Apollo 8 Mission Report

Apollo 8 Mission Report

�2Sons l1YL.,.t MSC-PA-R-69-1 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION APOLLO 8 MISSION REPORT DISTRIBUTIOtt Atoll;) REFEREttCING This paper is not suitable for general distribution or referencing. It may be referenced 1 only in other working corre•pondence and documents by participating organizations. MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER HOUSTON,TEXAS FEBRUARY 1969 MSC-PA-R-69-l APOLLO 8 MISSION REPORT PREPARED BY Mission Evaluation Team APPROVED BY George M. Low Manager, Apollo Spacecraft Program NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER HOUSTON , TEXAS February 1969 Apollo 8 lift-off . iii CONTENTS Section Page 1.0 SUMMARY 1-1 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2-1 3.0 MISSION DESCRIPTION 3-1 4.0 THE MOON . .. 4-1 4.1 PHOTOGRAPHIC OBJECTIVES 4-1 4.2 FILM DESCRIPTION AND PROCESSING 4-2 4.3 PHOTOGRAPHIC RESULTS 4-5 4.4 CREW OBSERVATIONS 4-9 4.5 LUNAR LIGHTING OBSERVATIONS 4-10 4.6 INFORMAL OBSERVATIONS FROM EARTH 4-10 5.0 TRAJECTORY . 5-1 5.1 LAUNCH PHASE 5-1 5.2 EARTH PARKING ORBIT .5-1 5.3 TRANSLUNAR INJECTION 5-2 5.4 TRANSLUNAR MIDCOURSE CORRECTIONS 5-2 5.5 Lill�AR ORBIT INSERTION 5-3 5.6 TRANSEARTH INJECTION . 5-3 5.7 TRANSEARTH MIDCOURSE CORRECTION 5-3 5.8 ENTRY 5-3 5.9 TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS 5-4 5.10 LUNAR ORBIT DETERMINATION 5-4 6.0 COMMAND AND SERVICE MJDULE PERFORMANCE 6-1 6 .1 STRUCTURAL AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS 6-1 6.2 AERODYNAMICS .. 6-9 6.3 THERMAL CONTROL 6-11 6.4 HEAT PROTECTION SYSTEM 6-13 6.5 ELECTRICAL POWER • 6-14 6.6 CRYOGENIC STORAGE 6-21 6.7 COMMUNICATIONS . 6-24 iv Section Page 6.8 INSTRUMENTATION 6-39 6.9 GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION, AND CONTROL SYSTEMS 6-40 6.10 REACTION CONTROL SYSTEMS 6-71 6.11 SERVICE PROPULSION 6-78 6.12 CREW SYSTEMS 6-88 6.13 CREW STATION 6-95 6.14 CONSUMABLES 6-96 FLIGHT CREW 7-1 7.1 FLIGHT CREW PERFORMANCE 7-1 7.2 PILOTS' REPORT 7-15 8.0 BIOMEDICAL EVALUATION 8-1 8.1 BIOINSTRUMENTATION PERFORMANCE 8-1 8.2 PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA . 8-2 8.3 MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS 8-3 8.4 FOOD • 8-5 8.5 WATER 8-5 8.6 PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS 8-6 9.0 MISSION SUPPORT PERFORMANCE 9-1 9.1 FLIGHT CONTROL • . 9-1 9.2 NETWORK PERFORMANCE 9-3 9.3 RECOVERY OPERATIONS 9-4 10 .0 LAUNCH VEHICLE PERFORMANCE . 10-1 11 .0 ASSESSMENT OF MISSION OBJECTIVES 11-1 11 .1 MIDCOURSE NAVIGATION /STAR-EARTH LANDMARK ( Sl. 32 ) . • . 11-1 11 .2 LUNAR LANDMARK TRACKING (P20 .111 ) 11-2 12 .0 ANOMALY SU MMARY 12-1 12 .1 ENTRY MONITOR SYSTEM ERRORS 12-1 12 .2 WINDOW FOGGING . 12-2 12 .3 NOISY CABIN FANS 12-3 12 .4 POSSIBILITY OF WATER INFLOW THROUGH CABIN PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE . • . 12-3 v Section Page 12 .5 BROKEN RECOVERY LOOP CABLES 12-4 12 .6 LACK OF SWIMMER INTERCOMMUNICATIONS 12-4 12 .7 POTABLE WATER TANK QUANTITY MEASUREMENT 12-5 12 .8 FUEL CELL DEGRADATION DURING COUNTDOWN 12-5 13.0 CONCLUSIONS 13-1 APPENDIX A - SPACE VEHICLE DESCRIPTION A-1 A.1 COMMAND AND SERVICE MODULES A-1 A.2 LAUNCH ESCAPE SYSTEM . A-12 A.3 SPACECRAFT/LAUNCH VEHICLE ADAPTER A-12 A.4 LAUNCH VEHICLE . A-14 A.5 LUNAR MODULE TEST ARTICLE A-14 A.6 MASS PROPERTIES A-16 APPENDIX B - SPACECRAFT HISTORY B-1 APPENDIX C - POSTFLIGHT TESTING C-1 APPENDIX D - DATA AVAILABILITY D-1 1-l 1.0 SUMMARY Apollo 8 was the second manned flight in the program and the first manned lunar orbit mission. The crew were FrEmk Borman , Commander; James A. Lovell , Command Module Pilot ; and William'A. Anders , Lunar Module Pilot . The Apollo, 8 space vehicle was launched on time from Ke nnedy Space Center , Florida, at 7:51:00 a.m. e.s.t. on Deeember 21 , 1968. Following a nominal boost ph ase, the spacecraft and S-IVB combination was inserted into a parking orbit of 98 by 103 nautical miles . After a post-insertion checkout of spacecraft systems , the 319-seconCl translunar injection ma­ neuver was initiated at 2:50:37 by reignition of the S-IVB engine . The spacecraft separated from the S-IVB at 3:20:59 , followed by two separat ion maneuvers using the servi ce module reaction control system . The first midcourse correction, made with a velocity change of 24 .8 feet per second , was conducted at 11 :00 :00. The translunar coast phase was devoted to navigation sightings , two television transmissions , and various systems checks . The second midcourse correction, conducted at 60 :59:55, was a velocity change of 1.4 feet per second . The 246 .9-second lunar orb it insertion mEmeuver was performed at 69 :08:20, and the initial lunar orbit was 168.5 by 60 .0 nautical miles . A maneuver to circularize the orbit was condueted at 73 :35 :07 and re­ sulted in a lunar orbit of 59 .7 by 60 .7 nautieal miles . The coast phas e betwe en maneuvers was devoted to orbit navigation and ground track deter­ mination. Ten revolutions were completed during the 20 hours ll minutes spent in lunar orbit. The lunar orbit coast ph as e involved numerous landing-s ite/landmark sightings , lunar photography , and preparation for transearth injection . The transearth injection maneuver , 204 seconds in duration, was conducted at 89 :19:17 using the service propulsion system. When possible during both the translunar and transearth coast phases , passive thermal control maneuvers of ab out one revolution per hour were effected to maintain temperatures within nominal limits • The trans earth coast period involved a number of star/horizon navigation sightings us ing both the earth and moon horizons . The only transearth midcourse correc­ tion was a maneuver of 4.8 feet per second made at 103 :59:54. Command module/service module separation was at 146 :28:48, and the command module reached the entry interface ( 400 000 feet altitude ) at 146 :46:14 . Following normal deployment of aD. parachutes , the spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean at 8 degrees 8 minut es north latitude and 1-2 165 degrees 1 minute west longitude , as determined by the primary re­ covery ship USS Yorktown. The total flight duration was 147 hours 42 sec­ onds . Almost without exception, spacecraft systems operated as intended. All temp eratures varied in a predictable manner within acceptable limits, and consumab les usage was always maintained at safe levels . Communica­ tions quality was exceptionally good , and live television was transmitted on six occasions . The crew superbly performed the planned mission . 2-1 2.0 INTRODUCTION The Apollo 8 mission was the eighth in a series of flights using specification Apollo hardware, the second manned flight of a block II spacecraft, and the first manned flight using a Saturn V launch vehicle . The mission was the first to the vicinity of the moon and was the con­ tinuation of a program to develop manned lunar landing capability . The overall objectives of the mission were to demonstrate command and service module performance in a cislunar and lunar-orbit environment, to evaluate crew performance in a lunar-orbit mission, to demonstrate communications and tracking at lunar distances, and to return high­ resolution photography of proposed Apollo landing areas and other loca­ tions of scientific interest . Because of the excellent performance of spacecraft systems in both the Apollo 7 and Apollo 8 missions, this report will present only the Apollo 8 mission results that are either unique to the lunar environ­ ment or significantly different from Apollo 7. Consequently, some of the report sections presented in previous Mission Reports have been de­ leted to permit greater emphasis on lunar observations of sci entific or operational interest. All times in this report are based on range zero, the integral sec­ ond before lift-off. Range zero for this mission was 12:51:00 G.m.t. 3-1 3.0 MISSION DESCRIPTION The Ap ollo 8 mi ssion followed the prescribed flight plan in every maj or respect . The space vehicle was launched at 7:51:00 a.m. e.s.t. on December 21 , 1968 , and the spacecraft was inserted into a 103- by 98-n. mi . parking orbit. The launch vehicle was a 3-stage Saturn V (no . 503), and the spacecraft was a standard block II command and servi ce module configuration (no. 103) . A lunar module test article (LTA-B ) was mounted in the spacecraft/launch vehicle adapter for mass loading purposes . The adapter us ed on this mission was the first to incorporate a panel­ jettison mechanism. After a parking-orb it coast period devote<i to inflight systems checks , the third stage (S-IVB) of the launch vehicle was reignited at 2:50 :37 for the translunar injection maneuver (see fig. 3-1). This maneuver lasted for 319 seconds . At approximately 3:21:00 , the space­ craft was separat ed from the S-IVB by a small maneuver with the servi ce module reaction control system. After separation and transposition, the c:rew observed and photo­ graph ed the S-IVB , then performed reaction control system maneuvers at 3:40:01 and at 4:45 :01 to increase the separation distance . At 4:55:56, a liquid-oxygen dump procedure was initiated in the S-IVB to provide impulse for changing its path to a trailing-edge lunar flyby and for insertion into solar orbit. The first midcourse correction was performed with the servi ce propulsion system at 11 :00 :00 and produced a velocity change of 24 .8 ft /sec .

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