Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight (Paperback))

Chief engineer Thomas J. Kelly gives a firsthand account of designing, building, testing, and flying the Apollo lunar module. It was, he writes, an aerospace engineer s dream job of the century. Kelly s account begins with the imaginative process of sketching solutions to a host of technical challenges with an emphasis on safety, reliability, and maintainability. He catalogs numerous test failures, including propulsion-system leaks, ascent-engine instability, stress corrosion of the aluminum alloy parts, and battery problems, as well as their fixes under the ever-present constraints of budget and schedule. He also recaptures the exhilaration of hearing Apollo 11 s Neil Armstrong report that The Eagle has landed, and the pride of having inadvertently provided a vital lifeboat for the crew of the disabled Apollo 13.