The origin of 'The Apollo Programme' Apollo?

[cronus]

Can some one dig the origins for the name of the US moon prog up? I reckon it might be the jazz number 'Apollo's Axe' by Dave Brubeck featuring Bill Smith that was a big number in jazz circles 1961?

[Xamonas Chegwé]

The Apollo program was conceived early in 1960, during the Eisenhower administration, as a follow-up to America's Mercury program. While the Mercury capsule could only support one astronaut on a limited Earth orbital mission, the Apollo spacecraft was to be able to carry three astronauts on a circumlunar flight and eventually to a lunar landing. The program was named after the Greek god of light, music, and the sun by NASA manager Abe Silverstein, who later said that "I was naming the spacecraft like I'd name my baby." Silverstein chose the name at home one evening, early in 1960, because he felt "Apollo riding his chariot across the Sun was appropriate to the grand scale of the proposed program." While NASA went ahead with planning for Apollo, funding for the program was far from certain given Eisenhower's ambivalent attitude to manned spaceflight.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

NB. The program was named in 1960, so a year before the Brubeck song.

[cronus]

Brubeck recorded the 'song' in '61 but may have been playing it earlier, very close time window? Was the guy into jazz?

[mistermack]

The word Apollo was in vogue in the early sixties, without the need for the Brubeck song.
My first quality bow was a spring tubular steel Apollo, about that date. And I think lots of steel products were called Apollo, including bicycles.

[klr]

Mercury
Gemini
Apollo

... do you really think that they were inspired by some jazz number?

[mistermack]

Mercury
Gemini
Apollo

... do you really think that they were inspired by some jazz number?

Yeh, Robert Johnson's Zodiac Blues. " I woke up dis maawnin ....."

[Mysturji]

It's "Program".
[/pedant]

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

The word Apollo was in vogue in the early sixties, without the need for the Brubeck song.
My first quality bow was a spring tubular steel Apollo, about that date. And I think lots of steel products were called Apollo, including bicycles.

There is still a bike manufacturer called Apollo. They're shit.

[mistermack]

There is still a bike manufacturer called Apollo. They're shit.

Depends what you paid for them.
I bought mine at a police auction, full suspension, virtually new, for twelve quid.

Now paying £200 or more for a bike, that's what I call shit.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

£200.00? Seriously? That's about the absolute minimum I would expect to pay for just a second-hand downhill frame alone. (I used to take downhilling quite seriously.)
I think we must have very different priorities.

[mistermack]

£200.00? Seriously? That's about the absolute minimum I would expect to pay for just a second-hand downhill frame alone. (I used to take downhilling quite seriously.)
I think we must have very different priorities.

Fuck me ! We certainly have.
Any old bike can go downhill, without even pedalling. I might be persuaded to pay a bit more for UPHILL !.
But that would have to include an electric motor, at the minimum.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

In my defence, we're talking about some very specialised equipment when it comes to downhill racing. An Apollo would probably snap in two within a few yards of the start line.
I used to run one of these:-
Scott High Octane

(The frame geometry was adjustable and it could be set up in 52 different configurations to suit rider and course.)
And one of these for more general use:-

A great hill climber. The crank had a mechanism that reduced suspension bob (and therefore drag/friction/whatever you want to call it) when pedaling hard.
Mine got nicked.

[mistermack]

My hill climber has a thing called an engine, it's just amazing.
I think the £12 was the most I've ever paid for a bike. And that was just because it was virtually new.

I would use it a lot more, if the saddle was four times it's current size.