Washington Goes to the Moon: Climbing the Hill |
Following the fire on Apollo One, NASA tried, for various reasons, to keep the investigation in-house.
But Members of Congress had other ideas. NASA had gathered, and then kept secret, highly critical
information about the company that built the Apollo One capsule. When that information was leaked, it
threw the agency open to suspicion for the first time in its history. This program looks at the nearly
devastating impact of Congressional investigations into the Apollo One fire on NASA's way of doing
business.
Climbing the Hill was produced by Richard Paul. The music was composed and arranged by Lenny Williams. Reasearch assistance provided by David Anst. Walter Mondale's interview was recorded by Mark Zdechlik [zuh-DECK-lick] at Minnesota public radio. Special thanks to Arlene Sidell [sigh-DELL] at the US Senate commerce committee and Sandy Date, in the library of the Minnesota star-tribune. The Congressional testimony was portrayed by actors Porter Koontz, Andy Clements, Michael Forrest, Brad van Grack, Michael Thorton, Michael Skinner, John Holt, and John McGuire. This program is part of our series Exploring Space Science, produced with support from WAMU FM, WABE FM, the Morehouse School of Medicine, the National Science Foundation, and NASA.
Links:
NASA - The Review Board
NASA's account of the Congressial investigation.
Setback and Recovery: 1967
A historical account of the investigation after the crew of the Apollo mission AS-204 was killed.
Books:
Apollo: The Definitive SourceBook by: Richard W. Orloff, David Harland, Max Wisshak 2006 A book of all the available information of thew Apollo missions. Importantly, it refers to original documentation, resolving problems caused by reported differences in measures, typographical errors and so on.
Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest by: Gerard J. DeGroot 2006 Gerard J. DeGroot explorers his view that NASA cashed in on the Americans' thirst for heroes in an age of discontent and became obsessed with putting men in space and that so much effort and expense was devoted to a small step that did virtually nothing for mankind.
The Man Who Ran the Moon: James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo by: Piers Bizony 2006 The story of James E. Webb who helped take control of America’s Apollo moon project, despite the Apollo One disaster and Congressional investigations is still one of the great innovators of NASA.
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