The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

similar to that of the real LM and a downward-facing turbofan
engine to provide vertical thrust. The LLRV was
based around the early VTOL “Flying Bedsteads,” which
were developed to study the potential of vertical takeoff
and landing for jet aircraft. Neil Armstrong had a narrow
escape when the LLRV he was flying went out of control
and he was forced to eject.
lunar module (LM)
See Apollo.
Lunar Orbiter
A series of five highly maneuverable, Moon-orbiting
NASA spacecraft, launched in 1966 and 1967. The Lunar
Orbiters’ primary mission was to obtain topographic data
in the lunar equatorial region between 43° E and 56° W
to help in the selection of suitable landing sites for the
unmanned Surveyor and manned Apollo missions. With
Lunar Orbiter 247
Lunar Orbiter The world’s first view of Earth taken from the Moon, transmitted by Lunar Orbiter 1 on August 23, 1966, at 16:35
GMT. NASA
Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV)
(continued from page 243)
Lunar Orbiter Missions
this objective achieved by Lunar Orbiter 3, the remaining
two flights were able to carry out further photography of
lunar surface features for purely scientific purposes. Altogether,
99% of the Moon was photographed with a resolution
of 60 m or better. The first three missions were
dedicated to imaging 20 potential lunar landing sites that
had been chosen from Earth-based observations. These
were flown at low-altitude, low-inclination orbits. The
fourth and fifth missions were flown in high-altitude
polar orbits. Lunar Orbiter 4 photographed the entire
nearside and 95% of the farside; Lunar Orbiter 5 completed
the farside coverage and acquired medium- (20 m)
and high- (2 m) resolution images of 36 preselected areas.
The Lunar Orbiters also collected data on radiation and
micrometeoroids in the circumlunar region. (See table,
“Lunar Orbiter Missions.”)
Launch
Vehicle: Atlas-Agena D
Site: Cape Canaveral
Spacecraft Launch Imaging Mass (kg)
Lunar Orbiter 1 Aug. 10, 1966 Aug. 18–29, 1966 386
Lunar Orbiter 2 Nov. 6, 1966 Nov. 18–25, 1966 390
Lunar Orbiter 3 Feb. 5, 1967 Feb. 15–23, 1967 385
Lunar Orbiter 4 May 4, 1967 May 11–26, 1967 390
Lunar Orbiter 5 Aug. 1, 1967 Aug. 6–8, 1967 389