Before the Moon Blog
Exploring the past, present, and future of space.
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Explore Margaret Hamilton’s groundbreaking software engineering on the Apollo Guidance Computer and discover how her methods still protect astronauts on Artemis
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Discover how Langley’s little‑known Flight Dynamics Lab solved Apollo’s toughest navigation problems, the engineers who made it happen, and why Artemis still re
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A technical deep‑dive into the Langley 16‑foot high‑speed wind tunnel, the engineers who ran it, and how its data forged the Shuttle’s thermal protection system
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A contrarian deep‑dive into the Apollo LM ascent engine’s massive safety margins, the trade‑offs NASA made, and how Artemis is applying those lessons with moder
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Step through a practical, battle‑tested process to rebuild Gemini-era rendezvous simulators using original NASA data and today’s Python, C++ and open‑source too
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Discover the hidden role of the Johnsville centrifuge in engineering Apollo’s lunar landing seats, the engineers who made it happen, and how its lessons guide m
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Explore the engineering, people, and decisions that built the NASA telemetry network that gave Mission Control a live feed of Apollo’s every move, and see how i
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Discover how Langley Research Center’s hidden heat‑shield laboratory turned a 5,000 °F re‑entry nightmare into a survivable return for Apollo astronauts, and wh
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Discover how 1960s computer models foresaw abrasive lunar dust, forced design changes for Apollo, and still guide Artemis dust‑mitigation strategies.
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Explore how the Marshall Space Flight Center propulsion test facility turned raw F‑1 power into a reliable Saturn V first stage, with the engineers, tests, and