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.
298 questions
5
votes
1answer
568 views
What was the colour of the shoes used by the Apollo astronauts in moon landing?
The pictures from Apollo landing despite being in high resolution, does not reveal the right colour of the shoes used by the astronauts during the EVA on the moon. An example - Buzz Aldrin picture ...
3
votes
0answers
37 views
How did the Apollo Service Module reenter?
I always assumed that after the Apollo Command Module separated from the Service Module, the SM was effectively inert and was simply left to re-enter of its own accord. However, from the Apollo 11 ...
18
votes
1answer
296 views
How easy would opening an Apollo capsule following dry landing be?
To help frame the problem, I have written the following scenario:
It's December 19, 1972 and the Apollo 17 has returned to Earth, but something went wrong and they landed in the middle of the Outback....
3
votes
1answer
74 views
How do you find lunar flyby using Apollo 13 mission report data?
Link to mission report: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a13/A13_MissionReport.pdf
So Im trying to do analysis on the mission phases of Apollo 13 but my part is to only focus on the flyby part. My ...
6
votes
1answer
97 views
What coordinate system was used for the Apollo missions?
This is specifically about the Apollo missions, which are not touched in this related question.
Did they use one coordinate system throughout the entire mission, or did they switch depending on the ...
6
votes
3answers
242 views
Did astronauts on the moon poop in front of each other?
I know about the Apollo pooping bag. The question is, in the CSM, was there any space to use it privately? I suppose while coasting towards the Moon they could use the LM, but on the return trip? Any ...
3
votes
0answers
85 views
Why did the Apollo cabin repressurization valve cause a banging sound?
As portrayed in the movie Apollo 13, Fred Haise tried to spook his crewmates by trigerring the cabin repressurization valve, which creates a banging sound. Indeed, every Apollo crew reported hearing ...
7
votes
1answer
114 views
How different was the Apollo LM descent trajectory from the most fuel-efficient?
In most diagrams of the Apollo Lunar Module descent profile (example at the start of this video), it looks like the LM turns over and points some of its thrust downward relatively early in the process....
5
votes
1answer
131 views
Calculations Apollo astronauts were trained to do by hand if loss of guidance computer and/or data & coms link to Earth?
This answer to the question is it possible to navigate space travel with no computer? currently contains the line
Yes, as long as you don't care where you end up
but I am not so sure this is true. ...
11
votes
3answers
977 views
Did the Apollo lunar module descent stage have a role as a sort of service module?
To minimize the re-entry mass of the Apollo command module, essentially all of the mission supply of command module consumables was stored in the service module. Was there a similar arrangement ...
1
vote
1answer
125 views
Should there be black crosses from the Réseau plate in this Apollo mission photograph? If so, where are they?
This answer to the question How did the Apollo astronauts change film in their cameras? mentions the Réseau plate, source of the beloved black crosses in Apollo photographs.
I saw the question ...
33
votes
5answers
11k views
How did Apollo missions solve the cosmic radiation problem?
One of the major hurdles of space exploration is cosmic radiation. How did the Apollo missions solve the radiation problem?
NASA would have shielded the astronauts to some level by some material. How ...
25
votes
2answers
6k views
What spacecraft control is Margaret Hamilton pressing in this picture?
Margaret Hamilton was the Apollo Director of Software Engineering. In this picture, she is shown inside a mock-up of the Apollo command module.
Hamilton is noted for many accomplishments during the ...
1
vote
0answers
48 views
What was NASA's “LUROVA” Operational Thermal Computer Model analog or digital? How were capacitors used?
@GremlinWrangler's answer links to
Apollo Rover Lessons Learned
Applying Experiences on the Apollo Lunar Rover Project to Rovers for Future Space Exploration
by Ronald A. Creel, Space and ...
5
votes
1answer
135 views
Did Charlie Duke actually get the measles?
Deke Slayton: Jim, we've got a problem. I got some blood work back from the lab. Charlie Duke has the measles.
Jim Lovell: [Unconcerned] So we need a new back-up.
Deke Slayton: You'...
10
votes
1answer
139 views
How was the mass of the Apollo CSM determined?
One of the parameters for any maneuver of the Apollo CSM is the mass of the vehicle: for example, the trans-Earth injection of Apollo 11 specified a vehicle mass of 36,691 pounds.
How was this mass ...
2
votes
0answers
94 views
Had Apollo astronauts practiced getting up from a fall?
The question "Could an Apollo astronaut stand up if they fell on the moon?" describes several incidents of Apollo astronauts falling over while on the moon, and their attempts to get back up.
Did the ...
18
votes
2answers
2k views
Are there any videos of onboard the Apollo Lunar Module while landed on the Moon?
These would be very worthy videos since there is air in the Lunar Module and they don't wear the heavy spacesuits, so one could see how they behave on the Moon in a breathable atmosphere and without ...
11
votes
1answer
205 views
What advice did NASA give Kennedy prior to his “Go to the moon” speech?
In September 1962 a nice young man ordered the United States to commit to landing on the moon in eight years. What input did NASA have in the decision? Did James Webb support or discard the idea that ...
1
vote
0answers
23 views
Did the Apollo astronauts do any EVAs in mid-flight? [duplicate]
For example on their way to the Moon, did the astronauts also leave the Apollo CSM during their flight? Or did they go outside only on the Moon? Were or could there have been any EVAs in mid-flight of ...
9
votes
1answer
220 views
Why did the S-IV-B refer to “jettison”ing its ullage?
This is based on a recent question about S-IV-B ullage motor shutoff timing, specifically something found in the Technical Information Summary AS-501, page 15:
Ullage Jettison ~ 532.
But why "...
3
votes
0answers
73 views
Did Apollo-11 have any radiation shielding? [duplicate]
If it did, then what kind? Or if it didn't, was it because the flight didn't last for too long? (7 days or so, from Earth to Moon and back.)
2
votes
1answer
126 views
How much wax is on the Moon? (Lunar Roving Vehicles)
I found the Cody's Lab videos from Scott Manley's video as described in this answer. Browsing through I learned from the first 30 seconds of Hot Wax Bottle? that the phase change of wax was used on ...
9
votes
1answer
585 views
Who performs the docking procedure?
In the Apollo moon missions when the LEM returned to the CSM, which astronaut performed the docking procedure? Did the command module pilot just hold a fixed position while the astronaut flying the ...
-4
votes
2answers
238 views
Two totally different pictures of Apollo 15 landing site released by NASA 40 years apart. What causes these differences? [closed]
A report of NASA, dated December 1971, shows at page 18 a picture on which the traces left behind by the Apollo 15 mission are superimposed.
In 2012 NASA released a computer enhanced photo of the ...
2
votes
1answer
81 views
How was the Apollo IMU calibrated?
Both the command and lunar modules of the Apollo spacecraft has navigation systems with inertial management units. IMUs are known to drift over time. How were they recalibrated?
My answer below ...
14
votes
1answer
3k views
Did the Apollo 7 “mutiny” have consequences for ground crew?
The Apollo 7 mission was a troubled one due to the crew's illness and resulted in several heated discussions between the flight crew and ground crew. It seems to me that the ground crew was partly to ...
5
votes
1answer
159 views
+100
How does the Apollo LM ascent guidance program P12 actually work?
P12 is the AGC guidance program for normal ascent from the lunar surface to orbit. According to the mission planning documents, after separation and ignition, the ascent stage holds its initial ...
2
votes
1answer
67 views
What angle of ascent did the LEM use to leave the moon? [duplicate]
I've been playing around with lunar launch delta-v requirements, and it seems that you can get a lot of bang for your buck if you launch "sideways" so to speak. Well, in the absence of atmosphere ...
2
votes
1answer
135 views
How would the Apollo telescope have worked in the Apollo command module? Where would it be located and how would it be operated?
In the Vintage Space video episode Missions we Lost When Apollo was Cancelled, there is discussion of the Apollo Telescope and the Block 3 command module after about ...
3
votes
1answer
121 views
In what ways did the high elliptical orbit of Apollo “E missions” simulate lunar missions?
The vintage space video Missions we Lost When Apollo was Cancelled after 01:25 describes classification scheme for then-future Apollo missions:
As Apollo took ...
4
votes
2answers
281 views
How long would a stranded Apollo crew have survived on the Moon?
If the Apollo ascent vehicle hadn't been able to take off from the Moon, how long was the crew expected to have survived? And what would the likely natural cause of death be?
I've heard that partial ...
2
votes
2answers
146 views
Arcustangent function of the Apollo Computer, atan() or atan2()?
What type of the arcustangent function was used, the one with single argument only or the famous atan2(y, x) or arctan2(y, x) with two arguments x and y? What kind of aproximation was used?
2
votes
0answers
39 views
At what size of engine does pogo oscillation become significant
I am jist trying to understand the thresholds involved in pogo oscillation. I'm not sure where to start. But I will give a guess.
As rocket size increases the tension exterted on rocket walls ...
15
votes
1answer
3k views
Did Michael Collins ask for a fourth gimbal for Christmas? Is there a recording or transcript?
Did Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot Michael Collins ask for a fourth gimbal for Christmas, while looking for the lunar ascent module? If so, is a recording of this available for posterity? Or a ...
122
votes
2answers
17k views
How did the Apollo computers evaluate transcendental functions like sine, arctangent, log?
Navigation with a sextant or maneuvers using gimbal angles might be two examples of cases where an Apollo computer might need to do trigonometry.
Trigonometric functions like sine, arctangent, etc. ...
17
votes
3answers
4k views
Usage of Apollo Lunar Surface Hasselblad Camera with 500 mm lens?
Here is a list of photographic cameras used for Apollo 16.
There were two Lunar Surface Data Hasselblads equipped with a 60 mm lens for both astronauts to be used with chest mounts to the space suits....
5
votes
2answers
582 views
Was the lunar module computer in the ascent stage or the descent stage?
Two Apollo Guidance Computers accompanied each lunar mission. One CPU was housed in the lower equipment bay of the command module, with one DSKY display-keyboard unit adjacent to the CPU, and a ...
3
votes
0answers
108 views
Revisiting moon landing sites?
Are there any current plans to return to the moon, preferably close to an existing landing site?
After all, it seems like a sound scientific project given that there's talk of human colonization of ...
6
votes
0answers
351 views
What colors were used in the Apollo Lunar Module interior, and why?
There are lots of publications and blog posts on the exterior colors of the Apollo Lunar Module (a function of material choices), but I've struggled to find any information on the interior colors and ...
31
votes
2answers
6k views
Why didn’t the Spacecraft used for the Apollo 11 mission melt in the Earth’s Atmosphere?
My brother has recently been converted to a Flat Earther and is convinced that something that proves his theory is the moon landings being faked by NASA. I have managed to counter argue the majority ...
3
votes
1answer
140 views
Apollo-11 AGC core memory has 5 wires per core (rather than 3 or 4) - why?
Apollo-11 AGC core memory has 5 wires per core (rather than 3 or 4) - why?
I am referring to this image in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer#/media/File:...
8
votes
1answer
170 views
Apollo-SLA & LM air pressures at launch
At the time of launch what was the air pressure in the Apollo LM, and the spacecraft-LEM adapter section (SLA)? Was the air vented from the SLA as the vehicle entered orbit?
4
votes
0answers
47 views
Apollo J Mission CSM- EPS Radiators
Were the EPS radiators on the J Mission CSM's upgraded or enlarged to accommodate the increased electrical load imposed by the sim bay equipment?
6
votes
1answer
505 views
Apollo 10: Where's Snoopy?
During the Apollo program, we launched a total of 9 Lunar Modules (LM's). The Ascent module from Apollo 10, or "Snoopy," is unique in that it was neither deliberately crashed into the Moon (Apollo 11, ...
19
votes
2answers
3k views
Why was orbital rendezvous considered so controversial?
It's popularly understood that the Apollo program only selected lunar-orbital rendezvous as a mission profile after first thoroughly rejecting the direct ascent profile. It seems as though the ...
4
votes
0answers
117 views
What physiological effects did the Apollo astronauts experience due to the lower lunar gravity?
When humans are exposed to weightlessness they often experience space adaptation syndrome (similar to motion sickness). Also fluid redistribution to the upper body is nearly immediate causing bulging ...
39
votes
4answers
10k views
Apollo simulator practical jokes
The Apollo training program as described in this question used a computer driven system of servos and motors to move cameras over and around models. This type of simulator was common in aviation ...
0
votes
2answers
182 views
NASA at sIxty years, will there be a new moonshot mandate?
NASA is sixty years old still going strong.
There are few organizations that have made such an impact to man's quest for knowledge in such a short time span. The contributions are many, and its ...
12
votes
3answers
2k views
Apollo training simulator cgi requirements
https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/graphicshistory/chapter/13-4-nasa/ says that cgi was used for Apollo trainers. I just want to know the quality of this cgi.
A modern computer runs at 2560 lines on ...
