minute flights around the world The capsule could weigh no more than 4,400 pounds with either of the two boosters, and only one, the Atlas, had the . Division Washington, DC 20546 Robert C. Seamans, Jr. PROJECT APOLLO The Tough Decisions PROJECT APOLLO: The Tough Decisions Robert C. Seamans, Jr. I-38949 Seamans. to him, the report would be relayed in sequence to the 2 PROJECT APOLLO | THE TOUGH DECISIONS 1. Frederick C. Durant III, Between Sputnik and the Shuttle,