Word: orbit
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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THIS week, still hopeful that they can achieve the goal set by President Kennedy but aware that time is fast running out, U.S. spacemen will begin their final lunar thrust. Barring last-minute delays, Astronauts Walter Schirra, Walter Cunningham and Donn Eisele will be shot into earth orbit aboard Apollo 7 in the first manned flight of the spacecraft that will eventually carry astronauts to the moon. If Apollo lives up to NASA's expectations during its eleven-day mission, it will clear the way for a possible flight around the moon in December and the landing of astronauts...
Housekeeping Chores. When Apollo 7 takes off this week, the conical NASA command module, carrying the three astronauts, and the attached cylindrical service module, will be launched into orbit by a Saturn 1B rocket, which is not powerful enough for the moon mission. "Simply flying the vehicle will be a major test in itself," says Flight Director Lunney. "The men will do the works-move around and eat, manage the housekeeping chores and keep the cockpit running." In the process they will be fully occupied keeping track of 24 instruments, 566 switches and 40 "on-off" in dicators that show...
...their week-and-a-half space journey, they will start Apollo's large, 20,500-lb.-thrust engine eight times to test its reliability. That engine literally means the difference between life and death. On actual moon missions, it will be used to guide an Apollo spacecraft into orbit around the moon, and, later, to fire the craft out of lunar orbit into a trajectory that will return it to earth...
Spectacular Bonus. Apollo 8, which will carry Astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders into orbit late in December, was originally designed to duplicate this week's flight and to recheck any equipment or procedures that go wrong on Apollo 7. Now, spurred by growing concern that the Soviets are planning to upstage the U.S. by sending the first manned craft around the moon, NASA has folded a spectacular bonus into Apollo 8's schedule. If all goes well with Apollo 7, Apollo 8 will be shoved from earth orbit to ward the moon by the last...
...meanwhile is proceeding with plans to launch the first manned Apollo into earth orbit next week on a ten-day mission to check out spacecraft and ground control systems. If all goes well, the following Apollo flight, scheduled for late December, may take three astronauts for as many as ten orbits around the moon before returning them to earth...