July 20, 1969: A historic day for America. While
the world watched, astronaut Neil Armstrong took mankind’s
first steps on the moon. Years later, as the breathtaking
success of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission is remembered and celebrated,
several heritage companies of today’s Northrop
Grumman are recognized for the vital roles they played in the
achievement (see photos below).
At its Bethpage, N.Y. facility, Grumman Corporation, now part
of the Northrop Grumman
Integrated Systems sector, designed, assembled, integrated
and tested the lunar
excursion module, the famed Eagle of the Apollo program.
Between 1969 and 1972, six Grumman lunar modules carried 12 astronauts
to and from the surface of the moon and one – Aquarius
– served as a lifeboat for three astronauts during the ill-fated
Apollo 13 mission.
Mission
Systems and Space
Technology sectors were formerly part of TRW, the company
that developed the lunar excursion module descent engine (LEMDE)
for the Apollo missions. As NASA’s official history of the
Apollo hardware puts it, the LEMDE “probably was the biggest
challenge and the most outstanding technical development”
of the entire program. TRW also provided critical software for
mission analysis and simulation, guidance and trajectory control,
an abort guidance control, and a backup communications system
Baltimore-based Electronic
Systems sector, then the defense and electronics business
of Westinghouse, manufactured the camera used to broadcast the
now famous images from the lunar surface to earth. Initially,
the camera was attached to the modular equipment stowage assembly
(MESA), which was lowered to a position off to the side of the
module’s ladder. After Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were on
the moon’s surface, the camera was placed on a tripod and
moved to a location that would capture an overall view of activities.
The engineer and the camera itself received television’s
prestigious Emmy award.
Two other companies that are now part of the Electronic
Systems sector also made significant contributions to the
mission. Dalmo-Victor designed and supplied the S-band 2-Gigahertz
high-gain antennas that made possible the transmission of the
live images from the moon's surface. Amecom Division of Litton
Systems, Inc. produced flush-mounted antennas that transmitted
and received all S-band signals during near-Earth operation and
served as backup for the high-gain antenna in deep space. Four
antennas were mounted on the command module.
The USS Hornet (CV12), an Essex-class aircraft
carrier built by Newport
News, recovered the Apollo 11 space capsule containing the
astronauts. A short time later, the carrier recovered Apollo 12
with the all-Navy crew of "moon walkers."
Legacy Northrop provided the earth landing system that included
the space vehicle recovery parachutes for Apollo 11. In addition,
NASA has used the Northrop-built T-38A Talon jet aircraft extensively
as trainers for astronauts.
An event on July 17, 2004, sponsored by Integrated
Systems at the Cradle
of Aviation Museum in Garden City, N.Y., commemorated the Apollo
11 anniversary. People who worked on the program were invited to
attend, and speakers included Joe Gavin, a Grumman executive on
the program, and Fred Haise, a former NASA astronaut and Grumman
executive. Haise served as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo
8 and 11 missions, pilot for Apollo 13, and backup spacecraft commander
for the Apollo 16 mission.
Today,
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. Northrop Grumman provides a broad array of technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in systems integration, defense electronics, information technology, advanced aircraft, shipbuilding, and space technology. The company has more than 125,000 employees and operates in all 50 states and 25 countries and serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.
The lunar excursion module descent engine (illustrated above)
performed perfectly as the lunar module descended to the lunar surface.
Technicians ready the Apollo Spacecraft’s Lunar Module Descent Engine,
which landed the first astronauts on the moon in 1969.
President Richard M. Nixon talks with the Apollo 11 astronauts,
Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin, Jr., on the
hangar deck of USS Hornet (CVS-12), in the Pacific Ocean,
July 24, 1969. The astronauts are inside the mobile quarantine
station that temporarily housed them after their return from the Moon.
(Official U.S. Navy Photograph)
Apollo 11: "You knew it was going to soar."
On Wednesday, July 21, 2004, the CBS television program "Up to the Minute" presented interviews with personnel from the original Grumman Lunar Module Team whose efforts helped put man on the moon. Click here for the transcript.
