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How Apollo Flew to the Moon

  • Book
  • © 2011

Overview

Authors:
  1. W. David Woods

    1. Apollo Flight Journal (NASA web resource), Glasgow, UK

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  • Uniquely provides in book form the complete story of the technology and techniques used to fly to the Moon and explore its surface
  • Explains the flight controller and Apollo spacecraft crew roles in making the journey to the Moon possible and ensuring a safe return
  • Looks at the technical way in which the journey to the Moon was achieved, but written in an accessible way to appeal to non-technical space enthusiasts
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books (PRAXIS)

Part of the book sub series: Space Exploration (SPACEE)

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxxi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Apollo: an extraordinary adventure

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 1-27

  3. The Apollo flights: a brief history

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 29-58

  4. Launch: a fiery departure

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 59-106

  5. Earth orbit and TLI

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 107-130

  6. Retrieving the lander

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 131-150

  7. Navigating to the Moon

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 151-180

  8. Coasting to the Moon

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 181-223

  9. Entering lunar orbit: the LOI manoeuvre

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 225-248

  10. Preparations for landing

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 249-284

  11. Next stop: the Moon

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 285-308

  12. Down in the dust

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 309-342

  13. Exploration at its greatest

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 343-394

  14. Rendezvous and docking

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 395-428

  15. Heading for home

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 429-463

  16. Re-entry

    • W. David Woods
    Pages 465-503

  17. Back Matter

    Pages 505-555
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Keywords

About this book

Stung by the pioneering space successes of the Soviet Union - in particular, Gagarin being the first man in space, the United States gathered the best of its engineers and set itself the goal of reaching the Moon within a decade. In an expanding 2nd edition of How Apollo Flew to the Moon, David Woods tells the exciting story of how the resulting Apollo flights were conducted by following a virtual flight to the Moon and its exploration of the surface. From launch to splashdown, he hitches a ride in the incredible spaceships that took men to another world, exploring each step of the journey and detailing the enormous range of disciplines, techniques, and procedures the Apollo crews had to master. While describing the tremendous technological accomplishment involved, he adds the human dimension by calling on the testimony of the people who were there at the time. He provides a wealth of fascinating and accessible material: the role of the powerful Saturn V, the reasoning behind trajectories, the day-to-day concerns of human and spacecraft health between two worlds, the exploration of the lunar surface and the sheer daring involved in traveling to the Moon and the mid-twentieth century. Given the tremendous success of the original edition of How Apollo Flew to the Moon, the second edition will have a new chapter on surface activities, inspired by reader's comment on Amazon.com. There will also be additional detail in the existing chapters to incorporate all the feedback from the original edition, and will include larger illustrations.

Reviews

From the reviews of the second edition:

“This book was written for those … to learn without the prerequisite degree in aeronautics. … Due to the high level of detail that is paid to virtually all aspects of Apollo, this book is well worth the price and should be considered a must have for space aficionados. … There are additional stories of Apollo’s engineering triumphs both on the surface of the Moon as well as in flight, much of which reflects my continuing journey into the technical achievement that was Apollo.” (Jason Rhian, Aviation Week, March, 2011)

“How Apollo Flew to the Moon is the consummate technical narrative about the Apollo lunar program for the nontechnical reader. … for those who have a long-held interest in the Apollo program and always wondered how things worked this is a treasure trove. … is not only a fun and accessible tech-read but also a very valuable reference book, where you will find detail and minutia that is difficult to find anywhere else. … no comparable work which is so accessible or rewarding to read.” (Rod Pyle, Quest, Vol. 19 (3), 2012)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Apollo Flight Journal (NASA web resource), Glasgow, UK

    W. David Woods

About the author

In his spare time, W. David Woods, took up studying the Apollo program and contributing to its documentation on the web. In 1994, he began scanning NASA history books under the aegis of the NASA History Division for presentation on the web. In 1997, David was presented with a Public Service Award in Washington D.C. by the NASA Administrator. In 1998, David began publishing the Apollo Flight Journal online, hosted by NASA. again under the aegis of the NASA History Division. This project is a companion to the highly regarded Apollo Lunar Surface Journal and both are considered canonical references about the Apollo missions. An AFJ consists of a core transcript of a mission. This is carefully corrected, commentary is added and is used as a structure upon which many multimedia types relevant to the mission can be hung. This includes audio, video, and photography from NASA's archives. The knowledge and experience gained while researching and writing for the AFJ led to the publication in 2008 of "How Apollo Flew to the Moon." This book has been very well received and reviewed. Many commentators place it within the top few books about the Apollo flights.

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