I guess it will take a lot of pain to get it fixed, as bazel 0.5.3 is too-old as of Jun 2020, and only the master and r5.5.0 branch are actively maintained at present. The Apollo team is working on upgrading bazel support from 0.5.3 to 3.1+. Bbedit 13 0 5 percent. Please stay tuned.
NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1968-007A
The unmanned Saturn/Apollo 5 was the first test flight of the Lunar Module (LM). Mission objectives were to verify the ascent and descent stages, the propulsion systems, and the restart operations, and to evaluate the spacecraft structure, LM staging, 2nd stage (S-IVB) and instrument unit (Iu) orbital performance.
After launch, the S-IVB 2nd stage ignited to insert the spacecraft into a 163 x 222 km Earth orbit with a period of 88.3 minutes and an inclination of 31.63 degrees. The nose cone was jettisoned and after a coast of 43 min 52 sec the LM was separated from the LM adapter. The LM entered a 167 x 222 km orbit with a period of 88.4 min and an inclination of 31.63 degrees. A planned descent propulsion system (DPS) of 39 seconds was cut short after only 4 seconds. The burn was designed to simulate deceleration for descent to the lunar surface, but was stopped prematurely due to overly conservative programming of the flight software. An alternate flight plan was put into effect, in which the DPS fired for 26 seconds at 10% thrust and then for 7 seconds at maximum thrust. A third DPS firing was performed 32 seconds later, consisting of a 26 second burn at 10% thrust and 2 seconds at maximum thrust, followed by a burn to simulate an abort during the landing phase, in which the ascent propulsion system (APS) was ignited simultaneously with the DPS being shut down. Download cisdem duplicate finder 4 0 0. The APS burn lasted 60 seconds, followed by a 6 min 23 sec firing which depleted APS fuel. At the end of the 11 hr, 10 min test period, both LM stages were left in orbit eventually to reenter and disintegrate. Despite the initial premature DPS shutdown, the mission was deemed a success and operation of all LM systems was confirmed.
Launch Date: 1968-01-22
Launch Vehicle: Saturn 1B
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States
Mass: 14360 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Dr. David R. Williams
| Name | Role | Original Affiliation |
|---|
Apollo page
Lunar Science Page
Edward White, Command Pilot
Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, Commander
Roger Chaffee, Pilot
One of the worst tragedies in the history of spaceflight occurred on January 27, 1967 when the crew of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire in the Apollo Command Module during a preflight test at Cape Canaveral. They were training for the first crewed Apollo flight, an Earth orbiting mission scheduled to be launched on 21 February. They were taking part in a 'plugs-out' test, in which the Command Module was mounted on the Saturn 1B on the launch pad just as it would be for the actual launch, but the Saturn 1B was not fueled. The plan was to go through an entire countdown sequence.
At 1 p.m. on Friday, 27 January 1967 the astronauts entered the capsule on Pad 34 to begin the test. A number of minor problems cropped up which delayed the test considerably and finally a failure in communications forced a hold in the count at 5:40 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., Grissom said 'How are we going to get to the Moon if we can't talk between three buildings?'. At 6:31 p.m. a surge was recorded in the AC bus 2 voltage readings, possibly indicating a short-circuit. The cockpit recording is difficult to interpret in places but a few seconds later one of the astronauts (probably Chaffee) is heard to say what sounds like 'Flames!'. Two seconds after that White was heard to say, 'We've got a fire in the cockpit.' The fire spread throughout the cabin in a matter of seconds. Chaffee said, 'We have a bad fire!', followed by shouting. The last crew communication ended 17 seconds after the first indication of the start of the fire, followed by loss of all telemetry. The Apollo hatch could only open inward and was held closed by a number of latches which had to be operated by ratchets. It was also held closed by the interior pressure, which was higher than outside atmospheric pressure and required venting of the command module before the hatch could be opened. It took at least 90 seconds to get the hatch open under ideal conditions. Because the cabin had been filled with a pure oxygen atmosphere at normal pressure for the test and there had been many hours for the oxygen to permeate all the material in the cabin, the fire spread rapidly and the astronauts had no chance to get the hatch open. Nearby technicians tried to get to the hatch but were repeatedly driven back by the heat and smoke. By the time they succeeded in getting the hatch open roughly 5 minutes after the fire started the astronauts had already perished, probably within the first 30 seconds, due to smoke inhalation and burns.
Timer utility 5 v1 0 0 percent. The Apollo program was put on hold while an exhaustive investigation was made of the accident. It was concluded that the most likely cause was a spark from a short circuit in a bundle of wires that ran to the left and just in front of Grissom's seat. The large amount of flammable material in the cabin in the oxygen environment allowed the fire to start and spread quickly. A number of changes were instigated in the program over the next year and a half, including designing a new hatch which opened outward and could be operated quickly, removing much of the flammable material and replacing it with self-extinguishing components, using a nitrogen-oxygen mixture at launch, and recording all changes and overseeing all modifications to the spacecraft design more rigorously.
The mission, originally designated Apollo 204 but commonly referred to as Apollo 1, was officially assigned the name 'Apollo 1' in honor of Grissom, White, and Chaffee. The first Saturn V launch (uncrewed) in November 1967 was designated Apollo 4 (no missions were ever designated Apollo 2 or 3). The Apollo 1 Command Module capsule 012 was impounded and studied after the accident and was then locked away in a storage facility at NASA Langley Research Center. The changes made to the Apollo Command Module as a result of the tragedy resulted in a highly reliable craft which, with the exception of Apollo 13, helped make the complex and dangerous trip to the Moon almost commonplace. The eventual success of the Apollo program is a tribute to Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, three fine astronauts whose tragic loss was not in vain.
For more detail on Apollo 1 see the references below.
Plan to store Apollo 1 capsule with Challenger debris cancelled - NASA Press Releases, May 1990
Apollo-1 - Kennedy Space Center
Apollo-1 - NASA History Office
Apollo 1 - The Fire - Apollo By The Numbers
The Fire that Seared the Spaceport - Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations
Tragedy and Recovery - Chariots for Apollo
A Tragic Fire Takes Three Lives - Apollo Expeditions to the Moon
Setback and Recovery: 1967 - Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions
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