Monthly Archives: August 2011

Two out of three chutes carry Apollo 15 astronauts home safe

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-Vd75Ptg9I
Apollo 15 Splashdown

(Saturday, August 7, 1971, 4:46pm EDT) — The astronauts of Apollo 15 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean today and brought to a safe conclusion their successful 12-day moon-exploring mission, which space agency officials called an “epic scientific voyage.” During Earth re-entry and descent, however, one of the three parachutes failed to open fully. As a result, descent velocity was 2.8mph faster than planned, but the crew was unharmed.

Astronauts leave Moon and dock safely


1971: Apollo 15 (NASA)

(Monday, August 2, 1971, 1:11 p.m. ET) — Apollo 15 astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin rocketed from the moon today and linked up with their mother ship, a first step home with a 230-pound cargo of lunar secrets won from that battered vault of space history. The launch followed a third and final walk on the moon where Scott paid tribute to the 16th century Italian scientist Galileo Galilei and his discovery about falling objects in gravity fields.