The first international manned spaceflight and a symbolic end to the nearly 20-year-long Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Casting political differences temporarily aside, the two superpowers successfully completed the first joint on-orbit manned space operation. ASTP negotiations began in 1970, and an agreement for ASTP flight operations was signed at the superpower summit in May 1972.
The mission was designed primarily to establish and test space-based rescue techniques needed by both the American and Soviet manned space programs. Science experiments would be conducted, and logistics involved in carrying out joint space operations between the two nations developed and refined, paving the way for future joint ventures with the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. As the American and Soviet space capsules were incompatible, a new docking module had to be developed with a Soviet configuration on one side and an American configuration on the other. This module also acted as an airlock and transfer facility, allowing astronauts and cosmonauts to become accustomed to the atmospheres of each other’s vehicles. Should the cosmonauts have attempted an immediate transfer to the Apollo craft, they would quickly have suffered from the bends. Other differences, such as language, were not so easily resolved. The cosmonauts and astronauts agreed to communicate with their respective mission controllers in their native tongues. In-flight communications between the crews would be handled in any way deemed practical at the time. National pride also came into play: Americans referred to the mission as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Soviets as the Soyuz-Apollo Test Project.
The Soyuz 19 spacecraft was launched about seven hours ahead of the Apollo ASTP. Using techniques perfected during previous manned flights, the Apollo craft separated from its spent S-IVB booster, turned around, and docked with the ASTP docking module attached to the S-IVB. Then the Apollo spacecraft chased the Soyuz spacecraft to a rendezvous, completing a docking at 12:10 p.m. EDT on Jul. 17, 1975. Stafford andSlayton entered the docking module and adjusted the air pressure inside, and finally, in an event broadcast live on global television, the two cosmonauts entered through their side of the docking module and shook hands with the waiting astronauts. The two crews conducted experiments together, shared each other’s accommodations and meals, and took part in a variety of press conferences and other live broadcasts. Messages were relayed from the crews directly to President Ford and Premier Brezhnev. The two spacecraft remained docked for two days, then undocked and re-docked for practice purposes, before returning to Earth. Soyuz 19 landed in Russia on Jul. 21 while the Apollo craft remained in space another three days to conduct more on-orbit experiments.
At splashdown a tragedy was only narrowly averted. Difficulties with communications following reentry had distracted Brand so that he forgot to operate the two Earth landing system switches that would deploy the parachutes and deactivate the thrusters. When the drogue ’chute failed to come out, Brand manually commanded it to deploy, but the swinging of the spacecraft triggered the still-armed thrusters to fire to correct the oscillations. Stafford noticed this and shut them down, but by then the thrusters’ nitrogen tetroxide propellant was boiling off and entering the cabin via a pressure-relief valve. So much of the highly toxic gas was drawn in to the capsule that the astronauts started to choke. Then the Command Module hit the water, “like a ton of bricks” Stafford said, and turned upside-down. Stafford grabbed the oxygen masks from a locker but by the time he reached Brand, the Command Module pilot was unconscious. Later examination showed that the fast-acting gas had blistered the astronauts’ lungs and turned them white. Doctors also discovered a shadow on an X-ray of one of Slayton’s lungs and, fearing cancer, decided to operate. Fortunately, it proved to be a benign tumor; but had the shadow been found before the flight, Slayton, who had been grounded during the Mercury Project with a heart problem, would probably have prevented from going into space at all. This was the last manned spaceflight by the United States using a traditional rocket booster, and the last American manned spaceflight prior to the start of the Shuttle program. Apollo spacecraft Soyuz 19 spacecraft Launch date July 15, 1975 July 15, 1975 Launch vehicle Saturn IB Soyuz Crew Commander: Thomas Stafford
Command Module pilot: Vance Brand
Docking Module pilot: Donald SlaytonCommander: Aleskei Leonov
Flight engineer: Valeri KubasovMission duration 9 days 1 hour 5 days 23 hours Splashdown Jul. 24, 1975 Jul. 21, 1975
Friday, February 20, 2009
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Apollo 17.
The eleventh and final manned mission of theApollo Project, and the sixth to land on the Moon.
Apollo 17 was also the first American manned launch in darkness. Lunar Module Challengerlanded in the Taurus-Littrow Valley of the Sea of Serenity, a location chosen because a landslide had recently (in geological terms) occurred here, bringing down material from the heights of the nearby Taurus Mountains.
As with Apollo 16, the first steps onto the Moon were not televised; however, in this case the blackout was planned – the camera gear for recording the first lunar steps having been dispensed with to save weight. During the first of three moonwalks, Eugene Cernan and Schmitt planted an American flag that had hung in Mission Control since Apollo 11. They also deployed the most advanced ALSEP (Apollo Lunar Science Experiment Package) of the Apollo program and drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) to Steno Crater.
On their second excursion – the longest on the Moon to date – the astronauts drove a round-trip of 19 km to South Massif. The final outing, and the last by an Apollo crew, took them to North Massif.
Numerous records were set on the mission, including the first flight of a scientist-astronaut – geologist Schmitt – who had been selected by NASA with no prior piloting skills. The Apollo 17 LM and crew logged the longest stay on the Moon, the Apollo 17 CSM completed the most lunar orbits at 75, setting a record manned lunar orbit stay of 147 h 48 min, and Cernan and Schmitt logged the longest total excursion time on the Moon at 22 h 5 min. The Apollo 17 LRV also logged the most distance driven on the lunar surface (a total of 35 km), and a record amount of lunar rock and soil samples was collected and returned to Earth. The last human lunar explorers – to date – left the Moon at 22:45 GMT on December 14, 1971. An economic recession and waning public interest in the Moon led to the cancellation of Apollo 18, 19, and 20, although Apollo hardware did fly again, during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and the Skylab missions. Commander Eugene Cernan Lunar Module pilot Harrison Schmitt Command Module pilot Ronald Evans Call signs CM: America, LM: Challenger Launch Dec. 7, 1972; 05:33:00 UT (12:33:00 a.m. EST)
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39ALunar landing Dec. 11, 1972; 19:54:57 UT (02:54:57 p.m. EST) Landing site Taurus-Littrow (20.18N, 30.76E) EVA duration 22 hr 4 min.
EVA 1: 7 hr 12 min, EVA 2: 7 hr 37 min, EVA 3 ended at 05:40:56 GMT, Dec. 14Distance traveled on Moon 30 km Mass of lunar rocks collected 110 kg Time on lunar surface 75 hr 0 min. Mission duration 301 hr. 51 min. 59 sec. Splashdown Dec. 19, 1972; 19:24:59 UT (2:24:59p.m. EST) Retrieval site Pacific Ocean 17° 53' S, 166° 7' W
Highlights
Apollo 16.
During the first moonwalk the astronauts deployed the ALSEP (Apollo Lunar Science Experiment Package) and drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) to Flag Crater. Unfortunately, Young tripped and fell over one of the leads attached to the ALSEP, rendering the experiment package useless. However, the day ended well for Young because during his excursion he learned that Congress had approved Fiscal Year 1973 funding for the Space Shuttle development, without which the program could have been canceled. Young, who later commanded the first Shuttle mission, jumped in the air – or, rather, the vacuum – when he heard the news. During the second moonwalk, the astronauts drove the LRV to Stone Mountain where they made observations and collected rock and soil samples. The third drive, to Smoky Mountain, was cut short because the water supply for cooling the LM’s instrumentation was running low – more water than expected having been used during the delay before landing. In fact, the coolant ran out just moments after the LM and CSM re-docked. Several records were broken during the mission, including the highest speed by a vehicle on the lunar surface (21 km/h) and the largest crater yet visited by man – North Ray Crater, about 200 m deep and 1.5 km wide. Commander John Young Lunar Module pilot Charles Duke, Jr. Command Module pilot Thomas Mattingly, II Call signs CM: Casper, LM: Orion Launch Apr. 16, 1972 17:54:00 UT (12:54:00 p.m. EST)
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39ALunar landing Apr. 21, 1972 02:23:35 UT (Apr. 20 9:23:35 p.m. EST) Landing site Descartes (8° 59' 29" S, 15° 30' 52" E) EVA duration 20 hr 14 min.
EVA 1: 7 hr 11 min.; EVA 2: 7 hr 23 min.; EVA 3: 5 hr 40 min.Distance traveled on Moon 27 km Mass of lunar rocks collected 95.8 kg Time on lunar surface 71 hr 2 min. Mission duration 265 hr 51 min. 5 sec. Splashdown Apr. 27, 1972; 19:45:05 UT (2:45:05 p.m. EST) Retrieval site Pacific Ocean 0° 43' S, 156° 13' W
Highlights
Apollo 15.
The ninth manned mission of the Apollo Project and the first extended-duration manned lunar mission. Falconlanded on the Moon in Hadley Rille near the base of the Apennines. Shortly after, David Scott stood in the Lunar Module (LM) upper hatch to photograph the landing area – a scheduled "standup spacewalk" to allow more detailed analysis of the surrounding terrain.
For the first time, the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) was taken to the Moon and, following initial difficulties with deployment and steering, used for an excursion to St. George Crater. Scott and James Irwin drove the LRV a total of 10 km before returning to set up the ALSEP (Apollo Lunar Science Experiment Package).
During their second outing the astronauts made a 12-km round-trip to Mount Hadley Delta and found a green crystalline rock, later called the "Genesis Rock" because of its presumed great age. On their third excursion, Scott and Irwin drove to Scarp Crater and Hadley Rille and became the first astronauts to venture beyond the LM's field of view. A feather was dropped during the mission alongside a hammer to illustrate in dramatic style one of Galileo’s most significant findings. Sure enough, the feather and hammer hit the Moon’s surface simultaneously.
For the first time, the liftoff of the LM was photographed by a remotely-operated TV camera on the surface. The empty LM was again crashed into the Moon following undocking to measure the impact with seismometers. Also for the first time, a scientific subsatellite was released into lunar orbit from the CSM; it transmitted data back to Earth for the next year. On the return journey, while about 275,000 km from Earth, Alfred Worden went on a 41-minute spacewalk during which he was attached to the CSM by a tether – the most distant EVA up to that time. During it, Worden used handrails and foot restraints to complete three trips to and from the Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) bay on the side of the SM.
During re-entry and descent, one of the three parachutes failed to open fully. As a result, descent velocity was 4.5km/h (2.8 mph) faster than planned. Commander David Scott Lunar Module pilot James Irwin Command Module pilot Alfred Worden Call signs CM: Endeavor, LM: Falcon Launch Jul. 26, 1971; 13:34:00 UT (9:34:00 a.m. EDT)
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39ALunar landing Jul. 30, 1971; 22:16:29 UT (6:16:29 p.m. EDT) Landing site Hadley Rille/Apennines (26.13 N, 3.63E) EVA duration 18 hr. 35 min.
EVA 1: 6 hr 33 min.; EVA 2: 7 hr 12 min.; EA 3: 4 hr 50 min.Distance traveled on Moon 27.9 km Mass of lunar rocks collected 76.8 kg Time on lunar surface 66 hr 54 min. Mission duration 295 hr 11 min. 53 sec. Splashdown Aug. 7, 1971; 20:45:53 UT (4:45:53 p.m. EDT) Retrieval site Pacific Ocean 26° 7' N, 18° 8' W
Highlights
Apollo 14.
The eighth manned mission of the Apollo Project and the third to reach the surface of the Moon. Launch of Apollo 14 was postponed about three months to allow changes to the flight plan and hardware following the experience of Apollo 13.
The outbound flight went to plan, although it took six attempts to successfully dock the Command and Service Module (CSM) and the Lunar Module (LM). Antares landed on the Moon just 27 meters from its target point in the Fra Mauro highlands. During two moonwalks Alan Shepardand Edgar Mitchell collected rock and soil samples, and deployed the ALSEP (Apollo Lunar Science Experiment Package), a communications antenna, and a color TV camera.
For the first time, an astronaut wore a spacesuit that was color-coded. The Apollo 12 astronauts had difficulty telling who was whom when they reviewed photos taken on the Moon. NASA subsequently decided to place distinguishing marks on one of the spacesuits; Shepard wore red stripes at the knees and shoulders and on the helmet.
During the second moonwalk, the astronauts covered about 3 km traveling to and from the rim of Cone Crater. For the first time, a MET (Modularized Equipment Transporter), nicknamed the “rickshaw,” was deployed. Resembling a wheelbarrow, it was used mainly to carry tools, photographic equipment, and rock and soil samples. However, as it became more full it tended to tip over so that the astronauts resorted to carrying instead of pushing it. This was the first moonwalk during which astronauts were equipped with Buddy Life Support Systems so that they could share life-support from one pack in an emergency. Shepard had the distinction of playing the first golf shots on the Moon. With a golf club head fixed to a metal rod, he struck one ball about 180 m and another about twice as far.
While Shepard and Mitchell were on the surface, Stuart Roosa became the first CSM pilot to carry out extensive onboard experiments from lunar orbit. Concurrent with Apollo 14, the Russian Lunokhod 1 probe, operated by remote ground commands, was exploring another part of the lunar surface. The return to Earth went according to plan, and the CM splashed down just 1.5 km from its intended recovery point. See also "Moon trees". Commander Alan Shepard Lunar Module pilot Edgar Mitchell Command Module pilot Stuart Roosa Call signs CM: Kitty Hawk LM: Antares Launch Jan. 31, 1971; 21:03:02 UT (4:03:22 p.m. EST)
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39ALunar landing Feb. 5, 1971; 9:18:11 UT (04:18:11 a.m. EST) Landing site Frau Mauro (3.65 S, 17.47 W) EVA duration 9 hr. 23 min.
EVA 1: 4 hr 48 min., EVA 2: 4 hr 35 min.Mass of lunar rocks collected 44.8 kg Time on lunar surface 33 hr 31 min. Mission duration 216 hrs. 1 min. 58 sec. Splashdown Feb. 9, 1971; 21:05:00 UT (4:05:00 p.m. EST) Retrieval site Pacific Ocean 27° 1' S, 172° 39' W
Highlights
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Apollo 10
The fourth manned flight of the Apollo Projectand the final rehearsal for the first manned lunar landing. Apollo 10 Command and Service Module with Moon in the background photographed from the Lunar Module
Apollo 10’s main purpose was to test rendezvous and docking operations between the Command and Service Module (CSM) and the Lunar Module (LM) in lunar orbit. Having entered orbit around the Moon, astronautsStafford and Cernan transferred to the LM, undocked it, and flew within 15,200 meters of the Moon's surface. After the LM descent stage had been jettisoned prior to re-docking, the orientation of the ascent stage began to change unexpectedly due, it turned out, to an incorrectly placed switch. The astronauts took manual control of the LM and were able successfully to rendezvous and re-dock with the CSM. The Apollo 10 crew achieved the highest speed ever attained by human beings – 39,896 km/h. This was also the highest speed of entry into Earth's atmosphere by any spacecraft until it was surpassed by the Stardust probe. Commander Thomas Stafford Lunar Module pilot Eugene Cernan Command Module pilot John Young Call signs CM: Charlie Brown, LM: Snoopy Launch May 18, 1969; 16:49:00 UT (12:49:00 p.m. EDT)
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39BMission duration 192 hr 3 min. 23 sec. Splashdown May 26, 1969; 16:52:23 UT (12:52:23 p.m. EDT) Retrieval site Pacific Ocean 15° 2' S, 164° 39' W
Highlights
Friday, January 16, 2009
Vostok missions (USSR)
The first series of manned Russian spacecraft. Six Vostok ("East") missions, from 1961 through 1963, carried cosmonauts on successively longer flights, and each set a new first in spaceflight history. Vostok 1 was the first manned spacecraft to complete a full orbit, Vostok 2 the first to spend a full day in space. Vostoks 3 and 4 comprised the first two-spacecraft mission. Vostok 5 was the first long-duration mission, and Vostok 6 the first to carry a woman.
Yuri Gagarin's historic flight was preceded by a number of unmanned missions to test the space-worthiness of the Vostok capsule and the reentry and recovery method to be used. These test flights were known in the west as Sputnik 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10 but in the Soviet Union as Korabl Sputnik 1-5.
A spherical cabin, 2.3 m in diameter, attached to a biconical instrument module. The cabin was occupied by a single cosmonaut sitting in an ejection seat which could be used if problems arose during launch and was activated after reentry to carry the pilot free of the landing sphere. Also inside the cabin were three viewing portholes, film and television cameras, space-to-ground radio, a control panel, life-support equipment, food and water. Two radio antennas protruded from the top of the capsule, and the entire sphere was coated with ablative material so that there was no need to stabilize it to any particular attitude during reentry. The instrument module, which was attached to the cabin by steel bands, contained a single, liquid-propellant retrorocket and smaller attitude control thrusters. Round bottles of nitrogen and oxygen were clustered around the instrument module close to where it joined the cabin.
Essentially, the same rocket (a modified R-7 ballistic missile; see "R" series of Russian missiles) that had launched Sputnik 1, 2, and 3, but with an upper stage supported by a latticework arranged and powered by a single RD-7 engine. The combination could launch an LEO payload of about 4,700 kg.
Vostok 1
Yuri Gagarin made history with his, 108-minute, 181 x 327-km single-orbit flight around the world. Once in orbit, he reported that all was well and began describing the view through the windows. Gagarin had brought a small doll with him to serve as a gravity indicator: when the doll floated in midair he knew he was in zero-g. (On Apr. 12, 1991, Musa Manarov, the man who had by then logged the mmost time in space (541 days) carried the same doll back into orbit to mark aboard Mir the 30th anniversary of Gagarin’s flight.) Gagarin had no control over his spacecraft: a "logical lock" blocked any actions he might make in panic because, at the time, little was known of how humans would react to conditions in space. In case of emergency, Gagarin had access to a sealed envelope in which the logical lock code was written. To use the controls he would have had to prove that he was capable of doing the simple task of reading the combination and punching three of nine buttons. However, in the event, this proved unnecessary and radio signals from the ground guided the spacecraft to a successful reentry. At a height of 8,000 m, Gagarin ejected from his capsule and parachuted to the ground, southeast of Moscow near the Volga river, some 1,600 km from where he took off. Official details of the flight were not released until May 30 when an application was issued to the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI) to make the flight a world record. Gagarin’s midair departure from Vostok was kept a secret much longer because the FAI required the pilot to return in his craft in order for the record to be valid. It would be another month before Alan Shepard made his suborbital flight, and 10 months before John Glenn became the first American in orbit.
Vostok 2
The first manned spaceflight to last a whole day. The 36-year-old pilot, Titov, ate some food pastes on his third orbit and later took manual control and changed the spacecraft's attitude. About 10 hours into the mission, he tried to catch some sleep but became nauseous – the first of many space travelers to experience space motion sickness. However, Titov did eventually fall asleep for over seven hours before waking for a perfect reentry and landing, 25 hours 18 minutes after launch.
Vostok 3 and 4
The first manned double launch. Vostok 3 and 4 took off from the same launch pad a day apart and were placed in such accurate orbits that the spacecraft passed within 6.5 km of each other. No closer rendezvous than this was possible, however, because the Vostoks were not equipped for maneuvering. The joint flight continued, with the two cosmonauts, Nikoleyev and Popovitch, talking to each other and with ground control by radio. Finally, the spacecraft reentered almost simultaneously and landed just a few minutes apart. < Vostok 5 and 6
Another double launch, this time involving the first woman in space – 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova. She returned to Earth after almost three days in orbit, followed by Valery Bykovsky a few hours later at the conclusion of a five-day flight that has remained ever since the longest mission by a single-seater spacecraft. Mission Launch Recovery Orbits Pilot Vostok 1 Apr. 12, 1961 Apr. 12, 1961 1 Yuri Gagarin Vostok 2 Aug. 6, 1961 Aug. 7, 1961 17 Gherman Titov Vostok 3 Aug. 11, 1961 Aug. 15, 1961 64 Adrian Nikolayev Vostok 4 Aug. 12, 1962 Aug. 15, 1962 48 Pavel Popovich Vostok 5 Jun. 14, 1963 Jun. 19, 1963 81 Valery Bykovsky Vostok 6 Jun. 16, 1963 Jun. 19, 1963 48 Valentina Tereshkova
Apollo 11
The fifth manned mission of the Apollo Project and the one that climaxed with the first manned landing on the Moon.
During the final stages of the Lunar Module’s (LM) 12.5-minute descent to the Moon’s surface, Neil Armstrong took manual control of the spacecraft and piloted it to a suitable landing site. A warning that less than 5% of descent fuel remained gave Armstrong 94 seconds to land the LM prior to an abort and return to the CSM. As the LM came into land, dust was kicked up reducing Armstrong’s visibility to a few meters. At 10 meters above the surface, the LM lurched dangerously but Armstrong continued to guide the spacecraft toward a successful touchdown in the Sea of Tranquility at 20:17:40 GMT on Jul. 20, 1969, about 6.5 km from the designated target.
The astronauts donned spacesuits and were ready to step onto the Moon about 6.5 hours after touchdown. Armstrong placed a TV camera on the LM ladder, then set foot on the Moon watched live on television by an estimated 500 million people. (The only two countries that declined to telecast the moonwalk were the Soviet Union and China.) Buzz Aldrin followed about one hour later. The two men set up a flag, deployed a number of experiments including a seismometer, laser reflector, and solar wind detector, gathered samples of lunar rock and soil, and took the longest distance phone call in history, from President Nixon. Upon returning to Earth the astronauts were quarantined, initially in a mobile quarantine facility aboard the recovery ship and then for about three weeks in the specially-built Lunar Sample Receiving Laboratory at the Johnston Space Center.Commander Neil Armstrong Lunar Module pilot Edwin ("Buzz") Aldrin Command Module pilot Michael Collins Call signs CM: Columbia, LM: Eagle Launch July 16, 1969; 13:32:00 UT (09:32 a.m. EDT)
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39ALunar landing Jul. 20, 1969; 20:17:40 UT (4:17:40 p.m. EDT) Landing site Mare Tranquilitatis (Sea of Tranquility); 0.67 N, 23.47 E First step on Moon 02:56:15 UT July 21, 1969; (10:56:15 p.m. EDT July 20, 1969) EVA duration 2 hr 31 min. Distance traveled on Moon ~250 meters Mass of lunar rocks collected 21.7 kg Time on lunar surface 21 hr 38 min. 21 sec. Mission duration 195 hr 18 min. 35 sec. Splashdown Jul. 24, 1969; 16:50:35 UT (12:50:35 p.m. EDT) Retrieval site Pacific Ocean 13° 19'N, 169° 9'W
Highlights
Apollo 12 mission.
Apollo 12 was intended to build on the success of Apollo 11, with the added goal of achieving a precision lunar landing. Apollo 12 began dramatically. Astronaut Gordonwas so convinced that lightning storms would delay the launch by a day that he fell asleep during the countdown. In fact liftoff went ahead on schedule, but as the Saturn Vpassed through a low cloud a bolt of lightning discharged through the rocket to the ground. Later in the first minute of flight the Saturn V was struck again. Safety mechanisms turned off most of the power in the Command and Service Module (CSM) but it was manually restored by the crew and the flight continued. For the first time, the S-IVB booster was reignited to make an evasive maneuver.
Following docking of the CSM and Lunar Module (LM), the LM was entered to make sure the lightning hadn't damaged any systems. After the CSM engine fired twice to enter lunar orbit, the LM separated and descended to a pinpoint landing on the Ocean of Storms, less than 180 meters from Surveyor 3 which had soft-landed on the Moon in April 1967.
Astronauts Conrad and Bean performed two moonwalks. During the first, the astronauts set up the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) and positioned a color TV camera to provide the color transmissions from the lunar surface. However, Bean allowed direct sunlight to enter the camera’s lens which damaged its vidicon tube and rendered it useless; television viewers on Earth were able to see the astronauts step onto the Moon but little else. During a second moonwalk, the astronauts walked about 1.5 km collecting lunar samples and removing parts of Surveyor 3 for return to Earth. For the first time, the astronauts documented each sample they took, including the first double-core tube sample of lunar soil. Later laboratory examination revealed that the Surveyor 3 parts harbored bacteria that had survived 19 months of extreme temperatures, dryness, and the near-vacuum of the lunar environment.
Conrad inadvertently carried a Playboy photo to the Moon; it had been planted by a NASA employee and Conrad came across it unexpectedly on the lunar surface while flipping through his mission checklist. For the first time, lunar dust tracked into the LM proved to be a problem. Since the dust became weightless after liftoff from the Moon, the astronauts had trouble breathing without their helmets. For the first time, the LM was fired back toward the Moon after its occupants transferred to the CSM. Intrepid slammed into the Moon at more than 8,000 km/h with a force equivalent to an explosion of 9,000 kg of TNT. The resulting artificial moonquake registered on the seismometer that the astronauts had left on the surface, providing valuable data on the Moon’s internal makeup. Some lunar dust found its way into the CSM requiring the astronauts to clean air filter screens every few hours. The splashdown, at 15g, was the hardest ocean-landing ever recorded – enough to jar a 16-mm camera from its mounting and hit Al Bean on the head.Commander Charles Conrad, Jr. Lunar Module pilot Alan Bean Command Module pilot Richard Gordon Call signs CM: Yankee Clipper, LM: Intrepid Launch Nov. 14, 1969; 16:22:00 UTT (11:22:00 a.m. EST)
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39ALunar landing Nov. 19, 1969; 6:54:35 UT (1:54:35 a.m. EST) Landing site Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms); 3.01 S, 23.42 ) EVA duration 7 hr. 45 min.
EVA 1: 3 hr 55 min., EVA 2: 3 hr 50 min.Mass of lunar rocks collected 34.3 kg Time on lunar surface 31 hr 31 min. Mission duration 244 hr 36 min. 24 sec. Splashdown Nov. 24, 1969; 20:58:24 UT (3:58:24 p.m. EST) Retrieval site Pacific Ocean 15° 47' S, 165° 9' W
Highlights
Apollo 13 mission
The S-IVB stage that boosted the mission into translunar trajectory was delivered to Kennedy Space Center on June 13, 1969 – a Friday. Swigert replaced ThomasMattingly as Command Module (CM) pilot after Mattingly contracted measles (the only preflight substitution of this kind in the history of the American space program).
Following liftoff, the second stage S-II booster’s center engine cut off 132 sec early. To compensate, the four remaining S-II engines burned an extra 34 sec, and the S-IVB third stage burned an extra 9 sec. The flight continued according to plan. For the first time, the S-IVB third stage was fired on a lunar trajectory following spacecraft separation and struck the Moon, so that the resulting moonquake could be measured, at a point about 137 km from the seismometer planted by the Apollo 12 astronauts. Unfortunately, the S-IVB would be the only part of Apollo 13 to reach the lunar surface.
About 56 hours after liftoff and more than halfway to the Moon, a spark and resulting fire ruptured the Number Two Oxygen Tank in the Service Module section of the CSM causing a violent explosion. This resulted in the loss of all fuel-cell-generated electricity and led to many other complications, including a complete loss of oxygen and water supply from the CSM. The mission was immediately aborted and all efforts shifted to the safe return of the crew. The CSM was powered down, and the crew moved to the LM for the bulk of the return flight. Not wishing to risk complicated maneuvers to turn the spacecraft around, NASA directed Apollo 13 to proceed around the Moon. Virtually all spacecraft systems were shut down to conserve power. The crew squeezed into the LM which was designed to support two astronauts for about 50 hours but now needed to support all three astronauts for four days. The crew endured temperatures at or below freezing for the bulk of the return flight as well as other hardships, including water rationed at 170 grams per astronaut per day.
After circling the Moon once, the LM descent engine was fired twice to establish a fast return path. Nearing Earth, Swigert returned to the CSM to power up the craft using onboard batteries. Engineers were not certain that power could be restored due to low temperatures during the flight; however, sufficient power was restored without difficulty. Swigert jettisoned the SM while Lovell and Haise remained aboard the LM. Following jettison, the crew viewed and took dramatic pictures of the explosion’s aftermath: an entire side of the SM had been blown out. Eventually, Lovell and Haise joined Swigert on the CM, the LM, which had successfully served as a lifeboat, was jettisoned, and the CM reentered Earth‘s atmosphere. Under such circumstances, no one knew if the CM would come in at the proper angle to avoid burning up in or skipping off the atmosphere. As in all previous American manned spaceflights, there was a communications blackout of several minutes during reentry. Then, to the cheers of an anxious world, Apollo 13 splashed down within sight of the recovery team and the crew were rescued about one hour later.
| Commander | James Lovell, Jr. |
| Lunar Module pilot | Fred Haise |
| Command Module pilot | John Swigert |
| Call signs | CM: Odyssey, LM: Aquarius |
| Launch | Apr. 11, 1970; 2:13 p.m. EST Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A |
| Landing site | Intended to be Fra Mauro, became landing site forApollo 14 |
| Mission duration | 142 hr 54 min. 41 sec. |
| Splashdown | Apr. 17, 1970; 18:07:41 UT (1:07:41p.m. EST) |
| Retrieval site | Pacific Ocean 21° 38' S 165° 22' W |
Highlights
- First and only aborted Apollo mission
- Use of Lunar Module to provide emergency propulsion and life support after loss of Service Module system
- First impact of the S-IVB/IU on the lunar surface. Normally it burns up in Earth's atmosphere.
