Preparation for flight

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

Apollo 17 was the third Type J mission, an extensive scientific investigation of the Moon on the lunar surface and from lunar orbit. Although the spacecraft and launch vehicle were similar to those for Apollo 15 and 16, some experiments were unique to this mission. It was also the final piloted lunar landing mission of the Apollo program.

The primary objectives were:

• to perform selenological inspection, survey, and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region;
• to emplace and activate surface experiments; and
• to conduct inflight experiments and photographic tasks.

The targeted landing site, Taurus-Littrow, was selected because of the certainty of acquiring highlands material, the potential for superior orbital coverage, and for better use of the LRV.

The crew members were Captain Eugene Andrew “Gene” Cernan, (USN), commander; Commander Ronald Ellwin Evans (USN), command module pilot; and Harrison Hagan “Jack” Schmitt, Ph.D., lunar module pilot.

Selected as an astronaut in 1963, Cernan was making his third spaceflight. He had been pilot of Gemini 9-A and lunar module pilot of Apollo 10, the first test of the LM in lunar orbit and the dress rehearsal for the first piloted landing on the Moon. Born 14 March 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, Cernan was 38 years old at the time of the Apollo 17 mission. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Purdue University in 1956 and an M.S. in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1963. His backup for the mission was Captain John Watts Young (USN).

Evans and Schmitt were making their first spaceflights. Born 10 November 1933 in St. Francis, Kansas, Evans was 39 years old at the time of the mission. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1956 and a M.S. in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1964, and he was selected as an astronaut in 1966.[1] His backup was Lt. Colonel Stuart Allen Roosa (USAF).

A geologist, Schmitt was the first true scientist to explore the Moon. Born 3 July 1935 in Santa Rita, New Mexico, he was 37 years old at the time of the Apollo 17 mission. Schmitt received a B.S. in science from the California Institute of Technology in 1957 and a Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University in 1964. He was selected as an astronaut in 1965. His backup was Colonel Charles Moss Duke, Jr. (USAF).

The capsule communicators (CAPCOMs) for the mission were Major Charles Gordon Fullerton (USAF), Lt. Colonel Robert Franklyn Overmyer (USMC), Robert Alan Ridley Parker, Ph. D., Joseph Percival Allen IV, Ph. D., Captain Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. (USN), Commander Thomas Kenneth “Ken” Mattingly, II (USN), Duke, Roosa, and Young. The support crew were Overmyer, Parker, and Fullerton. The flight directors were Gerald D. Griffin (first shift), Eugene F. Kranz and Neil B. Hutchinson (second shift), and M.P. “Pete” Frank and Charles R. Lewis (third shift).

The Apollo 17 launch vehicle was a Saturn V, designated SA-512. The mission also carried the designation Eastern Test Range #1701. The CSM was designated CSM-114, and had the call-sign “America.” The lunar module was designated LM-12, and had the call-sign “Challenger.”

[edit] Apollo 17 Spacecraft History

From Apollo By The Numbers, http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/SP-4029.htm

[edit] Launch Vehicle

The first launch vehicle stages for Apollo 17 arrived at KSC in late 1970 during preparations for the Apollo 14 flight.

Apollo 17 Saturn S-II stage arriving at the VAB.	Apollo 17 Saturn S-II stage arriving at KSC by barge.
S-IC stage for Apollo 17 is moved to VAB following arrival on barge Poseidon.	S-IC stage in the VAB.
Apollo 17 S-IC stage in the Vehicle Assembly Building.	S-IC stage in the VAB.
S-IC stage in the VAB.	Apollo 17 Saturn stacking.
Apollo 17 S-IVB stage being hoisted in VAB.	Erection and stacking of Apollo 17 third stage.
Ron Evans talks with McDonnell Douglas.	Ron Evans and McDonnell Douglas personnel examine the Saturn V third stage's liquid hydrogen tank bulkhead.
Ron Evans talks with McDonnell Douglas personnel inside the interstage joining the Apollo 17 Saturn V's second and third stage.	[[Image: |thumb|none|300px|{{:Image: }}]]

[edit] Spacecraft

Spacecraft operations got under way in March 1972. During the next four months John Williams's directorate conducted the normal sequence of tests. Spacecraft engineers ran into some typical problems. In May Grumman engineers determined that the rendezvous radar assembly had received too much voltage during the tracking and pointing test at the boresight range. A new radar was installed on the 24th. A month later the landing radar began locking up intermittently and it was replaced. The lunar rover required several changes including replacement of forward and aft steering motors.

The biggest change in command-service module operations concerned the scientific instrument module, which gained three new experiments: a lunar sounder, an infrared scanning radiometer, and a far ultraviolet spectrometer. The sounder was essentially a radar that could determine the physical properties of the lunar crust to a depth of 1.5 kilometers. This data, coupled with information gathered from cameras, the laser altimeter, and surface measurements, would allow the construction of a detailed topographical profile of the moon. The radiometer provided data from which scientists could prepare an accurate thermal map of the lunar surface. The new spectrometer measured compositional and density variations of the lunar atmosphere.

Optical Recorder of the Lunar Sounder Experiment (S-209) which will be mounted in the SIM bay of the Apollo 17 Service Module. The Lunar Sounder will probe three-quarters of a mile below the Moon's surface from the orbiting Apollo 17 spacecraft. Electronic data recorded on film will be retrieved by the crew during transearth EVA.

Image:S72-53472.jpg Artist's concept of how radar beams of the Apollo 17 Lunar Sounder experiment will probe three-quarters of a mile below the Moon's surface from the orbiting spacecraft. The Lunar Sounder will be mounted in the SIM bay of the Apollo 17 Service Module.

The Infrared Scanning Radiometer (ISR), Experiment S-171, which will be mounted in the SIM bay of the Apollo 17 Service Module. The ISR experiment will provide a lunar surface temperature map with improved temperature and spatial resolution over what has been possible before.

Far-Ultraviolet Spectrometer, Experiment S-169, one of the lunar orbital science experiments which will be mounted in the SIM bay of the Apollo 17 Service Module. Atomic composition, density and scale height for several contituents of the lunar atmosphere will be measured by the experiment. Solar far-UV radiation reflected from the lunar surface as well as UV radiation emitted by galactic sources also will be detected.

The new experiments, particularly the lunar sounder, caused considerable headaches. For testing the sounder, the lunar surface had to be simulated. The sounder recorded the returning signals with an advanced optical recorder that required a special data reduction machine. After the launch team completed a lunar sounder test, the results were sent to the University of Kansas for interpretation. As the head of the Experiments Section recalled, "It would take weeks sometimes to get the results back and they might come back and say, 'You have nothing on the tapes."' North American had trouble integrating the new experiments with the service module hardware.

[edit] Rollout: August 28, 1972

The stacked vehicle emerged from the assembly building at sunrise on 28 August. Although another Saturn V would make the slow journey for Skylab, area residents reacted as if this were the last one. Five thousand spectators watched Apollo 17 creep toward pad A. The astronauts joined the Bendix crew aboard the crawler for part of the trip.

Gene Cernan at the Apollo 17 roll-out. He is wearing a white knit shirt with the dark collar and is facing the camera.	Apollo 17 roll-out from the roof of the VAB.
Apollo 17 space vehicle rolls out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39A.	Ground-level view of the Apollo 17 space vehicle leaving the Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center. The Saturn V stack and its mobile launch tower were moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad atop a crawler-transporter.
The Apollo 17 crew share a light moment before they board the crawler-transporter to ride with their Saturn V space vehicle to it final launch position 3.5 miles down the crawler-way track.	Ron Evans (left), Gene Cernan, and Jack Schmitt next to the transporter on rollout day.
The Apollo 17 crew are seen hitching a ride on the crawler-transporter on Roll Out day. The crew rode with their Saturn V space vehicle for part of the 3.5 miles of special built crawler-way track to the space craft's final launch position.	Apollo 17 Saturn V on the crawlerway.
The Apollo 17 Saturn V being transported on the crawlerway.	Apollo 17 Saturn V climbs the ramp to pad 39A.
Apollo 17 Saturn V on the Pad.	LUT and Apollo 17.
Ground-level view of the Apollo 17 Saturn V on Pad 39-A with the Moon visible just to the left of the vehicle about half way up.	Apollo 17 Saturn V on the Pad.

[edit] Launch Operations

Launch operations during the next three months followed the routine established in earlier missions.

This page is still under development. Similar to Apollo 16 launch preparation

The few changes in hardware went smoothly. There was one scare in late-September, again involving the command module's reaction control system. While conducting a leak check, a technician overpressurized one of the oxidizer tanks. KSC officials feared the worst - the rupture of the bladder and the spacecraft's return to the operations and checkout building. At a press conference a few hours after the accident, NASA Administrator James Fletcher announced the possibility of a month's delay in the launch. Further tests, however, indicated that the teflon bladder was all right, and Apollo 17 stayed on schedule.

In the outside world, there was an ill omen. A NASA request for 21 hours of Public Broadcasting Service network time to cover Apollo 17 stirred little excitement among the stations. Of some 70 replies, ten were favorable, ten opposed, and 50 expressed serious reservations. While this was blamed on a fear of governmental interference in programming, the commercial networks were no more enthusiastic. The prelaunch word was that they planned to cover only highlights of the flight.

The morale at the spaceport remained generally high. For most companies, KSC contracts continued through Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz flight.

Apollo 17, however, marked the end of the road for the 600 members of the Grumman team. During its years at Merritt Island, Charles Kroupa's group had earned an excellent reputation with NASA counterparts and fellow contractors. The men working for test supervisor Ray Erickson wanted to assure the astronaut crew of their continued support. The result was a large poster at the lunar module working level of the mobile service structure. Signed by Grumman's employees, it read: THIS MAY BE OUR LAST BUT IT WILL BE OUR BEST. Fletcher said the slogan "should be the watchword for the entire Apollo team."

[edit] CDDT (CountDown Demonstration Test): November 21, 1972

The mighty Apollo 17 Saturn V stack is bathed in spotlight during final preparation for launching the three man crew beyond the Earth's gravity and on to the Moon.	A suit tech gets Ron Evans into his bubble helmet during suit-up for the Countdown Demonstration Test.
Gene Crenan suits up in the Astronaut Quarters in the Mann Spacecraft Operation Building in preparation for the Countdown Demonstration Test	Image:72-H-852.jpg Image:72-H-852.jpg
The Apollo 17 Prime Crew suits up in the Astronaut Quarters in the Mann Spacecraft Operation Building in preparation for the Countdown Demonstration Test. Gene Cernan is seen on the couch in the foreground with Ron Evans standing in the middle and Jack Schmitt at the far end.	Image:72-H-851.jpg Image:72-H-851.jpg
Gene Cernan during suit-up for the Countdown Demonstration Test.	Jack Schmitt during suit-up for the Countdown Demonstration Test.
Image:KSC-72P-508.jpg Jack Schmitt suits up in the Astronaut Quarters in the Mann Spacecraft Operation Building in preparation for the Countdown Demonstration Test which was successfully completed on November 21. Completion of the Week-long CDDT cleared the way for the launch of Apollo 17 on December 6th.	Apollo 17 Lunar Module Pilot Harrison H. Schmitt is shown suited in preparation for the final portion of the week-long countdown Demonstration Test.
Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan is shown suited in preparation for the final portion of the week-long countdown Demonstration Test.	Apollo 17 Command Module Pilot Ronald E. Evans is shown suited in preparation for the final portion of the week-long countdown Demonstration Test.
Image:KSC-72P-512.jpg Apollo 17 crew walk to the transfer van for the Countdown Demonstration Test.	Gene Cernan in the White Room on the launch tower for the Countdown Demonstration Test. Pad leader Guenter Wendt is immediately to Gene's left.
Launch Control Center during CDDT. The countdown clock is at -1:05:37; the center display says, "Apollo 17 CDDT 11-22-73 GMT 01 47 20". The monitor at the right shows the white room and the closed hatch of the Command Module.	Apollo 17 Prelaunch Tests in Launch Control Center.

[edit] Prelaunch Dinner

KSC-72PC-612 Ron Evans (right), Gene Cernan, and Jack Schmitt listen to Dave Ballard, the Apollo 17 Support Team Leader, at the pre-launch dinner. 6 December 1972. (NASA photo, research by J.L. Pickering, image adjustments by Eric Hartwell, caption by Eric M. Jones)

Clockwise from the bottom): Stu Roosa, Charles Buckley (head of security at the Cape), Alan Shepard, Deke Slayton, Charlie Duke, Dave Ballard, Jack Schmitt, Gene Cernan, and Ron Evans at the pre-launch dinner. 6 December 1972. Jack Schmitt writes, "I think we asked Buckley to join us, maybe because of the Black September situation in the world at that time." Black September was a Palestinian terrorist group which was responsible for an attack on the Olympic Village at the 1972 Munich Games and the death of ten Israeli athletes.

[edit] Suitup and Transfer

[edit] Launch Preparations

The terminal countdown was picked up at T-28 hours on at 12:53:00 GMT on 5 December 1972. Scheduled holds were initiated at T-9 hours for nine hours and at T-3 hours 30 minutes for one hour.

The launch countdown proceeded smoothly until 2 minutes 47 seconds before the scheduled launch, when the Terminal Countdown Sequencer failed to issue the S-IVB LOX tank pressurization command. As a result, an automatic hold command was issued at T-30 seconds which lasted 1 hour 5 minutes 11 seconds. The countdown was recycled to T-22 minutes, but was held again at T-8 minutes to resolve the sequencer corrective action. This hold lasted 1 hour 13 minutes 19 seconds The countdown was then picked up at T-8 minutes and proceeded smoothly to launch. The delays totaled 2 hours 40 minutes.

During the night launch of Apollo 17, the Cape Kennedy area was experiencing mild temperatures with gentle surface winds. These conditions resulted from a warm moist air mass covering most of Florida. This warm air was separated from an extremely cold air mass over the rest of the south by a cold front oriented northeast-southwest and passing through the Florida panhandle. Surface winds in the Cape Kennedy area were light and northwesterly. The maximum wind belt was located north of Florida, giving less intense wind flow aloft over the Cape Kennedy area. At launch time, stratocumulus clouds covered 20 percent of the sky (base 2,600 feet) and cirrus clouds covered 50 percent (base 26,000 feet); the temperature was 70.0° F; the relative humidity was 93 percent; and the barometric pressure was 14.795 lb/in2. The winds, as measured by the anemometer on the light pole 60.0 feet above ground at the launch site measured 8.0 knots at 5° from true north. The winds at 530 feet above the launch site measured 10.5 knots at 335° from true north.

[edit] Apollo 17 Launch Operations^[1]

The Kennedy Space Center team saved its most spectacular liftoff for the last Apollo mission. Apollo 17, launched on a dark December night, lit up the Florida sky for miles. Despite its early hour (12:33 a.m.), the launch attracted nearly 500,000 watchers in the immediate vicinity. Where clouds did not obstruct the view, thousands more saw the ascending Apollo-Saturn from as far away as 800 kilometers. Of course there was television coverage: the Florida launch site had become familiar to millions of viewers.

Other aspects of the Apollo 17 mission reawakened the interest of the American public. It represented man's last journey to the moon for an indefinite period. Apollo 17 would carry more scientific equipment than any previous mission and would number among its crew the first scientist-astronaut, Harrison Schmitt. The mission also marked the end of a dramatic and controversial program. Appropriately for Apollo, the last mission met acclaim and success.31

1. ↑ Charles D. Benson and William Barnaby Faherty, Apollo 17 Launch Operations chapter 23-7, Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations, NASA Special Publication-4204 in the NASA History Series SP-4204, 1978