Curated playlist

Spacecraft launched by Saturn rockets

Apollo 10 was built so it could not land on the Moon, because NASA gave its lunar module only about half the ascent fuel. Other flights launched on a Saturn rocket had surprises of their own. Apollo 6 lost two second-stage engines and still cleared the rocket for crews. Apollo 12 was hit by lightning twice in its first minute. Apollo 13's lunar module Aquarius kept three men alive, though it was designed for two. Apollo 14 brought a smuggled golf club head to the Moon.

AS-105AS-105 was the last flight for three different space programs. It launched on July 30, 1965.
Lunar Module EagleLunar Module Eagle landed on the Moon with only 216 pounds of usable fuel left.
AS-201AS-201, a 37-minute Apollo test flight in 1966, succeeded even though three things went wrong.
AS-203AS-203 ended in an explosion, and NASA still called the 1966 rocket flight a success.
Apollo 11Apollo 11's computer flashed alarms minutes before the Moon landing. Mission Control was told it was safe to continue.
Apollo 12Apollo 12 was struck by lightning twice in its first minute. Every warning light lit up.
Apollo 7Apollo 7's commander refused to let his crew wear helmets for reentry. Walter Schirra feared burst eardrums.
Apollo 17Apollo 17's orange moon soil thrilled scientists who thought it was a volcano.
Apollo 15Apollo 15 astronauts dropped a hammer and a falcon feather on the Moon. Both hit the ground together.
Apollo 14Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard hit two golf balls on the Moon. He had smuggled a six iron club head aboard.
Apollo command and service moduleEvery Apollo command and service module mission ended with the larger section burning up on purpose.
Apollo 8Apollo 8 was reconceived as a Moon flight just four months before launch. A faulty lunar module forced the change.
AS-202Footage of an uncrewed 1966 rocket test has been mistaken for Apollo 11. AS-202's staging film appears in documentaries.
Apollo 10Apollo 10 was built so it could not land on the Moon. NASA gave its lunar module only about half the ascent fuel.
Apollo 1Apollo 1 never left the ground, yet three astronauts died in it. A fire broke out during a test on a fuel-free rocket.
Apollo 16Apollo 16 went to the Moon to find volcanic rock and found none. Scientists had been sure the highlands were volcanic.
Apollo Lunar ModuleApollo 13's lunar module became a lifeboat for three astronauts. It was designed to support two men for 45 hours.
Command module ColumbiaApollo 11's command module Columbia won its name because it sounded like a Jules Verne space gun.
Apollo 4Apollo 4's launch shook dust loose from a ceiling more than five kilometers away.
Apollo 9An Apollo 9 crew choice quietly decided who walked on the Moon first. Commander James McDivitt turned down lunar orbit.
Apollo 5Apollo 5 flew the first lunar module with metal plates where its windows should be. No crew rode the 1968 test flight.
Apollo 6Apollo 6 lost two engines on its Saturn V rocket's second stage. It still cleared the rocket for crewed flight.
Apollo (spacecraft)Apollo's launch escape system flew on 19 flights and was never needed. It could pull the crew capsule clear.
Apollo 13The lunar module Aquarius was built for two astronauts but had to keep three men alive for four days.
Pegasus (satellite)NASA launched satellites in 1965 just to let space rocks hit them. The Pegasus wings spanned 96 feet.
AS-101AS-101 launched a hollow metal stand-in for an Apollo spacecraft in 1964. It tested the air it would punch through.
SkylabSkylab, America's first space station, was built from a leftover Moon rocket stage.
Apollo–SoyuzIn July 1975, an American and a Soviet commander shook hands in orbit. Apollo-Soyuz joined the two rival space programs.
Saturn I SA-1Engineers gave the first Saturn rocket only a 75 percent chance of leaving the pad. It flew nearly perfectly.