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Day 4, part 2: Light flash experiment Journal Home Page Day 5, part 2: Lunar Orbit Insertion

Apollo 17

Day 5, part 1: Approaching the Moon

Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright © 2018-2022 by W. David Woods and Ben Feist. All rights reserved.
Last updated 2022-03-30
074:50:00 - This is Apollo Control at 74 hours, 50 Minutes. Gene Kranz and the White Team of flight controllers are preparing to take over duties in the Mission Control Center, relieving the Orange Team which has been directed tonight by Chuck Lewis. This has been a relatively quiet shift. A major activity was the medical experiment to gather more information on light flashes that most Apollo crews have seen with their eyes closed. We also updated the Ground Elapsed Time clock during this shift, moving it ahead 2 hours and 40 Minutes; this being necessary to bring the Greenwich Mean Time/Ground Elapsed Time in the Flight Plan into agreement. These areas had not agreed because of the late launch. The crew reported seeing the S-IVB in the distance at one time during the shift. The spacecraft entered the lunar sphere of influence at 73 hours, 17 Minutes, 45 seconds; and we said goodnight to the crew at 73 hours, 47 Minutes. 6 hours, 8 Minutes remaining in this rest period now. There will be no change of shift news conference when the shift breaks at midnight - no change of shift news conference. In its present time, Apollo 17 is 30,705 nautical miles [56,866 km] from the Moon; velocity, 3,378 feet per second [1,030 m/s]. At 74 hours, 52 Minutes; this is Mission Control, Houston.
075:37:07 - This is Apollo Control at 75 hours, 37 Minutes. Flight Director Gene Kranz and the oncoMing White Team of flight controllers have been going over the status of the mission and find everything progressing very smoothly at this point. No anomalies in the performance of the spacecraft. All systems in very good shape and we're either up to or slightly ahead of the Flight Plan values on consumables at this point. During the shift, a number of the flight controllers will begin working on some of the data the crew will use on awakening to place the spacecraft in lunar orbit; that event scheduled to occur at about 88 hours, 56 Minutes. And the Retrofire Officer and the Flight Dynamics Officer will be busy during this shift working out some of the preliMinary numbers that'll be used in the Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuver. There is still no decision as to whether or not midcourse correction 4 will need to be performed and we suspect that that decision will also be made later on during this shift. At the present time, Apollo 17 is 29,152 nautical miles [53,990 km] from the Moon and the spacecraft velocity is now 3,391 feet per second [1,034 m/s]. This is Apollo Control, Houston.
076:37:05 - This is Apollo Control at 76 hours, 37 Minutes. Now about 4½ hours away from the scheduled crew awakening time, the Flight Surgeon reports that the crew appears to be resting comfortably at this time. Command Module Pilot Ron Evans is wearing the biomedical harness during this sleep period. And Commander Gene Cernan has the watch, wearing the headset that would receive any call from the control center. Apollo 17 is 27,178 nautical miles [50,334 km] from the Moon. And we're watching the velocity gradually build up under the growing affect of lunar gravity; up now to 3,411 feet per second [1,040 m/s]. This is Apollo Control, Houston; standing by at 76 hours, 38 Minutes.
077:37:01 - This is Apollo Control at 77 hours, 37 Minutes; continuing to maintain the watch while the crew aboard Apollo 17 gets some sleep. Now about 3½ hours left in that sleep period and that could be extended by 30 Minutes or so if a decision is made not to make the final midcourse correction before going into lunar orbit. We expect to be getting a reading on the necessity for that midcourse correction, which in any event will be a very small maneuver, before this shift ends. The midcourse correction opportunity occurs at 83 hours, 55 Minutes in the Flight Plan and the Flight Dynamics Officer has gotten what appears to be a good final indication of the impact coordinates for the Saturn third stage. The latest coordinates are 4 degrees, 11 Minutes south and 12 degrees and 23 Minutes west. Apollo 17 at this time; 25,131 nautical miles [46,543 km] from the Moon. The spacecraft velocity, 3,434 feet per second [1,047 m/s]. This is Apollo Control at 77 hours 38 Minutes.
078:37:10 - This is Apollo Control at 78 hours, 37 Minutes. There's been no change in the spacecraft status during the past hour. Everything continues to function normally and we have about 2½ hours remaining in the crew's sleep period. The Flight Dynamics Officer reports that we've got a midcourse correction if it's performed prior to Lunar Orbit Insertion of about one half foot per second [0.15 m/s] or less and that very small maneuver, if performed, would occur at 83 hours, 55 Minutes. Apollo 17 is now 23,112 nautical miles [42,803 m/s] from the Moon and the spacecraft velocity, up to 3,460 feet per second [1,055 m/s]. We'll see that increase to somewhat in excess of 8,000 feet per second [2,400 m/s] as the spacecraft reaches the Moon and swings around the Moon, goes into orbit. The Lunar Orbit Insertion burn removes on the order of 3,000 feet per second [915 m/s] from that velocity. A lunar orbital velocity of about 1 mile per second [1.8 km/s]. The Flight Surgeon has noted some stirrings, or a bit of an elevation in the heart rate of Ron Evans, who is wearing the biomedical sensors during this sleep period, although for the most part Evans has been sleeping soundly. At 78 hours, 39 Minutes; this Apollo Control, Houston.
079:37:10 - This is Apollo Control at 79 hours, 37 Minutes. Now about an 1½ away from the scheduled time for crew awakening. And it has again been very uneventful, very quiet sleep shift. With the flight controllers here in Mission Control monitoring spacecraft systems. Everything continuing to perform almost perfectly as planned; everything noMinal. And our flight dynamics display at the present time is showing the spacecraft distance related to Earth; Apollo 17 now 198,800 nautical miles [368,000 km] from Earth, traveling at a speed again with respect to Earth of 2,168 feet per second [661 m/s]. After awakening, the crew's major activities during the day include jettisoning the Scientific Instrument Module door which exposes the scientific instruments in the spacecraft's Service Module to the lunar environment. Lunar Orbit Insertion is scheduled to occur at about 88 hours, 56 Minutes. The Saturn third stage will be impacting the lunar surface. And there's still a possibility of a final midcourse correction prior to Lunar Orbit Insertion. That midcourse correction to occur, if it occurs, at 83 hours, 55 Minutes. And we expect that we will have a decision or recommendation from the Flight Dynamics Officer within the next couple of hours as to whether or not that midcourse correction will be required. If it is done, it will be a very small maneuver performed with the Reaction Control System thrusters on the CSM. At 79 hours, 39 Minutes; this is Apollo Control, Houston.
080:41:01 - This is Apollo Control at 80 hours, 41 Minutes. We have about 18 Minutes remaining before the scheduled crew awakening time. However, we're planning to give them at least an additional 15 Minutes of sleep and perhaps 30 Minutes additional. The Flight Dynamics Officer hopes to delay a decision on the need for midcourse correction 4 until additional tracking data is available. That maneuver, if it's performed, remains very small - on the order of a half foot per second [0.15 m/s]. And the decision revolves around what height of approach pericynthion we'll have with or without the maneuver. Tracking data right now shows that Apollo 17 will be approaching the Moon with a pericynthion of about 52 nautical miles [96.3 km] - the desired pericynthion is 53½ [99.1 km]. And the FIDO would like to get a bit more tracking data before making that decision. So we'll be putting off the decision as to whether or not to awaken the crew or give them more sleep time until the last possible moment. Apollo 17 at this time is 18,839 nautical miles [34,890 km] from the Moon and the velocity up to 3,500 feet per second [1,067 m/s]. We've seen no signs of activity aboard the spacecraft. The Flight Surgeon will begin to note increased heart and respiration rates on Ron Evans, who is wearing the biomedical sensors during the sleep period and before receiving a call from the crew we'll see the voice subcarrier come on and we'll be watching for any of those cues. If it appears that the crew is indeed up and about we'll bring the lines up and standby live or as soon as the decision is made to send them a wake-up call we'll come up and standby live. At 80 hours, 44 Minutes; this is Apollo Control.
081:25:05 - This is Apollo Control at 81 hours, 25 Minutes. We are planning to put a call through to the crew in about 5 Minutes to awaken them. And Apollo 17, at this time, is about 17,350 nautical miles [32,132 km] from the Moon. Spacecraft velocity is about 3,567 feet per second [1,087 m/s]. After awakening the crew, we will be discussing a Minor problem that has been noted during the sleep period. This involves a heater - a heater cycling in one of the three cryogenic hydrogen tanks that supplies hydrogen to the fuel cells. The nature of the problem is a heater that is cycling more often than normal. These heaters are controlled by a pressure-sensitive switch in the tank. As the temperature within the tank drops and the pressure drops, the switch senses this and activates the heater to bring up the temperature and hence the pressure within the tank and ensure a constant flow of hydrogen to the fuel cells. The sensor appears to be responding to a much narrower range of temperature decrease that would normally respond to about a 20 degree excursion in temperature and it is now apparently responding to about a 2 to 3 degree temperature excursion, and therefore cycling more rapidly than would normally be the case. This in itself is no concern, however if the automatic cycling should fail, if the automatic cycling function should fail, it would require going to a backup manual mode whereby the crew would be instructed to turn the heaters on and off at certain intervals to maintain the proper pressure in the tank, which, by the way, is a mode of operation that has been used on previous missions and works very well with a Minimum impact to the crew time. And, as mentioned at this point we would see no reason for having to go to a manual mode. That would require some subsequent failure. This situation, however, will be discussed with the crew and they'll be advised as to the procedure that would be taken in the event that subsequent failure should occur necessitating the manual activation of the heater within this one tank. And we are now about 1 Minute, 50 seconds away from the scheduled awakening time, having given the crew an additional 30 Minutes of sleep. The Flight Dynamics Officer expects to give us a Go or No/Go for the midcourse correction prior to Lunar Orbit Insertion in about a half an hour at some 82 hours Ground Elapsed Time. We'll continue to stand by live for that call to the crew.
081:30:28 Parker: Apollo 17, Houston. Did you call? [Long pause.]
081:31:00 Cernan: Good morning, Houston, Anybody there?
081:31:03 Parker: Okay, good morning. It's LOI day, Apollo 17.
081:31:11 Cernan: Hello, Robert. You gave us an extra half hour.
081:31:14 Parker: That's affirmative. We're presently still debating on midcourse 4, Geno, and at the present time, it's small, about a half a foot per second [0.15 m/s]. We're expecting a final decision on whether it's necessary or not in approximately 1 hour at 8 - 82:30. We'll let you know then, but it will be small, and so we decided to give you an extra half hour of sleep.
081:31:41 Cernan: Okay, Bob, without me having to look it up, when will it come if it comes?
081:31:48 Parker: Stand by. 83:55, so we'll give you about 1 hour and 25 Minutes advance notice.
081:32:00 Cernan: Okay. Well, we'll start stirring around.
081:32:06 Parker: Okay, give me a call when you want to talk to people. [Long pause.]
Long comm break.
081:39:55 Schmitt: Hello, Houston.
081:39:56 Parker: Hello there, 17. Good morning.
081:40:02 Schmitt: I'm not sure we're ready to talk yet, Bob, but I just thought you'd like to know we got a pretty spectacular view of - of Africa today. We can see the Sinai, can see the Red Sea, the Sea of Aden, and for the first time I think we can not only see the Mediterranean, but we can see the - most of the Southern European countries, Turkey and Greece and up into Italy and some of those places. Can't quite see Spain because you're just about on the horizon. And for the most part, it looks like the weather throughout the Mediterranean and Northern Africa looks pretty good.
081:40:46 Parker: Okay, we're copying that. And, if you guys are willing to do a little switch flipping this early in morning, we'd like you to turn on the pan camera heaters, which means if somebody's down there in that vicinity, it's SM/AC Power, On, and the Self Test switch to Heaters. Over.
081:41:08 Schmitt: You want the SM/AC Power, On, and the Self Test switch to Heaters?
081:41:12 Parker: That's affirm.
081:41:16 Schmitt: Okay, we'll get that.
081:41:18 Parker: Okay. [Pause.]
081:41:29 SC: Okay, we got both of those.
081:41:33 Parker: Gee, I didn't wake you up, did I?
081:41:40 Schmitt: Well...
081:48:43 Cernan: Okay, Bob. The LM/CM Delta-P is 0.6.
081:48:49 Parker: Okay. Copy that. Sounds good.
Comm break.
There is only 0.6 psi of a pressure difference across the forward hatch between the CM cabin and the tunnel.
082:00:40 Evans: Hello, Houston; Apollo 17. How do you read?
082:00:43 Parker: Loud and clear, 17. We're with you.
082:00:48 Evans: Okay, we didn't get you there for about 5 Minutes, Bob, with good up-link signal strength. Were you guys having a problem?
082:00:56 Parker: No, not that I know of. We were getting a lot of noise down here, and we seem to think that you guys were prob - assumed you guys were turned away from us or something. But we're with you.
082:01:10 Evans: No, you might think about that one a little bit. We had a very strong up-link - signal strength, as good as right now. And Gene was trying to call you, off and on, for several Minutes and we didn't get any response. But sounds real good now.
082:01:25 Parker: Okay, sorry about that.
082:01:31 Evans: Hey, Bob. Good morning. It's a good chance to talk to you for once.
082:01:35 Parker: Yes, for once, yes. Talk to me now this next hour and I won't talk to you again for another 3 or 4 days, Ronald.
082:01:43 Evans: [Laughter.] Okay.
Bob Parker will be the primary CapCom when Gene and Jack are out exploring the Taurus-Littrow area. As such, he won't be in communication with Ron who will have his own dedicated CapComs during his orbital sojourn.
082:01:46 Parker: Nice to be able to talk to somebody for a change...
082:01:48 Schmitt: Bob, your friendly medical officer...
082:01:51 Parker: Go ahead.
082:01:56 Schmitt: Go ahead, if you've got something to say.
082:02:02 Parker: Speak.
082:02:06 Schmitt: Okay. Your friendly medical officer has all the good words starting with the CDR and the food. Are you ready to copy?
082:02:15 Parker: Ready to copy. [Pause.]
082:02:24 Schmitt: Okay. It was a big day yesterday, eating-wise. CDR had sausage patties, pears, and cocoa for breakfast. And a quarter - one-fourth cheese spread, one-half bread, and one-half cereal bar, and one orange beverage for lunch. Tomato soup, half a hamburger, half mustard, vanilla pudding, and an orange-pineapple drink for dinner.
082:03:00 Parker: Okay, copy that. [Long pause.]
082:03:12 Schmitt: [Garble] 5 hours of good sleep, and two more containers of water.
082:03:24 Parker: Okay, 17, I got the CDRs food and then you broke up, and I got 5 hours of sleep and two containers of water. Was there something between?
082:03:36 Schmitt: That's affirm, your - his PRD reading, 17032.
082:03:43 Parker: Okay, copy that. [Pause.]
082:03:54 Schmitt: And I think, Bob, we're coMing around different Omni, so I'll wait on the rest of it.
082:03:59 Parker: Roger, That's affirm.
Comm break.
082:06:53 Schmitt: Okay, Houston; 17. How do you read now?
082:06:55 Parker: Okay, read you again; go ahead.
082:07:02 Schmitt: Okay, for the LMP, the food eaten - Well, let's see, I guess it's a toss up; eaten versus not eaten, so I'll give you what I ate. Sausage patties, grits, pears, pineapple-grapefruit drink, coffee, and let me make a note that the package of peaches in that pack had been - was broken in the package. Also, chicken - I had chicken soup, ham, bread, orange drink, and four bacon squares. For dinner, I sort of ate some leftovers and grape drink, corn chowder, chocolate pudding. And I've had - well, stand by. The PRD reading: 24080; and 7½ hours of very good sleep last night. I took a Seconal in order to get to sleep, and I've had 1 and 1 or - 2½ containers of water since last report.
082:08:35 Parker: Okay, copy all that, Jack.
082:08:46 Schmitt: Okay, the CMP, the chowhound of the kennel here, had: sausage, grits, fruit cocktail, orange beverage, and coffee. He had ham, cheese spread, peaches, cereal bar, and orange-pineapple drink. Later on, he had tomato soup, half a hamburger, half mustard, vanilla pudding, sugar cookies, grape drink, and tea. And he has a complaint this morning, much like Mine, that his apricot package had broken in the bag; and, although not too significant itself, it makes everything else pretty sticky.
082:09:36 Parker: I copy that. [Pause.]
082:09:45 Schmitt: Okay, CMP medical is 15031 PRD; he had 7 hours restless sleep, and he'd like a comment from the doctors on how that looked on his biomed; and he had a Seconal, and he's had four containers of water.
082:10:08 Parker: Okay, we copy all that one also. Jack, you guys still going to fit in your space suits?
082:10:20 Schmitt: If you'd stick around - you'd know we tried those on yesterday.
082:10:25 Parker: Roger; copy. Tried to talk to you guys yesterday morning, but I didn't quite make it there, there was a problem apparently some place.
082:10:37 Schmitt: That's all right, we're stuffing him with food so he can't sleep.
082:10:42 Parker: Okay, and the comment concerning Ron's sleep from the Surgeon, Jack, is that he was restless the first hour and had periods of restlessness during the night, but we logged him for about 7 hours of sleep also. But we did see periods of wakefulness, some of which were maybe up to 10 Minutes long.
082:11:07 Evans: That sounds about right; that's good, thank you. If I can't tell how long I'm awake and, you know, how long you were really asleep.
082:11:15 Parker: I'll tell you, Ron, if you wake up during the night, you might sit there and stare at the second hand then maybe you could count and tell how long you're awake.
082:11:25 Evans: [Laughter.] Okay. [Pause.]
082:11:32 Parker: Okay, we owe you guys a consumable update - update. And on RCS consumables, your RCS fuel remaining is still 1.4 per cent above the Flight Plan; that's a slight improvement over the 1.3 per cent from yesterday.
082:12:18 Schmitt: I guess everything else is about like yesterday. Is that right, Bob?
082:12:22 Parker: Roger. The consumables are still about the same. And if you guys will wind your watches, we'll consider the postsleep checklist finished.
082:12:33 Schmitt: Okay, and Geno has got his null bias check for you.
082:12:36 Parker: Okay, Roger on that. We're waiting.
082:12:44 Cernan: Okay, Bob, made two checks over a period of 100 seconds. One was Minus 99.0 and the other was Minus 98.9.
082:12:56 Parker: Okay, we copy Minus 99-0 and Minus 98.9? Geno.
082:13:07 Cernan: And...
082:13:10 Parker: And we'd like Omni Charlie, please there, 17.
Comm break.
The null bias check is a check to see whether the accelerometer within the EMS has any bias in its measurement of acceleration. The velocity counter part of the unit is set to read 100 fps then left for 100 seconds to see how much it changes over that time. Since they are in a state of weightlessness, or freefall, where there ought to be no measured acceleration, then any change in the reading is an indication of the accelerometer's inherent bias.
082:15:25 Parker: And, Apollo 17; Houston. We'd like to recommend you go Squelch, Off, at this time, if you haven't; and we'll keep calling you the Omnis to change as you rotate there. Over.
082:15:41 Schmitt: Okay, Bob, we've been flying normally with it enabled; maybe you think that's the problem?
082:15:51 Parker: Stand by on that and, while we're thinking about that, can we confirm that the only medication you've had is a Seconal for you and a Seconal for Ron, and nothing for the Commander?
082:16:06 Cernan: This is Geno, that's right; I did not take any Seconal last night. One thing I wanted to talk to you about though, I - I took one antigas pill after breakfast, I took one after supper, and I took one prior to going to sleep, which were probably within an hour apart. If you've got a better solution than those gas pills, I'd sure like to hear it.
082:16:36 Parker: Understand that, Gene. We'll get back with you, I guess, on that later. [Long pause.]
082:17:19 Parker: And, Jack, as far as turning the Squelch, Off, they do believe that we're better with that for margins and general management at this distance with the Omni. As soon as we plot a PTC and go on the High Gain, we'll be much better off.
082:17:38 Schmitt: Okay, Bob.
Comm break.
082:18:46 Parker: And, 17; Houston. You can do without your water dump now. We're in good shape. We'll dump at 94 hours.
082:18:58 Cernan: 94 hours. Okay.
Comm break.
082:20:12 Cernan: Bob, does that mean we can go ahead with the urine dump on schedule?
082:20:18 Parker: Say again there, Geno, on the urine dump. [Long pause.]
082:20:44 Parker: Say again, Geno, on the urine dump.
082:20:50 Cernan: Roger. Can we press on with it on schedule?
082:20:53 Parker: That's affirmative, sir. It's just that we don't need to do the water dump, that's all.
082:20:57 Cernan: Oh.
082:20:59 Cernan: Okay, fine.
Long comm break.
082:24:40 Schmitt: Hello, Hou - Houston; 17. How do you read?
082:24:43 Parker: Roger. We have you back again, 17.
082:24:49 Cernan: Okay. We may play the S-band squelch by ear, a little bit. We got an awful lot of noise when you guys drop off the line. So, if that's all right, we'll just use it as required. Also, I'm on frame 163 on the Hasselblad, and I just completed two pictures of the Earth about 5 Minutes ago. And there's one that I did not report late yesterday at about 72:30 GET. A set of two pictures of the Earth.
These two images, 22763 and 4 are thought to be the two that Gene has just taken. Measurements of Earth's image size and other evidence points to this. Frame 22765 is blank, no exposure. Note that at 085:17:45, Jack will state that this magazine is at 159, not 163, which appears to be correct.
082:25:38 Parker: Copy that.
AS17-148-22763 - 378,886 km Africa, Madagascar, Antarctica - JSC scan
AS17-148-22764 - 378,886 km Africa, Madagascar, Antarctica - JSC scan
082:25:45 Parker: Say again that time. Was that 78:30? You were sleeping then.
082:25:55 Cernan: Negative. That was 72:30.
082:25:58 Parker: Okay. Copy that. And part of the reason we had a little problem that - this - this last time, Jack, was we planned to call the Omnis and we didn't get the word around down here. And we didn't call the Omni to you in time. We're still planning on doing that, and I think we'll be more coordinated next time.
082:26:25 Schmitt: Okay. We'll bear with you. [Long pause.]
082:26:41 Parker: And, Jack, I presume that's magazine November November.
082:26:52 Schmitt: That's affirm, Bob.
Long comm break.
082:30:23 Parker: Omni, Charlie, 17 please.
082:30:40 Evans: You got it.
Comm break.
082:32:35 Parker: And, Apollo 17; Houston. For your information, we are scrubbing midcourse 4; and you can stay in PTC until 83:30, which will be about when you start to get ready for LOI anyway. We'll give you a call on that.
Comm break.
082:33:32 - This is Apollo Control. Apollo 17 now 14,948 nautical miles [27,684 km] from the Moon. And CapCom Bob Parker just advising the crew that we will not require a midcourse correction prior to Lunar Orbit Insertion. The Flight Dynamics Officer had been reviewing tracking data and establishing another vector, as he calls it, on the trajectory based on that last vector and it appeared that a midcourse correction of something less than a half of foot per second would be required, if performed. And Flight Director Gene Kranz, made the decision to cancel the midcourse correction prior to Lunar Orbit Insertion.
082:34:30 Schmitt: Hey Bob, we're about three quarters of the way through eating. You got some news for us?
082:34:37 Parker: Stand by. I'll see. Did you catch the midcourse-4 scrub?
082:34:44 Schmitt: Yes, sir. Apparently, you're not getting some of our acknowledgements.
082:34:48 Parker: Okay, must be. Captain Young here wants to tell you that it's raining outside; and the paperboy apparently hasn't come in yet. Omni Delta, please.
082:35:13 Cernan: I'm surprised he didn't get his papers delivered before he came in.
082:35:18 Parker: Roger. I suppose I should apologize to all the paperboys after saying that, but the news is still being put together for you guys. And - stand by.
082:35:54 Parker: And, Geno, some advice to you on the gas pills. I guess - suggestion down here from the Surgeon is that one thing we ought to be sure to do is chew the pills thoroughly. It apparently is - helps in their effectiveness quite a bit; and Dr. Young, beside me, also suggested if you're chewing chewing gum, you might cut down on that a bit because he thinks this might be causing some gas.
082:36:29 Cernan: Thank you. [Long pause.]
082:36:41 Cernan: I might add that both of those alternatives have been - worked on.
082:36:47 Parker: We thought probably so. [Long pause.]
082:37:13 Schmitt: Bob, although we're getting close to concentrating our attention on the Moon, it doesn't decrease the interest in looking back at the patterns of activity we can see on the Earth. That storm I talked about yesterday that was in North Africa, looks like it has left that area and has moved in - maybe, if it's there at all, it's just over the - Iberian Peninsula, and maybe Gibraltar and that area is getting a little activity today.
082:38:02 Parker: Okay; copy that, Jack.
082:38:03 Schmitt: It does not look very well organized, but - it's not very well organized right now, but - it's right out on the LM, and it's hard to get a good view of it.
082:38:17 Parker: Okay.
082:38:18 Schmitt: The storm I guessed yesterday - I thought might be moving into the Cape of Good Hope looks like it's dissipating and also staying south of that area. The whole of Africa is essentially clear, except in the southern part of the intertropical convergence area where there's scattered patches of - of fairly dense clouds. They're probably getting scattered rain showers of some kind in there this morning. Some of those extend farther south than I've - than we've seen them - down into South Africa. There's a - On one of the earlier revs, although now it's at the terMinator, it looked like there was a depression developing about 30 degrees longitude, east of Madagascar in the middle of the Indian Ocean. A little bit northeast of Madagascar, there's also a new area of clouds developed that looks like it's getting organized into a cyclone pattern.
082:39:32 Parker: Roger. Omni Alpha, please.
082:39:41 Schmitt: Okay, you got it.
082:39:42 Parker: Thank you. [Pause.]
082:39:51 Parker: Okay. And, Jack, while you guys are finishing your lunch - your breakfast there, excuse me - Are you all on your headsets?
082:40:04 Schmitt: Yes, sir. Go ahead.
082:40:06 Parker: Okay. Let me brief you on a little funny that we we saw last night. And I'll start the briefing by mentioning that, at the present time, it is not a great concern; but just to keep you up to date with what's going on, let me mention it to you. About 70 hours, which was probably about the time of your last exercise period, we saw three funnies with the hydrogen tanks - as I say, none of which is causing any great concern. The first of these was a shift of the limits of the pressure switch, the one that turns the heaters on and off. Remember, there are two of those switches, one on tank 1 and one on tank 2 and they work in series. And one of those switches - we can't tell which, but we suspect it's probably tank 2 because of the other funnies I'll get to in a Minute on tank 2 - one of those switches went from a 13-psi range; in other words, a plus or Minus 6.5 psi range. It changed its range down to plus or Minus 1.5 psi. So it's now - its total range is only 3 psi. The main result of that is that it means that the pressure switches and the motor switch turning the heater on acts more frequently over shorter periods of time. The second thing which we observed following this - and we're not at all sure if there is any correlation between this and the others - We observed a high-frequency pressure oscillation in tank 2. It was about a 5-psi peak-to-peak oscillation, a frequency of about 2 cycles per second. And this lasted about 3 to 5 Minutes. A third funny that we observed - and this was in tank 2 - the third funny that we observed was an erratic - and possibly correlated with the high-frequency oscillation - but an erratic total fuel cell current, and here again we were looking at - oh, peak-to-peak variations of something like 5 amps, or of 5 to 10 amps. And the suspicion is that, coupled with the shift in the limits of the pressure switch, some acoustic vibrations were set up in that tank - we may have seen them causing the oscillation of the motor switch, which was then reflected in the fuel cell currents. The - again, these erratic and possibly correlated fuel cell currents lasted for about 3 to 5 Minutes. And since then, all during the night, they've [sic] been no further events of this sort; and the pressure switch with its reduced limits has been acting quite normally, just with the reduced limits overnight. As I say again, we're looking at it, people are studying it in great detail, with no real answer at the moment; but there is no great concern at present, and it appears that the worst that can happen is for the motor switch to fail because of overuse. And if this were to happen, it would force us to go to man - manual management of the heaters on the H2 tank. But that appears at the moment to be the worst, that we can anticipate from this - from this group of funnies. Over.
082:43:40 Schmitt: Okay, Bob. I understand that. You know, I wonder if we ought to stop stirring the cryos the way we've been doing it.
082:43:56 Parker: That - that has been suggested, but - but, again, it's not very clear that any of these things are terribly correlated.
082:44:06 Schmitt: Okay. Also, you know, if you want to reduce the activity on that switch - depending on how much you need to have it done during quiet periods, such as eat periods and things like that - we could go to manual operation.
082:44:21 Parker: Negative, Jack, because the switch - Omni Bravo, please, 17.
082:44:27 Parker: [Garble] If you pull out your schematics there, you'll find that the - no matter what you do, the - you can turn the thing off, in fact, and the switch will continue to operate the motor switch - the pressure switch will continue to operate the motor switch off the Service Module buses. There's nothing you can do. The only thing you'll do if you go from Auto to Manual or Off is you'll keep the current from going to the heaters, but the motor switch will still operate.
082:44:57 Schmitt: Okay. Thank you for the education. [Long pause.]
082:45:33 Parker: And I've been corrected. The frequency of the pressure oscillation was more in the vicinity of a cycle every 4 or 5 seconds.
082:45:56 Schmitt: Okay. [Long pause.]
082:46:22 Parker: And Seven...
082:46:23 Schmitt: Bob, let me ask a couple of questions to make sure...
082:46:25 Parker: Go ahead.
082:46:29 Schmitt: Make sure I understand this. You're not sure whether the heater cycling and the pressure cycling were correlated. is that correct?
082:46:38 Parker: That's affirmative.
082:46:44 Schmitt: In a cycle very 4 or 5 seconds, is it possible for the heaters to affect the tank that fast?
082:46:55 Parker: That's not possible, so the only thing that really - we think could - The tank is too much of a heat sink to do it that way. What may have happened was that if you set up an oscillation - a mechanical oscillation in the tank - through - one way or another, that this could then have acted back up on the motor. But the motor switch in driving the heaters could not have reinforced the oscillation because the tank is too much of a heat sink.
082:47:26 Schmitt: Okay. When did you say this happened with respect to our exercise period?
082:47:34 Parker: That's not well pinned down, 17. We do know it hasn't occurred since about 71 hours; and it did occur at approximately 70 hours, which was about the time of your exercise period. But we haven't been able to correlate that exactly with the start of or the finish of the exercise period.
082:47:55 Schmitt: Well, you know you should be able to do that because of the biomed on - at least on me, and Ron was on, too. But, as soon as I started exercising, you should have the biomed data on my heart rate. It was an unscheduled exercise period. We just went into it before an eat period there, I think. Let me check back.
082:48:16 Parker: Okay. And we can check back and inform you more specific on what the times were there in terms of your exercise period, also. I'd like Omni Charlie, please, there, 17. And we might mention that oscillations like this have been seen on the ground under somewhat different circumstances, but oscillations like this have been seen on the ground in ground tests previously. And I might say, also, that as far as other things in the spacecraft are concerned, everything looks absolutely normal or noMinal, as the case may be, and in great shape and emph - I'd emphasize again that we've seen none of this oscillation again since 71 hours. Over.
082:49:03 Schmitt: Okay, Bob. That was, as you say, pretty close to the exercise. I can't pin it down in the checklist exactly, but it was somewhere after ALFMED was complete and before we changed that canister. I think we changed that canister a little early, about 70:50. So I think the medic should have pretty good data on when we were exercising. And the reason I say that was because the way we were - I was exercising anyway - I'm sort of running in place against the LEB and conceivably could have gotten an oscillation going in the tank.
082:49:51 Parker: Roger. Understand that.
Comm break.
082:52:54 Parker: Omni Delta, 17.
082:53:10 Parker: And, 17, we did a little - a little investigation of times down here. We found that at 71:12 you were exercising at 130 beats per Minute there Jack. And we think the exercise period ended about 10 Minutes later at 71:22. The H2 tank funnies started at about 71:37 with the pressure switch shift and 71:42 with the oscillations. Over. So, there it's - oh, at least 15 Minutes after the exercise period was over.
082:53:49 Schmitt: Okay. I just wanted to clear my reputation, Bob. Now it's perfectly clean again.
082:54:01 Parker: As clean as ever, anyway. [Long pause.]
082:54:30 Parker: Okay. 17, I guess we decided we'd let - we'll run the Omnis down here instead of having you guys push them all the time. So if you'll select Omni Bravo at the present time, then we'll take over and run the Omnis for you.
082:54:50 Schmitt: Okay, Bob. It's not too big a deal. If anytime you think you want to talk to us continuously, go ahead and call them, if we're not busy.
082:55:00 Parker: Okay. Copy that. Let us know when you're ready. I've got a PAD here for you guys to copy, but there's no big hurry on it. Finish your eat period and give us a call.
082:55:17 Schmitt: Okay. I'll be with you in about 5 Minutes.
082:55:23 Parker: Say again there, 17,
082:55:29 Schmitt: Be right with you, Bob.
082:55:30 Parker: All right.
082:55:35 Cernan: And, looking at the Flight Plan, we're going to go ahead and change a canister; and we've got the H2 purge Line Heaters, On. We're going to configure for the urine dump. We'll go ahead and do our - stop our PTC at 83:30, and then we'll do our P52.
082:55:57 Parker: Roger. Copy that. [Long pause.]
082:56:30 Parker: And, 17, that P52 at 83:10 was primarily intended for the MCC-4. There's some more following, anyway, before LOI. So we suggest you scrub the P52 at 83:10.
082:56:51 Evans: Okay, fine. I may just do a little OJT without torquing.
082:56:57 Parker: That's your business. [Long pause.]
OJT is On-Job Training. In other words, Ron may do the P52 procedure of sighting on two stars and looking at how accurately he can do so. He doesn't then need to actually realign the platform's gimbals.
082:57:10 - This is Apollo Control at 82 hours, 57 Minutes. We're completing a shift handover at this time in Mission Control. The team of flight controllers, headed by Flight Director Gerry Griffin, coMing on now to replace the Gene Kranz's team. The spacecraft communicator on the upcoMing shift is Astronaut Gordon Fullerton. We do not plan to have a change of shift press briefing at this shift change.
082:57:40 Cernan: Bob, when we come out of PTC, then you want us to go right to the SIM door jett attitude?
082:57:49 Parker: That's affirmative, 17.
082:57:54 Cernan: Okay, and you want us to do that about 80 - 83:30, huh?
082:58:00 Parker: Roger. That's affirm.
082:58:05 Cernan: Okay.
082:58:07 Schmitt: Bob, what PAD are you going to give me?
082:58:09 Parker: Okay, I've got a - coMing up, pericynthion - plus-2-hour abort PAD here.
Long comm break.
083:01:33 Parker: 17, Houston.
083:01:39 Schmitt: Yes, Bob. Here is 17. Say, for a while here, why don't you guys go ahead and manage the Omnis. I think we can get things done a little better; and when it becomes inconvenient for us to switch, we'll let you know.
083:01:57 Parker: Okay. You want us to call them to you - is that what you're saying by you manag - we manage the Omnis?
083:02:04 Schmitt: Yes, we lose 5 or 10 Minutes going around here without comm, and it usually breaks up seeMingly when somebody has something to say, either you or us.
083:02:14 Parker: Roger. Okay. That's fine. Stand by.
083:02:23 Schmitt: That's up to you guys, but, it seems to me, it would be more convenient.
083:02:28 Parker: Okay; things are good now, Jack. Do you want to copy this pericynthion-plus-2 PAD at the present time?
083:02:37 Schmitt: Yes, I'm just about ready, Bob.
083:02:41 Parker: Okay, give me a call when you get it. [Pause.]
083:02:50 Parker: And, while you're getting ready there, you might think back to yesterday afternoon just after the exercise period; and the question that's raised is whether you were running the DAC or some other miscellaneous equipment at that time which might have caused some high current usage - or erratic current usage.
083:03:27 Schmitt: We'll think about that, Bob; but offhand, none of us can remember doing anything like that.
083:03:32 Parker: Okay; copy that.
Comm break.
083:06:15 Parker: Omni Charlie, 17.
Comm break.
083:07:35 Parker: And, 17, your faithful night shift CapCom is signing off. I'll talk to you on the surface tomorrow. Good luck.
083:07:47 Cernan: Thank you, Robert. Looking forward to seeing you there.
083:07:51 Schmitt: Are you leaving us, Bob?
083:07:55 Fullerton: That's affirm; he's already left.
083:08:00 Schmitt: Boy, he doesn't stick around long, does he? And he wanted to read that PAD to me; well, that's too bad. Okay, Gordy, I can take the PAD now.
083:08:13 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. It's pericynthion plus 2; SPS/G&N. Weight is 66373; plus 1.18, Minus 0.14; ignition time is 090:49:55.82; plus 1787.5, Minus 1891.7, Minus 2396.8; attitude is 237, 126, 332; and all the rest of the PAD is NA. GDC align stars are Sirius and Rigel; 122; 354; 000. Ullage is none. Remarks: number 1, burn docked; number 2, assumes LOI REFSMMAT. Over.
083:09:50 Schmitt: Okay. Pericynthion plus 2, SPS/G&N; 66373, 1 - plus 1.18, Minus 0.14; 090:49:55.82; plus 1787.5, Minus 1891.7, Minus 2396.8; 237, 126, 332; rest of PAD is NA; Sirius and Rigel; 122; 354; 000. No ullage. Remark 1, burn docked; 2 is LOI REFSMMAT assumed.
083:10:31 Fullerton: That's correct. [Long pause.]
The PAD is interpreted as follows:
Purpose: This PAD provides the details of a contingency burn of the SPS engine that would be fired in the case where the LOI burn did not take place. It would occur 2 hours after the spacecraft's closest approach to the Moon and its purpose would be to set the spacecraft on a return trajectory to Earth. They are currently not on a free-return path.
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): 66,373 pounds (30,106 kg).
Pitch and yaw trim (Noun 48): +1.18° and -0.14°. These angles represent an initial direction for the gimbal-mounted engine to aim the thrust through the stack's centre of mass. As the burn progresses, the engine nozzle will be slowly steered to account changes that take place during the burn.
Time of ignition (Noun 33): 90 hours, 49 Minutes, 55.82 seconds.
Change in velocity (Noun 81), fps (m/s): x, +1,787.5 (+544.8); y, -1,891.7 (-576.6); z, -2,396.8 (-730.5). The change in velocity is resolved into three components which are quoted relative to the local vertical frame of reference.
Spacecraft attitude: Roll, 237°; Pitch, 126°; Yaw, 332°. The desired spacecraft attitude is measured relative to the alignment of the guidance platform.
Nearly all the subsequent parameters of this PAD are not applicable in this case. These are HA, HP, Delta-VT, Burn duration, Delta-VC, sextant and boresight stars.
If the guidance platform is lost and they need to manually align the SCS gyros, then by rotating the spacecraft so that Sirius and Rigel are aligned in a predeterMined fashion through the telescope's eyepiece, then they know that the spacecraft's attitude, per the required REFSMMAT, will be 122°, 354° and 0° in roll, pitch and yaw respectively.
083:10:47 Fullerton: Need Omni Delta now. [Long pause.]
083:11:39 Evans: Houston, 17. Canister change complete.
083:11:44 Fullerton: Okay.
Long comm break.
083:15:08 Fullerton: America, switch to Omni Alpha.
Comm break.
083:17:38 Fullerton: America, Houston. I have the morning news if it's a convenient time.
083:17:46 Schmitt: Fire away, Gordo.
083:17:49 Fullerton: Okay, first of all the weather. It's raining fairly - fairly heavily all night; there's a lot of water standing around. Temperatures here are in the high 50s, but it's supposed to get a little cooler tonight with a low in the 40s. I think you know how the Dallas-Redskin game came out - the only thing additional mentioned here is that chances look good now that Washington and Dallas may meet in the rubber games for the National Conference representative in the Super Bowl. In the other pro game yesterday, a field goal by Don Cockroft was the difference in a 26-to-24 win by Cleveland over rival Cincinnati. Other sports highlights: The Pittsburgh Steelers play the Oilers today in the Dome. Other big games will be Atlanta at San Francisco, Green Bay at Minnesota, and Baltimore at Kansas City. Tennessee State beat Drake University in the Pioneer Bowl 29 to 7. And East Texas State beat Carson Newman in the NAIA football playoffs. The Southwest Conference has pulled out of the US Olympic Committee. Some college basketball scores: The Houston Cougars routed Xavier last night out at Hofheinz Pavilion 114 to 73; and Rice downed George Washington 93 to 89. Geno, you'll be glad to hear Purdue ripped TCU 101 to 70, and it was Texas over Oklahoma State 86 to 66. And SMU over Oklahoma City 106 to 83. We couldn't find any score at Cal Tech, Jack, but - Switch to Omni Bravo, please. But one final score, Ron, Kansas lost to Iowa 69 to 56. The only thing new on the plane crash Friday in Chicago - it's reported here that the plane was apparently waved off because another plane was still on the assigned runway. The Democratic Party's stormy session in Washington saw the old-guard Democrats apparently take back control of the Party from pro-McGovern forces. Mrs. Jean Westwood was replaced as Party Chairman by Texas lawyer/businessman Robert Strauss. Former-president Truman appears to be more than holding his own at a hospital in Kansas City. There's a good chance the 88-year-old former Chief Executive may be taken off the critical list. There's been a 1-day interruption in the secret peace talks between Dr. Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho. The two conferred for over 3 hours yesterday. Both sides have agreed not to talk to newsmen on any substantive matters. In other news highlights, President Nixon has named Daniel Moynihan as U.S. Ambassador to India. And Chilean President Allende has flown to Cuba to visit Fidel Castro. Here's an interesting one: A 45-year-old pilot lost in the Arctic for 31 days has been found alive and well. Three companions were killed. The Soviet Party boss Leonid Breshnev has delayed a scheduled visit to the US. It looks as if the visit may come in the fall rather than this coMing spring. One last note: The news media says that the flight of Apollo 17 is the smoothest on record so far, and I call that last one pretty accurate reporting. Over.
083:22:11 Schmitt: Thank you, Gordo, appreciate the news. Sounds like things are still happening down there.
083:22:36 Fullerton: Got some more parochial news here...
083:22:39 Schmitt: Houston, we're starting our...
083:22:40 Fullerton: Go ahead.
083:22:44 Schmitt: No, we just - I just wanted to tell you we're starting our waste dumps.
DEBRIS OUTSIDE CM WINDOW - JSC scan
083:22:48 Fullerton: Okay. A little more parochial news. I have your oxygen consumable status here. Tank 1 is still running 4 per cent below the line; the other two are right on the line; really no news there. Same with the hydrogen; all three are essentially right on the preflight lines. Over.
DEBRIS OUTSIDE CM WINDOW - JSC scan
LIGHT On CM WINDOW - JSC scan
LIGHT On CM WINDOW - JSC scan
083:23:16 Schmitt: Okay, that's the way like to hear it.
083:23:22 Schmitt: We'll bring all of it home if we can.
083:23:25 Fullerton: Okay. [Long pause.]
083:24:08 Fullerton: We'd like Omni Charlie, please.
Long comm break.
083:28:49 Fullerton: Need Omni Delta now. [Long pause.]
083:29:07 Evans: Okay, Gordy. How would you like a hydrogen purge this morning?
083:29:14 Fullerton: Let me make sure. [Long pause.]
083:29:46 Evans: Houston, 17.
083:29:49 Fullerton: 17, we do want the hydrogen purge; go ahead.
083:29:57 Evans: Okay, hydrogen purge is in process. You'd never believe it, dust collection container assembly serial number 5725 developed a hole in it. Fortunately, with a lot of dexterity, I was able to put a piece of tape over the hole.
083:30:31 Fullerton: Okay. I guess that's why we sent men into space.
083:30:38 Evans: [Laughter.] Right. [Long pause.]
083:31:09 Schmitt: Gordy, while the purges are going on here, I might mention, a little while ago, I looked at the Earth through a Polaroid colored glass again and had a full view of Africa. And it appeared as if, in the red and yellow portions of Africa, that the land areas darkened considerably more than those areas that are green or foliated, and that would be the central portion; that is, they darkened with the orien - handle on the lens going in a north-south rather than east-west.
083:32:02 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
083:32:12 Schmitt: The land areas, though, still do not show as marked a contrast as do the oceans.
083:32:19 Fullerton: Roger,
083:33:22 Fullerton: We'd like Omni Alpha.
Comm break.
083:34:37 Schmitt: Okay, hydrogen purge is complete. Heater is going Off.
083:34:40 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
083:35:00 Schmitt: Gordy, it looks like the cloudiness and possibly the showers associated with the intertropical convergence over Africa are moving as far south as Johannesburg right now. It's quite a distinct change from even an - an hour or so ago - a couple of hours ago. They're down into an area where, presumably, they're not normally found if vegetation indications are any criteria. And also, in the Atlantic - South Atlantic near Goa island, there seems to be a possible storm developing as part of what was probably now a fairly weak front. And whether or not that will develop into anything and move in towards Cape Town is hard to say at this time.
083:36:08 Fullerton: Roger, Jack. [Long pause.]
083:36:30 Schmitt: It looks as if our old friends at Ascension are enjoying a fairly nice day out there.
083:36:39 Fullerton: Roger.
083:37:44 Fullerton: Omni Bravo, please.
Comm break.
083:40:09 Fullerton: Jack, this is Houston. We recall you mentioning the purge complete and the heaters, Off. We just wanted to be sure that you did leave the H2 purge line heaters, On, for 10 Minutes after terMinating the purge. Over.
083:40:29 Schmitt: Thank you, Gordy. I'll turn them back on.
083:40:32 Fullerton: Okay. [Long pause.]
083:40:45 Schmitt: Who's sitting over there reMinding me of all these good things this morning?
083:40:52 Fullerton: Well, that was a combination effort by John Aaron and Charlie Dumis.
083:41:00 Schmitt: Wow! You've got a real powerful team there.
083:41:05 Fullerton: You bet. [Pause.]
083:41:11 Schmitt: Hey, you really ought to get them a cup of coffee though sometime this morning.
083:42:15 Schmitt: Gordy, also curious who's wa - who's watching Challenger this morning?
083:42:23 Fullerton: Well, let's see.
083:42:27 Schmitt: Not much to see, I realize, but I'm sure somebody's there.
083:42:36 Fullerton: We need Omni Charlie, Jack. [Pause.]
083:42:51 Fullerton: Well, we've got the first team on - the gold team - your LOI and landing team, and the LM guys are Merritt and Thorson.
083:43:08 Schmitt: You cut out on the telmu. Who is it?
083:43:13 Fullerton: Merlin. Merlin the Magician. [Long pause.]
083:43:27 Schmitt: I'm sorry, Gordy, you clipped off the first again.
083:43:32 Fullerton: Merlin Merritt, the magician.
083:43:37 Schmitt: Oh, yes; of course. As I recall, he's the only one that really understands Thorson.
083:43:58 Fullerton: He says he doesn't think anybody understands Thorson.
083:44:13 Schmitt: Well, we're sure looking forward to having a chance to make those guys work a little bit.
083:44:25 Fullerton: They say - well - Merlin says he is, too. I don't know about Thorson. He's out of the room at the moment.
083:44:36 Schmitt: He's probably spilling coffee in SPAN.
083:44:40 Fullerton: Roger.
Comm break.
SPAN is the Spacecraft Analysis room, where issues with the spacecraft are intensively studied.
083:46:32 Fullerton: We need Omni Delta now. [Pause.]
083:48:46 Schmitt: Gordy, for some reason, it's a lot easier to tell the difference between the Antarctic Continent and the icepack.
083:49:00 Fullerton: Roger.
083:49:07 Schmitt: Maybe the glancing Sun is picking up the breaks in the icepack and giving it a different appearance.
083:49:18 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
083:49:33 Schmitt: The continent itself - all you can see are very - what appear to be very gentle differences in - or subtle differences in shading, possibly indicating rolling relief due to a photometric dark beam along the - as a function of local phase angle.
083:50:05 Fullerton: Copy. [Long pause.]
083:50:21 Schmitt: And except, maybe, for the area just - well, no - even there, I didn't the [garble] - it looks like the whole visible continent is clear of clouds this morning. Possibly some clouds just east of the Ross Sea, which is just coMing into view, I think.
083:50:53 Fullerton: Roger.
083:50:56 Schmitt: I know we don't have many listeners in Antarctica, but it looks like they're having a - exceptionally fine day over the portion of the continent we can see.
083:51:13 Fullerton: Roger.
083:51:20 Schmitt: That weak front I mentioned in the South Atlantic stretches from the apparent storm center around Goa island - I'm not sure about that pronunciation either - up just to the coast of South America from Brazil, where it reaches its maximum eastward extent.
083:51:50 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
083:51:57 Schmitt: Our sub - our zero-phase point of the spacecraft is in the middle of the South Atlantic. And it's moderately bright, although there is no central bright point at all - a fairly large area, but moderately bright. The seas down there might be moderately choppy or rough this morning.
083:52:34 Fullerton: Okay.
Comm break.
083:54:27 Schmitt: Houston, 17.
083:54:30 Fullerton: Go.
083:54:35 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. You might say "uh" before you - you start your sentences because you're clipping your first word. The question I had was the pan camera - we're on 1-6 of the Experiments Checklist and need your word on whether you want the Pan Camera, Off, at this time - Self Test, Off.
083:54:56 Fullerton: Stand by. [Long pause.]
083:55:16 Fullerton: We'd like you to leave it in Heaters.
083:55:21 Schmitt: Okay, we're leaving it in Heaters. [Long pause.]
083:56:39 Schmitt: Okay, Houston. The S-Band Aux, TV is to Science...
083:56:46 Fullerton: Roger.
083:56:47 Schmitt: ...and I'm turning the IR, On.
083:56:49 Fullerton: Okay. [Pause.]
083:56:58 Fullerton: Jack, we'd like Omni Alpha.
083:57:04 Schmitt: How do you read on Omni Alpha?
083:57:07 Fullerton: Okay; you're readable, fair amount of noise. [Long pause.]
083:57:30 Schmitt: Hello, Houston. How do you read?
083:57:32 Fullerton: Jack, this is Houston. You're clear with considerable noise. Over.
083:58:36 Schmitt: Houston, how do you read 17?
083:58:39 Fullerton: Apollo 17, Houston. Still reading you with a lot of background noise. Over. [Long pause.]
083:59:04 Schmitt: Hello, Houston. How do you read?
083:59:08 Fullerton: 17, Houston. Weak but readable.
083:59:14 Schmitt: Okay, we'll have you up on your High Gain pretty soon. I'm turning the IR, On.
083:59:21 Fullerton: Roger; Roger; Roger. IR, On.
083:59:36 Schmitt: Say again, Gordy.
083:59:38 Fullerton: We copy. IR, On. Over. [Long pause.]
083:59:56 Fullerton: America, we'll take the High Gain now. Pitch, Minus 15; Yaw, 188. Over.
Comm break.
084:01:07 Fullerton: America, Houston. Let's try the High Gain now. I see you're moving it. Minus 26 and 199.
084:01:22 Schmitt: Okay, I think we've got a main load block now on the High Gain. How do you read?
084:01:27 Fullerton: You're loud and clear, Jack. It looks good here.
084:01:33 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. Let me keep going here. I did not turn the IR on because I thought you said something. IR is going On now.
084:01:41 Fullerton: Okay. What I said is, "Roger. IR, On."
084:01:56 Evans: CoMing on. [Pause.]
084:02:03 Evans: Mapping Camera going to Standby.
084:02:06 Fullerton: Okay; Standby on the Map Camera. [Long pause.]
084:02:34 Evans: Okay. I'm waiting your cue for Pan Camera Power, to Power.
084:02:41 Fullerton: Roger. We're still locking up on the data. We'll give you a cue. [Long pause.]
084:03:35 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. You have our cue for Pan Camera Power to Power.
084:03:53 Evans: Okay. Pan Camera going to Power. [Long pause.]
084:04:13 Evans: Okay, Gordo. We're in the SIM bay door jett attitude.
084:04:17 Fullerton: Roger.
Comm break.
Sector 1 of the Service Module contains the Scientific Instrument Module containing cameras and remote sensing instruments for use around the Moon. For the ascent from Earth and all the way to the Moon, the SIM bay has been covered by one of the SM's outer structural skin panels. This will be removed using a linear pyrotechnic charge just before the spacecraft enters lunar orbit, thereby avoiding any chance of a collision with the jettisoned door. While the spacecraft is firing its main engine, the door will swing on past the Moon to enter a chaotic path through the Earth-Moon system.
084:06:12 - This is Apollo Control; 84 hours, 6 Minutes Ground Elapsed Time. Present distance from the Moon...
084:06:19 Evans: Pan Camera Power is going to Boost.
084:06:22 Fullerton: Roger.
Comm break.
084:06:31 - Velocity, 3,763 feet per second [1,147 m/s]. Next major maneuver is Lunar Orbit Insertion, which presently is scheduled for 88 hours, 54 Minutes, 22 seconds Ground Elapsed Time. Total Delta-V or change in velocity, which will be retrograde, of 2,988 feet per second [911 m/s]. Service Propulsion System engine burn time of 6 Minutes, 38.08 seconds. Mother Earth is 206,059 nautical miles [381,621 km] behind Apollo 17, and locked up on the High Gain Antenna at this time so we should have fairly good communications all the way through the SIM Bay door jettison and until the spacecraft passes behind the Moon prior to the Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuver, which now is some 4 hours and 37 Minutes away, roughly. At 84:07, standing by live on air-to-ground; this is Apollo Control.
084:09:14 Evans: Oh, down there. Oh. [Long pause.]
084:09:43 Evans: Me to you. [Long pause.]
084:10:08 Evans: Okay, Houston. I'm in Vox now. Do you read?
084:10:12 Fullerton: Yes, sir. You're loud and clear.
084:10:18 Evans: Okay. On panel 181, the Logic Power Main A, Main B circuit breakers are Closed.
EARTH - JSC scan
084:10:26 Fullerton: Roger.
084:10:28 Evans: Okay. Logic Power number 1 is going to Jett, number 2 to Jett. Standing by for your Go, Houston.
EARTH - JSC scan
084:10:39 Fullerton: Okay. Stand by.
EARTH - JSC scan
084:10:43 Evans: Okay.
084:10:47 Fullerton: Okay, America, you're...
084:10:48 Evans: What happens now is...
084:10:49 Fullerton: ...Go to jett the SIM bay door.
084:10:56 Evans: Okay, Jack, let me know when you've got the camera ready.
084:11:04 Cernan: Okay, Houston. You say we are Go to jett the SIM bay down a little early, huh?
084:11:10 Fullerton: Well, stand by. I think we're backing down here. Stand by 1 second.
084:11:17 Cernan: Okay. [Long pause.]
084:11:39 Evans: No. I checked it at one frame.
084:11:44 Cernan: Might check it.
084:11:46 Fullerton: Okay, America. Once again, you're Go to jett the door, and you can do it early, if you wish.
084:11:54 Cernan: Okay, Gordo. We'll do it on - on Ron's mark down there.
084:12:00 Fullerton: Okay.
084:12:01 Schmitt: Hey, Houston. You know this attitude - this attitude has the Sun right into window 5 - it's probably going to be on the lens of the camera. I'll - I'll try to shade it the best I can, but I don't have an awful lot of hope for these pictures.
084:12:25 Fullerton: Roger.
084:12:29 Cernan: I think we're probably stuck with it, Jack, because we need to be in this right attitude, for the clearance and...
084:12:45 Evans: Okay. SIM door jett 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
084:12:53 Evans: Jett. Oh, I got a good bang. You see it, Jack?
084:13:00 Cernan: Houston, there it goes, I got it out the hatch window and it looks like it was a clean jett. It's rolling and pitching and yawing, slightly. There is a lot of garbage that came out with it.
084:13:11 Evans: Can you take a picture, Gene? [Long pause.]
084:13:27 Evans: Let me see it.
084:13:32 Evans: Ah - ah [laughter].
084:13:40 Cernan: You take a picture. Yes, there it goes.
084:13:43 Cernan: Hello, Houston. How do you read?
084:13:44 Evans: It's really...
084:13:45 Fullerton: Loud and clear. Sounding good.
084:13:49 Cernan: Okay. Did you get the word we got a clean jett?
084:13:52 Fullerton: That's right, Geno. Sounds good.
084:13:55 Cernan: Okay. The door's moving - the door's moving directly away from us, mostly rolling. And it looks like it was a very clean - clean separation.
084:14:14 Fullerton: Okay. [Pause.]
084:14:21 Evans: Yes. Boy, we got a good bang out of it. You could hear that - that pyro going, I think. It's rotating at about 5 - or 1 revolution per 5 seconds.
084:14:33 Fullerton: Roger.
084:14:42 Evans: And it's rotating - what, about the long axis? Yes. Rotating about the long axis.
084:14:57 Cernan: Houston, the garbage that I said went with it was just a small amount of debris, I'm sure around the sealant pyro area. There was one, oh, about a 4-foot-length piece of, oh, 1 or 2 inch tapelike material that also went out with it.
084:15:18 Fullerton: Roger, Gene.
084:15:22 Schmitt: [Laughter.] Okay. What do we do with these Logic Power switches? Don't they go back to Off now?
084:15:30 Evans: Door Jett's Off, down.
084:15:34 Evans: Okay. You go on to the Deploy/Retract on number 1.
084:15:38 Evans: Deploy/Retract on number 2.
084:15:45 Cernan: Fuel Cell React Valves are Normal. I'm sort of glad we had those in Latch.
084:15:50 Evans: Yes, me, too, because that's a pretty good bang. [Long pause.]
084:16:25 Fullerton: You've loaded the wrong pitch angle there in Noun 22.
084:16:40 Cernan: Well, I'm - I got 10 degrees loaded; that's what we've got copied down here in the change.
084:16:50 Fullerton: Maybe it's our mistake. Let us check here, Geno.
084:16:55 Cernan: Okay, we got 320, 010, and 324, and before I go into the muver - maneuver, I'll roll right about 12 degrees,
084:17:14 Fullerton: Bad call, Gene. Our error; you're right.
084:17:20 Cernan: Thank you, sir. [Pause.]
084:17:27 Evans: Okay, and the UV Spectrometer is going to go On here.
084:17:33 Evans: Mark it.
084:17:34 Fullerton: Roger. Mark the UV.
084:17:39 Schmitt: Okay, and the IR will be Off on your cue.
084:17:45 Fullerton: Okay, Jack, that'll be 12 or 15 Minutes from now.
084:17:52 Schmitt: Okay, just give us a call.
Comm break.
084:19:43 Schmitt: Okay, the 100-Watt O2 Heater circuit breaker's coMing Open.
084:19:47 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. [Long pause.]
084:20:16 Schmitt: Okay, O2 Heaters 1 and 2 going to Auto, and 3, Off.
084:20:21 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
084:21:51 Cernan: Okay, Gordo. We'll wait until 50 past the hour and pick up the LM/CM Delta-P; we're still reading 0.6.
084:22:01 Fullerton: Roger. That sounds good. [Pause.]
084:22:07 Cernan: And we're in the process of maneuvering and I guess I'll start to see if I can't get you some biomeds.
084:22:18 Fullerton: Okay. [Pause.]
084:22:27 Schmitt: I don't know whether you were watching the LMP on the door jett, did you see a jett on my heartbeat?
084:22:36 Fullerton: We'll - we'll check this data here, Jack.
084:22:45 Schmitt: I guess I was remembering erroneously 15's comment that it was very quiet, but I - of course, Ron reMinded me they were in the suits.
084:23:05 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. John Young was talking about the same thing here, but we didn't see anything on your EKG.
084:23:17 Schmitt: How stable can you get? [Pause.]
084:23:27 Evans: And Houston, 17 here. Mag Bravo Bravo is indicating 20 - let's see - indicating 76 per cent now - 76-per cent full.
084:23:42 Fullerton: Okay, Ron. [Pause.]
084:23:49 Cernan: And, Gordo, we are watching the 8-ball.
084:23:57 Fullerton: Roger. We're keeping an eye on it, too.
Long comm break.
084:33:06 Fullerton: America, we'd like the High Gain to Auto, please.
084:33:15 Schmitt: Okay, you've got it to Auto. I think we may have a new discovery about microphones up here.
084:33:24 Fullerton: Oh, is that right? What's that?
084:33:30 Schmitt: Well, Gordy, it looks as if you could improve your voice quality by putting fingers over the end of the mike booms. At least that works on the intercom.
084:33:44 Fullerton: How about that.
Comm break.
084:35:17 Fullerton: America, Houston. We're ready for the IR to Off.
084:35:23 Schmitt: Okay. IR's coMing Off. [Pause.]
084:35:32 Schmitt: Mark it.
Comm break.
084:37:15 Schmitt: Hey, Gordy. Who's operating in the trench in front of you today?
084:37:21 Fullerton: Okay. It's the LOI and descent team, Presley, Green, and Deiterich.
084:37:38 Schmitt: They're a trio of musketeers, if I ever heard of one.
084:37:43 Fullerton: Roger.
084:37:46 Schmitt: All they lack is a French accent. [Pause.]
084:37:59 Fullerton: A New York accent is about the best they can do.
084:38:13 Schmitt: I wasn't going to exercise any value judgments, Gordy.
Comm break.
084:40:59 Fullerton: Jack, this is Houston. I have a preliMinary LOI PAD anytime it's convenient.
084:41:09 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. I was just checking to see if I could find the Moon, and I still can't see it out there.
084:41:18 Schmitt: I'll be with you in 30 seconds.
084:41:20 Fullerton: Okay.
Comm break.
084:42:47 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. Go ahead.
084:42:51 Fullerton: Okay. This is a preliminary LOI, SPS/G&N. 66361; plus 1.21, Minus 0.12; 088:54:22.71; Minus 2798.8, plus 1045.7, Minus 0037.3. Attitude is all zeros. HA is 0170.1, plus 0052.5; 2988.0, 6:38, 2981.7; sextant star 45, 252.1, 13.5. Boresight star and all the rest is NA. GDC align stars: Sirius and Rigel; 122; 354; 000. Ullage, none. Remarks: LM weight, 36312; and single-bank burn time is 06:51. Go ahead.
The PAD is interpreted as follows:
Purpose: This preliminary PAD provides the details of a burn of the SPS engine that is executed near the point of closest approach to the Moon. The burn reduces their velocity with respect to the Moon and instead of having the inertia to continue on into cislunar space, Apollo 17 will enter a lunar orbit.
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): 66,361 pounds (30,101 kg).
Pitch and yaw trim (Noun 48): +1.21° and -0.12°. These angles represent an initial direction for the gimbal-mounted engine to aim the thrust through the stack's centre of mass. As the burn progresses, slow shifts in the stack's centre of mass will be compensated for by the nozzle's aim being altered by the TVC (Thrust Vector Control) system.
Time of ignition (Noun 33): 88 hours, 54 minutes, 22.71 seconds.
Change in velocity (Noun 81), fps (m/s): x, -2,798.8 (-853.1); y, +1,045.7 (+318.7); z, -37.3 (-11.4). The change in velocity is resolved into three components which are quoted relative to the local vertical frame of reference. The large negative component indicates the largely retrograde nature of the burn.
Spacecraft attitude: Roll, 0°; Pitch, 0°; Yaw, 0°. The desired spacecraft attitude is measured relative to the alignment of the guidance platform. However, the platform will be prealigned in such a way that its orientation will match the desired attitude for the burn. In other words, a special REFSMMAT will be used as the basis for the platform's alignment, one which agrees with the spacecraft's attitude at LOI. This will make it much easier for the crew to monitor their attitude during the burn, and react faster to deviations.
HA, expected apogee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): 170.1 nautical miles (315.0 km).
HP, expected perigee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): 52.5 nautical miles (97.2 km). Their initial orbit is deliberately elliptical with a high nearside apolune just in case the SPS overperforms. A later short burn will be used to refine the shape of the orbit.
Delta-VT: 2,988.0 fps (910.7 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: 6 minutes, 38 seconds.
Delta-VC: 2,981.7 fps. This figure is entered into the EMS Delta-V counter. The EMS's independent accelerometer will shut the engine down in case the G&N system fails to do so. This figure, Delta-VC, is slightly lower than Delta-VT because the EMS does not take account of the engine's tail-off thrust. Instead, the engineers have factored it into the number that will be entered into the counter.
Sextant star: Star 45 (Fomalhaut, Alpha Piscis Austrini) visible in sextant when shaft and trunnion angles are 252.1° and 13.5° respectively. This is part of an attitude check.
GDC Align stars: Should the IMU fail to provide a trustworthy attitude reference, the crew can use the spacecraft's other gyros (the BMAGs) and their associated Gyro Display Couplers as a reference. To align these, the spacecraft is rotated so as to place Sirius and Rigel against the telescope's graticule (or reticle) in a predeterMined fashion. If they were to do so, the spacecraft's attitude with respect to the desired REFSMMAT would be 122°, 354°, and 0° in roll, pitch and yaw respectively.
Additional notes from Fullerton are that no ullage burn is required to settle the contents of the propellant tanks because they are already full, the LM's mass 1s 36,312 pounds (16,471 kg), and should one of the SPS engine's two control banks not operate, the duration of the burn is estimated to last 13 seconds longer, then 6 minutes, 51 seconds. The reason for this is that because the propellant would be passing through just one set of valves, the total flow rate to the injector would be slightly reduced.
084:45:10 Schmitt: Okay. PreliMinary LOI, SPS/G&N. 66361; plus 1.21, minus 0.12; 088:54:22.71; minus 2798.8 plus 1045.7, minus 0037.3. All zeros; all zeros; all zeros; 0170.1, plus 0052.5; 2988.0, 6:38, 2981.7; 45, 252.1, 13.5. Set stars are Sirius and Rigel; 122; 354; 000. No ullage. LM weight is 36312, and single-bank burn time is 06:51.
084:46:14 Fullerton: One correction on the ignition time. The seconds are 22.77.
084:46:26 Schmitt: Okay, 22.77.
084:46:29 Fullerton: That's affirmative; otherwise, good readback. [Long pause.]
084:47:19 Evans: Okay, Houston. At 84:45, we've got about 2½ to 3 Minutes at 1 frame a second on mag Bravo Bravo, through the celestial adapter of the Earth.
084:47:43 Fullerton: Okay, Ron. We caught that. And if you're looking for the Moon, according to our figures here, it should be visible out window number 1 about 30 degrees off the boresight axis. Over.
084:48:02 Schmitt: Okay, got you. I'll try again.
Comm break.
084:49:16 Fullerton: America, Houston. I'm ready with a TEI-4 PAD anytime it's convenient.
084:49:24 Schmitt: Stand by.
Long comm break.
084:53:36 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy, I'm ready for a TEI-4 PAD.
084:53:41 Fullerton: Okeydoke. It's TEI-4, SPS/G&N; 40090; plus 0.50, plus 1.17. Ignition time is 097:20:47.45. Noun 81, plus 2004.8, Minus 2951.1, Minus 1547.3; attitude will be 202, 083, 312. Rest of the PAD is NA. GDC align stars are Sirius and Rigel; 133; 200; 030. Ullage: four jets, 12 seconds. And remark number 1: burn undocked; number 2: assumes no DOI; number 3: assumes landing site REFSMMAT; number 4: with the LOI REFSMMAT, your attitude will be: roll, 180; pitch, 220; yaw, 38 - correction - yaw is 338. Over.
The PAD is interpreted as follows:
Purpose: This PAD is one of the series of contingency PADs for burns intended to get them home in case of an emergency. In case the radio system fails, the policy is to ensure the crew always have a valid get-you-home PAD at all times. This one, if used, would be fired after four orbits around the Moon.
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): 40,090 pounds (18,185 kg).
Pitch and yaw trim (Noun 48): +0.50° and +1.17°. 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): 97 hours, 20 Minutes, 47.45 seconds.
Change in velocity (Noun 81), fps (m/s): x, +2,004.8 (+611.1); y, -2,951.1 (-899.5); z, -1,547.3 (-471.6). The change in velocity is resolved into three components which are quoted relative to the local vertical frame of reference.
Spacecraft attitude: Roll, 202°; Pitch, 83°; Yaw, 312°. The desired spacecraft attitude is measured relative to the alignment of the guidance platform.
Subsequent items on the PAD are not applicable. These are HA, HP, Delta-VT, burn duration, Delta-VC, sextant star, boresight star and parameters that relate to Earth landing.
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, 133°; pitch, 200°; yaw, 30°.
Additional notes in the PAD state that an ullage burn of 12 seconds duration using the four rearward-firing RCS thrusters would be required to settle the contents of the SPS tanks. The burn details assume that the LM has been undocked, that they haven't carried out the Descent Orbit Insertion (DOI) burn, and that the guidance platform is aligned per the landing site REFSMMAT. An additional note says that if they are still aligned per the LOI REFSMMAT, then the attitude for the burn would be 180°, 220°, and 338° in roll, pitch and yaw respectively.
084:56:13 Schmitt: Okay, TEI-4, SPS/G&N; 40090; plus 0.50, plus 1.17; 097:20:47.45; plus 2004.8, Minus 2951.1. Minus 1547.3; 202, 083, 312. Rest of PAD NA. Sirius and Rigel; 133; 200; 030. Four jets, 12-second ullage. Remark 1: burn undocked; 2: no DOI assumed; 3: landing site REFSMMAT; 4: LOI REFSMMAT attitude 180, 220, 338. Over.
084:57:20 Fullerton: Okay. That's a good readback.
Comm break.
084:59:29 Fullerton: America, Houston. If you give us Accept, we'll pop up a state vector - a preliMinary state vector and a Verb 66, preliMinary target load, and an LOI REFSMMAT. Over.
084:59:44 Evans: Okay, Houston. You have it.
Comm break.
With access to the computer's 2Kwords of erasable memory, Mission Control upload the following items: an updated state vector, numerically giving their position and velocity in three axes, six numbers in all, valid at a particular time; a Verb 66 which moves a state vector from one vehicle's memory slot to another's; and the LOI REFSMMAT, a definition of an orientation set against the celestial sphere, one that matches the desired attitude of the spacecraft at LOI.
085:01:08 Cernan: Okay, Houston. This is America. How do you read the commander on biomed?
085:01:14 Fullerton: Stand by. I'll take a look here.
Comm break.
085:02:44 Fullerton: America, Houston. Looking at the O2 pressures, we think maybe Tank 3 Isol Valve got jarred closed. Would you check the barber pole over on panel 278. If it's barber pole, would you reopen the valve?
085:03:01 Schmitt: Gordy, we checked that. I'll check it again. We checked it right after the jett. [Long pause.]
085:03:17 Schmitt: And, Gordy, it's gray. Would you like me to cycle it?
085:03:30 Fullerton: That's affirmative, Jack. Go ahead and cycle it Open.
085:03:40 Schmitt: Okay. That's been done.
085:03:43 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
085:04:08 Fullerton: America, Houston. It's your computer. You can go back to Block.
085:04:18 Evans: Okay, we're back to Block. In the Delta-V test, I got a Minus 22.0, and I'm on a bias check right now.
085:04:30 Fullerton: Roger.
Comm break.
085:06:37 Fullerton: America, Houston. The biomed looks good on all three of you.
085:06:46 Cernan: Okay. [Long pause.]
085:07:01 Evans: And the null bias check, on a plus 100, it went to 100.4. I'm working on a Minus now.
085:07:13 Fullerton: Okay, sounds good.
Comm break.
085:08:19 Evans: Okay. The Minus 100, it ended up Minus 99.5.
085:08:26 Fullerton: Okay, Ron.
Comm break.
085:10:38 Evans: Gordy, the Emergency Cabin Pressure Regs are Off.
085:10:43 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
085:11:00 Evans: Okay, Equalization valve in the tunnel has come Open.
085:11:07 Fullerton: Roger.
Comm break.
085:13:11 Evans: Okay, Gordy, the LM Tunnel valve is in LM Press, and Equalization valve is Closed.
085:13:21 Fullerton: Roger. And was it a 0.6 Delta-P when you started this, as before?
085:13:29 Evans: That's affirm. It was 0.6 and now it's down to - we been seeing it as about 0.1.
085:13:37 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
085:13:56 Evans: And, Gordy, I've got the Emergency Cabin Pressure Regs back to BOTH.
085:14:01 Fullerton: Roger.
Long comm break.
085:17:45 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy, we're changing mags on the - the EL camera, and mag November November is being stowed with 59 frames on it - or 59 frames used - 159.
085:18:07 Fullerton: Okay, Jack; copy. [Long pause.]
085:18:27 Evans: Gordy, you can record that as the second commander's P52 that came up all balls.
085:18:37 Fullerton: Okay, we'll get a hard copy. [Long pause.]
085:19:05 Fullerton: Okay, we got the 93s; you're clear to torque.
Very long comm break.
The times given in the Mission Report for P52s that occur after the clock update do not take account of the change. Therefore, this P52, carried out by Gene, is marked as occurring at 82:40. There will actually be two P52 realignments at this point. The first is to measure the drift of the platform while it is aligned per the PTC REFSMMAT. For this, Gene has sighted on star 16 Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris) and star 17 Regor (Gamma Velorum). The angles by which the platform had drifted since the last P52 (during their rest period) were +0.077° in X, +0.039° in Y and -0.002° in Z. Ron has pointed out to Fullerton that Gene has achieved a perfect star angle difference value of 'all balls' due to it displaying on the DSKY as '00000'. This number is a comparison of the measured angle between the two stars and the actual angle that the computer knows should be between them. Since a perfect sighting confers bragging rights, Fullerton jokes that a paper copy of the result will be kept for Gene to show off.
085:37:35 Cernan: Okay, Gordo, there's the gyro torque angles.
085:37:40 Fullerton: Okay, we're copying them down. Stand by. [Long pause.]
085:38:07 Fullerton: Okay, Geno; torque them.
Very long comm break.
Gene has made a second realignment of the platform using P52, this time per the LOI REFSMMAT. The platform's gimbal Motors will have to rotate by a substantial amount to get it in the correct orientation and according to a note that came from Mission Control at 070:38:04, before their sleep period, this is estimated to take over 10 Minutes to accomplish.
085:45:06 - This is Apollo Control at 85 hours, 45 Minutes Ground Elapsed Time into the mission of Apollo 17. Presently 7,900 nautical miles [14,631 km] out from the Moon and approaching at 4,009 feet per second [1,222 m/s]. We're still about 3 hours and 8 Minutes away from Lunar Orbit Insertion manuever, which will place the Apollo 17 spacecraft into a 52- by a 170-nautical mile [96- by 315-km] lunar orbit. Earlier today, Gene Cernan asked Mission Control for suggestions concerning his gas symptoms. A decision has been made for the Flight Surgeon to consult privately with Cernan to discuss these symptoms. There's no indication that this situation will have any effect on the progress of the mission. A summary of the conversation will be released shortly. Meanwhile, for distance back to Earth, Mother Earth stands some 208,068 nautical miles [385,342 km] behind Apollo 17. We have 2 hours and 56 Minutes remaining until the first Loss Of Signal as Apollo 17 passes behind the Moon. 3 hours and 7 Minutes and 50 seconds until ignition on the Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuver, which presently is scheduled for a Ground Elapsed Time of 88:54:22. Total burn time on the SPS engine of 6 Minutes, 38 seconds; for a total velocity change in retrograde of 2,988 feet per second [911 m/s]. At 85:47 Ground Elapsed Time, this is Apollo Control.
085:50:31 - This is Apollo Control; 85 hours, 50 Minutes Ground Elapsed Time. Here in the Control Center, the Flights Dynamics Officer, Jay Greene, just passed up to the Flight Director Neil Hutchinson the latest predicted figures for the S-IVB impact. The present predictions on time are for the S-IVB to impact at Ground Elapsed Time of 89 hours, 39 Minutes, 43.4 seconds. The coordinates of the impact are predicted to be 4.12 degrees south latitude by 12.22 degrees west longitude. 3 hours and 3 Minutes to Lunar Orbit Insertion ignition. 2 hours, 51 Minutes until Apollo 17 passes behind the Moon for the first time. Distance from the Moon, presently 7,653 nautical miles [14,173 km], velocity ever increasing, now 4,032 feet per second [1,229 m/s]. At 85:51 Ground Elapsed Time in the mission of Apollo 17, this is Apollo Control.
086:12:15 Fullerton: America, Houston. America, Houston. We've lost the High Gain and data. Go on Omni Alpha.
086:12:43 Fullerton: Hello America, Houston in the blind. Go Omni Alpha [garble]. [Long pause.]
086:13:18 Fullerton: America, this is Houston. How do you copy?
086:13:26 Schmitt: Clear, and we're Omni Alpha. If you don't answer this transmission, we'll try the High Gain again.
086:13:32 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. We're reading you now. I heard you say Omni Alpha. Say again the first part.
086:13:40 Schmitt: Roger. We've been reading you. I think you're on VHF, however. Would you like us to reacquire on the High Gain?
086:13:48 Fullerton: Stand by. I'll check on that. [Long pause.]
086:14:05 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. We'd like you to try the High Gain at a Pitch of Minus 29, Yaw 17, Manual and Wide.
086:14:24 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy, we're on the High Gain.
086:14:29 Fullerton: Okay, Jack.
086:14:34 Schmitt: How do you read?
086:14:37 Fullerton: I'm reading you - I can read you, but there's still a lot of background noise.
086:14:47 Schmitt: Like VHF would sound, but I'm not sure I believe it.
086:14:56 Fullerton: Jack, we just commanded Normal voice. [Long pause.]
086:15:26 Schmitt: Gordy, did we end up somehow out of Normal voice?
086:15:35 Fullerton: Jack, we'd like you to try a Normal acquisition. Go Auto and Narrow on the High Gain.
086:15:50 Schmitt: Okay, that peaked it up, Auto and Narrow.
086:15:54 Fullerton: Okay, you're loud and clear now.
086:15:59 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. You said that you had to command Normal voice. Did we get a spurious command in there some way?
086:16:21 Fullerton: Okay, we had - we did all that ourselves to establish voice through Ascension; no problem. Over.
086:16:36 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. How did you reach us when you finally started calling?
086:16:44 Fullerton: Stand by. [Long pause.]
086:17:10 Fullerton: Jack, we didn't do anything to cause the problem there, we were up-linking through Madrid and downlinking through Ascension. Did you see anything onboard that could have caused the loss of lock?
086:17:25 Schmitt: No, sir. We had good signal strength. It wasn't peaked for the High Gain. It was more like an Omni signal strength, about 70 per cent. And we called you several times after the switch in lines, and then finally you came through clear, but with some background noise and sounded like VHF. I presume it wasn't, now. And when you called, I went to Omni Alpha, with no change in signal strength, still about 70 per cent, and you were still coMing up the same way and apparently didn't hear us. And then the High Gain - with High Gain acquisition, it's been pretty clear.
086:18:13 Fullerton: Okay, that's the way - that story's the way it sounded to us. And we're looking around here to see if we can figure out a reason for loss there.
086:18:28 Schmitt: Okay, and I'm ready to pressurize the SPS, if that's what you want.
086:18:34 Fullerton: Okay, let me make sure here. [Long pause.]
086:18:48 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. We're ready for it.
086:18:55 Schmitt: Okay, you want me to just use SPS Helium Valves 1?
086:19:07 Fullerton: That's affirmative. [Long pause.]
086:19:31 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. We're going to On with SPS Helium Valves 1. We checked the circuit breakers, they're In.
086:19:41 Fullerton: Okay.
086:19:42 Schmitt: Okay, pressure's com - pressure's up; Fuel Pressure is stable at 175 and Oxidizer at 175, and the light is out. And we're back to Normal on Caution And Warning. And the Valves now is back to Auto.
086:20:03 Fullerton: Roger. And looks - looks good here. We're reading 184 oxidizer and 185 fuel. [Long pause.]
086:20:44 Schmitt: Hey, Gordy, this is the LMP. I got a question for you.
086:20:48 Fullerton: Shoot.
086:20:54 Schmitt: I'm just wondering if - I'm showing about 85 amps, and is that a good normal power load with - I presume the O2 Heaters are On now.
086:21:08 Fullerton: Just a second, we'll check that.
086:21:15 Schmitt: I'm just trying to reestablish my references here for LOI.
086:21:21 Fullerton: EECOM says the Heaters are On and that's the normal load.
086:21:30 Schmitt: Okay. Very good. Thank you, sir. [Long pause.]
086:22:51 Evans: Houston, 17.
086:22:54 Fullerton: Go ahead.
086:22:58 Evans: Roger. We got about an hour sitting around here. We can go to wide dead band, if you want, if you'll reMind me to go back to narrow again when we need to.
086:23:07 Fullerton: Let me check on that. [Long pause.]
086:23:20 Evans: Might save a teacupful of fuel. [Long pause.]
086:24:40 Fullerton: Ron, we suggest just staying where you are on the dead band; there's no problem on fuel.
086:24:49 Evans: Okay. Mighty fine, Gordo. Thank you.
Comm break.
086:27:42 Fullerton: America, Hou - Houston. We just finished a site handover. And we're seeing some excessive counts on the UV. We'd like to chase the problem a little, and to do that, we'd like you to turn the UV Off for 5 seconds and then back On. Over.
Long comm break.
086:32:32 Fullerton: Ascension Comm Tech, Houston Comm Tech, Net 1 voice check. How do you copy?
086:32:40 ASC: Ascension Comm Tech, I read you loud and clear.
086:32:43 Fullerton: Roger, Ascension.
086:33:38 Schmitt: Houston, 17; how do you read after a Command Reset?
086:33:42 Fullerton: 17, this is Houston. You're loud and clear. Have you been calling?
086:33:50 Schmitt: Yes, sir, we've been calling. After your handover, we heard your statement that you handed over and then hadn't been able to contact you after that. I just hit a Command Reset.
086:34:02 Fullerton: Hmmm. [Long pause.]
086:34:32 Fullerton: Okay, Jack, that was a problem here on the ground. Over.
086:34:42 Schmitt: Okay. [Long pause.]
086:35:17 Schmitt: Say, Gordy, 17.
086:35:20 Fullerton: Go ahead.
086:35:25 Schmitt: Yes, we've got B Duplex - B Simplex On, apparently left over from the LM checks. I suspect I should turn that Off. Right?
086:35:41 Fullerton: That's affirmative. [Long pause.]
086:36:07 Evans: Houston, 17.
086:36:09 Fullerton: Go ahead.
086:36:15 Evans: Gordo, just an interesting observation on my part. I don't know why, but all the air bubbles in the beverage packs - you know, none of the air bubbles will come together at all. If you get it a small air bubble, it stays in a small air bubble. And they'll never co - come together. However, in my chicken and rice soup package here, I had a whole bunch of small air bubbles and now it's all one great big air bubble in the middle.
086:36:49 Fullerton: Okay.
086:36:50 Evans: Most of the - most of the spoon bowl packs you know - or wet packs, whereas the juice bags won't do it.
086:37:04 Fullerton: Okay, that's interesting. I sure don't know why either.
086:37:14 Schmitt: We're just trying to keep your day interesting here, Gordy. Now that you won't let us look at the Earth anymore, we'll start looking in the cabin.
086:37:33 Fullerton: Okay, while you're looking in the cabin, I've got a new hydrogen cryo configuration for you to Minimize the pressure cycling and cut down the wear and tear on the motor switch. If you're ready to do it, I'll read it.
086:37:52 Schmitt: Go ahead.
086:37:54 Fullerton: Okay, on H2 Tank 1 and Tank 2 Heaters, both of them, Off. On the Fans, Tank 1 Fans On, Tank 2 Fans Off. I think they're there already. And Tank 3 Fans Auto. Over.
086:38:18 Schmitt: Hey, there's a new configuration. Okay, H2 Heaters 1 and 2 are Off. H2 Fans - 1 is On, 2 is Off, and 3 is Auto.
086:38:29 Fullerton: Okay, sounds good.
086:38:37 Schmitt: That sounds like an EECOM special.
086:38:41 Fullerton: That it is.
Long comm break.
086:46:30 Cernan: Hello, Houston, I've got the limb of the Moon.
086:46:34 Fullerton: Very good.
086:46:36 Cernan: I've got the limb of the Moon out the - got it out the center hatch and we're just barely seeing a - barely seeing the horizon of the Moon. But, boy, is it big.
086:46:52 Fullerton: Roger.
086:46:53 Evans: Well, that must be a - what - you know, talk about a sliver of the Moon, that is a sliver of a sliver.
086:47:03 Cernan: Gordo, we're coMing in right down on top of it. What's our perigee, did you say? 53 miles?
Apollo 17's trajectory combined with the alignment of the Earth, Moon and Sun, saw them leaving Earth when it appeared full to them. This implies that the Moon seemed to be near to the Sun and therefore next to impossible to view. As they approach their rendezvous with the Moon, it has remained on a line to the Sun and it is only now, for the first time, they have been able to see their goal if they shade their eyes from the glare.
086:47:17 Cernan: I just want to hear you say it because I'm going to hold you to it.
086:47:33 Cernan: As long as you shadow your eyes from the Sun - the Sun is just about laying on the horizon of the Moon, and as a matter of fact, as I watch it, I can watch the horizon - the amount of - of daylight terMinator get larger.
086:47:49 Fullerton: Roger.
086:48:55 Cernan: Gordy, unless I get proven wrong here, I think we'll be able to watch it all the way in as long as we can keep shadowed from the Sun.
086:49:07 Fullerton: Okeydoke.
086:49:12 Cernan: I'll tell you, when you get out here, it's a big mamou.
Comm break.
086:52:01 Cernan: Gordy, it's a sight to remember. Not just because of the uniqueness of the view, but because we all got to ask ourselves if we really know where we are and what we're really looking at right this moment, and when you answer that question is yes, it certainly becomes an epic sight in your Mind.
Unlike previous missions, which flew into the Moon's shadow prior to entering lunar orbit, Apollo 17's approach trajectory is sufficiently tilted with respect to the plane of the Moon's orbit and the Sun-Moon line that it keeps clear of the Moon's shadow. Since their final orbit has to be inclined to reach a northerly landing side over the near side, they are approaching the southerly part of the Moon's far side.
Diagram from page 3-78 of the Flight Plan that shows how fine a crescent the Moon is presenting.
086:52:26 Fullerton: Roger, Gene.
086:52:31 Schmitt: My congratulations to the trench for solving another rendezvous - rendezvous problem.
086:52:40 Fullerton: Roger.
086:53:43 Cernan: Gordy, can you tell us how far we are right now from the - from the Moon?
086:53:50 Fullerton: Surely can; stand by. [Long pause.]
086:54:10 Fullerton: Right now, you're about 5,000 miles [9,200 km] from the surface.
086:54:18 Cernan: Okay. Thank you.
Comm break.
086:55:25 Schmitt: Houston, 17.
086:55:27 Fullerton: Go ahead.
086:55:32 Schmitt: I think I got a visual on the SIM bay door now out window 5. It's just about directly off our present plus-Y axis.
086:55:46 Fullerton: Okay. Must be way out there by now.
086:55:55 Schmitt: Oh, yes. It's a long way out there; just flashing.
086:55:59 Fullerton: Roger.
Comm break.
086:57:31 Schmitt: Gordy, what's the MOCR having for dinner Sun - this Sunday?
086:57:43 Fullerton: Well, let's see. I guess we haven't sent out for hamburgers, yet. There's a few brown bags in sight, but that's about it.
086:57:58 Schmitt: My goodness. [Long pause.]
086:58:33 Cernan: Gordy, it doesn't look like I had a chance to go to church today, but under the circumstances I guess it'll be okay. Next time you see the good Father you might have him put a good word in for us.
086:58:46 Fullerton: Okay, I'll do that.
Long comm break.
087:07:56 Cernan: Gordy, is - in our present attitude I'm seeing the lip of the Moon convex down toward our Minus X axis. That's out of the hatch window. Can you tell me which is the north and which is the south pole?
087:08:20 Fullerton: Okay. Stand by.
087:08:26 Cernan: Yes, I'd be all squared away if - if the Moon were on Jack's side, because he's got that end on his head, but I'm a little mixed up now.
087:08:34 Fullerton: Roger. I understand your problem. [Long pause.]
087:09:24 Cernan: Gordy, I - I'm thinking the - the top of the - the LM towards the Sun is probably the north.
087:09:39 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
087:10:26 Cernan: Hello, Gordy. I - I think I got it. Window - the - the north has got to be on the right as I look at the limb of the Moon opposite the Sun. Because when we go into retrograde attitude, it's got to be over there. I think I can see Korolev without any problem. It's a little bit north of the - of the equator.
087:10:56 Fullerton: Roger.
087:11:03 Cernan: Gordy, are you still with us?
087:11:07 Fullerton: That's affirm. I'm with you, and I'm getting lots of advice here.
087:11:14 Cernan: Okay. Okay. I'll bet you are. But I - I think I got it oriented. You can literally watch yourself fall down in. As we get closer, if we're going to have a view like this, it's going to be pretty dramatic. Because we're calling the way you climb on out of the Moon when you leave it, if you can see. And I remember remarks at that time, "Gee, if we could see it like this when we came back in, we'd have to close our eyes." If we can see this thing coMing in like I think we may be able to see it at 50 miles, it isn't going to look like very much.
087:11:58 Fullerton: Roger. We agree.
087:12:00 Schmitt: And we're even considering the win - putting - Gordy, we're consider - Gordy, we're considering putting the window covers up.
087:12:15 Fullerton: You're chickens, huh?
087:12:21 Cernan: It's going to be one of those high - high - angle energy conversion roundouts.
Gene is bring his aviation background to play in explaining what their approach is like. If a pilot makes a high-angle dive, they will trade height for speed, potential energy for kinetic energy.
087:12:28 Fullerton: Roger. From our information here, if you're looking at the Moon so that the - the dark limb is up, then north should be to the right.
087:12:42 Cernan: Yes. I - I concur, and that's the way it is.
087:12:45 Fullerton: Roger.
087:12:48 Cernan: The horizon is just steadily growing bigger.
087:12:54 Fullerton: Does it look about the same as last time?
087:13:04 Cernan: What do you mean, 'last time?' Couple years ago?
087:13:07 Fullerton: Right.
In May 1969, 3½ years earlier, Gene was the LMP on Apollo 10 which orbited the Moon as a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.
087:13:12 Cernan: Gordy, we never saw it coMing in a couple years ago. We saw it, as I recall, a day out, and we saw just a - a shadow of the limb. But we - to my best re - recollection, we never saw it this close. As a matter of fact, we went into darkness prior to going into LOI, and this time, much to my amazement, we don't. But I see now that we won't, and I see why. I'll tell you, everyone who's seen that view leaving knows how fast you climb out. And by golly, the closer we get to it, the faster we're coMing in.
087:13:56 Fullerton: Roger.
Long comm break.
087:16:11 - This is Apollo Control at 87 hours, 16 Minutes Ground Elapsed Time in the mission of Apollo 17. Some 1 hour and 38 Minutes until ignition on Lunar Orbit Insertion. Presently, the spacecraft is 4,243 nautical miles [7,858 km] away from the Moon. The Moon is getting larger, as noted by the crew. They considered closing the window shades in the spacecraft. Velocity now 4,544 feet per second [1,385 m/s]. Some numbers on acquisition of the spacecraft. With the burn - a normal burn, the acquisition on the east limb of the Moon would be at 89 hours, 16 Minutes, 29 seconds. Without a burn, it would be somewhat sooner, 89 hours, 7 Minutes, 46 seconds. A private conversation was conducted with the Apollo 17 crew from Ground Elapsed Time of 85:46:55 to 86:04:46. The subject of the conversation was Gene Cernan's request for suggestions concerning alleviating some gas symptoms he had had during the flight. The following is a summary of the conversation. The call to the crew was made by Donald K. Slayton, Director of Flight Crew Operations. Dr. Royce Hawkins, Chief of Medical Operations at MSC asked Cernan to explain his symptoms, Cernan reported it was no great problem, but that he has had some greater gas discomfort than his fellow crew members. He said he felt quite fine at this time, and there was never any pain or nausea associated with the discomfort. Cernan advised Dr. Hawkins of the anti-gas medication, symethocone, he'd been taking. Dr. Hawkins recommended to Cernan that he continue the medication after meals and before going to sleep. Hawkins also advised Cernan on some changes to his menu over the next 2 days to reduce the discomfort. Cernan reported quote "I'm better, there's nothing detrimental or incapacitating about this; we're all in good shape. We hope things are looking as good down there as they are up here." close quote. Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt reported the crew had encountered some difficulty with the onboard system that separates gas bubbles from the drinking water supply. Schmitt was advised that the gas separator system has given the crews problems on previous Apollo flights. Astronaut John Young, commander of the Apollo 16 mission and back-up commander for Apollo 17, also talked briefly to the astronauts, and wished them well. Distance now 4,125 nautical miles [7,640 km] from the Moon. Velocity, 4,570 [fps, 1,393 m/s]. Still an hour and 35 Minutes, Mark, until ignition on Lunar Orbit Insertion burn. At 87:19, this is Apollo Control.
087:19:28 Cernan: Gordo. The - the widest-most part of the convex horizon probably covers a good couple of degrees. I can now see relief on the - on the horizon itself against the dark space.
087:19:47 Fullerton: Roger.
087:19:52 Cernan: And the rim of Korolev is readily visible standing out by itself in the - in the darker or the unlit part of the - of the Moon. I can see the central peaks or mountains very well lit up.
087:20:50 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. This is Jack. is there any reason not to start the checks at about 87:43?
087:21:05 Fullerton: Stand by. [Long pause.]
087:21:25 Cernan: Okay, Gordy. What I - what I called a - a central peak or range in there must undoubtedly be that inner ring, but it - the way it was lit up in the sunlight gave you a definite impression that it had an enlongated central range.
087:21:45 Fullerton: Roger. And for Jack, no problem starting early on the checks.
087:21:54 Schmitt: Okay. They're in work. [Long pause.]
087:23:36 Cernan: Okay, Hous...
087:23:37 Schmitt: [Garble], Houston. Going to [garble] put the UV Cover Open. How long?
087:23:45 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. And we'd like 5 Minutes of operation with it Open.
087:23:56 Schmitt: Okay.
087:23:57 Schmitt: Mark it, Open.
Comm break.
087:25:40 Schmitt: Okay, Houston; 17. I've started the secondary glycol pump, and I neglected to make a check on the evap OP temperature. Do you have that, and did we get a decrease?
087:25:56 Fullerton: Stand by. Looks okay, Jack.
087:26:12 Schmitt: Thank you.
Comm break.
087:28:13 Schmitt: Okay, Gordo. There's Noun 05.
This P52 realignment is marked in the Mission Report as having been carried out at 084:50, the Ground Elapsed Time prior to the GET update. For this P52, star 13 Capella (Alpha Aurigae) and star 20 Dnoces (Iota Ursa Majoris) were sighted on. The angles by which the platform had drifted since the last P52 were +0.029° in X, +0.041° in Y and -0.041° in Z. The star angle difference (Noun 5) is 0.01°, not perfect but good enough for the task.
087:28:17 Fullerton: Roger.
087:28:32 Schmitt: And you're looking at the torquing angle. [Long pause.]
087:28:58 Schmitt: Okay, Houston. I'm going SPS Pressure Indicator to 2.
087:29:03 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. And you can close the UV cover, and go ahead and roll back to 064 Roll. And you're clear to torque the P52.
087:29:18 Schmitt: Okay. UV Cover is Closed. [Long pause.]
087:29:55 Schmitt: Okay, Houston. Going back to SPS Pressure Indicator 1.
087:30:01 Fullerton: Okay.
Comm break.
087:32:31 Fullerton: America, Houston. We - we still see the UV door open. Have you closed it yet? [Long pause.]
087:32:51 Cernan: Okay. It's now Closed, Gordy.
087:32:54 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
087:33:31 Fullerton: America, Houston. I have the LOI and map update pads when you're ready.
087:33:40 Cernan: Stand by 1, Gordo.
Comm break.
087:34:59 Cernan: Okay, Gordy. What do you have, a map update on page 3-83 of the Flight Plan?
087:35:05 Fullerton: That's affirmative.
087:35:13 Cernan: Why don't you go ahead?
087:35:14 Fullerton: Okay. It's for rev 1. AOS [Acquisition Of Signal] without burn is 089:07:46; with the burn is 089:16:29.
087:35:34 Cernan: Okay. Without the burn is 07:46, and with the burn is 16:29.
087:35:39 Fullerton: That's affirmative, and then I have your LOI maneuver PAD.
087:35:50 Schmitt: Okay. We're ready to go.
087:35:53 Fullerton: Okay. LOI, SPS/G&N; the weight is 66361; plus 1.21, Minus 0.12; ignition time is 088:54:21.74; Noun 81, Minus 2798.8, plus 1044.9, Minus 0042.5; roll, pitch, and yaw are all zero; Noun 44, 0170.1, plus 0052.5; 2987.7, burn time is 6:38, 2981.4; sextant star is 45, 252.1, 13.5; rest of the PAD is NA. GDC align stars are Sirius and Rigel; 122; 354; 000. Ullage is none. Remarks: LM weight, 36312; single-bank burn time is 6:51. Over. Stand by on the readback. Okay. We'll take Accept, and give you the up-links while you're reading it back.
The PAD is interpreted as follows:
Purpose: This PAD provides the details of Lunar Orbit Insertion burn that will be executed near the point of closest approach to the Moon. The burn reduces their velocity with respect to the Moon and instead of having the inertia to continue on into cislunar space, Apollo 17 will enter a lunar orbit.
Systems: The burn will 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): 66,361 pounds (30,101 kg).
Pitch and yaw trim (Noun 48): +1.21° and -0.12°. These angles represent an initial direction for the gimbal-mounted engine to aim the thrust through the stack's centre of mass. As the burn progresses, slow shifts in the stack's centre of mass will be compensated for by the nozzle's aim being altered by the TVC (Thrust Vector Control) system.
Time of ignition (Noun 33): 88 hours, 54 Minutes, 21.74 seconds.
Change in velocity (Noun 81), fps (m/s): x, -2,798.8 (-853.1); y, +1,044.9 (+318.5); z, -42.5 (-13.0). The change in velocity is resolved into three components which are quoted relative to the local vertical frame of reference. The large negative component indicates the largely retrograde nature of the burn.
Spacecraft attitude: Roll, 0°; Pitch, 0°; Yaw, 0°. The desired spacecraft attitude is measured relative to the alignment of the guidance platform. However, the platform will be prealigned in such a way that its orientation will match the desired attitude for the burn. In other words, a special REFSMMAT will be used as the basis for the platform's alignment, one which agrees with the spacecraft's attitude at LOI and which therefore simplifies the interpretation of reading the 8-ball. This will make it much easier for the crew to monitor their attitude during the burn, and react faster to deviations.
HA, expected apogee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): 170.1 nautical miles (315.0 km).
HP, expected perigee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): 52.5 nautical miles (97.2 km). Their initial orbit is deliberately elliptical with a high nearside apolune just in case the SPS overperforms. A later short burn will be used to refine the shape of the orbit.
Delta-VT: 2,987.7 fps (910.7 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: 6 Minutes, 38 seconds.
Delta-VC: 2,981.4 fps. This figure is entered into the EMS Delta-V counter. The EMS's independent accelerometer will shut the engine down in case the G&N system fails to do so. This figure, Delta-VC, is slightly lower than Delta-VT because the EMS does not take account of the engine's tail-off thrust. Instead, the engineers have factored it into the number that will be entered into the counter.
Sextant star: Star 45 (Fomalhaut, Alpha Piscis Austrini) visible in sextant when shaft and trunnion angles are 252.1° and 13.5° respectively. This is part of an attitude check.
GDC Align stars: Should the IMU fail to provide a trustworthy attitude reference, the crew can use the spacecraft's other gyros (the BMAGs) and their associated Gyro Display Couplers as a reference. To align these, the spacecraft is rotated so as to place Sirius and Rigel against the telescope's graticule (or reticle) in a predeterMined fashion. If they were to do so, the spacecraft's attitude with respect to the desired REFSMMAT would be 122°, 354°, and 0° in roll, pitch and yaw respectively.
Additional notes from Fullerton are that no ullage burn is required to settle the contents of the propellant tanks because they are already full, the LM's mass 1s 36,312 pounds (16,471 kg), and should one of the SPS engine's two control banks not operate, the duration of the burn is estimated to last 13 seconds longer, at 6 Minutes, 51 seconds. The reason for this is that because the propellant would be passing through just one set of valves, the total flow rate to the injector would be slightly reduced.
087:38:18 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. Here's your readback. You've got Accept. It's LOI PAD, SPS/G&N; 66361; plus 1.21, Minus 0.12; 088:54:21.74; Minus 2798.8, plus 1044.9, Minus 0042.5; 000, 000, 000; 0170.1, plus 0052.5; 2987.7, 6:38, 2981.4; 45, 252.1, 13.5; rest of PAD is NA. Sirius and Rigel; 122; 354; 000. There's no ullage. LM weight, 36312; single-bank burn time, 6 plus 51.
087:39:28 Fullerton: Okay. That's a good readback.
Comm break.
087:41:06 Fullerton: It's your computer, America. You have a state vector, a Verb 66, and a target load. Go back to Block.
087:41:15 Cernan: Okay. It's in Block, Gordy. We're finishing up on the bottom of 3-79.
087:41:21 Fullerton: Okay.
087:41:25 Cernan: And back at this roll attitude, I've got the big old Moon again, and from where I sit, it looks like we're right on target. Fifty miles above target, I'd like to add.
087:41:43 Fullerton: Okay. That sounds good.
087:41:49 Cernan: The limb is, of course, still growing and a little more rapidly. And what I can see of the - of the limb that's not blocked out by the Sun, it's getting obviously much larger in the window.
087:42:09 Fullerton: Roger.
087:42:10 Cernan: Now I guess it depends on the shadowing of the Sun as to whether or not we're going to see too much. I think retrograde, we ought to see quite a bit once we get over the terMinator.
087:42:35 Cernan: Gordy, there's enough of the lighted portion of the Moon where you can see the relief - not just a shadowing relief, but the actual relief of several craters as they stretch across the terMinator, both to the north and to the south. I can see even more definite relief now on the horizon, just to the north and behind Korolev - on the black horizon against space.
087:43:06 Fullerton: Roger.
087:43:09 Cernan: The - the unlit part of the Moon, as you might expect, is just as dark from here as is deep space itself.
087:43:22 Fullerton: Roger.
087:43:23 Cernan: It's black, I might say at this point. [Long pause.]
087:43:57 Fullerton: America, Houston. For your information, your altitude is about 3,000 [nautical] miles [5,500 km] now.
087:44:06 Cernan: Okay, 3,000 miles. [Long pause.]
087:44:19 Cernan: Gordy, the - the limb has much more three-dimensional relief now. Towards us, you can - you can get the feeling that the horizon - the lighted portion of the horizon definitely does flow in our direction. And although you can't see the unlit portion of the Moon, you get a feeling that there's a great deal more of it a lot closer than that which you can see.
087:44:50 Fullerton: Roger.
087:45:52 Cernan: Okay, Gordy. The pre-SPS burn aim prep is complete.
087:45:57 Fullerton: Roger. [Long pause.]
087:46:19 Cernan: And I'm going to give my buddies a chance to look at it now.
087:46:23 Fullerton: Okay. [Long pause.]
087:47:06 Cernan: I never thought I'd see a geologist speechless at his first near - near shot at the Moon, but I haven't heard a word from him yet.
087:47:15 Fullerton: Roger.
087:47:19 Schmitt: This geologist turned engineer for about an hour.
087:47:33 Fullerton: He's probably speechless because there's no clouds to talk about. [Long pause.]
087:48:07 Cernan: Gordo, everything's looking good onboard. We're just waiting for about 88:05. We'll be in our maneuver at that time.
087:48:17 Fullerton: Okay. Everything looks good here also.
087:48:31 Cernan: Okay. And is your LOS of about 45 still good?
087:48:37 Fullerton: I'll doublecheck that.
Comm break.
087:50:13 Fullerton: America, the Flight Plan is correct on LOS. To be exact, it will be 88:43:40.
087:50:26 Cernan: 43:40. Thank you, Gordo. [Long pause.]
087:51:04 Cernan: If - if you guys could get an idea down there of the needle you're threading when you shoot for 50 miles at a quarter of million, you'd be mighty proud of yourselves, I'll tell you, we are.
Schmitt, from the Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal "Until I was going through my set of pictures, that I eventually gave to the University of New Mexico, and saw some pictures that Gene had taken, my memory was that we didn't see the Moon during the final approach. And I still don't have a personal recollection of looking at the illuMinated edge of the Moon. Not a strong one, anyway. But I think that's because Gene was in the seat to do that. We were not in barbecue. We were in the attitude-hold mode. And he was in the position to see it and I wasn't. I may have glanced at it once. In fact, the more I talk about it, the more I think I remember him saying 'Come over and look at this'. But, for a long time, I didn't have any recollection of seeing any part of an illuMinated Moon as we came in."
Cernan, from the Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal "Jack and Ron, never having had the opportunity to see what I saw on Apollo 10, can't appreciate the approach to the Moon that we had. I don't think anybody in any of the missions had this approach. I think everybody, starting with Apollo 8, went into darkness in the shadow of the Moon, and got on their back and, at a predeterMined time, fired the CSM engine - in darkness and upside down and going backwards - and then, all of a sudden - maybe five Minutes, maybe ten Minutes later - we'd come out of darkness at fifty miles or thereabouts above the surface and it's 'WOW! Look at those craters. There it is. Man.' It's just like instant sunlight and we're THERE! I mean, it's like we've been flying in the darkness to rendezvous with this thing we can't see [meaning the Moon] - and we know we're close because we're in the shadow - and all of a sudden, WHAM, someone turns the lights on. And then the next major thing is to come around and see the Earthrise. Now, on Apollo 17 - and nobody told me it was going to happen - we went through the darkness and came out into sunlight before we got to the Moon. And we were coMing in on this damn target and we were seeing, to start with, just a sliver, just a slice of the Moon. And then we started to see more of it as we snuck around behind it. And it's getting big so fast you can't believe it. And I'm telling you, you talk about rolling over on your back and making a dive bombing run at some point some 50 or 60 miles above the surface! That was the most spectacular entry into lunar orbit. And I don't think anyone appreciates it! Except me! I don't think any of the other flights ever saw that. And I don't think Jack and Ron appreciated because I've got a feeling they thought it was supposed to be like that all the time."
It is worth noting that the Flight Plan does not indicate that the spacecraft went into lunar shadow prior to LOI. After LOI, markings on the timeline show perios of darkness.
087:51:19 Fullerton: Roger. [Pause.]
087:51:28 Cernan: I guess I really ought to wait and tell you that at 89:16:29.
087:51:35 Fullerton: Roger.
087:52:38 Cernan: Hey, Gordy. Do you have any idea what our relative speed is to the - to the Moon at this time?
087:52:46 Fullerton: Yes. It's 5000 feet per second [1,500 m/s]. You're presently 2,660 [nautical] miles [4,930 km] up.
087:53:00 Cernan: Okay. [Long pause.]
087:53:15 Cernan: I assume T. P. is there, and I guess John is, too. I don't know if John saw this coMing in on 16, but I know they can recall what we saw leaving on 10. And other than the fact that you can't see as much of the Moon, it's just as impressive.
087:53:37 Fullerton: Roger. I was just talking to John about it a couple of Minutes ago. Their view on 16 was - they didn't have any sunlit Moon, but they did have some pretty good earthshine.
087:53:59 Cernan: Well, he - he knows what I'm talking about then.
Comm break.
087:56:59 Cernan: Gordy, it's an unbelievable view through the monocular now. You can really see down in the depths of some of the larger craters and with a great deal of clarity. And you can see the - some of the higher ridges actually rolling right over the horizon as they go away from you.
087:57:21 Fullerton: Roger, Geno. [Pause.]
088:05:31 Cernan: Hey, Houston. As much as I hate to, I think we're going to have to maneuver out of this attitude.
088:05:38 Fullerton: Roger. As you take your last look there, you're presently 20 - just a little over 2,000 [nautical] miles [3,700 km] up, and you're coMing down about 4,500 feet per second [1,400 m/s].
088:05:58 Cernan: Yes. You'd better believe that.
Long comm break.
088:09:32 Cernan: Gordo, there's only one better view than this.
088:09:37 Fullerton: What's that, Gene?
088:09:39 Cernan: Right at the moment anyway. Right at the moment anyway, is to be out there and watching this spacecraft maneuver in attitude and - and watch it burn over the lunar surface. I get the feeling someone is watching.
088:10:00 Fullerton: Roger.
Comm break.
088:11:06 Fullerton: Give us Omni Charlie, please.
Comm break.
088:13:24 Fullerton: Apollo 17, Houston. We just had a site handover. That's resulted in the LOS time changing 19 seconds. It's now 43:21.
Before one ground station disappears around the eastern limb of Earth, communications are handed over to another that has just appeared around the western limb. Therefore the line of sight to the ground station shits to the west by an angle that represents Earth's angular diameter. As they go around the Moon's western limb (as seen from Earth), they will lose line of sight to the western ground station 19 seconds earlier than they would have loss of signal with the more eastern site.
088:13:39 Cernan: Okay; 43:21, and we are - we're on Omni Charlie,
088:13:45 Fullerton: Roger.
088:13:51 Cernan: And just to round out things as we pitch back into LOI attitude, lo and behold from over the top of the LM came the Earth.
088:14:05 Fullerton: Very good.
088:14:09 Cernan: Got the whole thing in one big package. [Long pause.]
088:15:13 Cernan: Pretty interesting, Gordo. We can - we can see we're right over South America and, of course, we can see up the Gulf Coast. And it looks like Houston is covered with clouds, but poetically enough, we can see the Cape, at least we can see Florida.
088:15:31 Fullerton: How about that.
Long comm break.
088:17:05 - This is Apollo Control; 88 hours, 17 Minutes into the mission of Apollo 17. Some 26 Minutes now until Apollo 17 passes behind the Moon; coMing up on the Lunar Orbit Insertion burn in which the spacecraft will start its initial orbit measuring 52 nautical miles by 170 nautical miles [96 by 315 km], an elliptical orbit around the Moon. That maneuver will take place at a Ground Elapsed Time of 88 hours, 54 Minutes into the flight and will slow the spacecraft down considerably from its present velocity of some 5,700 feet per second [1,700 m/s]. Presently, the Apollo 17 spacecraft is 1,528 nautical miles [2,830 km] out from the Moon, approaching at 5,730 feet per second [1,747 km]. After the spacecraft passes behind the Moon, 25 Minutes from now, assuMing a successful Lunar Orbit Insertion burn, it should come from behind the east face of the Moon, the limb of the Moon, at approximately 33 Minutes later. It'll take a few moments for the ground stations to lock up on the downlink from the spacecraft even though the theoretical contact time is roughly 33 Minutes after Loss Of Signal. At 88 hours, 18 Minutes Ground Elapsed Time; this is Apollo Control.
088:19:03 Evans: Yes, a Verb 41 Noun 91. And I'm on Vox now. Get the commander's light. [Laughter.]
088:19:22 Fullerton: Ron, you're loud and clear on Vox.
088:19:27 Evans: Okay, Gordo. We're in attitude now.
088:19:31 Fullerton: Roger.
Comm break.
Evans being on Vox means that he is communicating via a voice-operated switch. Instead of having to press a button to speak to the ground, he merely has to speak. A problem with Vox is that there can ve a delay for the switch to operate, causing the start of an utterance to be clipped.
088:20:47 Evans: Okay, Houston. The star sextant check is Go. We've got it in the sextant.
088:20:53 Fullerton: Roger.
Comm break.
088:22:06 Evans: Okay. Okay. Let's go ahead and go and do the P40; 22 - about...
P40 is a program to control the SPS for the upcoMing burn.
088:22:15 Cernan: How many?
088:22:15 Evans: ...about 20 Minutes. Well, it looks like it's going pretty close to where we want to be anyhow.
088:23:07 Evans: Okay - okay.
Comm break.
088:24:16 Evans: [Garble] back the other way.
088:24:24 Cernan: Okay, Gordo. We're standing by in P40.
088:24:31 Fullerton: Roger. We're watching you.
088:24:38 Cernan: Okay. Everything is checking out good onboard.
088:24:43 Fullerton: Roger.
088:24:48 Evans: Okay. Let's go over the cue cards. Okay. Delta-V check's complete. Set the Delta-V 2981.4. Okay. We have the pre-Delta-V in standby. And the SIM bay's been checked, Jack?
The figure of 2981.4 is being entered into the EMS Delta-V counter as a backup method of shutting down the engine at the end of the burn.
088:25:26 Schmitt: Yes, it's been checked.
088:25:28 Evans: Okay. We're in Rate 2 on the BMAGs. Okay, no trim. We'll just leave 12 of them On then. I've checked the DAP. Yes. Yes. Check it again. Yes. B/D - B/D Roll. Get it? That's good. Plus 1.21 and Minus 0.12.
088:26:40 Evans: Okay. The DAP is loaded.
088:26:41 Cernan: Okay, Houston. The DAP looks good.
088:26:44 Fullerton: Roger.
088:26:48 Evans: Okay. We're CMC and Auto. And we're at the PAD attitude now. Okay. Boresight sextant star check is complete. Yes, I did it once. Let's try it again. It kind of drifts quite a bit.
088:27:25 Evans: Okay. The old GDC is aligned.
The Gyro Display Couplers, which translate the outputs of the Body Mounted Attitude Gyros to a measure of spacecraft attitude, have their notion of what the current attitude actually is by a press of the GDC Align button. This updates the GDCs with attitude information from the far more stable IMU. As Ron mentions, the GDCs drift a lot.
088:27:31 Evans: Okay. Direct Ullage breakers are going In. Pitch 1. Yaw 1. Main A circuit breakers are In. The rest of them are all In.
088:27:49 Evans: DAP control and SPS are all Closed.
088:27:54 Evans: Okay. We have three of them in Rate Command. That looks like about Dead Band, Rate to Low.
088:28:20 Evans: SCS TVC is in Rate Command.
088:28:27 Evans: Okay. CG is in LM/CSM.
088:28:31 Evans: Gimbal Drive: Pitch 1, Yaw 1, Auto. Pitch and Yaw in Auto.
088:28:43 Cernan: Okay, Gordo. We're down to 6 Minutes in the checklist.
088:28:46 Fullerton: Roger, Gene. [Long pause.]
088:29:18 Evans: Okay. [Long pause.]
088:30:14 Evans: Okay. [Long pause.]
088:30:27 Evans: Okay. [Long pause.]
088:30:43 Evans: Okay. We keep tight limits, though, to 1 plus 10, huh? Okay. Here we go; 25 - 25 21. BR. That's not it. Getting tight - tight lim - 340. Yes.
088:31:29 Evans: 06:38. Single-bank burn time is 06:51. I'll start on Bank A first. That - that means we may get a chug when we start on Bank B.
Firing the engine using two control banks rather than one means that propellant is flowing to the injector via two sets of valves. This increases the flow rate of propellant by a small degree, slightly raising the thrust.
088:31:58 Evans: Yes, but if - Okay. [Long pause.]
088:32:37 Evans: Oh, my scissors flew up and disappeared somewhere. I'll have a hard time eating if you guys take all the scissors with you.
088:32:57 Evans: But my teeth are pretty good though.
088:33:33 Evans: Okay. [Long pause.]
088:33:54 Evans: That's unless you start - start an hour and 20 Minutes late, and then it's burn time plus 5.
088:34:13 Evans: Okay. [Pause.]
088:34:22 Evans: Okay. [Long pause.]
088:34:44 Fullerton: Apollo 17, Houston. If - if you three are interested in sticking around awhile, you have our Go for LOI.
088:34:54 Cernan: Roger, Houston. Understand. America is Go for LOI. And let it be known that the crew of America is Go for LOI.
088:35:06 Fullerton: Roger that.
088:35:20 Evans: I'm kind of worried about this camera back here. It might come banging down.
Comm break.
088:36:37 Evans: [Laughter ] Yes. Yes.
088:36:52 Evans: [Humming]
088:37:00 Evans: Okay [garble]. [Long pause.]
088:37:53 Evans: Okay. Panel 8 looks good.
088:38:03 Evans: Okay. We're 5/1, 1/2, CMC, GDC. Command, Rate Command, Rate Command.
088:38:11 Evans: LIMIT CYCLE is Off. Dead Band, Min. Rate to Low. Trans Control Power is Off.
088:38:15 Evans: A - AC Directs are Off CMC in Auto, Rate 2, Rate 2, Rate 2.
088:38:24 Evans: TVC is Rate Command. Gimbal Motors are Off.
088:38:28 Evans: LM/CSM, ELS is Auto - I mean the ELS is Manual.
088:38:33 Evans: RCS Logic is Off. Roll is Off. 0.05G. AC and GPI.
088:38:41 Evans: Gimbal Drives in Auto. Everything looks good.
088:38:58 Evans: [Humming]
Comm break.
088:40:08 Evans: [Humming]
088:41:32 Schmitt: Four Minutes - a little better.
088:41:38 Cernan: Hello, Gordy. As we approach LOS, we've still got America out the view of the hatch window. We'll see you at 89:16:29.
088:42:07 Fullerton: Okay, Gene. About 1 Minute left until LOS. You have our wishes for a good burn.
088:42:17 Cernan: Thank you, sir. We shall have one. [Long pause.]
088:42:32 Evans: Okay. [Long pause.]
088:42:55 Cernan: And, Gordy, I assure you we will be out at 16:40.
088:43:01 Fullerton: Very good.
088:43:38 - This is Apollo Control at 88 hours, 43 minutes into the mission of Apollo 17. We have had Loss Of Signal as Apollo 17 coasted behind the Moon on the start of the first lunar orbit. 10 minutes and 28 seconds away from Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuver, a retrograde Service Propulsion System burn of some 2,988 feet per second [911 m/s]. Assuming a successful burn, the spacecraft should come out from behind the Moon at 89:16:29 Ground Elapsed Time, as Gene Cernan promised it would before they went behind the Moon. At Loss Of Signal, the spacecraft was some 395 [nautical] miles [732 km] above the surface of the Moon, traveling at a velocity of 7,241 feet per second [2,207 m/s]. 9 minutes and 30 seconds, Mark, until LOI ignition. At 88:44, and returning just before Acquisition Of Signal as Apollo 17 comes from behind the Moon, this is Apollo Control.
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