Progressive Management - Apollo and Americas Moon Landing Program: Apollo 14 Official NASA Mission Reports and Press Kit--1971 Third Lunar Landing--Astronauts Shepard, Roosa, and Mitchell

Apollo and America's Moon Landing Program:Apollo 14 Official NASA Mission Reports and Press Kit - 1971 ThirdLunar Landing - Astronauts Shepard, Roosa, and Mitchell

National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA), World Spaceflight News

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CONTENTS

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NATIONALAERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER * HOUSTON, TEXAS

MAY 1971

PREPARED BY Mission Evaluation Team

APPROVED BY James A. McDivitt, Colonel, USAF,Manager, Apollo Spacecraft Program

1.0 MISSION SUMMARY

The Apollo 14 mission, manned by AlanShepard, Jr. , Commander; Stuart A. Roosa, Command Module Pilot;and Edgar D. Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot; was launched fromKennedy Space Center, Florida, at 4:03:02 p.m. e.s.t. (21:03:02G.m.t.) on January 31, 1971. Because of unsatisfactory weatherconditions at the planned time of launch, a launch delay (about 40minutes) was experienced for the first time in the Apollo program.The activities during earth orbit and translunar injection weresimilar to those of previous lunar landing missions; however,during transposition and docking following translunar injection,six attempts were required to achieve docking because of mechanicaldifficulties. Television was used during translunar coast toobserve a crew inspection of the probe and drogue. All indicationswere that the system was functioning normally. Except for a specialcheck of ascent battery 5 in the lunar module, translunar coastafter docking proceeded according to the flight plan. Two midcoursecorrections were performed, one at about 30-1/2 hours and the otherat about 77 hours. These corrections achieved the trajectoryrequired for the desired lunar orbit insertion altitude and timeparameters.

The combined spacecraft were inserted intolunar orbit at approximately 82 hours, and two revolutions later,the descent orbit insertion maneuver placed the spacecraft in a58.8- by 9.1-mile orbit. The lunar module crew entered the vehicleat approximately 101-1/4 hours to prepare for the descent to thelunar surface.

The lunar module was undocked from thecommand module at about 103-3/4 hours. Prior to powered descent, anabort command was delivered to the computer as the result of amalfunction but a routine was manually loaded in the computer thatinhibited the recognition of an abort discrete. The powered descentmaneuver was initiated at about 108 hours. A ranging scale problem,which would have prevented acquisition of radar data until late inthe descent, was corrected by cycling the circuit breaker off andon. Landing in the Fra Mauro highlands occurred at 108:15:09.3. Thelanding coordinates were 3 degrees 40 minutes 24 seconds southlatitude and 17 degrees 27 minutes 55 seconds west longitude.

The command and service module, afterundocking and separation, was placed in a circular orbit having analtitude of approximately 60 miles to photograph the proposedDescartes landing site, as well as perform landmark tracking andother tasks required for the accomplishment of lunar orbitexperiments and photography. Communications between the command andservice module and earth during this period were intermittentbecause of a problem with the high-gain antenna.

Preparations for the initial period of lunarexploration began about 2 hours after landing. A procedural problemwith the lunar module communications delayed cabin depressurizationabout 50 minutes. The Commander egressed at about 113-3/4 hours anddeployed the modular equipment stowage assembly as he descended theladder, providing transmission of color television. The LunarModule Pilot egressed a few minutes later. Subsequently, the S-bandantenna was erected and activated, the Apollo lunar surfaceexperiments package was deployed, and various documented lunarsamples were taken during the extravehicular period which lastedabout 4 3/4 hours. A modular equipment transporter, used on thismission for the first time, assisted the crew in carrying equipmentand lunar samples.

Preparations for the second extravehicularperiod were begun following a 6 1/2-hour rest period. The goal ofthe second extravehicular period was to traverse to the area ofCone Crater. Although the crew experienced difficulties innavigating, they reached a point within approximately 50 feet ofthe rim of the crater. Thus, the objectives associated withreaching the vicinity of this crater and obtaining the desiredsamples were achieved. Various documented rock and soil sampleswere collected on the return traverse from Cone Crater, and, uponcompleting the traverse, the antenna on thelunar-experiment-package central station was realigned. The secondextravehicular period lasted about 4-1/2 hours for a totalextravehicular time of approximately 9-1/4 hours. About 96 poundsof lunar samples were collected during the two extravehicularperiods.

The ascent stage lifted off at about 141-3/4hours and the vehicle was inserted into a 51.7- by 8.5-mile orbit.A direct rendezvous was performed and the command-module-activedocking operations were normal. However, during the final brakingphase, the lunar module abort guidance system failed after thesystem was no longer required. Following crew transfer to thecommand module, the ascent stage was jettisoned and guided toimpact approximately 36 miles west of the Apollo 14 landingsite.

Transearth injection occurred during the 34thlunar revolution at about 148-1/2 hours. During transearth coast,one midcourse correction was made using the service module reactioncontrol system. In addition, a special oxygen flow rate test wasperformed and a navigation exercise simulating a return to earthwithout ground control was conducted using only the guidance andnavigation system. Inflight demonstrations of four types ofprocesses under zero-gravity conditions were also performed andtelevised to earth.

Entry was normal and the command modulelanded in the Pacific Ocean at 216:01:58. The landing coordinateswere 27 degrees 0 minutes 45 seconds south latitude and 172 degrees39 minutes 30 seconds west longitude.