Comprehend the history and accomplishments of Project Mercury

Comprehend the history and accomplishments of Project Gemini

Comprehend the history and accomplishments of Project Apollo

The U.S. Manned Space Program

Lesson Overview The history and accomplishments of Project Mercury The history and accomplishments of Project Gemini The history and accomplishments of Project Apollo

The History of Project Mercury On 7 October 1958 NASA initiated Project Mercury

The Goals and Accomplishments of Project Mercury

1.To orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth2.To investigate man’s ability to function in space3.To recover both man and spacecraft safely

The Mercury Team: the ‘Original Seven’ The first American astronauts were the “Original Seven” They put a human face on the space programThese pioneers would be known as “astronauts,” sailors among the stars

Alan B. Shepard, the First American in Space On 5 May 1961, Alan Shepard launched into space aboard

Freedom 7 His flight was suborbital – having a trajectory, or path through

space, of less than a complete orbit Mission’s main goal was to see how well an astronaut would do

in space and what he would be able to do

John Glenn, the First American to Orbit the Earth Marine Colonel John H. Glenn went up in Friendship 7 on 20

February 1962NASA’s objectives for the mission were to put Glenn into orbit, to

observe his reactions to being in outer space, and to return him safely to Earth at a point where he could be easily found

Glenn was picked him up about 800 miles southeast of Bermuda

The History of Project GeminiOn 7 Dec 1961 NASA revealed the development of a two-man spacecraft On 3 January 1962, the program received the official designation

“Gemini”Gemini was a needed intermediate step between Project Mercury and

the Apollo program

The Goals and Accomplishments of Gemini 1. To put men and equipment

into space for flights lasting as much as two weeks

2. To rendezvous in space and dock with a ship already in orbit, and then maneuver, or steer, the two linked ships

3. To perfect ways of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on Earth

4. To find out more about how weightlessness affects crew members and how their bodies respond to long periods in space

Ed White, the First American to ‘Walk’ In SpaceOn Gemini IV, White became the first American to ‘walk’ in spaceExtravehicular activity (or EVA) is NASA’s term for this kind of

out-of-capsule experience, otherwise known as a spacewalk White gets credit for being the first to use jet propulsion to

maneuver in space

The History of Project ApolloThe space program’s third phase was

getting astronauts to the Moon Abe Silverstein, a NASA official, chose the

name “Apollo” for the project; Apollo was the Greek god of music, light, and the Sun, among other things

Apollo program overlapped somewhat with the earlier Mercury and Gemini programs

The Goals/Accomplishments of Apollo1. To establish the technology to further other

national interests in space2. To achieve American preeminence in space for the

United States3. To explore the Moon scientifically4. To develop humans’ capability to work on the

Moon

The Apollo 1 Disaster and Lessons Learned27 January 1967, Apollo 1 sat on the launch pad with three astronauts aboard A fire broke out in the spacecraft and the astronauts died of asphyxiation A NASA appointed panel quickly found that a short circuit in the electrical

system had ignited combustible – flammable- materials in the spacecraft

Neil Armstrong, the First Man to Walk on the Moon On 16 July 1969 Apollo 11 took off with Neil Armstrong,

Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins aboard “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” They spent a little less than 22 hours on the Moon’s surface

and two-and-a-half days in orbit around it

How NASA Averted Disaster in the Apollo 13 Mission Apollo 13 was two-and-a-half days into its voyage to the Moon

when the No. 2 oxygen tank exploded The astronauts saved themselves by jumping into their

lifeboat – their lunar landerDecided to continue toward the Moon, and then “slingshot”

around it to return to Earth

Comprehend the history and accomplishments of Project Mercury

Comprehend the history and accomplishments of Project Gemini

Comprehend the history and accomplishments of Project Apollo

The U.S. Manned Space Program