Word: lems
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...test turned to Apollo coasting through space at 15,000 m.p.h. Inside the 24-ft. spacecraft and its service module was virtually everything that will go to the moon-except the three astronauts, their couches and the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), for which ballast had been substituted. At an altitude of 310 miles, a programmer-filling in for the astronaut pilot-ordered the Apollo's own 22,900-lb.-thrust engine to head the craft back to earth, increase its speed, then separate the module just before reentry...
...displays of northern lights, but they do no harm to humans. The moon, however, has no atmosphere or magnetic field to stop the particles; they reach its surface at velocities great enough for -the heavier protons to penetrate space suits and the thin walls of a Lunar Excursion Module (LEM). Caught on the surface of the moon, astronauts might receive a fatal dose of proton radiation before they could return to their orbiting Apollo vehicle, which will be substantial enough to withstand the most severe solar bombardment yet recorded...
...miles away, the first deadly protons could begin hitting the moon an hour after the first flare sighting. The lethal rain would become increasingly strong, reaching a maximum about six hours later. Long before that maximum, though, if all went well, the astronauts would have blasted off in their LEM to rendezvous and found safety within the protective skin of the orbiting Apollo...
Later Geminis will fly two-day missions, primarily to practice rendezvous and docking; while on earth orbit, they will simulate the maneuver that will eventually bring Apollo's Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) back to the moon-orbiting command capsule for its return trip to earth. Next year will also see the first flights of unmanned Apollo vehicles, perhaps even a manned orbit of the three-man vehicle...
Wally Schirra's seemingly effortless piloting of Gemini 6 made the intricate Apollo space navigation seem more feasible. On the way to the moon, for example, the LEM will have to be detached from the back of the command and service modules, then reattached in front. When the Apollo is finally in orbit around the moon, two of its three crewmen will climb into the LEM and head for the moon's surface. After from four to 34 hours of exploration, they will blast off and rendezvous with the orbiting Apollo for the return trip to earth, using...