On January 10 we had a “final” review of Spacecraft 101 (Mission “C”) Retrofire and Reentry Mission Techniques as documented in the logical flow charts prepared by TRW based on a series of meetings we have had here at MSC. These flow charts, which show the operations starting several hours prior to the retrofire maneuver…
Category: Apollo missions
Lunar rendezvous shaping up
On June 26 we took another wack at the “G” Rendezvous Mission Techniques. I think we now have most of the basic things squared away so that we can get into the detail with some confidence. The most significant decisions were:…
Can we cut 2 hours out of the Apollo rendezvous?
As you are no doubt aware, there is a movement afoot to shorten the Apollo rendezvous by 2 hours. This would be done by eliminating the CSI and CDH maneuvers and executing TPI about ½ hour after insertion. The reason this is being considered is to reduce the crew’s workday which currently is really pretty…
Some MPAD work needed for the G mission
During the February 26th Data Select Mission Techninques meeting, Math Physics Branch (MPB) picked up three action items for the G mission, of which you should be aware….
G Lunar Surface stuff is still incomplete
On February 27 we held a Mission Techniques meeting which I thought was going to simply edit the “final” version of the Lunar Surface Document prior to its release. To my chagrin we discovered that there are at least two areas requiring much more thought and analysis. We will probably meet again to resolve these…
F/G Rendezvous Mission Techniques – mostly F
As part of F/G Torture Week, we spent Thursday, January 30 on the rendezvous. Overall, I would say this mission phase is in pretty good shape with only a few unresolved items that we know about right now. I would like to tabulate here a bunch of odds and ends we agreed to at this…
Post Insertion CSM P52 is optional
Dick Gordon and Pete Conrad called the other day to ask how important we feel the CSM platform alignment is just after LM insertion into orbit. As I recall, this alignment is a carry-over from the time we planned to do the CSM plane change just prior to lift-off rather than just after landing as…
Terminal phase transfer angle may be changed to 130°
Extensive analyses were carried out in preparation for Gemini rendezvous which led to our selection of a 130° terminal phase transfer angle. Entirely independent analyses on Apollo apparently have led to selection of 140° for the rendezvous transfer angle. More recently, however, people in the Flight Crew Operations Directorate have been re-examining this and, according…
Sixth “C” Mission Rendezvous Mission Techniques meeting
This March 1 meeting conflicted with the President’s speech but a few of us dedicated jokers pressed on as follows….
Some “improvements” in the Descent preparation procedures
As we wade deeper and deeper into Descent Mission Techniques, one thing coming into focus is that, of all IMU error sources, the two that hurt the most are accelerometer bias and y-axis (pitch) misalignment at PDI. Having recognized this, we are now proposing some specific procedures to minimize them. This memo is to tell…