Uploads from jurvetson, tagged lms

Apollo 14 Flight Crew Guidance & Navigation G&N Dictionary

nobody@flickr.com (jurvetson) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:22:57 -0800

jurvetson posted a photo:

Used extensively by the astronauts in training, it comes with numerous trajectory calculations, erased and reentered, and entries for course correction burns.

This vintage 5"x 8" Apollo 14 Flight Crew G&N Dictionary contains 100 pages dated December 17, 1970 one month before launch. The tabs are well worn from astronaut training use in the Lunar Module Simulator.

It is full of verb and noun instructions to be punched into the DSKY to program the Guidance Computer, and star charts for navigation.

Some interesting pages below.

Apollo 14 Star Charts

nobody@flickr.com (jurvetson) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:11:16 -0800

jurvetson posted a photo:

From the G&N Dictionary used extensively for training in the Lunar Module simulator.

Using a sextant, like ship mariners of yore, the astronauts would align overlaid images of the Earth's horizon line and two known stars (the stars remain in fixed positions once the observer is free of Earth's rotation). They would punch the star number into the DSKY once they had a sighting, and the computer could calculate their exact position in space.

They had 37 stars stored in the magnetic rope memory of the guidance computer. Some of them are faint and obscure because they needed coverage across the sky, not just the brightest stars wherever they may be.

There are three stars here that you should not find on other star charts. Gus Grissom was involved with the early planning and production of the Apollo star charts. When they were deciding on which stars to number and name, he made up names for three of the fainter stars in tribute to his fellow Apollo 1 crewmembers. Star number 3 was called “Navi” which is his own middle name Ivan spelled backwards. Star number 17 was named “Regor” which is Roger (Chaffee) spelled backwards. Star number 20 was “Dnoces” which is Second (Ed White II) spelled backwards. After the tragic deaths of this crew in a training accident, NASA decided to leave these names on the future charts as a tribute.

Apollo 14 Lunar Module Orbit Monitor Chart, Circular

nobody@flickr.com (jurvetson) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:20:30 -0700

jurvetson posted a photo:

With the Apollo 14 landing site, marked with a note above (top center, click image to enlarge). This was used in the LM Simulator, and is identical to the one that is used for visual landmark tracking during descent to the moon. I thought it would be a cool complement to the landing site plate from the simulator (below). It's also similar to the flown map I have from Apollo 16, which spent 3 days on the moon.

Description: "A vintage Apollo 14 circular Orbit Monitor Chart showing revolution 13 of the Lunar Module. The lunar chart measures 10½"x 160" (over 13 feet long) and is circular in nature, meaning the two ends have been taped together to make one, long continuos chart. The chart shows the Apollo 14 landing site in the Fra Mauro region as well as the Apollo 12 landing site. Additionally, hundreds of craters and landmarks are shown. The map is a first edition dated November 23, 1970 for a January 31, 1971 launch. Used in the Lunar Module Simulator for astronaut training."

Apollo 16 Lunar Module Direct Ascent Chart

nobody@flickr.com (jurvetson) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:08:16 -0700

jurvetson posted a photo:

A page from the LM Timeline Book, we have a rare chance to compare the simulation 5 days prior to the actual flight, below. In short, the plot and flight trajectory offsets look quite similar.

In the direct ascent maneuver (lifting off the moon), Charlie Duke manually plotted the deltas of the flight trajectories of the LM and CM to enable a rendezvous in orbit, essential for their transfer to the orbiting spacecraft that can take them home.

Apollo 16 LM Timeline Book

nobody@flickr.com (jurvetson) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:58:19 -0700

jurvetson posted a photo:

From the Lunar Module Simulator, with numerous notes and annotations up to 5 days before launch.

The part number is the same as the Apollo 16 stowage list for the flight, and it was extensively used, even with moon boot prints on some pages.

Presumably the handwriting is primarily John Young and Charlie Duke, but I am not a good judge of that. I will post several interesting pages below in case someone can shed light on them.