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  John Houbolt: The Unsung Hero (Causey)

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Author Topic:   John Houbolt: The Unsung Hero (Causey)
cspg
Member

Posts: 6225
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006

posted 08-21-2019 03:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cspg   Click Here to Email cspg     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
John Houbolt: The Unsung Hero of the Apollo Moon Landings
by William F. Causey
In May 1961, President Kennedy announced that the United States would attempt to land a man on the moon and return him safely to the earth before the end of that decade. Yet NASA did not have a specific plan for how to accomplish that goal. Over the next fourteen months, NASA vigorously debated several options. At first the consensus was to send one big rocket with several astronauts to the moon, land and explore, and then take off and return the astronauts to earth in the same vehicle. Another idea involved launching several smaller Saturn V rockets into the earth orbit, where a lander would be assembled and fueled before sending the crew to the moon.

But it was a small group of engineers led by John C. Houbolt who came up with the plan that propelled human beings to the moon and back―not only safely, but faster, cheaper, and more reliably. Houbolt and his colleagues called it "lunar orbit rendezvous," or "LOR." At first the LOR idea was ignored, then criticized, and finally dismissed by many senior NASA officials.

Nevertheless, the group, under Houbolt's leadership, continued to press the LOR idea, arguing that it was the only way to get men to the moon and back by President Kennedy's deadline. Houbolt persisted, risking his career in the face of overwhelming opposition. This is the story of how John Houbolt convinced NASA to adopt the plan that made history.

JimSchultze
Member

Posts: 17
From: Omaha, NE, USA
Registered: Nov 2012

posted 08-22-2019 07:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for JimSchultze   Click Here to Email JimSchultze     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Looking forward to this one. And published by my alma mater, too.

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