Ticonderoga Apollo Recovery (CVS 14) - Naval Cruise Book

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The Apollo 1 6 Mission: The Apollo 16 spacecraft was launched April 16, 1972, from the NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida by a Saturn V launch vehicle. The prime crew consisted of Navy Captain John W. Young, spacecraft commander, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Charles M. Duke, Jr., lunar module pilotg and Navy Lieutenant Commander Thomas K. Mattingly, ll, command module pilot. Objectives of the mission, as outlined by NASA, were to land men on the lunar surface, to inspect, survey and sample lunar surface material in an area north of the crater Descartes, to deploy and activate the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package fALSEPj-the fourth of its kindg to further develop man's capability to work in the lunar environment, and to obtain further mapping of the Moon via photography from the command module. Following ascent, the spacecraft reached Earth Parking Orbit QEPOJ and remained in orbit for two revolutions prior to Translunar Injection KTLIJ. Next, the command and service module QCSMJ docked with the lunar module QLMJ and the spacecraft coasted to the Moon. ln orbit around t-he Moon the LM separated from the CSM and astronauts Young and Duke descended to the lunar surface. Stay time on the lunar surface was 73 hours. The ascent stage of the LM then lifted the astronauts back into a lunar orbit where the LM and CSM docked. The LM was jettisoned and Transearth Injection KTED followed. just prior to re-entry of the Earth's atmosphere, the service module was jettisoned, and the astronauts in the command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, 178 nautical miles South of Christmas Island. Recovery forces for Apollo 16 were stationed in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. CTF 130 lManned Spacecraft Recovery Force, Pacificl forces were stationed in the Pacific, with USS TICONDEROGA, seven helicopters, two E-1B aircraft, three Air Force HC-130 aircraft and over 2,000 personnel taking part. Atlantic forces comprised of ships, aircraft, and many personnel were positioned for possible contingency landings and recoveries. Other forces, primarily of the Air Force Aero-space Rescue and Recovery Service, were on alert around the world for contingency recovery support.

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7' 263 2 Eibfli' f . , D ,.qmffgef5.. I . . . for an h1 stor IC O .. ,, N. a ,X 'm,2,.,, L ,H ,.fx' 71 r' W 0' h l 115206 WA' r 9, 232125, -K C are N av f, i 5 , y :ht -1 ., v,J Ef 10' A se tease 5 ??'.o. Q, scifi'-JO Yesfirlf 5AN4y g h t ... , yy x'A A zo of .110 i 150' if rss- g 'W n rendezvous. TICONDEROGA departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii once again, only this time, it was for the real thing. Heading south, she would go a maximum distance of 2,520 miles from Hawaii, all the way to latitude 20-30S and longitude 167-00W. TICONDEROGA traveled this great distance south to be ready for a possible early abort in the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission. TlCO's team would have been ready if this had occured, for all the way from Hawaii it had been practice, practice, practice every other day. The in-between days were filled with solving problems encountered and preparing for the next day's SIM EX. While operating this far south, VR-30, with their COD aircraft, flew many logistics flights to and from American Samoa. Aside from important NASA equipment and personnel, their most enjoyed cargo was 'the many letters received from loved ones over 4,500 miles away-San Diego. i After the astronauts were safely on their way to the Moon, TICONDEROGAE crew turned her to a north by northeasterly course to rendezvous with the USS PONCHATOULA KAO-1485 for a much needed UNREP. It was during this traverse that the recovery team aboard TICO learned that the three astronauts would be coming back from the moon one day earlier than planned. This would move the recovery location approximately 360 miles south of the originally planned recovery area. TICONDEROGA took this change of plan in stride, for she and her crew were ready for any contingency that could arise.

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Apollo 1 6 Reporting: Mattingly Lieutenant Commander Mattingly is one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crews for the Apollo 8 and 9 missions. Astronaut Mattingly was then designated command module pilot for Apollo 13 but was removed from flight status 72 hours prior to the scheduled launch due to the German measles: He was replaced on the flight of Apollo 13 by backup command module pilot John L. Swigert, Jr. . Mattingly was born in Chicago, Illinois, March 17, 1936. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Auburn University in 1958. Prior to reporting for duty at the Manned Spacecraft Center, he was a student at the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School. Lieutenant Commander Mattingly began his Naval career as an Ensign in 1958 and received his wings in 1960. His last squadron duty was with VAH-11, deployed aboard the USS FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT where he flew the A3B aircraft for two years. He has logged 4,200 hours of flight time of which 2,300 hours are in jet aircraft. Lieutenant Commander Mattingly was designated to serve as command module pilot for the Apollo 16 flight March 3, 1971. Young Navy Captain John W. Young was selected as an astronaut by NASA in September 1962. Prior to the Apollo 16 mission, he had completed three space flights totaling 267 hours and 42 minutes. ln March 1965, Young served as pilot with command pilot Gus Grissom on the first Gemini flight-a 3 orbit mission, during which the crew accomplished the first manned spacecraft orbital trajectory modifications and lifting re-entry, and flight tested all systems in Gemini 3. On july 18, 1966, Captain Young occupied the command pilot seat for the Gemini 10 mission, and with Michael Collins as pilot, effected a successful rendezvous and docking with the Agena target vehicle. He served as command module pilot for Apollo 10, which was the comprehensive lunar-orbital qualification test of the Apollo lunar module. Together he, Thomas P. Stafford, and' Eugene A. Cernan confirmed the operational performance, stability, and reliability of the command-service moduleflunar module configuration. Prior to his assignment to NASA, Captain Young was maintenance officer of Fighter Squadron 143 at the Naval Air Station, Miramar, California. Before that, he completed test pilot training in 1959 and was then assigned as a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center until 1962. MM Young has logged more than 5,900 hours flying time, including more than 4,900 hours in jet aircraft. Captain Young was born in San Francisco, California, on September 24, 1930. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1952, an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Western State University College of Law in 1969, and an Honorary Doctorate of Applied Science from Florida Technological University in 1970. Captain Young was assigned as spacecraft commander for the Apollo 16 flight March 3, 1971. Duke Charles M. Duke was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1966 while he was an instructor at the Air Force Aero- space Research Pilot School teaching control systems and flying in the T-33, F-101, and F-104 aircraft. He is an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and was commissioned in 1957 upon graduation from the Naval Academy. He became a distinguished graduate for both his basic and advanced flight training. Upon completion of his flight training, Duke was assigned to the 526th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Lieutenant Colonel Duke has served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 10 flight and as backup lunar pilot for the Apollo 13 flight. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 3, 1935. He attended Lancaster High School in Lancaster, South Carolina, and was graduated valedictorian from the Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Floridag received a Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Sciences from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1957 and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964. Astronaut Duke has logged 3,000 hours flying time, which includes 2,750 hours in jet aircraft. He was designated to serve as lunar module pilot for the Apollo 16 mission March 3, 1971.