It is the last full day of the Apollo 11 mission, 23 July 1969. The crew have had a quiet morning and in this second half of the day, make their final television transmission from the spacecraft, commenting on the historic significance of their voyage. Then they stow various items in preparation for tomorrow's re-entry. Mission Control gives them the weather forecast for their Pacific Ocean splashdown.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
177:08:35 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
177:08:42 Collins: Go ahead, Houston.
177:08:45 McCandless: Roger, 11. I've got a Flight Plan update for you, to give you an optimum attitude for the Earth in the number 1 window and the Moon in number 5 window. Over.
177:09:00 Collins: Ready to copy.
177:09:03 McCandless: Roger. Your attitude will be roll, 12 degrees; pitch, 270 degrees; yaw, 0 degrees. High Gain Antenna angles: pitch, plus 14; yaw, 263. Over.
177:09:25 Collins: Roger. I copy. Roll, 012; pitch, 270; y - yaw is zero. High Gain Antenna; pitch, plus 14 and yaw, 263.
177:09:35 McCandless: Roger. And when coming out of PTC, you might be advised that your deadband has been collapsed, so to follow the checklist items. Over.
177:09:46 Collins: Roger that.
Comm break.
Currently, the spacecraft is slowly rotating in its Passive Thermal Control, or barbecue mode, usually just called PTC. For the upcoming television transmission, mission control are suggesting an attitude that will permit a clear view for the High Gain Antenna towards Earth while also allowing a view of Earth and Moon through two of their windows.
This is Apollo Control; at 177 hours, 11 minutes. Network controller advises that we're starting to get some semblance of TV signal from the spacecraft. We suspect we may be getting some checkout. We'll continue to stand by and be prepared to take whatever's sent.
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177:12:23 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. We're receiving a black signal from you right now, but we are getting TV. Over.
Very long comm break.
This is Apollo Control. The Network controller now reports that the TV signal is down, apparently having been turned off, and we suspect that what we had was a test of the system by the crew. The television transmission from the spacecraft is scheduled to begin at 177 hours, 30 minutes or about 2 minutes past 6 Central Daylight Time. At the present time, Apollo 11 is 93,218 nautical miles [172,640 km] from the Earth.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
177:23:22 Comm Tech: Goldstone, Comm Tech, Net 1.
177:23:30 Comm Tech: Goldstone, Houston. Comm Tech, Net 1.
177:23:34 Comm Tech: Goldstone, Comm Tech.
177:23:35 Comm Tech: Roger. Check for keying please.
177:23:36 Comm Tech: Roger.
At this point, Houston sends a series of the familiar beeps down the line to the remote station, in this case Goldstone in California. These beeps, known as Quindar tones, are used to send a signal from Houston to the remote station to operate a switch that places its signal onto the radio carrier going to the spacecraft. Given the possibility of interference on the line from Houston, it isn't desirable to have it permanently fed to the spacecraft. Instead, it should only be transmitted when CapCom keys his microphone. A separate circuit could be arranged to carry the switching signal but it is more cost effective to signal this switch on the same circuit and so switching tones are used. It may be noticed that alternate tones are of a slightly different frequency or pitch. A quarter-second burst of 2.525 kHz signals the switch to send Houston to the spacecraft. Another quarter-second burst of 2.475 kHz tone signals that Houston should be removed from the carrier.
177:23:45 Comm Tech: Goldstone, Houston. Comm Tech.
177:23:47 Comm Tech: Goldstone, Comm Tech. 100 percent keying.
177:23:49 Comm Tech: Roger. Thank you.
177:23:50 Comm Tech: I'm gonna go to Net 1 now.
177:23:51 Comm Tech: Roger.
177:24:10 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
177:24:14 Collins: Go ahead.
177:24:16 McCandless: From signal strength indications, it appears we may be locked up on a side lobe with the High Gain antenna. We'd like you to go into wide beamwidth for about 15 seconds and then back to narrow. Over.
177:24:29 Collins: All right.
Long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 177 hours, 30 minutes. We're standing by at this time to receive television pictures from the Apollo 11 spacecraft. A short while ago we received the test transmission and apparently everything is functioning normally. We were receiving television signal from Goldstone relayed on through to Houston. We'll continue to stand by for the TV.
177:31:18 Armstrong: You having good S-band signal strength now, Houston?
177:31:22 McCandless: That's affirmative, 11.
177:31:29 Armstrong: Y'all set for TV?
177:31:35 McCandless: Roger. We're all set whenever you're ready to send.
177:31:39 Armstrong: Okay. [Long pause.]
177:31:52 McCandless: Okay. You're coming through loud and clear now, 11, with your patch.
We have black and white signals. We should have the conversion up shortly.
There are two periods of TV transmission logged from the spacecraft. The first, from 177:10 to 177:13, has little content. The main transmission is from 177:32:24 to 177:44:24. This clip, kindly donated to the journal by Mark Gray of spacecraftfilms.com, includes both periods and is from a kinescope version of the original video. This is where the video was recorded by projecting the TV image onto photographic film.
177:32:24 Armstrong: Good evening. This is the Commander of Apollo 11. A hundred years ago, Jules Verne wrote a book about a voyage to the Moon. His spaceship, Columbia, took off from Florida and landed in the Pacific Ocean after completing a trip to the Moon. It seems appropriate to us to share with you some of the reflections of the crew as the modern-day Columbia completes its rendezvous with the planet Earth and the same Pacific Ocean tomorrow. First, Mike Collins. [Long pause.]
177:33:35 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. We have an LOS here.
177:33:39 Armstrong: We'll be right back with you.
177:33:40 McCandless: Roger. [Pause.]
177:33:51 McCandless: In the interim, you may be interested in knowing that Jan and the children, and Pat and the youngsters, and Andy Aldrin are down here in the viewing room watching this evening.
177:34:05 Collins: Oh, we're glad to hear that. [Long pause.]
177:34:38 McCandless: Okay, 11. You're back on, with Mike in the middle of the screen there.
177:34:44 Collins: Roger. This trip of ours to the Moon may have looked, to you, simple or easy. I'd like to assure you that has not been the case. The Saturn V rocket which put us into orbit is an incredibly complicated piece of machinery, every piece of which worked flawlessly. This computer up above my head has a 38,000-word vocabulary, each word of which has been very carefully chosen to be of the utmost value to us, the crew. This switch which I have in my hand now, has over 300 counterparts in the Command Module alone, this one single switch design. In addition to that, there are myriads of circuit breakers, levers, rods, and other associated controls. The SPS engine, our large rocket engine on the aft end of our Service Module, must have performed flawlessly, or we would have been stranded in lunar orbit. The parachutes up above my head must work perfectly tomorrow or we will plummet into the ocean. We have always had confidence that all this equipment will work, and work properly, and we continue to have confidence that it will do so for the remainder of the flight. All this is possible only through the blood, sweat and tears of a number of people. First, the American workmen who put these pieces of machinery together at the factory. Second, the painstaking work done by the various test teams during the assembly and the re-test after assembly. And finally, the people at the Manned Spacecraft Center, both in management, in mission planning, in flight control, and last but not least, in crew training. This operation is somewhat like the periscope of a submarine. All you see is the three of us, but beneath the surface are thousands and thousands of others, and to all those, I would like to say, thank you very much. [Long pause.]
177:37:52 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. We're getting a good picture of Buzz now, but no voice modulation. And would you open up the f-stop on the TV camera? Try 2 - 2, please [meaning f/2.2].
177:38:13 McCandless: That appears to be a lot better now. We're still not receiving Buzz's audio.
177:38:20 Aldrin: Good evening. I'd like to discuss with you a few of the more symbolic aspects of the flight of our mission, Apollo 11. As we've been discussing the events that have taken place in the past 2 or 3 days here on board our spacecraft, we've come to the conclusion that this has been far more than three men on a voyage to the Moon. More, still, than the efforts of a government and industry team. More, even, than the efforts of one nation. We feel that this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown. Neil's statement the other day upon first setting foot on the surface of the Moon, 'This is a small step for a man, but a great leap for mankind,' I believe sums up these feelings very nicely. We accepted the challenge of going to the Moon; the acceptance of this challenge was inevitable. The relative ease with which we carried out our mission, I believe, is a tribute to the timeliness of that acceptance. Today, I feel we're fully capable of accepting expanded roles in the exploration of space. In retrospect, we have all been particularly pleased with the call signs that we very laboriously chose for our spacecraft, Columbia and Eagle. We've been particularly pleased with the emblem of our flight, depicting the U.S. eagle bringing the universal symbol of peace from the Earth, from the planet Earth to the Moon, that symbol being the olive branch. It was our overall crew choice to deposit a replica of this symbol on the Moon. Personally, in reflecting the events of the past several days, a verse from Psalms comes to mind to me. 'When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained, what is man that Thou art mindful of him.' [Long pause.]
177:41:42 Armstrong: The responsibility for this flight lies first with - with history and with the giants of science who have preceded this effort. Next to the American people, who have through their will, indicated their desire. Next, to four administrations, and their l - Congresses, for implementing that will. And then, to the agency and industry teams that built our spacecraft, the Saturn, the Columbia, the Eagle, and the little EMU; the space suit and backpack that was our small spacecraft out on the lunar surface. We'd like to give a special thanks to all those Americans who built those spacecraft, who did the construction, design, the tests, and put their - their hearts and all their abilities into those craft. To those people, tonight, we give a special thank you, and to all the other people that are listening and watching tonight, God bless you. Good night from Apollo 11. [Long pause.]
177:43:52 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. We're getting a zoom view out the window now. [Long pause.]
177:44:24 Armstrong: Apollo 11, signing off.
Long comm break.
That brief view of the Earth came from 91,371 nautical miles [169,219 km] out in space after a brief and sincere and moving transmission from the Apollo 11 spacecraft. This is Apollo Control at 177 hours, 45 minutes.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
177:47:48 Collins: Houston, Apollo 11. Do you want to crank up PTC again? Do you have some reason to hold this attitude, or what's your pleasure?
177:47:57 McCandless: You can crank up PTC again, Mike, any time you like. And I might add, I thought that was a mighty fine TV presentation. There's certainly nothing I can add to it from down here.
177:48:10 Collins: Thank you.
Long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
177:53:27 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
177:53:33 Armstrong: Go ahead.
177:53:36 McCandless: Okay, 11. I've got a few small items here - one Flight Plan update and some entry photography information, if you're ready to copy. Over.
177:53:49 Armstrong: Go ahead.
177:53:51 McCandless: Roger. At 180 hours, 50 minutes GET, we should like to delete your oxygen fuel cell purge.
177:54:02 Armstrong: Okay.
177:54:03 McCandless: And on the entry photography, if you're going to use a fresh magazine of color interior film, we recommend the following exposure settings: f:11 at 1/250th, six frames per second, focus on 7 feet for the fireball; f:2.0, 1/60th of a second, six frames per second, focus on 50 feet when the chutes open. If you're using a magazine, part of which has already been used for interior shots, we recommend f:16 at 1/500th of a second, six frames per second, focus on 7 feet for the fireball; f2.8, 1/60th of a second, six frames per second, focus on 50 feet when the parachutes open. And we would like to know the magazine number that you are intending to use when you have a chance. Over.
177:55:22 Aldrin: Okay. I think we've got those. We will be using a fresh one and it'll be color interior. Over.
In modern cameras, colour balance is set using a variable scale that relates to the characteristic colour of light that is emitted from a black body at a particular temperature. For example, if a scene in being lit by the Sun, whose surface temperature is about 5,500 Kelvin, then use of that figure in the camera would render a white sheet of paper as white when directly lit by the Sun. Another example relates to old-fashioned artificial lighting that was produced by passing electricity through a tungsten filament which then glowed at about 2,700 K. A white sheet of paper lit by such an incandescent light would only be rendered white by setting the camera to that value. If the camera were left at 5,500 K, then the tungsten-illuminated paper would appear very yellow. Colour temperature values from 2,000 K to 7,500 K are typical on a camera, allowing most lighting conditions to be accommodated. Not so prior to the advent of digital image sensors.
Handling such variation of colour in the days of photographic film was far less sophisticated. For the most part, colour films were formulated with an inherent colour balance that was meant for either exterior light (about 5,500 K) or interior light (about 2,700 K). However, it is possible to compensate for the incorrect balance of a film by using filters to make the incoming light be correctly balanced by the time it reaches the film emulsion. The disadvantage of this is that because more light is being cut out to achieve the balance, then it makes the film to appear to be less sensitive. Buzz is telling Mission Control that they will be using film balanced for interior light to shoot the view out of the window during re-entry.
177:55:32 McCandless: Roger. When you get - when you get it out, we'd like to have the number of the magazine, or the letter of the magazine relayed down.
177:55:42 Aldrin: Okay. And we're thinking that we might want to run some of this at 12 frames a second. I don't think we can get everything from 0.5 - 0.05g down. That'll only give us about 7.8 minutes - frames - double that. I guess maybe just an occasional burst to 12 frames would be what we'd want and the rest of it at six. Over. [Long pause.]
177:56:23 McCandless: This is Houston. That plan sounds fine with us, Neil.
177:56:28 Aldrin: Okay.
177:56:30 McCandless: And lastly, we'd like to know if your stowage configuration for entry is going to conform to the nominal. The Retros down here are anxious to get an accurate c.g. computed for you, and in particular, where the LEVAs are being stowed. Over.
c.g. = centre of gravity, often and perhaps more accurately called centre of mass.
177:56:53 Armstrong: Okay. We think we're going to put the LEVAs and the helmets in the hatch bag, and we'll let you know any other non-standard stowage locations that we complete this evening.
177:57:08 McCandless: This is Houston. Roger. Out.
Long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
178:07:03 Aldrin: Roger. The magazine we'll be using for entry tomorrow is magazine M. Over.
178:07:10 McCandless: Roger. Understand. Magazine M as in Mike.
178:07:14 Aldrin: That's right.
178:07:19 McCandless: Thank you. Out.
Very long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
178:17:38 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Your friendly Green Team going off for the night, and going off for the last time. We wish to bid you a good night and Godspeed.
178:17:51 Armstrong: Thank you. We appreciate all that fine work done by the - by the Green Team, and we'll be thanking you in person when we get back.
178:18:00 McCandless: Roger. We'll see you on the ground.
178:18:03 Aldrin: Really enjoyed working with all of you. Thanks very much. Over.
178:18:08 McCandless: Roger.
178:18:09 Collins: As usual, all you Greenies.
178:18:11 McCandless: They're all smiles down here, even the trench.
Very long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control. Here in the Mission Operations Control Room of Mission Control Center, the White Team of flight controllers under Flight Director Gene Kranz settling in for the 10-hour shift ahead until 5:00 am. Green Team Flight Director Cliff Charlesworth is now en route to the Houston Apollo News Center and shortly will be there for his Change-of-Shift Press Conference. Estimating about 10 minutes for his arrival. We'll continue to monitor the Apollo 11 air-ground circuit should the communications resume. Standing by; 178 hours, 25 minutes Ground Elapsed Time; this is Apollo Control.
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This is Apollo Control. Apollo 11 now 88,442 nautical miles [163,795 km] out from Earth, approaching at a velocity of 6,299 feet per second [1,920 m/s]. Change-of-Shift Press Conference with the Green Team Flight Director Cliff Charlesworth due to begin any moment now in the NASA Apollo News Center Auditorium. And at 178 hours, 34 minutes Ground Elapsed Time; this is Apollo Control.
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178:40:30 Collins: Houston, Apollo 11.
178:40:35 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
178:40:39 Collins: Roger. How's our thruster firing activity? We're about ready to crank up PTC if you are.
178:40:46 McCandless: Roger. Go ahead.
178:40:49 Collins: Okay. Thank you.
Very long comm break.
Continuing a sequence of Earth photography on magazine V during the coast home, two photographs are taken around now. The distance and time figures are based on measurements of image size and some trigonometry.
AS11-44-6674 - Earth at about 162,000 km or 87,500 nautical miles. Photograph taken at approximately 178:45:00. North is down. The eastern Pacific Ocean dominates the view. 250-mm lens. Image credit: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center.
AS11-44-6675 - Earth at about 162,000 km or 87,500 nautical miles. Photograph taken at approximately 178:45:00. The image is partly obscured, perhaps by the edge of the spacecraft window. 250-mm lens. Image credit: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center.
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178:56:51 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
178:56:55 Aldrin: Go ahead, Houston.
178:56:57 McCandless: 11, we'd like you to shift to an Omni antenna configuration at the present time. We're requesting the S-band antenna Omni switch to Bravo, and the S-band antenna Omni switch to Omni. The High Gain Antenna track in Manual. Pitch, minus 50; yaw, 270. Over.
178:57:25 Aldrin: Roger. I'll do that right now.
178:57:30 McCandless: Roger. And if Mike has a minute, we'd like to do a little bit of trouble-shooting. It seems he's either flat-chested or something because we've lost respiration rate on the Biomed telemetry. That is, his EPN trace down here is flat.
178:57:56 Aldrin: He was shaving a little bit ago. He might have just let it slip. Hold on a moment.
178:58:06 Collins: All the blasted wires are all connected, is all I know.
178:58:11 McCandless: Okay, Mike. We had a request that you disconnect the yellow connector from the signal conditioner and verify that it looks okay, reconnect it and then, if you would, check the two electrodes that are placed one on each side of your lower rib cage. Over.
178:58:36 Collins: I'll bet you there's a smile on Charlesworth's face.
178:58:41 McCandless: Cliff is not on right now. Gene Kranz just relieved him a few minutes ago.
178:58:50 Collins: Roger that.
Comm break.
178:59:56 Collins: All those wires and things look normal up here.
179:00:00 McCandless: Roger, Mike. We could see variations on our traces. You've connected and disconnected, but the medics still don't have a signal. [Pause.]
179:00:16 McCandless: Looks like you're sending us a message of some sort. [Pause.]
179:00:29 Collins: Well, I promise to let you know if I stop breathing.
Comm break.
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179:03:23 McCandless: Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston broadcasting in the blind. Request Omni Bravo. Request Omni Bravo. Over.
Long comm break.
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This is Apollo Control; 179 hours, 9 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. During the past half hour, there have been some exchanges between spacecraft communicator Bruce McCandless here in Mission Control and the crew of Apollo 11. One item they're trying to sort out and troubleshoot, some difficulties with the biomedical sensors attached to the chest of Command Module Pilot Mike Collins. Let's play back the accumulated tape, and hopefully by the time it's ended, we will have picked up communications again and we'll re-join the conversation live. Roll tape please.
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179:10:45 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Communication re-established.
179:10:51 SC: [Garble]. [Pause.]
179:11:51 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Will you confirm you're in Omni Bravo? Over.
179:12:08 Aldrin: Okay. That ought to give it to you.
179:12:12 McCandless: Roger. Out.
Comm break.
179:14:51 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Mike, we're still getting a flat trace on you for the impedance pneumograph. Before you turn in this evening, you might try putting some fresh paste in the sensors, and if that doesn't work, the medics have agreed to forget about it. Over. [Long pause.]
179:15:17 Armstrong: Mike's off the loop right now. I'll convey the message.
179:15:50 McCandless: Roger, Mike. The trace on your respiration rate is still flat. If you have time this evening before turning in, it was suggested you try putting some fresh paste in the two electrodes that go on the side of your lower rib cage. And if that doesn't work, just give up on it.
179:16:13 Collins: [Garble].
Very long comm break.
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This is Apollo Control. Columbia now 85,198 nautical miles [157,787 km] out from Earth, approaching Earth at a velocity of 6,443 feet per second [1,964 m/s]. Still standing by for resumption of air-to-ground communications [background laughter] which may be difficult in as much as CapCom is leaving the room [background laughter]. We'll continue to monitor air/ground as the crew prepares for their pre-sleep checklists, sets up the Passive Thermal Control mode and sacks out for about a 10-hour rest period in preparation for tomorrow's entry and subsequent recovery in the mid-Pacific aboard the carrier Hornet, now hove-to on the aiming point or near the aiming point. Standing by at 179 hours, 27 minutes Ground Elapsed Time; this is Apollo Control.
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This is Apollo Control. Columbia now 82,972 nautical miles [153,664 km] out from Earth, traveling inbound at 6,546 feet per second [1,995 m/s]. There have been no further communications with the crew of Apollo 11 in the last half hour or so. At this time they should be going through their pre-sleep checklist, or possibly their evening meal, before beginning a 7-hour rest period. We'll take down the circuit at this time and come back when and if the conversation resumes prior to - the time the crew begins their rest period. At 180 hours, 3 minutes Ground Elapsed Time; this is Apollo Control.
At this point, the PAO audio feed switches to coverage of the launch of a Delta rocket carrying the Intelsat 3 satellite. The launch does not go ahead and PAO returns to coverage of the Apollo 11 mission.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
180:07:45 SC: (Sound of Train and gunfire.)
180:08:17 McCandless: Hey, 11, this is Houston. You might tell Buzz not to exercise quite so strenuously. Over.
180:08:30 Aldrin: What's the problem?
180:08:32 McCandless: Say again.
180:08:36 Aldrin: What's the problem?
180:08:42 McCandless: Okay. That's one - that's one on us. [Laughter. Long pause.]
180:09:19 McCandless: 11, Houston. Seriously, that comment was just aimed at your musical selection.
180:09:26 Armstrong: Okay.
180:09:39 SC: [Sound of train]
180:09:59 Collins: Come on Neil, not so fast.
180:10:05 SC: [Sound of train]
180:10:19 Armstrong: We do have an ergometer up here.
180:10:30 McCandless: What was that? Real time exercise?
180:10:35 Armstrong: Just running the ergometer.
180:10:37 McCandless: Roger.
Very long comm break.
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180:21:22 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
180:21:28 Aldrin: Go ahead, Houston.
180:21:30 McCandless: We'd like to know what your plans are as far as turning in this evening. Our - in the Flight Plan, we show you commencing a rest period at about 182 hours, and what are you planning to do on that? We're going to be watching the weather here, and we expect to have an update on the weather, I guess, in about another half hour or 45 minutes, to pass to you. Over.
180:21:57 Armstrong: We're going to probably stick with the Flight Plan pretty much. We are going to - if - check the lights in the northwest corner of the U.S. and southwest corner of Canada. If we can see up that high into the northern hemisphere. Other than that, we'll be on the Flight Plan.
180:22:21 McCandless: Roger. For your information, the laser from McDonald Observatory in West Texas will be up from about 181 hours and 30 minutes, on for 1 hour. You should be able to spot the Earth out of the number 1 window every time you pass roll 357 degrees and they, of course, are in West Texas. Over.
180:23:24 McCandless: Roger. For the number 5 window. That'll be - every time you pass 230 degrees in roll. Over.
180:23:32 Collins: Beautiful. Thank you.
180:23:36 Collins: You guys are on your toes down there.
180:23:39 McCandless: Roger...
180:23:40 Armstrong: You have a new, new star chart. You must have a new, new star chart. Huh?
180:23:45 McCandless: Oh, we got a fresh, fresh FAO here.
Very long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control, 180 hours, 25 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. We have some 4 minutes accumulated tape in recent transmissions between Columbia and the ground. We'll roll these tapes at this time.
The contents of these tapes are reproduced above.
180:32:04 Comm Tech: Honeysuckle, Houston Comm Tech. Net 1. Voice check.
180:32:09 Honeysuckle: Honeysuckle. Read you loud and clear.
180:32:10 Comm Tech: Roger. Read you the same.
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180:36:56 Aldrin: Houston, Apollo 11. How much longer do you want to keep charging Battery B? [Long pause.]
180:37:17 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. Nominally we're looking for about another hour-and-a-half, but what we'd like to do is continue charging until shortly before you turn in for the night. Over.
180:37:30 Aldrin: That'll be fine. Are you going to want to charge A again at all?
180:37:36 McCandless: Negative, 11.
180:37:40 Aldrin: Okay.
Long comm break.
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180:42:18 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. At about 180:45, we'll be handing over from Goldstone to Honeysuckle, and I'm handing over to Charlie. See you when you get back. Over.
180:42:33 Armstrong: Okay, Bruce. Good night. Thank you.
180:42:35 McCandless: Roger. Good night.
180:42:36 Aldrin: Thank you very much, Bruce. It's been a pleasure working with you.
180:42:38 McCandless: Have a nice trip down.
Very long comm break.
For about 40 seconds, the PAO air/ground recording has an unusual warbling tone cycling at about 2 Hertz.
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This is Apollo Control. The weird noise has been reported by network controllers as not being on the downlink from the spacecraft. Now it's stopped. Let's leave the circuit open here in the period prior to the time the crew goes to sleep and monitor the air-ground circuit.
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This is Apollo Control. We've been standing by now for quite some time for resumption of communications, but apparently no one is saying anything tonight. Apollo 11 now 78,134 nautical miles [144,704] out from Earth, approaching at 6,785 feet per second [2,068 m/s]. And at 181 hours, 17 minutes Ground Elapsed Time; this is Apollo Control.
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181:26:46 Collins: Houston, Apollo 11. Over. [Pause.]
181:26:55 Lewis: Apollo 11, Houston. Go ahead.
181:27:02 Collins: Roger, Houston. For RETRO, I have the anticipated location of all the entry stowage, and I suggest you pull out the entry checklist, and we'll go through those maps in the front of it.
181:27:19 Lewis: Apollo 11, Houston. Could you stand by just a few minutes? Charlie and Flight are out getting a weather briefing. They'll be back shortly.
181:27:33 Collins: Is this Ken?
181:27:35 Lewis: Say again?
181:27:40 Collins: Is this Owen?
181:27:42 Lewis: No, this is Chuck Lewis. Charlie Duke is out with Flight getting a weather briefing right now.
Collins was speculating that the unfamiliar voice who has taken over as CapCom from Bruce McCandless might be Ken Mattingly or Owen Garriott, both of whom share duties at the CapCom console with McCandless. In fact it is Chuck Lewis, who was Assistant Flight Director to Gene Kranz on the White Team.
181:27:49 Collins: Okay. They're out drinking coffee. I know.
181:27:52 Lewis: [Laughter] They'll be back momentarily.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control. We've had one brief communication from Apollo 11. Spacecraft communicator Bruce McCandless is out of the room, the Assistant Flight Director Chuck Lewis went down to the console to talk. Let's play that tape back and re-join live when the conversation picks up again.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
I stand corrected. That's Charlie Duke on the CapCom slot. Bruce McCandless on the last half hour has been relieved. Charlie is likely to respond. Now he's putting on his headset. We'll listen in.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
181:35:55 Duke: Hello, Apollo 11. Houston. Over.
181:36:00 Collins: Roger, Houston. Apollo 11. Did you get the word on the entry checklist?
181:36:05 Duke: Roger, Mike. We sure did. We're ready to talk about it, if you are. Over.
181:36:13 Collins: I think the quickest thing is to go through page by page, the first part of the entry checklist where it has a map. Starting on the page with compartment L2 and L3. Are you with me?
181:36:25 Duke: Rog. With you.
181:36:28 Collins: Okay. L2 is as shown. L3 is as shown. There is about half the food remaining in L3.
181:36:35 Duke: Roger.
181:36:36 Collins: Where it says - where it says 'And note', the CMP PGA is located in the L-shaped bag with the other two PGAs. The LM shield was jettisoned with the - Correction, the CMP's helmet shield was jettisoned with the LM, and his helmet and gloves, instead of being in the sleep restraint, are in the hatch bags.
181:37:06 Duke: Okay. Let's see now. Your PGA is in the L-shaped bag with the other two PGAs, and your helmet and gloves are in the L-shaped bag instead of the sleep restraint.
181:37:21 Collins: The helmet and gloves are in the hatch bag, the great big bag that's underneath the left-hand couch that you put the hatch in.
181:37:30 Duke: Rog. I thought I - That's what I copied. Okay. Go ahead.
181:37:37 Collins: Okay. The next page is identical except nitpicking point: at R1, we got the entry checklist. Other than that it's identical, and the third page has got some changes.
181:37:49 Duke: Go ahead.
181:37:50 Collins: In A1 - Are you with me? I'm over there in compartment A1, now.
181:37:56 Duke: Go ahead, Mike. Over.
181:38:04 Collins: Okay. Compartment A1, the 16-millimeter magazine will be located in window number 4 instead of 5. Tissue dispensers - there's only one of them left. And compartment U3, the 16-millimeter bracket is on window 4, and the PGA bag - add the CMP's PGA, plus add two LCGs. And compartment A8, delete two LCGs, add one PPK, making a total of four; and add 10 pounds of LM miscellaneous equipment. We told you five the other day. We think ten is probably closer. Over.
181:38:57 Duke: Copy. [Pause.]
The LM miscellaneous equipment is likely the Temporary Storage Bag or McDivitt Purse containing the items that Neil has brought from the LM as keepsakes.
181:39:04 Collins: And that's all the changes on that page. Ready for the next page?
181:39:07 Duke: Rog. Go ahead, Mike.
181:39:12 Collins: On your next page, in compartment B1, we estimate about 15 per cent of that food is remaining. In B2 we took PPK out of there and put trash in it. In B3, the 16-millimeter cable, the 18-millimeter lens, and the right-angle mirror are on window number 4. And that, sir, brings you all up to date.
Window 4 is the right-hand forward facing rendezvous window. They are going to shoot back along the direction of travel as the Command Module re-enters.
181:39:42 Duke: Roger. How about the LEVAs, Mike? Where did you put those? Over.
The LEVAs are the Lunar Extravehicular Visor Assemblies that Neil and Buzz wore outside their helmets while carrying out their lunar EVA. They include the iconic gold visors that attenuated the strong light and infra-red from the Sun.
181:39:53 Collins: They're in the hatch bag.
181:39:56 Duke: Roger. Stand by. Our only concern, 11, is with the stuff you got in the hatch bag. That's pretty big bulk between you and A8, and we'd like to talk about moving that over to the sleep restraint. If you'll stand by. I'll verify that. Over.
181:40:16 Collins: Okay. [Long pause.]
181:41:16 Duke: 11, Houston. Our recommendation on the gear you got in the helmet bag - correction, the hatch bag - would be to remove that stuff and put it in the sleep restraint under the right couch. The reason is that the hatch bag straps are only configured for zero g, and it's a pretty difficult job getting it lashed down. With the gear in the sleep restraint, it's a pretty standard lash-down procedure, and you can also use the Beta cord that you have on board. You concur? Over. [Pause.]
181:42:03 Collins: Yeah. We'll look at it, Charlie, and let you know.
181:42:06 Duke: Roger. And I've got a couple of other things, Mike. We need to terminate Battery B charge at this time, and also, the weather is clobbering in at our targeted landing point due to scattered thunderstorms. We don't want to tangle with one of those, so we're going to move you - your aim point up-range. Correction, it'll be down-range, to target for a 1,500-nautical-mile entry, so we can guarantee uplift control. The new coordinates are 13 degrees, 19 minutes North; 169, 10 minutes West. The weather in that area is super. We got 2,000 scattered, 8,000 scattered with 10 miles visibility and 6-foot seas and the Hornet is sitting in great position to get to that targeted position. Over. [Pause.]
181:43:21 Collins: Roger.
Long comm break.
During a typical Apollo re-entry, the CM travels about 1,200 nautical miles between the 0.05g point and splashdown. This profile does not require the spacecraft to perform a skip-out manoeuvre. What Mission Control would like to do is to perform this skip-out in order to extend the distance and miss a weather system that has developed in the original landing site. This is achieved by invoking two additional programs, P65 and P66, which control the skip out and second entry respectively.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control. To recap, briefly, the conversation a few moments ago between Charlie Duke and the crew of Columbia. Because of forecast thunderstorms in the prime recovery area in the mid-Pacific for tomorrow, the Apollo spacecraft's lifting capabilities will be used to stretch the entry path some 215 nautical miles [398 km] further downrange toward Hawaii to a new landing point or aiming point, with the very rough preliminary coordinates of 13 degrees, 19 minutes North by 169 degrees, 10 minutes West. These numbers will be refined through the night, as Retrofire Officer exercises the computer and comes up with more definitive numbers. These will be passed on as they are available. Apollo 11 now 75,951 nautical miles [140,661 km] out from Earth approaching at 6,899 feet per second [2,103 m/s]. At 181 hours, 50 minutes and standing by on the air-ground circuit, this is Apollo Control.
181:51:59 Duke: Apollo 11, Houston. Some of the general last minute updates here. On the entry, we had told you on the camera to set it at 50 feet. It turns out the biggest number on the camera is 25 feet, so just set it at infinity. Over.
181:52:19 Collins: Roger. Infinity.
Long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
181:57:42 Duke: Hello, Apollo 11. Houston. We're ready to put you to bed and say good night, if you give us your crew status report and verify that you changed out the CO2 canister a moment ago. Over.
181:57:55 Armstrong: Stand by.
Comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
Their radiation dosimeters have had their most significant digits offset to identify which reading belongs to whom.
182:01:01 Duke: Roger. Thank you very much there.
182:01:02 Armstrong: No medication.
182:01:03 Duke: Roger. Thank you. Could you give us an onboard readout, please, sir?
182:01:08 Armstrong: Stand by. Okay. Batt C, 37; Pyro Batt A, 37; Batt B, 37. RCS A, 51; B, 63; C, 62; D, 58.
182:01:26 Duke: Roger. Copy. Thank you much.
Comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
182:03:47 Duke: Apollo 11, Houston. It's a good night from the White Team for the last time. We'll be off when you wake up in the morning. It's been a pleasure working with you guys. It was a beautiful show from all three of you. We appreciate it very much, and we'll see you when you get out of the LRL. Over.
182:04:04 Armstrong: Okay, Charlie. Thanks to you and all the White Team for a great job down there all the way through. Thank you.
182:04:11 Collins: Outstanding.
182:04:13 Aldrin: Thank you very much, Charlie. Thanks.
182:04:16 Duke: Thanks to you guys, too. [Long pause.]
182:04:36 Duke: And, 11, Houston. Mike, you get your chance at a landing tomorrow. No go-around.
Pilot's speak. If an aircraft pilot has a problem with a landing, they can usually abort and go around again to have another go. Not so with an Apollo landing.
182:04:44 Collins: Rog. You're going to let me land closer to Hawaii too, aren't you?
182:04:47 Duke: That's right, sir.
Long comm break.
This is Apollo Control. All goodnights having been said, the crew of Apollo 11 is now preparing to get their 10 hours rest and their last night in space. Here in the Control Center, on one of the 10 by 10 Eidophor television projectors - a drawing has been projected on the screen ribbing CapCom Charlie Duke for his slight error yesterday on the television pass where he mistook the Moon for Earth. It has the spacecraft midway between the Moon and Earth and it says, 'Neil, I just spotted a continent on the Moon. Charlie, the camera's on the Earth now.' Apollo 11 now 74,906 nautical miles [138,726 km] out from Earth, approaching at 6,954 feet per second [2,120 m/s]. And at 182 hours, 6 minutes Ground Elapsed Time, this is Apollo Control.
The PAO announcer is mistaken in the duration of the rest period. It is 7 hours, not 10 and their wake up time is scheduled at 189 hours.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
182:07:59 Duke: 11, Houston. We got some word just a moment ago that the McDonald Observatory is - said they had picked up the spacecraft in their telescope. Over.
182:08:09 Armstrong: Outstanding. We have been looking for their laser but haven't had much luck yet.
182:08:16 Duke: Roger. We'll pass it on to them, Neil. Thank you.
Very long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control. 182 hours, 10 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. We thought that was all the air-to-ground for tonight prior to the crew going to sleep, but just a few moments ago, there was a brief exchange reporting to the Apollo 11 crew that the McDonald Observatory in far West Texas had the spacecraft in their telescope field of view. Let's roll that tape now and then shut it down again.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control. That completes the very brief exchange of a few moments ago. At 182 hours, 11 minutes Ground Elapsed Time; this is Apollo Control.
This concludes the transcript for flight day 8. The journal continues with the overnight period and crew wake-up on their last day in space.
