Yorktown Apollo Recovery (CVS 10) - Naval Cruise Book

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NASA Dummy Spacecraft BUILERPLATE ALUNG Sl DE --C rewmembers watch as UDT-l2 frognen prepare to hoolz dummy capsule to B and A crane. Yorktown practiced recovering the NASA boilerplate spacecraft both at night and during the day. On December 12, the Fighting Lady' steamed about 60 miles south of the Hawaiian Islands. Winds up to 52 knots and seas 12 to 15 feet high made the recovery practice hazard- ous but still possible. One NASA official Stated they were the worst conditions he had ever en- countered during a recovery, either in practice or during an actual recovery. The Yorktown went out again onDecember 16 and, with better weather conditions , successfully picked up the dummy spacecraft three times during the day and three times at night. Swimmers from Underwater Demolition Team 12 were dropped to the bobbing boilerplate by helo. They attached the sea anchor and flo- tation collar , and remained with the capsule until just before it was brought aboard the Yorktown by the Boat and Aviation Crane. The it-?:: Yorktown' s Weapons Department was in charge of lifting the capsule from the water. While in the recovery area, several more practice recoveries were made before the real splashdown before dawn on December 27. , -fr 415 W V ' .. .5 'Sv 3-'il W -f-.., A ' - OUT UF THE WATER--The boilerplate is hoist- ed out of the water and swung over Elevator Number Three. COLLAR REMOVED--After removing flotation collar, Weapon's Department personnel are prepared to place the capsule on a dolly. Page 20

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nf 2' i IV' ' Yorktown Practices Recovering -tg Q, A f, I J' V-Mx I . , N ,,,. 1 If in F A K N ' K' , A- Jer- ' gr- -. , ' A 'Af' K' D iw- , ,.,,, ii f' YQRMK K my - ,.,,f:,e'4'3'-n xx ,,., If l v 6v:'x4:: v X K f 4 .i K l QA ' ' ,sv-Q? ' Q-hx Q es I Q te- g. -I Ang' ff' 'll PRACTICE SESSIUN BEGINS'-The ship's Weapons Department pre- pares to put the NASA boiler- plate over the side, so the Apollo 8 recovery team can practice picking it up. 'kulrir' LOADING GEAR--Underwater Demo- lition Team I2 loads gear in HS-4 helicopter for a practice session of recovering the NASA boilerplate.

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Weather Important To llpollo 8' Weather is something always critical to air operations. But, it was evena greater factor for the three astronauts in Apollo 8, as they completed their orbits of the M oon and s pla sh- ed down in the Pacific. A fourth man vitally interested in weather conditions in the recovery area, 1,000 miles Southwest of Hawaii, was LCdr Neil F,O'Con- nor, Yorktown's meterologist. His work began even before the capsule was launched from Cape Kennedy. He and his staff of 11 Navy aerographers provided NASA with a six day forecast prior to the launch. Fortunately, the weather in the recovery area is very stable this time ofyear, O' Con- nor said. As far as weather is concerned, the impact area was aboutas good as we could have asked for, he added. Weather forecasting is not new to LCdr O'Connor. His Navy career has spanned 23 years. He started out as an enlisted aero- grapher, and participated in the Bikini and Ewitok atomic tests. Weather stations from the entire Pacific area were feeding information to space headquarters in Houston. Fleet Weather Cen- tral in Pearl Harbor had a vital role in forecasting wind and sea conditions in the re- covery zone. My men made upper air as well as sur- face observations every three hours during the 'Y IN SALUTE T0 ARLINGTUN--Astronauts wave to crew of communications ship Arlington, be- fore departing Yorktown for Hawaii. Page X X if um iz 8 li li 'il -if , X xp -'I' A XQXF. xi! H ,Q ggi . K K d A Y-Qs. PLUTTING WEATHER--LCdr Neil F. 0'Conner plots weather during Apollo 8 recovery. entire II1iSSiO11, O' Connor said. This infor- mation was made available to the astronauts before they splashed down, he added. LCdr O' Connor is also Public Affairs Officer on the Yorktown, another job that kept him busy during the Apollo 8 recovery. SHURTENED SWIM CALLS--Two swim calls were cut short l,000 miles from Hawaii wl1ile waiting for the Apollo 8 recou- ery. The first was due to rough water and the second because of a shark' s appearance. 2l