Swimmers assist Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene A. Cernan,
left, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. “Jack” Schmitt in
the life raft. (NASA Image)
The Apollo Lunar-Landing program came to an
end on December 19, 1972, when the last three
astronauts to travel to the moon splashed
down safely in the Pacific Ocean.
Apollo 17 had lifted off from Cape Canaveral,
Florida 10 days before.
Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the surface of the
moon,was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with
astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr.; Richard F. Gordon, Jr.;
and Alan L. Bean aboard.
The crew had a narrow margin in which to launch to reach
the moon, but bad weather threatened to delay take-off and
they were struck by lightning twice during take-off.
President Richard Nixon (below center) viewed the liftoff
from Pad A at Cape Canaveral. He was the first president
to attend the liftoff of a manned space flight.
Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr.; Command
Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon, Jr.; Lunar Module
Pilot Alan L. Bean.
Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission,was launched with
astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Jr.; Donn F. Eisele; and Walter
Cunningham aboard.
Under the command of Schirra, the crew of Apollo 7 conducted
an 11-day orbit of Earth, during which the crew transmitted the
first live television broadcasts from orbit.
The prime crew of the first manned Apollo space mission
from left to right are: Command Module pilot, Don F. Eisele, Commander, Walter M. Schirra Jr. and Lunar Module pilot,
Walter Cunningham.
On September 17, 1976, NASA publicly unveiled its first space
shuttle, the Enterprise, during a ceremony in Palmdale, California.
Development of the aircraft-like spacecraft cost almost $10 billion
and took nearly a decade. In 1977, the Enterprise became the first
space shuttle to fly freely when it was lifted to a height of 25,000
feet by a Boeing 747 airplane and then released, gliding back to
Edwards Air Force Base on its own accord.
The space shuttle Enterprise rolled out of the Palmdale manufacturing facilities and was greeted by NASA
officials and cast members from the ‘Star Trek’ TV
series.
From left to right they are: NASA Administrator Dr.
James D. Fletcher; DeForest Kelley, who portrayed
Dr. "Bones" McCoy on the series; George Takei
(Mr. Sulu); James Doohan (Chief Engineer
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott); Nichelle Nichols
(Lt. Uhura); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); series
creator Gene Roddenberry; an unnamed NASA
official; and, Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov).
