Third-party evidence for Apollo Moon landings their orbits. According to the group, in December 1972 a member "picks up Apollo 17 on its way to the Moon". Paul Maley reports several sightings of the Apollo 12 Command Module. Chabot Observatory calendar records an application of optical tracking during the final phases of Apollo 13, on April 17, 1970: Corralitos Observatory photographed Apollo 14. Paul Wilson and Richard T. Knadle, Jr. received voice transmissions from the Command/Service Module in lunar orbit on the morning of August 1, 1971. In an article for "QST" magazine they provide a detailed description of their work, with photographs. Jewett Observatory at
Apollo 8 the existing generation of rocketry, one where the US and Soviet Union would be starting from a position of equality – something spectacular, even if it could not be justified on military, economic, or scientific grounds. After consulting with his experts and advisors, he chose such a project: to land a man on the Moon and return him to the Earth. This project already had a name: Project Apollo. An early and crucial decision was the adoption of lunar orbit rendezvous, under which a specialized spacecraft would land on the lunar surface. The Apollo spacecraft therefore had three primary components: