Mar 23

Space Rocket History #154 – Apollo 7 – The Crew

Had it not been for the fact that Eisele damaged his shoulder during a zero-G training flight aboard a KC-135 aircraft just before Christmas 1965, he might have been in the senior pilot’s seat aboard Apollo 1, instead of Ed White.

 Schirra as the Commander of Apollo 7

Schirra as the Commander of Apollo 7

Donn Eisele prior to launch

Donn Eisele prior to launch

Cunningham during the Apollo 7 mission

Cunningham during the Apollo 7 mission

Feb 11

Space Rocket History #148 – Apollo 4: Operation Big Shot

“…our building’s shaking here. Our building’s shaking! Oh it’s terrific, the building’s shaking! This big blast window is shaking! We’re holding it with our hands! Look at that rocket go into the clouds at 3000 feet!…you can see it…you can see it…oh the roar is terrific!…”  Walter Cronkite – Apollo 4 launch.

Apollo 4 mating of SC -017 with Saturn 501

Apollo 4 mating of SC -017 with Saturn 501

Apollo 4 on Launch Pad

Apollo 4 on Launch Pad

Apollo 4 the night before the launch

Apollo 4 the night before the launch

Apollo 4 lift off from LC-39A.

Apollo 4 lift off from LC-39A.

Apollo 4 leaves the launch pad

Apollo 4 leaves the launch pad

View of crescent Earth from Apollo 4.

View of crescent Earth from Apollo 4.

Nov 06

Space Rocket History #87 – Gemini XII With Jim Lovell and and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin – Part 2

In space, Jim and Buzz began to wonder if everything had been shut down too soon. For 25 minutes, with one brief exception, they heard nothing from the ground. The Ascension Island tracking station had the wrong acquisition time, so its communicators had not talked with the astronauts…

G12 Nose

G12 Nose

Buzz hanging out

Buzz hanging out

Agena on Tether

Agena on Tether

Oct 30

Space Rocket History #86 – Gemini XII With Jim Lovell and and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin – Part 1

When the  Gemini IX-A Agena fell into the Atlantic Ocean, Gemini XII was threatened with a major hardware shortage of an Agena and an Atlas to launch it. Replacing the Agena was no real problem. Lockheed’s first production model, 5001, used for development testing at the Cape, had already been sent back to the Sunnyvale plant for refurbishment. Now it was simply a matter of tailoring it to the Gemini XII mission…

G12 Prime Crew

G12 Prime Crew

Prime & Backup Crew

Prime & Backup Crew

Agena 12

Agena 12

Mission Patch

Mission Patch

Backup Crew Patch

Backup Crew Patch