Reusable rockets promise much easier testing because you should usually get them back, and you can debug as you go rather than having to get everything perfect the first time. Henry Spencer backdebugeasy Change image and share on social
The Orion capsule uses an escape system quite like that of the Apollo spacecraft in the 1960s and 70s: an 'escape tower' containing a solid-fuel rocket that will pull it up and away from Ares I in a pinch. Henry Spencer 1960s70sapollo share on social
Progress requires setbacks; the only sure way to avoid failure is not to try. Henry Spencer avoidfailureprogress Change image and share on social
It's true that Apollo 10's lander was overweight. Late in the craft's development, it became clear that its ballooning weight was endangering the whole mission. Henry Spencer apolloballoonclear Change image and share on social
In the first few years, it was at least plausible to come in in the morning and read all the Usenet traffic that had come in, and 15 minutes later be off doing something useful. Henry Spencer minutemorningplausible Change image and share on social
Speaking of photography, while the Apollo 8 crew shot hundreds of photos, there was one that got everybody's attention: a blue-and-white Earth rising over a gray moonscape. Henry Spencer apolloattentionblue Change image and share on social
In 1960-61, a small group of female pilots went through many of the same medical tests as the Mercury astronauts and scored very well on them - in fact, better than some of the astronauts did. Henry Spencer astronautfactfemale Change image and share on social
The Apollo programme of the 1960s had some weight problems, too; in particular, the lunar lander needed some fairly drastic weight-reduction work. Henry Spencer 1960sapollodrastic Change image and share on social
On the technical side, Apollo 8 was mainly a test flight for the Saturn V and the Apollo spacecraft. The main spacecraft system that needed testing on a real lunar flight was the onboard navigation system. Henry Spencer apolloflightlunar share on social
Sometimes a malfunctioning test setup actually gives the tested system a chance to show what it can do in an unrehearsed emergency. During a test of an Apollo escape system in the 1960s, the escape system successfully got the capsule clear of a malfunctioning test rocket. Henry Spencer 1960sapollocapsule share on social
