It all started with STS-1, launched on April 12, 1981, just twenty years to the day after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. The Saturn IB rocket was used to test the new Apollo capsule in Earth orbit. When the first part ran out of fuel, it dropped away from the other and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere. It was about as tall as a 22-story building. The first flights used the smaller Saturn I rocket. Two types of rockets were used for the Apollo program. This spacecraft carried astronauts from orbit around the moon to the moon’s surface, then back into orbit.

The crew area had about as much room as a car.Īnother spacecraft, the Lunar Module, was used for landing on the moon. The astronauts had room to move around inside the spacecraft. It was larger than the spacecraft used in the Mercury and Gemini programs. The astronauts rode in the Command Module on the way to the moon and back.

It was a capsule with room for three astronauts. NASA designed the Apollo Command Module for this program. What Spacecraft Were Used for the Apollo Program? They collected moon rocks to bring back to Earth. The astronauts conducted scientific research there. The last moon landing was in 1972.Ī total of 12 astronauts walked on the moon. The first moon landing took place in 1969. The first Apollo flight happened in 1968. Six of the other seven flights landed on the moon. The first four flights tested the equipment used in the Apollo Program. Apollo was the NASA space program that produced a total of 11 spaceflights and moon landings. Apollo was not the first, but was definitely, one of the most memorable. I would like to begin with the Apollo spacecraft. Let us take a look at some of the spacecraft designs from the past and some that are already being built for the near future. I like to think that most of us would love to be taken for an amazing journey on a huge spacecraft, starship or UFO one day. It was these movies featuring super massive star cruisers that the piqued my imagination as a child. 'We're going to have more boats on the next go-around and make sure that the area's really clear of any other boats.When most people hear the word spacecraft they often think of famous movies like Star Wars, or Star Trek. 'We closely coordinated between NASA and SpaceX with the US Coast Guard to establish a 10-mile keep-out zone for any boaters, to make sure that the recovery is safe and that our crew is safe, the astronauts are safe, and the public itself is safe,' Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president of build and flight reliability, told reporters in a call on Tuesday. The next time around, SpaceX and NASA plan to set up an enforceable no-boat perimeter around the spaceship's splashdown site. 'Numerous boaters ignored the Coast Guard crews' requests and decided to encroach the area, putting themselves and those involved in the operation in potential danger,' the statement said. In a statement to CBS, the Coast Guard said it warned boaters multiple times with radio alerts and physical warnings, yet lacked an order to legally enforce a hazard zone. Support teams and recreational boaters near the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, August 2, 2020. NASA enlisted the US Coast Guard to clear the water area ahead of the August splashdown, but it did not seem to have enough boats or enforcement power. More Coast Guard boats and a 10-mile 'keep-out zone' In response to the boat issue, the company has promised to beef up security and prevent boaters from crowding its spaceship after the next mission, called Crew-1, returns to Earth in 2021.

The demo mission was meant to identify potential problems like that so SpaceX can correct them ahead of its contracted operational missions for NASA. 'We need to make sure that we're warning people not to get close to the spacecraft in the future.' That's not something that is good,' NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters after the splashdown. 'What is not common is having passers-by approach the vehicle close range with nitrogen tetroxide in the atmosphere. Curious onlookers in boats watch SpaceX's recovery team open the hatch to the Crew Dragon with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley inside on August 2, 2020.

Spaceship landing