INST 154
Apollo at 50
Spring 2020
Required Readings
Each student is assigned to read, view or listen to one reading or
media item for each class. Each student is assigned a number (1
through 6), and readings and media items all have a corresponding
number. Students need only read the one assignment that matches their
student number. Some readings of media items would take more than an
hour to read, view or listen to completely. In such cases, specific
pages or times are indicated. Page numbers refer to the numbers
printed on the page, not to the way Acrobat numbers pages of PDF
files.
The principal texts for this course are:
- CHAIKIN: Andrew Chaikin, A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of
the Apollo Astronauts, Penguin Books, 2007. ($21 in paperback
from Amazon).
- COX: Catherine Bly Cox and Charles Murray, Apollo, 1989. ($8
on Kindle from Amazon).
Required Readings for Session 1 (The Apollo Program)
- There are no readings for this session.
Required Readings for Session 2 (The Cold War in 1961)
- 1,4: Walter A. McDougall, The Heavens and the Earth: A Political
History of the Space Age, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.
This book interprets the space race in the context of the cold
war from both the American and Soviet perspectives. Read
Chapter 12, which is available on ELMS.
- 2,5: Sidney Lumet (director), Fail Safe, Columbia
Pictures, 1964. This film is a dramatization of a fictional
nuclear crisis that illustrates the public perception of the
nuclear threat highlighted by the then-recent Cuban Missile
Crisis. Available on ELMS for two weeks from January 28.
Watch at least the first hour of the movie.
- 3,6: John Lewis Gaddis, The Cold War: A New History, Penguin
Press, 2005. A comprehensive history of the cold war that in
this course we will use to study the origins of the conflict.
Read pages 48-60 of Chapter 2, which is available on ELMS.
Required Readings for Session 3 (NASA Before Apollo)
- 1,4: Read COX Chapter 1. This chapter (but no others from the
textbook) is available scanned on ELMS just in case you
encounter delays in obtaining a copy.
- 2,5: Walter A. McDougall, The Heavens and the Earth: A
Political History of the Space Age, Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1997. This book interprets the space race in the
context of the cold war from both the American and Soviet
perspectives. Read Chapter 7, which is available on ELMS.
- 3,6: Philip Kauffman (director), The Right Stuff, 1983. A
classic astronaut-focused depiction (with considerable dramatic
license) of the early days of NASA during Project Mercury, and
of the test pilot ethos that predates the creation of NASA.
Available on Netflix, and available on ELMS for two weeks from
January 28. Watch at least the first hour.
Required Readings for Session 4 (The Decision to Go to the Moon)
- 1,4: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Meeting
on the NASA Budget (audio recording), November 21, 1962.
In this recorded meeting, requested by the NASA Administrator
to block a bureaucratic end run by his Manned Spaceflight
Director’s campaign in the press and elsewhere for additional
funds, President Kennedy explains his reasoning for making
Apollo a national priority (and he supports the NASA
Administrator, leading the Manned Spaceflight Director to
resign).
- 2,5: Dwayne A. Day, Pay No
Attention to the Man with the Notebook: Hugh Sidey and the
Apollo Decision, The Space Review, 2005. Read both parts
and the primary source materials that are linked from the end
of the second part. This is an in depth analysis of an early
meeting between Kennedy and his advisers at which a moon
landing was discussed as a possible response to the Soviet
Union’s first human spaceflight, and at which a journalist was
present. Seven weeks later Kennedy called for the Moon
landing.
- 3,6: Roger D. Launius and Howard E. McCurdy (Eds.), Presidential
Leadership and the Development of the U.S. Space Program,
1994, available as NASA Technical Report NASA-TM-1101007. This
edited proceedings of a 1994 symposium contains an excellent
description of the decision to go to the moon by the Kennedy
administration. Read pages 95-112 of Chapter 2.
Required Readings for Session 5 (Congressional Support)
- 1,4: James L. Kauffman, Selling Outer Space: Kennedy,
the Media, and Funding for Project Apollo 1961-1963, Oxford
University Press, 1994. This book explores the public and
policy discourse regarding the Apollo program during the
1960’s. Read Chapter 1, which is available on ELMS.
- 2,5: Overton Brooks, Recommendations
re the National Space Program, Letter to Vice President
Lyndon Johnson, 1961. This letter from the Chairman of the
House Committee on Science and Astronautics urged that the
President do “whatever is necessary to gain unequivocal
leadership in Space Exploration.” Three weeks later, the
President spoke before a joint session of Congress to call for
a lunar landing within the decade.
- 3,6: Eric Berger, A
Worthy Endeavor: How Albert Thomas Won Houston NASA’s Flagship
Center, Houston Chronicle, 2013. This newspaper article
describes both the practical and the political considerations
that shaped the decision to build the Apollo mission control
center in Houston, Texas.
Required Readings for Session 6 (The Mode Decision)
- 1,4: Carl Alessi, Do we Want
to go to the Moon or Not?: Dr. John Houbolt and the Decision
for Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (2 parts), The Space Review,
2017. Also read part 2.
This is a careful treatment of the “mode decision” that led
NASA to bet the entire Apollo program on an approach that
required orbital rendezvous at the moon to safely return the
astronauts to Earth at a time when no orbital rendezvous had
ever been tried anywhere.
- 2,5: Michael Annis, Space Rocket
History podcast. This is a comprehensive audio history of
the American and Soviet space programs that will at the time of
the course is expected to be complete through near the end of
the Apollo Program. Listen to episodes 106 and 107. In each
case, you an stop listening at the end of the episode (there is
more material after the end, but it is off topic).
- 3,6: Read COX Chapter 9 (note that this and subsequent chapters
from COX are NOT available on ELMS).
Required Readings for Session 7 (Contracting: Command Module)
- 1,4: David A. Mindell, Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in
Spaceflight, MIT Press, 2008. This book describes the
development of the onboard computers used on both the Command
Module and the Lunar Module. Read pages 103 (from start of
"Guidance to the Moon")-119 (to start of Gimbal Reliability) of
Chapter 5, which is available on ELMS.
- 2,5: Mike Gray, Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to
the Moon, W.W. Norton & Company, 1992. This book provides an
inside view of the relationship between the prime contractor
and NASA during the development of the Command Module. Read
pages 184-194 of Chapter 12, which is available on ELMS.
- 3,6: Christopher Riley, Duncan Kopp and Nick Davidson
(producers), Moon
Machines, Science Channel, 2008. This six-episode
documentary television series describes six major hardware
components of the Apollo Program (the rocket, the two
spacecraft, the lunar rover, the computer, and the spacesuit).
View the episode on the Command Module.
Required Readings for Session 8 (Contracting: Lunar Module)
- 1,4: Christopher Riley, Duncan Kopp and Nick Davidson
(producers), Moon
Machines, Science Channel, 2008. This six-episode
documentary television series describes six major hardware
components of the Apollo Program (the rocket, the two
spacecraft, the lunar rover, the computer, and the
spacesuit). View the episode on the Lunar Module.
- 2,5: Thomas J. Kelly, Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo
Lunar Module, Smithsonian Books, 2009. This is the definitive
account of the design and construction of the Lunar Module,
written by its lead designer. Read pages 51-70 of Chapter 5,
which is available on ELMS. ELMS does not display this
docuemnt well, so I recommend you download it and view it in
Acrobat reader.
- 3,6: Charles C. Lutz, et al., Development
of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, Apollo Experience
Report, Technical Report NASA TN D-8093, 1975. This report
describes the development and capabilities of the backpack that
provided life support for astronauts during moonwalks. Read
pages 1-12 (stop at Integrated Protective Cover Layers), 16
(Atarting at The LCG)-19, and 34-43. Skip the detailed
engineering drawings and tables.
Required Readings for Session 9 (Contracting: Saturn V)
- 1,4: Roger E. Bilstein, Stages to
Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch
Vehicles, NASA History Series, 1996. This book is the
authoritative history of the development of the Saturn V that
launched the Apollo lunar missions. Read Chapter 7 starting at
S-II configuration (which is about halfway down).
- 2,5: Christopher Riley, Duncan Kopp and Nick Davidson
(producers), Moon
Machines, Science Channel, 2008. This six-episode
documentary television series describes six major hardware
components of the Apollo Program (the rocket, the two
spacecraft, the lunar rover, the computer, and the
spacesuit). View the episode on the Saturn V.
- 3,6: Roger E. Bilstein, Stages to
Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch
Vehicles, NASA History Series, 1996. This book is the
authoritative history of the development of the Saturn V that
launched the Apollo lunar missions. Read Chapter 2, which is
about the evolution of the Huntsville team.
Required Readings for Session 10 (Launch Operations)
- 1,4: Charles D. Benson and William Barnaby Faherty, Moonport:
A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations, NASA
History Series, 1978. The authoritative history of the
development of the Kennedy Space Center. Read Chapter 6, which
desribes the evolution of the mobile concept.
- 2,5: Jonathan H. Ward, Rocket Ranch: The Nuts and Bolts of the
Apollo Moon Program at Kennedy Space Center, Springer-Praxis,
2015. This book focuses on the facilities used to prepare and
launch an Apollo mission. Read pages 95-102 and 109-121 of
Chapter 5 on the VAB and the mobile launcher, which is
available on ELMS.
- 3,6: Jonathan H. Ward, Rocket Ranch: The Nuts and Bolts of the
Apollo Moon Program at Kennedy Space Center, Springer-Praxis,
2015. This book focuses on the facilities used to prepare and
launch an Apollo mission. Read pages 199-214 of Chapter 8 on
life at the launch pad, which is available on ELMS.
Required Readings for Session 11 (Mission Operations)
- 1,4: Read COX Chapter 19.
- 2,5: Sunny Tsiao, We
Hear You Loud and Clear: The Story of NASA’s Spaceflight
Tracking and Data Network, NASA History Series, 2008. This
book is the authoritative history of the NASA tracking network.
Read pages 143-165 of Chapter 5.
- 3,6: David Fairhead, Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes
of Apollo, Haviland Digital, 2017. This documentary explains
the operation the Mission Control center in Houston from which
the Apollo program was directed, introducing many of the people
who worked there at the time. This is available on Netflix.
Watch the first hour.
Required Readings for Session 12 (Astronauts)
- 1,4: Kirk Wolfinger (director), Moonshot,
TBS Productions, 1994. This five-episode documentary
miniseries is based on a book of the same name by the two
leaders of the Astronaut office in the Apollo era. Watch at
the first hour.
- 2,5: Read CHAIKIN pages 27 to 43 (stop at the three dots) of
Chapter 2.
- 3,6: Donald K. Slayton, Deke!: US Manned Space from
Mercury to the Shuttle, Tom Doherty Associates, 1994. A memoir
by the head of the Astronaut Office, who was responsible for
crew selection on the Gemini and Apollo missions. Read Chapter
14, which is available on ELMS.
Required Readings for Session 13 (Gemini: Rendezvous and Docking)
- 1,4: Manned Spacecraft Center, Gemini
Summary Conference, 1967. This edited conference
proceedings summarizes different aspects of what was learned in
the Gemini Program. Read Chapter 2.
- 2,5: Tom Hanks (producer), From the Earth to the Moon, HBO,
1998. This 12-part television series is a comprehensive
dramatization of the Apollo program that is largely faithful to
the original events. Watch episode 1, which is available on
ELMS (under "Library Streaming Media" in the "Modules"
section).
- 3,6: Barton C. Hacker and James M. Grimwood, On the Shoulders of
Titans: A History of Project Gemini, NASA History Series,
1977. This book is the official history of the program that
preceded Apollo in which American astronauts mastered the
critical tasks of rendezvous, docking, and extravehicular
activity. Read pages 265-288 of Chapter 12, which describe the
world's first rendezvous.
Required Readings for Session 14 (Gemini: EVA)
- 1,4: David S. Portree, Spacewalks
that Never Were: The Gemini Extravehicular Planning Group
(1965), Wired, 2013. This article sets the development of
the plan for spacewalks in the Gemini program in the context of
competition with the Soviets and preparation for Apollo, it
reviews options that were considered but not conducted, and it
describes the "EVA Crisis" that resulted from serious problems
on three consecutive spacewalks.
- 2,5: Michael J. Neufeld and John B. Charles, Practicing
for Space Underwater: Inventing Neutral Buoyancy Training,
Endeavour, 39(3-4), 148-159. This journal article examines the
“EVA crisis” during the Gemini Program in which astronauts on
three consecutive missions were unable to work effectively
outside their spacecraft, and how that problem was solved using
underwater training.
- 3,6: NASA, Gemini 12
Mission, 1967. This NASA documentary describes the last
mission in the Gemini program, when the difficulties
encountered with spacewalks on earlier missions were finally
sufficiently well understood to be overcome.
Required Readings for Session 15 (Lunar Science)
- 1,4: Tom Hanks (producer), From the Earth to the Moon, HBO,
1998. This 12-part television series is a comprehensive
dramatization of the Apollo program that is largely faithful to
the original events. Watch episode 10, which is available on
ELMS (under "Library Streaming Media" in the "Modules"
section). Note that the episodes in this series are uploaded
two to a file, and that eopside 10 starts at 47.5 minutes into
the file.
- 2,5: William David Compton, Where No
Man Has Gone Before, NASA History Series, 1989. A history
of the planning and execution of the scientific activities of
the Apollo program. Read Chapter 3.
- 3,6: Charles P. Sonett, Report
of the Ad-Hoc Working Group on Apollo Experiments and Training
on the Scientific Aspects of the Apollo Program, NASA,
1963. This was the first serious study of what science the
Apollo astronauts should perform on the Moon and what they
would need to know. Subsequent studies with broader
participation largely confirmed these initial ideas. Read
through the end of page 16 (Geochemical Activities) and then skim
the rest.
Required Readings for Session 16 (The Apollo 1 Fire)
- 1,4: Read COX Chapter 14.
- 2,5: Tom Hanks (producer), From the Earth to the Moon, HBO,
1998. This 12-part television series is a comprehensive
dramatization of the Apollo program that is largely faithful to
the original events. Watch episode 2, which is available on
ELMS (under "Library Streaming Media" in the "Modules"
section). Note that the eposodes in this series are uploaded
two to a file, and that episode 2 starts halfway through
the file.
- 3,6: Read CHAIKIN Chapter 1.
Required Readings for Session 17 (Apollo 8: Lunar Orbit)
- 1,4: Tom Hanks (producer), From the Earth to the Moon, HBO,
1998. This 12-part television series is a comprehensive
dramatization of the Apollo program that is largely faithful to
the original events. Watch episode 4, which is available on
ELMS (in modules, streaming library services, Episodes 3-4).
Note that the episodes in this series are uploaded two to a
file, and that epside 4 starts halfway through the file.
- 2,5: CHAIKIN pages 56-76 (stop at the three dots) of Chapter 3.
- 3,6: W. David Woods, How Apollo Flew to the Moon (Second
Edition), Springer-Praxis, 2011, available online through the
University Libraries. This
book provides a detailed walkthrough of the mechanics of an
Apollo mission. Read pages 151-165 of Chapter 6 about
translunar navigation (be sure you have the 2011 version; page
numbers are different in the 2008 version).
Required Readings for Session 18 (Apollo 11: Lunar Landing)
- 1,4: David M. Harland, Exploring the Moon: The Apollo
Expeditions (Second Edition). Springer-Praxis, 2008, available
online through the University
Libraries. This is the best explanation of the planning
and execution of lunar surface activities. Read Chapter 2.
- 2,5: Read COX Chapter 25, which is about the anomalies during
the lunar phase of the Apollo 11 mission.
- 3,6: Read CHAIKIN pages 184-204 (stop at 5:57 PM) of Chapter 5,
which describes the first Moon landing.
Required Readings for Session 19 (Apollo 12: Precision Landing)
- 1,4: Read CHAIKIN pages 260 (from 5:38 AM)-280 (to Friday,
November 21) of Chapter 6.
- 2,5: Tom Hanks (producer), From the Earth to the Moon, HBO,
1998. This 12-part television series is a comprehensive
dramatization of the Apollo program that is largely faithful to
the original events. Watch episode 7, which is available on
ELMS ((in modules, streaming library services).
- 3,6: Read COX Chapter 26, which is about the launch and the
precision landing.
Required Readings for Session 20 (Apollo 13: Abort)
- 1,4: Read COX Chapter 27, which is about the accident.
- 2,5: Read COX Chapter 29, which is about the recovery from the
accident.
- 3,6: Ron Howard (director), Apollo 13, Universal
Pictures, 1995. This is a classic dramatization of the Apollo
13 mission in which the service module exploded during the trip
to the Moon that is largely faithful to the original events.
This is available on ELMS. Watch the first hour.
Required Readings for Session 21 (Apollo 15: Lunar Rover)
- 1,4: MIT, Apollo
15’s Worden and Mission Planner El Baz, 2017 In this recent
video, two of the people depicted in the Apollo 15 episode of
the HBO Series From the Earth to the Moon reminisce about their
actual experiences together. Watch the first hour.
- 2,5: Read CHAIKIN pages 414-433 of Chapter 11, which covers the
standup EVA and the first moonwalk.
- 3,6: David M. Harland, Exploring the Moon: The Apollo
Expeditions (Second Edition). Springer-Praxis, available
online through the University
Libraries. This is the best explanation of the planning
and execution of lunar surface activities. Read pages 132-163
(to Starting the Final Day) of Chapter 5, which covers the
second moonwalk. Be sure to use the page numbers printed on
the page; Acrobat numbers the pages differently for this PDF
file.
Required Readings for Session 22 (Apollo 17: A Geologist on the Moon)
- 1,4: Grant Heiken and Eric Jones, On the Moon: The Apollo
Journals, Springer Praxis, 2007, available online through the
University Libraries. This
book is a narrative recounting of the lunar surface activity
that is based on the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Read pages
364 (from Shorty Crater and the Orange Soil)-384 (to A
Significant Find) of Chapter 8, which describes one of the most
significant geology discoveries in the Apollo program.
- 2,5: Harrison Schmitt, A Voyage to
the Moon and its Major Discoveries (seminar talk), Lunar
and Planetary Institute, 2017. Watch the first hour. This
lecture, by the only scientist to walk on the Moon, explains
how the operational and scientific aspects of Apollo came
together, using the Apollo 17 mission as an example.
- 3,6: Read CHAIKIN pages 505 (from the three dots)-526 (to 10:18
PM) of Chapter 13, which describes the planning for Apollo 17
and the initial EVA activity.
Required Readings for Session 23 (Sputnik and Vostok)
- 1,4: Asif A. Siddiqi, Challenge
to Apollo, NASA History Series, 2000. This academic history
is the first comprehensive description of the Soviet space
program during the Apollo era. Read pages 205-219 and 227 to
236 (stop at The Big Space Plan) of Chapter 6, which are about
the key people in the Soviet space program. Note that pages are
numbered here as they are on the actual pages; Acrobat counts
the pages differently.
- 2,5: Asif A. Siddiqi, Challenge
to Apollo, NASA History Series, 2000. This academic history
is the first comprehensive description of the Soviet space
program during the Apollo era. Read pages 386 (starting at The
Decision to go to the Moon)-408 of Chapter 9, which is about
the Soviet lunar landing decision. Note that pages are
numbered here as they are on the actual pages; Acrobat counts
the pages differently.
- 3,6: Rushmore DeNooyer (director), Sputnik
Declassified, NOVA, 2007 (this ends at 53 minutes and then
repeats). This television documentary provides an inside story
of the management of the early Soviet and American space
programs.
Required Readings for Session 24 (Voskhod, Soyuz and Zond)
- 1,4: Dimitriy Kiselev (director), Spacewalker (Russian, with
English subtitles), Bazelevs Production, 2017. Watch he first
75 minutes. Available on ELMS (in Modules). This recent cinematic
release dramatizes the Voskhod 2 mission that marked the last
point at which the Soviet Union clearly led in human
spaceflight during the Apollo era.
- 2,5: Boris E. Chertok, Rockets
and People, NASA History Series, 2005. This is an
insider’s view of the Soviet space program during the Apollo
era. Read pages 259-273 of Volume 3, Chapter 9.
- 3,6: Brian Harvey, Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration,
Springer-Praxis, 2007, available online through the University Libraries. This book
describes Soviet Moon programs, including unmanned missions,
the planned Zond human circumlunar mission and the planned
human landing on the Moon. Read pages 128-141 of Chapter 5.
Note that pages are numbered here as they are on the actual
pages; Acrobat counts the pages differently.
Required Readings for Session 25 (The Soviet Lunar Landing Program)
- 1,4: Asif A. Siddiqi, Challenge
to Apollo, NASA History Series, 2000. This academic history
is the first comprehensive description of the Soviet space
program during the Apollo era. Read pages 678 (from The N1 in
Flight) to 697 of Chapter 15, which describes the flight
history of the Soviet N-1 rocket. Note that pages are
numbered here as they are on the actual pages; Acrobat counts
the pages differently.
- 2,5: Dan Clifton (director), The Engines
that Came In from the Cold, Ideal World Productions,
2001. This documentary describes the development of the rocket
engine that had been developed for the Soviet N-1 Moon rocket,
which later were sold to an American company for use by the
U.S. military.
- 3,6: Boris E. Chertok, Rockets
and People, NASA History Series, 2005. This is an
insider’s view of the Soviet space program during the Apollo
era. Read Volume 4 Chapter 3, which is a personal account from
the designer of the control systems for the Soviet lunar
landing program.
Required Readings for Session 26 (Making Meaning)
- 1,3,5: Nicholas de Monchaux, Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo, MIT
Press, 2011. This is a collection of essays that explore
Apollo from a design perspective, with the Apollo spacesuit as
its central focus and metaphor. Read Chapter 19, which is
available on ELMS.
- 2,4,6: Horst W. J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber, Dilemmas
in a General Theory of Planning, Policy Sciences, 1973.
This paper introduced the idea of "wicked problems."
Required Readings for Session 27 (Draft Term Papers)
- Two draft term papers will be assigned to each student by the
preceding Friday morning.
Doug Oard
Last modified: Sat Apr 25 14:33:02 2020