| THE APOLLO PROGRAM | ||
The plan for Apollo was to have the astronauts launch from Earth, perform a mid-course correction, and then enter into lunar orbit. Once they were in orbit, two of the astronauts, the Commander and the Lunar Module Pilot, would take the Lunar Module down to the lunar surface, while the Command Module Pilot remained in the Command and Service Module (CSM), orbiting about the Moon. Once the astronauts on the surface had completed their mission, they would lift off from the Moon and rendezvous and dock with the orbiting CSM. From there, the astronauts would perform another engine burn to put them into a free-return trajectory. All of these tasks had been tested and proven possible during the Mercury, and particularly the Gemini Programs. |
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