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| "SpaceCraft" Lunar Orbiter 1 launch cover, postmarked PAFB, August 10, 1966. |
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| Photo: "APOLLO ALLEY - that's what the astronauts call the narrow belt along the Moon's midsection. It stretches from 43 degrees east to 56 degrees west longitude and includes proposed landing sites for both manned (Apollo) and unmanned (Surveyor) spacecraft. Unmanned Lunar Orbiters circling above the Moon will photograph these 10 sites and gather other data about them. Then soft-landing Surveyors will test the strength and quality of typical sites. This information will enable the National Aeronautics and Space Administration planners to pick the spot where the first Americans will land on the Moon. World Book Encyclopedia Science Service, Inc. 1966" |
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| Lunar Orbiter 1 launch cover postmarked Kennedy Space Center, August 10, 1966. |
After a 92 hour voyage, the first successful United States Lunar Orbiter entered into orbit around the moon on 14 August 1966.
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| Photo: The moon and earth in one shot taken by Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft. |
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| Lunar Orbiter 1 cover postmarked August 14, 1966, when it entered the moon orbit. |
On its 26th orbit of the moon, the first pictures were taken, developed, and stored. Electronic scanning and transmission to earth commenced on 18 August. Lunar Orbiter 1 sent back high-quality images (by television) of over two million square miles of lunar surface, including the first detailed images of potential Apollo landing sites.
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| Photo: Dark side of the moon taken by Lunar Orbiter 1. |
After circling the Moon 527 times in 77 days, Lunar Orbiter 1 was deliberately crashed onto the moon's surface to prevent the possibility of its radio disturbing communications between earth and the Lunar Orbiter 2, whose launching was imminent.
