026:27:01 - This is Apollo Control at 26 hours, 27 minutes. The crew has completed the first hour and a half of an 8-hour rest period. Here in Mission Control, flight controllers are monitoring spacecraft's systems while the crew sleeps. All goes well with Apollo 17. Spacecraft is 105,060 nautical miles [194,571 km] from Earth. Its velocity is 4,893 feet per second [1,491 m/s]. This is Mission Control, Houston.
027:27:11 - This is Apollo Control at 27 hours, 27 minutes. 5½ hours remain in the crew's rest period. All spacecraft systems continue to operate normally. Apollo 17 is now 107,835 nautical miles [199,710 km] from Earth, velocity 4,784 feet per second [1,458 km].
028:27:02 - This is Apollo Control at 28 hours, 27 minutes. Everything continues to go well with Apollo 17. Astronaut Bob Parker has come on duty at the CapCom console now, and he will send a wakeup call to the crew in 4 hours and 32 minutes. Apollo 17 is 110,561 nautical miles [204,759 km] from Earth. Velocity, 4,679 feet per second [1,426 m/s].
029:27:01 - This is Apollo Control at 29 hours, 27 minutes. Apollo 17 is 113,208 nautical miles [209,661 km] from Earth, traveling at a speed at 4,579 feet per second [1,396 m/s]. In 36 minutes, Apollo 17 will reach the half-way point to the Moon in terms of distance, at a Ground Elapsed Time of 30 hours, 3 minutes, no seconds. Apollo 17 will be 114,787 nautical miles [212,586 km] from both the Moon and the Earth. 3 hours, 32 minutes remaining in the crew's sleep period. At 29 hours, 27 minutes; this is Mission Control, Houston.
030:27:02 - This is Apollo Control at 30 hours, 27 minutes. 24 minutes ago, Apollo 17 did reach the half-way point in distance in its journey to the Moon. At that time, in the elapsed time of 30 hours, 3 minutes, it was 114,787 nautical miles [212,586 km] from both the Earth and the Moon. Its velocity at that time was 4,522 feet per second [1,378 m/s]. At this time, Apollo 17's distance is 115,842 nautical miles [214,539 km] from the Earth. Velocity is 4,483 feet per second [1,366 m/s]. Midcourse correction number 2 will be performed at an elapsed time of 35 hours, 30 minutes. That's 5 hours, 1 minute from now. It will be a 10.5 foot per second burn. The crew still has 2 hours and 31 minutes remaining in this sleep period. At 30 hours, 28 minutes; this is Mission Control, Houston.
031:12:10 - This is Apollo Control at 31 hours, 12 minutes. Apollo 17 is now 117,746 nautical miles [218,066 km] from Earth, traveling at a speed of 4,415 feet per second [1,346 m/s]. Flight Director Pete Frank and his Orange team of flight controllers will hand over Mission Control duties to Gerry Griffin's Gold team of flight controllers in about 15 minutes at 7 am Central Standard Time. Each of the departing controllers is now briefing his relief. There will be no change of shift news conference. The Orange team will double back after 1 shift, returning to the Control Center at 5 pm today to get back on a schedule which will put them on the EVA shift. To summarize the shift now ending, the crew began rest period at 25 hours Elapsed Time. Each crewman took a sleeping pill, and Jack Schmitt reported that Gene Cernan and Ron Evans were asleep shortly after the crew configured the spacecraft for their rest period. However, Jack Schmitt, who was the duty man to wear the head set and the biomedical harness during this rest period, seemed almost reluctant to surrender his view of the Earth to sleep. At 100,000 nautical miles from the Earth, he broadcast a weather forecast, then indulged in a bit of philosophy as he gazed from his window, about mankind's achievements. He remarked that from his vantage point the Earth probably looks the same now as it did at the dawn of man. Apollo 17 reached the halfway point to the Moon at an elapsed time of 30 hours, 3 minutes. At that time, it was 114,787 nautical miles [212,586 km] from both the Earth and the Moon. Spacecraft's systems are continuing to perform well and the CapCom, astronaut Bob Parker, plans to awaken the crew at 33 hours Elapsed Time; that's 1 hour, 44 minutes from now. Midcourse correction number 2 will be performed at an Elapsed Time of 35 hours, 30 minutes; 4 hours and 14 minutes from now. Present indications are that it will be a 10½-foot-per-second burn. The latest prediction on the S-IVB is that it will impact the Moon at an elapsed time of 86 hours, 58 minutes, 23 seconds. Coordinates of the impact location presently predicted 6.73 degrees south, 9.7 degrees west. The impact time and the coordinates are likely to change prior to the impact itself, and continued tracking of the S-IVB will be performed. At 31 hours, 16 minutes; this is Mission Control, Houston.
032:27:07 - This is Apollo Control at 32 hours, 27 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. The mission of Apollo 17, which at this moment is 120,887 nautical miles [223,883 km] out from Earth. Velocity has continued to decrease to 4,305 feet per second [1,312 m/s]. Slightly over half hour remaining until spacecraft communicator Robert Parker gives the crew a wakeup call. And a relatively busy day ahead with the midcourse correction - midcourse correction maneuver number 2 at 35:30 Ground Elapsed Time, a 10½-foot-per-second posigrade maneuver which will raise the trajectory slightly from an impact trajectory with a minus pericynthion at the Moon, raise it to about 60 nautical miles above the surface. Latest numbers on the S-IVB impact predictions is for impact to take place at a Ground Elapsed Time of 86:58:23 at 6.7 degrees south latitude by 9.7 degrees west longitude. Gold team of flight controllers has settled in for a 10-hour day here in Mission Control, which in addition to the midcourse correction burn, includes the first manning of the Lunar Module, first checkout, which begins at about 40 hours. They start actually, at 39:30 getting the probe and drogue removed from the tunnel, going into the Lunar Module. We'll come back up live with the air-ground when the first call is made to the crew by the spacecraft communicator. And at 32:29, this is Apollo Control.
032:58:01 - This is Apollo Control; 32 hours, 58 minutes Ground Elapsed Time into the mission of Apollo 17. Almost 2 minutes remaining until the first wakeup call is made to the crew of Apollo 17 by spacecraft communicator Robert Parker. Parker is joined this morning by Apollo 17 backup commander John Young at the CapCom console, and it appears that Parker's relief CapCom, Gordo Fullerton, just walked in the door and likely will relieve Parker in the day's duties of getting off midcourse correction number 2 burn and the first housekeeping venture into the Lunar Module. Apollo 17 is now 122,186 nautical miles [226,288 km] out from the Earth, velocity now 4,259 feet per second [1,298 m/s]. We'll stand by with the circuit open for the first wakeup call, the usual post-sleep checklist and Flight Plan updates, and all of the conversation that normally takes place when the crew first wakes up. Let's just open the line now.
033:00:38 Parker: Apollo 17, Houston. Good morning. [Long pause.]
033:01:06 Schmitt: Is that the best you could do?
033:01:09 Parker: That's not very good either. Give us a call when you want to talk to us.
033:01:18 Schmitt: Good morning to you. [Long pause.]
033:21:12 Fullerton: 17, this is Gordo. Bob just finished up his workday with that last call, and I'll be on now.
Long comm break.
Based on calculations based around the image size and Jack's utterance at 034:29:28, two photographs are taken around now on magazine NN (number 148) showing Africa with the Americas on the left.
AS17-148-22743 - Earth at a distance of approximately 230,000 km (based on photo analysis). Africa, South America, Antarctica - JSC scan
AS17-148-22744 - Earth at a distance of approximately 230,000 km (based on photo analysis). Africa, South America, Antarctica - JSC scan
033:31:31 Schmitt: Good morning, Gordy. How you doing?
033:31:33 Fullerton: Real good. How about you?
033:31:37 Schmitt: We all feel pretty good this morning. Got some reports for you.
033:31:42 Fullerton: Okay. Ready to copy.
033:31:45 Schmitt: Okay, on the CDR. PRD is 17025; 6½ hours good sleep. One Seconal, which is the one I reported last night, so that's just one now. Had a - yesterday, midday or so - he had a nausea pill for gas. And we hadn't found the other gas pill, so he tried that one. And he drank, since I last reported, two and a half containers of water.
Seconal is a brand of sleeping pill.
033:32:32 Fullerton: Roger.
033:32:37 Schmitt: The CDR food intake, as with all of us, is a little bit random, and I don't know exactly the best way to report it, unless you want it all in detail.
033:32:54 Fullerton: Let me check while you go on, and I'll see if they want a detailed description of the food or not. [Long pause.]
033:33:13 Schmitt: Okay. LMP medical. PRD 24036; 5½ to 6 hours good sleep, 1 intermittent. Again, I had a Seconal but that's the same Seconal I mentioned last night. And since last report [pause] I guess one - 2½ containers of fluid. Water. [Pause.]
033:33:53 Fullerton: Okay.
033:33:56 Schmitt: And just for checking on the water intake, you should have me down for six containers of water.
033:34:05 Fullerton: Roger. Six total.
033:34:09 Schmitt: That's affirm. [Pause.]
033:34:20 Schmitt: CMP medical. PRD is 15023; 7½ hours very good sleep. He had the same Seconal we had. And, since last report, has three water containers for a total of six now.
033:34:45 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
033:34:57 Fullerton: Jack, I guess we do want an accounting of all the food. Whatever you think is the best way to report it. [Long pause.]
033:35:20 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. Back on the CDR, and I'll just tell you what we ate. For the day 2. CDR: mixed fruit, that's the can, instant breakfast, one vitamin pill, a bag of tea, turkey and gravy, and the wet pack, and orange juice. [Long pause.]
033:36:01 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
033:36:07 Schmitt: Okay, The LMP: cinnamon toast bread, mixed fruit, instant breakfast, coffee, lemonade, peach ambrosia, one vitamin, one slice of bread, grapefruit drink, gingerbread, orange drink. And I have one complaint: somebody slighted me on a caramel candy in meal C.
033:36:50 Fullerton: Rog. [Pause.] We'll start an investigation.
033:36:54 Schmitt: Yes, it was not there. Okay. CMP: the spiced oat cereal, mixed fruit, instant breakfast, and coffee, potato soup, and peach ambrosia. That's all for breakfast. And then later on, he had chocolate pudding and a grape drink. And let's see - we all - You might log him for a vitamin pill and me for a vitamin pill.
033:37:27 Fullerton: Okay.
033:37:30 Schmitt: Oh, yes, I forgot. It's here; one frankfurter, for lunch.
033:37:36 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
033:37:44 Schmitt: And we just changed LiOH canister as per the Flight Plan.
033:37:49 Fullerton: Okay.
033:37:54 Schmitt: And in a minute, I'll have weather report for you.
033:41:04 Schmitt: Gordy, the null bias check. Plus 0.9 in 100 seconds.
The EMS (Entry Monitor System) is set to monitor changes in velocity for 100 seconds to check whether its acceleromoter is showing a tendency to bias its measurements. In a weightless, freefall condition, an initial setting of plus 100 feet per second should stay as 100 for the 100 seconds of the test.
033:41:11 Fullerton: Okay, one question G&C had. Do you do that null bias at a plus 100 or a minus 100 on the EMS counter?
033:41:23 Evans: Plus 100.
033:41:25 Fullerton: Okay, and it's increased up to 101.9, right?
033:45:17 Schmitt: Gordy, [we'll] take your consumables in a second. Let me bring you up to date on the weather around the world, if you're interested.
033:45:28 Fullerton: Yes, we are; go ahead.
033:45:31 Schmitt: Africa, looks in pretty good shape. There's a - except for an area probably around Zambia and Rhodesia in the tropical convergence zone there, where it looks pretty cloudy and probably quite rainy. There's a very strong circulation pattern and presumably a storm off - just off the coast of northwest Africa. Very spectacular spiral formation of clouds in a cyclone development. It looks like there are probably two fairly weak cyclones - southern hemisphere cyclones in the South Atlantic. One, southwest of Cape of Good Hope, and the other about due west of - of the Falkland Islands, maybe a little bit north of that. South America looks to be in quite good shape weatherwise, except possibly Uruguay and maybe northern Argentina which appear to have a - at least some fairly thick clouds there, although no strong circulation associated with this.
033:46:53 Schmitt: [Garble.]
Comm break.
033:48:03 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. We got all that up to Argentina, then the Omni switch kind of cut you off. [Long pause.]
033:48:59 Fullerton: Jack, we got the - at least the first part of your weather report fine up through the clouds in northern Argentina, and then the switch in Omnis cut you out.
033:49:12 Schmitt: Okay, that was about it, Gordy. That's - I'll talk to you some more later about it. I guess the main thing I need now is your - are your consumables.
033:49:26 Fullerton: Okay. By the way, you were looking back from more than halfway to the Moon. You're about 125,000 [nautical miles, 230,000 km] out now. On the consumables, the RCS is running at 1.3 percent over the Flight Plan line. On the O2, tanks 2 and 3 are right on the lines, and tank 1 is about 4 percent below the line. But it's been there all the way since launch, that same bias on tank 1. On the hydrogen: tanks 1 and 3 are right on the lines, tank 2 is about 3 percent above the line. All in all, you're looking real good consumablewise. [Pause.]
033:50:21 Schmitt: Okay. That's hardly worth writing down, I guess.
033:50:26 Evans: That's the way we like to see it.
033:50:30 Fullerton: Same here. [Pause.]
033:50:41 Fullerton: Oh, the only other thing I have in the way of updates is a PIPA bias update. You can load it yourself, or we can load it when we come up with the uplink prior to the burn. Your choice. And then we'll have an update to the erasable load update and a supplement to correspond with that bias update.
033:51:04 Cernan: Gordy, why don't you go ahead and load it yourself when you send up the vector?
033:51:11 Fullerton: Okay, and I'll give you that update for the supplement. It's on 1-43 whenever you're - whenever it's convenient. [Pause.]
033:51:23 Cernan: Okay, Jack's getting that out. I ran another PIPA bias at minus 100, and it confirmed the first one. It ended up at 99.2.
Gene is referring to the accelerometer in the EMS and the bias test that was made on it earlier. Then, a starting point was set at plus 100 fps on the display and after 100 seconds, it had drifted by plus 0.9 to 100.9. In Gene's second test, he has started it at minus 100 fps. The reading has drifted by plus 0.8 to yield minus 99.2, showing that the bias being measured is always in the same direction.
During the early Apollo missions, when the EMS was being used to monitor manoeuvres, it was found to be a bit 'sloppy', as Dave Scott described it, when working around zero on the display. By presetting it to 100, they found it to be more reliable and easier to interpret.
033:51:36 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
033:51:41 Schmitt: Go ahead with your update on 1-43, Gordy.
033:51:45 Fullerton: Okay. It's in the load A of the octal ID of 03, which now reads 77252. Change that to 77655. [Long pause.]
033:52:33 Schmitt: Did you copy, Gordy?
033:52:34 Fullerton: I didn't copy your readback; no.
034:03:28 Schmitt: Okay. For the reference on - on those menus, at least for the LMP, I think I'm probably putting 8 or 9 ounces of water in the citrus drinks and those kind of things, rather than 7, which has probably upped my water intake some.
034:03:47 Fullerton: Okay.
034:03:47 Schmitt: And I think that probably goes for everybody. That probably goes for - it goes for Ron and probably Gene also.
034:10:07 Fullerton: 17, Houston. I have a little synopsis of the news here, if you'd like to listen during breakfast. Let me know.
034:10:16 Evans: Okay, mighty fine. Send it up.
034:10:19 Fullerton: Okay, front page first. In Paris, Henry Kissinger met for 30 minutes this morning with French President George Pompidou at the Elysee Palace just hours before his scheduled conference with North Vietnamese Politburo member Le Duc Tho - Tho, that is. North Vietnamese spokesmen accused Kissinger of attempting to force a peace settlement by threatening further escalation of the war. As both US and North Vietnamese negotiators expressed disappointment at the continued deadlock, Chief American delegate William J. Porter traveled to Brussels to brief Secretary of State William B. Rogers. Rogers will - will return later today from the NATO Conference of Ministers. This one is datel - date - datelined Brussels. Diplomatic sources indicated today that NATO allies will request negotiations with the Soviet Union and its allies on mutual troop reductions in central Europe. Exploratory talks expected to begin about January 31, with full-scale negotiations to follow sometime next fall. In Kansas City, vital life signs for Harry S. Truman appear to have stabilized. But the 88-year-old former President remains on the critical list at Kansas City's Research Hospital. Truman is suffering from lung congestion and heart weakness. In Argentina, aides to popular Argentine politician Juan Peron said that Peron will refuse the nomination to the presidency of Argentina and will return to exile during the coming week. And, on the sports page, Rice coach Al Conover is expected to reveal today - sometime today his decision to either remain at Rice as head coach or move to his alma mater, Wake Forest in a similar position. The Owl head coach has said that he has been offered the job and promises a yes-or-no decision today. There is some speculation that head coach Joe Paterno of Penn State may move to a head coaching job in the pros next year. Paterno is busy preparing his Nittany Lions for a Sugar Bowl meeting with Oklahoma and is refusing to discuss the matter until after the game. Locally, the state high school football playoffs...
034:14:28 Fullerton: Okay, 17. Continuing after being rudely interrupted by the Omni switch, the state high school football playoffs here at Texas are underway and with a whole host of games scheduled this weekend. And the final item, the Major League Baseball Players' Association and the Commissioner's Office are going at it again. It must be getting close to spring training time.
034:14:53 Schmitt: Gordy, you cut out since the Nittany Lions. [Pause.]
034:15:03 Fullerton: Okay. Did you hear about the - the high school playoffs?
034:15:09 Schmitt: No, the last we heard was the Nittany Lions.
034:15:13 Fullerton: Okay. [Laughter.] Paterno, the head coach at Penn State, may move to a head coaching job in the pros next year. He's busy setting up his Nittany Lions for a Sugar Bowl meeting with Oklahoma and is refusing to discuss the matter until after the game. Here locally, the state high school football players are - playoffs are underway with a whole host of games scheduled for this weekend. And the final item, the - the Major League Baseball Players Association and the Commissioner's Office are going at it again, which means it must be getting close to time for spring training. [Pause.]
034:16:02 Schmitt: No editorials, please [laughter].
034:29:28 Schmitt: Gordy, film update on mag November November. I'm on frame 138, and that includes a couple of pictures I mentioned to Bob I took just before I went to sleep. And also, two pictures this morning at about 33:30. Those are the Earth.
034:35:20 Fullerton: 17, Houston. A reminder. We need the H2 Purge Line Heaters, On, now. And I do have a maneuver PAD for the midcourse when you're ready to copy. Over.
034:35:36 Schmitt: Okay. I've already got the Heater, On. And give me about 5 minutes, and I'll get the PAD.
034:35:43 Fullerton: Okay. And if you'll give us Accept and P00, we'll get the up-link started just after the next antenna switch. We want to catch it between switches. Over. [Pause.]
034:35:57 Schmitt: Okay. You got P00 and Accept.
034:36:00 Fullerton: Thank you.
Very long comm break.
To summarise, the stack is rotating slowly in the Passive Thermal Control regime, making one revolution about every 20 minutes. Communication with Earth is being handled via one of four omnidirectional antennae that are distributed around the periphery of the CM at 90° intervals. Normally only two opposing antennae are employed and this means that every 10 minutes, the quality of the link fades until it is reestablished via the opposite antenna. On this occasion, MCC want to upload data into the computer's erasable memory but they would prefer to do so while a robust link to the spacecraft is available. Prior to the upload, the computer's major mode (the program it is seen to be running on the DSKY) is set to Program 00, a 'do nothing' program, then a switch is moved from Block to Accept, which is essentially the crew giving MCC permission to remotely access the memory.
034:46:19 Fullerton: 17, it's your computer. You have a state vector, Verb 66, and a target load, and a PIPA bias update.
The four tasks carried out by MCC were; upload a new state vector, one based on most recent ground based tracking; make a copy of the state vector in an area of memory intended for the LM's state vector, and since the two vehicles are docked, this makes sense; upload the details of what the upcoming burn is to achieve, essentially telling the computer the time, direction and magnitude of the burn that it will try to achieve; and finally, install new values that the computer will use to compensate for the measured biases in the three accelerometers. Note that this does not refer to the bias that was recently measured in the EMS's accelerometer, an independent system.
034:49:49 Schmitt: Believe it or not, Gordy, I'm ready for your PAD.
034:49:54 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. It's a midcourse 2, SPS/G&N; the weight is 66786; plus 1.21, minus 0.13; ignition time is 035:29:59.09; minus 0003.4, plus 0002.1, minus 0009.8; attitude is 132, 194, 343; HA and HP are NA; Delta-VT 0010.6, burn time is 0:02, 0006.5; sextant star is 25, 233.7, 16.4; rest of the PAD is NA. Ullage, none. Other remarks; LM weight, 36281. High Gain angles: Pitch, minus 21; Yaw, 181. And this will give you a perilune of 53.1. Should make everybody onboard feel a little more comfortable. Over. [Pause.]
The PAD is interpreted as follows:
Purpose: This PAD provides the details of a short burn of the SPS engine, executed at the second midcourse correction opportunity, which will refine their arrival at the Moon. Currently, if nothing were done, Apollo 17 would impact the Moon. This burn will cause it to miss the surface around the far side by 53.1 nautical miles, or 98.3 kilometres.
Systems: The burn would be made using the large SPS engine at the rear of the Service Module, under the control of the Guidance and Navigation system.
CSM mass (Noun 47): 66,786 pounds (30,294 kg).
Pitch and yaw trim (Noun 48): +1.21° and -0.13°. These angles represent an initial direction for the gimbal-mounted engine to aim the thrust through the stack's centre of mass. Since any subsequent correction occurs only slowly, the likelihood is that with this very short burn, little or no further adjustment of the nozzle will be made.
Time of ignition (Noun 33): 35 hours, 29 minutes, 59.09 seconds.
Change in velocity (Noun 81), fps (m/s): X, -3.4 (-1.0); Y, +2.1 (+0.6); Z, -9.8 (-3.0). The change in velocity is resolved into three components which are quoted relative to the local vertical frame of reference.
Spacecraft attitude: Roll, 132°; Pitch, 194°; Yaw, 343°. The desired spacecraft attitude is measured relative to the alignment of the guidance platform.
HA, expected apogee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): Not applicable. The trajectory of Apollo 17 isn't a simple orbit around Earth because the Moon will interfere with its shape. Both concepts of apogee and perigee are meaningless in this context.
HP, expected perigee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): Not applicable.
Delta-VT: 10.6 fps (3.2 m/s). This is the total change in velocity the spacecraft would experience and is a vector sum of the three components given above.
Burn duration or burn time: 2 seconds.
Delta-VC: 6.5 fps. Using its ability to independently measure acceleration, the EMS can shut down the engine in case the G&N system fails to do so. This figure, Delta-VC, is lower than Delta-VT because the EMS cannot automatically take account of the engine's tail-off thrust. Instead, the engineers have factored it into the value.
Sextant star: Star 25 (Acrux, Alpha Crucis) visible in sextant when shaft and trunnion angles are 233.7° and 16.4° respectively. This is part of an attitude check.
The remaining items on the standard PAD form are not applicable in this instance. They mostly deal with re-entry into Earth's atmosphere and landing or are further checks of attitude. Additional notes from Fullerton give the LM's mass as 36,281 pounds (16,457 kg), they include suitable angles for the High Gain Antenna (Pitch, minus 21°; Yaw, 181°) and a comment that the resulting closest approach will be at an altitude of 53.1 nautical miles (98.3 kilometres).
034:51:59 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. We haven't felt particularly uncomfortable, but knowing no way we would hit the Moon. Here's MCC-2, 7 - SPS/G&N; 66786; plus 1.21, minus 0.13; 035:29:59.09; minus 0003.4, plus 0002.1 And you cut out on Delta-VZ. Give me that again, please.
034:52:34 Fullerton: Okay. Delta-VZ is a minus 0009.8. [Pause.]
034:52:45 Schmitt: Okay. Delta-VZ, minus 0009.8; 132, 194, 343; Noun 44 is NA; 0010.6, 0:02, 0006.5; 25, 233.7, 16.4; rest of PAD is NA. No ullage. LM weight, 36281. High Gain Pitch, minus 21; Yaw, 181. Perilune, 53.1.
034:53:23 Fullerton: Okay. That's a good readback. [Long pause.]
034:54:21 Fullerton: 17, Houston. You can go back to Block now. [Long pause.]
034:54:33 Evans: Okay. We're in Block. [Long pause.]
034:55:16 Fullerton: Jack, a couple of quick items. We'd like for you to terminate the Battery A charge now, and also turn the H2 tank Heaters for tanks 1 and 2, Off. [Pause.]
034:55:34 Schmitt: Okay. H2 tank Heaters 1 and 2 are Off, and I'll terminate the charge.
Hydrogen and oxygen is stored in the SM within insulated tanks at a very high pressure and low temperature. In these conditions, they are in a supercritical state that permits a greater quantity than if they were a liquid or gas. The systems they supply are designed with this high source pressure in mind and therefore, steps are taken to maintain it as quantities are drawn off, otherwise the pressure within the tanks would decreases. For this, each tank has heating elements that can provide energy to raise the pressure as necessary and they can be controlled manually or automatically.
034:58:16 - This is Apollo Control; 34 hours, 58 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. Apollo 17 spacecraft should, at this time, be coming out of the Passive Thermal Control mode and getting into the proper attitude for the midcourse correction burn number 2, which is some 31 minutes and 23 seconds from now. Apollo 17 presently 126,988 [nautical] miles [235,182 km] from the Earth, traveling at velocity of 4,098 feet per second [1,249 m/s]. The midcourse correction burn number 2, with an ignition time 35:29:59.1, has a velocity change in the posigrade direction of 10.6 feet per second [3.2 m/s], which for the Service Propulsion System engine is a burp lasting 1.58 seconds. Purpose of this burn is to raise the pericynthion from an impact trajectory as it stands now, to one with a clearance over the Moon of some 53 nautical miles [98 km] which will become the pericynthion of lunar orbit. Standing by on air-ground 1 at 34:59, this is Apollo Control.
035:02:54 Cernan: Okay, Gordo, there's all balls and 05 on that P52. [Pause.]
035:03:04 Fullerton: Roger. That looks good.
The P52 platform realignment just completed is the eighth of the mission. The two stars used were 32 (Alphecca, Alpha Coronae Borealis) and 35 (Rasalhague, Alpha Ophiuchi). As a result, the platform had to be rotated by +0.089° in X, -0.035° in Y and -0.023° in Z. Gene is pointing out that the computer considered the sighting exercise to be very good. It saw no difference when comparing the angle it knows between the stars and the angle that was measured, thereby displaying 000.00°, or 'all balls'.
035:03:05 Cernan: And you're looking at Noun 93. Okay, you're looking at Noun 93. [Long pause.]
Noun 93 gives the three angles by which the platform must be rotated, or torqued, to restore alignment.
035:03:27 Fullerton: Okay, and we Go to torque it. [Long pause.]
035:04:06 Evans: Houston, Apollo 17. When we ran the Delta-V test, we - we're reading minus 22.2 and I'm having a little trouble finding the SPS cue card. Wonder if FAO know exactly - knows exactly where that is?
At regular intervals, hydrogen and oxygen gases are passed through the fuel cells at a high rate in order to remove any buildup of contaminants within, primarily gases like argon.
035:14:51 Evans: Okay, Houston, We'll get to the attitude in about another 4 minutes or so. Then we'll whip in the P30 and go right into P40. We're doing a waste water dump, urine dump, and - man, the sky is just full of little bitty particles.
It was a deliberate act of planning to schedule a fluid dump after the sightings had been made for the platform realignment. Fast evaporation from the droplets cause them to form countless ice crystals that in the sunlight, interfere with locating the stars.
P30 is an 'External Delta-V' program whose function is to take the targeting information that had been uploaded and compute the necessary burn parameters. P40 will then use that information to actually execute the burn.
035:15:12 Fullerton: Roger, Ron. [Long pause.]
035:15:54 Evans: Hey, I doubt if we can get the star sextant check, but you can try it.
The star sextant check relies on viewing a star through the optical system. Ron is having doubts about whether that will work, given the plethora of ice crystals now accompanying the spacecraft.
035:18:43 Evans: Okay. Okay, 35:29:59:09 for the time. Noun 81 - okay, Noun 81s are loaded good. [Pause.]
035:19:10 Evans: Just the burn time's good. [Long pause.]
035:19:44 Evans: Okay. We'll see if we can get the DET started here. [Long pause.]
035:20:04 Evans: Okay; got the DET started.
The DET is the Digital Event Timer. This is a simple minutes and seconds counter that can be preset to a time and made to run from that time. Crews use it to coordinate activities around an important event, in this case, the ignition of a burn. The usual procedure is to preset it to a number prior to 00:00. For example, if a 2-minute period is required, it would be set to 58:00. Then, at a specific GET, the counter is started and it counts up to zero and beyond.
035:20:07 Fullerton: Jack, you can bring up the High Gain any time now.
035:20:10 Evans: In 10 minutes, Jack so we're in good shape. Okay, got the DET. [Garble.]
035:20:27 Evans: Yeah, he's dumping waste water. It's about 15. [Pause.] Yeah. Yeah, straight up to Relief, Jack.
035:20:40 Fullerton: And, Jack, also we're showing 10 percent on waste water, now.
035:20:44 Evans: [Garble] 786, LM weight. [Pause.] Okay, [garble], Off; [garble], Off. That's what I'm doing now. To what? One three, okay. Here we go. [Long pause.] Set my IMU. Okay. Realign the old GDC a little bit. [Long pause.]
As well as a set of gyros being mounted on a stabilised platform, another set are fixed to the internal structure of the spacecraft. When the spacecraft is made to rotate, they exert a force on their mountings which is proportional to the rate of change of rotation. The signals from these Body Mounted Attitude Gyros (BMAGs) are processed by the Gyro Display Couplers (GDCs) to yield a measure of absolute attitude, provided they have an known attitude as a starting point. The BMAGs and GDCs give the spacecraft a backup means of attitude measurement but it is one which is very prone to drift and is only valid for a short period when compared to the much more stable platform in the IMU. There are two ways to giving the GDCs starting point. One requires that the spacecraft be rotated so that two stars are aligned with the graticule (or reticle) of the scanning telescope. This will represent a known attitude with respect to the desired RESFMMAT and those angles are given. The second method is merely to press the GDC Align button. This transfers the accurate knowledge of the spacecraft's attitude directly to the GDCs. That's what Ron is doing here.
035:21:45 Evans: Okay, GDC is aligned. Stab control breakers. All In and good shape.
035:21:54 Evans: Manual ATTs are Rate Command; Deadband, Min; Rate to Low. Yeah.
035:22:06 Evans: Okay, TVC's in Rate Command. LM/CSM is in LM/CSM. Gimbal Drive's in Auto. Okay.
035:22:14 Fullerton: Jack, this is Houston. We're ready for the High Gain. [Pause.]
035:22:21 Evans: [Laughter.]
035:22:33 Fullerton: 17, Houston. Do you read? [Pause.]
035:22:42 Evans: I think there's no trim on this [garble] Flight Plan.
035:22:49 Evans: Okay.
035:22:54 Fullerton: Apollo 17, Houston. How do you copy?
035:22:57 Evans: Okay, so X-axis only trim, to 0.2. [Pause.]
035:23:07 Evans: No trim if it's greater than 2 feet per second. [Long pause.]
035:23:24 Evans: Yeah, we're down to 6 minutes.
035:23:30 Fullerton: Apollo 17, Houston. How do you read?
035:23:35 Evans: Okay, Gordo. We got you.
035:23:38 Fullerton: Okay, we weren't getting through there for a minute or 2. We're ready for the High Gain now. [Long pause.]
035:23:54 Evans: Okay. Minus [pause] minus 21 and 181.
035:24:06 Fullerton: And 17, You're Go for midcourse 2.
035:24:12 Evans: Okay. Sounds good. [Pause.]
035:24:19 Evans: And, Jack, you ready for Gimbal Motors? - I mean the Bus Ties? [Pause.]
035:24:27 Evans: Ready for the Bus Ties. [Long pause.]
035:24:42 Evans: Okay, Tape Recorder, High Bit Rate, Record, Forward, and Command Reset. [Pause.]
035:24:52 Evans: Check your Helium Valves and check your [garble].
035:24:59 Evans: Okay. Servo Power 1 and 2, we got. [Pause.]
035:25:10 Evans: Okay, got Servo Power. AC1 and AC2.
035:25:16 Evans: AC, Directs are Off.
035:25:19 Evans: BMAGs, 1/2. Okay.
035:25:24 Evans: No hardovers. Okay. We'll go to SCS. Okay, Pitch 1, Jack...
035:25:33 Evans: Mark it. Yaw 1...
035:25:36 Evans: Mark it. Okay. Got a minus - plus 1.1, okay. A minus 0.13; that's almost zero. Okay. Whoo! Man, bounces it around! [Laughter.] little difference.
035:26:02 Evans: Okay, we'll give it to the computer. Clockwise. Go TVC TVC. Okay, Pitch 2.
035:26:11 Evans: Mark it. Got it. Yaw 2.
035:26:13 Evans: Mark it. Got it? Okay, got the trim, about a plus 12 and a minus 0.1. TVC, TVC, TVC, TVC.
035:26:28 Evans: Okay, give it to the computer. Returns to zero. Go TVC TVC. Okay.
035:26:38 Evans: AC/DC. Directs are Main A/Main B.
035:26:42 Evans: Okay, zero BMAGs.
035:26:46 Evans: Okay, 50 18. Proceed.
035:26:51 Evans: Enter it.
035:26:55 Evans: Okay. Uncage BMAGs. [Pause.]
035:27:03 Evans: Okay. Let's try a gimbal test. Plus 2, minus 2, 0, plus 2, minus 2, 0. [Pause.]
Ron is checking that the SPS engine can move on its gimbal mountings as commanded.
035:27:23 Evans: Okay, she went to trim. 02:38 to go. Okay, we'll reach - Scale was 5 what?
035:27:31 Cernan: 39.
035:27:32 Evans: Okay. Rate to High.
035:27:37 Evans: Okay, EMS Normal at 1 minute. [Pause.] Yeah, we use bank A. [Pause.]
035:28:01 Evans: Two-second burn, we use bank A only. Okay, so in 3 seconds, Jack. [Pause.]
In order to increase its reliability, the SPS was given two redundant sets of plumbing, valves and control electrics. In fact, the only common component in the two systems was the injector, thrust chamber and nozzle, all very passive components. The two systems were designated the A and B banks and for a long burn, both were energised to deliver propellant to the injector and the calibrated thrust was based on this being the case. If only one bank was operating, the thrust was slightly lower. If, however, the intended burn was to be of a short duration, then only one back would be used.
035:28:16 Evans: Okay, cycle to [garble], Min, Rate to High, Direct, CMC Auto; uncaged, Rate Command, Gimbal Motors, LM/CSM and Gim - Auto.
035:28:31 Cernan: Okay, Houston. 01:30 and we're Go onboard for the burn.
035:28:35 Fullerton: Roger.
035:28:38 Evans: Okay, Houston. No ullage.
035:28:44 Cernan: Houston - Houston, I'm sure you've seen it. We're reading below the green band oxidizer pressure, about 163.
035:28:55 Fullerton: Roger.
035:29:00 Evans: [Singing] Okay. Let's wait until 30 seconds and...
035:29:09 Evans: Control Power is On. [Garble] Delta-V Thrust A switch. Get it and EMS at 30 seconds. Ullage - no ullage. [Pause.]
035:29:29 Cernan: We're in average g.
'Average g' means that the computer is now measuring the acceleration that will be imparted to the stack by the engine burn. It is indicated by the DSKY display going blank.
035:29:30 Evans: Okay, average g is coming. EMS to Normal. Delta-V Thrust A is On. Okay, no manuals to it. You'll get the 99 - Okay? [Pause.]
035:29:52 Evans: 10 seconds, Houston.
035:29:54 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
035:30:00 Evans: 99.
By flashing '99' in the Verb display, the computer is essentially asking for permission from the crew to execute the burn.
035:30:03 Evans: Uh-hoo! There we go. Lift-off!
035:30:05 Cernan: Okay. The burn is on time and - au - auto shutdown
035:30:08 Fullerton: Roger.
035:30:10 Evans: Okay. Let's see what kind of trim we got. Yeah, we trimmed it. Trimmed it to 0.2. Yes. Less than 2. Okay, plus 7 on the EMS.
035:30:23 Fullerton: Roger.
035:30:24 Evans: I mean on the R-1. [Laughter.]
035:30:30 Evans: Okay, we'll trim it out to 2. Plus 0.3. [Pause.] One more chance. Okay, there we go.
035:30:43 Cernan: Okay, Houston. You're looking at Noun 85, and the EMS is minus 3.3.
035:31:10 Evans: Trans Control Power and Directs are Off.
035:31:15 Evans: Delta-V circuit breakers are Open. Hey, we just caught up with all the particles. They're all going with us now. [Long pause.]
035:31:34 Evans: Okay, Directs are Off. Pitch and Yaw. Pitch 1, Yaw 1 are Opened. Okay, you got the Delta-V counter? [Long pause.]
035:31:58 Evans: Okay. BMAGs are caged. Bus Ties, Jack? [Long pause.]
035:32:23 Evans: Okay. Bus Ties are Off. Bit Rate to Low, while you're up there. [Long pause.]
035:32:58 Evans: That shouldn't change, I don't think; should it? [Pause.]
035:33:04 Evans: Okay. [Long pause.]
035:33:22 Cernan: Houston, America.
035:33:23 Fullerton: Go ahead. [Pause.]
035:33:32 Cernan: Okay, the burn was on time. Looked like it was about 2 seconds. Delta-VGX was 0.7. Roll was 132, Pitch was 193, and Yaw was 342. Residuals after trim were zero - plus 0.1, zero, and minus 0.1, and Delta-VC, is minus 3.3. Ox 007. Fuel is 009 and Decrease 50.
035:34:09 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
035:34:57 Evans: Pan Camera's Off. Map Camera's Off, huh? And SM/AC Power will be coming Off, shortly. [Long pause.]
035:35:53 Evans: You know, Houston, we must of caught up with every one of those particles. Because we're right in the middle of them. They're going kind of in a random fashion. Most of them are drifting right along with us. Some of them are going against us and away from us. But before we did the burn - you know, the propulsion they got out of the vent sent them all away from us in what looked like - in more or less the X-direction.
035:36:21 Fullerton: How about that.
035:36:25 Cernan: Say...
035:36:26 Evans: We really got a star field out there now [laughter].
035:36:30 Fullerton: Rog.
035:36:31 Cernan: Say, Gordy, the LM/CM Delta-P is 1 - That's 1.0. You want me to go to Tunnel Vent?
035:36:41 Fullerton: Stand by. [Long pause.]
A pressure gauge can be selected to measure the pressure difference between the CM cabin and the tunnel beyond the forward hatch. Currently it is showing that the tunnel is 1.0 psi lower than the cabing. If the cabin is at its normal pressure of about 5 psi, then the tunnel will be at 4 psi.
035:36:57 Fullerton: Yeah, that's affirmative, Geno. You have a Go for Tunnel Vent valve, Vent.
The same valve that routes the gauge to read the pressure difference can also be used to route the tunnel to a vacuum. This slowly depressurises it and, assuming the LM's overhead hatch's valve was left open, also depressurises the LM's cabin. Note that by moving the Tunnel Vent Valve to this position, the pressure gauge no longer has a valid reading. The valve must be returned to the LM/CM Delta-P position to gain a true reading.
035:41:16 Fullerton: Okay, we do want to put Battery A back on Charge as shown in the Flight Plan. And, also, I have a new flyby PAD. No hurry on this one, but it's a flyby PAD post MCC-2. [Pause.]
035:41:35 Cernan: Okay, Gordo, how quickly should this tunnel vent?
035:41:41 Fullerton: Let me get a reading on that. [Long pause.]
035:42:12 Fullerton: Geno, that should take about an hour. We'll try to remember to occasionally remind you to look at it.
035:42:23 Cernan: Okay. I'm glad you said that because I don't see any indication of it moving here yet, at all.
035:42:29 Fullerton: Rog.
Comm break.
035:43:44 Schmitt: Houston, 17.
035:43:46 Fullerton: Go ahead.
035:43:49 Schmitt: Never got to give you a 7-Alpha reading on a - after the last charge. It was 0.6 - decimal 6 as before.
035:44:04 Fullerton: Okay. Ed Mitchell - Ed Mitchell must be working. I was just about to ask you for that. And for Geno, one reminder, you will have to switch back to LM/CM Delta-P in order to read the Delta-P. Over.
The mention of Ed Mitchell is a humourous reference to Mitchell's experiments on Extra Sensory Perception during the coast periods of the Apollo 14 mission.
035:44:25 Cernan: Yeah, Gordo, I'm - I'm aware of that, and I've done it. But in the about 3 or 4 minutes that I vented, I didn't see any change yet.
035:44:33 Fullerton: Okay. It's a pretty slow process.
035:54:32 Fullerton: Okay, Ron. Your ZPN looks good. [Pause.]
035:54:39 Evans: Okay, I don't have the other one on yet. But I was a little bit curious because I left the electrodes in this thing, and - you know, the little sponges, I left those inside the electrodes, but they stuck to - to the back of the electrodes and kind of corroded the inside of it there a little bit.
035:54:59 Fullerton: Evidently, it's working okay.
036:07:47 Evans: Okay, Houston, is my heart beating?
036:07:53 Fullerton: I'm sure it is, Ron, but I'll check to my left.
036:07:59 Evans: Okay. [Pause.]
036:08:08 Fullerton: We'll wait a couple of minutes. It takes that long to settle down and give you a reading on it.
036:08:14 Evans: Okay. No problem. [Long pause.]
036:09:17 Fullerton: Ron, your EKG looks real good.
036:09:24 Evans: Okay. Thank you much.
036:09:28 Evans: That's all new, what you call it - those sponges and stuff, you know. [Pause.] And, Houston, I'm not - I'm not putting - putting any cover tape on it, so if it quits - you know, comes loose or something like that, well, let me know and I'll push it on again.
036:10:55 Schmitt: You might make a note that Dr. Evans was assisted in that operation by Dr. Schmitt,
036:11:01 Fullerton: Roger, Doctor. [Pause.]
036:11:09 Fullerton: Jack, I've still got this flyby PAD standing by.
036:11:17 Schmitt: Nag, nag, nag. [Pause.]
036:11:29 Evans: Can't talk with a mouthful of bread cubes, it all comes out.
036:11:34 Schmitt: Okay, what kind of PAD you want to give me? Flyby, right?
036:11:38 Fullerton: Right. A regular maneuver PAD. [Pause.]
036:11:49 Schmitt: Okay, and I guess the other one I can cross out, right?
036:11:53 Fullerton: That's affirmative. It's obsolete now that you've done midcourse 2. [Long pause.]
036:12:12 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy, I'm all set.
036:12:14 Fullerton: Okay, it's a flyby. SPS/G&N; 66678; plus 1.21, minus 0.13. Ignition time is 081:14:43.49; plus 0043.3, plus 0211.8, plus 0453.2. Attitude is 128, 146, 317; HA is NA. HP is plus 0021.1. Delta-VT, 0502.1. Burn time, 1:18, 0497.6. Sextant star is 25, 189.3, 27.4. Boresight star is NA. Noun 61 is a plus 15.60, minus 175.00; 1101.6, 36242. GET of 05G is 153:24:03 - GDC stars are Sirius and Rigel; 256; 152; 069. Ullage, none. Remarks: 1, burn docked; and number 2, assumes PTC REFSMMAT. And that's it. Over. [Pause.]
The PAD is interpreted as follows:
Purpose: This PAD provides the details of a burn of the SPS engine that would occur about 7½ hours prior to Lunar Orbit Insertion. Its function is to set the docked spacecraft on a course that will take it around the Moon's far side and return it to Earth.
Systems: The burn would be made using the large SPS engine at the rear of the Service Module, under the control of the Guidance and Navigation system.
CSM mass (Noun 47): 66,678 pounds (30,245 kg).
Pitch and yaw trim (Noun 48): +1.21° and -0.13°. These angles represent an initial direction for the gimbal-mounted engine. As the burn progresses, the nozzle will be slowly and automatically steered to track shifts in the stack's centre of mass.
Time of ignition (Noun 33): 81 hours, 14 minutes, 43.49 seconds.
Change in velocity (Noun 81), fps (m/s): X, +43.3 (+13.2); Y, +211.8 (+64.6); Z, +453.2 (+138.1). The change in velocity is resolved into three components which are quoted relative to the local vertical frame of reference.
Spacecraft attitude: Roll, 128°; Pitch, 146°; Yaw, 317°. The desired spacecraft attitude is measured relative to the alignment of the guidance platform.
HA, expected apogee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): Not applicable.
HP, expected perigee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): 21.1 nautical miles (39.1 km). The perigee distance is so low, it intersects Earth's atmosphere. What this really means is that the spacecraft will re-enter.
Delta-VT: 502.1 fps (153.0 m/s). This is the total change in velocity the spacecraft would experience and is a vector sum of the three components given above.
Burn duration or burn time: 1 minute, 18 seconds.
Delta-VC: 497.6 fps. Using its ability to independently measure acceleration, the EMS can shut down the engine in case the G&N system fails to do so. This figure, Delta-VC, is entered into the EMS's Delta-V counter (hence the 'C'). Its value is slightly lower than Delta-VT because the EMS does not take account of the engine's tail-off thrust.
Sextant star: Star 25 (Acrux, Alpha Crucis) visible in sextant when shaft and trunnion angles are 189.3° and 27.4° respectively. This is part of an attitude check.
Boresight star: Not applicable. This is a second attitude check which is made by sighting on another celestial object with the COAS (Crew Optical Alignment Sight) mounted in one of the two rendezvous windows. However, as these may face a nearby planet or because their view can be obscured by a docked LM, the boresight star is often not used.
The next five parameters all relate to re-entry, during which an important milestone is "Entry Interface," defined as being 400,000 feet (121.92 km) altitude. In this context, a more important milestone is when atmospheric drag on the spacecraft imparts a deceleration of 0.05 g.
Expected splashdown point (Noun 61): 15.60° north, 175.00° west; in the Mid-Pacific Ocean.
Range to go at the 0.05 g event: 1,101.6 nautical miles. To set up their EMS (Entry Monitor System) before re-entry, the crew need to know the expected distance the CM would travel from the 0.05 g event to landing. This figure will be decremented by the EMS based on signals from its own accelerometer.
Expected velocity at the 0.05 g event: 36,242 fps. This is another entry for the EMS. It is entered into the unit's Delta-V counter and will be decremented based on signals from its own accelerometer.
Predicted GET of 0.05 g event: 153 hours, 24 minutes, 3 seconds GET.
GDC Align stars: The stars to be used for GDC Align purposes are Sirius and Rigel. When these two stars are viewed through the telescope in the correct manner, the spacecraft's attitude will be: roll, 256°; pitch, 152°; yaw, 69°.
Additional notes in the PAD state that there would be no need to perform an ullage burn to settle the contents of the SPS tanks because they are full, the burn assumes that the LM is still docked and that the guidance platform is assumed to be aligned per the PTC REFSMMAT.
036:14:56 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. Here's your readback. Flyby, SPS/G&N; 66678; plus 1.21, minus 0.13; 081:14:43.49; plus 0043.3, plus 0211.8, plus 0453.2; 128, 146, 317. HA is NA. Plus 0021.1; 0502.1, 1:18, 0497.6; 25, 189.3, 27.4. Boresight, NA. Plus 15.60, minus 175.00; 1101.6, 36242; 153:24:03 - Sirius and Rigel; 256; 152; 069. There's no ullage. Remark 1, burn docked - docked; and 2, PC - PTC REFSMMAT is assumed.
036:16:16 Fullerton: Okay, that's a good readback.
036:17:55 Cernan: Gordy, I might mention for future reference that we've established a new list of consumables, or at least add it to the old one. Now includes gray tape and tissues.
036:18:07 Fullerton: Okay, you want us to track those?
036:18:12 Cernan: It might help. We have a heck of a time finding them in here.
036:18:16 Fullerton: Rog.
036:18:20 Schmitt: Oh, you meant quantity-wise.
036:18:25 Fullerton: Yeah, we'll set up in a special back room. [Pause.]
036:18:33 Cernan: Would you call it the T-T room. Tissue and tape, of course.
036:34:41 - This is Apollo Control at 36 hours, 34 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. Apollo 17, 130,714 nautical miles [242,082 km] out from Earth, velocity now 3,985 feet per second [1,215 m/s], continuing to decelerate as we approach the so-called cross-over between the sphere of influence from Earth to Moon. I can't recall ever seeing two pages of a Flight Plan as blank as these are, from 36 hours to 38 hours. Later on today, the - after the eat-period, the crew will crawl through the hatch into the Lunar Module for some housekeeping chores, checking out of stowage of equipment in the Lunar Module. But the most exciting thing going on now, was the checkout of the biomedical harness on the Command Module Pilot. Midcourse correction burn went nominally on time. The velocity just at time of ignition was 4,058 feet per second [1,237 m/s]. It jumped approximately 10 feet since there was a 10-foot per second [3 m/s] burn. But then, within a few moments - a few minutes it was down below the original velocity as the spacecraft continues to decelerate. Altitude at the time of burn, or distance from Earth, was 128,217 [nautical miles, 237,458 km]. We show a pericynthion of 52.09 miles [96.47 km] at closest approach after the burn. And standing by at 36:36, this is Apollo Control.
037:42:31 Fullerton: America, Houston. We're predicting that your LM/CM Delta-P ought to be about right now, about 2.8.
037:42:41 Schmitt: Okay.
037:42:45 Fullerton: We would like a reading...
037:42:45 Schmitt: We'll check it. [Long pause.]
037:43:14 Cernan: Gordo, 2.9.
037:43:18 Fullerton: Okay. Sounds good.
Comm break.
037:44:16 Schmitt: Ah...
037:44:30 Schmitt: Gordy, the reason I asked about that view of the Earth, we were sort of thinking maybe we might go early, if it was all right with you, and watch the Earth a little bit more.
037:44:45 Fullerton: Okay. We're still trying to get the answer on whether you'll have a window. Stand by. I might have it here.
037:50:11 Fullerton: Okay. The LM inspection attitude that you'll go to results in kind of a marginal view of the Earth out of window 1, about 60 degrees away from it, boresight - line of sight. And we're - we can - we've started to work on and if you wanted to do is you can go to kind of intermediate attitude, which will be the LM attitude except for roll which would be off by about 60 degrees, which will - will give you a good view of the Earth out of window 1. And then when we get ready to do the LM entry, you can roll that additional 60 degrees to get to the proper attitude, if you wish. Your choice. Over.
037:50:58 Schmitt: Yeah, if that doesn't bother anybody down there, we'd like to do that.
037:51:03 Fullerton: Okay. We'll have something for you here in a few minutes.
037:54:00 Fullerton: Okay. If you're ready to copy, I've a Verb 49 maneuver for you that will let you look at the Earth.
Verb 49 executes an automanoeuvre which will automatically fire the thrusters in a fashion that will place the stack in a desired attitude.
037:54:11 Evans: Wait a minute, Gordo, and I'll just let you load it as we go here.
037:54:15 Fullerton: All right. [Long pause.]
037:54:27 Evans: Okay; ready to copy.
037:54:29 Fullerton: Okay. Roll is 240, pitch is 089, and yaw is 0. And the High Gain for that attitude, we think it'll probably track to this attitude, is plus 29 and 27.
038:05:15 Schmitt: Gordy, for your information we have our LM transfer items in the jettison bag ready to go over and we're pretty well squared away on the, all the Command Module stowage now with minor exceptions.
038:13:02 Fullerton: America, Houston. We'd like you to go ahead and get on the High Gain again since - and stop it just wandering around aimlessly. And how does the Earth look now? [Long pause.]
038:13:30 Schmitt: Sorry, Gordy, to be so slow. Earth looks great, and we'll get the High Gain up in just a second.
038:13:36 Fullerton: Okay.
Long comm break.
At about 038:20, Jack takes two pictures of Earth using the Hasselblad magazine NN (number 148) showing the Americas.
AS17-148-22745 - Earth at a distance of approximately 250,000 km (based on photo analysis). Africa, South America, Antarctica - JSC scan
AS17-148-22746 - Earth at a distance of approximately 250,000 km (based on photo analysis). Africa, South America, Antarctica - JSC scan
038:19:40 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy, going from south to north on noontime, at least our noontime weather, it looks like there's a fairly strong mass of polar air moving from the southwest up towards Tierra del Fuego. It's mixed with some cloudiness that extends from that area all the way down to the Antarctic ice shelf. But it looks like some pretty good movement patterns from the southwest, north - northeast. No strong weather waves or cyclone development on that yet, although one may be picking up about halfway between Tierra del Fuego and the coast of Antarctica, the - where the front, or at least the cloud masses, curve from the east-west direction to an almost due south direction. Most of South America still looks like pretty good weather. There is cloudiness along the Andean Ridge and also in the Amazon Basin, stretching from the eastern coast of South America on up about, oh, two-thirds of the way towards Central America. It doesn't look like frontal weather there. It's probably tropical convergence weather. Now there is this - still this small, moderately developed cyclone pattern that's hanging pretty much over Buenos Aires now, I think. Uruguay and Buenos Aires. I think I mentioned that earlier in the day. And that still is there, and I suspect those folks are getting a fair amount of weather out of it.
038:21:54 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
038:22:00 Schmitt: Except for scattered clouds, Central America and Mexico, for the most part, are clear - as is most of the Caribbean islands - Cuba and the others are - all look like they've pretty good weather. There's a little clouds off - cloud pattern off to the east of those islands, but it doesn't look like any major weather in that area. The eastern half and Midwest of the United States is completely cloud covered right now. There - however, the - extending from Mexico to Sonora and up into Arizona and New Mexico, and possibly as far north as Colorado, is a clear band. But then there's more cloudiness to the north of that. [Long pause.]
038:23:06 Schmitt: The Pacific regions west of - the West Coast of the United States is cloudy, at least west of Southern California. I cannot see Baja, so that cloudiness extends down south of - into Baja California. I see no strong new frontal patterns, although I'm looking right across the limb of the Earth now. There may be one that would be lying maybe across northern California and - and into Colorado, with a little clear area ahead of it, possibly in Kansas. But then into this, a solid bank of clouds that stretches from Brownsville, at least, clear up to - well, along the Gulf Coast across the panhandle of Florida, up the East Coast and on out past Nova Scotia, I'm sure. Florida is clear. Florida - the peninsular portion of Florida is - it looks very clear and some of the deep turquoise green waters to the south and southeast of that area are - are very obvious at this time. [Pause.]
038:24:42 Fullerton: Roger, Jack. I'm following along on a satellite weather picture here that's taken from about your same vantage point and - although nowhere near the detail that you're describing. [Pause.]
038:25:05 Schmitt: Have you seen today's analysis charts of the United States or North America?
038:25:11 Fullerton: No, I haven't. [Long pause.] I was just told, Jack, that the - the weathermen and a lot of other people around here, too, are following your weather reports with great interest.
038:25:40 Schmitt: Yeah, well, does that mean they're right or wrong? [Laughter.]
038:25:47 Fullerton: You've got the better view, by far.
038:25:52 Schmitt: That doesn't prove much. Okay, Gordy, I'm - I suspect that that's a pretty healthy front. I don't know. Your weather must be cloudy and bad today. Is that right?
038:26:04 Fullerton: It is. We've got about a half-mile vis and drizzly rain.
038:26:11 Schmitt: Okay. Well, I suspect comparable weather extends all the way across the eastern United States. That looks like awful dense clouds, although there's no obvious frontal pattern. It just stretches from the Midwest to the East Coast. And, also, there's no good indication of stratification of those clouds, as if they'd be fairly - fairly thick up to - into the cirrus levels. [Pause.]
038:26:51 Fullerton: Roger, Jack.
038:26:52 Schmitt: Looks like Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Sonora probably have some - one band of high cirrus. But other than that, probably a beautiful day out in that area. [Long pause.]
038:27:19 Schmitt: There's some transverse cloud patterns over the Mississippi-Alabama area. It suggests maybe that the jetstream may be just north of that region. But otherwise, there's no good indication of jetstream position right now.
038:29:11 Schmitt: Gordy, there is one minor weather disturbance, possibly just about over Puerto Rico or maybe just - just to the east of that island. No strong circulation patterns, although there's a hint of a cyclone development. There might be just a small depression in that area. I don't know whether your map's carrying anything down there or not.
038:29:45 Fullerton: I think I see what you're talking about on the satellite picture, but I don't have a surface analysis that goes that far. I do - I just now got a copy of the surface charts for the United States. And there's - there's a front stretching from northern Texas northeastward up through Tennessee and Virginia and another one sort of parallel to it. But, this way southward from Louisiana along the Gulf Coast across northern Florida and on out into the Atlantic. And I guess the two are kind of blending together to make that irregular mass of clouds you mentioned.
038:30:31 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. If I'd been a little more observant I could see that there was a little bit, looks like a decrease in at least the thickness of the clouds, vertical thickness, between the two areas you just mentioned. So, there is some indication here of those two fronts, although they are contributing to a general weather pattern in the eastern United States.
038:30:59 Fullerton: Rog.
038:31:07 Schmitt: I think, with a little experience in this business, you might have picked those two out of that mass. But it's not immediately obvious.
038:31:15 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
038:31:23 Schmitt: You got anything on there coming in from the northwest now, say up in Wyoming and Colorado? [Pause.]
038:31:38 Fullerton: The way it's drawn on this surface chart shows that - that northern front that I mentioned, just now, sort of curving on up through central Colorado, and then bending westward toward - through Utah. That's about the only other frontal activity. There's one, probably dry front, then a short one through central Arizona and southern Utah.
038:32:15 Schmitt: Okay. Well, that makes sense. That would match with that - what I was thinking was high cirrus in Arizona. And also I can see how you could bend - that's the northern front up through Colorado and then back westward to - to explain the patterns we're seeing in the clear areas south of that.
038:32:38 Fullerton: Rog. [Long pause.]
038:33:04 Schmitt: Gordy, the zero-phase point now is off the coast of Chile and Ecuador - oh, maybe 10 or 15 degrees of longitude, and it is fairly dull - does not seem to indicate any great amount of choppiness or wave action in that area.
038:33:35 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
038:34:05 Schmitt: And about 15 minutes ago, Gordy, I took two more Hasselblad shots of the Earth.
038:34:14 Fullerton: Okay. [Long pause.]
038:34:29 Evans: And also, Houston, frame number, let's see, about 16 and 17 were taken of the Earth about 15 minutes ago too. And it's magazine Sierra-Sierra.
038:34:45 Fullerton: Okay, Ron. We copy that. [Pause.]
Magazine Sierra-Sierra is loaded with colour 35mm film, that is used with the Nikon SLR camera on board.
AS17-162-24047 - Earth - JSC scan
AS17-162-24048 - Earth - JSC scan
038:34:56 Schmitt: Gordy, with respect to the ice pack off the coast of Antarctica, it's difficult to distinguish pack ice from clouds, in general. However, the clouds seem to pick up reflection patterns with respect to the Sun. And using that as a - and some shadows in below as the criteria, it looks as if the pack ice in the South Atlantic would extend to a latitude almost comparable to that of Tierra del Fuego. I don't know whether that - that's reasonable or not. [Pause.]
038:35:46 Fullerton: Okay. I don't either. But maybe someone who's more of an expert can clear up your question on that. I'll let you know.
038:35:57 Schmitt: Now to the southwest of Tierra del Fuego there's a - looks like a small cyclone developing, clockwise rotation, just off the edge of the pack ice, and - but it does not seem to be closely associated with the frontal activity that I mentioned when I started out speaking at this - this particular time.
038:36:37 Fullerton: Roger.
038:36:37 Schmitt: There is another - there is another one, maybe a front, a little bit ahead of that cyclone that's now extending north-south. Starts in the pack ice area and extends up - oh, about halfway from there to Buenos Aires - in the direction of Buenos Aires. It doesn't look like a very major mass of air or frontal system. It may develop into something over the next couple days though.
038:37:12 Fullerton: Okay. [Long pause.]
038:38:09 Schmitt: And centered, Gordy, at about 45 south and say 30 west, there is another cyclone area that's ahead of the last front I talked about, that doesn't look - I think I talked about it yesterday - still does not look too strong, although the cloud, as I recall, the cloud cover is somewhat more well developed, and circulation patterns seem to be better developed. It may be an intensifying storm over what we saw yesterday.
038:38:47 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
038:38:52 Schmitt: I cannot see that it's associated with any clear frontal activity, however.
038:38:58 Fullerton: Okay. [Pause.]
038:39:05 Schmitt: That, I presume, should be migrating in the direction of the - of the southeast coast of Africa, so we'll keep an eye on it.
038:39:16 Fullerton: Rog. [Pause.]
038:39:21 Schmitt: And that reminds me, did you get any information on the - that - what looked like a very strong, concentrated typhoon or hurricane in the South Pacific between Borneo and the Philippines?
038:39:45 Fullerton: Let me check and see what we got on that. I wasn't here when you first talked about it evidently.
038:39:51 Schmitt: Well, it was one that they didn't seem to be carrying, and it looked extremely well developed from here. [Long pause.]
038:40:35 Schmitt: Gordy, yesterday that - the one I'm speaking of was centered at about 15 north and a hundred and - make that about 117 east.
038:40:57 Fullerton: Okay. I've been informed that they are - the satellite people are carrying that one now. I'm not sure whether they had seen it before or didn't see it until after you did. But they are aware of it now and are tracking it.
038:41:19 Schmitt: Oh, we're not competing. They just didn't have any information for me on it yesterday. [Long pause.]
038:41:34 Schmitt: We'll probably be able to see that again late this afternoon.
038:41:39 Fullerton: Okay. The one that you just gave the coordinates on is - does have a name, - that's Therese, Hurricane Therese. And - so the - the other one must be the - must not have a name.
038:42:05 Schmitt: Okay. Now which one has - is Therese.
038:42:10 Fullerton: The one you just - the coordinates you gave almost exactly pinpoint Therese.
038:42:17 Schmitt: Okay. That's near the Philippines.
038:42:19 Fullerton: That's affirmative. Between there and Vietnam. [Long pause.]
038:42:39 Schmitt: Okay. Well, then that sounds like - if that's an up-to-date position, it has relatively little movement since yesterday.
038:42:52 Fullerton: Rog. [Pause.] They show it moving just very slightly westward.
038:43:00 Schmitt: Okay. [Pause.]
038:43:11 Schmitt: Are they carrying anything south of Guam now that we talked about yesterday? [Pause.]
038:43:32 Fullerton: Ah, take a minute to get something on that. They don't have a current map showing anything in Guam right now. [Pause.]
038:43:46 Schmitt: And we also had a storm developing south of - or southwest of New Zealand. Might look at that one, too.
038:43:57 Fullerton: Okay. [Long pause.]
038:44:10 Fullerton: Jack, are you making these observations through the monocular? [Pause.]
038:44:19 Schmitt: Yes, sir.
038:44:20 Fullerton: Okay.
038:44:21 Schmitt: Although most of them - well, at this distance, Gordy, the circulation - detailed circulation patterns to say what's a cyclone and what isn't are not visible to the naked eye, at least not to mine.
038:44:36 Fullerton: Rog.
038:44:38 Schmitt: The major frontal patterns are, however.
038:46:49 Fullerton: Jack, that disturbance you mentioned near Guam isn't being carried on the current charts here as anything significant. They do show some cloudiness north of the tropical convergence zone, but just that.
038:47:08 Schmitt: Okay. Well, I had a feeling what I was seeing yesterday might have just been the remnants of Theresa, which I think went - out into that area a couple days ago. It was not a very well-developed system, but did seem - seem to be isolated from the other cloudiness that I would have put into the tropical convergence zone. That was between Wake and Kwajalein.
038:49:04 Schmitt: Gordy, let me try to give you a description of something that is a little bit unusual than what we've been seeing. The - there's an axis that runs from, say, the outer portion of the Ross ice shelf along the - and just off the coast of Antarctica, then bends up so that it would pass just to the east of Tierra del Fuego and - and then continues on that heading so that it would intersect the far east coast of South America, if it continued. Now along that axis, the - what appear to be multiple frontal patterns or at least linear cloud bands, bend very sharply and change from a heading that roughly parallels the axis around the one that is roughly north-south. And some of the front - frontal direction changes that I gave you earlier, down in that area, are - also bend around that axis. [Pause.]
038:50:35 Fullerton: Okay.
038:50:38 Schmitt: And there just, oh, there are probably a dozen, if you tried to pull them out, cloud bands between the Ross Sea and Tierra del Fuego that bend around the same axis. Quite striking.
038:50:54 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
038:51:07 Schmitt: Now there's some indications, to me at any rate, that the jetstream in that area may be essentially east-west - oh, maybe 20 degrees of latitude north of the Ross Sea, and then bends down very sharply so that it intersects the - or approaches the coa- Antarctic ice shelf to the east of the Ross Sea, and then maybe it bends up and forms the axis that I just described that's causing that bending of the cloud patterns.
038:51:55 Fullerton: Okay. Sounds like a good, theory. [Long pause.]
038:52:09 Schmitt: There's a linear clear area in that area north of the Ross Sea that - and to the north of that is a sharply defined front that I talked about earlier. And then, both the - that front continues. The clear area is cut off by the axis that I described, a cloud axis.
038:52:36 Fullerton: Rog.
038:52:36 Schmitt: Now that should show up real well on the 250-millimeter pictures we took. [Pause.] Gordy, I'm back looking at zero-phase. And now, apparently, the exact zero-phase was partially obscured by a cloud pattern earlier. Now, when I - There is a very, very small bright spot in the center of the zero-phase area. Nothing comparable to what I described off the coast of Australia yesterday, but an extremely small spot. I suspect that the size of your bright spot in zero-phase has some direct - or indirect, at any rate, relationship to sea state.
038:55:51 Schmitt: Gordy, as you might expect, the whole coastline of Chile is - or all of Chile, practically, is clear. Beautifully exposed to us here, and particular the Atacama Desert, which is noted for that particular characteristic, and - at least among geologists it is. And the coast of Peru is also clear with clouds following the Andean Ridge, probably the - certainly the coast side of the Andean Ridge. Lima ought to be enjoying a very nice day today. The - Ecuador, however, looks like it might have a little more cloudy weather, although it doesn't look like any major storm activity.
039:03:14 Fullerton: America, Houston. We have a couple of words here on medications. is everyone listening?
CM Interior, Cernan - JSC scan
039:03:25 Cernan: Yeah; we're all on, Gordo. Go ahead.
039:03:27 Fullerton: Okay. Geno, you mentioned taking a nausea pill for some gas yesterday, and we were looking into some of the side effects. You definitely don't want to use that particular pill for gas. One of the side effects is that it's an appetite depressor. And there are some pills loaded in A-7, along with the vitamin pills, specifically for the purpose of eliminating gas. We would appreciate if you'd give us a call in advance prior to taking any medications except the Seconal and aspirin. Over.
CM Interior, Cernan - JSC scan
CM Interior, Schmitt - JSC scan
CM Interior, Schmitt - JSC scan
039:04:19 Cernan: Okay, Gordy, will do. I was aware that those gas depressors were around. At the time, we couldn't find them in A-7. And so I took one of those other things, whatever it is. And while you're talking about that, as per the preflight food check, gas is very evident on - particularly on me - and I think I'm suppressing it slowly. But is there any problem, or what do you recommend on that Mylinol [sic] or Mylicon or whatever it is?
Gene Cernan (left) and Ron Evans in the Command Module during trans-Earth coast - research: Eric Jones
039:04:59 Fullerton: Okay. Stand by one.
039:05:02 Cernan: This goes hand-in-hand with the amount of gas that I experienced preflight.
039:05:10 Fullerton: Okay.
039:05:11 Cernan: And it's the kind of gas - it's the kind of gas that just stays in your stomach.
039:05:16 Fullerton: Rog. [Long pause.]
039:05:45 Fullerton: Okay, Geno. The recommended use of those gas pills is to chew one after each meal. And then, if needed, chew up another one before going to sleep at night.
039:06:04 Cernan: Okay; fine. I chewed one after breakfast.
039:06:08 Fullerton: Okay. A little water after you chew it up, I guess, helps its effectiveness.
039:06:15 Cernan: That's a basic requirement, I believe. The effect of it has not been too obvious yet though.
039:10:33 Schmitt: Gordy, I have just eaten my first peanut butter sandwich in orbit around the Earth.
039:10:43 Fullerton: Rog. How was it?
039:10:47 Schmitt: What's that? [Pause.] Well, it was just as good as it was when I was growing up - which means it was great. I grew up on those things, as I recall. [Pause.]
039:11:10 Fullerton: Charlie Duke's here with me and he... [Pause.]
039:11:11 Evans: Sure miss the lettuce. Sure missed the lettuce and mayonnaise on mine though.
