On October 9 Chris Kraft convened the first Software Configuration Board meeting since June 5 at MIT. We had a real pot full of PCR’s to discuss, some of which were approved for Apollo 13, some for 14, and some were put in a category in which MIT was to continue development to a point…
Category: Apollo 12
Status report on the “P66” fix
There were some things about the terminal descent on the last mission that kind of spooked a lot of people. One of the things suggested as a result of this was to add a capability to the LM guidance and control system which would assist the crew during the last 100 feet or so of…
AGS licks PGNCS for RCS Insertion
Pete Conrad has discovered and, if necessary, intends to do something that Dan Payne and others around here got squared away a year or more ago. Unfortunately, due to the press of more urgent business, we failed to advertise it enough. This note is to make sure you know that the AGS does a better…
Notice of a catch-all Apollo 12 Mission Techniques meeting
We have scheduled a Mission Techniques meeting on Monday, September 15, 1969, to go over the Apollo 12 flight for the “last” time. Although most of the discussion will probably deal with the landing and rendezvous phases, we would like to clean up all open items regardless of mission phase….
Apollo 12 Descent – Final comments
There are a couple of new developments you should know about the Apollo 12 descent….
What can be done about the AOT?
One of the largest error sources affecting precision landing on the moon is the LM platform alignment accuracy at PDI. The AOT is adequate to fly an Apollo 11 type mission but it is simply not designed to support precise landings; AOT alignments, as currently carried out, leave something to be desired. The result is…
CSM Rescue Mission Techniques are complete and clean
On June 9 we had our final Mission Techniques meeting on CSM Rescue. I am pleased to report that this stuff appears to be in very good shape. After much hard work by many people, the CSM rescue rendezvous plans shake down to only two basic profiles. Each of these has minor modifications to account…
Spacecraft separation procedures
I blundered into something the other day which is probably none of my business but is interesting, so I thought I would bring your attention to it. Some time before Apollo 10 the trajectory flight controllers assembled a “Cookbook” of spacecraft separation recipes condensed from the myriad of proposals and recommendations that have been floating…
We don’t have to change LUMINARY much for point landing but there’s gold in them hills!
On September 12 we had a spacecraft computer program requirements meeting for Apollo 13. We called it because there were a lot of proposals floating around which had been advertised as “needed for point landing.” On the other hand, these programs must be released for rope manufacture on about November 15 and so there obviously…
LM high-bit rate telemetry data is not mandatory
A somewhat controversial mission rule is on the books for the Apollo 12 flight dealing with LM high-bit rate data. Specifically, it indicates that it is all right to proceed with the mission (e.g., undocking, DOI, PDI, etc.) in the absence of LM high-bit rate data with an implied provision that some sort of procedures…