Crew

Apollo 11 crew

• Commander - Neil Armstrong (left)
• Command Module Pilot - Michael Collins (center)
• Lunar Module Pilot - Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. (right)

General information

Apollo 11 flight emblem

The ship included a command module (sample 107) and a lunar module (sample LM-5). For the command module, the astronauts chose the call sign "Columbia", for the lunar module - "Eagle" (Eagle). The weight of the ship is 43.9 tons. "Columbia" is the name of the statue on the Congress building in Washington and the ship in which the heroes of Jules Verne flew to the moon. The emblem of flight is an eagle above the surface of the moon, holding an olive branch in its claws. For launch, a Saturn-5 rocket (sample AS-506) was used. The mission was formulated as follows: "Land on the moon and return to Earth"

Flight tasks

They included landing on the moon in the western part of the Sea of ​​Tranquility (Base of Tranquility), collecting samples of lunar soil, photographing on the lunar surface, installing scientific instruments on the moon, conducting television sessions from the ship and from the lunar surface.

Prelaunch preparation and start

Six days before the estimated launch date, a leak was detected in one of the compressed helium cylinders placed in the oxidizer tank of the first stage of the launch vehicle. Two technicians climbed into the tank and, tightening the nut on the cylinder, eliminated the leak. Further, the prelaunch preparation proceeded without incident and even smoother than that of all the previous manned Apollo spacecraft.

At the Launch Control Center, guests of honor included former US President Johnson, Vice President Agnew and German rocket pioneer Hermann Obert, 75. About a million people watched the launch at the cosmodrome and in the surrounding areas, and about one billion people in various countries of the world watched the television broadcast of the launch.

The Apollo 11 spacecraft took off on July 16 at 13 hours 32 minutes GMT, 724 ms later than the estimated time.

The engines of all three stages of the launch vehicle worked in accordance with the design program, the spacecraft was launched into a geocentric orbit close to the design one.

Second start and flight to the moon

After the last stage of the launch vehicle with the spacecraft entered the initial geocentric orbit, the crew checked the onboard systems for about two hours.

The engine of the last stage of the launch vehicle was turned on to transfer the spacecraft to the flight path to the Moon at 2 hours 44 minutes 22 seconds of flight time and worked for 347 seconds.

At 3 hours 26 minutes of flight time, the maneuver for rebuilding the compartments began, which ended on the first attempt after seven minutes.

At 0430 hours of flight time, the spacecraft (command and lunar module) separated from the last stage of the launch vehicle, moved away from it at a safe distance and began an independent flight to the Moon.

On command from the Earth, the fuel components were drained from the last stage of the launch vehicle, as a result of which the stage, under the influence of lunar attraction, entered a heliocentric orbit, where it is still located.

During the televised session, which began at about 55 hours of flight, Armstrong and Aldrin went to the lunar module for the first test of the onboard systems.

Moon landing

The spacecraft reached lunar orbit approximately 76 hours after launch. After that, Armstrong and Aldrin began preparing to undock the lunar module for landing on the lunar surface.

The command and lunar modules were undocked approximately one hundred hours after launch. In principle, it was possible to use automatic programs until the moment of landing, however, even before the flight, Armstrong decided that at an altitude of about one hundred meters above the lunar surface, he would switch to a semi-automatic landing control program, explaining his decision with the following phrase: “Automation does not know how to choose landing sites ". According to this program, the automatics regulates the vertical component of the module's speed, changing the thrust of the landing engine according to the signals of the radio altimeter, while the astronaut controls the axial position of the cabin, and, accordingly, the horizontal component of the speed. In fact, Armstrong switched to manual mode of descent control much earlier, since the on-board computer was working with an overload, and the emergency signal was on all the time, unnerving the crew, despite the assurances of the ground operator that the signal could be ignored (later the operator, who made a decision despite the emergency signals not to give up landing on the moon, received a special award from NASA).

Post-flight analysis showed that the overload of the computer was caused by the fact that, in addition to controlling the landing, which required 90% of the computer's power, it was entrusted with controlling the radar, providing a meeting with the command module in orbit, which required another 14% of the power. For subsequent flights of lunar expeditions under the Apollo program, the logic of the computer was changed.

The need to switch to a semi-automatic control program arose also because the automatic program led the lunar module to land in a crater about 180 meters in diameter, filled with stones. Armstrong decided to fly over the crater, fearing that the lunar module would tip over during landing.

The lunar module landed in the Sea of ​​Tranquility on July 20 at 20 hours 17 minutes 42 seconds GMT. At the time of landing, Armstrong relayed: “Houston, this is Tranquility Base. The Eagle sat down. " Charles Duke of Houston replied, “Understood, Calm. You have landed. We all turned blue here. Now we breathe again. Thanks a lot!"

Stay on the moon

The astronauts performed operations simulating a launch from the Moon, and made sure that the onboard systems were in good working order. Even during the period of revolution in the selenocentric orbit, the astronauts asked for permission to abandon the planned rest period, after landing, the medical flight director gave such permission, considering that nervous tension apparently would still prevent the astronauts from falling asleep before going to the moon.

An external onboard camera installed on the lunar module provided live coverage of Armstrong's exit to the lunar surface. Armstrong descended to the lunar surface on July 21, 1969 at 02 hours 56 minutes 20 seconds GMT. Descending to the surface of the moon, he uttered the following phrase:

Man's first step on the moon

Aldrin soon came to the surface of the moon about fifteen minutes after Armstrong. Aldrin tried various ways to move quickly across the lunar surface. The most expedient astronauts recognized ordinary walking. Astronauts walked the surface, collected a number of lunar soil samples and set up a television camera. Then the astronauts planted the flag of the United States of America (the US Congress rejected NASA's proposal to install the UN flag on the moon instead of the national one before the flight), held a two-minute communication session with President Nixon, made additional soil sampling, installed scientific instruments on the lunar surface (a seismometer and a laser reflector) ... It was very difficult for Aldrin to level the seismometer using the level. Ultimately, the astronaut leveled it "by eye" and the seismometer was photographed so that specialists on Earth could determine the position of the device on the ground from the photograph. Some delay was also caused by the fact that one of the two solar panels of the seismometer did not automatically unfold, and had to be deployed manually.

Aldrin at the seismometer. The lunar module, the US flag wired to prevent sagging, and the camera on a tripod are visible in the background.

After installing the instruments, the astronauts collected additional soil samples (the total weight of the samples delivered to Earth is 24.9 kg with a maximum allowable weight of 59 kg) and returned to the lunar module.

With the resource of the autonomous life support system of about four hours, Aldrin stayed on the lunar surface for a little more than one and a half, Armstrong - about two hours and ten minutes.

After returning to the lunar cabin, the astronauts put the items they no longer needed in a bag, depressurized the cabin and threw the bag onto the lunar surface. A television camera on the lunar surface showed this process and was turned off shortly thereafter.

After checking the onboard systems and eating, the astronauts slept for about seven hours (Aldrin - curled up on the floor of the cockpit, Armstrong - in a hammock suspended above the casing of the main engine of the takeoff stage of the lunar cabin).

Start from the Moon and return to Earth

After another meal by the astronauts, at the one hundred and twenty-fifth hour of the flight, the take-off stage of the lunar module started from the moon.

The total duration of the stay of the lunar module on the lunar surface: 21 hours 36 minutes.

On the lunar module landing stage, which remained on the surface of the Moon, there is a plate with an engraved map of the Earth's hemispheres and the words “Here people from planet Earth first set foot on the Moon. July 1969 new era. We have come in peace on behalf of all Humanity. " These words are engraved with the signatures of all three Apollo 11 astronauts and President Nixon.

Memorial plaque on the landing stage of the Apollo 11 lunar module

After the takeoff stage of the lunar module entered the selenocentric orbit, it was docked with the command module at the 128th hour of the expedition. The crew of the lunar module took samples collected on the Moon and moved to the command module, the take-off stage of the lunar cockpit was undocked, the command module was launched at Return trip to the ground. Only one course correction was required during the entire return flight. It was necessary due to poor meteorological conditions in the originally planned landing area. New district the landing was about four hundred kilometers northeast of the originally planned one. The division of the command module compartments occurred at the one hundred and ninety-fifth hour of flight. To allow the crew compartment to reach the new area, the controlled descent program was modified using aerodynamic quality.

The crew compartment splashed down in Pacific approximately twenty kilometers from the aircraft carrier "Hornet" (CV-12) (eng. Hornet (CV-12)) in 195 hours 15 minutes 21 seconds from the beginning of the expedition at the point with coordinates 13.5 , 169.25 13 ° 30 ′ N NS. 169 ° 15 ′ E etc. /  13.5 ° N NS. 169.25 ° E etc.(G).

On the water, the crew compartment was initially set in an off-design position (bottom up), but after a few minutes it was turned into a calculated position with the help of inflatable float balloons.

Three light divers were dropped from the helicopter, who brought the pontoon under the crew compartment and alerted two inflatable boats. One of the divers in a biological protection spacesuit opened the hatch of the crew compartment, handed the crew three of the same spacesuits and closed the hatch again. The astronauts put on their spacesuits and, 35 minutes after splashdown, they switched to an inflatable boat. The diver treated the astronauts' suits and the outer surface of the compartment with an inorganic iodine compound. The crew was lifted aboard a helicopter and delivered to the aircraft carrier 63 minutes after splashdown. The astronauts went straight from the helicopter to the quarantine van, where a doctor and a technician were waiting for them.

President Nixon speaks to the Apollo 11 crew in a quarantine van

President Nixon, NASA Director Thomas Payne, and astronaut Frank Borman arrived on the aircraft carrier to meet the astronauts. Nixon addressed the astronauts in the quarantine van with a short welcoming speech.

The moon is not a bad place. Definitely deserves a short visit.
Neil Armstrong

Almost half a century has passed since the Apollo flights, but the debate about whether the Americans were on the Moon does not subside, but becomes more and more fierce. The piquancy of the situation is that the supporters of the theory of the "lunar conspiracy" are trying to challenge not real historical events, but their own, vague and error-ridden idea of ​​them.

Moon epic

Facts first. On May 25, 1961, six weeks after Yuri Gagarin's triumphant flight, President John F. Kennedy made a speech before the Senate and House of Representatives, in which he promised that the American would land on the moon by the end of the decade. Having suffered defeat at the first stage of the space "race", the United States set out not only to catch up, but also to overtake the Soviet Union.

The main reason for the lag at that time was that the Americans underestimated the importance of heavy ballistic missiles. Like their Soviet colleagues, American specialists studied the experience of German engineers who built A-4 (V-2) missiles during the war, but did not give these projects serious development, believing that in a global war there would be enough long-range bombers. Of course, the team of Wernher von Braun, taken out of Germany, continued to create ballistic missiles in the interests of the army, but they were unsuitable for space flights. When the Redstone rocket, the successor to the German A-4, was modified to launch the first American ship, the Mercury, it was only able to lift it to suborbital altitude.

Nevertheless, resources were found in the United States, so American designers quickly created the necessary "line" of carriers: from "Titan-2", which put into orbit a two-seat maneuvering ship "Gemini", to "Saturn-5", capable of sending a three-seat ship "Apollo" "To the moon.

Redstone
Saturn-1B
Saturn-5
Titan-2

Of course, a colossal amount of work was required before the expeditions were dispatched. Spacecraft of the Lunar Orbiter series carried out a detailed mapping of the nearest celestial body - with their help it was possible to outline and study suitable places for disembarkation. The Surveyor series made soft landing and transmitted beautiful images the surrounding area.

Lunar Orbiter spacecraft have carefully mapped the Moon, identifying future astronaut landings

The Surveyor spacecraft studied the Moon directly on its surface; the parts of the Surveyor-3 were picked up and delivered to Earth by the Apollo 12 crew

In parallel, the Gemini program developed. After unmanned launches on March 23, 1965, the Gemini 3 spacecraft was launched, which maneuvered by changing the speed and inclination of the orbit, which was an unprecedented achievement at that time. Soon, Gemini 4 flew, in which Edward White made the first spacewalk for the Americans. The spacecraft worked in orbit for four days, testing orientation systems for the Apollo program. The Gemini 5, launched on August 21, 1965, tested electrochemical generators and a docking radar. In addition, the crew set a record for the duration of their stay in space - almost eight days (the Soviet cosmonauts managed to beat it only in June 1970). By the way, during the Gemini 5 flight, the Americans first encountered the negative consequences of weightlessness - the weakening of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, measures have been developed to prevent these effects: a special diet, drug therapy and a series of physical exercises.

In December 1965, the ships Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 approached each other to simulate docking. Moreover, the crew of the second ship spent more than thirteen days in orbit (that is, the total time of the lunar expedition), proving that the measures taken to maintain physical fitness are quite effective during such a long flight. On the ships Gemini 8, Gemini 9 and Gemini 10, they practiced the docking procedure (by the way, Neil Armstrong was the commander of Gemini 8). On Gemini 11 in September 1966, they tested the possibility of an emergency launch from the Moon, as well as flying through the Earth's radiation belts (the ship climbed to a record altitude of 1369 km). On Gemini 12, the astronauts tried out a series of manipulations in outer space.

During the flight of the Gemini 12 spacecraft, astronaut Buzz Aldrin proved the possibility of complex manipulations in outer space

At the same time, the designers were preparing for testing the "intermediate" two-stage rocket "Saturn-1". During its first launch on October 27, 1961, it surpassed the Vostok rocket in thrust, on which Soviet cosmonauts flew. It was assumed that the same rocket would launch the first Apollo-1 spacecraft into space, but on January 27, 1967, a fire broke out at the launch complex, in which the ship's crew died, and many plans had to be revised.

In November 1967, tests began on the huge three-stage Saturn-5 rocket. During the first flight, it lifted into orbit the Apollo-4 command and service module with a lunar module model. In January 1968, the Apollo 5 lunar module was tested in orbit, and the unmanned Apollo 6 went there in April. The last launch due to the failure of the second stage almost ended in disaster, but the rocket pulled out the ship, demonstrating good "survivability".

On October 11, 1968, the Saturn-1B rocket launched the Apollo-7 command and service module with a crew into orbit. For ten days, the astronauts tested the ship, conducting complex maneuvers. Apollo was theoretically ready for the expedition, but the lunar module was still raw. And then a mission was invented, which was not originally planned at all - a flight around the moon.

The flight of the Apollo 8 spacecraft was not planned by NASA: it became an improvisation, but it was carried out brilliantly, securing another historical priority for the American astronautics

On December 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft without a lunar module, but with a crew of three astronauts, set off for a neighboring celestial body. The flight went relatively smoothly, but before the historic landing on the Moon, two more launches were needed: the Apollo 9 crew worked out the procedure for docking and undocking the spacecraft modules in near-earth orbit, then the Apollo 10 crew did the same, but already close to the Moon ... On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface, thus proclaiming US leadership in space exploration.

The Apollo 10 crew performed a “dress rehearsal”, completing all the operations required to land on the moon, but without the landing itself

Lunar module of the ship "Apollo-11", named "Eagle" ("Eagle") leaves for landing

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's moon ascension was broadcast via the Parkes Observatory radio telescope in Australia; the originals of the recording of the historical event were also preserved and recently discovered there

Then new successful missions followed: Apollo 12, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17. As a result, twelve astronauts visited the moon, conducted a survey of the area, installed scientific equipment, collected soil samples, and tested the rovers. Only the crew of Apollo 13 was unlucky: on the way to the moon, a tank of liquid oxygen exploded, and NASA specialists had to work hard to return the astronauts to Earth.

Falsification theory

Devices for creating an artificial sodium comet were installed on the Luna-1 spacecraft

It would seem that the reality of expeditions to the moon should not have been in doubt. NASA regularly published press releases and bulletins, experts and astronauts gave numerous interviews, in technical support many countries and the world scientific community participated, tens of thousands of people watched the takeoffs of huge rockets, and millions watched live TV broadcasts from space. Lunar soil was brought to Earth, which many selenologists were able to study. International scientific conferences were held to make sense of the data that came from instruments left on the moon.

But even in that eventful time, people appeared who questioned the facts of the landing of astronauts on the moon. A skeptical attitude towards space achievements manifested itself back in 1959, and the likely reason for this was the secrecy policy pursued by the Soviet Union: for decades it even hid the location of its cosmodrome!

Therefore, when Soviet scientists announced that they had launched the Luna-1 research apparatus, some Western experts spoke in the spirit that the communists were simply fooling the world community. The specialists foresaw the questions and placed a device for vaporizing sodium on Luna-1, with the help of which an artificial comet was created, in brightness equal to the sixth magnitude.

Conspiracy theorists even dispute the reality of Yuri Gagarin's flight

Claims arose later: for example, some Western journalists doubted the reality of Yuri Gagarin's flight, because the Soviet Union refused to provide any documentary evidence. There was no camera on board the Vostok ship; the external appearance of the ship itself and the launch vehicle remained classified.

But the US authorities have never expressed doubts about the reliability of what happened: even during the flight of the first satellites, the Agency national security(NSA) deployed two observation stations in Alaska and Hawaii and installed radio equipment there capable of intercepting telemetry from Soviet vehicles. During Gagarin's flight, the stations were able to receive a TV signal with an image of an astronaut transmitted by an onboard camera. Within an hour, the printouts of individual footage from this broadcast were in the hands of government officials, and President John F. Kennedy congratulated the Soviet people on their outstanding achievement.

Soviet military specialists working at the Scientific Measuring Station No. 10 (NIP-10), located in the Shkolnoye village near Simferopol, intercepted data coming from the Apollo spacecraft throughout the entire flight to the Moon and back.

Soviet intelligence did the same. At the station NIP-10, located in the village of Shkolnoe (Simferopol, Crimea), a set of equipment was assembled that allows intercepting all information from the Apollo, including live TV broadcasts from the Moon. The head of the interception project, Aleksey Mikhailovich Gorin, gave the author of this article an exclusive interview, in which, in particular, he said: “A standard azimuth and elevation drive system was used to aim and control a very narrow beam. Based on the information about the location (Cape Canaveral) and the launch time, the flight trajectory of the spacecraft was calculated in all areas.

It should be noted that during about three days of flight, only sometimes there was a deviation of the beam pointing from the calculated trajectory, which was easily corrected manually. We started with Apollo 10, which made a test flight around the moon without landing. This was followed by flights with the landing of the "Apollo" from the 11th to the 15th ... They took rather clear images of a spacecraft on the Moon, the exit of both astronauts from it and travel on the surface of the Moon. Video from the Moon, speech and telemetry were recorded on appropriate tape recorders and transmitted to Moscow for processing and translation. "

In addition to intercepting data, Soviet intelligence also collected any information on the Saturn-Apollo program, since it could be used for the USSR's own lunar plans. For example, the scouts followed the missile launches from the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, when preparations began for the joint flight of the Soyuz-19 and Apollo CSM-111 spacecraft (ASTP mission), which took place in July 1975, Soviet specialists were admitted to the official information on the ship and the rocket. And, as you know, they did not express any claims to the American side.

The Americans themselves had complaints. In 1970, that is, even before the completion lunar program, a brochure was published by a certain James Krainy "Did a Man Land on the Moon?" (Did man land on the Moon?). The public ignored the brochure, although it, perhaps, for the first time formulated the main thesis of the "conspiracy theory": an expedition to the nearest heavenly body technically impossible.

Technical writer Bill Kaysing can rightfully be called the founder of the theory of the "lunar conspiracy"

The topic began to gain popularity somewhat later, after the release of Bill Kaysing's self-published book We Never Went to the Moon (1976), which lays out the now "traditional" arguments for conspiracy theory. For example, the author seriously argued that all deaths of participants in the Saturn-Apollo program are associated with the elimination of unwanted bystanders. I must say that Kaysing is the only one of the authors of books on this topic who was directly related to the space program: from 1956 to 1963 he worked as a technical writer at the Rocketdyne company, which was engaged in the construction of the super-powerful F-1 engine for the rocket. Saturn-5 ".

However, after being fired “of his own free will,” Kaysing became a beggar, grabbed hold of any job, and probably did not have warm feelings for his former employers. In the book, which was reprinted in 1981 and 2002, he argued that the Saturn 5 rocket was a "technical fake" and could never send astronauts on an interplanetary flight, so in reality the Apollo flew around the Earth, and the TV broadcast was carried out using unmanned vehicles.

Ralph René made a name for himself by accusing the US government of rigging flights to the moon and organizing the September 11, 2001 attacks

Bill Kaysing's creation was also ignored at first. Fame was brought to him by the American conspiracy theorist Ralph Rene, who posed as a scientist, physicist, inventor, engineer and scientific journalist, but in reality did not graduate from any higher educational institution. Like his predecessors, Rene published the book "How NASA showed America the Moon" (NASA Mooned America !, 1992) at his own expense, but at the same time he could already refer to other people's "research", that is, he looked not like a lonely psycho, but like a skeptic in search for truth.

Probably, the book, the lion's share of which is devoted to the analysis of certain photographs taken by astronauts, would also have remained unnoticed if the era of television shows had not come, when it became fashionable to invite all kinds of freaks and outcasts to the studio. Ralph Renee managed to get the most out of the sudden interest of the public, since he had a well-hung tongue and did not hesitate to make absurd accusations (for example, he claimed that NASA deliberately damaged his computer and destroyed important files). His book was reprinted many times, and each time increasing in volume.

Among the documentaries devoted to the theory of the "lunar conspiracy", one can find outright hoaxes: for example, a pseudo-documentary french film « Dark side Moon "(Opération lune, 2002)

The topic itself also begged for film adaptation, and soon there were films claiming to be documentary: "Was it just a paper moon?" (Was It Only a Paper Moon ?, 1997), "What Happened on the Moon?" (What Happened on the Moon ?, 2000), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon (2001), Astronauts Gone Wild: Investigation Into the Authenticity of the Moon Landings, 2004) and the like. By the way, the author of the last two films, filmmaker Bart Seabrell, twice pestered Buzz Aldrin with aggressive demands to confess to deception and was eventually hit in the face by an elderly astronaut. A video of this incident can be found on YouTube. The police, by the way, refused to open a case against Aldrin. Apparently, she thought that the video was faked.

In the 1970s, NASA tried to collaborate with the authors of the lunar conspiracy theory and even issued a press release, which analyzed the claims of Bill Kaysing. However, it soon became clear that they did not want a dialogue, but they were happy to use any mention of their fabrications for self-promotion: for example, Kaysing was suing astronaut Jim Lovell in 1996 for calling him a "fool" in one of his interviews.

However, how else to name the people who believed in the authenticity of the film "The Dark Side of the Moon" (Opération lune, 2002), where the famous director Stanley Kubrick was directly accused of filming all the astronauts on the moon in the Hollywood pavilion? Even in the film itself, there are indications that it is a fictional fiction in the mocumentari genre, but this did not prevent the conspiracy theorists from accepting the version with a bang and quoting it even after the creators of the hoax openly confessed to hooliganism. By the way, recently there was another "proof" of the same degree of reliability: this time an interview with a man similar to Stanley Kubrick surfaced, where he allegedly took responsibility for falsifying the materials of the lunar missions. The new fake was exposed quickly - it was made too clumsy.

Concealment operation

In 2007, science journalist and popularizer Richard Hoagland co-authored the book Dark Mission. The Secret History of NASA ”(Dark Mission: The Secret History of NASA), which immediately became a bestseller. In this weighty volume, Hoagland summarized his research on the "cover-up operation" - it is allegedly carried out by US government agencies, hiding from the world community the fact of contact with a more advanced civilization that mastered the solar system long before humanity.

Within the framework of new theory The "lunar conspiracy" is viewed as a product of the activities of NASA itself, which deliberately provokes an illiterate discussion of the falsification of landings on the moon in order for qualified researchers to disdain to deal with this topic for fear of being branded as "marginalized." Hoagland cleverly tailored all modern conspiracy theories to fit his theory, from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to flying saucers and the Martian Sphinx. The journalist was even awarded the Shnobel Prize, which he received in October 1997, for his vigorous activity in exposing the "cover-up operation".

Believers and unbelievers

The supporters of the theory of the "lunar conspiracy", or, more simply, the "anti-Apolloists", are very fond of accusing their opponents of illiteracy, ignorance, or even blind faith. A strange move, given that it is the "anti-Apollo people" who believe in a theory that is not supported by any significant evidence. In science and jurisprudence acts Golden Rule: An extraordinary statement requires extraordinary evidence. An attempt to accuse the space agencies and the world scientific community of falsifying materials that are of great importance to our understanding of the Universe must be accompanied by something more significant than a couple of self-published books published by an offended writer and a narcissistic pseudo-scientist.

All hours of film footage of the Apollo lunar expeditions has long been digitized and available for study

If we imagine for a moment that a secret parallel space program existed in the United States using unmanned vehicles, then we need to explain where all the participants in this program have gone: the designers of the “parallel” technology, its testers and operators, as well as filmmakers who prepared kilometers of films of lunar missions. We are talking about thousands (or even tens of thousands) of people who needed to be involved in the "lunar conspiracy." Where are they and where are their confessions? Let's say they all, including foreigners, swore to remain silent. But piles of documents, contracts-orders with contractors, corresponding structures and landfills should remain. However, apart from nagging some public NASA materials, which are indeed often retouched or presented in a deliberately simplified interpretation, there is nothing. Nothing at all.

However, the “anti-Apollo people” never think about such “trifles” and persistently (often in an aggressive form) demand more and more evidence from the opposite side. The paradox is that if they, asking "tricky" questions, themselves tried to find answers to them, it would not be difficult. Let's consider the most typical claims.

During the preparation and implementation of the joint flight of the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft, Soviet specialists were admitted to the official information of the American space program

For example, anti-Apollo people ask: why was the Saturn-Apollo program interrupted, and its technologies were lost and cannot be used today? The answer is obvious to anyone with a general idea of ​​what was happening in the early 1970s. It was then that one of the most powerful political and economic crises in the history of the United States happened: the dollar lost gold content and was devalued twice; the protracted war in Vietnam drained resources; the youth were engulfed in the anti-war movement; Richard Nixon is on the verge of impeachment in connection with the Watergate scandal.

At the same time, the total costs of the Saturn-Apollo program amounted to $ 24 billion (in terms of current prices, we can talk about $ 100 billion), and each new launch cost $ 300 million (1.3 billion in modern prices) - it is clear that further funding became exorbitant for the meager American budget. The Soviet Union experienced something similar in the late 1980s, which led to the inglorious closure of the Energia-Buran program, the technologies of which are also largely lost.

In 2013, an expedition led by Jeff Bezos, founder of the Internet company Amazon, lifted from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean fragments of one of the F-1 engines of the Saturn 5 rocket that delivered Apollo 11 into orbit

Nevertheless, despite the problems, the Americans tried to squeeze a little more out of the lunar program: the Saturn-5 rocket launched a heavy orbital station"Skylab" (it was visited by three expeditions in 1973-1974), a joint Soviet-American flight "Soyuz-Apollo" (ASTP) took place. In addition, the Space Shuttle program, which replaced the Apollo, used the Saturn launch facilities, and some of the technological solutions obtained during their operation are used today in the design of the promising American SLS launch vehicle.

Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility Moonstone Work Crate

Another popular question: where did the lunar soil, brought by the astronauts, go? Why isn't it being studied? Answer: it has not gone anywhere, but is stored where it was planned - in the two-story building of the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility, which was built in Houston (Texas). Applications for the study of the soil should also be applied there, but only organizations that have the necessary equipment can receive them. Each year, a special commission examines applications and satisfies forty to fifty of them; on average, up to 400 samples are sent. In addition, 98 samples with a total weight of 12.46 kg are exhibited in museums around the world, and dozens of scientific publications were published on each of them.

Pictures of the landing sites of the ships Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 17, taken by the main optical camera of the LRO: the lunar modules, scientific equipment and the "paths" left by the astronauts are clearly visible

Another question in the same vein: why is there no independent evidence of a visit to the moon? Answer: they are. If we discard the Soviet evidence, which is still far from completeness, and the excellent space photographs of the lunar landing sites, which were made by the American LRO apparatus and which the "anti-Apollo people" also consider "fake", then the materials provided by the Indians (Chandrayaan-1 ), the Japanese (the Kaguya apparatus) and the Chinese (the Chang'e-2 apparatus): all three agencies have officially confirmed that they have found the tracks left by the Apollo ships.

"Lunar Deception" in Russia

By the end of the 1990s, the theory of the "lunar conspiracy" came to Russia, where it gained ardent supporters. Its wide popularity is evidently aided by the sad fact that history books very little is published in Russian on the American space program, so an inexperienced reader may get the impression that there is nothing to study there.

The most ardent and talkative adherent of the theory was Yuri Mukhin, a former engineer-inventor and publicist with radical pro-Stalinist convictions, noticed in historical revisionism. In particular, he published the book "The Corrupt Girl Genetics", in which he refutes the achievements of genetics in order to prove that the repressions against the domestic representatives of this science were justified. Mukhin's style repels with deliberate rudeness, and he builds his conclusions on the basis of rather primitive distortions.

The cameraman Yuri Elkhov, who participated in the filming of such famous children's films as "The Adventures of Buratino" (1975) and "About Little Red Riding Hood" (1977), undertook to analyze the footage made by astronauts, and came to the conclusion that they were fabricated. True, he used his own studio and equipment for testing, which has nothing to do with NASA equipment of the late 1960s. As a result of the "investigation" Elkhov wrote the book "Fake Moon", which never came out on paper due to lack of funds.

Perhaps the most competent of the Russian "anti-Apollo men" remains Alexander Popov, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, a specialist in lasers. In 2009, he published the book "Americans on the Moon - a great breakthrough or a space scam?" For many years he has been running a special website dedicated to the topic, and now he has agreed that not only the flights of the Apollo, but also of the ships Mercury and Gemini are falsified. Thus, Popov claims that the Americans made their first flight into orbit only in April 1981 - on the Columbia shuttle. Apparently, the respected physicist does not understand that without great previous experience it is simply impossible to launch such a complex reusable aerospace system like the Space Shuttle the first time.

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The list of questions and answers can be continued indefinitely, but this does not make any sense: the views of the "anti-Apollonites" are based not on real facts that can be interpreted in one way or another, but on illiterate ideas about them. Unfortunately, ignorance persists, and not even Buzz Aldrin's hook can make a difference. It remains to rely on time and new flights to the Moon, which will inevitably put everything in its place.

June 2, 2015

Space exploration in the middle of the last century was of paramount importance for the world powers, because it directly testified to their strength and power. The priority of space industry developments was not only not hidden from citizens, but, on the contrary, was emphasized in every possible way, instilling a sense of respect and pride for their country.

Despite the desire of many countries to take part in this difficult and interesting business, the main serious struggle unfolded between two superpowers - the Soviet Union and the United States of America.

The first victories in the space race were for the USSR

The succession of Soviet cosmonautics' successes became an openly challenged United States, forcing America to accelerate its work in space exploration and find a way to outflank its main competitor - the USSR.

• first artificial satellite lands - Soviet Sputnik-1 (October 4, 1957) USSR;
• the first space flights of animals - the dog-astronaut Laika, the first animal launched into Earth's orbit! (1954 - November 3, 1957) USSR;
• the first manned flight into space - Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (April 12, 1961).

And yet, the competition for space continued!

First people on the moon

Today, almost everyone knows that America managed to seize the initiative in the space race by launching its astronauts on. The first manned spacecraft to successfully "land" back in 1969 was the American Apollo 11 spacecraft, with a crew of astronauts on board - these were Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin.

Many of you will remember the photo when Armstrong proudly planted the US flag on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. The American government was triumphant that it had succeeded in overtaking the Soviet discoverers of space in the conquest of the moon. But history is full of guesses and assumptions, and some facts do not give rest to critics and learned minds to this day. To this day, the question is being discussed that the American ship, in all likelihood, reached the Moon, took it, but did the cosmonauts actually descend on its surface? There is a whole caste of skeptics and critics who do not believe in the landing of Americans on the moon, however, let's leave this skepticism on their conscience.

However, for the first time the Soviet spacecraft "Luna-2" reached the Moon on September 13, 1959, that is, the Soviet spacecraft were on the Moon 10 years earlier than the landing of American cosmonauts on the Earth satellite. And therefore it is especially offensive that few people know about the role of Soviet designers, physicists, and cosmonauts in the exploration of the Moon.

But the work was done enormous, and the results were achieved much earlier than Armstrong's victorious march. The pennant of the USSR was delivered to the surface of the Moon a decade earlier than a human foot set foot on its surface. On September 13, 1959, the Luna 2 space station reached the planet after which it was named. The world's first spacecraft to reach the Moon (space station Luna-2) landed on the lunar surface in the Sea of ​​Rains near the craters Aristille, Archimedes and Autolycus.

A completely natural question arises: if the station "Luna-2" reached the Earth's satellite, then there should have been "Luna-1"? There was, but its launch, performed a little earlier, turned out to be not so successful and, having flown past the Moon ... But even with this outcome, very significant scientific results were obtained during the flight of the Luna-1 station:

• The first direct measurements of the solar wind parameters were carried out using ion traps and particle counters.
• The outer radiation belt of the Earth was registered for the first time with the help of an onboard magnetometer.
• It was found that the moon has no significant magnetic field.
• AMS "Luna-1" became the first spacecraft in the world to reach the second space speed.

The participants in the launch were awarded the Lenin Prize, the people did not know their heroes by name, but the common cause - the honor of the country - was a priority.

USA land first humans on the moon

And what about the USA? The flight of Yuri Gagarin into space was a serious blow to America, and in order not to remain forever in the shadow of the Russians, a goal was set - and although the Americans lost the race to land the first spacecraft on the lunar surface, they had a chance to be the first to land on the Earth satellite. ! Work on improving the spacecraft, spacesuits and the necessary equipment was underway by leaps and bounds, the American government attracted all the intellectual and technical potential of the country, and, without stint, spent billions of dollars on development. All NASA resources were mobilized and thrown into the furnace of science for a great purpose.

The step of an American citizen to the moon is the only way to get out of the shadows, to catch up with the Soviet Union in this race. It is possible that America would not have been able to realize its ambitious plans, but at that time in the USSR there was a change in the party leader, and the leading designers - Korolev and Chelomey could not come to a common opinion. Korolev, being an innovator by nature, tended to use the latest engine designs, while his colleague advocated the old, but proven Proton. Thus, the initiative was lost and the first who officially set foot on the lunar surface were American astronauts.

Did the USSR surrender in the lunar race?

Although Soviet cosmonauts they did not manage to land on the moon in the 20th century, the USSR did not give up in the race to conquer the moon. So already in 1970 the automatic interplanetary station "Luna-17" carried on board the world's first, unparalleled, planetary rover, capable of fully operating in conditions of a different gravity of the moon. It received the name "Lunokhod-1" and was intended to study the surface, properties and composition of the soil, radioactive and X-ray radiation of the moon. Work on it was carried out at the Khimki Machine-Building Plant. S.A. Lavochkin, led by Babakin Nikolai Grigorievich. The sketch was completed in 1966, and all design documentation was completed by the end of the following year.

Lunokhod-1 was delivered to the surface of the Earth satellite in November 1970. The control center was located in Simferopol, in the Space Communications Center and included the control panel for the crew commander, the driver of the lunar rover, the antenna operator, the navigator, and the operational information processing room. The main problem was the signal time delay, which prevented full control. The Lunokhod worked there for almost a year, until September 14, the very day the last successful communication session took place.

The lunar rover has done a tremendous job of studying the planet entrusted to it, having worked much longer than the planned time. A huge number of photographs, lunar panoramas, were transferred to Earth. Years later, in 2012, International astronomical union gave names to all twelve craters that met on the way of "Lunokhod-1" - they received male names.

By the way, in 1993, "Lunokhod-1" was put up at the Sotheby's auction, the declared price was five thousand dollars. The auction ended at a much higher amount - sixty-eight and a half thousand US dollars, the son of one of the American astronauts became the buyer. It is characteristic that the precious lot rests on the territory of the Moon, in 2013 it was discovered in the images taken by the American orbiting probe.

Summing up, it can be noted that the first people to land on the moon (1969) were the Americans, here is a list of US astronauts who landed: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin , John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt. Neil Armstrong lived long life and died on August 25, 2012 at the age of 82, retaining the title of the first person to set foot on the moon ...

But the first spaceships who conquered the moon (1959) were Soviet, here the primacy undoubtedly belongs The Soviet Union and Russian designers and engineers.

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WASHINGTON, July 20 - RIA Novosti. Forty years ago - on July 20, 1969 - man first set foot on the lunar surface.

NASA's Apollo 11 spacecraft with a crew of three astronauts (commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Edwin Aldrin and command module pilot Michael Collins) became the first to reach the moon in the space race of the USSR and the USA. The United States did not pursue research tasks in this expedition, its purpose was simple - to land on an Earth satellite and return successfully.

The ship consisted of a lunar module and a command module, which remained in orbit during the mission. Thus, of the three astronauts, only two visited the moon - Armstrong and Aldrin. They had to land on the moon, collect samples of lunar soil, take pictures on the moon and install several instruments. However, the main ideological component of the trip was the hoisting of the American flag on the moon and the holding of a video communication session with the Earth.

The sending of the astronauts took place with famous fanfare - the launch was watched by US President Richard Nixon and the scientist-creator of German rocketry Hermann Obert. At the cosmodrome itself and mounted observation platforms the launch was watched by a total of about a million people, and the TV broadcast, according to the Americans, was watched by more than a billion people worldwide.

Apollo 11 launched toward the moon on July 16, 1969 at 1332 GMT and entered lunar orbit 76 hours later. The command and lunar modules were undocked approximately 100 hours after launch. Despite the fact that NASA intended to land on the lunar surface in an automatic mode, Armstrong, as the leader of the expedition, decided to land the lunar module in a semi-automatic mode. He motivated his decision with the words: "Automation does not know how to choose landing sites."

The lunar module landed in the Sea of ​​Tranquility on July 20 at 20 hours 17 minutes 42 seconds GMT. As NASA historians write, at the time of landing, Armstrong transmitted: "Houston, this is the Tranquility Base. The Eagle (the emblem of the mission was an eagle) sat down." Mission Specialist Charles Duke replied: "Understood, Calm. You landed on the moon. We all turned blue. Now we are breathing again. Thank you very much!"

Before stepping onto the surface of an Earth satellite, the astronauts checked the onboard systems and simulated a launch from the Moon.

Armstrong descended to the lunar surface on July 21, 1969 at 02 hours 56 minutes 20 seconds GMT. Everyone knows his phrase, which he uttered when he set foot on the moon: "This is one small step for man, but a giant leap for all mankind."

A camera installed outside the module broadcast Armstrong's exit to the lunar surface.

After 15 minutes, Aldrin also went to the moon, who was remembered for the fact that he immediately began to try out various methods of movement on the surface. The astronauts collected the required amount of materials, placed instruments and installed a television camera. After that, they planted the American flag in the field of view of the camera - as you know, Congress rejected NASA's proposal to plant a UN flag on the moon - and held a communication session with President Nixon. Astronauts left a commemorative plaque on the Moon with the words: "Here people from planet Earth first set foot on the Moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace on behalf of all Humanity."

Aldrin stayed on the moon for about an hour and a half, Armstrong - two hours and 10 minutes. At the 125th hour of the mission and the 22nd hour of stay on the Moon, the lunar module was launched from the surface of the only satellite of the Earth. The crew splashed down on Earth approximately 195 hours after the start of the mission, and soon the astronauts were picked up by an aircraft carrier that arrived in time. After quarantine and vacation, on August 13, 1969, ceremonial meetings of the astronauts were organized in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were greeted with the enthusiasm with which the pioneer of space, Yuri Gagarin, was greeted in the USSR.

The American manned research ship Apollo 11 went down in history as the first ship that brought earthlings to the surface of another celestial object - the Moon. This historic flight lasted from July 16 to 24, 1969.

The landing of the Americans on the moon

On July 20 at 20:17:39 UTC, the lunar module landed in the Sea of ​​Tranquility, more precisely, in its southwestern part. Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, the crew commander and pilot, spent almost an entire day on the lunar surface - 21 hours, 36 minutes and 21 seconds. Michael Collins, who controlled the command module, had been waiting for a signal from them in orbit all this time.

Astronauts made one exit to the lunar surface, which lasted about 2 and a half hours. The first person whose foot set foot on the lunar surface on July 21 at 2:56:15 UTC was crew commander Armstrong. After 15 minutes, Aldrin came to the surface of the earth's satellite.

At the landing site of the module, the astronauts installed an American flag and a set of research instruments brought from Earth. In addition, they took more than 20 kg of samples of local soil for their subsequent study in terrestrial laboratories. Both the crew and the samples collected after the flight underwent strict quarantine, which, however, did not reveal any extraterrestrial microorganisms.

The national goal set by John F. Kennedy almost 10 years ago was achieved - the United States won the lunar race against the USSR.

But who was the first to set foot on the surface of the mysterious satellite of the Earth?

As soon as it became clear that Apollo 11 would be the first to reach the lunar surface, journalists and NASA officials decided that Edwin Aldrin should land first. The logic here was very simple, because always during flights into space under the Gemini program, the spacewalk was carried out directly by the pilot, not by the commander.

Apollo 11 crew

The earliest rough plans for the lunar landing indicated that the module pilot was the first to go outside. But one interesting point was not taken into account: since the main outer hatch opened from left to right and inward, and the pilot's seat was to the right of the hatch, the pilot, in order to get out, would have to climb over the commander in full gear. The rehearsal of this maneuver showed all its futility.

Later, Donald Slayton, the commander of the astronaut squad, recalled that the commander needed to be first, even based on standard protocol rules. It was Slayton who suggested changing plans, and this innovation was supported by the leadership. In the future, Slayton denied that Armstrong had taken advantage of his official position, while Armstrong himself assured that no one had asked him. Aldrin, according to experts, did not write too convincingly that he was satisfied with the superiority of the commander.