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In May 1961, American president John F. Kennedy committed the nation to carrying out a manned landing on the moon before the end of the decade. This volume covers the early years of the Apollo program (1960-1967) , still the most significant space effort in the history of mankind. In a very short time, NASA developed the mighty Saturn rockets, the Apollo spacecraft, and the lunar lander. This breathtaking development came at a cost, however, as in 1967 astronauts Virgil Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Edward White lost their lives during a test. Ten months after the catastrophe, however, the Saturn V, America's moon rocket, made its triumphal unmanned maiden flight. After that, just twenty more months would pass before man set foot on another celestial body for the first time.