In a meeting with Flight Software Branch and Flight Control Division personnel, we concluded that we would not process landing site observations obtained in lunar orbit on the C’ in real time in the RTCC unless directed otherwise….
Category: C’
C’ maneuvers – SPS versus RCS crossover
Neil Townsend (EP2) informed me by phone – and will supply written confirmation – that the minimum duration SPS burn for C’ should be no less than 0.5 seconds. We had been assuming something smaller. According to MPAD (Otis Graf, FM7) this makes the crossover point between use of the RCS versus the SPS engine:…
C’ Earth Orbit and TLI Mission Techniques Open Items
It appears we have the Earth Orbit and TLI Mission Techniques for the C’ pretty well under control. The only two significant open items that I know of deal with the optics check and the crew procedures for protecting against an SIVB engine cutoff failure during TLI….
Is MSFN ranging mandatory for C’?
During our C’ Data Select Mission Techniques meeting a question came up which must be understood and answered prior to the flight. It involves the requirement for being able to obtain MSFN range information during the cis-lunar phase of the mission. It has been said unofficially that ranging is essential to do a decent job…
C’ Transearth Midcourse Correction (MCC) and Entry Mission Techniques
On September 13, we conducted a review of the Transearth MCC and Entry Mission Techniques for a lunar mission. Although, originally developed for an F or G type mission, the discussion was almost completely devoted to C’. Participation included all interested MSC organizations (including the C’ flight crew) as well as representatives from North American,…
Reentry from lunar missions
On January 12 a group of Flight Crew, Flight Control and Mission Planning guys got together to talk about the lunar reentry and some rather interesting things came out which I am recording here for my records and your amusement….
It is proposed that we plan a two step LOI maneuver
For the past several months there has been considerable discussion regarding the question of whether we should perform the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver as a single burn or if it should be made in two steps. This is an important matter to resolve since it has impact on RTCC program development, guidance systems targeting,…
Some decisions regarding lunar landmark tracking on the F and G missions
We had an Ad Hoc Mission Techniques meeting on January 9 to talk over lunar landmark tracking. In particular, we wanted to discuss what we thought had been learned from the C’ mission and what we want to do on the F and G missions. This memo is to outline all that briefly. The specific…
Cis-lunar spacecraft navigation for C’
We are still thrashing around trying to figure out what to do with regard to cis-lunar spacecraft navigation for the C’ mission. It is not clear whether a couple of things are really necessary or not. If we could get rid of them, it would simplify things. Unfortunately, we aren’t confident it is safe to…
Results of the October 8 Apollo Spacecraft Software Configuration Control Board (ASSCCB) meeting
In this memo I will briefly describe some of the highlights of the subject meeting:…