Word: missions
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Once he was satisfied with the redesigned craft, Low moved fast. Last August, when it became apparent that the earth-orbiting December flight of Apollo 8 would be delayed by problems with the lunar module, he proposed a bold plan: an Apollo 8 moon orbital mission-without the LM. He was more than convincing, and that is why Apollo 8 got the go-ahead for its historic trip...
...importance of the Apollo spacecraft's 20,500-lb.-thrust Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine was far out of proportion to its 31-ft. length. The engine's faultless operation made the difference not only between a relatively simple moon shot and last week's sophisticated mission, but also between life and death for the astronauts...
...reliability tests that extended over a period of five years, Aerojet and NASA technicians fired SPS engines some 3,200 times without a malfunction before qualifying them for manned flight. Although the total firing time on the Apollo 8 mission was scheduled to take no more than seven or eight minutes, the combustion chamber was designed to operate for 121 minutes. During tests, it actually held up for more than 30 minutes without burning...
...engine took over from an S-4B stage that failed to restart, and by itself propelled the unmanned spacecraft to an altitude of more than 13,000 miles. On Apollo 7, its first manned flight, it was started eight times. Thus, when Borman, Lovell and Anders embarked on their mission, they had a pretty good idea that their little engine could perform its tasks flawlessly...
...segment of Government argued with one voice-with, say, the State Department citing political considerations to counterpoint the military contentions of the Pentagon. That has been known to happen. In 1963, after listening to conflicting reports from a general and a diplomat who had just returned from a joint mission to Viet Nam, President Kennedy was moved to inquire: "Have you two gentlemen been in the same country...