Those who sacrifice for the success of the Apollo program

Apollo program puts people on the Moon as a result of the effort and silent sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of people.

July 20, 1969 marked in human history when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Let Neil Armstrong put the American flag on the Moon's surface, write the first footprint on it, a well-researched plan, operated by thousands of people. This special program also has many memorable numbers.

Neil Armstrong placed the American flag on the surface of the Moon.(Photo: NASA).

400,000 people support one person

Neil Armstrong is one of NASA's outstanding pilots. When he flew to the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969, the first landing of success or failure depended on the man's skill, reaction ability and mastery. With the gravel field in front of him, the alarm ringing loudly and fuel nearly exhausting, Armstrong controlled the grounding spacecraft.

But in some conversations and interviews about grounding, Armstrong was always humble when it came to this historic achievement. Instead, he stressed that hundreds of thousands of people contributed to the success of the program.

NASA estimates that a total of 400,000 men and women across the United States participate in the Apollo program, from astronauts, flight controllers, contractors to food suppliers, engineers and scientists. Study, doctor, nurse, mathematician and programmer.

Specialists control Apollo 11 cruise tracking flight (Photo: NASA).

Looking from Apollo 11 flight - the flight helps people land on the Moon. Armstrong received not only the support of Buzz Aldrin on board, but also on the ground there was a room full of flight controllers. At every shift, in addition to the core team of about 20-30 people, there are hundreds of Houston engineers and Boston Institute of Technology experts at Boston who are on hand to advise every time the computer issues an alarm.

Flight control center is supported by ground communication stations around the world, a team of engineers to make landing compartments at Grumman Group and all subcontractors. Besides, there is a support team from senior management to coffee sellers, the number has reached thousands of people. Multiply that number with every other part of the project including (missiles, astronaut suits, communication, fuel, design, training, from launching to returning to Earth .) about 400,000 people still seem modest. All of these have supported the actions of single men.

The average age of Apollo program astronauts: 38

Armstrong is not a specially selected pilot for the first landing on the Moon, his crew is the next option in the alternating cycle. If Apollo 11 could not land, it was likely that Pete Conrad, commander of Apollo 12, would be the first man to land on the Moon. In fact, despite representing all of humanity, Apollo program astronauts have the same age, biography, competence and training program.

"In my opinion, the important thing that we need to remember is how well the group of participants in the unique and carefully selected Apollo project," teasel Muir-Harmony, who is in charge of the Apollo spacecraft display at Bao. Smithsonian National Aeronautics Museum in Washington DC. Every Apollo 11 crew member was born in 1930, they were both in the military, being pilots.

At that time, Armstrong, at the age of 38, was the youngest co-commander on the Apollo (along with Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan). Charlie Duke, a 36-year-old pilot who controls the Apollo 16 landing compartment, is the youngest man to set foot on the Moon. The oldest man walking on the Moon was astronaut Alan Shepard, flying on Apollo 14 in 1971. Shepard was then 47 years old.

12 astronauts each set foot and drive on the Moon

Buzz Aldrin picture stood on the Moon by Neil Armstrong.(Photo: NASA).

There are 33 astronauts making flights in the Apollo Moon landing program. Among them, 27 people fly to the Moon, 24 fly around the Moon's orbit but only 12 people set foot on the surface. They represent "humanity" and face the challenge of conveying that experience to a global audience.

8 NASA astronauts killed in the Apollo program

Before the crew of the first three people of the Apollo 7 mission departed in October 1968, eight Apollo astronauts were killed. The first person to die in 1964 was Theodore Freeman when his plane, the T-38 trainer, crashed into a bird, breaking the cockpit cover and the engine out of action. Despite escaping, Freeman is too close to the ground and dies due to the impact.

On February 28, 1966, the main crew in the mission Gemini 9, Elliot See and Charles Bassett prepared to take the T-38 plane to St Louis. Due to the cloud covering the airstrip, See misplaced a turn and crashed into the building where their spaceship was being built. Two pilots died instantly.

In 1967, NASA prepared to launch the first Apollo. But the spacecraft continued to fail and commander Gus Grissom knew that. With an extremely uncomfortable mood, he hung a lemon outside the chamber of the Apollo assault ship at Cape Canaveral base.

On January 27, 1967, the crew consisted of Grissom, Ed White (the first American to walk in space) and Roger Chaffee, lying in a chair on the launch pad to test the entire spacecraft. The test failed. Within a few seconds, the fire burned up the crew.

Later that year, Clifton Williams died in another T-38 crash and Edward Givens died in a traffic accident. All eight astronauts and six Soviet astronauts were commemorated with a stele left by the Apollo 15 crew on the Moon.

Only one woman was in the Apollo 11 launch room

Equipment supervisor, JoAnn Morgan, was the only woman in the room to control the Apollo 11 launch at Cape Canaveral base. As an engineer, the 21-channel customer touches as well as the stability of all Saturn 5. missile tracking systems. "The train is a controlled explosion. You are always a bit afraid but you still have to watch over it, " Morgan said.

As one of the few women working in senior positions, Morgan often faced gender discrimination, especially when she started work."I received obscene calls, some vulgar comments in the elevator and touched the dining area. After a while, most of those actions were gone because people realized I worked very well. seriously, " Morgan recounted.

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