NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 3 of 4

thumbnail of NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 3 of 4
This record is featured in “To the Moon Interviews.” This record is featured in “GBH Archives Open Vault.”
Series
NOVA
Episode
To the Moon
Raw Footage
Interview with John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 3 of 4
Producing Organization
WGBH Educational Foundation
Contributing Organization
WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-15-rn3028qt77
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Description
Program Description
This remarkably crafted program covers the full range of participants in the Apollo project, from the scientists and engineers who promoted bold ideas about the nature of the Moon and how to get there, to the young geologists who chose the landing sites and helped train the crews, to the astronauts who actually went - not once or twice, but six times, each to a more demanding and interesting location on the Moon's surface. "To The Moon" includes unprecedented footage, rare interviews, and presents a magnificent overview of the history of man and the Moon. To the Moon aired as NOVA episode 2610 in 1999.
Raw Footage Description
John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) is interviewed about LOR. Houbolt shows his papers and research on LOR, and talks about the objections and resistance that he faced from his colleagues at NASA. To explain LOR, Houbolt uses a model including a globe and winch, but says that he was not the sole creator of LOR, and shows a chart comparing the sizes of potential vehicles for lunar orbit. Houbolt also shows a chart that demonstrated the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of the LOR and Lunar Module (LM), and talks about his feelings when he was told that NASA had adopted LOR.
Created Date
1998
Asset type
Raw Footage
Genres
Interview
Topics
History
Technology
Science
Subjects
American History; Gemini; apollo; moon; Space; astronaut
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:23:17
Embed Code
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Credits
Interviewee: Houbolt, John Cornelius, 1919-2014
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WGBH
Identifier: cpb-aacip-6dc4b3d9d04 (Filename)
Format: Digital Betacam
Generation: Original
Duration: 0:23:18
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Citations
Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 3 of 4 ,” 1998, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed August 5, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-rn3028qt77.
MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 3 of 4 .” 1998. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. August 5, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-rn3028qt77>.
APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 3 of 4 . Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-rn3028qt77