Editor’s note: Forty-one years ago today, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Columbus resident Bud Phillips was a lead engineer for Grumman Aerospace in the development of the lunar landing module. Below, his wife, Dorothy Phillips, tells the story of her husband’s work on the project.

The Tryon Daily Bulletin helped me find a relative living in this area when we moved here in 1997. There was a brief statement in the Bulletin of a real estate sale the mother of Mrs. Ellen Furey, a Tryon resident, had just bought a home in the Red Fox development.

The name Furey rang mental bells for me, so I called Mrs. Ellen Furey to find that her husband Tom was a second cousin. Tom and my husband Bud (Roland Vivian Phillips) became fast friends. They had a common interest, both having been employed by Grumman Aerospace on Long Island, N.Y.

My cousin Tom asked me to write for the Bulletin the story of my husbands work on the Apollo program, the landing on the moon. I am enclosing a letter written for my children for just that purpose. As you read this, I hope that you will recall the feeling of awe that overwhelmed us all as the astronaut walked down the ladder to set foot on the moon.

To: Richard Arthur Phillips, Thomas Rullman Phillips, Anne Phillips, Jean Vivian Phillips and Mary Phillips Avola

During your formative years, your father was very involved with the Apollo program, the landing and excursion on the moon. You didnt know the scope of his work, what he actually did, in truth I didnt know either. My purpose in writing is to record for you his activity on this program.

The challenge

How can we land men on the moon, keep them alive while they are there, and bring them safely back to earth?

The success of Russias Sputnik prodded NASA and American aerospace companies into intensive studies of space technology and techniques and eventually, with the assistance of President Kennedy, into the Apollo project. Scientists knew how to get to the moon and back to earth, but there was no general agreement on the best method to get astronauts on and off the moon. Buds company, Grumman Aerospace, had formed a Space Steering Group in the late 1950s, and continued independent study on all aspects of space, including a feasibility study for a Project Apollo manned spacecraft system in 1960.

Finally NASA decided that the most practical approach to getting astronauts to and off the moon was a lunar rendezvous method. This involved boosting three integrated units (Command, Service, and Lunar Modules) into space on a Saturn V rocket. The Lunar Module, containing two astronauts, would be disengaged, descend to the surface of the moon, and subsequently return to reconnect with the Command Service modules. The Saturn rocket had been earlier jettisoned.

In August, 1962 NASA asked for proposals on a Lunar Excursion Module. The emphasis here was still on how-to-do-it, rather than hardware. Grumman presented its lunar module proposal to NASA with rough design, cost estimates, and in November, 1962 was selected as prime contractor for the Lunar Excursion Module. The manufacturers designation was LM, but pronounced LEM from NASAs early name Lunar Excursion Module. It was also considered inappropriate to apply the term Excursion to a scientific venture.

Bud was assigned to the space project in January, 1963 shortly after Grumman was awarded the contract. He was not entirely happy since he felt the moons environment was unfriendly, and he really didnt want to work in space. He liked airplanes. Another concern was the LM could never function on this planet, and could never be flight tested as a vehicle. To him this project might be wasteful engineering, years of work with the possibility of failure.

At this point, the concept of the lunar module had been established. LM would consist of two connected parts. The descent stage would power LM to the moon surface. The ascent stage, with two astronauts aboard, would leave the moon to rendezvous with the command service modules orbiting the moon. Weight was a definitive factor in the design since both stages must contain engines, a fuel supply, fail-safe latching and unlatching mechanisms, fail-safe electrical connections, all necessary equipment. To eliminate redundant weight, the descent stage would serve as a launching platform and be left behind on the moon.

Buds position on the program was lead engineer, vehicle design, LM ascent stage. He supervised the design of LM ascent stage, the construction of LM mock-ups and test vehicles. No part of the LM could be built without considering its overall relationship with every other part of the vehicle. So achieving interface compatibility with the descent stage made John Strakosch, lead engineer on the descent stage, a close partner. Mock-ups are simulated space craft.

The reliability of the LM was an overriding concern. If the descent engine had malfunctioned during the approach to a lunar landing, the entire descent stage could have been jettisoned and the ascent engine would have lifted the ascent stage and the astronauts back into moon orbit and to a rendezvous with command service modules. If the ascent engine had ever failed to fire or to operate at full thrust, the mission was concluded. The entire LM and the two astronauts would be left sitting on the moon.

Bud worked from January, 1963 until April, 1967 as ascent stage LM Design leader. During his tenure, manufacture started. Part of Plant V was turned into a clean room. The purpose of the clean room was to avoid contamination, to minimize the risk of any debris from any source floating around in the space craft. Employees were trained in clean room procedures. All hair and facial hair (beards, moustaches) had to be covered. Workers wore white smocks, booties, gloves and caps. Caps were of different colors to identify the specialty of the workers.

On January 27, 1967, a flash fire in the Command Module poised 218 feet above the ground atop a Saturn rocket at Cape Kennedy killed astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee during a rehearsal for the first manned space. The LM was not involved in the fire but the entire Apollo program was held in abeyance while an investigation was conducted and necessary protective actions were taken.

There was a years delay in the Apollo schedule while design changes were made to reduce the fire hazard in the 100 percent oxygen cabin environment. A thorough review of all spacecraft systems resulted, in the judgment of Grumman engineers, in a safer and more reliable vehicle.

By this time the shop was manufacturing and assembling a number of LMs. In September, 1969, Buds job changed again. The shop was working day and night, three shifts, and three engineers were assigned to cover these shifts. Bud was one of them.

They were in charge of all shop assembly and test operations, to be conducted without compromising performance and design integrity. When Bud had the late night shift, he would come home, eat breakfast, and take Mistress (our boat) out into Great South Bay and sleep. Frequently I would be returning home from school only to wave at him on his way to Grumman.

The first LM flight was on January 22, 1968. An unmanned LM-l was launched to test the propulsion system. LM-2 was never flown it is in the Smithsonian. LM -3 and LM-4 were flown testing earth orbits and lunar orbits.

Number 5 did not take shape as an entity until June 25, 1966 when welding work began on the ascent stage.

Early in January, 1969, 2 years after work had begun, the two stages of LM 5 were separated, wrapped in protective coverings and encased in containers, which were then loaded aboard a Super Guppy cargo aircraft for the flight to NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Seven months later, on July 20, 1969, LM 5 now known as Eagle landed Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon.

In all Grumman built 12 operational LMs. From September 29, 1969 to May 1972 Bud worked as Manager LM Vehicle Design Work Package. He participated in the support of the remaining missions to the moon, resolved task and schedule conflicts, and coordinated vehicle design activities with other LM sections. The program was indeed coming to an end.

I asked Bud how he felt about his ten years working on the lunar module. He said that it was a challenge from the start, with many unknown conditions and in an environment that allowed no margin for failure.

There were thousands of changes and modifications in the design, often tedious and tiring for personnel. There was constant repeated testing of hardware and systems, but there was no other way to attain reliability. Overtime hours were excessive, burdensome despite the size of the check.

There is no complaint, however, with success, and the LM was successful it did exactly what Grumman engineers and the manufacturing teams expected it to do: One giant step for mankind.