Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module

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		Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module
		Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module

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.

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At first I was taken aback by the detail Kelly goes into as alot of it was mind numbing. But as the book went on it took me by surprise how emotional I felt reliving all the fits and starts he and his team had to endure with the engineering, politics, and just the general unknown of a project like this. I worked at Aireasearch in the 80's and remember opening up the drawings of the lunar rover that they must have been a subcontractor ... And the awe that I felt just seeing those drawings. Kelly describes his ups and downs honestly re Grumman and their sometimes myopic approach to Nasa. But in the end they get the job done. The flashes of insights that the engineering team have re the design and weight limitations are priceless and makes one realize that alot of work in any job is tedious and stressful... And then the inspiration hits out of nowhere. Without his and his teams "eureka" moments the LEM doesn't get built.

Thomas Kelly describes in personal detail his adventures as project engineer in charge of development of the apollo lunar module in what he calls the greatest engineering challenge of the 20th century.

For anyone that has grown up reading about Apollo, this is a great inside look filled with all the drama of the Apollo 1 fire, Apollo 13's explosions and saga of survival in the LM, design failures of every kind.

Kelley adds lots of biography with descriptions of all the major personalities from the astronauts to the controllers, engineers, and manufacturing personnel.

I had several questions answered that I had wanted to know for quite some time:
1. Was the LM's wall really as thin as aluminum foil.
2. How did NASA and Grumman arrive at such an ungainly looking design for the LM.
3. How does it all work? Kelley goes into great detail regarding the choice of fuels, tank design, cockpit design, the hatches, batteries, windows, navigation, pyrotechnics, life support, redundancy, etc.

As an engineer myself, I felt great commraderie with him in the his schedule and design challenges. If only most other major human technological achievements had such a delightful and well written memoirs...

I learned about Thomas J. Kelly of the Grumman Iron Works through his character played by actor Matt Craven on the HBO Series From the Earth to the Moon. I saw a man dedicated to creating an unearthly vehicle to land man on the moon. The Lunar Modules has some growing pains but in the end they worked superbly for NASA and the astronauts who used the LMs to make it to the surface of the Moon. I found Kelly's well-thought out and insightful book to be an enjoyable read. Kelly did a good job of walking the reader through the alien world of government contracts. Grumman had been working with the Navy for a long time and would they be able to adjust to the way NASA did business. Grumman was a newcomer to the space race and now the US was embarking on the massive Project Apollo to make JFK's declaration that we would land men on the moon and safely return them to the earth by the end of the decade a reality. Kelly walks us through the battles, successes, setbacks, and other issues that faced Grumman throughout the build process for the LM. The LM functioned well with a few glitches but it really came into its own for the Apollo 13 mission. The LM was turned into a lifeboat that saved the crew so they could return home to earth and survive once they landed in the Pacific. Just an excellent and easy to read book that keeps you fascinated by and invested in these folks at Grumman.

Nothing except the full technical truth and its related details, with an absolute minimum of "family" and biographical fluff. Tom Kelly's no-nonsense approach to the LM's design, construction and testing are admirably reflected in his coverage of those events - personable but not syrupy, and showing the same demands on himself that he expected of his team. This is by no means a "coffee table" book, but one that belongs in the secret stash of those strictly looking to create today's blueprint of yesterday's stunning achievements and understand as much as possible about how the stuff actually worked - and exactly why it didn't before it did.

One of the greatest projects in our nations history and Mr. Kelly does an excellent job of telling the detailed story of how they developed and then built the lunar landers. He gives credit where it is due and takes the blame for his and his companies mistakes. I've read NASA histories that refer to the underlying concern NASA had about Grumman and this book shows things from the other side, which is always refreshing and provides additional insight for armchair space flight historians like me.

If you are a space buff and especially if you are a student of the space program's early history this is a must read!

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