Apollo 16

This is Apollo Control at 31 hours, 34 minutes. Things have settled down into a rather quiet routine here in Mission Control and we presume aboard the spacecraft. At this time the Apollo 16 crew should be eating what would be lunch for them. Following that they will begin preparation for the transfer to the Lunar Module, the second of this flight; of course the first coming last night, an unscheduled entry. And during this scheduled entry this evening, Duke and Young will be powering up the communications and instrumentation systems aboard the Lunar Module. We'll check out the communications circuits with them and also give the Control Center here a chance to look at all of the major systems on the Lunar Module once the instrumentation to all of these systems is powered up. Normally, during the translunar leg of the flight, the only instrumentation, the only readings that we have on the LM is the amount of power that is transferred from the Command Module to the Lunar Module, and during this entry into the LM, Duke and Young will be powering up the bulk of the instrumentation that will allow us to look at all critical systems. They'll also be transferring most of the items from the Command Module that they'll need for operations in the Lunar Module later in the mission and stowing these in the LM.

This is Apollo Control at 32 hours, 5 minutes. A few minutes ago, Charlie Duke reported additional paint apparently peeling from another of the aluminum skins on the Lunar Module, and from Duke's description this appeared to be one of the surfaces in the area of Quad 1 on the Lunar Module. This would be the quad adjacent to the Commander's station in the crew compartment. And Duke said that there were about three square feet of surface area involved. He described the appearance of the surface about as the other surface which had also peeled. Ranging from what he said was a kind of a sprouting grass appearance to shredded wheat. And at the present time, the crew is awaiting the pressure differential between the docking tunnel and the Command Module to reach 2.7 lbs per sq. inch [18.6 kilopascals]. At the last report from John Young, the difference in pressure as the tunnel is vented, had reached 2.1 lbs per sq. inch [14.5 kilopascals]. The crew is scheduled to begin entering the Lunar Module to power up the communication system and turn on the instrumentation so that we can get a complete look at most of the major systems on the Lunar Module here on the ground through telemetry. And the Flight Plan calls for them to enter the Lunar Module at about 33 hours, 5 minutes; or a little less than one hour from now. At the present time, Apollo 16 is 123,126 nautical miles [228,029 km] from Earth, and traveling at a speed of 4,382 feet per second [1,336 m/s].

This is Apollo Control at 32 hours, 26 minutes. Here in the Control Center the Lunar Module Control officer has replayed the tape of Charlie Duke's description of the additional surface of the LM that appeared to be peeling - where the paint was peeling, similar to the way panels below the docking target were reported peeling yesterday. From Duke's description, we were not able to pin point the precise panels involved although it is obviously very close to the area that was reported peeling previously, and appeared much the same from Duke's description. The paint which is painted on the very thin aluminum skin in this area of the LM to provide a small margin of additional thermal protection in worse case conditions where the Lunar Module is exposed to greater sun angles than we will be seeing on this mission, the paint on those surfaces is, as Duke described them, giving the appearance of sprouting grass and then peeling back even further and giving an appearance of shredded wheat. Duke said that the area involved was about 1 feet by - 1 foot by 3 feet [0.3 by 0.9 metres]. And was in the area of Quad 1, which is one of the Reaction Control Systems thruster quads located adjacent to the commander's station in the Lunar Module ascent stage. General Jim McDivitt, who is in the Control Center at the present time, advised Pete Frank that the studies that Grumman has done, the manufacturer of the Lunar Module, show that even if all of the surfaces on the LM which are painted in this manner were to lose their paint, that the effect would be minimal and would cause no concern as far the temperatures of the Lunar Module are concerned. We expect that we will get further information at the time the crew enters the Lunar Module and also we will be looking at all of the pertinent systems; all of the critical systems aboard the Lunar Module and are getting a comparative set of numbers to go with those that we saw last night. And all of the engineers here in the Control Center and the back rooms, the staff support rooms, and in Building 45 at the Manned Spacecraft Center will be looking at this data very closely and comparing it with the information that we got when the LM was powered up last night.

This is Apollo Control at 32 hours, 58 minutes. The LM cabin has now been vented down to the desire - desired pressure level and the crew will shortly begin repressurizing the cabin to about 5 to 5½ pounds per square inch. Following that, they will be preparing to enter the Lunar Module. I expect that will require about five to ten minutes. The Flight Plan calls for them to be in the LM by about 33 hours and five minutes or about seven or eight minutes from now. They will have to remove the tunnel hatch, the probe and drogue assembly, and then crawl through the tunnel into the Lunar Module. Following that they have about 30 minutes or so of housekeeping activities aboard the LM and then they'll activate the communications systems and run a series of communications checks with Mission Control. Our LM systems engineer has just reported that they are beginning the activities toward repressurizing the Lunar Module. During this entry into the LM, they'll also be powering up the data systems that will allow us to get a good look at all of the major systems on the Lunar Module through the telemetry and we'll have teams of engineers here in Mission Control and in the engineering support rooms in Building 45 here at the Manned Spacecraft Center looking at this data very closely and comparing it with the similar measurements that we got yesterday when the crew made their unscheduled, previously unscheduled entry into the LM. At the present time Apollo 16 is 125,324 nautical miles [232,100 km] from Earth and we're continuing to watch the spacecraft velocity drop off. It is down to 4,310 feet per second [1,313 m/s].

That was Charlie Duke reporting that the crew is about ready to remove the hatch allowing them to get into the LM tunnel, remove the probe and drogue assembly which will clear the tunnel and allow them to enter the Lunar Module.

That was John Young reporting Charlie Duke, as he put it, "floating over to the Lunar Module now." That report came at 33 hours, 14 minutes, and we expect that Young will be following shortly.

This is Apollo Control. We're awaiting the first bits of data from the Lunar Module as Young and Duke begin partially powering the vehicle up. The Flight Dynamics Officer just reported that, as a result of the midcourse correction performed at 30 hours, 39 minutes, the spacecraft appears to be on the desired trajectory and will be approaching the Moon at an altitude of about 71 nautical miles [131 kilometres] at its closest point prior to the Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuver. This is the preplanned value. We also have an update on the predicted impact point for the Saturn third stage, the S-IVB. The new coordinates that we now have for that impact point are 1 degree, 50 minutes north and 23 degrees, 18 minutes west. This is slightly closer to the planned target point of 30 degrees west than the coordinates we got last night. As I recall those had us about 22½ west; we're now showing about 23 degrees, 18 minutes west so moving a little bit more westerly as we continue to get additional tracking on the S-IVB. And the expected impact time is 75 hours, 7 minutes, 3 seconds Ground Elapsed Time.

This is Apollo Control, at 33 hours, 47 minutes. We've heard nothing from John Young and Charlie Duke, since Young reported about 30 minutes ago that they were entering the Lunar Module Orion. The crew is scheduled to be stowing items that they've carried over from the Command Module and then we'll begin powering up the Lunar Module, according to checklists that they will be carrying on with them. And shortly after they begin the partial power up, we should see telemetry data of most of the critical systems aboard the Lunar Module.

With Ken Mattingly's report that he'd turned over power to the LM; which came at 33 hours, 58 minutes; we would expect shortly to begin seeing telemetry data from the Lunar Module. Also Mattingly commented on a problem that had been reported previously and that is that one of the 12 docking latches on the Command Module apparently had not latched firmly around the docking ring of the Lunar Module, as would normally be expected. This doesn't constitute any concern; three of these 12 docking latches are adequate to assure a hard dock, and only one of the 12 is not latched down firmly. The belief at the present time is that it's probably just hung up if the thing were fired again that it would engage fully. And it doesn't appear that anything further will be done with this particular latch. The expectation is that when the two vehicles are separated and then docked again, that the latch will perform properly. And as we mentioned, in any event, only three of the 12 latches are required for a hard docking. We have now started getting LM data, so we'll be taking a good look at all of the systems on the Lunar Module.

Our LM controllers here in the Control Center report that all of the LM systems look good based on the telemetry data that we're receiving. Apollo 16 at this time is 128,138 nautical miles [237,313 km] from Earth traveling at a speed of 4,221 feet per second [1,287 m/s]. And Charlie Duke reported that he and Young are now ready to begin deactivating the Lunar Module in preparation for going back into the Command Module and closing up the hatch.

This is Apollo Control at 34 hours, 35 minutes. John Young and Charlie Duke are apparently still in the Lunar Module, Orion. They're not scheduled to complete the close out and return to the Command Module for another 25 or 30 minutes. During the time that they had the LM partially powered up and we had telemetry data, all of the systems onboard looked normal, everything looked very good.

That was Charlie Duke reporting. He and John Young are going to close out the Lunar Module now, and get back in the Command Module. Duke also gave one observation of the effects of the Sun on heating the vehicle. He reported that the commander's window, which was in direct sunlight, was almost too hot to touch, and the Lunar Module Pilot's window on the other side of the vehicle was frosted over. That window, of course, not in the sunlight. And at this time Apollo 16 is 129,776 nautical miles [240,345 km] from Earth. The speed down now to 4,170 feet per second [1,271 m/s].

That was John Young reporting the probe and drogue assembly reinstalled in the LM tunnel, the hatch back in place, and a bit of what sounded like blue grass banjo music drifting in from the background. Apparently the music being played on the crew's onboard tape recorder. That report that Young and Duke had completed their activities aboard the Lunar Module and we're back in the Command Module with everything in the LM buttoned up. It came at about 35 hours, 5 minutes. We got the report at 33 hours, 14 minutes that Charlie Duke had entered the Lunar Module so...

The total time that Young and Duke were in the Lunar Module Orion was about 1 hour, 45 to 1 hour, 50 minutes and we don't have a precise time on their reentry to the Command Module, but that would be a fairly good estimate.

This is Apollo Control. 36 hours now into flight of Apollo 16. And the spacecraft is now in it's Passive Thermal Control mode. Rotating at the rate of three revolutions per hour. The crew is scheduled to be eating dinner and following that, they have a scheduled eight-hour rest period. Apollo 16 at the present time is 135,2 - rather 132,595 nautical miles [245,566 km] from Earth. And traveling at a speed of 4,084 feet per second [1,245 m/s].

This is Apollo Control, 37 hours now into the flight of Apollo 16, flight that has settled down into a steady, and at the moment, rather quiet routine. This is typically a quiet time of lunar missions with the crew using the time that they have available to review checklists and procedures that they'll be following during the very busy days ahead on the lunar surface and in orbit around the Moon. Also at the present time the crew is scheduled to be in the midst of a - an eat period, having diner prior to retiring for an eight-hour rest period. We've been watching all of the spacecraft systems here in Mission Control; everything looks good as it has during most of this flight and we show Apollo 16 now 134,939 nautical miles [249,907 km] from Earth, traveling at a speed of 4,013 feet per second [1,223 m/s].

This is Apollo Control at 38 hours into the flight of Apollo 16. And we expect the crew will be beginning their scheduled eight-hour rest period shortly. Here in Mission Control, we're in the process of a shift handover. Flight Director Gene Kranz and his White Team of flight controllers are coming on now to replace the Orange Team headed by Flight Director Pete Frank. The Capsule Communicator on this shift will be astronaut Hank Hartsfield replacing astronaut Don Peterson in that position. And at the present time Apollo 16 is 137,239 [254,167 km] nautical miles from Earth. Traveling at a speed of 3,945 feet per second [1,202 metres].

This is Apollo Control. I would like to correct one portion of our last announcement on the shift handover. The Flight Director on this shift will be Phil Shaffer rather than Gene Kranz. At 38 hours, 4 minutes this is Apollo Control Houston.

This is Apollo Control at 38 hours, 22 minutes. That was Ken Mattingly reporting what appears to be a problem in the Guidance and Navigation System on the Command Module. His voice report came almost simultaneous with a warning light on the Guidance Officer's console and reports from the Guidance Officer to the Flight Director, Phil Shaffer, here in the Control Center. Mattingly's description of the problem was that they had a warning light in the Command Module indicating No Attitude. The gimbal platform frozen - we have an indication here of gimbal lock and coarse align and we're looking at that data right now to try to determine what it might mean.

This is Apollo Control, Houston at 38 hours, 40 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. What you've been listening to is Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly talking back and forth with Mission Control. We had an earlier indication that the IMU platform appeared to be in a gimbal lock. Mission...

Mission Control has been going through a series of procedures with Ken Mattingly to alleviate the gimbal lock situation. Presently the platform is inertial. We'll stand by as series of Verbs and Nouns have been passed up to the spacecraft Casper. We're at 38 hours, 42 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. Apollo 16 now 138,786 nautical miles [257,032 km] away from Earth. This is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control, Houston at 38 hours, 54 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly now going through a series of Verbs and Nouns, trying to align the IMU platform to the Gyro Display Coupler. We presently show Apollo 16 at a distance of 139,243 nautical miles [257,878 km] away from the Earth. Continuing to monitor, this is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control, Houston; 38 hours, 59 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. That was Ken Mattingly reporting difficulty sighting stars through the optics - those desired stars for alignment because of the vast number of particles. The update from CapCom Hank Hartsfield indicated a go-ahead to try the alignment using the larger objects in this case, the Sun and the Moon - for alignment. We show Casper's onboard computer program in Program 52 - this is the platform alignment program - as Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly presses on with his procedures. Apollo 16 is now 139,452 nautical miles [258,265 km] away from the Earth, and this is Apollo Control, Houston.

Apollo Control, Houston; 39 hours, 3 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. Guidance reports that Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly is half way through his platform alignment. He has performed his mark on the Sun. He is now proceeding with his mark on the Moon. We're at 39 hours, 4 minutes; continuing to monitor; this is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control Houston, 39 hours, 9 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. We now show Apollo 16 at 139,788 nautical miles [258,887 km] away from Earth. Command Module [Pilot] Ken Mattingly, on using the Earth and Sun for platform alignment through the optics, reports significant improvement over his earlier attempt in the star sightings. We'll continue to monitor conversations between Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly and CapCom Hank Hartsfield here in Mission Control.

This is Apollo Control, Houston; 39 hours, 11 minutes. Mattingly doing a second P52 platform alignment this time using two stars for sighting and in this way the fine tuning - his earlier improvement if possible with the Sun and - Mo - Earth and Sun as reference. We're at 39 hours, 12 minutes Ground Elapsed Time and we now show Apollo 16 at an altitude of 139,907 nautical miles [259,108 km] away from the Earth.

This is Apollo Control, Houston; at 39 hours, 30 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. We presently show Apollo 16 at a distance of 140,597 nautical miles [260,386 km] away from the Earth. As you heard, Ken Mattingly has now been given the go ahead to start his sleep period. This being the case, we will go over and recount the activities that have just taken place regarding the Guidance and Navigation System. It - this activity was spurred when Mattingly saw a Gimbal Lock warning light on board and a No Attitude light on board. This was verified by the Mission Control team here on the ground. The first step taken, the IMU was coarse aligned to - to the spacecraft body. When this occurred, this alignment wiped out the roll attitude in reference. The first step, Mattingly was given the go ahead to unlock the platform with ground procedures, and this allowed the platform to go inertial. Initially, he tried to align the platform with stars. He was unsuccessful with the platform alignment with stars and this - primarily because of the debris around the spacecraft. As a next step, he then used the Sun and Moon to align the platform and was very successful in this effort. Then the platform was tweaked in its alignment using the stars; and this was possible because the platform alignment with the initial planet reference was good enough to use the Auto Optics. Here in Mission Control during this shift, we will be playing the recorded data, and this will be evaluated over the course of the shift. Initially, it appears to be a transient problem. We're at 39 hours, 33 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. We show Apollo 16 140,686 nautical miles [260,550 km] away from the Earth. Velocity now 3,845 feet per second [1,172 m/s]; and this is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control, Houston at 40 hours, 35 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. We presently show Apollo 16 at an altitude of 142,978 nautical miles [264,795 km], this from Earth, and traveling at a speed of 3,779 feet per second [1,152 m/s]. The crew is now sleeping after a flurry of activity related to a - the Guidance and Navigation system. Ken Mattingly, it appears, went to sleep at 40 hours GET, dozed off to sleep. At an earlier time - 38 hours, 22 minutes GET - the Command Module had a Gimbal Lock warning and a No Attitude light on board. This was verified by the flight controllers here in the Mission Control Center. The Inertial Measuring Unit had been coarse aligned to the spacecraft body when this problem developed. It wiped out the roll attitude reference. As a first step, Ken Mattingly, Command Module Pilot, unlocked the platform with ground procedures allowing the platform to go inertial. A first attempt by Ken Mattingly to align the platform using stars was unsuccessful because of the debris around the spacecraft. He then used the Sun and Moon as references to align the platform and this attempt was very successful. As a follow-on step, Mattingly then tweaked the alignment of the platform with the stars. He was successful in this second attempt because the platform at this time was good enough to use the auto optics. There has been very little conversation over the Flight Control Loop here in the Mission Control Center for the past 30 to 40 minutes. During this shift the recorded data is being replayed for a continuing evaluation. At present it appears that what we have seen is a transient problem to the Guidance and Navigation System. It should be emphasized Ken Mattingly did successfully realign the inertial platform before getting the go ahead to start his sleep period. A confirmed failure, of the IMU would give a No-Go for LOI, however at this time the Guidance and Navigation platform is completely stable and the ground control team here in Mission Control is satisfied. We're at 48 hours, 38 - 40 hours, 38 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. We will at this point take down the Air to Ground Loop because we expect no further conversations with the crew. This is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control, Houston at 41 hours, 30 minutes into the mission. We presently show Apollo 16 at a distance of 144,956 nautical miles [268,548 km] away from Earth. Velocity now reads 3,724 feet per second [1,135 m/s]. We've had no conversation with the crew of Apollo 16 since our last report. The crew is presently in their rest period. Our Flight Director for this shift is Phil Shaffer. It is his first stint in the role of Flight Director. Until this mission, Shaffer has worked as Flight Dynamics Officer in the Mission Control Center. He's one of the new Flight Directors designated for the Skylab Program. Our CapCom for this shift is Astronaut Hank Hartsfield. He does not expect to have anything further to say to the crew of Apollo 16 this shift. Since our countdown clock in the Mission Control Center shows 5 hours, 59 minutes of time remaining until wake-up time, this will put the wake-up time about two hours beyond that called for in the Flight Plan. We're at 41 hours, 31 minutes into the mission; and this is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control, Houston at 42 hours, 30 minutes since lift-off. We presently show Apollo 16 at a distance of 147,092 nautical miles [272,414 km] away from the Earth. Velocity now shows 3,665 feet per second [1,117 m/s]. We've had no conversation with the crew of Apollo 16 over the past hour. There are some five minutes remaining on the sleep period. We're at 42 hours, 30 minutes Ground Elapsed Time; and this is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control, Houston at 42 hours, 32 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. We have a correction to our last report. A sleepy commentator reported five minutes remaining on the sleep period for the Apollo 16 crew. That should have been stated five hours remaining. I repeat, five hours remaining of crew sleep. We're at 42 hours, 32 minutes into the mission and this is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control, Houston at 43 hours, 30 minutes into the flight of Apollo 16. We now show the Apollo 16 spacecraft at a distance of 149,191 nautical miles [276,302 km] away from the Earth and now traveling at a speed of 3,608 feet per second [1,100 m/s]. At the present time, the crew of Apollo 16 is asleep. Also, at the present time, the Mission Control Center here in Houston is receiving periodic data from the Apollo 16 spacecraft due to an inability to switch antennas by ground command. At present, here in Mission Control, we're receiving 11 minutes of data, and seven and a half minutes of data dropout. This will become a troubleshooting exercise with the crew after the crew awakens. The INCO flight controller has tried through the Madrid and Carnarvon stations, but thus far, has not been able to get in commands to switch antennas. This inability in antenna switching from the ground is why we're receiving the periodic data. The crew will remain in their sleep period for four more hours. At 43 hours, 32 minutes Ground Elapsed Time; this is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control, Houston at 44 hours, 30 minutes into the mission. We presently show Apollo 16 at a distance of 151,216 nautical miles [280,052 km] away from the Earth. Velocity now reads 5,353 [should be 3,553] feet per second [1,083 m/s]. Flight Director Phil Shaffer has decided to update the crew wakeup time by one hour. This being one hour earlier because of the work day. This one hour will allow spare time for troubleshooting associated with the antenna switching. There will be a change of shift briefing at 9:30 am in the News Center Briefing Room. Participants will include Flight Director Phil Shaffer and Guidance and Control flight controller Gary Coen. The Gold Team of flight controllers headed by Flight Director Gerry Griffin is scheduled to take over at 46 hours Ground Elapsed Time. At the present time, we show 1 hour, 59 minutes from time of crew wakeup. At 44 hours, 31 minutes; this is Apollo Control, Houston.

This is Apollo Control; 45 hours, 24 minutes Ground Elapsed Time in the mission of Apollo 16. Spacecraft, at the present time, is 153,107 nautical miles [283,554 km] out from Earth. Velocity, 3,504 feet per second [1,068 m/s]. Here in the Mission Control Center, the Gold Team of flight controllers taking over headed up by Gerry Griffin, from the off-going shift of flight controllers headed up by a new Flight Director named Phil Shaffer. Phil Shaffer's press conference will take place in the News Center Auditorium, the Houston News Center, in about 10 minutes. The crew of Apollo 16 will be waked up in a little over an hour. The first order of business upon awakening will be to sort out some problems that have arisen during the night on uplink commands to the spacecraft, and also a gimbal lock problem in the Inertial Measurement Unit that was encountered during the night when Mattingly was realigning the platform, both of which may just go away. That remains to be seen. And at 45 hours, 26 minutes Ground Elapsed Time; this is Apollo Control.