Space Rocket History Archive

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Space Rocket History #244 – Apollo 12 – Lunar Orbit Oct 26, 2023

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At 83 hours mission elapsed time, the long lunar coast was almost over. It was time for the lunar orbit insertion burn. This burn would put Yankee Clipper and Intrepid into lunar orbit.

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Space Rocket History #243 – Apollo 12 – TLI and the Coast Sep 28, 2023

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It was impossible to check out the entire spacecraft; that could only be done on the ground. In the short time available, Grifﬁn’s team ran a pre-maneuver check list, re-aligned the CSM platform, and discussed proceeding with the mission with the crew.

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Space Rocket History #242 – Apollo 12 – The Launch Part 2 Sep 28, 2023

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John Aaron’s (EECOM) next call made him a legend in Mission Control. He said quickly and conﬁdently, “Flight, try S-C-E to Aux.”

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Space Rocket History #241 – Apollo 12 – The Launch Part 1 Aug 28, 2023

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It was 68 degrees, overcast, and raining at Cape Kennedy on November 14, 1969. The ceiling was 2,100 feet and the winds were light. There was some discussion, while the astronauts were suiting-up, of scrubbing the launch, but that would mean ramping this whole thing down, draining every drop of fuel out of the Saturn, and sitting on their hands for a twenty-eight-day hold.

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Space Rocket History #240 – Apollo 12 – Saturn V Instrument Unit Aug 28, 2023

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The Saturn V’s control system was housed inside and also referred to as the Instrument Unit (IU). Marshall Space Flight Centers Astrionics Laboratory categorized the IU as the “brain” and “nerve center” of Saturn V.

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Space Rocket History #239 – Apollo 12 – Commander Charles Conrad – Part 2 Jul 31, 2023

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Pete Conrad joined NASA as part of the second group of astronauts, known as the New Nine, on September 17, 1962. He was regarded as one of the best pilots in the group, and was among the first of his group to be assigned a Gemini mission.

Space Rocket History #238 – Apollo 12 – Commander Charles Conrad – Part 1 Jul 31, 2023

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The third man to walk on the moon, Charles Conrad Jr. was born on June 2, 1930, in Philadelphia, to Charles and Frances Conrad. He was their third child and their first son.

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Space Rocket History #237 – Apollo 12 – Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean – The Artist Jun 30, 2023

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After completing a four-year tour of duty, he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. He trained under the direction of Pete Conrad, who would later become Commander of the Apollo 12 moon flight, and who would be instrumental in getting Bean assigned to that mission.

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Space Rocket History #236 – Apollo 12 – Command Module Pilot Richard “Dick” Gordon Jun 30, 2023

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After graduating from the University of Washington, Gordon joined the US Navy, and after his first exposure to planes decided to become a pilot. Gordon said “Once I found what the airplane could do for me, or I could do for it, it was love at first sight.”

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Space Rocket History #235 – Apollo 12 – Introduction May 28, 2023

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At NASA Headquarters, George Mueller and other planners created a far-reaching plan that Administrator Paine made even more ambitious in adapting it for Nixon’s Space Task Group. The task group’s timetable called for a twelve-man space station and a reusable space shuttle as early as 1975. By 1980, the station would have grown into a fifty-man space base; five years later there would be a hundred men in orbit. Meanwhile, there would be a base in lunar orbit by 1976, with a base on the lunar surface two years later. Then, as early as 1981, the first manned expedition to Mars would depart from earth orbit.

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