EDITOR'S NOTE
In planning this photo history we set out to record the story of Apollo before the colors fade and memories blur. At first we aimed to restrict ourselves to the actual expeditions to the Moon. But it soon became clear that this approach could not capture the scope and spirit of so far-reaching an enterprise. So we decided that the breadth of Apollo would be shown best from the differing perspectives of the people directly concerned. Each chapter author was encouraged to recount his part of the story as he remembered it. We refrained from homogenizing these contributions, although we recognized that they are necessarily personalized and slightly duplicative. But they do offer the viewpoints of some of the people who made Apollo happen, and thus may provide fresh insights into that incredible project.
To help develop the idea into a book, I turned to Frank Rowsome, NASA's technical publications chief, with whom I had collaborated on an earlier book, Exploring Space with a Camera. Others who helped were Sandra Scaffidi, photo editor; Kay Voglewede, copy editor; and Harry Samuels, art director. Special research was done by George Abbey, William R. Corliss, James Daus, Leon Kosofsky, Andrew Ruppel, and Ray Zavasky. Volta Torrey and David Anderton aided on Chapters 1, 10, and 12. Robert Sherrod not only wrote Chapter 8 but also drew on his extensive Apollo knowledge to give assistance on Chapters 6, 9, and 13. Harold Pryor of NASA's Scientific and Technical Information Office lent us people, facilities, and support.
We offer this book as a grateful memento to the hundreds of thousands of people who worked on Apollo, and as a fond tribute to our fellow Americans who gave the program such steadfast support. Apollo is worth remembering not only for what it did, but for what it taught us we can do.
28 July 1975
EDGAR M. CORTRIGHT
Director
NASA Langley Research Center