DOCSLIB.ORG

Devices to Control Unmanned Apollo Flights

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Devices to Control Unmanned Apollo Flights 2018 - Vol. 25 - No. 3 spacehistory101.com THE HISTORY OF SPACEFLIGHT QUARTERLY A HISTORY OF SOVIET/RUSSIAN MISSILE EARLY WARNING SATELLITES - PART II DEVICES TO CONTROL UNMANNED APOLLO FLIGHTS AN INTERVIEW WITH HAROLD B. FINGER: NUCLEAR INVESTIGATIONS REAL SPACE MODELING GEORGE ABBEY: THE ASTRONAUT MAKER Contents Volume 25 • Number 3 2018 www.spacehistory101.com FEATURES BOOK REVIEWS 71 Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic 3 A History of Soviet/Russian Missile Early Warning First Mission to Pluto Satellites—Part II Book by Alan Stern and David Grinspoon By Bart Hendrickx Review by Michael J. Neufeld 27 Devices to Control Unmanned Apollo Flights 72 Space Science and the Arab World: By Edgar Durbin Astronauts, Observatories and Nationalism in the Middle East ORAL HISTORY Edited by Jӧrg Matthias Determann Review by Christopher Gainor 39 An Interview with Harold B. Finger: Nuclear Investigations Interview by Kevin M. Rusnak FRONT COVER CAPTION An image from a September 1964 Aerojet report BIOGRAPHY / BOOK REVIEW showing the locations of test instruments overlaid on top of a graph showing the fast neutron and gamma 58 George Abbey: ray radiation flux around the NERVA nuclear rocket engine at power. The Astronaut Maker—How One Mysterious Engineer Ran Human Spaceflight for a Generation Please note that two words (GAGE and etimated) are Book by Michael Cassutt misspelled in the original image. Profile and review by Glen E. Swanson Credit: Aerojet ARCHIVES & MUSEUMS 66 Real Space Modeling By Keith J. Scala Images Courtesy: Heritage Auctions F EATURE DEVICES TO CONTROL UNMANNED APOLLO FLIGHTS By Edgar Durbin nauts for these tests, NASA devel- The third device controlled the oped three devices. Lunar Module (LM) during Apollos Introduction The first was needed for mis- 5, 9, and 10. Many components Several Apollo missions were sion AS-201, the only Apollo space- were developed for the Apollo pro- flown without crews to test space- craft launched on a Saturn rocket gram, including the spacecraft, craft hardware and software to avoid that did not carry a Primary launch vehicle, mission control, risk to astronauts. These missions Guidance, Navigation, and Control tracking network, and other ele- tested equipment and rehearsed System (PGNCS). ments. Table 1 lists Apollo launches maneuvers that would be performed The second was used on mis- using Saturn IB and Saturn V rock- under astronaut control during oper- sions AS-202 and Apollos 4 and 6. ets. Shaded area denotes missions ational flights. To replace the astro- These four missions tested carrying the control devices dis- Command Module (CM) reentry. cussed in this article. MISSION LAUNCH VEHICLE RESULT AS-201 26-Feb-66 Saturn IB - CSM Sub-orbital unmanned CM reentry, SM engine test Sub-orbital unmanned CM reentry, SM engine test with AS-202 25-Aug-66 Saturn IB - CSM Primary Guidance and Navigation System (PGNCS) AS-203 5-Jul-66 Saturn IB Earth orbit of S-IVB stage, S-IVB restart Apollo 1 27-Jan-67 Saturn IB - CSM Fire in CM on launch pad, killed crew First Saturn V flight, unmanned CSM Earth orbit, test of Apollo 4 9-Nov-67 Saturn V - CSM - LTA S-IVB restart, CM reentry Unmanned LM Earth orbit, test of descent and ascent Apollo 5 22-Jan-68 Saturn IB - LM engines S-IVB failed to restart, TLI demo aborted, unmanned Apollo 6 4-Apr-68 Saturn V - CSM - LTA CM reentry Apollo 7 11-Oct-68 Saturn IB - CSM Manned CM Earth orbit and reentry Apollo 8 21-Dec-68 Saturn V - CSM Manned CSM lunar orbit Manned CSM and LM Earth orbit, EVA, separation and Apollo 9 3-Mar-69 Saturn V - CSM - LM rendezvous Apollo 10 18-May-69 Saturn V - CSM - LM Manned lunar orbit and partial lunar descent Apollo 11 16-Jul-69 Saturn V - CSM - LM Manned lunar landing, EVA (Extravehicular Activity) Apollo 12 14-Nov-69 Saturn V - CSM - LM Precision manned lunar landing near Surveyor 3, EVA SM oxygen tank explosion aborted mission, shortened Apollo 13 11-Apr-70 Saturn V - CSM - LM to translunar return Apollo 14 31-Jan-71 Saturn V - CSM - LM Manned lunar landing, EVA Manned lunar landing, exploration in Lunar Roving Apollo 15 26-Jul-71 Saturn V - CSM - LM Vehicle (LRV), lunar subsatellite launch, EVA Manned lunar landing, exploration in LRV, lunar sub- Apollo 16 16-Apr-72 Saturn V - CSM - LM satellite launch, EVA Apollo 17 7-Dec-72 Saturn V - CSM - LM Manned lunar landing, exploration in LRV, EVA Table 1. Saturn IB and V launches in the Apollo program. The launch vehicles for the missions discussed in this article are shown in Figure 1. Q U E S T 25:3 2018 27 www.spacehistory101.com Figure 2. Command Service Figure 1. Launch vehicles for missions Module (CSM).3 discussed in this article.1 Mission Vehicles and Service Module (CSM). Three of the four Reaction The Launch Escape System (LES) at the top of the Control System (RCS) clusters of rockets attached to the vehicles carrying a CM could pull the astronauts away SM that determined CSM attitude can be seen. The bell- from a malfunctioning Saturn early in the launch. The shaped nozzle of the Service Propulsion System (SPS) LES was jettisoned soon after the first stage had shut rocket engine is at the bottom of the figure. High-pres- down and the second stage ignited. The Spacecraft sure helium forced SPS propellants2 out of their tanks Lunar Module Adapter (SLA) was designed to house the into the combustion chamber. However, in the weight- LM, but was empty on AS-201 and AS-202. Apollos 4 less condition of orbital and coasting flight, liquids can and 6 carried LM Test Articles (LTA), test vehicles that drift away from the outlets leading to the combustion did not leave the SLA. Apollos 5, 9, and 10 carried LMs chamber. To prevent helium from entering the combus- that maneuvered after separation from the SLA and the tion chamber, it was necessary to settle the fuels by CM. The Instrument Unit (IU) contained the navigation, “ullage” burns of the RCS to force the liquids to the out- guidance, control, and communications systems that lets before opening the fuel valves. controlled the mission up to separation of the spacecraft The CM appears in Figure 3. The pitch, roll, and from the S-IVB. yaw RCS engines gave full control of CM attitude after Figure 2 shows the combined Command Module separation from the Service Module. Q U E S T 25:3 2018 28 www.spacehistory101.com First Device: Automated Control System Apollo-Saturn 201 (AS-201) had many objectives. The Apollo Program Flight Summary Report list of AS-201’s goals cov- ers three-and-a-half pages.5 It was the first— Saturn IB flight; Mission controlled by the Mission Control Center (MCC) in the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston; Flight of the Block I Command Module (CM) and Service Module (SM); Start and restart of the Service Propulsion System (SPS), the main rocket carried by the SM; Recovery of the CM after reentry Figure 3. Command Module (CM).4 through the atmosphere. The non-orbital flight lasted 37 minutes, starting at Cape Figure 4. Trajectory and Kennedy and ending with splashdown of events of AS-201.12 the CM in the Atlantic 8,476 km away. See Figure 4. (The legend for Figure 4 and the list of major events are given in Table 2.) The Saturn IB vehicle had two pow- ered stages: the S-IB first stage and the S- IVB second stage. The S-IB lifted the mis- LABEL EVENT TIME (sec) VEHICLE sion to 58.9 km altitude 62.0 km downrange in 2.44 1 Launch 0.0 S-IB minutes.6 It separated from the S-IVB, which fired its Start pitch and roll 11.20 S-IB single gimbaled J-1 engine for 7.56 minutes7 and shut Roll stop 20.55 S-IB Pitch stop 134.39 S-IB down at 250.5 km altitude 1592.3 km downrange. 2 S-IB cutoff 146.9 S-IB (The step in the trajectory during the early part of the S-IB/S-IVB separation 147.76 S-IVB S-IVB firing was due to the difference between the S-IVB ignition 149.35 S-IVB LES tower jettison 172.64 S-IVB thrust of the S-IB and the S-IVB. At the end of the S- 3 S-IVB cutoff 602.9 S-IVB IB flight the acceleration due to the eight H-1 engines S-IVB pitch down start 613.95 S-IVB of the S-IB (thrust/mass) was 41.6 m/sec2, whereas at 4 S-IVB pitch down end 728.3 S-IVB 5 S-IVB/CSM separate 844.9 S-IVB S-IVB ignition its single J-1 engine produced RCS +X translation 1 on 846.7 CSM thrust/mass of only 7.25 m/sec2)8 As the S-IVB/CSM RCS +X translation 1 off 864.6 CSM vehicle continued to coast, the Instrument Unit con- 6 CSM apogee 1020.0 CSM 9 RCS +X translation 2 on 1181.2 CSM trolled a pitch down of 109.15 degrees to put the 7 SPS burn 1 start 1211.2 CSM CSM in the attitude at which the Service Module RCS +X translation 2 off 1212.2 CSM would later fire its Service Propulsion System 8 SPS burn 1 end 1395.2 CSM 10 RCS +X translation 3 on 1395.7 CSM (SPS). The CSM separated from the S IVB and 9 SPS burn 2 start 1410.7 CSM fired the RCS for 18 sec in the +X direction (toward RCS +X translation 3 off 1420.7 CSM the pointed end of the CM) to increase their separa- 10 SPS burn 2 end 1420.7 CSM 11 C/SM separate 1455.0 CSM tion.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Progress Report on Apollo Program
    PROGRESS REPORT ON APOLLO PROGRAM Michael Collins, LCol. USAF (M) Astronaut NASA-MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER It is a great pleasure to be here today and to greet you hardy suMvors of the pool party. I will do my best to avoid loud noises and bright colors during my status report. Since the last SETP Symposium, the Apollo Program has been quite busy in a number of different areas. (Figure 1) My problem is to sift through this information and to talk only about those things of most interest to you. First, to review briefly our hardware, we are talking about two different spacecraft and two different boosters. (Figure 2) The Command Module is that part of the stack COLLINS which makes the complete round trip to the moon. Attached to it is the Service Module, containing expendables and a 20,000 pound thrust engine for maneuverability. The Lunar Module will be carried on later flights and is the landing vehicle and active rendezvous partner. The uprated Saturn I can put the Command and Service Modules into earth orbit; the Saturn V is required when the Lunar Module is added. Since the last symposium, we have flown the Command and Service Modules twice and the Lunar Module once, all unmanned. Apollo 4, the first Saturn V flight, was launched in November 1967. (Figure 3) The Saturn V did a beautiful, i.e. nominal, job of putting the spacecraft into earth parking orbit. After a coast period, the third stage (S-IVB by McDonnell Douglas) was ignited a second time, achieving a highly elliptical orbit.
    [Show full text]
  • PEANUTS and SPACE FOUNDATION Apollo and Beyond
    Reproducible Master PEANUTS and SPACE FOUNDATION Apollo and Beyond GRADE 4 – 5 OBJECTIVES PAGE 1 Students will: ö Read Snoopy, First Beagle on the Moon! and Shoot for the Moon, Snoopy! ö Learn facts about the Apollo Moon missions. ö Use this information to complete a fill-in-the-blank fact worksheet. ö Create mission objectives for a brand new mission to the moon. SUGGESTED GRADE LEVELS 4 – 5 SUBJECT AREAS Space Science, History TIMELINE 30 – 45 minutes NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS ö 5-ESS1 ESS1.B Earth and the Solar System ö 3-5-ETS1 ETS1.B Developing Possible Solutions 21st CENTURY ESSENTIAL SKILLS Collaboration and Teamwork, Communication, Information Literacy, Flexibility, Leadership, Initiative, Organizing Concepts, Obtaining/Evaluating/Communicating Ideas BACKGROUND ö According to NASA.gov, NASA has proudly shared an association with Charles M. Schulz and his American icon Snoopy since Apollo missions began in the 1960s. Schulz created comic strips depicting Snoopy on the Moon, capturing public excitement about America’s achievements in space. In May 1969, Apollo 10 astronauts traveled to the Moon for a final trial run before the lunar landings took place on later missions. Because that mission required the lunar module to skim within 50,000 feet of the Moon’s surface and “snoop around” to determine the landing site for Apollo 11, the crew named the lunar module Snoopy. The command module was named Charlie Brown, after Snoopy’s loyal owner. These books are a united effort between Peanuts Worldwide, NASA and Simon & Schuster to generate interest in space among today’s younger children.
    [Show full text]
  • APOLLO EXPERIENCE REPORT - THERMAL PROTECTION SUBSYSTEM by Jumes E
    NASA TECHNICAL NOTE NASA TN D-7564 w= ro VI h d z c Q rn 4 z t APOLLO EXPERIENCE REPORT - THERMAL PROTECTION SUBSYSTEM by Jumes E. Puulosky und Leslie G, St. Leger Ly12d012 B. Johlzson Space Center Honst0~2, Texus 77058 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, 0. C. JANUARY 1974 ~--_. - .. 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. D-7564 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date January 1974 APOLLOEXPERIENCEREPORT THERMAL PROTECTION SUBSYSTEM 6. Performing Organization Code I 7. Author(s) I 8. Performing Organization Report No. JSC S-383 James E. Pavlosky and Leslie G. St. Leger, JSC 10. Work Unit No. I 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 11. Contract or Grant No. Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas 77058 13. Type of Report and Period Covered 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 14. Sponsoring Agency Code National Aeronautics and SDace Administration Washington, D. C. 20546 1 15. Supplementary Notes The JSC Director waived the use of the International System of Units (SI) for this Apollo Experienc Report because, in his judgment, the use of SI units would impair the usefulness of th'e report or result in excessive cost. 16. Abstract The Apollo command module was the first manned spacecraft to be designed to enter the atmos- phere of the earth at lunar-return velocity, and the design of the thermal protection subsystem for the resulting entry environment presented a major technological challenge. Brief descrip- tions of the Apollo command module thermal design requirements and thermal protection con- figuration, and some highlights of the ground and flight testing used for design verification of the system are presented.
    [Show full text]
  • Project: Apollo 8
    v ._. I / I NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION TELS WO 2-4155 NEWS WASHINGTON,D.C.20546 • WO 3-6925 FOR RELEASE: SUNDAY December 15, 1968 RELEASE NO: 68.208 P PROJECT: APOLLO 8 R E contents GENERAL RELEASE----------~-------~·~-~-~--~~----~----~-~--~-l-lO MISSION OBJECTIVES------------------------------------------11 SEQUENCE OF EVENTS-------------~-------------~----~----~--~~12-14 5 Launch W1ndow~~-~----~--~-~--~-------~-----~---------w--~-14 MISSION DESCRIPTION-----------------------------------------15-19 FLIGHT PLAN--~---~-----·------------~------~----~---~----~--20-23 ALTERNATE MISSIONS---------------------------------~--------24-26 5 ABORT MODES-----~--------------~--~--~------------~---~~--~-27~29 PHOTOGRAPHIC TASKS------------------------------------------30-32 SPACECRAFT STRUCTURE SYSTEMS--------------------------------33-37 SATURN V LAUNCH VEHICLE-------------------------------------38-50 APOLLO 8 LAUNCH OPERATIONS----------------------------------51.64 MISSION CONTROL CENTER--------------------------------------65-66 MANNED SPACE FLIGHT NETWORK---------------------------------67-71 APOLLO 8 RECOVERY-------------------------------------------72-73 APOLLO 8 CREW-------------~--~--~~-~~---~---~~~-------------74-86 K LUNAR DESCRIPTION-------------------------------------------87-88 APOLLO PROGRAM MANAGEMENT/CONTRACTORS---~-------------------39-94 I APOLLO 8 GLOSSARY-------- -----------------------------------95-101 T -0- 12/6/68 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WO 2-4155 NEWS WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546 TELS.
    [Show full text]
  • Apollo Over the Moon: a View from Orbit (Nasa Sp-362)
    chl APOLLO OVER THE MOON: A VIEW FROM ORBIT (NASA SP-362) Chapter 1 - Introduction Harold Masursky, Farouk El-Baz, Frederick J. Doyle, and Leon J. Kosofsky [For a high resolution picture- click here] Objectives [1] Photography of the lunar surface was considered an important goal of the Apollo program by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The important objectives of Apollo photography were (1) to gather data pertaining to the topography and specific landmarks along the approach paths to the early Apollo landing sites; (2) to obtain high-resolution photographs of the landing sites and surrounding areas to plan lunar surface exploration, and to provide a basis for extrapolating the concentrated observations at the landing sites to nearby areas; and (3) to obtain photographs suitable for regional studies of the lunar geologic environment and the processes that act upon it. Through study of the photographs and all other arrays of information gathered by the Apollo and earlier lunar programs, we may develop an understanding of the evolution of the lunar crust. In this introductory chapter we describe how the Apollo photographic systems were selected and used; how the photographic mission plans were formulated and conducted; how part of the great mass of data is being analyzed and published; and, finally, we describe some of the scientific results. Historically most lunar atlases have used photointerpretive techniques to discuss the possible origins of the Moon's crust and its surface features. The ideas presented in this volume also rely on photointerpretation. However, many ideas are substantiated or expanded by information obtained from the huge arrays of supporting data gathered by Earth-based and orbital sensors, from experiments deployed on the lunar surface, and from studies made of the returned samples.
    [Show full text]
  • Apollo 7 Mission Report December 1968
    oolt_o,.IoJo Ioeloolo_oIQeieIolo_le= :::::::::::::::::::::::........... MSC-PA-R-68-15 °°,°°,°%=*oQ*.,oI,,,*°io°%%-°°° %Io%%oloooootoolliol "_ NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION :.:,.......... .%%o.'ao.'aoa'.%*e" I .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. ==-..-.-,%,o,=O= °%* :-:':.:.:.:':-:':.:C': t.¢3 ":':':':':':':':':':':" t'_ .'-o%%°..Q.',%.o...'.°•°.%'='• • i ::::::::::::::::::::::: ¢O .:.:.:.:,:.:.:•:.:.:.:, '_ %%%%:::::::::::::::::::::::*:%°...%-.%. APOLLO 7 MISSION REPORT _ i .:•:,:.:':.:.:•:.:.:.:, ,4: ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: | o%%%%%°o=o%•o%•o 0 ::::::::::::::::::::::: (/) .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. _ =_iiiiii!_iiiiiiiiiiiiiii ,oO.%Oo%,,o.%,.-.o,- ..,,,,oo,o,. oo.o,,,oo,o•ooo.,,oo,o. ,o,,,,•oo,o oo.°ooo,...o•°.,,,.o,,o • ., .... ,o,.o ,°,,o.,o,,,. •.,,,ooo,oo,,.,,.,,o.,o ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: .=%Oo=..=*oO.-.°..=%. ::::::::::::::::::::::: i:i:!:i:!:i:i:i:i:i:i:i ,,,:::::::::::=,o.,,.,. ::::::::::::::::::::::: iii!!iiiiiii!!!!!!!!! .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. • • • • • o_%%%,o• ::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::: • ,,_•o%O_%%,.%o • • ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: Oo,o,,O•,,O,Oo%,.,o%• ::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::: DISTRIBUTION AND REFERENCING .,.,,.o.,o, ...oo,o,,,o.%-.-,,°,,,o,oo o=o,.-,, •:.:,:.:,:,:,:.:,:.:.:, This
    [Show full text]
  • THE EARLY APOLLO PROGRAM Project Apollo Was an American Space Project Which Landed People on the Moon and Brought Them Safely Back to Earth
    AIAA AEROSPACE M ICRO-LESSON Easily digestible Aerospace Principles revealed for K-12 Students and Educators. These lessons will be sent on a bi-weekly basis and allow grade-level focused learning. - AIAA STEM K-12 Committee. THE EARLY APOLLO PROGRAM Project Apollo was an American space project which landed people on the Moon and brought them safely back to Earth. Most people know about Apollo 1, in which three astronauts lost their lives in a fire during a countdown rehearsal, and about Apollo 8, which flew to the Moon, orbited around it, and returned to Earth. Just about everybody knows about Apollo 11, which first landed astronauts on the Moon. But what happened in between these missions? This lesson explores the lesser-known but still essential building blocks of the later missions’ success. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): ● Discipline: Engineering Design ● Crosscutting Concept: Systems and System Models ● Science & Engineering Practice: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions GRADES K-2 K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. NASA engineers knew that Apollo astronauts would need special training to succeed in their missions to the moon, but how could they train under conditions similar to those the crew would encounter? One answer was to send them to places with barren areas and volcanic features that were like what they expected to find on the lunar surface. The astronauts received geology training as well as practicing maneuvers in their spacesuits and driving a replica of the GRADES K-2 (CONTINUED) lunar rover vehicle.
    [Show full text]
  • APOLLO 6,7, and a BLACKOUT TEST RESULTS
    X-550-69-277 PREPRINT APOLLO6,7, AND a BLACKOUT TEST RESULTS JOHN W. MARINI FREDERICK W. HAGER JULY 1969 - GOODARD SPACE FLIGHT GREENBELT, MARYLAND X-550-69-277 PREPRINT APOLLO 6, 7, AND 8 BLACKOUT TEST RESULTS John W. Marini Frederick W. Hager* JULY 1.969 dendix Employee under contract to GSFC, Con!rcet Number NASS-10750. Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maiyland APOLLO 6, 7, AND 8 BLACKOUT TEST RESULTS John W. Marini Frederick W. Hager ABSTRACT S-band communication blackout measurements made during the reentry phases of the Apollo 6, 7, and 8 mis- sions are presented. The occurrence of blackout as a function of the altitude and speed of the reentering Apollo Command Module are compared with a cheoretical curve. The agreement is good at the high speed end of the curve, but poor for the one point available at the low speed end. iii CONTENTS I . INTRODUCTION .................................. 1 II . APOLLO-6 REENTRY .............................. A . NASA 427 Data ................................. B. "WatertowP Data ............................... C . Results ...................................... IZI . APOLLO-7 REENTRY .............................. A . MIL. GBM and NASA 427 Anomalous Loss of Si,- 1 ........ 3 B . ARIA 5 Data ................................... 4 c . Results ...................................... 4 IV . APOLLO-8 REENTRY .............................. 4 A. ARZAlData ................................... 7 B . Results ...................................... 7 V . CONCLUSIONS ................................... 7 REFERENCES ...................................... 8 I iv APOLLO 6, 7, AND 8 BLACKOUT TEST RESULTS I. a INTROIlUCTION This report contains the results of S-band (2287.5 MHz) blackout (Reference 1) measurements taken during the reentry phases of the Apollo 6, 7, and 8 mis- sion,. The measurements of the occurrence of blackout are compared with a theoretical prediction curve developed ut.
    [Show full text]
  • Apollo Navigation, Guidance, and Control Systems a Progress Report
    Date&$+& 7 INSTRUMENTATION LABORATORY Presented at the National Space Meeting of the Institute of Navigation, April 22-24, 1969, Houston, Texas. E-2411 APOLLO NAVIGATION, GUIDANCE, AND CONTROL SYSTEMS A PROGRESS REPORT David G. Hoag APRIL 1969 CAMBRIDGE 39, MASSACHUSETTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT This report was prepared under DSR Project 55-23870, sponsored by the Manned Spacecraft Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administr.ation through Contract NAS 9-4065 with the Instrumentation Laboratory of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The publication of this report does not constitute approval by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the findings or the con- clusions contained therein. It is published only for the exchange and stimulation of ideas. E-2411 APOLLO NAVIGATION, GUIDANCE, AND CONTROL SYSTEMS A PROGRESS REPORT ABSTRACT The status of certain aspects of the Apollo navigation, guidance, and control systems in the command module and lunar module are examined on the basis of experience with the first eight development flights . Covered in this paper are facets of the inertial, optical, and computer hardware operation. The application of these hardware subsystems to the digital autopilots, rendezvous navigation, midcourse navigation, and entry are examined. The systems are judged to be fully ready to help a crew of astronauts land on the moon. by David G. Hoag April 1969 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Title .-Page l-NTRODUCTION . , . , . 1 NAVIGATION, GUIDANCE, AND CONTROL FUNCTIONS . , 1 SYSTEM DESCRIPTION. Command Module System . LUNAR MODULE SYSTEM. * * * * * * * * -. *. - . * .4 FLIGHT EXPERIENCE . * ., . .6 THE INERTIAL MEASUREMENT UN‘IT..:. .6 Gyro or Accelerometer Failure Prediction .......... 6 Accelerator Performance. ............. ; ...8 Gyro Performance ...................
    [Show full text]
  • 19760022256.Pdf
    NASA TECHNICAL NASA TM x-73073 MEMORANDUM 0 roSKYLAB LESSONS LEARNED AS APPLICABLE TO A LARGE SPACE STATION William C. Schneider Office Of Space Flight Headquarters NASA April 1976 Report On Period 1967-1974 National Aeronautics And Space Administration Washington, D. C. 20546 .76-293 4 _ ~SyyJAB LESSONS LanD - ., - X-373) _ I,, sTATION, (-&ASA-M- O A LARGE SIACB . Uiv. of JnclaS AP tIcABLEpfl Thesis pr6- 97 Ph.D. T e~ - CatholiC CSC 223 3 1 48953 1 (ASA) 286 P HC $9.25 C 9 AM 28 ?324 %C 197, P' S INDEX SUMMARY I INTRODUCTION 3 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF PAPER 3 GENERAL DESCRIPTION 3 HISTORY OF SKYLAB 21 MISSION SUMMARY 35 SKYLAB LESSONS LEARNED 74 INTRODUCTION 74 LESSONS LEARNED 75 COMMENTS BY SKYLAB OFFICIALS 120 INTRODUCTION 120 COMMENTS 120 LETTERS 130 AXIOMS 173 CONCLUS IONS 174 ACRONYMS 177 APPENDIX I - HA-RDWARE DESCRIPTION 178 APPRENIX II - EXPERIMENT DESCRIPTION 217 REFERENCES 279 BIBLOGRAPHY 282 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. NASA TMX-73073 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date April 1976 Skylab Lessons Learned As Applicable To A Large 6. Performing Organization Code Space Station 7. Author(si 8. Performing Organization Report No. William C. Schneider 10. Work Unit No. 9. Performing Organization Name and Address NASA Headquarters, Office of Space Flight 11 Contrac or Grant No. 13. Type of Report and Period Covered 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Technical Memorandum pTQr7- g7a) National Aeronautics and Space Administration 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, D.C. 20546 15. Supplementary Notes Report prepared for variety of purposes; History records; reference; training; dissertation for Doctoral Thesis at Catholic University of America.
    [Show full text]
  • John F. Kennedy Space Center, Operations and Checkout Building) First Street, Between Avenue D and Avenue E Cape Canaveral Brevard County Florida
    CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, LAUNCH COMPLEX 39, HAER FL-8-11-E ALTITUDE CHAMBERS FL-8-11-E (John F. Kennedy Space Center, Operations and Checkout Building) First Street, between Avenue D and Avenue E Cape Canaveral Brevard County Florida PHOTOGRAPHS WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD SOUTHEAST REGIONAL OFFICE National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior 100 Alabama St. NW Atlanta, GA 30303 HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, LAUNCH COMPLEX 39, ALTITUDE CHAMBERS, (John F. Kennedy Space Center, Operation & Checkout Building) HAERNo. FL-8-11-E Location: Within the Operations and Checkout Building High Bay First Street, between Avenue D and Avenue E Cape Canaveral Brevard County Florida U.S.G.S. 7.5. minute Cape Canaveral, Florida, quadrangle, Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 17.534600.3155100 Date of Installation: 1965 Designer/ Manufacturer: Stokes Equipment Division of the Pennsalt Chemical Corporation (now Pennwalt Corporation), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Installer: Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel Corporation; Elsbery Corporation; Fischer Electric Corporation Present Owner: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899-0001 Present Use: Test facility (Chamber R); inactive (Chamber L) Significance: The two Altitude Chambers sit within the High Bay of the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building. The O&C Building is located in the Industrial Area of the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The O&C Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2000 in recognition of its exceptional importance at the national level in the context of the Apollo program, for which it was used to assemble and test the Apollo spacecraft before launching.
    [Show full text]
  • PROJECT APOLLO the Tough Decisions
    NASA SP-2007-4537 Robert C. Seamans, Jr. PROJECT APOLLO The Tough Decisions Monographs in Aerospace History Number 37 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of External Relations History Division Washington. DC 2007 Table of Contents iv List of Figures vii Acknowledgments ix Foreword 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 5 Chapter 2: Eisenhower’s Legacy 11 Chapter 3: The Kennedy Challenge 57 Chapter 4: Johnson’s Solid Support 83 Chapter 5: NASA Management 107 Chapter 6: The Grand Finale 117 Chapter 7: The Aftermath 127 Appendix 1 131 Appendix 2 139 Appendix 3 143 About the Author 145 Acronyms and Abbreviations 149 NASA Monographs in Aerospace History Series 151 Index iii List of Figures Page 13 Figure 1 Results of a study commissioned on 6 January 1961 and chaired by George Low. These findings were available on 7 February 1961. Page 14 Figure 2 NASA Management Triad in the office of James E. Webb (center). He and Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr. (right), listen as Dr. Hugh Dryden (left) has the floor. (NASA Image Number 66-H-93) Page 15 Figure 3 Sergey P. Korolev, founder of the Soviet space program, shown here in July 1954 with a dog that had just returned to Earth after a lob to an altitude of 100 kilometers on an R-1d rocket. Page 21 Figure 4 President John F. Kennedy congratulates astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., the first American in space, on his historic 5 May 1961 ride in the Freedom 7 spacecraft and presents him with the NASA Distinguished Service Award. (NASA Image Number 1961ADM-13) Page 22 Figure 5 Formation of USSR and U.S.
    [Show full text]