science

Orphans of Apollo

Orphans of Apollo is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Orphans of Apollo rather than just read about it. In short: Orphans of Apollo is a 2008 documentary film analyzing the embryonic private spaceflight movement of the turn of the millennium, through MirCorp's attempt to privatize and save the Mir space station. Synopsis Orphans of Apollo is a documentary film, covering the period in human spaceflight from the conclusion of NASA's Apollo Moon program to shortly after the Soviet Union's dissolution.

Key takeaways

Orphans of Apollo belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Orphans of Apollo to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Orphans of Apollo from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Orphans of Apollo is a 2008 documentary film analyzing the embryonic private spaceflight movement of the turn of the millennium, through MirCorp's attempt to privatize and save the Mir space station.

Synopsis Orphans of Apollo is a documentary film, covering the period in human spaceflight from the conclusion of NASA's Apollo Moon program to shortly after the Soviet Union's dissolution. A group of entrepreneurs, including Walt Anderson, Richard Branson, Tom Clancy, Jeffrey Manber, and Rick Tumlinson, grew up during the early Space Age. The sudden halt to rapid progress when that era closes then disappointed them — as the film's title indicates, they were "orphan[ed by] Apollo['s]" cancellation. When the Russian government decides that it no longer needs the soon-to-deorbit Mir space station, they hope to purchase the station with Walter Anderson's money and boost it to safety as a private space station. However, the plan requires extensive cooperation. The Russian government must agree to sell the station to once-enemy foreigners. American government agencies must agree to license and perform a space mission that boosts the station to safety — thereby creating a non-governmental competitor to their services. With limited money, the entrepreneurs cannot coordinate all the players before time runs out and the space station deorbits.

Production The film combines archival Russian film footage, archival NASA film footage, IMAX footage, and original interviews with major players in the project. It was produced by Michael Potter, co-directed by Potter and Becky Neiman, and edited by Todd Jones.

Reception In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Smithsonian Institution's space collections, an exclusive screening of Orphans of Apollo was shown in the National Air and Space Museum’s Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater. The film also won the Space Frontier Foundation’s Vision of the Future award in 2008.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Orphans of Apollo

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Orphans of Apollo claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Orphans of Apollo before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Orphans of Apollo ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Orphans of Apollo

In research: Orphans of Apollo appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Orphans of Apollo in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Orphans of Apollo is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2008 English-language films, 2008 films, Commercial spaceflight, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Orphans of Apollo outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Orphans of Apollo in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Orphans of Apollo means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Orphans of Apollo out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Orphans of Apollo in simple terms?

Orphans of Apollo is a 2008 documentary film analyzing the embryonic private spaceflight movement of the turn of the millennium, through MirCorp's attempt to privatize and save the Mir space station. Synopsis Orphans of Apollo is a documentary film, covering the period in human spaceflight from the…

Why does Orphans of Apollo matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Orphans of Apollo?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Orphans of Apollo.