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Apollo 9 Press Kit - 02/14/69 - NASA Headquarters PDF

157 Pages·1998·5.23 MB·English
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Preview Apollo 9 Press Kit - 02/14/69 - NASA Headquarters

N E W S NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WO 2-4155 WASHINGTON,D.C. 20546 WO 3-6525 FOR RELEASE: sumy February 23, 1969 BEmSE NO: 69-29 P PROJECT: APOLLO 9 R 6 con tents -more- 2/14/69 U 2 Contents Continued -more- I * 3 Contents Continued -end- . N E W S NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WO 2-4155 WASHINGTON,D.C. 20546 W03-6925 FOR RELEASE: SUNDAY pebruary 23, 1969 RELEASE NO: 69-29 APOLLO 9 CARRIES LUNAR MODULE Apollo 9, scheduled for launch at 11 a.m. EST, Feb. 28, from the National Aeronautics and Space Administrationts Kennedy Space Center hunch Complex 39A, is the first manned flight of the Apollo spacecraft lunar module (LM). The Earth-orbital mission w i l l Include extensive perfor- mance tests of the lunar module, a rendezvous of the lunar module with the command and service modules, and two hours of extravehicular activity by the lunar modul; pilot. To the maxlmum extent possible, the rendezvous in Earth orbit w i l l resemble the type of rendezvous that w i l l take place in lunar orbit following a lunar landing. Rendezvous and dock- ing of the lunar module with the command and service modules, extensive testing of the lunar module engines and other systems, and extravehicular activity are among the mission's objectives. -more- 2/14/69 . -2- Apollo 9 crewmen are Spacecraft Commander James A. McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David R. Scott and Lunar Module Pilot Russell Schweickart. The mission w i l l be the second space flight for McDivitt (Gemini I+) and Scott (Gemini 8), and the first for Schweickart. Backup crew is comprised of Spacecraft Commander Charles Conrad, Jr., Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean. Mission events have been arranged in a work-day basis i n what is perhaps the most ambitious NASA manned space mission to date. The first five days are packed with lunar module engine tests and systems checkouts, burns of the service module's 20,500-pound-thrust engine while the command/service module and lunar module are docked, the lunar module pilot's hand-over-hand transfer i n space from the lunar module to the command module and back again, and rendezvous. The remainder of the 10-day, open-ended mission will be at a more leisurely pace. -more- -3- The first day's mission activities revolve around dock- ing the command module to the lunar module still attached t o the Saturn V launch vehicle S-IVB third stage. When docking is complete and the tunnel joint between the two spacecraft is rigid, the entire Apollo spacecraft w i l l be spring-ejected from the S-IVB. Maneuvering more than 2,000 feet away from the S-IW, the Apollo 9 crew w i l l observe the first of two -- restarts of the S-IVB's J-2 engine the second of which will boost the stage into an Earth-escape trajectory and into solar orbit. Otner first-day mission activities include a docked service propulsion engine burn t o improve orbital lifetime and to test the command/service module (CSM) digital auto- pilot (DAD) during service propulsion system (SPS) burns. The digital autopilot w i l l undergo additional stability tests during the second work day when the SPS engine is ignited three more times. Also, the three docked burns reduce CSM weight to enhance possible contingency rescue of the lunar module during rendezvous using the service module reaction control thrusters. A thorough checkout of lunar module systems takes up most of the third work day when the spacecraft commander and lunar module pilot transfer through the docking tunnel to the TjM and power it up. - -more aP0II0 0 L 1 J 0I na> 1 ... .. -mo U -I I- 0 LT W 3 a CT W n a K 2 - 0 z 0 a rn k a -I - z cn W K + - 0 z -3a r - e - PITCH MANEUVER LANDMARK TRACKING I YAW-ROLL MANEUVER C R E W TRANSFER L M SYSTEM EVALUATION aL0II0 O 1 L03al- I na> I . J - m - o 3 r d e - -

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orbit w i l l resemble the type of rendezvous that w i l l take place in lunar orbit .. blue wrappings giving the appearance of a wrapped gumdrop. Gumdrop is .. dezvous if the f'ull rendezvous sequence for some reason is no-go. The burn is
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