Earth and Space News: Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy

Showing posts with label Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy Was Placed in Solar Orbit May 23, 1969

Summary: Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy was placed in solar orbit May 23, 1969, about two and one-half hours after docking with Command Module Charlie Brown.

Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy was placed in solar orbit May 23, 1969, approximately two and one-half hours after its docking with Command Module Charlie Brown.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo 10 Press Kit, released May 7, 1969, described the Apollo human spaceflight program’s lunar module as “a two-stage vehicle designed for space operations near and on the Moon” (page 42). The module stood with a height of 22 feet 11 inches and a width of 31 feet. The module’s ascent stage measured 12 feet 4 inches in height and 14 feet 1 inch in diameter. The descent stage’s dimensions were a height of 10 feet 7 inches and a diameter of one inch. The lunar module was built by NASA contractor Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in Bethpage, New York.

The lunar module’s spaceflight was a one-way trip. Neither of the module’s two stages was designed for a return to Earth. The Press Kit stated: “The LM is incapable of reentering the atmosphere.”

Apollo 10 was commanded by Thomas Patten Stafford (born Sept. 17, 1930), who was joined by John Watts Young (born Sept. 24, 1930) and Eugene Andrew Cernan (born March 14, 1934) as Command Module Pilot (CMP) and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP), respectively.

The mission’s three astronauts assigned the call sign of Snoopy to the lunar module. They selected Charlie Brown as the command module’s identifier.

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) as a lunar-orbital mission. Apollo 10 was designed as a dress rehearsal, absent a lunar landing, for Apollo 11, slated for launch in mid-July.

The Apollo 10 mission objectives required undocking of Apollo Lunar Module LM-4 from the Apollo Command and Service Module CSM-106 approximately 22 hours after the spacecraft’s insertion into lunar orbit. The 356.1-second, orbital-insertion maneuver began Wednesday, May 21, at 20:44:54 GMT/UTC (3:44 p.m. EST, 4:44 p.m. EDT). The firing of the service module’s propulsion engine cut off at 20:50:50 GMT/UTC (3:50 p.m. EST, 4:50 p.m. EDT).

The lunar module undocked from the command module Thursday, May 22, at 19:00:57 GMT/UTC (2 p.m. EST, 3 p.m. EDT). The Ground Elapsed Time (GET) was 98 hours 11 minutes 57 seconds (098:11:57) after Range Zero, the integral second before liftoff.

At 23:34:16 GMT/UTC (6:34 p.m. EST, 7:34 p.m. EDT; 102:45:16.9 GET), the ascent stage separated from the descent stage. The separation occurred at an altitude of 31.4 nautical miles above the lunar surface, according to freelance space writer Richard W. Orloff’s NASA-published Apollo by the Numbers (2000: page 76).

The ascent propulsion system (APS) began a 15.55-second firing at 23:44:02 GMT/UTC (6:44:02 p.m. EST, 7:44:02 p.m. EDT; 102:55:02.13 GET) to place the module’s ascent stage into an orbit with pericynthion, or nearest point to the lunar surface, at 46.5 nautical miles and apocynthion, or farthest point from the lunar surface, at 11.0 nautical miles. The ascent stage’s orbital insertion firing cut off at 23:44:17 GMT/UTC (6:44:17 p.m. EST, 7:44:17 p.m. EDT; 102:55:17.68 GET).

Lunar module ascent stage Snoopy docked with Command Module Charlie Brown on 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). Docking occurred at an altitude of 54.7 nautical miles, according to Orloff’s Apollo by the Numbers (page 77).

Closeout activities for Lunar Module Snoopy began Friday, May 23, at 03:31 GMT/UTC (Thursday, May 22, at 10:31 p.m. EST, 11:31 p.m. EDT; 107:20 GET). NASA’s Apollo 10 Mission Report, released August 1969, noted the “restowage of lunar module equipment for final jettison” and stowage of “debris, such as used food containers and other disposable items, that had collected in the command module over the 4-day period” inside Lunar Module Snoopy (9.9.8: page 9-19).

The ascent stage’s jettison occurred Friday, May 23, at 05:13:36 GMT/UTC (12:13 a.m. EST, 1:13 a.m. EDT; 108:24:36 GET). The ascent propulsion system’s (APS) firing to propellant depletion, which aimed to place LM Snoopy into a solar orbit, began at 05:41:05 GMT/UTC (12:41 a.m. EST, 1:41 a.m. EDT; 108:52:05.5 GET). The depletion burn was completed 249.0 seconds later, at 05:45:14 GMT/UTC (12:45 a.m. EST, 1:45 a.m. EDT; 108:56:14.5 GET).

NASA’s Apollo 10 Mission Post Launch Mission Operation Report No. 1, released May 26, 1969, noted, after the ascent stage’s jettison, that: “The crew visually acquired the LM descent stage on several occasions” (page 5).

The Mission Report described the crew’s last view of Lunar Module Snoopy. “Sequence films were made of separation, but after approximately 13 frames the lunar module disappeared into the sunlight and was only seen momentarily during the depletion firing” (9.9.8: page 9-19).

The Post Launch Mission Operation Report stated that Snoopy was tracked via the Manned Space Flight Network (MSFN) for “about 12 hours” after separation from Charlie Brown. “LM/MSFN communications were maintained until LM ascent stage battery depletion at about 120 hours GET.”

The takeaway for Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy’s placement in solar orbit May 23, 1969, is that the Apollo 10 spacecraft’s ascent stage may still be circling the sun while the descent stage’s lunar orbit likely ended in a lunar surface impact.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

With its descent stage already jettisoned, Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy’s ascent stage approaches Command Module Charlie Brown, with lunar eastern limb (about 120 degrees east longitude) in background; red/blue diagonal line is the command module’s window; photograph by Command Module Pilot (CMP) John Young, Thursday, May 22, 1969; NASA image AS10-34-5112: 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 Image and Digital Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-as10-34-5112

Lunar Module 4, known in spaceflight as Snoopy, is being moved into position, Monday, Jan. 13, 1969, for mating with the Spacecraft Lunar Module Adapter (SLA) 13 in the John F. Kennedy Space Center’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB); NASA ID S69-17807: 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 Image and Digital Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-S69-17807

For further information:

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

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

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

Dunbar, Brian; and Robert Garner, ed. “Map of Past Lunar Landing Sites.” NASA > Missions > LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter > News and Media Resources. May 13, 2009.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/moonimg_07.html

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

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 10 Imaged Near Side’s Schmidt Crater During May 1969 Lunar Orbit.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 21, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/05/apollo-10-imaged-near-sides-schmidt.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 10 Imaged Near Side’s Triesnecker Crater During Lunar Orbit.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 14, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/05/apollo-10-imaged-near-sides-triesnecker.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy Passed 47,400 Feet Above Apollo 11 Site.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 28, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/05/apollo-10s-lunar-module-snoopy-passed.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 10 Service Module Returned to Earth Instead of Orbiting the Sun.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 11, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/06/apollo-10-service-module-returned-to.html

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

Marriner, Derdriu. “London Science Museum Displays Apollo 10 Command Module Charlie Brown.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 4, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/06/london-science-museum-displays-apollo.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Nick Howes and Faulkes Telescope Project Seek Lost Apollo 10 LM Snoopy.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/09/nick-howes-and-faulkes-telescope.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Nick Howes Considers Possible Orbits for Apollo 10 Lunar Module Snoopy." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/nick-howes-considers-possible-orbits_14.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Snoopy and Charlie Brown Are Hugging Each Other in Apollo 10 Docking.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 18, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/05/snoopy-and-charlie-brown-are-hugging.html

McKinnon, Mika. “Snoopy the Astrobeagle, NASA’s Mascot for Safety.” Gizmodo > Animals. April 30, 2014.
Available @ https://gizmodo.com/snoopy-the-astrobeagle-nasas-mascot-for-safety-1570066950

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

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

Pearlman, Robert Z. “The Search for ‘Snoopy’: Astronomers & Students Hunt for NASA’s Lost Apollo 10 Module.” Space.com > Spaceflight. Sept. 20, 2011.
Available @ https://www.space.com/13010-snoopy-nasa-lost-apollo-10-lunar-module-search.html

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.

Stafford, Thomas P.; and Michael Cassutt. We Have Capture: Tom Stafford and the Space Race. Washington DC: Smithsonian Books, 2002.

Stanley, Will. “The Last Man on the Moon.” Science Museum Blog. Sept. 24, 2013.
Available @ https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/the-last-man-on-the-moon/

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

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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 Mission Documents.” NASA History > Apollo Flight Journal > The Apollo 10 Flight Journal. 2011.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-documents.html