Apollo 17 1.1 Launch part 6

Corrected transcript and commentary by Eric Hartwell licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

• April 6: second pass, AS17_CM tape 17-3409

[edit] S-II Second Stage

Schmitt: Okay, Bob. I guess we got all five (Laughter). They're looking here - looking good.

Public Affairs Officer: And we've had shutdown on time on the first stage.

Cernan: (Technical Debriefing) We had center engine shutdown on time. We had staging on time. ... At staging, the S-IC shut down, something that you don't see in the daylight is that the fireball overtook us.

Evans: (Technical Debriefing) It sure did.

Cernan: (Technical Debriefing) When the S-II lit off, we literally for a nanosecond flew through the bright yellow fireball that was left over from the S-IC. ... I don't think it's ever been recorded on a daylight launch before, but as soon as the S-IC shut down during the time involved in recycling and getting the staging sequence going and the S-II lit off, apparently the trailing flame of the S-IC overtook the spacecraft when we immediately went into that zero-g condition. And, for just a second, as the S-II lit off, we went through the flame. It was very obvious. We could see it out of both windows. I particularly could see it out of the left-hand rendezvous window of the BPC. It was not a smoke; it was not an orange fireball; it was just a bright yellow fire of the trailing flame of the S-IC; and it happened for just a split second. Then we got off on the S-II and things got very quiet and very smooth and was a very long, quiet, smooth ride.

Evans: Okay; stand by to tower.

(Tape 03407) CMP Okay, stand by to ...

(Tape 03404) CDR Okay; stand by to tower.

Schmitt: Sure felt like it. Stand by; hold it. I think we saw them all from here.

(Tape 03407) CDR Sure felt like it. Stand by; hold it.

(Air-to-Ground) LMP Sure felt like it. I think we saw them all from here.

(Tape 03404) LMP Sure felt like it. Stand by. Hold it. I think we saw them all from here.

(Tape 03407) LMP I think we saw them all from here.

Overmyer: Roger, Jack. And the thrust is GO on all five of them. They're running good.

Cernan: (Technical Debriefing) The S-II ignition was very smooth.

Cernan: Okay; 3 minutes and we're GO.

Overmyer: Roger, 17.

Evans: Say, this is smooth.

(Tape 03407) CMP Hey, this is smooth.

(Tape 03404) LMP Say, this is smooth.

Schmitt: Okay. I got the tower switches on ...

(Tape 03407) LMP Okay. I got the tower switches ... CDR Come on, baby. Go.

(Tape 03404) CDR Okay. I've got the tower switches on ... , baby.

Cernan: Come on, baby. Go.

Evans: Okay, 15 (13?). There she goes.

(Tape 03407) CMP Okay, 15. There she goes.

(Tape 03404) CDR GO. Okay; 13. There she goes!

Schmitt: Okay. we just had skirt sep.

(Tape 03407) LMP Okay. We do have skirt sep.

(Air-to-Ground) SC Say, we just had skirt sep.

Cernan: (Technical Debriefing) We got skirt sep right on time. I could feel skirt sep going.

Overmyer: Roger. We confirm skirt sep.

(Tape 03407) We confirm skirt sep.

(Air-to-Ground) Roger. We confirm skirt sep.

Schmitt: 19, 16, 17, 18, 15, 13.

(Tape 03407) LMP 19, 16, 17, 18 - -

(Tape 03404) CDR 19, 16, 17, 18, 15, 13.

Cernan?: Watch it Jack. There goes the tower!

(Tape 03407) only: "CDR Watch it Jack. There goes the tower!

(multiple speakers): There goes the tower! There she goes!

(Tape 03407) MS There goes the tower! There she goes!

(Air-to-Ground) CDR There goes the tower. Oh, there she goes!

Cernan: (Technical Debriefing) We had tower jett, which was really sort of spectacular at night. I think the LMP is going to add something to it, but from the left-hand rendezvous window, I could not only see the flame, but the inside of the BPC seemed to be lit up. Of course, it doesn't stay there very long; it's gone in just a split second. But it was a very spectacular sight at night to see that tower go against the blackness of space out there.

Cernan: (Technical Debriefing) Tower jett was very evident. You could see the flash and I could see the entire BPC. I could see underneath it. It was lit up underneath. The whole thing was lit up.

Schmitt: (Technical Debriefing) On the tower jett, I wouldn't say a split second. As a matter of fact, I was surprised it lasted as long as it did. It was a few seconds.

Evans: (Technical Debriefing) I couldn't see the rocket go. All I could see was an orange glow out the center window.

Overmyer: Roger. The tower. You're Mode II.

(Tape 03407) The tower. You're Mode II.

(Air-to-Ground) Roger. The tower; you're Mode II.

Cernan: Roger. Mode II.

Schmitt: And the steam pressure is taken care of.

Cernan: Okay; MAN ATTITUDE is RATE COMMAND. Okay; I'll put the - -

Overmyer: The steering has converged. The CMC is GO. You're going right down the pike, 17.

Public Affairs Officer: That's the automatic guidance system, the inertial guidance system, performing properly.

Cernan: Okay, Bob, I just confirmed guidance.

(Tape 03407) Okay, Bob, I do confirm guidance.

(Tape 03404) Okay, Bob. I just confirmed guidance.

(Air-to-Ground) Okay, Bob. I just confirmed guidance.

(PAO) Okay, Bob. I just confirmed that.

Cernan: (Technical Debriefing) We could see guidance come in very definitely. It was not as big a pulsation as I've seen on the simulator but I did see the needle and the spacecraft did change its attitude slightly. You could see the mixture ratio shift. It was just a long, smooth, quiet ride.

Schmitt: And the ELS SEP circuit breakers when you get a chance to, Gene.

(Tape 03407) CMP And ELS sep circuit breakers, when you get a chance there, Gene.

(Tape 03404) LMP And the ELS SEP circuit breakers when you get a chance to, Gene.

Cernan: Okay, Bob. I got the ELS SEP circuit breakers, and we've seen it all: ignition, staging, and tower.

Overmyer: Roger. Got you.

Public Affairs Officer: Apollo 17 now 65 miles high.

Schmitt: By the way, the cabin sealed.

(Tape 03407) LMP By the way, the cabin sealed.

(Tape 03404) CDR By the way, the cabin's sealed

Cernan,Schmitt: (Laughter)

(Tape 03407) CDR/LMP (Laughter)

(Tape 03404) CDR (laughter).

Cernan: Okay, guys. We got a long way to go.

(Tape 03407) Okay, guys. We got a long way to go.

(Tape 03404) You guys, we've got a long way to go.

Schmitt: Okay; ... I'll see what in heck went wrong here. Let's see.

(Tape 03407) Okay. I'll see where we're ... here.

(Tape 03404) Okay; ... I'll see what in heck went wrong here. Let's see.

Cernan: Okay; 4 minutes and we're GO here, Bob.

Overmyer: Roger, Gene. We're going round the room. Looks GO here.

Cernan: Twenty-one degrees. We're Mode II, Ron.

Evans: Okay; Mode II.

Overmyer: You're looking real good, Gene. Right down the line.

Cernan: Okay. It's a - it looks pretty good.

(Tape 03407) CDR Okay. It's a - it looks pretty good.

(Tape 03404) CDR Okay; it - it looks pretty good.

Evans: We got a freeze here on the 04:30.

(Tape 03407) CMP We got a freeze here on the 04:30.

(Tape 03404) CDR Let me get a freeze here on the 04:30.

Evans: I can't - barely see that, let's see.

(Tape 03407) CMP I can't - barely see that, let's see.

(Tape 03404) CDR I can barely see that. Let's see.

Cernan: Okay; 04:30, and we're still GO on board.

Overmyer: Roger, 17. You're GO.

Cernan: Let me tell you, this night launch is something to behold.

Public Affairs Officer: Coming up on 5 minutes. Everything still looks very good in the launch of Apollo 17. The launch vehicle spacecraft now 80 miles high, 230 miles down range.

Schmitt: Okay; H and H DOT are good.

Primary Tape: 17-03404

Cernan: Okay; I don't know if you'll be able to pick up any horizon.

Schmitt: Well, it's too dark - too light in here.

Cernan: Okay; let's keep on 1 g. I got some stars out the right, but I don't see - -

Cernan: (Technical Debriefing) While we were on the S-II, we would see no indication of light from the engines. We were just thrusting out in the darkness of space. I tried to see stars for potential mode IV and, of course, at that time, mode II abort and turned the lights down on the left side once or twice. But even with the lights down on (we had the LEB lights relatively low), in my estimation, it would have required all the lights in the spacecraft to have been off and certainly more than a few seconds to become night adapted to be able to see through the windows and pick up stars that would have been able to help in an abort situation had you lost the computer and the SCS. We had looked, potentially planned to use those stars in an abort condition if we had to. We had excellent constellations to look at. They obviously were there, but I could not see through the low glow reflection on the window even with our lights, floodlights, turned almost all the way down. I even went to the extent of trying to shield my eyes on the S-II and looked out the window and I still could not pick up anything that I could have recognized for an abort. I also could not pick up any night horizons during that point in time which I thought I might be able to base on seeing where the stars cut off and where they do not.

Schmitt: (Technical Debriefing) We had another indication of that during entry when we were looking for a night horizon and finally saw it, but it was extremely hard to find.

Overmyer: Five minutes, Geno, and you're GO down here. You're looking great.

Cernan: What's that? Okay. Okay, Robert. We're go here at 5.

Evans: Coming up on S-IVB to COI.

Cernan: You guys believe me about that S-I staging now?

Schmitt: (Laughter) I can't believe how smooth! I can't believe how smooth - -

Cernan: Okay. Let's keep this burn. We got a long way to go. We're only halfway there.

Overmyer: 17, Houston. Your times are nominal. Level sense arm at 8 plus 36. S-II shutdown at 9 plus 20. Nominal times.

Cernan: 8 plus 36 and 9 plus 20. Roger.

Public Affairs Officer: Capcom, Robert Obermeyer, advising Gene Cernan and the crew aboard Apollo 17 the second stage shutdown at about 9 minutes 20 seconds elapsed time. We'll have that shutdown in about 3 and a half minutes from now.

Evans: (Onboard) Coming up on gimbal motors, Geno.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay.

Cernan: (Onboard) Are we getting anything yet, Ron?

(Tape 03404) I forget anything yet, Ron?

(Tape 03409) Are we getting anything yet, Ron?

Evans: (Onboard) No.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay. We're still Mode II. Coming up - -

Overmyer: Stand by for S-IVB to COI capability.

Overmyer: MARK. S-IVB to COI capability.

Cernan: Roger. S-IVB to COI. We're GO at 6.

Overmyer: Roger, Geno.

Public Affairs Officer: Apollo 17 still right on the nominal trajectory at an altitude now of about 92 nautical miles.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay; gimbal motors?

Evans: (Onboard) Go ahead.

Cernan: (Onboard) PITCH 1.

Evans: (Onboard) Got it.

Cernan: (Onboard) And YAW 1.

Evans: (Onboard) Got it. Go ahead.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay. Wait a minute. I'm checking. PITCH 2.

Evans: (Onboard) Got it.

Cernan: (Onboard) And YAW 2.

Evans: (Onboard) Got it.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay; you got a minus 0.58 and a plus 19.

(Tape 034@@) CMP Got it. Okay; you got a minus 0.58 and a plus 19.

(Tape 03409) CDR Okay. You got a minus 0.58 and a plus 1.9. CMP That 's affirm.

Evans: (Onboard) That 's affirm.

(Tape 03409) only

Cernan: Okay, Bob. We got four good motors, and we're GO at 06:20.

Overmyer: Roger. And, 17, we copy the gimbals and watched them and they look good.

(Tape 03404) Roger. And, 17, we - -

(Air-to-Ground) Roger. And, 17, we copied the gimbals and watched them and they looked good.

(PAO) Roger, 17. We copy the gimbal and watched them and they look good.

Evans: (Onboard) One g? (Laughter) Just like sitting on the pad, isn't it? That's all there is to her.

(Tape 03404) 1 g. Just like sitting on the pad, isn't it? ...

(Tape 03409) One g? (Laughter) Just like sitting on the pad, isn't it? That's all there is to her.

Schmitt: (Onboard) Okay; our calibration on that tank changed a little bit again, apparently.

Evans: (Onboard) Okay.

Schmitt: (Onboard) Down to about 9 - 90 percent.

(Tape 03404) Down to 90 percent.

(Tape 03409) Down to about 9 - 90 percent.

Evans: (Onboard) 90? Oh, on the tank 2?

(Tape 034@@) Right. Oh, on the tank 2?

(Tape 03409) 90? Oh, on the tank 2?

Schmitt: (Onboard) No, on the hydrogen tank.

(Tape 03404) No, on the hydrogen.

(Tape 03409) No, on the hydrogen tank.

Evans: (Onboard) Hydrogen tank 3, then.

(Tape 03404) @@@Hydrogen tank 3.

(Tape 03409) CDR Hydrogen tank 3, then.

Overmyer: Stand by for S-IVB to orbit capability.

Cernan: Roger, Bob.

(Tape 03409) CMP

Overmyer: MARK. S-IV to orbit capability.

Cernan: S-IVB to orbit.

(Tape 03409) CMP

Overmyer: And we'd like OMNI Delta, Jack.

Schmitt: Roger. You've got it.

Overmyer: Roger.

(Air-to-Ground) only

Public Affairs Officer: Now 7 minutes in and we have sufficient velocity to make orbit with the Saturn third stage should we have an unexpected early shutdown of the second stage.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay; 7 minutes, 6 degrees. Yes - -

(Tape 03404) CMP Okay; 7 minutes, ... degrees.

(Tape 03409) CDR Okay; 7 minutes, 6 degrees. Yes - -

Cernan: (Onboard) 7, and 6 degrees. How does that sound?

(Tape 03404) Seven ... , 6 degrees. How does that sound?

(Tape 03409) - - 7, and I'm 6 degrees. How does that sound?

Evans: (Onboard) Okay; that's good. That's 723. Let's see, 119 - -

Cernan: (Onboard) We got altitude. We're going to start - -

(Tape 03404) We go to ...

(Tape 03409) We got altitude. We're going to start - -

Evans: (Onboard) We're half a mile, half mile high.

(Tape 03404) We're half a mile, half mile high.

(Tape 03409) ... We're at half a mile, half a mile high.

Cernan: Seven minutes, Bob. We're looking good on board.

(unidentified): (Onboard) (Cough)

(Tape 03409) only

Overmyer: Roger.

(Tape 03409) only

Public Affairs Officer: We're now less than 2 minutes from second stage shutdown and ignition of the Saturn third stage. And the center engine will be shutting down as scheduled in about 10 seconds.

Cernan: (Onboard) Am I glad I took my hand off that abort handle.

Evans: (Onboard) (Laughter) Man!

(Tape 03404) CMP (Laughter) Man!

(Tape 03409) CMP (Laughter) Man! So am I. (Cough)

Schmitt: (Onboard) So am I - I'll tell you (laughter).

(Tape 03404) LMP So am I - I'll tell you (laughter).

(Tape 03409) CMP I'll tell you (laughter).

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay; we got to get through this one and then through staging. Stand by for inboard. Okay.

Evans: (Onboard) Okay. Inboard at 07:41 - -

(Tape 03409) only

Tank pressure is good.

(Tape 03404) CMP Tank pressure is - -

(Tape 03409) CDR Tank pressures .... good.

Cernan: (Onboard) Stand by for inboards.

(Tape 03404) CDR Stand by for inboard.

(Tape 03409) CMP Stand by for inboards.

Evans: (Onboard) Okay.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay; we're g and a half. Stand by.

Cernan: We have inboard cut-off.

Cernan: (Technical Debriefing) Inboard cutoff was right on time. You could feel it, a definite physiological feeling. Of course, the g-meter saw it also.

Overmyer: Roger, Gene. Inboard on time.

Public Affairs Officer: And that inboard shutdown looked to be on time. Apollo 17 now 625 miles downrange, 93 miles in altitude.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay; and she pitches up just like the simulator.

Evans: (Onboard) Yes. Sure does, doesn't she?

(Tape 03404) Yes, sure does.

(Tape 03409) Yes. Sure does, doesn't she?

Schmitt: (Onboard) Uh-huh.

(Tape 03404) Uh-huh.

(Tape 03409) Oh !

Evans: (Onboard) Is that hard to reach, Jack?

Schmitt: (Onboard) Yes. Why don't you take it out. I can't quite - g and a half (laughter).

Evans: (Onboard) Yes (laughter).

Cernan: Eight minutes, and we are GO.

Overmyer: Roger, 17. You're looking great.

Public Affairs Officer: The spacecraft guidance systems agreeing very closely with the Saturn guidance. It looks good.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay. Everything's okay.

Evans: (Onboard) Gosh, these ... are really good.

(Tape 03404) SC ... are really - -

(Tape 03409) CMP Gosh, these ... are really good.

Schmitt: (Onboard) 17-03409: Yes.

(Tape 03409) only

Cernan: (Onboard) Stand by for a PU shift.

(Tape 03404) Stand by for a PU shift.

(Tape 03409) Let's stand by for a PU shift.

Evans: (Onboard) Is that what that was?

Cernan: (Onboard) Yes, I think it was.

Evans: (Onboard) Yes, I think that was it.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay, Ron. Level sense arm will be at 36.

Evans: (Onboard) Thirty-six. Okay.

Overmyer: 17, Houston. You are GO for staging.

Cernan: Thank you, Bob. We are GO for staging up here.

Public Affairs Officer: Staging now less than 1 minute.

Primary Tape: 17-03409 - 2 second time difference

(unidentified): (Onboard) (Cough)

Evans: (Onboard) Little over a g.

Cernan: (Onboard) Yes, there's a little chug.

Evans: (Onboard) Yes.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay. We got to get through this one. Coming in. We're in level sense arm now.

Overmyer: You have level sense arm this time, Gene.

Cernan: Roger, Bob. Level sense arm.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay, Ron. Our next thing will be stand by for Mode IV, and we'll have staging - I'll call it out to you. And, little S-IVB; burn, baby, burn.

Evans: (Onboard) ... on the S-II.

Public Affairs Officer: Apollo 17 traveling at 21 000 feet per second. It's achieved about 83 percent of the velocity required for a minimum orbit.

Cernan: Nine minutes, Bob, and 17 is GO.

Overmyer: Roger, 17. You're GO here.

(Tape 03409) ..., 17. You're GO here.

(Air-to-Ground) Roger, 17. You're GO here.

Public Affairs Officer: And about 10 seconds to staging.

Cernan: (Onboard) Okay. Stand by; 10 seconds.

Overmyer: Stand by for Mode IV capability.

(Tape 03409) ... Mode IV capability -

(Air-to-Ground) Stand by for Mode IV capability.

Cernan: (Onboard) S-II cut-off.

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