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HT This Day: Dec 8, 1972 -- Apollo-17 streaks towards moon
The men of Apollo-17 streaked towards the moon today, leaving behind the cares of a cranky computer that delayed their journey for nearly three hours.
The men of Apollo-17 streaked towards the moon today, leaving behind the cares of a cranky computer that delayed their journey for nearly three hours.
The astronauts freed their command ship at 15-50 hrs IST from the third-stage rocket called the S 4B. They then turned their cone-shaped craft and linked its pointed nose with the lunar module, which was still nested in the S4B.
After securing three latches which had earlier failed to engage properly, the astronauts activated a spring system which ejected the combined command ship. America and lunar module. Challenger, from the S4B.
The S4B’s spent rocket stage was manoeuvred away from the command ship and then ordered by radio signals to vent its remaining oxygen and hydrogen.
The venting sent the rocket hull speeding away, towards the moon. The S4B will crash into the lunar surface on Sunday, causing seismic waves that will excite Instruments left on the moon by previous Apollo missions. By interpreting signals from the instruments, scientists can study the structure of the moon’s Interior.
The astronauts ended their long work day at about 20 hrs IST when they started a rest period of about six hours.
The caution and warning system which had been giving frequent false alarms was turned off for the rest period.
Cernan told mission control he would sleep wearing a communication head set so that he could be awakened in the event a genuine emergency arose. The spacecraft’s complex communication system allows mission control to monitor the condition of all of the systems on the moon ship.
As the crew began the rest period, their craft was about 75,200 km from earth and was speeding towards the moon at 10,260 km per hour. The moon at that time was about 320,000 km away.
AFP adds: Following its delayed takeoff from Cape Kennedy today, Apollo 17 will take a “shortcut” to the moon to arrive in the Taurus Littrow zone on its original estimated time.
Computers at the Houston Space Centre were modifying timings, courses and distances for the new flight plan and although it was reported they had not yet added up all their “sums”, it was indicated that the Challenger module would land on the original estimated time of arrival at 1-25 a.m. IST. Dec. 12.
The last flight of the historic Apollo series began at 11-30 a.m. IST as a thundering Saturn 5 rocket thrust Navy Capt. Eugene Cernan, geologist Harrison Schmitt and Navy Cmdr Ronald Evans on a scientific expedition to try to fill in missing chapters of lunar history.
President Nixon sent a message of good wishes to the Apollo astronauts and said he was sure the voyage would be the crowning achievement in a programme that had expanded man’s horizons.
