Chapter 2: Taking the Steps
October 18, 1970
Littrow Crater
Apollo 14, EVA 1
Two astronauts are exploring their surroundings, their shiny, mylar covered Lunar Module sparkle in the barren landscape. One of the men, wearing red stripes on his head, elbows and knees seem excited yet serious and asks his colleague, the one with no stripes to follow him. The red striped astronaut then opens a container that houses the american flag on the landing leg. On the leg, there is a plaque with the words:
APOLLO 14
AQUARIUS
OCTOBER 1970
JAMES A. LOVELL JR THOMAS K. MATTINGLY EDWIN E. ALDRIN JR
After Apollo 11's successful landing, NASA started development on the STS with the design process beginning in September, 1969, a little over a month before the next Apollo mission. Apollo 12 would serve as a "pinpoint landing" as Apollo 11 entirely missed their landing site. This time, 12 would land near the landing site of the Surveyor 3 probe in Oceanus Posselarum. Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean accomplished this goal with flying colors, landing their LM
Intrepid within walking distance to the probe while Gordon stayed, orbiting the moon in their CSM
Yankee Clipper. Apollo 12 was also notable for bringing the first color camera to the moon where they filmed live to the world. Though it didn't have the same viewer ship as Apollo 11, the broadcast was still respectable with over 40 million people seeing the broadcast.
Apollo 12 Lunar Module Pilot, Alan Bean taken by Commander, Pete Conrad, November 19, 1969
Apollo 13 saw the return of Mercury veteran, Alan Shepard, who along with LMP Edgar Mitchell landed the LM Antares in the Fra Mauro highlands while CMP Stuart Roosa stayed in orbit in May 12, 1970. Originally, the launch date would have been in April 11 but during assembly in late 1969, their CM Kitty Hawk's SM, SM 109 was damaged on the assembly line which caused delays & the scrapping of the original SM 109. Apollo 13 launched without a hitch & Shepard became at the time, the oldest man on the moon at 47. They would traverse the landscape of Fra Mauro and reach several craters such as Cone Crater which Mitchell took several samples from. The most famous aspect of Apollo 13 would be golfing, as Shepard smuggled two golf balls and club head on his pockets & swung both of them 30 meters away from the LM.
Alan Shepard poses next to the American flag, note the red commander stripes on his suit, which would be the first mission to do so, May 12, 1970
Apollo 14 would serve as the first scientific based mission, which is displayed on the mission patch, Ex Luna, Scientia meaning From the moon, Knowledge. It launched on October 14, 1970 and landed in Littrow Crater on October 18.
"Hey Buzz, can you hand me the map?"
"Got it, Jim! Here's the map"
LMP Buzz Aldrin gives the map to CDR Jim Lovell. Both of them were veterans of the Gemini Program, with both being the crew of Gemini 12, the final mission. Lovell himself had 3 prior missions before Apollo 14. He was Pilot of Gemini 7 in 1965 and commanded Gemini 12 in 1966. In 1968, he became one of three people who first went to the moon on Apollo 8 & he was the first man to go to the moon twice. If these two weren't suited to the job, know one knows who is.
One detail of note is the Navy Decal on Lovell's helmet. This would be the first of many customizations on helmets for the following years.
They would explore the landscape with the help of the Modular Equipment Transporter nicknamed the rickshaw.
Lovell and Aldrin explored the crater's rim, finding fragments of meteorites in the interior & deploying the ALSEP & other equipment. Meanwhile, Mattingly was surveying in lunar orbit in the CSM Odyssey and was conducting experiments as well, including several insects that he studied during his solo stay. EVA 2 was spent gathering samples and experimenting with the equipment, Lovell & Aldrin brought in total, nearly a hundred pounds worth of samples & brought them back to Odyssey where they undocked with the LM and returned to Earth on October 22, 1970
Apollo 14 Commander Jim Lovell next to the MET, October 18 1970
By Early 1971, NASA was busy with their Apollo Missions but as these continued, they were still in development of their Space Transport System. One of their goals was the use of a Space Shuttle, launching crew into LEO & launching payload to rocket boosters, heading to the moon. Several concepts are considered but none seem plausible compared to one design: The Saturn-Shuttle.
It would consist of an orbiter, a booster stage which could house the orbiter and the S-IC of the Saturn V. It seemed very plausible as that same year, Kennedy would add funding to see this concept come into fruition and to compete against the Soviets, who were steadily building their N-1, despite hurdles that destroyed test vehicles from 1968-1970. The S-IC would be recovered in the ocean and refurbished and await a future mission in under two months. The Orbiter would be powered by two OMS engines that would put it into orbit & rendezvous with satellites and stations. The booster stage, powered by 4 J-2 engines would be on top of the S-IC and would launch the orbiter into orbit before detaching & falling back down, burning up over the Indian ocean.
By Early 1971, NASA was choosing the designs, with this concept becoming more & more like reality. It really seemed that it would be a prime candidate for the final shuttle design. Even Kennedy was considering it as it could save funds from developing completely new boosters and engines. Though, it would have some tough competition and over the next year, it would battle with the other designs that were into consideration.
End of Chapter 2