Help! I'm an Amateur!

[Ginnie]

Hello Boys and Girls....

Everybody except for the newbies should know me by now - and you all probably realize that whilst most of you can speak about the Space Missions clearly and fluently from the top of your head without referencing books and manuals most of the time. I of course, have to go looking through my books, searching the web etc. for my info.
Yes, I've read a lot about the missions, but I guess my other interests prevent that information from staying in my little brain, so I forget the particulars a lot of the time.

So, to help myself out a bit, I'm compiling a mini-reference binder filled with outlines and important bits regarding the Space Program.

Now, I want to keep the document as small as possible - limited to overview and dates/events sort of.
e.g. what I have so far is this:

A History of Satelites and Robotic Space Missions (5 pages)
Listing: Mission (Explorer etc.) - Launch - Type - Mission Highlights (one or two lines)
and
TheApollo Missions (2 pages)
Listing: Mission - Booster - Crew - Launch Date - Mission Goal - Mission result (up to ten lines)

Just simple "Guides" if you will, each one just a few pages long. I hate when I forget which Surveyor they landed next to on the moon (checks guide - Surveyor 3) , or forgetting which Apollo Mission first flew and manned the LM (let me check - oh, Apollo 9) See what I mean?
So, I know I'll add the Mercury and Gemini missions and the Russian missions too. But what other guides would be handy?
... maybe a Guide of all the Rockets from v2 to the Saturn V... that would be good...

So if you have any other suggestions, please feel free to share it with me.
Remember, these will only be 2 - 5 pages each. I need them to be concise yet of good use.

BTW - I'm not interested in any Apollo Hoax debunking info (such as a Guide debunking parallel shadows etc. ).

[donnieb]

How about one that lists the major problems that had to be overcome for a successful program? Those things really interest me, and they make good fodder for discussions with either HBs or other Apollo fans.

I'm thinking of issues like the mode decision (LOR vs EOR or direct ascent), the problems with the F-1 engine, the Fire, LM weight shaving, the precision guidance that allowed A12 to land beside the Surveyor, and so on.

[Ginnie]

Aug 30, 2010 21:19:25 GMT -4 donnieb said:

How about one that lists the major problems that had to be overcome for a successful program? Those things really interest me, and they make good fodder for discussions with either HBs or other Apollo fans.

I'm thinking of issues like the mode decision (LOR vs EOR or direct ascent), the problems with the F-1 engine, the Fire, LM weight shaving, the precision guidance that allowed A12 to land beside the Surveyor, and so on.

I'd be more interested in a list of problems that actually occurred. I'll look for that.

BTW: I've added a 3rd - Manned Missions from Vostok 1 to Apollo-Soyez, in a quick 5 page handy reference guide.

[Kiwi]

Our own Bob B. has three excellent chronologies on his website Rocket and Space Technology -- link at the bottom of every page here. Click on Missions at the bottom of the home page. The three parts are presented as follows:

Part I - Manned Space Flights
This page provides a comprehensive list of all manned space flights. Included are spacecraft name, crew, launch and return dates, duration and a brief mission description. We start with Yuri Gagarin's historical flight in April 1961 and conclude with the most recent manned missions. Although not always up to the minute, I try to update this list at least a couple times a year.

Part II - Planetary Spacecraft
This page provides a list of most probes and landers sent to study our major and minor planetary neighbors. Included are spacecraft name, launch date, booster, vehicle weight, and mission description. We start with the first probes launched in the early 1960s and conclude with our current successes and failures. Although there may be a slight lag, I try to update this list whenever there is a major new development.

Part III - Lunar Spacecraft
This page provides a list of most unmanned probes and landers sent to study the Moon. Included are spacecraft name, launch date, booster, vehicle weight, and mission description. The Moon was a logical first target for the world's fledgling space programs and, after a long hiatus, it is once again becoming a target for investigation. I try to update this list whenever there is a major new development.

Here's a web page with brief facts about the Apollo missions:
www.nasm.si.edu/apollo/apollo.htm
Click on each mission, then "Facts."

Also check out the Apollo By The Numbers thread here -- it has links to summaries of the missions.

[Ginnie]

"Apollo By the Numbers" - I'd forgotten about that one.