This is a series that I am writing describing the history of the
Apollo moon landings - 50 years ago. The Apollo project provides
an excellent example of what can be accomplished when people
study a problem, experiment, theorize on solutions, and conduct
tests to conform or falisfy their theories. Nowhere in the whole
Apollo project was any issue ever explained by saying, "God did
it." Indeed, if these types of answers, rather than scientific
answers, were the working model of the day, Apollo would never
have lauched. 50 years ago today. T minus 8 years, 9 months, and
10 days and counting. Fifty years ago, we were 8 years, 9
months, and 10 days away from a human setting foot on the moon.
However, at that time, nobody had a plan to get humans to the
moon. NASA was still struggling to get humans into space. It
wanted to get a human up to the edge of space, let him work
through about five minutes of weightlessness, and get him back
to Earth. For that, NASA needed a relatively safe rocket. As we
have said before,