New Orleans (LPH 11) - Naval Cruise Book

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The Saturn V rocket was especially designed for the Apollo Mission series. To date it is the largest and most powerful rocket in the world, capable of putting more than a quarter of a million pounds of payload into Earth orbit or sending 95,000 pounds to the lVloon. The rocket consists of three separately functional units or stages designated S-1C, S-2 and S-IVB. The first stage iS-1Cl is the largest and most powerful of the three stages. It measures 138 feet long and 33 feet in diameter. When fueled, the stage holds 214,200 gallons of RP-1 kerosene and 346,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and weighs in excess of 5,028,000 pounds. Equipped with five F-1 engines weighing ten tons each, the first stage produces approximately 7.5 million pounds of thrust to create initial lift off from the Earth's surface. In turn, the combined thrust of the engines burns over 15 tons of propellants per second during their two and one-half minutes of operation and takes the vehicle to a height of about 36 miles with a speed of about 6,000 miles-per-hour. The total amount of propellants the first stage con- sumes in those few short minutes is comparable to the oxygen necessary to support half a billion people and the fuel necessary to simultaneously operate three million automobiles. After its short journey, the first stage separates from the rest of the Saturn V and the second stage takes over. The second stage QS-21 also contains five engines, but they are smaller than those contained in stage one. These ':F 12f ...- 7 five 1-2 engines used in the second stage develop a total thrust of over one million pounds. The stage is 81 and one-half feet long and 33 feet in diameter. Unlike stage one, the second stage burns liquid hydro- gen rather than kerosene. This is because hydrogen produces more thrust per pound of fuel than kerosene. However, kerosene is a much more stable fuel than liquid hydrogen, and is thus preferred, in view of safety pre- cautions, for initial lift off on Earth. As with stage one, liquid oxygen is still converted into a gas for use in the combustion process. When the second stage is fueled it holds 267,700 'gallons of liquid hydrogen and 87,400 gallons of liquid oxygen and weighs over 1,064,000 pounds. The liquid hydrogen is stored in the Saturn V at a temperature of minus 423 degrees F. and turns into a gas at any temperature above that. On the other hand, liquid oxygen is stored at minus 287 degrees F. and is con- sidered hot in its liquified state at that temperature. These propellants are burned at a rate of over one ton per second during about six and one-half minutes of operation to take the vehicle to an altitude of about 108 miles and a speed of near orbital velocity, which in this case is about 17,400 miles-per-hour. Stage three QS-lVl3l contains but one engine. lt is capable of producing 230,000 pounds of thrust and carries a combined fuel package of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen amounting to 87,300 gallons. The third stage has two important operations during

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PRIME CREW OF EIGHTH MANNED APOLLO MISSION STUART A. ROOSA Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart A. Roosa was one of 19 astronauts selected by NASA in 1966. In 1969, he received experience on Apollo Space Flights as a member of the astronaut support crew for the flight of Apollo 9. As with most other astronauts, Roosa's mili- tary career was spent as a test pilot. His last assignment prior to entering astronaut training was as an experimental test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Since 1953, Roosa acquired over 4,300 flight hours, of which some 3,900 flight hours were logged in jet aircraft. Roosa was born on August 16, 1933 in Durango, Colorado. He went on to be grad- uated with honors and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the Univer- sity of Colorado. He received his flight training and commission in the Air Force at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona. ALAN B. SHEPARD, jR. Navy Captain Alan B. Shepard joined the national space program in April 1959. On May 5, 1961 he became noted in history as the first American to journey into space when he rode his Freedom 7 spacecraft on a suborbital flight pattern that carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles. ln May 1969, following the correction of an inner ear disorder, Shepard was restored to full flight status. He was subsequently named to serve as spacecraft commander for the Apollo 14 flight, during which he became the fifth man to walk on the surface of the Moon., ln 1950, Shepard attended the United States Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Mary- land. After graduation, he participated in flight test work at Moffett Field in California. That same year Shepard attended the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island. Following graduation, he was assigned to the staff of the Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet as Aircraft Readiness Officer. Shepard was-born on November 15, 1923 in Derry, New Hampshire. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1944 and was awarded an Honorary Master of Arts Degree from Dartmouth College in 1962. EDGAR D. MITCHELL Like Roosa, Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Dean Mitchell was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in 1966. He later served as a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 9 and was the backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 10. Mitchell came to the Manned Spacecraft Center after graduating first in his class from the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School. As the Apollo 14 Lunar Module Pilot, Mitchell became the sixth man to walk on the Moon, stepping down to the lunar surface just minutes after Alan Shepard. ' Together he and Alan Shepard gathered a total of 96 pounds of Moon rocks during their 33-M hour stay on the Moon. There they also con- ducted numerous surface experiments. It was Mitchell's job to control the flight and orbit of the LEM in transit to and from the Moon. Mitchell was born September 17, 1930 in Hereford, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Management from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1952 and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aero- nautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Post- graduate School in 1961. ln 1964, he earned yet another degree, a Doctor of Science Degree in AeronautlcslAstronautics, from the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology.

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the Project Apollo lunar mission. After the second stage drops away, the third ignites and burns for about two minutes to place itself and the spacecraft into the desired Earth orbit. At the proper time during this Earth parking orbit, the third stage is re-ignited to speed the Apollo spacecraft to escape velocity of 24,900 miles-per-hour. In this second sequence, the stage burns for about six minutes. The stage is 58 feet long and 21.7 feet in diameter. The instrument unit, located atop the third stage, between the stage and thepayload, contains guidance and control equipment for the launch vehicle. It is 3 feet long and 21.7 feet in diameter. Stage three has an operational life of four hours before all systems become inoperative and separation occurs. This was why Apollo 14's docking problem in Earth orbit was so very critical. The astronauts were battling a time element as well as mechanical problems. The final section of the 365 foot tall Saturn V Moon rocket is the Apollo spacecraft itself, which rests atop the instrument unit. The spacecraft contains three distinctly separate modules: the lunar module, service module and command module. LUNAR MODULE The lunar module was named Antares for the star on which the landing craft oriented itself as it headed down to the Fra Mauro region of the Moon. The module was essentially composed of two units, the ascent stage and the descent stage. The ascent stage measured approximately 12 feet high and 14 feet in diameter. The descent stage was about the same size as her sister unit, measuring about 10 and one-half feet high and 14 feet in diameter. Both stages were encased in a shield of mylar and aluminum alloy for protection against heat and micrometeoroids. Each stage served a distinct purpose during the Apollo 14 lunar landing. The descent stage was equipped with special landing gear called struts, which were mounted' in dish-like footpads, and filled with a honeycomb of crush- able aluminum providing for a soft landing. A 68-inch sensing probe was also attached to the end of each strut. The probes told the astronauts to shut down their descent engine upon contact with the Moon's surface. After the astronauts had touched down on the Moon, the descent stage served only as a launching pad for the later scheduled blastoff. The job of the ascent stage was to carry Astronauts Shepard and Mitchell off the Moon and back to the command module. It was equipped with a drogue used to align the lunar module with the command module in docking. The ascent stage also contained a tunnel, 32 inches in diameter, which allowed the astronauts to crawl from the ascent stage into the command module. The tunnel could only be reached by opening a hatch in the lunar module, which could not be opened unless equal pressure was present on both sides. Consequently, a per- fectly tight seal had to be made in the docking process or the astronauts would have been unable to pass through the adjoining tunnel. Should difficulty arise in the dock- ing procedure, which would not allow passage between the two modules through the tunnel, alternative methods would be utilized. ln such an emergency, the astronauts could leave Antares through a hatch, walk through space, and then enter Kitty Hawk through its hatch. After the successful docking of the ascent stage with the command module, Antares was sent hurtling back to the Moon's surface. Its impact was recorded and analyzed by NASA in Houston as part ofa seismological experiment. Scientists hope this will help them learn more about the Moon's crust and the Moon's origin. SERVICE MODULE The service module is, as the name implies, a unit which serves the command module. Its main function is to provide the necessary power to propel and maneuver the command module in its flight to and from the Moon. lt is equipped with a restartable main propulsion engine, which can be used to make mid-course corrections during flight, deboost the vehicle into Moon orbit and then boost it out of Moon orbit and back to Earth. It is also fitted with attitude control rockets, which permit the craft to roll, pitch and yaw, as well as edge upward, downward and sideways during flight. These rockets serve the same purpose as horizontal stabilizers, ailerons and the rudder on conventional airplanes. Both the rockets and main propulsion engine burn hypergolic or self-igniting fuels. When a pair of oxi- dizers and propellant liquids are mixed together, they ignite spontaneously. Thus, the process is totally a chemi- cal reaction and no spark plugs or other electric ignlters are needed to start the engine or rockets. Three compact hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, together with tanks of supercooled hydrogen and oxygen, supply the craft's total electrical power. These remain functional until the last five hours or so when the service module is cast away from the command module upon returning to Earth. The actual separation occurs when an electrical signal fires explosive bolts holding the two modules together. Another job of these fuel cells is the manufacturing of part of the astronaut's drinking water. lt is actually a byproduct of the chemical reaction that makes their electricity. The service module is also equipped with space radi- ators. These radiators are much different than the radiators used in cars, yet still serve the same purpose. The radiators are actually outside walls of the craft, lined with tiny tubes through which liquid ethylene glycol is pumped. This liquid carries heat generated by human, mechanical and electrical systems from the interior of the two modules to their exterior surfaces. Also contained in the service module is a dish-shaped antenna. It folds out and automatically aims itself to Earth, allowing communication between the astronauts and NASA. COMMAND MODULE The command module of Apollo 14 was called Kitty Hawk because as the astronauts put it: That's where it all started. Kitty Hawk is a community in North Caro- lina where the American aviation pioneers, the Wright brothers, first demonstrated powered flight by man early in this century. The module, piloted by Astronaut Roosa, contained the necessary life support systems for the three astro- nauts and was the only unit of the entire spacecraft which returned to Earth. The command module is 13 feet in diameter and weighs 11,000 pounds.