apollo 9 mission 5 day report

8/8/2019 Apollo 9 Mission 5 Day Report

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APOLLO 9 MISSION5-DAY REPORT

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DISTRIBUTION AND REFERENCING

This paper is not suitable for general distribution or referencing.only in other working correspondence and documents by particip ating org aniza tions .It may be referenced............. . . . . . . . . ...........

M A N N E D S P A C E C R A F T C E N T E RHOUSTON,TEXAS

MARCH 1969. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . ............ . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . ................................... . . . . . . . . . ............. . . . . . . . . ........................ . . . . . . . . . . ............ . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . ............................................


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APOLLO 9 MISSIClN5-DAY REPORT

PREPARED BY

Mission Evaluation Team

APPROVED BY

/ 4 L 2 % w r d d -George M. LowManager, Apollo Spacecraft Program

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONMANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER

HOUSTON, TEXASiviarcn i969

~~~~

MSC-PT-R-69-11


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SUMMARY

Apol lo 9 w a s t h e f i r s t manned f l i g h t in volv ing th e lu nar module.The crew were James A. McDivitt, Commander; David R . S c o t t , CommandModule P i lo t ; and Russel l L . Schweickart, Lunar Module P i l o t .

The launc h, which had been scheduled f o r Febru ary 28, w a s postponedf o r 3 days because a l l t h r e e crewmen had upper r es p i r a to ry in fe c t io n .The space ve hi c l e w a s laun che d from Kennedy Space Ce nte r, Fl or id a, a t11:OO:OO a.m. e. s . t . , March 3, 1969.t h e s p a c e c r a f t and S-IVB combination w a s i n s e r t e d i n t o a n o r b i t o f 1 0 2. 3by 103.9 na u t i c a l miles.

Following a nominal launch phase ,

A ft e r post - inser t ion checkout w a s completed, t h e command and s e r v i c emodules were sepa ra ted f rom th e S-IVB, t r a n sp o se d , and docked wit h t h elunar module.4 :08:05.28.2 seconds, were made while t he sp ac ec ra f t remained docked.

The docked s pa cec raf t were se pa ra te d from t h e S-IVB a tFour s e r v i c e pr o pu l si o n f i r i n g s l a s t i n g 5.1, 110 .0 , 281.6, and

A t approximately 43.5 h o u r s , t h e L u n a r Module Pi l o t and t h e Commandert r a n s f e r r e d t o t h e l u n a r module. A 369.7-second f i r i n g of th e lu na r mod-u le descen t p ropu l s ion syst em was in i t i a t e d about 6 hours l a t e r ; t h e twocrewmen then re t urn ed t o th e command module fo r t h e f i f t h se rv ic e propul-s i on f i r i n g , which l a s t ed 43.3 seconds .

A t approximately 70 ho urs , th e Lunar Module P i l o t and t h e Commanderaga in t r a ns fe r r e d f o r th e Lunar Module P i lo t ' s 37-minute ex t r a veh ic u la ra c t i v i t y .

A t about 89 ho urs , t h e Commander and t h e Lunar Module Pi l o t re tu rn edt o t h e l u n a r module f o r t h e t h i r d t i m e t o p er fo rm t h e rendezvous. Thelunar module primary guidance system w a s used t o conduct t h e rendezvousw it h back-up c a lc u la ti o ns be in g made by th e command module computer.pha sing and in se r t io n maneuvers were performed usin g t h e descent propul-s i on syst em t o se t -up th e r endezvous .s e p a r a t e d , fol lowed by a r e a c t i o n c o n t r o l c o e l l i p t i c se que nce i n i t i a t i o nmaneuver. The as cen t pro pul sio n system w a s f i r e d t o e s t a b l is h t h e con-s t a n t d e l t a h e i gh t . The terminal phase of t h e rendezvous began on t i m e ,and t h e sp ac ecr af t were a gain docked a t about 99 h o u r s .w a s j e t t i s o n e d a b o u t 2-1/2 hours l a t e r .pu l s ion sys t em w a s f i r e d t o p r o pe l la n t d e p le t io n .350 seconds and res ul te d i n an or bi t of 3747 by 124.5 nau t i ca l m i l e s .

TheThe ascent and descent s tages were

The ascent s tageS h o r t l y a f t e r , t he ascen t p ro -

Th e f i r i n g l a s t ed

The s i x t h s e r v i c e p r o p u ls i o n f i r i n g , t o l ow er a po ge e, w a s delayedHowever, t h e maneuver w a s reschedu led and s uc ces sfu l ly com-b e c a u se t h e +X t r a n s l a t i o n t o p re ce de t h e m aneuver w a s not programmedp r o p e r l y .p l e t e d i n t h e n e x t r e v ol u t io n .


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During t h e l a s t t h r e e da ys , a 25-second seventh ser vi ce pro pul s ionf i r i n g w a s made t o r a i se th e apogee, and a mul t i spec t ra l photographyexperiment and landmark tracking were accomplished.

Unfavorable weather i n th e p lanned lznd ing area c a us e d t h e d e o r b i tmaneuver t o be dela yed f o r one rev o lu ti o r. The command module lan de d i nth e At lan t ic Ocean nea r th e t a r g e t of 23 qegrees 1 5 minutes nor th l a t i -t u d e , 68 degrees west l ong i t ude , as determined from the onboard computerso lu t ion . The t o t a l f l i g h t d u r a t i o n w a s 241 hours , 53 seconds.

A l l spac ec ra f t sys tems per formed es se nt ia l l y as planned. Thermalc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of b o t h s p a c e c r a f t v a r i e d w i t h i n a c c e p t ab l e l imits . Con-sumables usage w a s mainta ined a t a c c e p t a b l e l ev e l s . Communications qual-i t y w a s g e n e ra l l y s a t i s f a c t o r y w i t h t e l e v i s i o n t r an s m i ss i o n s from t h elu na r module on two occ asi on s.

INTRODUCTION

This repor t i s based on an eva lua t io n of pre l imin a ry data , a nd t h es t a t e d v a l u e s a re s u b je c t t o change i n l a t e r r e p o r t s . A l l t imes a rer e f er e n ce d t o r an g e ze r o, t h e i n t e g r a l seco nd b e f o r e l i f t - o f f ; r a ng ezero w a s 16:oo:oo G . m . t . , March 3, 1969 .s i o n e ve n ts i s p r e s en t ed i n t a b l e I . Only th e most s i gn i f ic an t systemsi n fo r ma t io n i s p r e s en t e d i n t h e a p p r o p ri a t e s e c t i o n s .

A sequence of s igni f icant mis-

EXTRAmH IC U M ACT IV I TY

E x tr a ve h ic u la r a c t i v i t y , p la nn ed f o r t h e t h i r d da y, w a s reduced from2 hours 1 5 minutes t o about 1 hour of de pr e s s u r i z e d l una r m odule a c t i v i t y .Th is change was made becau se th e Lunar Module Pi l o t ex pe rie nc ed a minori n f l i g h t i l l n e s s d ur in g t h e f i r s t 2 days ," t h e m i ss i on .

P r e pa r a t i on f o r e x tr a ve h i c u l a r a c t i . i L> began a t approximate ly71 ho ur s. The Comander and t h e Lunar Module P i l o t were i n t h e l un arno du le and t h e Command Module P i l o t i n t h e command module. A t approxi-mately 73 hours, a f t e r donning t he por tab l e l i f e support and oyygen purgesys tems, the Lunar Module Pi lo t egressed through t h e forward ha tch andmoved t o t h e e x t e r n a l f o o t r e s t r a i n t s on ne pla t form. Dur ing t h i s t ime ,t h e command module w a s de pr es s u r iz e d , and t h e s i de ha t c h w a s opened.Thermal sample retr ieval w a s photographica ' l y recorded w i t h the sequencecameras . The Lunar Module P i l o t use d t h e han dra i l s t o eva lua t e body con-t r o l a nd t r a n s f e r t e ch n iq u es . I n g re s s was completed a t about 74 hour s .Both hatches were then secured and th e ve l i i c le s repr essu r ized . The por t -a b l e l i f e s up p or t s ys te m w a s su cce ssf ul ly rec harged with oxygen and water .


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The l i t h iu m hydroxide ca r t r id ge f rom the sys tem w a s r e t u r n e d t o t h e com-mand module f o r po s t f l ig h t metabolic an aly s i s .

The repressur iza t ion cyc le s f o r bo th ve hi cl es were nominal, andpo s t - ac t i v i t y procedures were fo llowed wi thout d i f f i cu l t y .

Hear t and metabol ic ra tes fo r th e Lunar Module P i l o t d ur ing t h ee x t r a v eh i c u l a r a c t i v i t y were very low, about 6 1 t o 88 beats/minute and500 Btu /hr , r e s pec t iv e ly .

RENDEZVOUS

The Commander and th e Lunar Module Pi l o t t ra n s f er r ed t o t h e l un armodule on t h e f i f t h day fo r t h e rendezvous. The rendezvous ex er ci se be-gan on sched ule with a 5 f t / s e c sepa r a t ion maneuver us ing th e s e rv ic emodule rea c t io n c on tro l sys tem.

A phasing maneuver of 90.5 f t / s e c w a s performed with the lunar moduledescent prop ulsion system, about 2.8 n. m i . from t h e command module. A tapproximately 12 n. m i . above and 27 n . m i . behind t h e command and s e r v ic emodules, t h e descent propulsi on system was used t o impar t a 43.1-f t /seci n s e r t i o n v e l o c i t y t o t h e l u n a r m odule. A t a range of 75 n. m i . from thecommand and ser vi ce modules, t h e ascen t and descent st ag es of t h e lu na rmodule were separated, and a c o e l l i p t i c se quence i n i t i a t i o n maneuver o f40.0 f t /sec w a s made with t h e lu nar module re ac t io n co nt ro l system. A tapproximately 10 n . mi. below and 78 n. m i . beh ind t h e command and se r -vi ce modules , t h e cons tant d e l ta he ight maneuver w a s performed with theascent propuls ion sys tem impar t ing a veloc i ty change of 41.5 f t / s e c .te rm in al phase began on t i m e w i t h a 22.3-f t /sec lu na r module re ac t io ncontrol system maneuver.

The

Braking maneuvers were conducted on schedule , and s ta t i on-k eepin gw a s mainta ined a t a d i s t a nc e o f 10 0 f e e t so t h a t photographs could betak en from both vehic les . Docking was successful ly comple ted a t about99 hours . Problems were experienced i n using t h e crewman op t i c a l ali gn -ment sight i n both ve hi cl es during docking. The combination of a b r i g h tcommand module, a dimly l i g h t e d command module t a r g e t , and a r e l a t i v e l yd i m r e t i c l e i n t h e align ment s i g h t made lu na r module docking a d i f f i c u l tt a s k . Pro pel lan t usage by th e lunar module re ac t io n co nt ro l system dur-in g t h e rendezvous was about 35 pe rcent l e s s than predic ted .

Lunar module rendezvous nav igat ion and maneuver t a r g e t i n g ilsin g bo tht h e primary and th e backup guidance sys tems were sa t i s f ac to ry . Radardata were su cc es sfu ll y used, both automati cally by t h e primary systemand through manual i ns er t i on i n th e abor t gu idance system, t o cor rec t


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rendezvous s t a t e vec tor s . Maneuver solu t io ns f ro n both onboard sys temsand from ground computations appeared t o c o rr el at e cl o se ly . The crews e l e c t e d t he pr im ar y s yst em s o lu t i on s f o r a l l maneuvers th roug h t h e f i r s tm idcours e c o r r e c t i on per fo rm ed a f t e r t e r m ina l phas e i n i t i a t i o n .

Rendezvous na vi ga tio n and mirror-image ta rg et in g i n t h e commandmodule were performed sa t is fac tor i ly; however , l o s s of t h e lu na r moduletr ac ki ng l i g h t p reve nted se x ta nt measurements from t h e command modulewhen both vehic le s were i n da rkness . Pre l imina ry da ta ind ic a t e t h a tcommand module maneuver c a l c u l a t i o n s f o r t e rmina l p ha se i n i t i a t i o n w eres a t i s f a c t o r y ,

TRAJECTORY

The spacecraft/S-IVB combination w a s i n s e r t ed i n t o e a r t h o r b i t a t0:11:14.7 f t e r a normal laun ch phase.l o c i t y w a s 25 567 f t / s e c , f l i g h t - p a t h a n g l e w a s 0.002 de gre e , and a l t i t u dew a s 103.4 n . m i .are g i v e n i n t a b l e I1 f o r a l l e n g i n e f i r i n g s .

A t i n s e r t i o n , t h e s p ac e- fi xe d ve-The res ul t i ng o r b i t a l e lements and maneuver parameters

Four se rv ice pro pul s ion sys tem maneuvers were performed p r i o r t o th ef i r s t docked descent engine f i r i n g . Each of t h e f i r s t t h r e e s e r v i c e pr o-pulsion maneuvers were made without r e q u i r i n g a +X t r a n s l a ti o n t o s e t t l epro pe l lan t s . The fou r th se rv ice propu ls ion maneuver w a s preced ed by an18-second +X t r a n s l a t i o n made w i th t h e s e r v i c e module r e a c t i on c on t r o lsys tem. None of th e or b i t s r e su l t in g f rom th es e maneuvers d i f fe re d bymore than 2.3 n. m i . f rom the p lanned condi t ions .

The f i f t h docked se r v ic e propuls ion maneuver re su l t ed i n the pe r ig eebeing approximate ly 5 n . m i . l e s s t han p lanned caus ing th e rendezvous t obe i n i t i a t e d 4 minutes e a r l i e r .were expec ted , and rea l - t ime t r a j ec to ry p lanning f o r both rendezvous andd e o r b i t w a s conducted t o accommodate minor ad jus tments i n t h e in i t i a t i o nt i m e s and ve loc i ty inc rements . I n t h i s rega rd, out-of-plane componentsw e r e added dur ing the f l i g h t t o c e r t a i n p r ep l an n e d maneuvers t o p r o v id esubsta n t ia1 r e duct i on i n s pa c e c r a f t w eight w i thou t s ign i f i ant y changingt h e o r b i t a l parameters f o r subsequent maneuvers .

Sm al l c u to f f e r r o r s o f t h i s m agnitude

The t ra je c t or y a spe c t s of t h e rendezvous exe r c i se have been previ -ous ly d i scussed .

A f t e r t h e a sc e nt s t a g e j e t t i s o n , a 3- f t / sec sep a ra t io n maneuver w a sperformed by t h e se rv ic e module rea c t io n con tr ol sys tem. The asc en tengine w a s t he n f i r e d t o p ro p e l la n t d e p l et i o n .


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The s i x t h se rv ic e propuls ion maneuver w a s de layed one r evo lu t ionand completed nominally.

The deorbit maneuver w a s made over H a w a i i dur ing r evo lu t ion 152 ,and command mod ule /ser vic e module se pa ra ti on w a s performed.c o n d i t i o n s a t en t ry in t e r f a ce were 25 897 f t / s e c i n v e l o c i t y and -1.8 de-g r ee s i n fl i g h t - p a th a n gl e .23 degrees 1 5 minu tes no r th l a t i t ude and 68 degrees west long i tude ( s eeMission Support Performance , Recovery).

The entryThe command module landed a t 241:00:53 near

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications were general ly sat isfactory. Good qu a li ty rea l- t im eand dumped tel em etr y dat a were rece ived . Voice qu al i t y w a s good through-out th e rendezvous and dur ing most of th e o th er miss ion phases . Tele-v i s i o n w a s rece ived dur ing two t ran smi ssio n per iods f rom th e lu na r module.

During launch, t h e S-band up link phase loc k w a s l o s t from 0:05:06 t o0 :06 zoo . During the upl ink loss and su b se q u e n t r e a c q u i s i t i o n a t t e m p t s ,t h e a u t o m at ic t r a n s f e r o f d ow nlink s i g n a l so u r ce s w i t h i n t h e s p a c e c r a f tt r a n sp o n d e r c a u se d i n t e r m i t t e n t loss of downlink lock and telemetry syn-c h r o n i z a t i o n .

S-band vo ic e from t h e lu n a r module w a s no t r ece ived a t t he Miss ionCont ro l Cen te r du r ing th e f i r s t te le vi s i on t ran smi ssio n . The S-bandv o i c e w a s r e c e i v e d a t t h e M e r r i t t I s l a n d s t a t i o n , h ow eve r, a nd it i s sus-p e c t e d t h a t t r a n sm i s s i o n t o t h e M is sio n C o n t ro l C e nt er w a s i n h i b i t e d b ya v o ic e -o p e ra t ed a m p l i f i e r w i t h i n t h e M e r r i t t I s l a n d s t a t i o n .

Good qual i ty voice t ransmission w a s received from each of the crew-men d u r i n g t h e e x t r a v e h i c u l a r a c t i v i t y ; however, t h e crew d i d n o t r e c e i v eupl i nk voic e t ransm issions through t h e Guaymas, Texas , Me rr i t t I s la nd ,Bermuda, and USNS Vanguard s t a t io ns . I nco r r ec t conf igura t ion a t a l l oft h e a f f e c t e d s t a ti o n s , excep t Bermuda, r e su l t ed i n t r ansmis s ions us ingonly t h e S-band upl ink. Reception w a s i n h i b i t e d b ec au se t h e s p a c e c r a f tS-band 'volume co nt ro l se t t in g s were s e t a t f u l l d ec re as e as s p e c if i ed i nt h e ch ec kl is t . Transmission f rom Bermuda w a s made dur ing per iod s ofin te rv eh ic ul ar communicat ion, when th e spa ce cra f t VHF r e c e i v e r s a r e n or -m a ll y i n a cap tu red conf igura t ion .

V e ri fi c at io n of th e commands tra ns m it te d between 109 :2l:5O and118:46:53 w a s n o t d e t e c t e d by t h e g rou nd s t a t i o n s , b u t a v a i l a b l e datacon firm th a t t h e commands were proper ly encoded and tr an sm it te d.


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COMMAND AND SERVICE MODULE SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE

Structural and Mechanical Systems

A t l i f t - o f f , measured peak winds a t both th e 60- foot l e v e l and theregion of high dynamic pressure were below t he e s t a b l i s he d l imi t s . D u r -in g th e launch phase, ac cel er at io ns measured i n th e command module werenominal and s imi lar t o tho se measured dur i ng th e Apollo 8 miss ion .All hardware i n t h e mechanical sys tems pe rformed sa t i s f ac to r i ly , and

only two discr epan cies were noted. Both were assoc ia ted wi th docking andhave been dupl ica ted i n ground te s t i ng .

During i n i t i a l undocking, t h e Command Module P i l o t ac ti v at ed t h eprobe -extend sw i tch , and th e vehic le s began t o sep a ra te , i n d i c a t i n g re-l ea se of t h e probe-extend la tc h . However, t he vehic les d id not phy sic a l l ysepa ra te because the swi tch w a s not he l d i n th e undock po s i t i on long enoughand th e probe -capture l a tch es remained i n th e locked conf igur a t ion . Recy-c l in g of th e switch comple ted t h e probe exten s ion , and normal undockingw a s achieved.

P r i o r t o th e l u n a r module do cking maneuver, t h e Command ModuleP i l o t p l a c e d t h e p r ob e -e x te n d/ re le a se s w it c h i n t h e r e t r a c t p o s i t i o n i np r e pa r a t i on for doc king . With t h e s w i tc h i n t h i s pos i t i on , a n i nd i c a t i onshowed t h e prob e w a s no t i n t h e c o r r e c t pos i t i on f o r dock ing. Sw it ch ingthrough t h e ex tend/ r e t rac t cyc le produced th e normal ind ica t ion .

Elec t r ica l PowerB a t t e r i e s .- The e n t r y and py r o te c hn ic b a t t e r i e s per fo rm ed s a t i s f a c -

t o r i l y . B a t t e r y A rece ived one comple te and th ree p a r t i a l r echa rges ,and ba t t e r y B r e c e ived f ou r p a r t i a l r e cha r ges . B a t t e r y C w a s no t re-charged. The ba t t e r y recharging w a s adequa te t o suppor t miss ion requi re -ments , a l though the cha rg ing t ime f o r ba t t e r y B w a s longe r than expec ted .The cha rge remaining i n th e ba t te r i e s a t command module/service modulesepa r a t ion was e s t ima ted t o be 39.0, 32.4, and 38.9 A-h f o r b a t t e r i e sA , B , and C y r e s p e c t i v e l y , f o r a t o t a l of 110.3 A-h.

Fue l c e l l s and cr yoge ni c s t o r a ge .- O pe r at i on o f t h e f ue l c e l l s andcryogenic s torage sys tem w a s sa t i s fa c to ry . Se rv ic ing and top-off ofcryogenic hydrogen and oxygen before l if t-off were accomplished, and fue lc e l l s t ar t -u p w a s narmal.

Operation of the cryogenic oxygen storage system w a s normal. Acaution-and-warning alarm fo r t h e hydrogen sys tem w a s a c t i v a t e d f i r s t a t


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A t approximately 94 h o u rs , t h e h e a t e r s i n th e hydrogen tanks f a i l e dt o come on auto mati call y. A t 1 0 1 h o u r s , the automatic sys tem recoveredand i nc r e a s e d t h e p r e s su r e i n both t a nks t o a bove t h e p r e s s u r e w hereautomatic cu tof f should occur , The he a t er sys tem w a s manually turnedo f f a t 106 hours.f a n o p e r a t i o n for t h e remainder of t h e miss ion.P r e s s u r e c on t r o l w a s maintained by manual control of

Cryogenic usage ra te s were within 2 percent of pr ed ic te d va lu es ,and qua nt i ty ba lanc ing i n both sys tems w a s s a t i s f a c t o r i l y m a i n t a i n e d .

A t 62 hours , th e condenser ex i t tempera ture of f u e l c e l l 2 d roppedt o approximate ly 150' F (normal i s 155' t o 165' F ) . A t 90.5 hours , h etempera ture peaked a t 175' F f o r t h e f i r s t of sev e r a l excurs ions out ofnorma l ope ra t ing to le ranc es ; however , t h e parameter recovered a t about191 hours and remained wi th in normal l im i t s th e r ea f t e r .

The fue l ce l l s gene ra ted 450 kwh, 1 5 000 A-h, and 350 pounds ofw a te r du r ing t h e m i ss ion .330 pounds , r e s p e c t i v e l y . T o ta l hydrogen and ow ge n usages were 42 and

Communi ca tionsManagement and performance of t h e communications system s were good

throughout th e f l i g h t and dur ing the recove ry ope ra t io n . Most of t h eomnid i rec t iona l an tenna swi tch ing , s e l ec t i on of high- and low-bi t -ra tet e l e m e t r y , and record and playback of data storage equipment were accom-p l i s h e d by rea l-t im e command.

From approximately l o 9 t o l l 9 hours , ground s t a t io n s were unable t oaccomplish m ul ti pl e commands t o the sp ac ec ra ft ; however, command cap abi l-i t y w a s re s t or ed a f t e r th e crew cycled t h e upl ink command switch.

The S-band omn idi recti ona l antennas were used throughout t h e mission,except for a sh or t per io d du r ing the nin th day when th e automatic reacqui-s i t i o n mode of th e high-gain antenna w a s ex erc ise d over th e Carnarvon andH a w a i i s t a t i o n s .


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I n s t r um e n ta t i onThe ins t rum enta t ion sys tem provided adequa te suppor t f o r th e miss ion .

Lunar module telemetry data w e r e succ ess fu l ly t r a ns mi t ted t o t he commandmodule ove r t h e VHF l i n k a n d were then recorded and dumped through commandmodule S-band equipment.

The ce nt ra l t iming equipment expe r ienced a r e s e t t o z er o a t approxi-mately 168 hours and was subsequent ly co rre c te d through t h e command l i n k .The t iming equipment ope ra ted prope r ly t he re a f te r .

Display of da t a from the hel ium-t ank p r e s s u r e t r a n s duc e r i n t hese r v i ce propuls ion system w a s l o s t at l i f t - o f f , bu t t he r e dunda n t t r a ns -duc e r p r ov ide d s a t i s f a c to r y da t a .

A t about 23 h o u r s , t h e oxygen f low r a t e i n d i c a t i o n f o r f u e l c e l l 3d i s p l a ye d a higher-than-expected va lu e bu t r e tu r ne d t o no rm al a t 27 hours30 minutes .

Controls and DisplaysSe ve r a l master caution-and-warning alarms oc c urr e d du r ing t h e mis-

s ion . C e r t ain o f t he s e alarms were a p p r op r i at e f o r t h e c o nd i ti o ns t h a te x i s t e d , i nc lud ing t hos e a s s o c i a t e d w i th ga ging s yst e m ope r a t i on f o rse rv ic e propu ls ion maneuvers 3 an d 7 . Other alarms occurred, once a tcommand and se r v ic e module docking and twi ce du rin g th e d eo rb it maneuver,w hich a ppe ar t o be un r e l a t e d t o s ys te m c ond i t i ons and are no t e xp l a ine da t t h i s t i me.

Guidance, Na vigatio n, and Con trolA l l guidance , naviga t ion , and co nt r o l func t ion s were performed s a t i s -

f a c t o r i l y . A t i n s e r t i on , t h e d i f f e r e nc e s betwe en t h e onboar d and t h eground-ca lcu la ted apogee and pe r i gee a l t i tu de s were l a r ge r t ha n no r m a l .The cause of t h e s e d i f f e r e n c e s w a s i s o l a t ed t o a change i n X-axis accel-e romete r b ia s i n t h e f i n a l countdown pe r i od . This b i a s change caused amisalignment du rin g prel aun ch gyrocompassing, as w e l l as a d i r e c t down-r ange ve loc i t y e r r o r du r ing a s c e n t . The b ia s compensation w a s updatedi n f l i gh t and r em aine d s t a b l e f o r t h e re ma inder of t h e m i s s ion . O the rm ea su ra ble i n e r t i a l pa ra m ete rs were a l s o s t a b l e t h r oughou t t h e m i s s ion .The i n e r t i a l measurement u ni t w a s a l i gn e d o p t i c a l l y seve ra l t i m e s w i t he xc e l l e n t r e s u l t s . The crew r e por t e d some d i f f i c u l t y i n t h e us e o f t h es ca nn in g t e l es c o p e, i n t h a t it t ended t o s t op momenta ri ly a t t i m e s whenr o t a t i n g a bout t h e s h a f t ax i s . On o t h e r o c ca s i on s , t h e u n i t s t u ck su cht h a t m an i pu la ti on u s i ng t h e u n i v e r s a l t o o l w a s r e qu i r e d be f o r e ope r a t i oncould be resumed. The se xt an t was not a f fe c t ed and remained f u l l y ope ra -t i on a l t h roughout t he m i ss ion .


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Eight ser vi ce propuls ion maneuvers were performed, and t h e r es u l t sw ere c ons i s t e n t w ith p r e f l i gh t p r e d i c t i ons . A l l maneuvers except onewere con t ro l le d by th e d i g i ta l au t op i lo t . Manual t akeover w a s accom-pl i she d dur ing th e th i r d maneuver, and manual th r us t vec to r c on t ro l us ingth e r a t e mode o f t h e s t a b i l i z a t i o n and c on t r o l s yst em w a s s a t i s f a c t o r y .

S t roking t e s t s were per formed dur ing th e second and t h i r d se r v ic epro puls ion maneuvers . These t e s t s involved a preprogrammed sequence ofe ngine g im ba l m ot ions t h a t had been s e l e c t e d t o e xc i t e s t r u c t u r a l bend-in g of t h e docked veh ic l es . Resul ts were as pr e d i c t e d .

A number, of landmark tra ck in g e xe rc is es were performed t o demonstrateth e ya w / r o l l c o n t r o l t e c hnique .caused some d i f f ic u l ty , th e t echnique w a s s a t i s f a c t o r y .Although th e te le sco pe dr i ve problem

The en tr y monitor system performed prope rly whil e monito ring a l lse rv ic e prop uls io n maneuvers . Navigat ion and backup ta rg e t in g dur ingrendezvous were performed suc ces sfu lly . Primary guidance and co nt ro lperformance dur ing entry w a s nominal.

Reaction Control SystemA l l re ac ti o n co nt ro l syst em parameters were normal. The command

module r ea c t io n con tro l sys tem performed normally dur ing e nt ry .The thermal control sys tem i n t h e s e r v i c e m odule r e a c t i on c on t r o l

system maintaine d package temperatu res w ith in t h e normal range of 120"t o 140" F, except dur ing times of f requent engine usage .module eng ine tempe ratu res remained above t h e 28" F lower l i m i t and thehe a t e r s were not r equ i red . A t o t a l o f 813 pounds of se rv ic e module pro-p e l la n t s were used during th e mission, with 225 pounds bein g consumeddu rin g undocked oper atio ns w i t h the lunar module.

The command

During t ransposi t ion and docking , t r an s la t io n c a p ab i l i t y t o t h e l e f td id no t e x i s t be ca us e a l l normal ly open prop e l lan t i so la t i on va lves onquad C and secondary pro pel ian t tank is o la t i o n va lves on quad D wereclo sed . Normal system op era tio n was re tu rn ed when t h e crew reopened the seva lves and no similar disc repanc ie s occur red dur ing the rema inde r of themiss ion .

Se rv ice Propuls ionEig ht se rv ic e prop ulsio n maneuvers were accomplished f o r a t o t a lThe a c tu a l f i r i n g tim es and ve lo c i t yi r i n g dura t ion of 506 seconds.

increments a r e summarized i n tab le 11. With t h e except ion of th e pro-p e l la n t ? k i l i z z t i c x ~_n_? gngi n g sys tem, th e se rv i ce propuls ion systemperformed nomina lly throughout the f l i g h t .


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O per a ti on o f t h e p r ope l l a n t u t i l i z a t i o n and gag ing sys te m w a s sa t i s -f a c to r y u n t i l p r ope l l a n t had bee n de p l e t e d from the s t o r a ge tanks dur ingth e t h i r d s e r v i c e p r opu l s ion maneuver.a b i a s i n t he i nd i c a t e d o x id i z e r qua n t i t y c ause d s e ve r a l c au ti on -and-warning s igna ls dur in g t h i s maneuver. The gaging sys tem w a s d i s a b l e df o r a l l remaining maneuvers u n t i l a s p e c i a l g a gi ng t e s t performed dur ingt h e s ev en th f i r i n g . A n o n -f i ri n g t e s t had i n d i c a t e d s a t i s f a c t o r y o pe ra -t i o n of a l l servo-motor loops and th e c au tio n and warning system, and th egaging system w a s rea c t i va t ed f o r th e seventh maneuver. Results of t h i sf i r i n g i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e o x i d iz e r q u an t i ty i n d i c a t i o n w a s bia sed by about3 pe r c e n t . The b i a s d i sc repancy has been i s o l a t ed t o th e pr imary gagings yst e m o f t he ox id i z e r s t o r a ge tank.

A f te r de p l e t i o n o f t he s e t a nks ,

Environmental Con trol SystemPerformance of t h e environmenta l con tro l sys tem was s a t i s f a c t o r y .

Pres sur iz a t ion of t h e lun a r module was accomplished by in cr ea si ng th ecommand module ca b in pr es su re t o 5.8 psia and then dumping the s toredgas i n t o the lun a r module.

The cabin fans were off f o r most of t h e miss ion. On th e s e ve n th day ,cabin fan 1w a s fo und t o b e i n o p e r a t iv e .

Crew ProvisionsC r e w prov is ion s , inc l udin g th e space-sui t were adequate . The crew

ex per ien ced some di f f i c u l t y maneuvering w it h in t h e command module ca bi nand t r a ns f e r r i ng t o t h e l una r m odule be ca use o f a s t i f f n e s s i n the oxygenum bi l i c a l s .

LUNAR MODULE SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE

Structural and Mechanical SystemsAccelera t ion s measured on th e luna r module dur i ng f i r s t -s ta ge boo st

p r i o r t o cu t of f compared w e l l with va lues obt a ine d dur ing Apol lo 8. Thea c c e l e r a t i o n re sp o ns es i n t h e X and Z a xe s im me diat ely a f t e r f i r s t - s t a g eengine cu tof f were hig her tha n thos e on previou s miss ions . However, th eloads re s u l t i ng f rom th e wors t combina tion of t h e l a t e r a l a nd a x i a la c c e l e r a t i ons were w i th in t h e l una r module s t r u c t u r a l c a p a b i l i t y .


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Thermal ControlThe pass ive and ac t iv e thermal con tro l sys tems performed nominal ly.

A l l da t a i nd i c a t e a c c e p t ab l e t em pe r a tu r e s , a nd no s i g n i f i c a n t t he r m a lproblems were evi den t dur ing th e miss ion. The lu na r module in su la t i o np e r f o r m e d s a t i s f a c t o r i l y , as evidenced by a dro p of on ly 2O F i n b ul kp r op e l l a n t t em pe ra tur e s du r ing t h e f i r s t 42-hour period of dormant oper-a t io n and by t h e nominal 66" t o p0 range of prope l lan t t empera turesf o r t h e m i ss io n .

Elec t r ica l PowerThe descent , a sce nt , and pyro technic b a t te r i e s per formed sa t i s f ac -

t o r i l y . The descent ba t t e r ie s supp l ied 1056 A-h of a nominal t o t a l capa-c i t y of 1600 A-h. The ascent b a t te r i es had de l iv ere d 368 A-h a t t h e com-p l e t i o n o f t h e a s c e n t e ng in e f i r i n g t o d e p l e ti o n f rom a n o m i n a l t o t a lcapacity of 620 A-h. P a r a l l e l i n g of t h e d e s ce n t an d a s c e n t b a t t e r i e s w a sdemonstra ted, and a l l swi tcho ver s were accomplished a s req ui red . The dcbus vo l t a ge w a s maintained above 28.9 V dc, and th e m a x i m u m observed loadw a s 103 amperes . Both in ve r te r s per formed sa t i s f ac to r i ly .

Comuni ca t onsThe communication system adequately su ppo rted t h e missio n. During

t h e S-band backup voice check a t about 50.7 hours , a i r -to-ground t ra ns -missio ns were not recei ved . The crew had config ured fo r continuous i n te r-communica tions only ; th e r e f or e , a t tempted t ransmiss i ons wi thout ac t i va t i ngt h e req uir ed push- to-ta lk switch were unsu ccessful . The only sys temsproblem occurred a t approximately 88 hours , when ac t i va t i on of th e LunarModule P i l o t ' s push- to-ta lk swi tches on th e umbi l ica l and hand co nt ro l l e rf a i l e d t o t r a n s m i t dow nlink v o i c e . I t cannot be ve r i f i e d whether or no tt he s e s w it c he s were c he cked f o r p rope r ope r a t i on a f t e r t h i s d i sc r epa ncyoccurred . The lu na r con f igu ra t i on camera w a s u sed f o r t h e f i r s t t im e,a nd r e s u l t e d i n two t e l e v i s i o n t r a ns m i s sions o f good qu a l i t y .

Ins t rumenta t ionThe performance of the opera t ional ins t rumenta t ion w a s s a t i s f a c t o r y

wi th only minor except ions . The d i sp layed va lues of su pe rc r i t i ca l he l iump r e s s u r e were i n t e r m i t t e n t , b u t an independent telemetry measurement fort h i s p r es s ur e w a s nominal. The t w o descen t-fuel-ta nk tem pera ture measure-ments i nd ica ted random po s i t iv e sh i f t s of approxima te ly 5 O F. The s u i t -discon nect-v alve measurement f o r th e Lunar Module P i l o t w a s i n t e r m i t t e n t ,bu t p r ope r va lve ope r a t i on w a s v e r i f i e d by t h e crew. The wat er q ua n ti ty


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measur ing device i n a sce nt tank 1 ind ica ted abnormal ly h igh water usage .The pressu re sw itch measurement fo r t h ru s t er 4 ( u p ) i n t h e r e a c t i o n con-t r o l s yst em w a s inope ra t ive f rom the i n i t i a l h o t - f i r i n g u n t i l Jus t p r i o rt o doc king , a f t e r w hich t ime it r e m a ine d i n t e r m i t t e n t . A low-level pro-p e l l a n t w arn in g o c cu r re d a f t e r t h e l a s t descent engine f i r ing ; however ,both f u e l and ox id i z e r pa ne l i nd i c a to r s d i s p l a ye d norm al q ua n t i t i e s . Acaution-and-warning s i gn al fo r t h e abo r t guidance system occur red a tapproximately 90 hours and w a s confirmed by telemetry da ta . The systemw a s th en checked by th e crew and found t o be normal,

The development f l i g h t ins t rum enta t ion , inc l udi ng th e VHF, PCM, andC-band transponder l inks , opera ted sa t i s f ac to r i ly . One of th e t empera -t u r e measurements i n th e descent s ta ge engine cavi ty was inope ra t ive f rom2 m inutes be f o r e l i f t - o f f t h rough t h e f i r s t d e sc e nt e n gi ne f i r i n g , b u ta f te rwards , t h e measurement performed s a t i s fa c t o r i l y . The yaw vi br a t io nmeasurement on th6 navigation base w a s i n o p e r a t i v e t hr ou g ho u t t h e f l i g h t .The measurements f o r ox id i z e r i n t e r f a c e p r e s s u r e and s t r u t - 4 s t r a in f o rt h e descent engine ope ra ted imprope rly dur ing t he f i r s t descent propul -s i on s ys t em m aneuver, bu t per fo rm ed s a t i s f a c to r i l y t h e r e a f t e r .

Tracking L ightThe t r a c k ing l i gh t ope r a t e d no rm al ly un t i l a s c e n t s t a ge /de s c e n t

s t a g e se pa r a t i on , a f t e r which i t w a s i n o p e r a t i v e .

RadarThe l a nd ing r a da r s e l f - t e s t w a s accomplished suc ces sfu l ly . The

landing rada r w a s moni tored dur ing the descent engine f i r ing , and noin di ca ti o ns of lock-up were observ ed. The rendezvous ra da r w a s exer-c ised over a range of 260 f ee t t o a pp rox ima tely 100 n. m i . , and a l l d a t aappear t o be wi th in acceptable l i m i t s .

Guidance and ControlGuidance and co n tr ol system performance w a s s a t i s f a c t o r y t h r o u g h o u t

t h e miss io n. While docked, t h e pr imary guidance sys tem w a s a l ig n ed t oa s e t of gimbal angles ca lc ul a t ed on t h e ground f rom spac ecr af t gimbalda ta ; w hi le undocked, th e sys tem w a s a l i gne d w i th t h e al ignme nt o p t i c a lte le s cop e . Both methods appea r t o provide t h e requ i red accuracy . Gyrod r i f t da ta and acce le romete r b i a s measurements ind ica te d s t ab le i n e r t i a lcomponent performance.

The abort guidance system w a s a l ig n ed , c a l i b r a t e d , a nd i n i t i a l i z e dwith t h e pr imary sys tem a number of t i m e s with nomina l r e su l t s . Gyro


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13

and acce lerometer e r ro rs were very sm l l a n d s t a b l e .a t a b o r t s ys te m s t a t e v e ct o r i n i t i a l i z a t i o n f a i l e d b ec au se o f p r o ce d u r alp robl em s. The i n i t i a l i z a t i on f a i l u r e s oc cu r re d w i th t h e t e l e m e t r y s ys-t e m i n t h e low-bi t - ra te mode when no computer information w a s p r e s e n t .All i n i t i a l i z a t i o n at t em pt s du ring h igh - b i t - r a t e ope r a t i on w ere suc ce s s-f u l .

I n i t i a l a tt em pt s

An ab o r t guidan ce sys tem warning alarm occurred dur ing t h e secondpower-up seque nce . The ala rm i s normally caused by ei t h e r a s e l f - t e s tf a i l u r e or by an out -of- l imit s condi t ion , and ind ica t io ns a r e t h a t amalfunct ion occurred i n t h e al arm c i r c u i t , r a t h e r t h a n t h e a b o r t g ui d-ance.

A l l t r an s l a t io n maneuvers were nominal . The pr imary sys tem digi ta la u t o p i l o t c o n t r o l l e d t h e docked d esc en t f i r i n g , t h e a s ce n t e n gi ne f i r i n gt o d e p l e t io n , and a l l but one o f th e rendezvous maneuvers. The ab ortguidance sys tem cont ro l le d th e descent engine op e ra t i on dur ing t he phas-in g maneuver.

All s ign i f i c a n t p r im a r y an d secondary a t t i tu d e co nt ro l modes wereexe rci ed .

Reaction ControlPerformance of th e rea c t io n con tro l sys tem i n a l l modes w a s sa t i s -

fac tor y . Opera t ion of t h e prope l lan t f eed sys tem w a s nominal.Propellant consumption through lunar module docking w a s about

35 perc ent l e s s than pred ic ted . C lu s te r t empera tures were ma in tainedwi th in expec ted ranges .

Descent PropulsionThe descent propuls ion system was opera ted th re e t imes . The f i r s t

f i r i n g , which l a s t e d 370 seconds, was made while th e sp ac ec ra ft weredocked.. A discrepancy w a s no te d i n t h e s u p e r c r i t i c a l he liu m p r e ss u r i z a -t io n sys tem, i n which he lium f low appea red t o be b locked u n t i l approxi -mately 30 seconds a f te r i g n i t i o n .

The l a s t two descent engine f i r in g s were accomplished as a p a r t o frendez vou s. Some roughness w a s experienced during a momentary pause a tt h e 20 p e r c e n t p o i n t w hi le t h r o t t l i n g from 10 t o 40 p e rc e nt t h r u s t d u r i ngt h e se co nd f i r i n g .l a s t f i r i n g w i th t h e p rima ry gag ing p robe s i nd i c a t i n g norm al qu a n t i t i e si n a l l f o u r p r o p e l l a n t t a n k s .

A low-level warning l i g h t w a s a c t i v a t e d d ur in g t h e


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Immedia te ly a f t e r t he f i r s t d es ce nt e ng in e f i r i n g , t h e s u p e r c r i t i c a lhe l ium tan k press ure con t inu a l ly dec reased .upst re am o f t he e x t e r na l he a t exchanger.

Data i n d i c a t e a l e a k oc c u r r e d

Ascent PropulsionAscent propuls ion sys tem parameters du r ing th e co as t pe r iod f roml au nc h t o t h e f i r s t a s c e n t e n g i n e f i r i n g were nominal.

w a s accomplished normally p r i o r t o rendezvous, and t h e 2.9-second i n i t i a lf i r i n g w a s su cce ssf ul l y performed. The second engine f i r i n g of 350 sec-onds w a s success fu l ly comple ted, achiev ing oxid iz e r dep le t io n as planned.Ascent pro puls ion sys tem ope ra t io n w a s nor ma l du r ing t h i s f i r i ng , e xc ep tf o r a ppa r en t l o s s of t h e pr im ar y r e gu l a to r l e g .

P r e s s u r i z a t i o n

Environmental ControlPerformance of t h e environmenta l co nt ro l sys tem w a s adequate. The

Subl imator dryout fol lowed pre-p rima ry w a te r s ub l im a to r s t a r t e d t h r e e times and r e j e c t e d he a t l oa dswhich varied from 4700 t o 8200 Btu /hr .d i c t e d be ha v io r.

The water and oxygen usages were wit hi n pr ed ic te d l i m i t s . The aver-age water consumption w a s approximately 6 l b / h r .usage w a s 0 . 27 l b /h r .

The average oxygen

Cabin leakage w a s l e s s t ha n 0 . 1 l b / h r .t u r e f o r a l l three manned periods w a s 6 7 O k 2O F.The average ca bi n tempera-

FLIGHT CREW PERFORMANCE

C r e w performance w a s e xc e l l e n t t h r oughou t t h e m i s sion , a nd t he f l i g h tw a s conducted e s se nt ia l l y i n accordance wi th th e nominal p la n .P r e p ar a ti o n f o r t r a n s f e r t o t h e l u n a r module r e q u i r e d l o n g er t hana n t i c ipa t e d , p r im a r i l y be c a us e o f t he t i m e r e q u ir e d f o r t h e crewmen t o

don t he s pa c e s u i t s .and a l s o c o n t ri b u t ed t o t h e l o ng e r p r e p a ra t i o n t i m e . A s a r e s u l t , about1hour w a s added t o t h e p r e pa r a t i on t i m e f o r s u bs eq ue nt t r a n s f e r s .

The s u i t supply hoses were a s ou r c e o f i n t e r f e r e nc e

V i s ual and pho tog ra phi c i n s pe c t i on o f t h e e n t i r e s pa c e c r a f t w a saccomplished a f t e r rendezvous and be fo re docking.


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Lunar module activation w a s performed approximately 40 minutes ea r lyon t h e day of rendezvous t o in su re an on- time rendezvous in i t i a t i o n . Theluna r module t r acking l igh t w a s l o s t a t st ag in g , and t h e command modulecould not t r a ck th e lu na r module i n da rkness .

The lunar module VHF te l em etr y and S-band power am pl if ie r were l o s t6 and 1 2 hour s , r e s pe c t i ve ly , a f t e r t h e a s ce n t f i r i n g t o d e p le t io n .These fa i l ur es were expected because of th e l ac k of cool ing . The e lec -t r i c a l s ystem c a p a b i l i t y f o r t h i s s p a ce c r af t w a s s e v e r a l ho u rs l o n g e rth an pred ic ted . Lunar module suppo r t te rm inat ed a t 113:42:00.

On th e s i x t h day , t h e s i x th service propuls ion maneuver w a s delayedby one revo lut i on. The crew repo r ted t h a t t h e +X t r a n s l a t i o n d i d no toccur . A pr oc e dur a l e r r o r w a s made i n load ing t h e command module com-pu te r , s inc e th e Erope r s e rv ice module rea c t i on c on t r o l system quads werenot se le ct ed . The computer was re loaded, and one revolut ion l a t e r , t h emaneuver was made satisfactorily.

The command module telescope stuck several t i m e s a t approximate ly64 degrees .manua lly dr ive t h e t e le scop e , bu t w a s of no s i g n i f i c a n t impact t o t h emiss ion.

This problem req ui re d th e crew t o use a s p e ci a l t o o l t o

The seventh s er vi ce p rop uls i on maneuver w a s inc r eased t o 25 secondsi n d u r a ti o n t o p e rm it a t e s t o f t h e p r o p e l l a n t u t i l i z a t i o n and ga gi ngsystem.

NetworkOvera l l miss ion support by t h e Miss ion Contr ol Center and t h e Manned

Space Flight Network w a s c ons ide r e d s a t i s f a c to r y t h r oughou t t h e miss ion .Mission Co ntro l Cen ter hardware, communications, and computer systemsex pe rie nc ed very few problems wi th no major data losses. Network t e l e m -etry, tracking, and command support were s a t i s f a c t o r y . T h e f e w f a i l u r e swhich were experie nced had minimal impact on Mission Co ntr ol C enteropera t ions . Carnarvon w a s t h e o n l y s i t e which had pe rs i s te n t suppor tproblems i n t h a t t h e command and te lemetry computers exp erien ced out-ages .

HF communications reception during some periods w a s margina l a tsev e ra l s i t e s ; however, th e requirement fo r HF communications w a s ke p ta t a minimumby usin g s a t e l l i t e communications systems when po ss ib le .Although s ev er al minor communications out age s were exper ienced, no s ig-n i f i c a n t da t a l o s s e s w ere e xpe r ie nce d . A number of s i g n if ic an t problemswere experienced wi th air- to-ground communications pri ma ri ly because ofground proced ura l e r ro rs . During th e fo ur th rev ol ut i on , over Guapnas ,


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air - to-ground voic e was lo s t f or approximately 6 minutes .i s a t t r i b u t e d t o a pr oc e dur a l er ror a t t h e Miss ion Con trol Cen ter , whichhad been improper ly conf igured for th e t r ansmiss ions .

T h i s f a i l u r e

D ur ing e x t r a ve h i c u l a r a c t i v i t y , a i r -t o -g r ound t r a ns m i s sions t o t h es p a c e c r a f t were l o s t from Guaymas, Texas, Merr i t t Is l a n d , Bermuda, andUSNS Vanguard s t a t i o n s . Downlink vo ice w a s remoted t o t h e Mission Con-t r o l Center nominal ly dur ing th e same pe r iod . The l o s s of uplink cap-a b i l i t y w a s caused by a combina tion of t h e s ta t i on s be ing conf igured t oup lin k S-band on ly, ra th er tha n S-band and VHF simu ltan eou sly, and t h esp ac ec ra ft crew had t h e S-band volume f u l l y de c r e a s e d as planned. Theproblem w a s fu r ther compl ica ted by t h e in ab i l i t y t o t r ansm i t VHF voicefrom Bermuda because of a s imultaneous t ransmiss ion on tha t f requencyfrom th e l un ar module and a suppress ion of t h e VHF upl ink by t h e cont inu-ously keyed por tab le l i f e support system.

Air-to-ground communications were los t for approxima te ly 3 minutesover Texas d ur ing revo lut ion 119. This f a i l u r e w a s a t t r ib u t e d t o a patch-i n g e r r o r a t Texas.

R e cove r yRecovery of t h e Apollo 9 spacecraft and crew w a s completed i n t h e

West Atl ant ic by t h e pr ime recovery sh i p , USS Guadalcanal.i n g t a b l e i s a l i s t of s ignif icant recovery events on March 13, 1969.The fol low-

EventF i r s t VHF co nt ac tF i r s t beacon and voice contac tF i r s t v i s u a l c o n ta ctLandingSwimmers deployedF l o t a t io n c o l l a r i n s t a l l e dCommand module h a tch openF i r s t a s t r o n a u t a b o ar d h e l i c o p t e rA l l a s t r o n a u ts i n h e li c o p t e rAstronauts on deckCommand module ab oar d rec overy s h i p

G . m . t . ,h r :min16 5116 5716 5917 0717 1417:2717 3917 4617 5019:13

17 01

The command module remained i n t h e s t a b l e I f l o t a t i o n a t t i t u d e .Se a - s t a t e c ond i t i ons were very moderate a t the recove ry s i t e . A pre l imi -na ry p l o t of l anding-poin t data i s shown i n t h e f o l low ing f i gu r e .


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23'20'

23'15'5L0z

23"lO'68'04l 68'001 67 '56 'West longi tude

Landing point data.


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TABLE I.- SEQmNCE OF EVENTS

Time,hr:min:secvent

Launch Phase3ange zero (16:oo:oo G . m . t . )Lif t -off3-IC inboa rd engine cu tof f3-IC outboa rd engine cu tof f3-1~s-11 s e p a r a t i o n3-11 engine ignition commandedI n t e rs t a g e j e t t i s o nLaunch escape tower j e t t i s o n5-11 e ng ine c u to f f2-II/S-IVB s e p a r a t i o n3-IVB e n g i n e i g n i t i o n3-IVB e ng ine c u to f f

Orbi ta l Phase~ ~ ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~

3 r b i t a l i n s e r t i o nCSM/S-IVB separation commandDockingSpacec ra f t e jec t ion f rom S-IVBF i r s t se rv ic e propuls ion maneuverSecond s er v ic e p rop uls ion maneuverThird s er v ic e prop uls io n maneuverFourth se rv ic e propu ls ion maneuverF i r s t descent propulsion maneuverFi f t h se rv ic e prop uls ion maneuverLunar module hatch open for e x t r a v e h i c u l a r a c t i v i t yLunar module h a t c h c l o se d a f t e r e x t r a v e h i c u l a r a c t i v i t y

0 oo Zoo .70 02:14.30 02: 2.80 02 43.40 02 44.20:03 13.50 03 18.30:08:56.20:08:7.20 Og:00.40:11 Oh.

0:ll2 bo3:024:085:59

14.750080500

22 12 O325:17:3828:24:4049 :41 3354 26: 173:oo :oo73: 9:oo


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20

TABLE I.- SEQUENCE OF EVENTS - ConcludedT i m e ,

hr min : e cvent

O r b i t a l Phase - concluded~~

Fi r s t undockingCommand and se rv ic e module/lu nar module s ep ar at io nDescent propulsion phasing maneuverDescent propu ls ion in se r t io n maneuverCoelli tic seque nc,e in i ia tion maneuverConstant del ta height maneuver ( f i r s t a s c e n t p r opu l s ion )Ter m inal pha se i n i t i a t i o nDockingSecond undockingA scen t p r o p ul s io n f i r i n g t o d e p l e t i o nSix th se r v ic e propul s ion maneuverSeventh service propuls ion maneuverEighth serv ice propu ls ion maneuver (d eo rb i t )

~~~

Entry Phase

9 2 : 8 : 19 3 0 2 : 393 : 47 : 3495:39 :0796 :16 :0496 : 8 : 497 :57 :5999 :03:00

1 0 1 2 : 41 0 1 3 : 4123 :25 :06169 :38 : 9240 :31 : 4

Command mod d / se r v i ce mod d .e se pa r a ti nEnt r y i n t e r f a c e (400 000 f e e t a l t i t u d e )Begin blackoutEnd blackoutDrogue deploymentMain parachute deploymentLanding

240 :36 :10240 : 4 : 3240 : 7 : 0240 : 0 : 2240 : 4: 47240 :55:3 4241:OO: 53


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apollo 9 mission 5 day report

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