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: J
LM IMU drift checks prior to descent for Apollo 13 and up
We are making some fairly substantial changes to the way we are aligning and checking the drift of the LM IMU before descent on the Apollo 13 mission. Just for the record I would like to document what it is we are doing and why….
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,…
Rover Navigation
I poked my nose into the Rover Navigation System and so Dave Pendley invited me to a meeting at MSFC on November 21, 1969. The purpose of the meeting was to try and firm up the basic design of the Rover Navigation System with the Boeing people who are responsible for building it. It was…
“For whom does the bell toll?” … “Delta Guidance” … “Oh!”
A couple of years ago, before any of the lunar flights, GCD started looking into improvements in the LM descent guidance and navigation (G&N) computer programs to compensate for possible problems in rough terrain, landing radar performance, descent targeting by the ground, etc. Actually, they were quite successful; they conceived the socalled delta guidance, prefilter,…