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Day 4, part 1: Approaching the Moon Journal Home Page Day 4, part 3: TV from Orbit

Apollo 11

Day 4, part 2: Entering Lunar Orbit

Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright © 2009-2023 by W. David Woods, Kenneth D. MacTaggart and Frank O'Brien. All rights reserved.
Last updated 2023-09-29
Index to events
Go for LOI-1 075:30:46 GET
Loss of Signal 075:41:23 GET
Start of LOI-1 burn 075:49:51 GET
End of LOI-1 burn 075:55:49 GET
After the spacecraft passes behind the Moon, around the time of its closest approach, the Service Module's main engine is fired to enter a lunar orbit very close to the planned dimensions, and the crew witness their first Earthrise.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 75 hours, 26 minutes. We're 15 minutes away from Loss Of Signal. Apollo 11 is 966 miles [1,789 km] from the Moon. Velocity; 6,511 feet per second [1,985 m/s]. We're 23 minutes away from the LOI burn.
Flight Director Cliff Charlesworth polling flight controllers for the Go/No-Go status for LOI now.
075:30:38 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
075:30:44 Aldrin: Roger. Go ahead Houston, Apollo 11.
075:30:46 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. You are Go for LOI. Over.
075:30:53 Aldrin: Roger. Go for LOI.
075:30:55 McCandless: And we're showing about 10 minutes and 30 seconds to LOS. I would like to remind you to enable the B/D roll on the Auto RCS switches. Over.
075:31:09 Aldrin: Roger. And confirm you want PCM Low [bit-rate] going over the hill. Over.
075:31:18 McCandless: That's affirmative, 11.
075:31:24 Aldrin: Roger. [Long pause.]
That was Buzz Aldrin confirming the Go.
075:31:43 Aldrin: If you want to, I'll put it back to high 'til just before LOS. Over.
075:31:51 McCandless: Negative, 11. Low is okay for now. Over.
075:31:57 Aldrin: Roger.
Long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
075:35:55 Armstrong: Houston, do you want to give me a time check, please?
075:35:58 McCandless: Roger. I'll give you a Mark at 13 minutes and 30 seconds to ignition.
075:36:11 Armstrong: Okay. And then a GET, please.
075:36:16 McCandless: Stand by a minute. [Long pause.]
075:36:41 McCandless: I'll give you a time hack on the GET at 75 hours, 37 minutes and I'll try to bias it about a second and a half to allow for the time of flight.
075:36:55 Armstrong: Okay.
075:36:57 McCandless: Stand by.
075:37:01 McCandless: Mark.
075:37:02 McCandless: 75 hours, 37 minutes GET.
075:37:07 Armstrong: Thank you.
075:37:12 McCandless: And I'll give you a time hack on time to ignition at 12 minutes to ignition. Over.
075:37:22 Collins: Okay. [Long pause.]
075:37:44 McCandless: Stand by for a Mark at TIG minus 12.
075:37:51 McCandless: Mark.
075:37:52 McCandless: TIG minus 12.
075:37:56 Collins: You were right on, Bruce. Thank you.
075:37:58 McCandless: Roger. Out.
Comm break.
We're 3 minutes away from Loss Of Signal. Apollo 11 is 425 nautical miles [787 km] from the Moon. Velocity 7,368 feet per second [2,246 m/s]. Weight; 96,012 pounds [43,550 kg].
075:39:29 McCandless: Two minutes to LOS.
Comm break.
On board Columbia, the DSE recorder is started. Its voice track of the crew's conversations around the Moon's far side, along with a range of telemetry readings, will be radioed to Earth later, allowing historians to follow Apollo 11's insertion into lunar orbit.
075:40:17 Collins (onboard): Optics [garble] are up?
075:40:19 Armstrong (onboard): Yes.
075:40:25 Aldrin (onboard): Okay, 41:23. One minute to LOS. Mark that.
075:40:33 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. All your systems are looking good going around the corner. We'll see you on the other side. Over.
075:40:42 Armstrong: Roger.
075:40:48 Aldrin (onboard): How much time have we got, Mike?
075:40:49 Armstrong: Everything looks okay up here.
075:40:51 McCandless: Roger. Out.
Very long comm break.
075:40:51 Collins (onboard): 9 minutes.
The onboard conversation is picked where the crew are halfway down page F5-3 of the Operations Checklist. This section is concerned with P40, the SPS Thrusting program. Their next item is to place the CM batteries across the main power busses to provide the extra power needed for the gimbal motors.
075:41:13 Aldrin (onboard): Well, let's let them look at the main bus ties coming on, alright?
075:41:17 Collins (onboard): Sure.
075:41:19 Aldrin (onboard): What time is it?
075:41:20 Collins (onboard): 8½ minutes.
At 075:41:23, precisely when Houston predicted, the radio signal from Apollo 11 is lost.
075:41:23 Aldrin (onboard): How soon are we going to...
075:41:24 Armstrong (onboard): [Garble] take 2.
075:41:25 Aldrin (onboard): 1 second early. Okay. Main Bus Ties...
075:41:28 Armstrong (onboard): Okay.
075:41:29 Collins (onboard): I'm going to turn my S-Band Volume down, so you can [garble].
075:41:33 Armstrong (onboard): Down Voice Backup.
075:41:39 Aldrin (onboard): Main Bus Tie A coming On. Have you got TVC Gimbal Drive - Pitch and Yaw to Auto, huh?
And we've had Loss Of Signal as Apollo 11 goes behind the Moon. We were showing a distance to the Moon of 309 nautical miles [572 km] at LOS. Velocity; 7,664 feet per second [2,336 m/s]. Weight was 96,012 pounds [43,550 kg]. We're 7 minutes, 45 seconds away from the LOI number 1 burn, which will take place behind the Moon, out of communications. Here in the control center, two members of the backup crew, Bill Anders and Jim Lovell, have joined Bruce McCandless at the CapCom console. Fred Haise, the third member of the backup crew, has just come in, too, and Deke Slayton, Director of Flight Crew Operations, is at that console. The viewing room is filling up. Among those we noticed on the front row in the viewing room are astronauts Tom Stafford, John Glenn, Gene Cernan, Dave Scott, Al Worden and Jack Swigert. With a good Lunar Orbit Insertion burn, the Madrid station should acquire Apollo 11 at 76 hours, 15 minutes, 29 seconds. Acquisition time for no burn; 76 hours, 5 minutes, 30 seconds.
075:41:46 Collins (onboard): TVC Gimbal Drive, Pitch and Yaw to Auto.
Buzz has checked back a step in the checklist where they place the drives for the engine's gimballing actuators in automatic mode. The alternatives are primary or secondary.
075:41:55 Aldrin (onboard): Okay, TVC...
075:41:57 Collins (onboard): He's not going to have the Sun in your eyes - I mean, on this thing, why don't we [garble]?
075:42:00 Aldrin (onboard): Is that right?
075:42:01 Armstrong (onboard): Now, you may have the Sun in your eyes coming around the corner. Now, you've got your patch ready in case you want it?
075:42:05 Collins (onboard): Got it right here.
Armstrong is reminding Collins because he failed to have his sunshade ready to block the Sun's glare during TLI.
075:42:08 Aldrin (onboard): Okay, TVC Servo Power 1, to AC 1,
075:42:11 Collins (onboard): TVC Servo Power 1, to AC 1.
075:42:15 Aldrin (onboard): 2 to AC 2.
075:42:16 Armstrong (onboard): Look the other way.
075:42:18 Collins (onboard): 2 to AC 2.
This routes power to the servoactuators; the primary servos from the primary AC bus, while the secondary servos are powered from the secondary AC bus.
075:42:20 Aldrin (onboard): Translational Control Power, On.
075:42:24 Collins (onboard): Translational Control Power is On.
075:42:27 Aldrin (onboard): Rotation Control Power, Normal, number 2, to AC.
075:42:33 Collins (onboard): Okay, stand by. Rotational Control Power is Normal, number 2, to AC.
075:42:47 Aldrin (onboard): Rotation Hand Controller, number 2, Armed.
075:43:01 Collins (onboard): Rotational Hand Controller, number 2, is Armed.
Two hand controllers need to be operational for this manoeuvre. If the automatic control of the engine gimbals fails, then Mike needs the rotational hand controller to be able to hold the spacecraft's attitude. Prior to SPS ignition, an ullage burn will be carried out which is essentially a plus-X translation manoeuvre, requiring the use of the translational hand controller.
075:43:07 Aldrin (onboard): It's going to have to get up pretty high to [garble]. Alright, time check.
075:43:14 Armstrong (onboard): Okay, we've got 6½.
075:43:21 Collins (onboard): Mark it...
075:43:22 Collins (onboard): 6½.
075:44:05 Aldrin (onboard): 10-minutes difference whether we [garble], huh? That's a lot of time.
075:44:10 Collins (onboard): Yes.
075:44:16 Aldrin (onboard): Now, what do we do? Turn up - Where did the noise come from?
075:44:20 Armstrong (onboard): VHF or the S-band?
075:44:23 Aldrin (onboard): I don't know.
075:44:24 Collins (onboard): VHF, I think. It's a woo-woo noise.
075:44:28 Aldrin (onboard): Woo-oo, what time is it?
075:44:29 Collins (onboard): I turned my S-Band Volume down to get rid of that background noise. Now don't forget for us to turn it back up on the other side.
075:44:36 Aldrin (onboard): What time you got?
075:44:37 Collins (onboard): It's coming up on 5 minutes to TIG. I'll give you a mark.
075:44:41 Aldrin (onboard): Alright. Start giving me Pitch 1, Yaw 1.
Momentary switches on panel 1 activate relays that send power to the primary gimbal motors on the SPS.
075:44:44 Collins (onboard): Okay, here comes Pitch 1.
075:44:46 Aldrin (onboard): Got it.
075:44:47 Collins (onboard): Here comes Yaw 1.
075:44:49 Aldrin (onboard): Got it.
075:44:50 Collins (onboard): Mark...
075:44:51 Collins (onboard): ...5 minutes to TIG.
075:44:52 Aldrin (onboard): Alright. Translation Hand Controller's counter-clock - clockwise.
075:44:57 Collins (onboard): Hey, are you - are you on your Intercom switch? Intercom Push-To-Talk and all that?
075:45:03 Aldrin (onboard): Yes, yes.
075:45:04 Collins (onboard): Okay. Alright. Translational Controller's...
075:45:07 Aldrin (onboard): [Garble] going TVC.
Mike turns the THC clockwise to try to control the engine's aim. If their configuration is correct, the engine should not respond to his commands as the primary gimbals are to be controlled by the G&C system and any manual control is to be via the rotational controller. Their next check is to ensure the secondary gimbals do respond to Mike's commands, as they should.
075:45:09 Collins (onboard): ...clockwise - that's verified. Alright, secondary TVC check; Gimbal Motors, Pitch 2, Yaw 2, On.
075:45:18 Armstrong (onboard): Pitch 2, Mark.
075:45:19 Collins (onboard): Got it.
075:45:20 Armstrong (onboard): Yaw 2, Mark.
075:45:22 Collins (onboard): Got it.
075:45:23 Armstrong (onboard): Okay.
075:45:24 Collins (onboard): Set GPI trim.
075:45:25 Armstrong (onboard): Plus...
075:45:26 Collins (onboard): Okay, it's set.
075:45:27 Armstrong (onboard): ...1.0, minus 0.2.
GPI is Gimbal Position Indicator, a set of dual-use gauges on panel 1. During ascent from Earth, they showed the tank pressures in the launch vehicle using the 0 to 50 scales. Now they will show the angles to which the SPS engine is being aimed using the scales that run from +4.5, through zero to -4.5.
Photograph of the GPI meters and GPI trim thumbwheels aboard Odyssey
GPI meters and GPI trim thumbwheels on board the Apollo 13 Command Module Odyssey.
This photograph shows the GPI meters and the two GPI trim thumbwheels on board the Apollo 13 Command Module, Odyssey. The crew are setting the trim angles on the thumbwheels. These only have relevance when the crew have to manually aim the engine, which they do so for the start of the burn. This Manual TVC Mode is being tested now. The secondary motors are controlled by the Rotational Hand Controller. Mike tries moving the controller and confirms that the engine moves by watching the needles on the GPI.
075:45:31 Collins (onboard): Yes, it's set. Verify MTVC.
075:45:38 Armstrong (onboard): Verified.
075:45:41 Collins (onboard): THC, Neutral.
075:45:43 Armstrong (onboard): Neutral.
They are now at the top of page F5-4 in the checklist.
075:45:45 Collins (onboard): Verify GPI return to zero, zero.
The GPI meters would return to zero if the primary Thrust Vector Control (TVC) is being driven by the G&N system. If the SCS is in control, the meters should go to the trim values.
075:45:47 Armstrong (onboard): Verified.
075:45:48 Collins (onboard): Rot Control Power, Normal, number 2, to AC/DC.
075:45:52 Armstrong (onboard): AC/DC.
075:45:54 Collins (onboard): Spacecraft Control, CMC, verify.
075:45:55 Armstrong (onboard): CMC.
The burn is set to be under the control of the computer.
075:45:57 Collins (onboard): Okay. Now you got an option of trimming or bypassing.
075:46:01 Armstrong (onboard): Let's bypass.
075:46:02 Collins (onboard): Alright. BMAG Mode, three, to Att 1/Rate 2.
The BMAGs (Body Mounted Attitude Gyros) and their associated electronics, the Gyro Display Couplers (GDCs) are set to provide both attitude and rate information.
075:46:06 Armstrong (onboard): Okay, we're going to - Did you say after Enter?
075:46:08 Collins (onboard): Before Enter.
075:46:10 Armstrong (onboard): Okay, Att 1/Rate 2. BMAG's in shape.
075:46:13 Collins (onboard): Enter.
075:46:15 Armstrong (onboard): Enter.
075:46:17 Collins (onboard): Verify Spacecraft Control, CMC.
075:46:20 Armstrong (onboard): CMC.
075:46:22 Collins (onboard): Accept this with a Proceed.
075:46:24 Armstrong (onboard): Proceed. You ready to go?
075:46:26 Collins (onboard): Yes. Up, down, zero. Up, down, zero. [Garble] Off and the [garble] Off.
075:46:46 Armstrong (onboard): Three minutes. Three...
075:46:48 Collins (onboard): Rotational Control Power, Direct, two of them, to Main A/Main B.
075:46:52 Armstrong (onboard): Rotational Control Power, Direct, Main A/Main B.
Power for the rotational hand controller is switched to come from both main DC power busses.
075:46:56 Collins (onboard): Okay. SPS Helium Valves, verified Auto, barber pole. Limit Cycle, Off.
With the helium valve in auto, helium is only allowed into the propellant tanks when the engine valves are energised. The Limit Cycle switch enables a subtle aspect of automatic attitude control. With the switch set to On, then during active attitude correction, when the spacecraft approaches the deadband, the RCS jets are made to pulse on and off quickly rather than making long firings. This helps to reduce the overshoot effects of liquids sloshing about in the tanks. This switch had been set to On earlier in the checklist before the onboard voices began to be recorded.
075:47:00 Armstrong (onboard): Okay.
075:47:03 Collins (onboard): FDAI scale, 50/15.
Around the edge of the FDAI are three displays that show the rate of rotation of the spacecraft.
Photograph of the Flight Director Attitude Indicator (FDAI) on board Odyssey
Photograph of the Flight Director/Attitude Indicator (FDAI) on board the Apollo 13 Command Module Odyssey.
The FDAI Scale switch allows the crew to select what is meant by the full scale deflection of these needles. Its positions are ±1° per second, ±5° per second and a "50/10" position that means ±10° per second in pitch and yaw, and ±50° per second in roll.
The same switch also selects the full scale deflection for the attitude error needles (the yellow needles within the ball display). The first two positions of the switch represent ±5° error while the bottom position selects ±15° in pitch and yaw, and ±50° in roll. The crew have therefore selected the position that has the coarsest resolution for the error and rate displays.
075:47:05 Armstrong (onboard): Alright.
075:47:07 Collins (onboard): Stand by for 2 minutes; then we'll have Delta-V Thrust B, On, okay?
075:47:11 Armstrong (onboard): That's right. Guess we want to turn it on at 2 minutes - Want to wait a while?
075:47:19 Collins (onboard): You already asked them that and they said turn it on at 2 minutes.
075:47:21 Armstrong (onboard): I never saw any lights, so they never saw a signal, so everything looks good. Put it on 2 minutes and be ready to turn it off.
075:47:27 Collins (onboard): Okay. I'll be ready. Coming up on 2 minutes.
075:47:50 Collins (onboard): Mark...
075:47:52 Collins (onboard): Go on, nothing happened.
075:47:56 Aldrin (onboard): Translation Controller, Armed.
075:47:59 Collins (onboard): Okay.
075:48:00 Aldrin (onboard): Rotation Controller, Armed.
075:48:02 Collins (onboard): Okay.
The hand controllers are ready to be used if called upon if the primary automatic systems fail.
075:48:03 Aldrin (onboard): Tape Recorder. Drifted off a little bit in pitch.
075:48:04 Unidentified speaker (onboard): [Garble].
075:48:21 Collins (onboard): Tape recorder's running, right?
075:48:22 Aldrin (onboard): Tape recorder is running. You verify the EMS set up the way you want it?
That the tape recorder, or Data Storage Equipment (DSE) is running is evidenced by the fact that this transcript is available.
075:48:30 Collins (onboard): Yes, I got to go to horizontal at 35.
075:48:31 Unidentified speaker (onboard): [Garble].
075:48:32 Aldrin (onboard): ...35, 30 seconds, yes.
With 35 seconds to go the DSKY display blanks for 5 seconds. This indicates that the computer is actively measuring their acceleration, so called 'average G'.
075:48:37 Collins (onboard): I'll proceed on the 99.
At 5 seconds remaining, the computer flashes 99 in the Verb window. This is its way of requesting permission to start the burn on time. during those 5 seconds, pressing the Proceed key confirms that the burn should go ahead on time.
075:48:39 Aldrin (onboard): Alright. 60...
075:48:59 Collins (onboard): You're going to watch the - go gray...
075:49:00 Aldrin (onboard): Right.
075:49:02 Collins (onboard): ...and the ball valve.
075:49:03 Aldrin (onboard): Right.
075:49:14 Armstrong (onboard): 35 seconds; DSKY's blank, EMS Mode, Normal. Okay.
075:49:26 Collins (onboard): Yes, the Moon is there, boy - in all its splendor.
075:49:30 Armstrong (onboard): Man, it's a...
075:49:32 Collins (onboard): Plaster of paris gray to me.
075:49:34 Aldrin (onboard): Man, look at it.
075:49:35 Armstrong (onboard): Don't look at it. Here we come up...
075:49:36 Collins (onboard): Okay.
075:49:37 Armstrong (onboard): ... [garble] to TIG.
075:49:42 Aldrin (onboard): 8 seconds.
075:49:45 Collins (onboard): 99...
075:49:46 Armstrong/Collins (onboard): Proceed.
075:49:48 Collins (onboard): Stand by for TIG.
075:49:50 Collins (onboard): Got B mode...
As is normal with a long burn, the engine is started automatically using its A control bank. The B bank is then manually brought in to bring it to its rated thrust.
Flight Plan, page 3-46a.
075:49:51 Armstrong (onboard): Burning. We're looking good.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 75 hours, 49 minutes. Apollo 11 should have started this long burn; duration 6 minutes, 2 seconds. Delta-V; 2,917 feet per second [889 m/s]. Given that burn, we expect an orbit of 61 by 169.2 nautical miles [113 by 313.4 km].
Rather than entering a circular orbit using a single burn, NASA chose to get there using two separate burns for safety reasons. Towards the end of a 362-second burn around the far side, the height of the resulting orbit over the near side drops by about 11 or more nautical miles for each second of the burn. It is therefore easy to see that an overburn of only 10 seconds could drop their nearside altitude by about 110 km. Since this is the altitude they are eventually hoping to achieve, then such an overburn, perhaps through a guidance error, if trying to achieve it on one manoeuvre, risks their nearside altitude becoming negative. In other words, they would hit the surface.
NASA's plan is to achieve the majority of the manoeuvre on LOI-1, but cut it short by about 17 seconds compared to what should achieve circularity. Then allow two orbits to permit the shape of that orbit to be carefully determined, then burn the remainder as required to achieve circularity.
075:49:54 Collins (onboard): ...A, here comes B - B, I mean, Thrust A...
075:49:56 Collins (onboard): Mark.
075:49:57 Aldrin (onboard): Got them.
075:49:58 Collins (onboard): Got them both? Okay, now what's your - read your chamber pressure?
075:50:00 Aldrin (onboard): It's good. 95, 95.
075:50:03 Armstrong (onboard): PUGS is oscillating around. Okay, we're steering.
075:50:15 Aldrin (onboard): 95 seconds in, it says go Decrease, and we're [garble].
075:50:21 Collins (onboard): You're in pretty good. Your gimbals are working a little bit more busily than I would have guessed, but everything's looking good.
075:50:34 Armstrong (onboard): EMS and G&N CALS together.
075:50:36 Aldrin (onboard): Okay.
075:50:38 Collins (onboard): Pitch trim is up at 1.5 degrees, cycling about that, which is a little bit off the SIM value. Yaw trim is cycling about zero. Chamber pressure...
075:50:49 Aldrin (onboard): {Garble].
075:50:50 Collins (onboard): ...is 95.
075:50:51 Aldrin (onboard): Right, going Increase.
075:50:54 Collins (onboard): Yes, you're into - a minute into it. Yes.
075:50:56 Armstrong (onboard): Well, it's still below zero, I just...
075:50:59 Collins (onboard): I'll bet you we're never going to catch up. Let's do it and see what happens.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
We're 24½ minutes away from Acquisition Of Signal with a good burn. Four... well, the clock - the clock has not yet started counting for the other acquisition time. We'll take this line down now. Come back up just prior to the acquisition time for no burn. This is Mission Control, Houston.
075:51:09 Armstrong (onboard): Okay, that should be gray...
075:51:13 Collins (onboard): g feels sort of pleasant, doesn't it? We're measuring just a shadow over zero g on the g-meter.
075:51:19 Aldrin (onboard): Tank pressures are good.
075:51:20 Collins (onboard): Okay. The chamber pressure is holding steady as a rock. It's holding - it's building up a little bit, actually; it's up around 96 now. Gimbals are sure a little bit busier than I would have guessed.
075:51:36 Armstrong (onboard): That's a little more chamber pressure than they were predicting.
075:51:42 Collins (onboard): Yes, they're all plus 95.
We'll stand by.
075:51:44 Armstrong (onboard): We may...
075:51:45 Collins (onboard): Shut down a little early.
075:51:46 Armstrong (onboard): ...shut down a little early.
075:51:48 Aldrin (onboard): What do you think about this crazy g-scale?
075:51:56 Armstrong (onboard): All your [garble] look okay over there, Buzz?
075:51:58 Aldrin (onboard): Man, I'm not going to look at them.
075:52:00 Armstrong (onboard): Alright, probably a good rule.
075:52:15 Collins (onboard): How about that? It's running a couple up.
075:52:16 Armstrong (onboard): 35 more seconds, and we'll be out of mode 2.
To help get to grips with the abort modes involved in getting Apollo 11 into lunar orbit, consider the two extreme situations first, both of which are benign. If the SPS burn fails to occur, the stack will be Earthbound because of the choice of a free-return trajectory. The crew already have a PAD that will refine this return. At the other end of the scale, if the burn is completed to its full duration, the stack will be in the expected lunar orbit. But what if the engine fails partway through the six-minute burn?
As the LOI-1 burn proceeds, the geometry of the stack's subsequent trajectory is modified. The following diagrams from an MSC document, Hybrid Mission Effects on the LOI Phase of the Apollo 11 (G Mission) Abort Plan, includes three diagrams that hint at what these effects are. These describe three modes for making an abort burn that would return the spacecraft to Earth.
Geometry of a Mode 1 LOI abort
Geometry of a Mode 2 LOI abort
Geometry of a Mode 3 LOI abort
A very short LOI burn would result in the approach hyperbola becoming a very large ellipse around Earth that would take a very long time to get near the home planet. In this scenario, if the SPS has failed, the crew can use the LM's descent engine to restore a return trajectory of an acceptable duration. As the LOI burn becomes longer, the subsequent trajectory becomes one that would rise to a point near the equigravisphere. Here the stack would loiter in ways that would be hard to predict, with both Earth and Moon vying for dominance. And because the Moon is still moving around in its orbit, there are scenarios where the stack, upon returning to the Moon after completing a large elliptical orbit around it, would crash into its surface. Eventually, the length of the LOI burn would be sufficient that a stable, if elliptical lunar orbit would result; one that could be corrected by a subsequent short burn or an attempt to perform a TEI manoeuvre could be made.
075:52:29 Aldrin (onboard): Well, it's more than just...
075:52:31 Collins (onboard): Chamber pressure continuing. It's up to about 97 - 98 percent.
075:52:35 Aldrin (onboard): ...more than just gray.
075:52:36 Collins (onboard): Yes, there's a little pinging in there. That might have jammed. Keep your arms off the cockpit, [garble] all day to look at that thing.
075:52:42 Aldrin (onboard): Look at that thing; that's just where I want it. What do you think about that? A tad low. We're not going to - match it - [garble] creep up. Okay? Pressure is on Increase...
075:53:04 Armstrong (onboard): Tank pressures are still good.
075:53:05 Aldrin (onboard): [garble] at the beginning.
075:53:07 Collins (onboard): Chamber pressure...
075:53:08 Aldrin (onboard): Take a look at this.
075:53:09 Collins (onboard): ...is holding. Wandering off a little bit in roll; that's to be expected. Coming back.
075:53:22 Aldrin (onboard): Okay...
075:53:23 Armstrong (onboard): We're well into mode 3.
075:53:24 Aldrin (onboard): ...it's going to be about 3 seconds early - cut-off.
075:53:30 Collins (onboard): Alright, cut-off nominal at 06:02; expect cut-off around 6 minutes even then, huh?
075:53:36 Aldrin (onboard): [Garble].
075:53:42 Collins (onboard): Okay, the rates. We're [garble] all three axes are about 0.1 degree per second. APS is punting back and forth.
075:53:52 Armstrong (onboard): I'm predicting 05:58.
075:53:55 Collins (onboard): Okay.
075:53:56 Armstrong (onboard): 4 seconds early.
075:53:58 Collins (onboard): Right now.
075:53:59 Armstrong (onboard): May be - might be 5 by the time I get my [garble].
075:54:05 Collins (onboard): Okay, she's steering like a champ; chamber pressure sneaking up to 100.
075:54:10 Armstrong (onboard): Look at the [garble].
075:54:11 Collins (onboard): [Garble], didn't recognize it. [Garble].
075:54:23 Collins (onboard): Pitch trim is holding a little over 2; it's oscillating between 2 and 2.4, roughly. Yaw trim is oscillating between minus 0.5 and zero. It's just sort of aimlessly wandering back and forth between those values. Rates are still wandering; they're deadbanding the rates in all three axes; they're plus or minus 0.1 a degree.
075:54:53 Armstrong (onboard): We're now predicting 5 seconds early, 05:57.
075:54:57 Collins (onboard): Chamber pressure is 100 psi even.
075:55:11 Collins (onboard): Ball number 1 and ball number 2 both right on value. Roll zero, pitch 225, roughly, and yaw 348. And hold.
075:55:29 Aldrin (onboard): Okay, going to get the Delta-V switches Off right at shutdown?
075:55:34 Collins (onboard): Shutdown, I'll get both Delta-V Thrust, Normal switches, Off.
075:55:38 Armstrong (onboard): 10 seconds.
075:55:40 Collins (onboard): Okay. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...
075:55:48 Unidentified speaker (onboard): [Garble].
075:55:49 Armstrong (onboard): Shutdown.
075:55:50 Collins (onboard): Okay, now.
075:55:51 Aldrin (onboard): Ball valves closed...
075:55:52 Collins (onboard): 50 seconds.
075:55:53 Aldrin (onboard): ...barber poles...
075:55:54 Collins (onboard): Okay.
075:55:55 Aldrin (onboard): All four. Standing by for the gimbal motors.
075:55:56 Collins (onboard): Alright. Pitch 1 - Off.
075:55:57 Aldrin (onboard): Got it.
075:55:58 Collins (onboard): Yaw 1, Off.
075:55:59 Aldrin (onboard): Got it.
075:56:00 Collins (onboard): Pitch 2, Off.
075:56:02 Aldrin (onboard): Got it.
075:56:03 Collins (onboard): Yaw 2, Off.
075:56:04 Aldrin (onboard): Got it.
075:56:05 Collins (onboard): Okay. TVC Servo Power 1 and 2, Off.
075:56:08 Aldrin (onboard): 1, Off. 2, Off.
075:56:10 Collins (onboard): Main Bus Tie is Off.
075:56:11 Aldrin (onboard): Okay.
075:56:12 Collins (onboard): 1, Off. 2, Off.
075:56:14 Aldrin (onboard): Man, man!
075:56:15 Collins (onboard): Alright.
075:56:16 Armstrong (onboard): Understand.
075:56:17 Aldrin (onboard): Look at the residuals. Proceed.
075:56:20 Collins (onboard): Proceed? Copy them down; we're not going to trim them.
Once the burn is complete, the crew request Noun 85. This displays the velocities to be gained in terms of the spacecraft's axes. Throughout the burn, these values had been heading towards zero. However, it is very unlikely that at completion of the burn, they would be exactly at zero. In fact, there is every possibility that they may have overshot. The values displayed after the burn are called the 'residual velocities', or just 'residuals'. For some burns, the crew have the option to bring them to zero (also known as trimming or nulling them) using the Translational Hand Controller (THC) but in this instance, there is no need. Once the resulting orbit has been accurately measured, the second LOI burn will refine any discrepancies.
075:56:22 Unidentified speaker (onboard): [Garble].
075:56:23 Collins (onboard): [Garble] minus 1, minus 1, plus 1. Jesus!
075:56:27 Aldrin (onboard): Got them.
075:56:29 Collins (onboard): I take back any bad things I ever said about MIT - which I never have.
075:56:34 Armstrong (onboard): Okay, will you just leave them, now? They vary around.
075:56:35 Aldrin (onboard): Alright, get the EMS, too.
075:56:37 Collins (onboard): Okay, EMS says minus 6.8.
The EMS had also been counting down from an initial value so that, if the primary guidance system had failed to stop the engine on time, the EMS would have done so. This value of minus 6.8 feet per second shows that there was an additional 6.8 fps impulse from the engine after it reached its zero point, probably from the engine's tail-off thrust.
075:56:39 Aldrin (onboard): Got it. You got them on the [garble] switches?
075:56:43 Collins (onboard): Minus 6.8 to the Delta-V to B.
075:56:45 Armstrong (onboard): [Garble] Flight Plan.
075:56:47 Aldrin (onboard): Alright, no nulling residuals. EMS Function to Off, we got that [garble]?
075:56:51 Collins (onboard): 1 minute - Neil's got it. We got it, minus 6.8. Okay, stand by on Off on EMS. What else you got, Buzz, in the way of a checklist?
075:57:02 Aldrin (onboard): The EMS Mode, Standby.
075:57:04 Collins (onboard): Standby.
075:57:05 Aldrin (onboard): BMAG Mode, three, to Rate 2.
075:57:06 Collins (onboard): Three to Rate 2.
075:57:07 Aldrin (onboard): ATT Deadband, Max?
075:57:08 Collins (onboard): ATT Deadband, Max.
075:57:09 Aldrin (onboard): PCM Bit Rate, Low.
075:57:13 Aldrin (onboard): Rotation Control Power, Direct, two of them, Off?
075:57:14 Collins (onboard): Direct, two, is Off.
075:57:15 Aldrin (onboard): Circuit breakers - Pitch 1, Pitch 2, Yaw 1, Yaw 2, Open.
075:57:17 Collins (onboard): Pitch 1, Pitch 2, Yaw 1, Yaw 2, Open. Proceed.
075:57:21 Aldrin (onboard): Okay, proceed. Okay, Verb 82 in there. Go to P00. Well, that isn't what it says, but...
075:57:30 Collins (onboard): Well, it's good.
075:57:45 Armstrong (onboard): I think we're going to have to - Well, we'll leave this here anyway [garble] magazine [garble].
075:57:48 Collins (onboard): What goes in this VGX column?
075:57:53 Aldrin (onboard): That was the - that's the VGX residual at - before you spin.
075:58:00 Collins (onboard): Okay.
075:58:02 Aldrin (onboard): So just read the [garble] A.
075:58:04 Collins (onboard): Alright.
075:58:10 Armstrong (onboard): That was a beautiful burn.
075:58:12 Collins (onboard): God damn, I guess.
075:58:14 Aldrin (onboard): Whoo! Well, I have to vote with the 10 crew, that thing is brown.
075:58:19 Armstrong (onboard): Yes.
075:58:20 Collins (onboard): Sure is.
075:58:21 Armstrong (onboard): Looks tan to me.
075:58:23 Aldrin (onboard): But when I first saw it, at the other Sun angle...
075:58:24 Armstrong (onboard): Yes?
075:58:25 Collins (onboard): It looked gray.
075:58:26 Aldrin (onboard): ...it really looked gray.
075:58:27 Armstrong (onboard): Yes.
075:58:28 Collins (onboard): More - more Sun angle you get...
075:58:29 Aldrin (onboard): It got more - more brown - with increasing Sun angle.
075:58:35 Collins (onboard): Okay.
075:58:36 Aldrin (onboard): It's a long ways off.
075:58:37 Armstrong (onboard): Alright, let's - Okay, now we've got some things to do...
075:58:43 Aldrin (onboard): Okay, let's do them.
075:58:48 Armstrong (onboard): We got to do a Verb 66.
075:58:51 Aldrin (onboard): Hey, wait a minute - alright.
075:58:53 Collins (onboard): Buzz will want to do a Verb 82. Now, I don't know what comes first here.
075:58:55 Aldrin (onboard): Yes, Verb 82.
Verb 82 will display the dimensions of their orbit, its apolune and perilune.
075:59:08 Collins (onboard): Well, I don't know if we're 60 miles or not, but at least we haven't hit that mother.
075:59:11 Aldrin (onboard): Look at that! Look at that! 169.6 by 60.9.
169.6 by 60.9 nautical miles is 314.1 by 112.8 kilometres. The PAD for this burn was targeting for a 169.2 by 61.0 nautical miles (313.4 by 113.0 km).
075:59:15 Collins (onboard): Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
075:59:17 Aldrin (onboard): What - what'd it say...
075:59:18 Collins (onboard): You want to write that down or something?
075:59:19 Aldrin (onboard): ...60.2.
075:59:20 Collins (onboard): Write it down, just for the hell of it. 170 by 60, like gangbustsers!
075:59:28 Aldrin (onboard): We only missed by a couple of tenths of a mile.
075:59:36 Collins (onboard): Hello, Moon. How's the old back side?
075:59:41 Aldrin (onboard): Well, it's...
075:59:42 Armstrong (onboard): Verb 66, alright?
075:59:43 Aldrin (onboard): Verb 66.
075:59:47 Armstrong (onboard): We won't need that other vector ever again.
Now that they have entered lunar orbit, the state vector that they had been keeping in the LM slots in memory is no longer required. This version had been based on the cislunar navigation exercises that Mike had been carrying out on the way to the Moon. Verb 66 is a command to copy the CSM's state vector (their primary one) into the LM slots.
075:59:49 Aldrin (onboard): Now, we're - PCM, Low, and we want to turn the tape recorder, Off?
075:59:52 Collins (onboard): Yes, why - I don't care.
075:59:53 Aldrin (onboard): Okay.
075:59:54 Collins (onboard): Why don't you go PCM, Low, and don't worry about the tape recorder; it's got 2 hours.
075:59:57 Aldrin (onboard): Okay.
075:59:58 Armstrong (onboard): Okay, we'll look at Service Module RCS - and SCS...
Flight Plan, page 3-48.
076:00:07 Collins (onboard): I want to look at the DAP again and enter a Verb 48, Enter.
Verb 48 begins a routine that gives access to the settings for the Digital AutoPilot (DAP).
076:00:14 Aldrin (onboard): What was our [garble]?
076:00:16 Armstrong (onboard): 1500.
076:00:24 Collins (onboard): Okay.
076:00:26 Aldrin (onboard): You got all your things logged now?
076:00:30 Collins (onboard): Yes, sir, I'm all logged.
076:00:31 Aldrin (onboard): Okay.
076:00:34 Armstrong (onboard): Now, it says what we do is roll 180 and pitch down 70.
076:00:39 Aldrin (onboard): That do it? Alrighty, let's go to SCS and do it.
076:00:45 Armstrong (onboard): And...
076:00:53 Aldrin (onboard): Don't waste all the gas, now.
076:00:55 Collins (onboard): [Garble]. When I get around there, I'll pitch down 70, huh? What are we pitching down for, what, what, what...
076:01:01 Armstrong (onboard): We're going to - what we're...
076:01:02 Collins (onboard): I don't even know what we're doing.
076:01:04 Collins/Aldrin (onboard): [Laughter]
076:01:05 Armstrong (onboard): Well, we're going to roll over and pitch down so we're looking out the front windows, down at the...
076:01:10 Collins (onboard): Oh, yes, okay.
076:01:11 Armstrong (onboard): Okay?
076:01:12 Collins (onboard): We can pitch down - [garble] picture...
076:01:13 Aldrin (onboard): [Garble]...
076:01:14 Collins (onboard): ...can we take a picture...
076:01:15 Aldrin (onboard): ... [garble] pitch attitude.
076:01:16 Collins (onboard): Yes.
076:01:17 Armstrong (onboard): Now, we're going to have High Gain, and then we're...
076:01:18 Collins (onboard): How would you...
076:01:19 Armstrong (onboard): ...going to be able to...
076:01:20 Collins (onboard): ...like it with the...
076:01:21 Armstrong (onboard): ...look at the Moon ahead of us, coming out the window right now.
076:01:22 Collins (onboard): Can we see the Earth rising from here?
076:01:23 Armstrong (onboard): Well, there's gonna be an Earthrise [garble]...
076:01:24 Armstrong (onboard): We should be able to [garble].
076:01:25 Aldrin (onboard): We gotta be precise. What was the time we got on it, Neil?
076:01:28 Armstrong (onboard): Yes, we can...
076:01:29 Aldrin (onboard): Neil?
076:01:31 Armstrong (onboard): What's that?
076:01:32 Aldrin (onboard): What was the time we got on it?
076:01:34 Armstrong (onboard): Burn time?
076:01:38 Aldrin (onboard): No, no...
076:01:39 Armstrong (onboard): Burn time or what?
076:01:41 Aldrin (onboard): We want the big camera, huh?
076:01:45 Collins (onboard): Big lens or small one?
076:01:46 Collins (onboard): Oh, it doesn't really matter. 80 millimeter will probably be as good for...
076:01:50 Aldrin (onboard): For the Earth coming up?
076:01:51 Armstrong (onboard): No, for the Earth...
076:01:52 Collins (onboard): No, for the Earth coming up, we want 250.
076:01:53 Aldrin (onboard): Might take some...
076:01:54 Armstrong (onboard): ...not sure we can get the Earth coming up...
076:01:55 Aldrin (onboard): ...might take some - some luck to get that, but...
076:01:59 Collins (onboard): Here, you want...
076:02:03 Armstrong (onboard): Tape recorder still running?
076:02:04 Aldrin (onboard): Yeah.
076:02:06 Collins (onboard): It doesn't matter, we've got 2 hours on that tape, and they don't care if you run out. As long as you're on Bit-rate Low.
076:02:18 Aldrin (onboard): Okay, infinity, at f:11 - and 1/250th, huh?
076:02:28 Collins (onboard): Okay, let me get my - let me get my gouge out here. I got my gouge...
076:02:30 Armstrong (onboard): You might want to back off a half stop to get the Earth...
076:02:33 Collins (onboard): Are you - you black and white or color?
076:02:35 Aldrin (onboard): Color.
076:02:37 Collins (onboard): Alrighty.
076:02:38 Aldrin (onboard): Moon [garble], 5.6. Earth [garble], 11; [garble] terminator, 1.8...
076:02:44 Armstrong (onboard): You think it's on your - your spot meter reading for the Earth?
076:02:54 Collins (onboard): Which way are you maneuvering now, friend?
076:02:58 Aldrin (onboard): 5.6 at - 5.6 at 1/250th is probably...
076:03:01 Collins (onboard): Are you rolling?
076:03:02 Armstrong (onboard): Rolling?
076:03:03 Collins (onboard): You are, aren't you?
076:03:04 Armstrong (onboard): I'm rolling right.
076:03:07 Armstrong (onboard): Boy, there is some rough country over there.
076:03:09 Aldrin (onboard): You might get it coming sideways here. Stand by in case it does. What's the AOS time?
076:03:15 Collins (onboard): It was 15 with the burn. 15:23, something like that.
076:03:23 Collins (onboard): Just be with you in 10 seconds, Neil. I just want to get my...
076:03:27 Aldrin (onboard): We ought to be able to get it...
076:03:28 Collins (onboard): ...book put back together here.
076:03:29 Aldrin (onboard): ...a couple of good shots.
076:03:33 Collins (onboard): The Earth's going to be over here?
076:03:35 Armstrong (onboard): AOS, 76:15. That's exact...
076:03:38 Aldrin (onboard): Can you verify that you got the state vectors transferred with the Verb 83?
076:03:41 Armstrong (onboard): I'll do that.
076:03:47 Aldrin (onboard): Now, what else we got?
076:03:49 Armstrong (onboard): Coming up there.
076:03:53 Aldrin (onboard): [Garble]. Eyeballing and chattering. We got the burn status report? That's all?
076:04:02 Armstrong (onboard): Ready to go.
076:04:05 Aldrin (onboard): Okay, that looks good. Give me a Verb - 64.
076:04:12 Armstrong (onboard): What happened?
076:04:27 Aldrin (onboard): Ought to wash this window over here...
076:04:28 Armstrong (onboard): You have a map so we can look at [garble].
076:04:30 Aldrin (onboard): Anybody got a...
076:04:31 Collins (onboard): Yes, it...
076:04:32 Aldrin (onboard): ...anybody got a Kleenex?
076:04:33 Armstrong (onboard): Yes, I think I've got one. Here you go.
076:04:40 Collins (onboard): Here's one; it's a little moist, though.
076:04:43 Aldrin (onboard): [Garble].
076:04:49 Collins (onboard): Well, one more [garble] burn.
076:04:53 Aldrin (onboard): Two more.
076:04:57 Armstrong (onboard): You got two more.
076:04:59 Aldrin (onboard): Yes, [garble] got a few more.
076:05:05 Aldrin (onboard): Look at those craters in a row. You see them right - going right out there?
076:05:07 Armstrong (onboard): [Garble].
076:05:08 Aldrin (onboard): Look at that line of them.
076:05:10 Armstrong (onboard): [Garble].
076:05:13 Aldrin (onboard): [Garble].
076:05:15 Aldrin (onboard): Something really peppered that one. There's a lot less variation in color than I would have thought, you know, looking down?
076:05:26 Collins (onboard): Yes, but when you look down, you say it's brownish color?
076:05:29 Collins (onboard): Sure.
Were LOI-1 burn not carried out, the spacecraft was expected to come out from behind the Moon at 076:05:30. The fact that radio communication has not been re-established at this time indicates that dome degree of burn has taken place. Indeed, the acquisition time is a very good indicator of the accuracy or otherwise of the burn.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
We're past the no-burn acquisition time now and we have received no signal.
076:05:32 Collins (onboard): Oh, golly, let me have that camera back. There's a huge, magnificent crater over here. I wish we had the other lens on, but God, that's a big beauty. You want to look at that guy, Neil?
076:05:43 Armstrong (onboard): Yes, I see him.
076:05:45 Collins (onboard): He's coming your way.
On the way out to the Moon, the crew used magazine N (36), a colour film magazine, to capture images of the receding Earth. It seems reasonable to assume that this magazine is still attached to a Hasselblad body and that the crew are using it to capture photographs of the landscape that passes below. Certainly, there is a colour magazine on the camera, as mentioned at 076:02:35 and the remainder of the magazine is of a relatively small area of the lunar far side that roughly correlates with where they are just now. On this basis, the following are the images remaining on that magazine. The 250-mm telephoto lens is being used at this time.
AS11-36-5405 - Crater Glazenap E on the lunar far-side. Glazenap F at top-right of frame. 250-mm lens. 1.5°S, 139.5°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5406 - Crater Harden on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. 5.5°N, 144°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5407 - Looking northeast beyond the northeast rim of crater Mendeleev on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. 16°N, 150°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5408 - Crater Glazenap E on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. Glazenap F is right of frame. 1°S, 139°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5409 - Northwest rim of crater Mendeleev (and Catena Mendeleev at bottom-right) on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. 9°N, 139.5°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5410 - Northern rim of crater Green M on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. 1°N, 134°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5411 - View northeast over floor of crater Mendeleev With crater Benedict in foreground and crater Harden in mid-distance on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. 6°N, 143°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5412 - Crater Green R (above-left of centre) and crater Green Q (top left) on the lunar far-side. Crater Green is upper-left but indistinct. 250-mm lens. 0.7°N, 129.5°E. Image by LPI.
076:05:48 Armstrong (onboard): That dark spot.
076:05:50 Collins (onboard): Oh, let me - here, let me...
076:05:53 Aldrin (onboard): Well, there's no doubt that this is a little smaller than the Earth when you look at that curvature.
076:05:57 Collins (onboard): Look at that one.
076:06:01 Collins (onboard): Where is that dark spot? The dark spot's right up there.
076:06:02 Armstrong (onboard): You want to get the other lens on?
076:06:06 Collins (onboard): Yeah.
076:06:07 Collins (onboard): Don't you want to get the Earth coming up? It's going to be 9 minutes.
076:06:11 Aldrin (onboard): Yes, let's take some pictures here, first.
076:06:15 Collins (onboard): Well, don't miss that first one.
Buzz attaches the 80-mm lens to the Hasselblad. Mike is reminding him that Earthrise photos look better taken with the telephoto.
AS11-36-5413 - View north across the western floor of crater Mendeleev. Crater Bergman is in the mid-distance and crater Richards is beyond the far tip of Catena Mendeleev. 80-mm lens. 11°N, 141.5°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5414 - View across the western floor of crater Mendeleev. Crater Moissan is the larger of the pair in the foreground. LM exterior visible on right. 80-mm lens. 10°N, 147°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5415 - View north across far-side crater Vetchinkin which is indistinct to the right. Distinct crater to the right is Vetchinkin Q. Image fogged probably due to window or lens contamination. 80-mm lens. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5416 - View across the floor of crater Mendeleev past the LM exterior. Catena Mendeleev is visible in the distance and crater Green dominates the foreground with its central peak. 80-mm lens. 4°N, 134.5°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5417 - View towards crater Mendeleev. Catena Mendeleev is visible in the distance and crater Green dominates the upper foreground with its central peak. 80-mm lens. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5418 - Crater Green is on the left with its central peak. Craters Green P and M are clear next to the LM's antenna. 80-mm lens. 1.5°N, 133.5°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5419 - Crater King on the lunar far-side. 80-mm lens. 5.5°N, 120.5°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5420 - Crater King on the lunar far-side. 80-mm lens. 6.5°N, 121°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5421 - Crater King on the lunar far-side. 80-mm lens. 5.5°N, 120°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5422 - Crater King on the lunar far-side. 80-mm lens. 5°N, 120.5°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5422 - Crater King on the lunar far-side. 5°N, 120.5°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5423 - Crater Firsov Q on the lunar far-side. 80-mm lens. 2°N, 110.5°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5424 - Crater pair Buisson X and Y on the lunar far-side. 80-mm lens. 1°N, 112°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5425 - Crater Lobachevsky on the lunar far-side. 80-mm lens. 11°N, 113°E. Image by LPI.
Buzz returns to attaches the 250-mm telephoto.
AS11-36-5426 - Small craters north of Buisson on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. 1°S, 114°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5427 - View east towards Papaleski on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5428 - Landscape south of crater Mills on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. 5°N, 158°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5429 - Poor image, mostly obscured. 250-mm lens. Image by LPI.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
It's very quiet here in the control room. Most of the controllers seated at their consoles, a few standing up, but very quiet.
076:06:16 Aldrin (onboard): See how am I doing. Yes, you're right.
076:06:21 Armstrong (onboard): We'll need - we need to catch it about 10.
076:06:27 Collins (onboard): Shoot, you're going to have plenty of passes.
076:06:30 Aldrin (onboard): Yes, right.
076:06:33 Collins (onboard): Plenty of Earthrises, I guess.
076:06:37 Armstrong (onboard): Yes, we are.
076:06:38 Collins (onboard): Are we about there?
076:06:40 Armstrong (onboard): Boy, look at that [garble] crater. You can probably see him right there.
076:06:44 Collins (onboard): Yes, that's what I was talking about just a minute ago. It's kind of hard to believe that that's volcanic and formed by some faulting, isn't it? I don't believe that - but it's such a perfect straight line.
They may be talking about Catena Mendeleev, a string of craters stretched out in a straight line as seen in AS11-36-5430. For a long time, geologists tried to explain these linear features in terms they were familiar with; namely volcanic processes along the lines of straight geologic faults. Then in 1994, the discovery of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and its subsequent impact with Jupiter show how a small, loosely-aggregated body could be pulled apart by tidal forces as it passes a large body. If the resultant string of objects then impacts a body, the motion of that body will cause them to hit in a neat row, like a machine gun being panned across its target.
AS11-36-5430 - View northeast across the western floor of crater Mendeleev. Crater Moissan dominates the foreground and crater Richards is beyond the far tip of Catena Mendeleev. 250-mm lens. 6.5°N, 139°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5431 - Crater Green on the lunar far-side. 250-mm lens. 1°N, 133°E. Image by LPI.
AS11-36-5432 - Craters Green R and Q on the lunar far-side. Crater Green with its central peak is top left. 250-mm lens. 3°N, 131.5°E. Image by LPI.
076:07:05 Collins (onboard): Hope none of those meteors come by right now.
076:07:18 Collins (onboard): Let me look through the sextant, Neil.
076:07:41 Collins (onboard): Well, where's the frapping Earth going to be now? I'm confused.
076:07:46 Aldrin (onboard): In plane, I hope.
076:07:50 Armstrong (onboard): How are you doing on your roll there?
076:07:52 Aldrin (onboard): Well, we got about another 60 degrees to go. When' s AOS?
076:08:03 Aldrin (onboard): Okay.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
We're 7 minutes from acquisition time.
076:08:37 Armstrong (onboard): What a spectacular view!
076:08:48 Collins (onboard): God, look at that Moon!
076:09:20 Armstrong (onboard): Fantastic. Look back there behind us, sure looks like a gigantic crater; look at the mountains going around it. My gosh, they're monsters.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
If Apollo 11 achieved only a partial burn, we could receive a signal any - anytime so we'll continue to stay up until acquisition time of 76 hours, 15 minutes, 29 seconds.
076:09:58 Armstrong (onboard): See that real big...
076:10:01 Collins (onboard): Yes, there's a moose down here you just wouldn't believe. There's the biggest one yet. God, it's huge! It is immense! It's so big I can't even get it in the window. You want to look at that? That's the biggest one you ever seen in your life. Neil? God, look at this central mountain peak.
And that time is the initial acquisition time, but it could take a little longer to lock onto the signal for voice communications.
076:10:23 Collins (onboard): [Garble].
076:10:24 Collins (onboard): Isn't that a huge one?
076:10:26 Armstrong (onboard): Look at the terraces. You get some pictures of that?
076:10:29 Collins (onboard): Yeah, I just took one. Can take another one here when he gets around a little better. Fantastic!
076:10:35 Armstrong (onboard): That's kind of a foggy window.
076:10:37 Collins (onboard): That's a horrible window. It's too bad we have to shoot through this one, but - Oh, boy, you could spend a lifetime just geologizing that one crater alone, you know that?
076:10:51 Armstrong (onboard): You could.
076:10:53 Collins (onboard): That's not how I'd like to spend my lifetime, but - picture that. Beautiful!
076:11:01 Aldrin (onboard): Yeah, there's a big mother over here, too.
076:11:07 Collins (onboard): Come on now, Buzz, don't refer to them as big mothers. Give them some scientific name.
076:11:17 Aldrin (onboard): It sure looks like a lot of them have slumped down.
076:11:20 Collins (onboard): A slumping big mother. Well, you see those every once in a while.
076:11:26 Aldrin (onboard): Most of them are slumping. The bigger they are, the more they slump - that's a truism, isn't it?
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
Four minutes away now.
076:11:41 Aldrin (onboard): That is, the older they get.
076:11:50 Armstrong (onboard): Well, we're at 180 degrees, and now we're going to want to stop that and start a slow pitch down. We want to go...
076:11:59 Aldrin (onboard): We're not going to see the Earth come up over the horizon.
076:12:02 Armstrong (onboard): ...about 70 degrees.
076:12:03 Collins (onboard): It says pitch down or pitch up?
076:12:04 Armstrong (onboard): Pitch down, so we're looking forward.
076:12:06 Collins (onboard): Pitch down, so we're looking forward, alright. I wonder what kind of a rate we ought to...
076:12:11 Aldrin (onboard): We got 4 minutes to get down.
076:12:13 Collins (onboard): Alright.
076:12:14 Aldrin (onboard): Never make it. There's a couple of new craters.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
There are a few conversations taking place here in the control room, but not very many. Most of the people sitting quietly, watching and listening, not talking.
076:12:25 Armstrong (onboard): There's a good view of that...
076:12:29 Aldrin (onboard): Look warm down there, Neil?
076:12:32 Armstrong (onboard): I sure can't tell.
076:12:35 Aldrin (onboard): Looks hotter than hell to me. Boy, look at the size of that one.
076:12:47 Collins (onboard): Golly! Whoo!
076:12:50 Armstrong (onboard): Get another picture of that big fellow.
076:12:51 Collins (onboard): Yeah. I'm going to take one out here of him.
076:12:59 Aldrin (onboard): I've got an Easter egg coming up, gentlemen.
076:13:02 Armstrong (onboard): That's good. Gosh, it's one o'clock already.
076:13:07 Aldrin (onboard): Hey, you know, we got a TV show at...
076:13:14 Unidentified speaker (onboard): [Garble].
076:13:15 Collins (onboard): Huh?
076:13:16 Armstrong (onboard): The next rev around, that is.
076:13:18 Aldrin (onboard): Before LOI-2.
076:13:20 Armstrong (onboard): Yes.
076:13:24 Collins (onboard): Could you give me a gimbal angle to pitch to?
076:13:26 Aldrin (onboard): What are you going to do on that one?
076:13:29 Armstrong (onboard): Oh, I guess - get 10 pictures of the Moon.
076:13:36 Aldrin (onboard): What did you want, Mike?
076:13:39 Collins (onboard): A gimbal angle to pitch to - if it's pitchdown 70 - why, let's see, from 226, that's 70, that's 296?
076:13:54 Aldrin (onboard): Yeah, you were at 2...
076:13:58 Collins (onboard): 296, I would guess. How many minutes we got - to AOS?
076:14:08 Armstrong (onboard): About another minute and a half.
076:14:09 Aldrin (onboard): [Coughing.]
The crew of Apollo 11 are about to re-establish contact with Mission Control as they re-emerge from the far side of the Moon.
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