Moon Lander

How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module

By: Thomas J. Kelly

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Paperback | 11 September 2009

At a Glance

Paperback
304 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.96 x 15.19 x 2.16

Paperback

$39.25

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Booktopia Comments

This book is featured in our Shoot for the Moon collection, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Visit to see more of the best on all things astronautical.

Product Description

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.

Industry Reviews

"A highly personalized story . . . of the Apollo Lunar Module, built at Grumman by the author and his team."-Choice

"It's surprising that the man most responsible for the spindly Apollo lunar landers, Tom Kelly, hasn't told his story years before. Lucid and engaging, he tells how his team at Grumman in Bethpage, Long Island, went from paper studies to delivering hardware that would help change history. Beyond historical interest, the book has lessons for anyone involved in a large project at the cutting edge of technology."-IEEE Spectrum

". . . Written in an approachable style, and if you have even a passing interest in space exploration it will grip your interest. It constitutes an important primary source for the history of human exploration . . . This book is a flat-out good read."-Meteoritics and Planetary Science

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