Snoopy and Charlie Brown Are Hugging Each Other in Apollo 10 Docking

Summary: Snoopy and Charlie Brown are hugging each other in the Apollo 10 docking success confirmation given by Mission Commander Thomas Stafford.

The Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) in Mission Control Center (MCC), Building 30, celebrates successful docking of Command Module Charlie Brown and Lunar Module Snoopy with cartoon of Snoopy giving Charlie Brown a congratulatory kiss and praise, ‘On target, Charlie Brown!’ Note replicas of Snoopy, in a spacesuit, and Charlie Brown on console, second row (right center); Friday, May 23, 1969; NASA ID S69-34877: John Uri, "50 Years Ago: Charlie Brown and Snoopy in Lunar Orbit," NASA image article, May 21, 2019, Generally not subject to copyright in the United States, via NASA

Snoopy and Charlie Brown are hugging each other in the Apollo 10 docking success assurance reported to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Mission Control Center (MCC) by Mission Commander Thomas Stafford.

Commander Thomas Patten Stafford (born Sept. 17, 1930), Command Module Pilot (CMP) John Watts Young (born Sept. 24, 1930) and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Eugene Andrew Cernan (born March 14, 1934) named their spacecraft after characters in the Peanuts comic strip created by Charles Monroe “Sparky” Schulz (Nov. 26, 1922-Feb. 12, 2000). Command and Service Module (CSM)-106 received the call sign of Charlie Brown. Lunar Module (LM)-4 was named Snoopy.

Apollo 10 launched Sunday, May 18, 1969, at 16:49:00 Greenwich Mean Time/Coordinated Universal Time (11:49 p.m. Eastern Standard Time; 12:49 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time) from the John F. Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Launch Pad 39-B in central Florida. The Apollo space program’s fourth crewed mission was designed as a “dress rehearsal,” without the lunar landing, for the first lunar landing mission, Apollo 11.

The Apollo 10 Press Kit, released Wednesday, May 7, 1969, described the lunar orbit mission as marking the first lunar flight of the complete Apollo spacecraft. The Press Kit explained: “Following closely the time line and trajectory to be flown on Apollo 11, Apollo 10 will include an eight-hour sequence of lunar module (LM) undocked activities during which the commander and LM pilot will descend to within eight nautical miles of the lunar surface and later rejoin the command/service module (CSM) in a 60-nautical-mile circular orbit” (page 1).

Command Module Charlie Brown and Lunar Module Snoopy undocked Thursday, May 22, at 19:00:57 GMT/UTC (2 p.m. EST, 3 p.m. EDT). The undocking occurred 98 hours 11 minutes 57 seconds (098:11:57 Ground Elapsed Time GET) after liftoff. Commander Stafford occupied Lunar Module Snoopy with the lander spacecraft’s pilot, Eugene Cernan, while John Young, as Charlie Brown’s pilot, remained in the command module.

Four and one-half hours later, at 23:34:16 GMT/UTC (6:34 p.m. EST, 7:34 p.m. EDT; 102:45:16.9 GET), Lunar Module Snoopy’s ascent and descent stages were separated. The jettison placed the descent stage into a lunar orbit aimed at eventual impact on the lunar surface.

Rendezvous maneuvers brought the Snoopy’s ascent stage and Charlie Brown’s command module into alignment for docking. Docking occurred Friday, May 23, at 03:11:02 GMT/UTC (Thursday, May 22, at 10:11 p.m. EST, 11:11 p.m. EDT; 106:22:02 GET).

Commander Stafford descriptively affirmed the successful docking for Mission Control Center. “Hello, Houston. Snoopy and Charlie Brown are hugging each other,” he announced.

Twenty-four seconds later, the commander complimented John Young’s control of CM Charlie Brown during the docking. “Okay, John,” he said, “That was beautiful. Just beautiful, babe.” (Apollo 10 PAO Mission Commentary Transcript: page 383).

The three astronauts revisited Snoopy and Charlie Brown’s successful hug during their crew debriefing, conducted Monday, June 2. Lunar Module Snoopy Pilot Cernan recalled: “We were just partying.”

Commander Stafford noted: “Then John damped the maneuver. A loud ripple bang was heard as the latches latched.”

Command Module Charlie Brown Pilot Young mused: “A sigh of relief was given by all” (Apollo 10 Technical Crew Debriefing, 9-47).

The Apollo modules were constructed with a probe and drogue system. Docking required alignment of the command module’s docking probe with the lunar module’s drogue. The devices were mounted in the modules’ docking tunnels. Initial soft contact between the two modules was achieved by extending three capture latches in the CM probe’s tip to engage in a hole at the drogue’s bottom. The command module pilot brought the modules together by retracting the probe. Engaging the lunar module’s docking tunnel with the command modules 12 docking latches effected a hard dock.

The takeaway for Snoopy and Charlie Brown hugging each other in the Apollo 10 docking of the lunar module with the command module after the lunar module’s lunar surface orbits is that the Apollo 10 astronauts smoothly and successfully performed the crucial maneuver in the mission’s “dress rehearsal” for the subsequent lunar-landing mission, Apollo 11.

artist concept of Lunar Module ascent stage docked to Command/Service Module; LM ascent stage had left lunar surface for rendezvous with Command/Service Module (CSM); Dec. 1, 1966; NASA ID S66-11007; S66-05105; File Name 10074639: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Science, Technology and Engineering website

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) in Mission Control Center (MCC), Building 30, celebrates successful docking of Command Module Charlie Brown and Lunar Module Snoopy with cartoon of Snoopy giving Charlie Brown a congratulatory kiss and praise, ‘On target, Charlie Brown!’ Note replicas of Snoopy, in a spacesuit, and Charlie Brown on console, second row (right center); Friday, May 23, 1969; NASA ID S69-34877: John Uri, "50 Years Ago: Charlie Brown and Snoopy in Lunar Orbit," NASA image article, May 21, 2019, Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA @ https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-charlie-brown-and-snoopy-in-lunar-orbit

artist concept of Lunar Module ascent stage docked to Command/Service Module; LM ascent stage had left lunar surface for rendezvous with Command/Service Module (CSM); Dec. 1, 1966; NASA ID S66-11007; S66-05105; File Name 10074639: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Science, Technology and Engineering website @ https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/APOLL_OV/10074639.jpg

For further information:

Cernan, Eugene. The Last Man on the Moon: Eugene Cernan and America’s Race in Space. New York NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1999.

Dunbar, Brian; and Kathleen Zona, ed. “Snoopy Soars With NASA at Charles Schulz Museum.” NASA > News & Features > News Topics > NASA History & People. Jan. 5, 2009.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/snoopy.html

Godwin, Robert, comp. and ed. Apollo 10: The NASA Mission Reports. Second edition. Burlington, Canada: Apogee Books, 2000.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Jettisoned LM Snoopy Descent Stage Appeared Near Taruntius Crater.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 11, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/05/jettisoned-lm-snoopy-descent-stage.html

NASA JSC Web Team. “Apollo: 1963-1972.” NASA JSC (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center) History Portal. Updated July 16, 2010.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/apollo.htm

NASA JSC Web Team. “ASTP Documents and Transcripts.” NASA JSC (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center) History Portal. Updated July 16, 2010.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/apollo.htm

NASA JSC Web. “Mission Transcripts: Apollo 10.” NASA JSC (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center) History Portal. Updated July 16, 2010.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/apollo10.htm

NASA JSC Web. “Mission Transcripts: Gemini VI.” NASA JSC (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center) History Portal. Updated July 16, 2010.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/gemini6.htm

NASA JSC Web. “Mission Transcripts: Gemini VI.” NASA JSC (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center) History Portal. Updated July 16, 2010.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/gemini9.htm

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. “11.3 Photographic Results.” Apollo 10 Mission Report: 11.3-11.5. MSC-00126. Houston TX: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Manned Spacecraft Center, August 1969.
Available @ https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a410/A10_MissionReport.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 10 Mission (AS-505) Post Launch Mission Operation Report No. 1. Report No. M-932-69-10. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, May 26, 1969.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/pdf/a10-postlaunch-rep.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 10 Mission Report. MSC-00126. Houston TX: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Manned Spacecraft Center, August 1969.
Available @ https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a410/A10_MissionReport.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 10 Press Kit. Release no. 69-68. May 7, 1969. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1969.
Available @ https://www.history.nasa.gov/alsj/a410/A10_PressKit.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 10 Technical Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription (Goss Net 1). Prepared for Data Logistics Office Test Division Apollo Spacecraft Program Office. Houston TX: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Manned Spacecraft Center, May 1969.
Available via Johnson Space Center (JSC) History Portal @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/AS10_TEC.PDF

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 10 Technical Crew Debriefing. Prepared by Mission Operations Branch Flight Crew Support Division. Houston TX: Manned Spacecraft Center, June 2, 1969.
Available via NASA History-Apollo Flight Journal @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/pdf/a10-tech-crew-debrief.pdf

Orloff, Richard W. “Apollo 10 The Fourth Mission: Testing the LM in Lunar Orbit.” Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference: 71-88. NASA History Series. NASA SP 4029. Washington DC: NASA Headquarters Office of Policy and Plans, 2000.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029.pdf

Shepard, Alan; Deke Slayton; Jay Barbree; and Howard Benedict. Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon. Atlanta GA: Turner Publishing Inc., 1994.

Slayton, Donald K.; and Michael Cassutt. Deke! U.S. Manned Space: From Mercury to the Shuttle. New York NY: Forge Books, 1994.

Woods, W. David; Robin Wheeler; and Ian Roberts. “Apollo 10 Image Library.” NASA History > Apollo Flight Journal > The Apollo 10 Flight Journal. 2011.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-image-library.html

Woods, W. David; Robin Wheeler; and Ian Roberts. “Apollo 10 Mission Documents.” NASA History > Apollo Flight Journal > The Apollo 10 Flight Journal. 2011.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-documents.html