NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Apollo 4

Apollo 4 was the first unmanned flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle. It was also the first flight of the S-IC and S-II stages of the rocket. Apollo program insignia. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, also sometimes referred to as Zulu time or Z, is an atomic realization of Universal Time (UT) or Greenwich Mean Time, the astronomical basis for civil time. ... Merritt Island and Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA space vehicle launch facility (spaceport) at Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Unmanned space missions are those using remote-controlled spacecraft. ... The Saturn V (popularly known as the Moon Rocket) was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASAs Apollo and Skylab programs. ... The S-IC was the first stage of the Saturn V rocket. ... The S-II was the second stage of the Saturn V rocket. ...

Objectives

This was the first flight of the Saturn V, the largest launch vehicle ever constructed. It was also the first launch from Launch complex 39 specifically built for the Saturn V. As well as being the first launch of the S-IC first stage and S-II second stage, it would also be the first time that the S-IVB third stage had been restarted in Earth orbit and the first time that the Apollo spacecraft had reentered the Earth's atmosphere at speeds approaching those of a lunar return trajectory. Because of all these firsts there were 4,098 measuring instruments on board the rocket and spacecraft. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (576x800, 103 KB)Official NASA description of the image: Early morning view on November 9, 1967 of Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, showing Apollo 4 Saturn V (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) prior to launch later that day. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (576x800, 103 KB)Official NASA description of the image: Early morning view on November 9, 1967 of Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, showing Apollo 4 Saturn V (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) prior to launch later that day. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Launch Complex Plan - 1963 Launch Complex 39A Launch Complex 39B with Discovery shuttle Launch Complex 39 actually refers to LC39A and LC39B at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA, which are currently launch pads for the space shuttle. ... The S-IVB (sometimes S4b) was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine. ...

This would be the first test of the all-up doctrine. It had been decided in 1963 that instead of testing each component of the rocket separately like had been done by Wernher von Braun in Germany during World War II, the rocket would be tested all at once. This cut down the total number of tests, as needed to accomplish former president Kennedy's stated goal of a manned lunar landing before 1970, but it meant that everything had to work properly the first time. Apollo program managers had misgivings about all-up testing but agreed to it with some reluctance since individual component tests would inevitably push the landing mission past the 1970 goal. (References: "Dr. Space" (biography of von Braun), by Bob Ward; "First Man" (biography of Neil Armstrong) by James R. Hansen). Wernher von Braun stands at his desk in the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama in May 1964, with models of rockets developed and in progress. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII or World War Two), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 â€“ November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ...

There were two main payloads on board. CSM-017 was a production model of the spacecraft that would take the astronauts to the moon. It was a Block I spacecraft meant for testing the systems, and not the Block II spacecraft that would be actually manned. However it did feature some Block II items such as an improved heatshield and a new hatch. The other payload was LTA-10R which was a model of the Lunar Module carried as ballast but with the same mass distribution as the real thing.

The pieces arrive

The first piece of the Apollo 4 to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center was the third stage. This was built by Douglas Aircraft Company and was small enough to be transported by plane, though it was no ordinary plane, being an Aero Spacelines, Inc. Pregnant Guppy. The other stages were much larger and had to travel by barge, with the first stage arriving next from Boeing Company at Michoud, Louisiana along the Banana River. The second stage was late in arriving but the rocket was still erected in the Vertical Assembly Building, using a huge barbell shaped spool in the place of the second stage. Download high resolution version (570x720, 89 KB)The Apollo 4 Instrument unit for a Saturn V http://history. ... Download high resolution version (570x720, 89 KB)The Apollo 4 Instrument unit for a Saturn V http://history. ... Diagram of Saturn V Instrument Unit. ... Merritt Island and Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA space vehicle launch facility (spaceport) at Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. ... The Douglas Aircraft Company was founded by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. ... Aero Spacelines, Inc. ... Pregnant Guppy ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is a leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with its largest production facilities near Seattle, Washington. ... Michoud is a area in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana, located at latitude 30. ...

The Command and Service Module (CSM) arrived at the Cape on Christmas Eve 1966. And the second stage arrived 12 January 1967. Only 2 weeks later the fire in the Apollo 1 spacecraft occurred pushing all the schedules back. An inspection of wiring in the CSM found 1,407 problems. The Christmas Eve (1904-05), watercolor painting by the Swedish painter Carl Larsson (1853-1919) Christmas Eve, December 24, the day before Christmas Day, is treated to a greater or a lesser extent in most Christian societies as part of the Christmas festivities. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-BÃ©del Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Apollo One is the name given to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft after it was destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 atop a Saturn IB rocket. ...

The stacking of the S-II took place on 23 February. This was a precision process; supposedly the crane operators could conceivably "lower the crane hook on top of an egg without breaking the shell". The piece had to be unstacked after hairline cracks were found in another S-II. Inspection found nothing wrong with the Apollo 4 stage. The CSM was finally ready as well and on 20 June it was mated to the rocket and the whole launch vehicle rolled out of the VAB on 26 August - six months after the originally scheduled launch date. February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ...

Download high resolution version (798x1024, 158 KB)Launch of Apollo 4 http://www. ... Download high resolution version (798x1024, 158 KB)Launch of Apollo 4 http://www. ...

Flight

After a testing regime that lasted two months the rocket was finally ready for launch. The propellant started being loaded on 6 November. In total there was 89 trailer-truck loads of LOX (liquid oxygen), 28 trailer loads of LH2 (liquid hydrogen), and 27 rail cars of RP-1 (refined kerosene). November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... Lox can stand for any of several things: Lox (salmon) - a type of salmon produce LOx (oxidizer) - liquid oxygen used as oxidizer in aerospace The Lox - was a Yonkers, NY-based rap trio This is a disambiguation page â€” a list of articles associated with the same title. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... LH2 is an acronym used in the aerospace industry, which stands for liquid hydrogen. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... RP-1 (refined petroleum) is a highly refined form of kerosene similar to jet fuel, used in the United States as a rocket fuel. ... Russian kerosene lamp Kerosene or paraffin oil (British English, not to be confused with the waxy solid also called paraffin) is a colorless flammable hydrocarbon liquid. ...

Although it had been known that the launch would be a sight, what happened was unexpected. The ceiling tiles in CBS newsroom that had been constructed at the Cape for the launch started to fall around Walter Cronkite. Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. ...

The launch was absolutely perfect and placed the S-IVB and CSM into a 185 kilometer orbit. After two orbits of the Earth, the S-IVB reignited for the first time in Earth orbit to put the spacecraft into an elliptical orbit with an apogee of more than 17,000 kilometers. The CSM then fired its own engine to send it out to 18,000 kilometers. Once it had passed the farthest point from Earth, the Service Module engine fired once again to increase the speed of the spacecraft to 40,000 km/h when it reentered the atmosphere.

It landed 16 km from the target landing site but its descent was visible from the deck of the USS Bennington, the prime recovery vessel. The second USS Bennington (CV-20) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. ...

Cameras

Often during documentaries, footage is needed of a Saturn V launch. One of the most used pieces shows the interstage between the first and second stages falling away. Often this is attributed to the Apollo 11 mission, when in fact it was filmed on the flights of Apollo 4 and Apollo 6. Footage from Apollo 4 is even seen in the Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth." Apollo 11 was an American space mission, part of the Apollo program and the first manned mission to land on the Moon. ... Apollo 6, launched in April 1968, was the Apollo programs second and last unmanned test flight of its Saturn V launch vehicle. ... Assignment: Earth is a second season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. ...

The cameras filmed at high speeds causing the slow motion look of the sequence when seen in a documentary. The camera capsules were jettisoned soon after the first stage separation and though at about 200,000 feet in altitude, were still below orbital velocity. They then reentered the atmosphere and parachuted to the ocean where they floated waiting for recovery. Both S-II cameras from Apollo 4 were recovered so that there is footage from both sides of the vehicle. The worlds oceans as seen from the South Pacific Ocean (from Okeanos, Greek for river, the ancient Greeks noticed that a strong current flowed off Gibraltar, and assumed it was a great river); covers almost three quarters (71%) of the surface of the Earth, and nearly half of the...

Capsule location

The Command Module is on display at the NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. NASA logo Listen to this article Â· (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... The John C. Stennis Space Center (or SSC), located in Hancock County, Mississippi at the Mississippi/Louisiana border, is NASAs largest rocket engine test facility. ... Bay Saint Louis is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

External links

Categories: Apollo program | 1967 in the United States Apollo Program insignia Project Apollo was a series of human spaceflight missions undertaken by the United States of America using the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn launch vehicle, conducted during the years 1961â€“1972. ... Apollo program insignia. ... AS-202 (or SA-202) was a sub-orbital test flight of the Saturn IB and Command and Service Module. ... Apollo One is the name given to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft after it was destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 atop a Saturn IB rocket. ... Apollo 5 was the first unmanned flight of the Apollo Lunar Module that landed man on the Moon. ...

Encyclopedia > Apollo 4

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