NASA Publication Apollo 11 Mission Report SP-238 1971 By Mission Evaluation Team

Description

NASA Publication Apollo 11 Mission Report SP-238 1971
Prepared By Mission Evaluation Team
In good, used condition. Binding is strong and pages are still held in-tact. Inner pages look great. Slight creases on front cover. Will be packaged with care.
217 pages
Sent via insured media mail.
SUMMARY
The purpose of the Apollo II mission was to land men on the lunar surface and to return them safely to earth. The members of the crew were Neil A. Armstrong, Commander; Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., Lunar Module Pilot.
The space vehicle was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 8:32:00 a.m. e.s.t., July 16, 1969. The activities during earth orbit checkout, translunar injection, transposition and docking, space craft ejection, and translunar coast were similar to those of the previous mission, a lunar orbit rendezvous flight. Only one midcourse correction, performed at approximately27 hours g.e.t., was required during translunar coast.
The spacecraft was inserted into lunar orbit at approximately76 hours g.e.t., and the circularization maneuver was performed two revolutions later. Initial checkout of the lunar module systems was satisfactory, and after a planned rest period, the Commander and Lunar Module Pilot entered the lunar module to prepare for descent.
The two spacecraft were undocked at approximately I00 hours g.e.t., followed by separation of the command and service modules from the lunar module. Descent orbit insertion was performed at approximately101-I/2 hours g.e.t., and powered descent to the lunar surface beganapproximately1 hour later. Operation of the guidance and descent propulsion systems was nominal. The lunar module was maneuvered manually to a landing approximately II00 feet down range from the nominal landing point during the final 2-I/2 minutes of descent. The spacecraft landed in the Sea of Tranquility at 102:45:40g.e.t. The landing coordinates were latitude 0°41'15" N and longitude 23°26'
During the first 2 hours on the lunar surface, the two crewmen performed a post landing checkout of all lunar module systems. Afterward, they ate their first meal on the moon and elected to perform the surface operations earlier than planned.
Considerable time was deliberately devoted to checkout and donning of the back mounted portable life support and oxygen purge systems. The Commander egressed through the forward hatch and deployed an equipment module in the descent stage. A camera in this module provided live television coverage of the Commander descending the ladder to the surface, with first contact made at 109:24:15 g.e.t. (9:56:15 p.m.e.s.t., July 20, 1969). The Lunar Module Pilot egressed soon thereafter, and both crewmen used the initial period on the surface to become acclimated to the reduced gravity and unfamiliar surface conditions. A contingency sample was taken from the surface, and the television camera was deployed so that most of the lunar module was included in its view field. The crew activated the scientific experiments, which included a solar wind detector, a passive seismometer, and a laser retroreflector. The Lunar Module Pilot evaluated his ability to operate and move about and was able to translate rapidly and with confidence. Forty-seven pounds of lunar surface material were collected to be returned for analysis. The surface exploration was concluded in the allotted time of 2-I/2 hours, and the crew reentered the lunar module at 111-I/2 hours g.e.t.
Ascent preparation was conducted efficiently, and the ascent stage lifted off the surface at 124-I/4 hours g.e.t. A nominal firing of the ascent engine placed the vehicle into a 48- by 9-mile orbit. After a rendezvous sequence similar to that of Apollo I0, the two spacecraft were docked at 128 hours g.e.t. Following transfer of the crew, the ascent stage was jettisoned, and the command and service modules were prepared for trans earth injection.
The return flight started with a 150-second firing of the service propulsion engine during the 31st lunar revolution at 135-I/2 hours g.e.t. As in the translunar flight, only one midcourse correction was required, and passive thermal control was exercised for most of the trans earth coast. Inclement weather necessitated moving the landing point 215miles downrange. The entry phase was normal, and the command module landed in the Pacific Ocean at 195-I/4 hoursg.e.t. The landing coordinates, as determined from the onboard computer, were latitude 13019' N and longitude 169o09' W.
After landing, the crew donned biological isolation garments. The crew was then retrieved by helicopter and taken to the primary recovery ship, U.S.S. Hornet.
The crew and the lunar material samples wereplaced in the Mobile Quarantine Facility for transport to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston, Texas. The command module was taken aboard the U.S.S. Hornet approximately3 hours after landing.
With the completion of the Apollo II mission, the national objective, landing men on the moon and returning them safely to earth before the end of the decade, had been accomplished.