Spacelog Apollo 11

Yes indeed. O₂ fuel cell purge at 71 hours, and when you feel like copying, I've got a flight plan update containing—I guess that and some other items for you.

Houston, Apollo 11. Go ahead with the flight plan update.

Okay. We'll get started on the fuel cell purge while we're eating. CO₂ canister change number 6; secondary radiator flow check; copy some pads. Also at 72 hours, stop PTC 0 roll at 73; do a P52 option 3; we'll get your uplink REFSMMAT for the landing site; and at 000—let's see, now was this with the old REFSMMAT or the new REFSMMAT?

This is with the —

— … antenna and, pitch —

— This is with the new REFSMMAT, Buzz.

You said you want the P52 done at that attitude with the new REFSMMAT?

Roger.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.

Houston, go ahead.

Roger, 11. Correction on my last. At 73 20, we uplink you the new REFSMMAT. And at 73 30, we'd like you to maneuver to 0 roll, 0 pitch, 0 yaw in the old REFSMMAT. And then torque around to the new REFSMMAT and run your P52 option 1 in that same inertial attitude. Over.

Roger, Understand.

I've got consumables update, when you're ready to copy.

I just got up, but you didn't catch me on that one.

I say I have one for you.

Okay. We're ready to copy that consumable update.

Roger. As of GET 68 00, RCS total minus 4.5 percent, corresponding to approximately minus 53 pounds. Alfa minus 6.0 percent, minus 1.0 percent, minus 7.0 percent, minus 3.0 percent; H₂ total, minus 1.2 pounds; O₂ total, plus 10 pounds. Over.

Roger. And our readouts on board are Alfa is 82, Bravo is 84, Cocoa is 84, and Delta is 87.

Houston. Roger. Out.

And you want us to cycle the O₂ and H₂ fans, I imagine?

11, this is Houston. Affirmative. Over.

Houston, Apollo 11. I have a status report for you.

Go ahead, 11.

Roger. On sleep; CDR, CMP, 7.5; LMP, 6.5. Over.

Roger. 7.5 for each. Over.

Negative. LMP 6.5.

Roger. 7.5, 7.5 and 6.5. And I got a few words for you here on the SPS engine performance. Over.

Okay. We're ready to listen.

Okay, 11. It turns out that the engine performance during both of your burns so far this mission has been the same as it was on engine acceptance tests. The onboard PC reading is due to a known gage calibration factor between what you've actually got in the chamber and what you're reading out on the gage. We expect single bank operation to be 90—that is, 90 psi on the gage with an actual chamber pressure of 95 psi. In dual bank operation, the chamber pressure is 94 psi on the gage with an actual of 99 psi. 80 psi on the gage on board correlates to 83 psi actual. And we recommend that you stick to an LOI termination cue of 80 psi on the gage. That is, no change to the mission rules. Over.

Apollo 11. Roger. We got all that.

Houston. Apollo 11.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Go ahead. Over.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Go ahead. Over.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Go ahead. Over.

Houston, do you read Apollo 11?

Roger, 11. We're reading you loud and clear now. We were down in the noise as we switched antennas a minute or so ago. Over.

Roger. What sort of settings could you recommend for the solar corona? We've got the Sun right behind the edge of the Moon now.

Roger.

It's quite an erie sight. There is a very marked three dimensional aspect of having the Sun's corona coming from behind the Moon the way it is.

Roger.

And it looks as though—I guess what's giving it that three dimensional effect is the earthshine. I can see Tycho fairly clearly—at least if I'm right side up, I believe it's Tycho, in moonshine—I mean, in earthshine. And, of course, I can see the sky is lit all the way around the Moon, even on the limb of it where there's no earthshine or sunshine.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.

Go ahead.

Roger. We're not trying to get you all wrapped up in a procedure here. This is on a not to interfere basis, of course. Over.

Okay.

And on the exposures we're looking for an eighth of a second, a half a second. And, if you think you can steady the camera against anything to get longer exposures, 2 seconds, 4 seconds, and 8 seconds. Over.

Roger. We copy.

Apollo 11, Houston. Over.

Go ahead, Houston.

Roger. We'd like to do a little CRYO tank balancing. So, if you could position the oxygen tank number 1 heater switch to OFF and hydrogen tank 2 heater switch to OFF leaving all the rest of the CRYO switches the same, we'll let it run that way for a few hours. Over.

Okay. Stand by one on those switches. We'll get them in a minute.

Roger. And how far out can you see the corona extending? Over.

… bit like zodiacal light. It keeps going out farther and farther. We'll talk about it a little more later.

… We've got quite a few pictures …

Apollo 11, this is Houston. I think we have COMM again. We heard you calling. Over.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Were you calling? Over.

Houston, Apollo 11. Understand you want the heaters OFF for hydrogen tank 1 and oxygen tank 1. Is that affirmative?

That's negative, Mike. Hydrogen tank number 2 heaters OFF and oxygen tank number 1 heaters OFF.

Okay.

Roger. Out.

I have hydrogen tank number 2 heaters OFF; I have oxygen tank number 1 heaters OFF.

Houston. Apollo 11. The earthshine coming through the window is so bright you can read a book by it.

And, Houston, I'd suggest that along the ecliptic line we can see the corona light out to two lunar diameters from this location. The bright light only extends out about an eighth to a quarter of the lunar radius.

Roger. Understand that you can see the corona approximately 200 solar diameters out along the ecliptic, and the bright light extends out approximately one eighth to one quarter lunar radius. Over.

That's two lunar—two lunar diameters along the ecliptic in the bright part, right; a quarter to an eighth of a lunar radius out, and that's perpendicular to the ecliptic line on the South Pole.

Houston, it's been a real change for us. Now we are able to see stars again and recognize constellations for the first time on the trip. It's—the sky is full of stars. Just like the nightside of Earth. But all the way here, we have only been able to see stars occasionally and perhaps through the monocular, but not recognize any star patterns.

I guess it has turned into night up there really, hasn't it ?

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Do you read? Over.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. How do you read? Over.

Okay. We went to HIGH GAIN. Looks like you had a little trouble getting signal strength there.

Roger. We missed an OMNI switch there. Over.

All right. On the secondary loop check when we went to FLOW on the secondary radiators, the quantity dropped from 40 percent down to 36 in the first 10 seconds and then stabilized at 36 for the remainder of the 30 seconds.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. We believe that is normal system operation. The radiators are expected to be very cold right now and apparently the decrease you saw was due to contraction in the fluid. Over.

Okay. We will go ahead with the procedure just as if there were no decrease in accumulator quantity. Right?

Roger. Press on.

And, Houston, the secondary radiator flow check is complete and satisfactory.

Houston. Roger. Out.

And that's a good deal because we don't have to have any meetings about whether we're going to do it or don't do it any more.

That's for sure.

The Flight Director says “ouch.”

No. No “ouch” intended. I enjoyed every one of those meetings.

11, this is Houston. I have your pericynthion plus 2 PAD, P30 format; when you're ready to copy.

Roger. Stand by.

Houston, Apollo 11. Ready to copy pericynthion plus 2.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Pericynthion plus 2 hours PAD. SPS G&N: 62710, plus 098, minus 019, GET ignition 077 46 2248, DELTA-VX NOUN 81, plus 32148, minus 00455, minus 10377, roll NA, pitch 307, and the remainder of the PAD is NA. GDC align stars Vega and Deneb. Roll 243 183 012, no ullage. Remarks: Assumes landing site REFSMMAT and docked. Over.