Jul 26 1971
From The Space Library
President Nixon issued statement on successful Apollo 15 launch: "The flight of Apollo 15 is the most ambitious exploration yet under-taken in space. Even as it reflects man's restless quest for his own future, so it also reenacts another of the `deeper rituals of his bones'-not only the compulsion of the human spirit to know where we are going, but the primal need in man's blood to know from what we have come. We hope, by this journey, to know better the origins of Earth, the moon, and their other planets. We hope to understand something more of the mysteries of God's great work. And . . . we hope to understand more of man himself." (PD, 8/2/71, 1088)
July 26-August 7: NASA'S Apollo 15 (AS-510) carried three-man crew on fourth successful lunar landing mission. LM-10 Falcon landed on moon's Hadley-Apennine region and two astronauts conducted experiments, rode first manned Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) on moon, and explored lunar surface. After 66 hrs 55 min on surface, Falcon re-joined orbiting CSM-112 Endeavor and astronauts transfered for safe return to earth with lunar samples. July 26 28: Spacecraft-carrying Astronauts David H. Scott (commander), Alfred M. Worden (CM pilot), and James B. Irwin (LM pilot)-was launched from KSC Launch Complex 39, Pad A, on time at 9:34 am EDT July 26 by Saturn V booster. Launch was watched by 2000 invited guests-including 185 members of British Astronomical Society and Royal Astronomical Society and 41 Congressmen-and estimated 1 million other viewers. Spacecraft and S-IVB combination entered parking orbit with 171.4-km (106.5-mi) apogee and 169.4-km (105.3-mi) perigee. Trans-lunar injection (TLI) was achieved at 2:56 GET and CSm separated from LM/S-IVB/IU at 3:22 GET. Docking of CSM with LM at 3:34 GET was shown clearly by onboard color TV. S-IVB APS burns were conducted at 5:48 GET and 10:00 GET to send stage toward moon. Separated S-IVB/iv impacted lunar surface at 79:25 GET (4:59 pm EDT July 29) at 1° south latitude and 11.9° west longitude, 188 km (117 mi) northeast of Apollo 14 landing site and 355 km (221 mi) northeast of Apollo 12 landing site. Impact was detected by Apollo 14 seismometer 37 sec after impact and by Apollo 12 seismometer 55 sec after impact.
First midcourse correction (MCC-1) was canceled because space-craft trajectory was near nominal. Shortly after CSM-LM docking, telemetry data indicated electrical short in service propulsion system (sps). Troubleshooting isolated problem and MCC-2 at 28:41 GET used SPS bank A to analyze apparent intermittent short. Data indicated bank A could be safely operated manually. Modified procedures were developed for using bank B alone for remaining midcourse corrections except lunar orbit and transearth insertions, which would be dual bank burns. Scott and Irwin entered LM at 33:56 GET, 50 min earlier than planned, to check out LM communications and other systems. TV pictures of CSM and LM interiors were shown between 34:55 and 35:46 GET. During checkout crew discovered range/range-rate exterior glass cover had broken, removing helium barrier. Crew began LM house-keeping 11/2 hrs earlier than scheduled and vacuumed broken glass. At 61:13 GET, during preparations for water chlorination, water leak developed in CM chlorination septum gland but was stopped by crew, following repair instructions from ground, and water was absorbed with towels. Door of scientific instrument module (SIM) was jettisoned at 74:06 GET.
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