Apollo Program

(noun)

A United States human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon in 1969 through 1972. Conceived during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, it began in earnest after President John F. Kennedy proposed the national goal of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" by the end of the 1960s in a May 25, 1961 address to Congress.

Related Terms

Examples of Apollo Program in the following topics:

  • The John F. Kennedy Administration

    • Kennedy called his domestic program the "New Frontier."
    • Kennedy is also known for the expansion of the U.S. space program.
    • Vice-President Johnson assured that lessons learned from the space program had military value as well, and so the space program under Kennedy began.
    • Costs for the Apollo program were expected to reach $40 billion.
    • On July 20, 1969, almost six years after Kennedy's death, Apollo 11 landed the first manned spacecraft on the moon.

  • Reactions to Sputnik

    • The Sputnik crisis is the name for the American reaction to the success of the Sputnik program.
    • The act was a four-year program that poured billions of dollars into the U.S. education system.
    • After the initial public shock, the Space Race began, leading to the first human launched into space, Project Apollo, and the first manned moon landing in 1969.
    • Increased emphasis on the Navy's existing Project Vanguard to launch an American satellite into orbit, and a revival of the Army's Explorer program that preceded Vanguard in launching the first American satellite into orbit on January 31, 1958.
    • Education programs were initiated to foster a new generation of engineers.

  • The Roaring Twenties

    • With several famous entertainment venues such as the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club, people from all walks of life, races and classes came together in Harlem.
    • With this exposure women in the 1920s began staking claim to their own bodies and took part in a sexual liberation of their generation, which also extended to their minds in the form of progressive thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and the expansion of co-educational programs in which women took places at state colleges and universities alongside men.
    • The "Golden Age of Radio" began after World War I with the first radio news program in Detroit on August 31, 1920, followed by the appearance of the first commercial station in Pittsburgh that same year.
    • Radio programming comprised a variety of formats and genres with shows similar to today’s television, including soap operas, quiz and talent shows, comedies, and children’s programs, as well as news bulletins and sports broadcasts.

  • The George H.W. Bush Administration

    • During a speech to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Bush announced a vision to complete Space Station Freedom, resume exploration of the Moon, and begin exploration of Mars.
    • In 1998, Bush received the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement's National Space Trophy for his pioneering leadership of the U.S. space program.

  • Technological Advancement

    • Musical programs, comedy and variety shows, and westerns quickly became a staple of 1950s TV entertainment.
    • They set about assembling the captured V2s and began a program of launching them and instructing American engineers in their operation.
    • The race peaked with the July 20, 1969 US landing of the first humans on the Moon with Apollo 11.

  • Conclusion: Post-War America

    • The unexpected leapfrogging of American technology by the Soviets in 1957 with Sputnik, the first Earth satellite, began the Space Race, won by the Americans as Apollo 11 landed astronauts on the moon in 1969.
    • In regards to social welfare, the postwar era saw a considerable improvement in insurance for workers and their dependents against the risks of illness, as private insurance programs like Blue Cross and Blue Shield expanded.

  • "The War on Poverty"

    • It spawned dozens of programs, among them:
    • the Food Stamp Act of 1964 (which expanded the federal food stamp program)
    • The OEO was responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs, including VISTA, Job Corps, Head Start, Legal Services and the Community Action Program.
    • The OEO launched Project Head Start as an eight-week summer program in 1965.
    • Besides vocational training, many Job Corps also offer GED programs as well as high school diplomas and programs to get students into college.

  • The Jazz Age

    • Several famous entertainment venues such as the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club came to epitomize the Jazz Age.

  • Flappers

    • A brief Black Bottom craze, originating from the Apollo Theater, swept dance halls from 1926 to 1927, replacing the Charleston in popularity.

  • The Great Society

    • The Great Society was a series of domestic programs promoted by President Lyndon B.
    • The OEO was responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs, including VISTA, Job Corps, Head Start, Legal Services, and the Community Action Program.
    • The Great Society included federal educational programs, including several programs directed at primary and secondary education.
    • Besides vocational training, many Job Corps also offer GED programs as well as high school diplomas and programs to get students into college.
    • The Great Society also created programs to benefit the arts.