Questions tagged [apollo-program]
NASA's Apollo program was a 17-mission program that focused on landing a human on the lunar surface. The program was the third human spaceflight by NASA, after Mercury and Gemini.
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What was the furthest distance from Earth that Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins reached in Apollo 11?
An estimate is fine. But if possible, I am looking for a reference that I can cite.
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Time of the final Apollo 11 television broadcast and splashdown
According to Wikipedia, the Apollo 11 splashdown occurred at July 24, 1969, 16:50:35 UTC.
Does anyone have a referenced source confirming the July 24, 16:50:35 UTC splashdown time?
Does anyone have a ...
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Is there anything left of the J-2 test stands at Santa Susana Field Laboratory and the F-1 test stands at Edwards AFB?
The Mississippi Test Facility (now Stennis Space Center) is used for a lot of rocket testing, including testing the F-1. However, many of the test stands are now gone.
Rocketdyne, however, also had ...
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Lot 345 of Christie's “Voyage To Another World” auction supposedly has the only photo of Armstrong on the Moon, but isn't this one also?
Christie's press release Christie's Voyage to Another World: The Victor Martrin-Malburet Photograph Collection includes the following:
Lot 345, The only photograph of Neil Armstrong on the Moon, July ...
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During an Apollo mission, were separations after dropping the S-II considered as staging events?
I would like to clarify what is a staging event. Maybe there is no definite definition. First I though it was easy as the Nasa definition is clear. Then I though of the stage-and-a-half Atlas SLV-3, ...
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Failure to jettison the Apollo launch escape system
In Apollo, was there a contingency plan if the LES (Launch Escape System) failed to jettison? The BPC (Boost Protective Cover) would have prevented the parachutes deploying so the stack would have had ...
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Improvements in Saturn V, LM and CSM after Apollo 10
Apollo 10 is considered to be full dress rehearsal for Apollo 11. Did the trial flight of Apollo 10 identify any improvements that were needed in the Saturn V, CSM and LM, to be done before Apollo 11 ...
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What was the normal function of the (coax?) crosshairs used during the Apollo 13 famous manual burn?
What crosshairs were used to maintain an attitude during the famous manual trajectory correction burn during Apollo 13's return to Earth? What was their normal function?
This is all I can hear in the ...
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Why did the CM & LM have to be separated at Apollo launch? [duplicate]
I've just read a bit about Apollo 13, and 1 question that kept popping up in my mind when they talked about the docking between the Command module & the Lunar one is that why did they have to be ...
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What is the official etymology of the term “service” module?
Are there any reputable sources about how the word "service" was chosen for the Apollo service module?
(This is a question about how the term was chosen, not about what the term means. ...
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How can we express velocity of the Apollo mission relative to a moon-centered reference frame instead of an inertial reference frame?
I am really interested in the Apollo mission and I was wondering how fast did the astronaut pass by relative to the moon. I wanted to compare it with the speed of the car. I have been able to ...
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How (the heck) was coherent synthetic aperture radar (SAR) implemented using photographic emulsion aboard Apollo 17?
This answer to Is there really microfilm on the Moon? includes a block quote which includes the following subquote:
The equipment was installed in the service module and consisted of a coherent ...
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What are the “18 rescue missions” on Apollo 11, and which 10 of them did Michael Collins not feel comfortable with?
Regarding this tweet from the man himself. I take it to mean abort modes in some form or other for the entire mission? Perhaps just after LM descent? What are the 18 failure modes, and (if there's any ...
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Is there really microfilm on the Moon?
A comment below this answer to Disc mounted on lunar rover? suggests that
...a number of documented microfilms that were on the Apollo missions.
meaning I presume that bits of microfilm were ...
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How did the Apollo Lunar Rover navigation system computer work?
Unlike the more famous Apollo Guidance Computer I can't find any information about the computer used in the manned lunar rover. It seemed to track three values and display them on analog gauges: the ...
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Did the RTCC ever “fail over” to the standby computer during a mission?
The Real Time Computer Complex (RTCC) was the central computing facility for the Gemini and Apollo programs, and contained, during the Apollo program, several IBM System 360 mainframes. These systems ...
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Mass of the Apollo Lunar Module cabin pressure vessel?
What was the mass of the Lunar Module cabin pressure vessel - that is, the metal structure that contained the astronauts, including windows and hatches, not including internal fittings and equipment, ...
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Did Apollo have braking rockets for soft landing on Earth?
Did Apollo have braking rockets for soft landing on Earth? I have checked Google but cannot find an answer.
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Why did the Apollo capsule have seats if the astronauts never were sitting in it?
The Apollo capsule had three lying seats on its bottom, but the astronauts actually never sat in the capsule: during launch, reentry and in the ocean the astronauts were lying down, while in space ...
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What magnitude stars were seen from lunar surface?
I've seen a claim* that some of the Apollo astronauts stepped into the shadow of the LM, raised their gold visors, and looked up into the sky to see the stars. If this is true any mention of what ...
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Have any Apollo (or earlier) astronauts reported seeing Earth's aurora or related luminescent atmospheric effects?
Earth's aurora and related luminescent atmospheric effects are generally quite dim, and mostly but not always located in the general area of Earth's magnetic poles.
That means to be seen easily by eye ...
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Technical historical books covering the Apollo-Saturn program
In the preface of "Stages to Saturn", the author Robert E. Bilstein writes:
This book is a technological history. [...] Two other histories, already published, deal with subjects keyed to ...
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Why would such a powerful computer (or a computer at all) be needed to go to the Moon?
I keep hearing people say things like:
Duuuude! It's so insane that we're carrying around phones in our pockets that are a thousand times faster than the computers that took us to the moon!
Why do ...
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On which celestial bodies could you use the Apollo moon suits too?
If you wore the Apollo lunar suit on celestial bodies other than the Moon, on which bodies would you survive (until oxygen run out)? You obviously couldn't wear them on any (recognized) planet because ...
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Was “Apollo” an acronym for “America’s Program for Orbiting Lunar and Landing Operations”?
I came across this paper which, on page 9, says the following:
The guidance or “shooting” algorithm is based on the Linear Peturbation Theory (Battin) developed for the America’s Program for Orbiting ...
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What was Apollo “Moon rope” made out of? Was it ever used?
This excellent answer to Did Conrad and Bean balk at entering the 650-foot-wide Surveyor Crater, or just express concern? What data had they seen? contains several references to a 30 foot length of &...
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Did Conrad and Bean balk at entering the 650-foot-wide Surveyor Crater, or just express concern? What data had they seen?
The New York Times' The Moon Is a Hazardous Place to Live says:
Throw in the intense contrast between light and dark — unlike anything we see here on Earth — and those changes in the terrain can play ...
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Are there any possible proxies for dust accumulation on the retroreflectors on the moon?
New York Times' How Do You Solve a Moon Mystery? Fire a Laser at It links to the new open access paper First two-way laser ranging to a lunar orbiter: infrared observations from the Grasse station to ...
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What does “all systems are internal” mean?
When watching (once again) a large History Channel documentary series about Gemini and Apollo, in some launch scenes with the original audio, the person doing the countdown usually says "all ...
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Parachutes of Apollo and Crew Dragon capsules, what is different and what is the same?
The number of main chutes is different, Apollo three, Crew Dragon four.
Both capsules used drogue and main chutes.
Apollo had two drogue chutes with single stage reefing.
Apollo used a two stage ...
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Was Apollo 7 flooded with approx. 400 pounds of water after splashdown?
I found this in the APOLLO EXPERIENCE REPORT COMMAND MODULE UPRIGHTING SYSTEM on page 23:
I tried to find other reports of that Apollo 7 leak, but I could find none.
Does anybody know another source?
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What was the nature of the communication problems during Apollo 11's Eagle's descent? How were other antennas selected?
In the video of Los Angeles station KTLA's Frank Buckley interviewing astronaut & Apollo 11 CAPCOM Charlie Duke a communication problem and antenna selection is described:
BUCKLEY: Many of us who ...
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Were these Apollo 14 and 15 recovery images taken (by a Navy frogman) using an underwater camera?
These images were taken after the flotation collar was mounted and inflated by the frogmen. Also the raft was inflated. The divers jumped off a helicopter before, no rescue ship was present. Camera ...
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How many people have witnessed Earthrise?
How many astronauts orbited or went around the moon and saw Earthrise?
Am I correct in the conclusion that nine missions orbited the moon or used a free-return trajectory around the moon, Apollos 8, ...
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Procedure to deal with the death of Apollo astronaut during a lunar mission
During Apollo lunar missions, had the command module pilot have died while the other two astronauts were on the Moon, or had only one of the two lunar walkers died, did NASA have a procedure for such ...
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If a car or train freely drove on flat terrain on the Moon, would it eventually be stopped by something?
If you start an Apollo LRV on the Moon and let it go on flat terrain (with motor off), would it be stopped by ground friction eventually, or doesn't that stop a car? Same question for a train on rails ...
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Vibration and noise during launch of the Saturn V and Spaceshuttle in comparison?
I just saw a TV docu about the Apollo mission. Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders said the vibrations and noise during launch were much heavier than expected.
I later heard a speech by the Shuttle ...
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Why did the Apollo lunar suits have two visors?
Why did the A7L and A7LB moonsuits have two visors? The astronaut initially had both visors down on his helmet and later during the lunar EVA put the outermost visor up (a yellowish one) and could ...
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In designing the Apollo capsule, was consideration given to lashing it down?
At https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/cm-107_graffiti.html, there is a picture of
CM-107, alias the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, aboard the recovery ship Hornet.
So, after splash-down, the ...
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Who carried the slide rule to the moon?
The Apollo stowage lists show that each mission had exactly one slide rule "on crew" (i.e. in somebody's spacesuit) at launch. Who carried the slide rule? Was it always the same role (CDR, ...
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Was the Apollo lunar rover ever “airborne”?
The last three Apollo missions included a lunar roving vehicle. The picture below shows one driven with the front two wheels off the ground (a "wheelie").
A car that is "airborne" ...
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Other than Surveyor 3, were any landers within rover distance of Apollo?
Apollo 12 landed within walking distance of the unmanned Surveyor 3 lander, which had arrived on the moon 2 years earlier. The astronauts photographed and returned parts of Surveyor 3.
The last three ...
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Why is Apollo CSM and LM separated by pyrotechnics?
The docking tunnel of the Apollo CSM is cut by pyrotechnics when the LM is jettisoned. (See Fig. 2.13-11 in Apollo Operation Handbook, Fig. 19 in Apollo Spacecraft Pyrotechnics) After this, docking ...
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What is the cheapest possible way to land a crew of 2 on the moon?
During the Apollo moon missions, a single very large rocket sent both the Apollo CSM and the LM to the moon in a single shot and it took only around 3 days to get there.
However, after the Apollo ...
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What would have happened if the third stage of Saturn V had exploded during TLI? Could the CM have safely returned to earth?
What would have happened if the third stage of Saturn V had exploded during TLI? Could the CM of Apollo 11 have safely returned to earth?
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Who zoomed the video camera in and out when David Scott dropped the feather and hammer on the Moon?
This answer to Have optical zoom systems been used in space exploration? explains that there were video cameras on the Moon that could zoom.
In the video below someone (or something) is zooming the ...
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What is the backstory of this silly picture of the Apollo 1 crew?
The photograph below shows the first Apollo crew of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee wearing silly hats and acting less seriously than typical NASA publicity photos. All three were later ...
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Why did Charlie Duke catch the brass ring?
Okay, the ring was actually made of gold. Nor did it give Charlie Duke dominion over Middle Earth.
According to the Apollo 16 Flight Journal:
219 25 49 Duke (onboard): Guess what I caught ...
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Did Streptococcus mitis survive 950 days in the lunar environment?
The "Apollo 50th" account on Twitter tweets news and events day-to-day as they happened 50 years ago.
Yesterday, the following information has been tweeted:
The microorganism Streptococcus mitis ...
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Why did Apollo 11 land at the sea of tranquility?
As we all know in 1969 Apollo 11 landing made history but, why did it land specifically at the sea of tranquility also known as Mare Tranquilitatis. Probably they would have chosen this because of ...
