Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “COMMAND MODULE”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1971

Apollo 15 Mission Report

A detailed discussion is presented of the Apollo 15 mission, which conducted exploration of the moon over longer periods, greater ranges, and with more instruments of scientific data acquisition than previous missions. The topics include trajectory, lunar surface science, inflight science and photography, command and service module performance, lunar module performance, lunar surface operational equipment, pilot's report, biomedical evaluation, mission support performance, assessment of mission objectives, launch phase summary, anomaly summary, and vehicle and equipment descriptions. The capability of transporting larger payloads and extending time on the moon were demonstrated. The ground-controlled TV camera allowed greater real-time participation by earth-bound personnel. The crew operated more as scientists and relied more on ground support team for systems monitoring. The modified pressure garment and portable life support system provided better mobility and extended EVA time. The lunar roving vehicle and the lunar communications relay unit were also demonstrated.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

Apollo 16: Thirty day failure and anomaly listing report

The significant anomalies that occurred on the Apollo 16 flight are presented. The major areas under which failures and anomalies are identified are: (1) command and service modules, (2) lunar module, (3) government-furnished equipment, lunar surface experiments, and orbital experiments. All times shown are elapsed time from range zero, established as the integral second before lift-off. Diagrams and photographs of equipment are included to clarify written explanations.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

Skylab status report.

The laboratory will be launched on Apr. 30, 1973, aboard a Saturn V vehicle. Approximately twenty-three and a half hours later the first crew will be launched in a command and service module aboard a Saturn IB launch vehicle. The laboratory will consist of modules. The orbital workshop (OWS) is made from the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks of a Saturn S-IVB third stage. The OWS contains the living quarters and two experiments areas. The airlock sits on top of the OWS and contains the controls and hatch for the extra-vehicular activity.

Conrad, C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Apollo 15 orbital science summary.

In this paper, summary results of the Apollo 15 orbital science payload are given, and some quick-look results of Apollo 16 are discussed. Geochemical instruments, consisting of gamma-ray, X-ray, and alpha particle spectrometers, have provided a chemical map of the lunar surface flown over by Apollo 15. The Laser Altimeter and frontside gravity data have shown some unexpected results with regard to the lunar shape, and provided new basis for understanding lunar mascons. A magnetometer, aboard the small subsatellite, has located magnetic anomalies principally on the lunar farside, and has shown that the small lunar magnetic field is smoother on the frontside than on the back. The mass spectrometer, in orbit aboard the Command and Service Modules, has measured unexpectedly large populations of molecules at orbital altitude (110 km), mostly due to spacecraft contamination. Two major camera systems have provided the first systematic metric quality photography and concurrent high resolution stereo coverage of the lunar surface.

Esenwein, G. F.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Apollo 17, 30 day failure and anomaly listing report

The significant anomalies that occurred during the Apollo 17 mission are investigated. The discussion is divided into five major sections: command and service modules, lunar module, government-furnished equipment, lunar surface experiments, and orbital experiments. All times are elapsed time from range zero, established as the integral second before lift-off.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1973

Apollo experience report: Flight instrumentation calibration

Three types of instrumentation-calibration data were used in the Apollo Program to provide the correct engineering data for tests and mission support. The command and service module instrumentation-component procurement specifications required individual-component calibration, and calibration data for these individual components (conventional-calibration data) were always used for mission data support. A mean standard type of calibration data derived from a statistical sampling of conventional-calibration data was used for test and checkout during the latter part of the Apollo Program. The lunar module instrumentation procurement specification permitted the use of standard-calibration data. These data were applicable to similarly instrumented measurements. The definition, merit, and application of each type of data are discussed.

Demoss, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Photographic summary

The photographic objectives and the photographic equipment of the Apollo 16 flight are described. Translunar and lunar module/lunar surface photography are presented along with the command and service module orbital and transearth photography.

Dietrich, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Lunar orbital mass spectrometer experiment

A lunar orbital mass spectrometer carried by the Apollo 16 command and service module was used to detect the lunar atmosphere and to search for active lunar volcanism. The experimental procedure and results are described.

Hodges, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Bistatic-radar investigation

The purpose of the reported experiment was to determine the principal electromagnetic and structural properties of the lunar surface from the observation of command and service module (CSM) radio transmissions that were reflected from the lunar surface and received on earth. These transmissions emanate from the CSM communication systems at wavelengths of 13 cm (S-band) and 116 cm (very high frequency (VHF)). Lunar crustal properties such as dielectric constant, average slope and slope probability, density, small-scale surface roughness, and embedded rocks to a depth of 20 m may be determined. The results are proving to be most useful in understanding the processes that have produced and modified the crust and in distingushing between adjacent and subjacent geological units. The experimental observations are also of intrinsic interest in the study of electromagnetic scattering.

Howard, H. T.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Photogrammetry and altimetry. Part A: Apollo 16 laser altimeter

The laser altimeter measures precise altitudes of the command and service module above the lunar surface and can function either with the metric (mapping) camera or independently. In the camera mode, the laser altimeter ranges at each exposure time, which varies between 20 and 28 sec (i.e., 30 to 43 km on the lunar surface). In the independent mode, the laser altimeter ranges every 20 sec. These altitude data and the spacecraft attitudes that are derived from simultaneous stellar photography are used to constrain the photogrammetric reduction of the lunar surface photographs when cartographic products are generated. In addition, the altimeter measurements alone provide broad-scale topographic relief around the entire circumference of the moon. These data are useful in investigating the selenodetic figure of the moon and may provide information regarding gravitational anomalies on the lunar far side.

Wollenhaupt, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Apollo Experience Report: Crew Station Integration. Volume 5: Lighting Considerations

The lighting requirements for the Apollo spacecraft are presented. The natural lighting factors are discussed in terms of major constraints. A general description of the external and internal lighting systems for the command and lunar modules is presented with a discussion of the primary approach and design criteria followed during development. Some of the more difficult problems encountered during the implementation of a new lighting system are reviewed.

Wheelwright, C. D.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Panoramic attitude sensor for Radio Astronomy Explorer B

An instrument system to acquire attitude determination data for the RAE-B spacecraft was designed and built. The system consists of an electronics module and two optical scanner heads. Each scanner head has an optical scanner with a field of view of 0.7 degrees diameter which scans the sky and measures the position of the moon, earth and sun relative to the spacecraft. This scanning is accomplished in either of two modes. When the spacecraft is spinning, the scanner operates in spherical mode, with the spacecraft spin providing the slow sweep of lattitude to scan the entire sky. After the spacecraft is placed in lunar orbit and despun, the scanner will operate in planar mode, advancing at a rate of 5.12 seconds per revolution in a fixed plane parallel to the spacecraft Z axis. This scan will cross and measure the moon horizons with every revolution. Each scanner head also has a sun slit which is aligned parallel to the spin axis of the spacecraft and which provides a sun pulse each revolution of the spacecraft. The electronics module provides the command and control, data processing and housekeeping functions.

Thomsen, R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Apollo experience report: Spacecraft structural windows

The window structural design and verification experience is presented for the Apollo command and lunar modules. This report presents window design philosophy, design criteria, hardware description, and qualification and acceptance test programs and discusses the problems encountered and solutions developed in these areas. The structural characteristics of glass are not generally well understood by designers. The optics and instrument glass covers were not considered to be structural components and thus were not normally subjected to the design, qualification, and acceptance standards necessary to preclude failures. These two factors contributed significantly to window problems on both Apollo spacecraft.

Pigg, O. E.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Lunar shape via the Apollo laser altimeter.

The laser altimeter data obtained from the Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 missions provide two elevation cross sections of the moon separated by 35 degrees of latitude. The data consist of measurements of the distance from the orbiting Command and Service Module (CSM) to the lunar surface at intervals of about 20 seconds. In order to extract the lunar shape parameters from the data, the position of the CSM must be known. This was accomplished by reducing the data from earth-based radio tracking of the CSM. The most striking result obtained in the studies is the consistency of the center of gravity offset in both the X and Y directions.

Sjogren, W. L.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Fuel cell powerplant operation in Apollo spacecraft.

Primary electrical power for loads in the Apollo Command and Service Modules is furnished by a system of three fuel cell powerplants. The powerplants convert cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen into direct current. Water formed in the fuel cell reactions is supplied to the spacecraft for crew use. Waste heat is rejected through a coolant loop to a spacecraft radiator. The ability of the fuel cell to meet its voltage-power requirements and to control its own operating temperature under the environmental extremes of launch, ascent, earth orbit, translunar flight, and lunar orbit was demonstrated on successively more difficult missions leading up to the first lunar landing.

Ching, A. C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

S-band transponder experiment

The purpose of this experiment was to measure the variations in the lunar gravitational field near the trajectory of orbiting space vehicles (the command and service module (CSM) and the small particles and fields subsatellites ejected from the Apollo 15 and 16 spacecraft). New information has been obtained from all Apollo orbiting spacecraft; however, this report shall be limited to the results from the Apollo 17 CSM and the Apollo 16 subsatellite. The data acquired are precise speed measurements of the orbiting spacecraft from which accelerations or gravity profiles may be inferred. Feature resolution is controlled by the spacecraft altitude and is almost a direct relationship (i.e., data taken from a 50-km altitude will resolve approximately a 50-km feature). Therefore, revolutions 3 to 12, when the CSM was in the low-altitude orbits, provided the clearest information.

Sjogren, W. L.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Apollo 15 mission report. Supplement 2: Service propulsion system final flight evaluation

The command and service module 112 service propulsion system performance for the Apollo 15 mission was evaluated and found to be satisfactory. The following items were considered: (1) the steady-state performance as determined from analysis of the third and eight burns; (2) techniques, problems, and assumptions; (3) flight analysis results as compared to the preflight predicted performance; (4) the propellant utilization and gaging system operation; (5) the pressurization system performance; (6) transient data; and (7) revision of estimated propellant consumption.

Smith, R. J.↗