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Thousands of workers labored at Kennedy Space Center around the clock, seven days a week, for half a year to prepare a mission for the liftoff of Apollo 11. This is the story of what went on during those hectic six months. Countdown to a Moon Launch provides an in-depth look at the carefully choreographed workflow for an Apollo mission at KSC. Using the Apollo 11 mission as an example, readers will learn what went on day by day to transform partially completed stages and crates of parts into a ready-to-fly Saturn V. Firsthand accounts of launch pad accidents, near misses, suspected sabotage, and last-minute changes to hardware are told by more than 70 NASA employees and its contractors. A companion to Rocket Ranch, it includes many diagrams and photographs, some never before published, to illustrate all aspects of the process. NASA’s groundbreaking use of computers for testing and advanced management techniques are also covered in detail. This book will demystify the question of how NASA could build and launch Apollo missions using 1960s technology. You’ll discover that there was no magic involved – just an abundance of discipline, willpower, and creativity.

Engineering. --- Aerospace Technology and Astronautics. --- History of Science. --- Software Engineering/Programming and Operating Systems. --- Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD, CAE) and Design. --- Science --- Software engineering. --- Computer aided design. --- Astronautics. --- Ingénierie --- Sciences --- Génie logiciel --- Conception assistée par ordinateur --- Astronautique --- History. --- Histoire --- Project Apollo (U.S.). --- Project Apollo (U.S.) -- History. --- Space flight to the moon. --- Mechanical Engineering --- Engineering & Applied Sciences --- Aeronautics Engineering & Astronautics --- Project Apollo (U.S.) --- Flight to the moon --- Lunar expeditions --- Lunar flight --- Apollo Project (U.S.) --- United States. --- Progetto Apollo (U.S.) --- Computer-aided engineering. --- Aerospace engineering. --- CAD (Computer-aided design) --- Computer-assisted design --- Computer-aided engineering --- Design --- Computer software engineering --- Engineering --- Annals --- Auxiliary sciences of history --- Space sciences --- Aeronautics --- Astrodynamics --- Space flight --- Space vehicles --- CAE --- Aeronautical engineering --- Astronautics --- Data processing

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Jonathan Ward takes the reader deep into the facilities at Kennedy Space Center to describe NASA’s first computer systems used for spacecraft and rocket checkout and explain how tests and launches proceeded. Descriptions of early operations include a harrowing account of the heroic efforts of pad workers during the Apollo 1 fire. A companion to the author’s book Countdown to a Moon Launch: Preparing Apollo for Its Historic Journey, this explores every facet of the facilities that served as the base for the Apollo/Saturn missions. Hundreds of illustrations complement the firsthand accounts of more than 70 Apollo program managers and engineers. The era of the Apollo/Saturn missions was perhaps the most exciting period in American space exploration history. Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center were buzzing with activity. Thousands of workers came to town to build the facilities and launch the missions needed to put an American on the Moon before the end of the decade. Work at KSC involved much more than just launching rockets. It was a place like none other on Earth. Technicians performed intricate operations, and hazards abounded everywhere, including lightning, fire, highly-toxic fuels, snakes, heat, explosives, LOX spills, and even plutonium. The reward for months of 7-day workweeks under intense pressure was witnessing a Saturn V at liftoff. For anyone who ever wished they had worked at Kennedy Space Center during the Apollo era, this book is the next best thing. The only thing missing is the smell of rocket fuel in the morning.

Engineering. --- Aerospace Technology and Astronautics. --- Popular Science in Astronomy. --- Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Sciences. --- History of Science. --- Science --- Astrophysics. --- Astronomy. --- Astronautics. --- Ingénierie --- Sciences --- Astrophysique --- Astronomie --- Astronautique --- History. --- Histoire --- John F. Kennedy Space Center -- History. --- Project Apollo (U.S.) -- History. --- Mechanical Engineering --- Engineering & Applied Sciences --- Aeronautics Engineering & Astronautics --- Project Apollo (U.S.) --- John F. Kennedy Space Center --- John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA, Merritt Island --- Kennedy (John F.) Space Center --- Kennedy Space Center --- KSC --- NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center --- NASA Kennedy Space Center --- United States. --- Apollo Project (U.S.) --- Progetto Apollo (U.S.) --- Space sciences. --- Aerospace engineering. --- Air Force Missile Test Center (U.S.) --- Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Exploration and Astronautics). --- Annals --- Auxiliary sciences of history --- Astronomical physics --- Astronomy --- Cosmic physics --- Physics --- Space sciences --- Aeronautics --- Astrodynamics --- Space flight --- Space vehicles --- Science and space --- Space research --- Cosmology --- Aeronautical engineering --- Astronautics --- Engineering