three branches
Apollo Launch Ops
Apollo Mission Control
Apollo Mission Control
All Apollo mission launch site operations were conducted at
John F. Kennedy Space Center in
Apollo Mission Control
Apollo Mission Control
Apollo Mission Control
Apollo Mission Control, composed of about 20 operational components, was located at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Flight Center in
Apollo Recovery
Apollo Mission Control
Apollo Recovery
Apollo Recovery included operations under the leadership of the "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States" using aircraft carriers to transport marine helicopters that safely retrieved and relocated both the Apollo crew and their vessel for quarantine
click the mission EMBLEM to listen
Getting things off the ground
Commentary: Thirty seconds and counting. Astronauts report it feels good. T-25 seconds. Twenty seconds and counting. T-15 seconds. Guidance is internal. 12, 11, 10, 9 ... Ignition sequence start ... 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 ... All engines running. Liftoff! We have a liftoff ... 32 minutes past the hour, liftoff on Apollo 11. Tower clear.
Armstrong: OK, we've got a roll program.
Commentary: Neil Armstrong reporting the roll and pitch program which puts Apollo 11 on a proper heading.
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
CLICK THE MISSION EMBLEM TO SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT
Is this thing on?
This firsthand account from an Apollo 8 transcript indicates that the crew was not sure whether their iconic Christmas Eve broadcast had even been received:
CDR: Houston, how do you read Apollo 8? Don't tell me they didn't hear us. Houston, Apollo 8.
CC: Apollo 8, reading you loud and clear.
CDR: Roger. Are we off the air now?
LMP: Why don't you Just roll over to the right, Frank, and then you can --
CC: Affirmative, Apollo 8. Go ahead.
LMP: Did you read everything that we had to say there?
CC: Loud and clear; thank you for a real good show.
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
CLICK THE MISSION emblem TO See full transcript
On the Road to Recovery: "A Successful Failure"
This firsthand account from an Apollo 13 transcript indicates that the crew was not sure whether the visible discoloration was a sign of actual damage:
138:04:46 CDR
And there's one whole side of that spacecraft missing.
138:04:50 CC
Is that right?
138:04:57 CDR
Right by the - Look out there, will you? Right by the high gain antenna, the whole panel is blown out, almost from the base to the engine.
138:05:09 CC
Copy that.
138:05:22 LMP
Yes, it looks like it got to the SPS bell, too, Houston.
138:05:28 CC
Think it zinged the SPS engine bell, huh?
138:05:31 LMP
That's the way it looks; unless that's just a dark brown streak. It's really a mess.
138:05:51 CC
Okay, Jim. We'd like you to get some pictures, but we want you to conserve RCS. Don't make unnecessary maneuvers.
138:06:08 CC
And, Jim; Houston. In particular, of course, we don't want any translation maneuvers.
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA productions about apollo
Apollo 12
Apollo 12
Apollo 12
This mission report describes the successful sixth crewed flight in the Apollo program in this NASA video production
Apollo 13
Apollo 12
Apollo 12
“Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here.”
This NASA production contains extensive contemporaneous audio from the Apollo 13 mission
(Tom Hanks isn't in this one: find him here instead)
CLICK THE MISSION EMBLEM To observe STS-1 on Launch Day
"Columbia, you're negative seats"
The launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981, known as "STS-1," was the first space shuttle mission. NASA's reported mission objectives are cited below:
"Demonstrate safe launch into orbit and safe return of the orbiter and crew. Verify the combined performance of the entire shuttle vehicle - orbiter, solid rocket boosters and external tank."
Columbia was built with ejection seats for the two-member crew. A "Negative Seats" call up, however, means the shuttle has achieved a point in ascent where ejection is no longer a safe option. "Negative Return" means the shuttle has flown so high (and is traveling so fast) that a safe return to the launch site is no longer possible.
See timestamp 2:50:00 to 3:06:05
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
CLICK THE MISSION EMBLEM to hear flight director audio Loop
"Data’s a little noisier, INCO"
The launch of Columbia on November 12, 1981, known as "STS-2," was the second space shuttle mission and demonstrated that a crewed, reusable orbiter could re-launch to space and return safely.
"INCO" is the call sign for the Instrumentation and Communications Officer.
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)