Human Space Travel Primary Sources

A sliding ruler made by NASA for staff to keep track of the local time at its many ground-tracking stations around the world. To use it, the staff person would slide the timescale until the correct local time appeared in the window for his or her own station (eg Bermuda), then read off the time for the remote station (eg. Parkes Radiotelescope and Honeysuckle Creek in Australia). The History Center wishes to thank John Jacobs for the loan of this object.

FOOTSTEPS: IEEE's Commemoration of Human Space Travel. Photo courtesy of NASA

Liftoff of Apollo 7, first manned Apollo flight, on October 11, 1968. NASA Photo

Neil Armstrong works on the Lunar Module in the only photo taken of him on the moon from the surface

Apollo-Saturn 501 Vehicle Preparations

NASA Apollo 1's Command Module Open Hatch

This is the 13th Lunar Module built, and was originally intended for the Apollo 18 mission, which was cancelled. It is on display in the Cradle of Aviation Museum at Mitchel Field, Garden City, NY.

Valentina Tereshkova, 1969, the first woman to have flown in space

Astronaut John Glenn, Jr., as he enters the spacecraft Friendship 7 prior to MA-6 launch operations at Launch Complex 14, February 20, 1962. Astronaut Glenn is entering his spacecraft to begin the first American manned Earth orbital mission

In 2019, IEEE FOOTSTEPS is celebrating the contributions technologists in IEEE's fields of interest made to human space travel.

This is a resource page for primary source materials (e.g. oral histories, first-hand histories, milestones, etc.) related to commemorating human space travel, the Saturn and Apollo Projects, and the Lunar landings of 1969.

If you know of materials that should be added to these pages such as Oral histories, First-Hand Histories, Journal or Conference papers, etc. please contact Robert Colburn at the IEEE History Center r.colburn at ieee.org

For further resources, see:

• Seminal IEEE journal and conference papers related to Human Space Travel
• Images, video, and audio resources related to Human Space Travel

We encourage anyone who was involved in the technologies for the Apollo project to write a First-Hand History or an encyclopedia article for the ETHW.

Primary accounts

Oral Histories

• Robert Briskman (#Space communications, Unified S-band system
• Merril Buckley project management for complex electronic systems (e.g., AEGIS, APOLLO)
• Sajjad Durrani Space communications pioneer, COMSAT, NASA, and an IEEE Life Fellow
• Ivan Getting President of The Aerospace Corporation, launches of Mercury and Gemini
• Dimitry Grabbe electronic components for Apollo project, especially for Apollo guidance computer
• William Gretsch TV camera for Apollo project
• Myron Kayton lunar modular electronics, shuttle electronics
• James Lovell Gemini and Apollo VIII and Apollo XIII missions, first person to make a second voyage to the Moon
• Naomi McAfee (2003, SWE) Apollo lunar camera
• Naomi McAfee (2010, IEEE) Apollo lunar camera
• Naomi McAfee (2010, SWE) Apollo lunar camera
• Ian Ross Managing Director of Bellcom, systems engineering to NASA's Project Apollo, remote sensing of lunar surface (safe to land?)
• Balraj Sokkappa Steering equations for command module, and training astronauts
• Cary Spitzer NASA Langley Research Center
• E. King Stodola Project Diana Project Manager
• Gene Strull TV camera for Apollo project, work for NASA
• Len Svensson managed team that built TV camera used in Apollo Moon landing
• Arthur Winston - an an IEEE Life Fellow, Apollo heat shield technology, reminiscence about Buzz Aldrin

Space Travel First Hand Histories

Launch Vehicles

• Low-thrust Interplanetary Vehicles, by Gerard Ash
• Project Mercury, Atlas/Redstone testing, meeting Wehner von Braun, by Rufus Chávez
• First hand experience as a space engineer, the pre-launch years, by Saj Durrani
• Robert Alden Hutchison Apollo reminiscences, pipes and bellows for rocket engines

Components

• Manufacturer of Silicon Transistors useful in Apollo, by Edward N. Clarke
• My Saturn 5 transistors and pump motors by Darrell Tesdall
• Signal Processing and Components for the Lunar Module by George Yabroudy

Navigation, Trajectory, and Guidance

• Description of the Error Angle Counter module, by Mark Birnbaum
• Recollections of the Hand Control for the Apollo Capsule, by Russ Crum
• Testing the Apollo Guidance and Navigation System by James Murphy
• Satellite orbit interspacing, by Peter Stavroulakis
• Recollections of the Terminal Descent Landing Radar, by Don Watts
• Hacking Apollo's Guidance Computer, by Walt Whipple

Lunar Module

• Making Sure that the Lunar Lander was Correctly Tested, by Robert Catenaro
• Lunar Module design, landing and takeoff, and the camera showing takeoff from the Moon, by Richard Coen
• Rough Combustion Cut-off Assembly for Lunar Module, by Bob Fitzgerald
• Background of how I became involved in the Saturn-Apollo Lunar Landing Program, by Walker H. Land
• Recollections of the Apollo and Lunar Module simulators, by Edward Martin
• Lunar Module Mission Engineering Simulation, by John H (Jack) Sachleben
• Lunar Module simulator, by Haywood (Woody) Satz
• Astronaut Training on Lunar Landing Training Vehicles (LLTVs), by Henry A. Siemienowski

Lunar Surface and Remote Sensing

• 50th Anniversary of Apollo Lunar Landing & 50 years in Space Research: A Personal Reminiscence, by Clive Dyer
• Studying Lunar Surface Using Radar by John Evans
• Lunar Laser Experiments by David Flinchbaugh
• Kumar Krishen on determining Moon surface composition by radar

Telemetry, Launch Pad Safety, Range Safety

• Telemetry Range Safety Antennas, by Carol Crom
• Recollections of the ground telemetry for Apollo by Walter Elden
• George L. Gentzler Jr. Field operations, launch pad safety, Ascension Island
• Bermuda tracking station, range safety transmitters by John Jacobs
• Reliability Engineering at GE Apollo Support Department, by Larry Miller
• Apollo 1 disaster tape analysis by Bell Labs, by A. Michael Noll
• Saturn V ground support computer reminiscences, by Richard Reis

Space Communications

• Apollo S-band Transponder and Space Communications, by George Whitehead

Encyclopedia Articles

Biographies

• Julian J. Bussgang Bussgang was a consultant to Grumman Aircraft in the selection, simulation and evaluation of Rendezvous Radar and Landing Radar for LEM (Lunar Module).
• Robert Edwards Re-entry guidance for Apollo
• Maxime A. Faget Chief Engineer and Director of Engineering and Development at the Johnson Space Center
• Keith Glennan first Administrator of NASA
• Peter Glaser Project manager for the Apollo XI Laser Ranging Retro-reflector Array, also involved with solar power and generating power in space.
• Lawrence A. Hyland Hughes Electronics Co., 1967 Surveyor moon landing
• Neal A. Richardson TRW's evaluation of the Apollo Lunar Landing success probability

Organizations

• NASA NASA

Technical topics

• Communications Satellites
• Bacon's Fuel Cell
• Aerospace Engineering category page

Recognitions

ASME Landmarks

• Apollo Space Suit
• Apollo Lunar Module
• Apollo Space command module
• Saturn 5 from Florida
• Saturn 5 from Alabama
• Saturn 5 from Texas

IEEE Milestones

• Mercury Spacecraft MA-6, 1962
• Apollo Guidance Computer, 1962-1972
• Electronic technology for space rocket launches, 1950-1969
• Grumman Lunar Module

We encourage any IEEE member to propose Space Travel-related achievements as an IEEE Milestone. If you are interested in proposing an IEEE Milestone, you can find the instructions here: Milestone Guidelines. To see the Milestone proposals already in progress, please go to: Milestone Status Report