Engineering Apollo: The Moon Project as a Complex

Social Studies > Science, Technology, and Society > Engineering Apollo: The Moon Project as a Complex

Engineering Apollo: The Moon Project as a Complex posted by member150_php on 2/19/2009

Add To Favorites

Abstract/Syllabus

Courseware/Lectures

Test/Tutorials

Engineering Apollo: The Moon Project as a Complex System

Spring 2007

Photo of an astronaut on the surface of the moon.

Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., lunar module pilot, is photographed by Neil Armstrong as he walks on the surface of the Moon. (Image courtesy of NASA.)

Course Description

This course is a detailed technical and historical exploration of the Apollo project to "fly humans to the moon and return them safely to earth" as an example of a complex engineering system. Emphasis is on how the systems worked, the technical and social processes that produced them, mission operations, and historical significance. Guest lectures are featured by MIT-affiliated engineers who contributed to and participated in the Apollo missions. Students work in teams on a final project analyzing an aspect of the historical project to articulate and synthesize ideas in engineering systems.

Technical Requirements

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .avi, .mp3, .mpeg, and .mov.

Syllabus

Course Summary

A detailed technical and historical exploration of the Apollo project to fly humans to the moon and return them safely to earth as an example of a complex engineering system. Emphasis is on how the systems worked, the technical and social processes that produced them, mission operations, and historical significance. Topics include: Historical antecedents, guidance and control, digital computing, systems engineering, project management, human-machine interface, propulsion and structures, space policy, industrial infrastructure, Cold War politics, American culture in the 1950s and 60s, and future moon missions. Guest lectures by MIT-affiliated engineers and astronauts who contributed to and participated in the Apollo missions. Students work in teams on a final project analyzing an aspect of the historical project to articulate and synthesize ideas in engineering systems.

Professor Mindell's website.

Course Readings

There is a significant amount of reading each week, usually composed of chapters from historical books in addition to one or more technical articles. Students are expected to do the reading before each class, and there will be weekly quizzes on the reading assignments for that week to verify.

The required books are:

Kelly, Thomas. Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001. ISBN: 9781560989981.

Cox, Catherine Bly, and Charles Murray. Apollo: The Race to the Moon. Burkittsville, MD: Cox & Murray Inc., 2004. ISBN: 9780976000808.

In addition, we will be reading Prof. Mindell's new manuscript:

Mindell, David. Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Six Lunar Landings. Unpublished manuscript.

Optional books which students might find interesting are:

Chaikin, Andrew. A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts. New York, NY: Penguin, 2007. ISBN: 9780143112358. (Strongly recommended.)

MacDougall, Walter. The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age. New York, NY: Basic Books Inc., 1985. ISBN: 9780465028870.

Kraft, Chris. Flight: My Life in Mission Control. New York, NY: Penguin, 2002. ISBN: 9780452283046.

Kranz, Gene. Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2001. ISBN: 9780425179871.

In addition, a number of books will be on reserve in the Aero/Astro library.

Course Assignments and Grading

Attendance at course meetings is mandatory; failure to attend will be reflected in the final grade. The grade breakdown for the course is as follows:

30% Book Review

Read one of the books on the approved course list and write a 3-5 page review. Write-up should include critical examination of book and its sources, and discussion of topic's relevance to the larger Apollo project. Review should also discuss an engineering decision discussed in the book and what factors came into play when making that decision.

30% Quizzes

Weekly quiz on the reading assignments for that week. If you've done the reading that week, the quizzes should be no problem.

40% Final Team Projects

Subsystem analysis and redesign. Detailed study of a single subsystem from Apollo, discussing specifications, engineering choices, and performance, and problems. Redesign using today's technology, materials, and management techniques in support of CEV program using lessons derived from Apollo.

Weekly Syllabus

Course calendar.
LEC #	TOPICS	KEY DATES
1	Introduction and overview
2	Apollo as a complex system
3	Historical/technical analysis of engineering systems
4	Systems engineering and atlas
5	Organizing research from NACA to NASA
6	Sputnik, Mercury, and the Cold War
7	Kennedy's decision: From politics to engineering specs
8	The LOR decision
9	The Soviet moon program
10	Gemini and early Apollo engineering
11	Apollo guidance and control
12	Astronautical guidance
13	Engineering the LEM
14	Designing a landing	Book review assignment due
15	NASA's current moon plans
16	Apollo software
17	Apollo 11
18	Apollo 14: An astronaut's view
19	Apollo 12 and group project freetime
20	Covering Apollo: The role of the press
21	Life support and human factors I
22	Bob Parker: Scientist-astronauts and lunar science
23	Student presentations
24	Student presentations wrap up
25	MIT museum trip
26	Final class

Readings

This page includes a calendar of weekly assignments.

Required Texts

Kelly, Thomas. Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001. ISBN: 9781560989981.

Cox, Catherine Bly, and Charles Murray. Apollo: The Race to the Moon. Burkittsville, MD: Cox & Murray Inc., 2004. ISBN: 9780976000808.

Mindell, David. Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Six Lunar Landings. Unpublished manuscript.

Optional Texts

Chaikin, Andrew. A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts. New York, NY: Penguin, 2007. ISBN: 9780143112358. (Strongly recommended.)

MacDougall, Walter. The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age. New York, NY: Basic Books Inc., 1985. ISBN: 9780465028870.

Kraft, Chris. Flight: My Life in Mission Control. New York, NY: Penguin, 2002. ISBN: 9780452283046.

Kranz, Gene. Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2001. ISBN: 9780425179871.

Weekly Reading Assignments

Course readings.
LEC #	TOPICS	ASSIGNMENTS
1	Introduction and overview
2	Apollo as a complex system	Mindell, chapter 1. Cox and Murray, chapter 1.
3	Historical/technical analysis of engineering systems	Scranton, Philip. "NASA and the Aerospace Industry: Critical Issues and Research Prospects." Dissertation; Rutgers University. Vincenti, Walter G. What Engineers Know and How they Know It. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993, chapter 1. ISBN: 9780801845888. Launius, Roger. "Interpreting the Moon Landings: Project Apollo and the Historians." History and Technology 22 (2006): 225-255.
4	Systems engineering and atlas	Hughes, Thomas Park. Rescuing Prometheus. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 2000, chapters 1 and 3. ISBN: 9780679739388. Johnson, Stephen B. The Secret of Apollo. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006, chapters 1-2. ISBN: 9780801885426.
5	Organizing research from NACA to NASA	Mindell, chapters 2-3. Cox and Murray, chapters 2 and 6. Sato, Yasushi. "Local Engineering in the Early American and Japanese Space Programs." Dissertation; University of Pennsylvania. Chapters 1-2.
6	Sputnik, Mercury, and the Cold War	McDougall, Walter A. The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1985, chapters 2, 7, and 8. ISBN: 9780465028870. Kauffman, James Lee. Selling Outer Space: Kennedy, the Media, and Funding for Project Apollo, 1961-1963. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1994, chapters 2-3. ISBN: 9780817307479.
7	Kennedy's decision: From politics to engineering specs	Launius, Roger. "Apollo: A Retrospective Analysis." Logsdon, John. The Decision to Go to the Moon. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1976, chapters 2, 4, and 6. ISBN: 9780226491752. Webb, and McNamara. "Recommendations for Our National Space Program: Changes, Policies, Goals." May 8, 1961. Cox and Murray, chapters 4-5.
8	The LOR decision	Hansen, James. Enchanted Rendezvous: John C. Houbolt and the Genesis of the Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous Concept. NASA, 1995. Seamans, Robert. Apollo: The Tough Decisions. Washington, DC: NASA, 2005, chapter 3. (Courtesy of NASA.) Cox and Murray, chapters 7-9.
9	The Soviet moon program	Gerovitch, Slava. "New Soviet Man Inside the Machine." ———. "Human Machine Issues in the Soviet Space Program." Chapter 4 in Critical Issues in the History of Space Flight. Edited by Dick, Steven J., and Roger Launius. Washington, DC: NASA, 2006. (Courtesy of NASA.)
10	Gemini and early Apollo engineering	Mindell, chapter 4.
11	Apollo guidance and control	Hall, Eldon C. Journey to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Guidance Computer. Reston, VA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1996, chapters 4-7. ISBN: 9781563471858. Nevins, J. L. "Man-Machine Design for the Apollo Guidance, Navigation, and Control System." Presented at the 2nd IFAC Symposium on Automatic Control in Space, Vienna, Austria, September 4-8, 1967. Mindell, chapters 5-6.
12	Astronautical guidance	Battin, R. H. "Some Funny Things Happened on the Way to the Moon." AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics 25 (2002): 1-7.
13	Engineering the LEM	Kelley, Moon Lander.
14	Designing a landing	Bennett, and Cheatham. "Apollo Lunar Module Landing Strategy." ) (Courtesy of NASA.) Klumpp, A. R. "A Manually Retargeted Automatic Landing System for the Lunar Module." Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets 40 (2003): 973-982. Mindell, chapter 8.
15	NASA's current moon plans
16	Apollo software	Eyles. "Tales from the Lunar Module Guidance Computer." Presented to the 27th Annual Guidance and Control Conference of the American Astronautical Society (. Breckenridge, CO: February 6, 2004. Johnson, Madeline S., and Donald R. Giller. "MIT's Role in Project Apollo, Volume 5: Software." Mindell, chapter 7.
17	Apollo 11	Apollo 11: The NASA Mission Reports Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 12 "A Visit to the Snowman." Bennett. "Apollo Experience Report: Mission Planning for Lunar Module Descent and Ascent." (Courtesy of NASA.) Cox and Murray, chapters 24-25. Mindell, chapter 9.
18	Apollo 14: An astronaut's view
19	Apollo 12 and group project freetime
20	Covering Apollo: The role of the press	Smith, Michael L. "Selling the Moon: The U.S. Manned Space Program and the Triumph of Commodity Scientism." In The Culture of Consumption: Critical Essays in American History, 1880-1980. Edited by Richard Wightman Foz and T. J. Jackson Lears. New York, NY: Pantheon, 1983. ISBN: 9780394511313. Launius. "Heroes in a Vacuum: The Apollo Astronaut as Cultural Icon." # Collection of original news articles. Kauffman, chapter 4.
21	Life support and human factors I	Pitts, John A. The Human Factor. Chapters 1-7.
22	Bob Parker: Scientist-astronauts and lunar science
23	Student presentations
24	Student presentations wrap-up
25	MIT museum trip
26	Final class