NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Apollo 6

Apollo 6, launched in April 1968, was the Apollo program's second and last unmanned test flight of its Saturn V launch vehicle. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (606x608, 438 KB)Apollo program insignia, cropped white spaces around image. ... For the moon designated Saturn V, see Rhea. ... Cape Canaveral from space, August 1991 Cape Canaveral (Cabo CaÃ±averal in Spanish) is a strip of land in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of that states Atlantic coast. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a high-precison atomic time standard. ... The aerial view of Launch Complex 39. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... A diagram of Keplerian orbital elements. ... A diagram of Keplerian orbital elements. ... The orbital period is the time it takes a planet (or another object) to make one full orbit. ... Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Description Role: Earth and Lunar Orbit Crew: 3; CDR, CM pilot, LM pilot Dimensions Height: 36. ... For the moon designated Saturn V, see Rhea. ...

Objectives

This was the final qualification flight of the Saturn V before its first manned flight (Apollo 8). It was also the first mission to use High Bay 3 in the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB), Mobile Launcher 2 and Firing Room 2. Another objective was testing the Command Module re-entry system under extreme conditions simulating a worst-case return from the Moon. This objective was not met due to J-2 engine failures. For the moon designated Saturn V, see Rhea. ... Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to orbit around the Moon. ... The vast Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center (1977). ... Description Role: Earth and Lunar Orbit Crew: 3; CDR, CM pilot, LM pilot Dimensions Height: 36. ... Atmospheric entry is the transition from the vacuum of space to the atmosphere of any planet or other celestial body. ... System (from Latin systÄ“ma, in turn from Greek systÄ“ma) is a set of entities, real or abstract, comprising a whole where each component interacts with or is related to at least one other component and they all serve a common objective. ... J-2 Rocket Engine Specifications. ...

The pieces come together

The S-IC first stage arrived by barge on 13 March 1967 and was erected in the VAB four days later, with the S-IVB third stage and Instrument Unit computer arriving the same day. The S-II second stage was two months behind them and so was substituted with a dumbbell shaped spacer so testing could proceed. This had the same height and mass as the S-II along with all the electrical connections. The S-II arrived 24 May. It was stacked and mated into the rocket on 7 July. The S-IC was the first stage of the Saturn V rocket. ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 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. ... The S-II was the second stage of the Saturn V rocket. ... May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 177 days remaining. ...

Testing was slow as they were still checking out the launch vehicle for Apollo 4, a limitation of the system where there wasn't two of everyone and everything. The VAB could handle up to four Saturn Vs but could only check out one at a time. Apollo 4 was the first unmanned flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle. ...

The Command and Service Module arrived 29 September and was stacked 10 December. It was a hybrid, featuring the Command Module Number 20 and Service Module Number 14 after SM-020 was destroyed in a tank explosion and Command Module Number 14 was dismantled as part of the investigation into the Apollo 1 fire. After two months of testing and repairs the rocket was moved to the pad on 6 February 1968. The Command/Service Module (CSM) was a spacecraft built for NASA by North American Aviation. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, 21 days before the next year. ... Description Role: Earth and Lunar Orbit Crew: 3; CDR, CM pilot, LM pilot Dimensions Height: 36. ... A spacecrafts service module is a compartment containing a variety of support systems used for spacecraft operations, but not any habitable area. ... Apollo One is the official name given to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft, destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 (Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral - then known as Cape Kennedy) atop a Saturn IB rocket. ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ...

Flight

Launch

Unlike the near perfect flight of Apollo 4, Apollo 6 experienced problems right from the start. Two minutes into the flight, the rocket experienced severe Pogo oscillations for about 30 seconds. George Mueller explained the cause to a congressional hearing: Download high resolution version (640x945, 167 KB)Launch of Apollo 6 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (640x945, 167 KB)Launch of Apollo 6 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Apollo 4 was the first unmanned flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle. ... Pogo oscillation is the term for a potentially dangerous type of oscillation found in rocket engines. ... George E Mueller (photo taken 1968) George Mueller (b. ...

In part due to the pogo, the spacecraft adaptor that attached the CSM and mockup of the Lunar Module to the rocket started to have some structural problems. Airborne cameras recorded several pieces falling off it at T+133s. Description Role: Lunar landing Crew: 2; CDR, LM pilot Dimensions Height: 20. ...

After the first stage was jettisoned at the end of its task, the S-II second stage began to experience its own problems. Engine Number Two (of five) had performance problems from 206 to 319 seconds after liftoff and then at 412 seconds shut down altogether. Then two seconds later Engine Number Three shut down as well. The onboard computer was able to compensate and the stage burned for 58 seconds more than normal. Even so the S-IVB third stage also had to burn for 29 seconds longer than usual. The S-II was the second stage of the Saturn V rocket. ...

The S-IC first stage impacted the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida ( 30°12′N, 74°19′W), while the S-II second stage impacted south of the Azores ( 31°12′N, 32°11′W). Motto Antes morrer livres que em paz sujeitos Rather die free than in peace subjugated Anthem A Portuguesa (national) Hino dos AÃ§ores (local) Capital Ponta Delgada1 Angra do HeroÃsmo2 Horta3 Largest city Ponta Delgada Official languages Portuguese Government Autonomous region - President Carlos CÃ©sar Establishment - Settled 1439 - Autonomy...

Orbit

Due to the less than nominal launch, the CSM and S-IVB were now in a 178 by 367 km orbit instead of the planned 160 km circular orbit. But after two orbits of checking out the spacecraft and rocket stage the S-IVB failed to restart to simulate the Trans-Lunar Injection Burn that would send the astronauts to the moon.

It was decided to use the Service Module engine to raise the spacecraft into a high orbit in order to complete some of the mission objectives. It burned for 442 seconds, longer than it would ever have to on a real Apollo mission and raised the apogee of the orbit to 22,200 km. There was now however not enough fuel to speed up the reentry and the spacecraft only entered the atmosphere at a speed of 10,000 m/s instead of the planned 11,270 m/s. This meant it landed 80 km from the planned touch down point. Atmospheric entry is the transition from the vacuum of space to the atmosphere of any planet or other celestial body. ...

Ten hours after launch it was lifted on board the USS Okinawa. USS Okinawa (LPH–3) was laid down 1 April 1960 (15th anniversary of the invasion of Okinawa) by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; launched 19 August 1961; sponsored by Mrs. ...

SIV-B reentered on April 25, 1968. April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (116th in leap years). ...

Causes and fixes of problems

The cause of the pogo during the first stage of the flight was well known. However, it had been thought that the rocket had been 'detuned'. To further detune the rocket, it was decided to fill the cavities with helium gas. General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Standard atomic weight 4. ...

The failure of the two engines in the second stage was traced to the rupturing of a fuel line that fed the engine igniters. The ignitor was essentially a miniature rocket motor mounted in the wall of the J-2 engine's pressure chamber. It was fed by small-diameter flexible lines carrying liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. During the S-II second stage burn, the hydrogen line feeding the engine number three ignitor broke due to vibration. As a result, the igniter fed pure liquid oxygen into the pressure chamber. Normally the J-2 engine burns a hydrogen-rich mixture to keep temperature down. The liquid oxygen flow caused a much higher temperature locally and eventually the pressure chamber failed. The sudden drop in pressure was detected and caused a shutdown command to be issued. Unfortunately, the shutdown command signal for engine three was cross-wired to engine two. Engine two shut down and in turn its pressure sensor sent a shutdown signal back to engine three. This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Liquid Oxygen In Test Tube Liquid oxygen (also LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace and submarine industry) is the liquid form of oxygen. ...

The problem in the ignitor fuel lines was not detected during ground testing because a stainless steel mesh covering the fuel line became saturated with liquid air due to the extreme cold of the liquid hydrogen flowing through it. The liquid air damped a vibration mode that became evident when tests were conducted in a vacuum after the Apollo 6 flight. This was also a simple fix, involving replacing the flexible bellows section where the break occurred with a loop of stainless steel pipe. The S-IVB used the same J-2 engine design as the S-II and so it was decided that an ignitor line problem had also stopped the third stage from reigniting in Earth orbit. This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Oscillation is the variation, typically in time, of some measure as seen, for example, in a swinging pendulum. ...

The spacecraft adapter problem was caused by its honeycomb structure. As the rocket accelerated through the atmosphere, the cells expanded due to trapped air and water. This would cause the adaptor surface to break free. To stop this occurring again, small holes were drilled in the surface to allow for expansion. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x716, 74 KB)Still from film footage showing interstage between the S-IC first stage and S-II second stage falling away during the Apollo 6 flight. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x716, 74 KB)Still from film footage showing interstage between the S-IC first stage and S-II second stage falling away during the Apollo 6 flight. ...

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. The Apollo 11 mission was the first mission to go to the Moon. ... Apollo 4 was the first unmanned flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle. ...

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. One of the two S-II cameras on Apollo 6 was not recovered. Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ...

Public impact

Ultimately, the American public was relatively uninterested in the Apollo 6 mission, due the fact that on the same day as the launch, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot dead in Memphis, Tennessee, and five days prior President Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection. â€œMartin Luther Kingâ€ redirects here. ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908–January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. ...

Capsule location

The Apollo 6 Command Module is on display at the Fernbank Science Center, in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, a few miles northeast of the gravesite of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Fernbank Science Center is a museum, classroom, and woodland complex located northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. ... Hotlanta redirects here. ... Martin Luther King Jr. ...

External links

v • d • e

Missions of Project Apollo

SA-1 • SA-2 • SA-3 • SA-4 • QTV • Pad Abort Test-1 • SA-5 • A-001 • A-101 • A-102 • A-002 • A-103 • A-003 • A-104 • Pad Abort Test-2 • A-105 • A-004 • AS-201 • AS-203 • AS-202 • Apollo 1 • Apollo 4 • Apollo 5 • Apollo 6 • Apollo 7 • Apollo 8 • Apollo 9 • Apollo 10 • Apollo 11 • Apollo 12 • Apollo 13 • Apollo 14 • Apollo 15 • Apollo 16 • Apollo 17 • Canceled Apollo missions Image File history File links Download high resolution version (606x608, 438 KB)Apollo program insignia, cropped white spaces around image. ... Project Apollo was a series of human spaceflight missions undertaken by the United States of America (NASA) using the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn launch vehicle, conducted during the years 1961 â€“ 1975. ... SA-1 was the first flight of a Saturn I launch vehicle and was part of the Apollo Program. ... SA-2 was the second flight Saturn I launch vehicle, the first flight of Project High Water and was part of the Apollo Program. ... SA-3 was the third flight Saturn I launch vehicle, the second flight of Project High Water and was part of the Apollo Program. ... SA-4 was the fourth flight of a Saturn I launch vehicle and the last of the initial test phase of the first stage. ... Little Joe II QTV was the first, Qualification Flight Test of the Apollo Little Joe II rocket. ... Pad Abort Test 1 was the first abort test of the Apollo spacecraft. ... SA-5 was the first launch of the Block II Saturn I rocket and was part of the Apollo Program. ... A-001 was the second abort test of the Apollo spacecraft. ... A-101 was the first Saturn rocket launch to carry a boilerplate Apollo spacecraft. ... A-102 was the first Saturn rocket launch to carry a boilerplate Apollo spacecraft. ... A-002 was the third abort test of the Apollo spacecraft. ... A-103 (SA-9) launch. ... A-003 was the fourth abort test of the Apollo spacecraft. ... A-104 was the ninth test flight of the Saturn I. This mission was the second flight in the Saturn I operational series and the fourth vehicle to carry an Apollo boilerplate spacecraft. ... Pad Abort Test 2 was the second pad abort test of the Apollo spacecraft. ... A-105 was the third flight of an operational Saturn I and was the last in the series of Saturn I flights. ... A-004 was the sixth and final abort test of the Apollo spacecraft. ... AS-201 (or SA-201) was the first flight of the Saturn IB launch vehicle. ... AS-203 (or SA-203) was an unmanned flight Saturn IB launch vehicle. ... AS-202 (or SA-202) was a sub-orbital test flight of the Saturn IB and Command and Service Module. ... Apollo One is the official name given to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft, destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 (Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral - then known as Cape Kennedy) atop a Saturn IB rocket. ... Apollo 4 was the first unmanned flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle. ... Apollo 5 was the first unmanned flight of the Apollo Lunar Module, which would later carry astronauts to the lunar surface. ... Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the Apollo program to be launched. ... Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to orbit around the Moon. ... Apollo 9 was the third manned mission in the Apollo program, a ten day earth-orbital mission launched 3 March 1969. ... Apollo 10 was the fourth manned mission in the Apollo program, and the first (and only manned Saturn V) mission to launch from pad 39B. The mission included the second crew to orbit the Moon, and the test of the lunar module in lunar orbit. ... The Apollo 11 mission was the first mission to go to the Moon. ... Apollo 12 was the sixth manned mission in the Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. ... Apollo 13 was the third manned lunar-landing mission, part of Project Apollo under the NASA in the United States. ... Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the Apollo program and the third mission to land on the Moon. ... Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. ... Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fifth mission to land on the Moon. ... Apollo 17 was the eleventh manned space mission in the NASA Apollo program. ... Due to budget constraints there were many canceled Apollo missions during Project Apollo. ...

Contents

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