Apr 16 1972
From The Space Library
Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko-first Soviet dignitary to accept invitation to watch Apollo launch-described his reaction to launch to press at Kennedy Space Center. "It was beautiful, it was poetry. It was a great impression." Yevtushenko said he had been even more impressed on his midnight visit to the floodlit launch pad with astronaut David R. Scott, "It's really a beautiful show, this white tender body of a rocket, supported by the clumsy but sometimes tender hands of the red gantry tower. I absolutely had the feeling of one big brother embracing his sister before a long way, a long road. It was wonderful. Silence, not people. No press. Nothing. The sky, the ground, the rocket. It was so beautiful." (Witkin, NYT, 4/17/72, 24)
Astronaut John W. Young had not had "command pilot syndrome"- fastest peak heart rate of crew at launching-when Apollo 16 was launched, Dr. Charles A. Berry, NASA Director of Life Sciences, said in interview. "The commander has the greatest responsibility and .. . usually has the fastest rate." During Apollo 16 launch lunar module pilot Charles M. Duke, Jr., had fastest peak rate, 130 beats per min. Command module pilot Thomas K. Mattingly II registered 115 beats per min, and Young-who was making fourth space flight and second trip to moon-registered 108 beats per min. Record had been set by Astronaut Charles Conrad, Jr., whose rate had reached 166 beats per min just before launch of Gemini 11 Sept. 12, 1966. (Altman, NYT, 4/17/72, 24)
Tass announced Apollo 16 launch 22 min after U.S. news agencies re- ported blastoff and issued brief report when spacecraft entered orbit. urr said coverage was quick by Soviet standards and was part of "gradual expanding coverage the Russians have been giving to U.S. space shots which were all but ignored ten years ago." (W Star, 4/17/72, A6)
Jan. 25 fuel leak in Apollo 16 spacecraft had added extra $200 000 to cost of mission, Washington Post reported. Most of money went to pay overtime to technicians who had worked two weekends bringing vehicle with cSM/LM from launch pad to Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where command module had been partly disassembled, and returning spacecraft to pad after repair work on launch vehicle and command module had been completed. (W Post, 4/16/72, A3)
NASA had invited 63 ambassadors to Apollo 16 launch but had canceled flight scheduled to carry them to Cape Kennedy because only 10 had accepted, Washington Post reported. (W Post, 4/16/72)
U.S. was "running out of blank spaces on the map" and needed last frontier of space "to keep the human spirit up," Dr. Wernher von Braun, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning, said in interview published by National Enquirer. "Huge tasks" set for computer industry by Apollo program had boosted that industry from $1-billion-per-year earnings in 1969 to $8 billion in 1972. "The aerospace industry itself is a $27 billion business. These and associated Indus-tries which the space program stimulates . . . produce the base for the taxes to support all programs. Let the tax base erode and you will very soon see that we won't be able to afford the social programs." (Adler, National Enquirer, 4/16/72)
New York Times editorial commented on space cooperation: "These past few years astronomy has probably advanced further than in any previous century since the invention of the telescope. Fantastic progress has been made through American and Soviet exploration of the moon, Mars and Venus." Need was "to build on this new base of knowledge with a program of further manned and unmanned space exploration conducted under a system of international cooperation which combines the resources, manpower and knowledge of many nations. No generation has ever faced a nobler challenge than space now poses before all humanity." (NYT, 4/16/72, 5:12)
April 16-27: NASA's Apollo 16 (AS-511) carried three-man crew on fifth successful Iunar Ianding mission. Lunar module (LM-11) Orion landed in moon's Descartes region and two astronauts conducted experiments, rode Lunar Roving Vehicle (Lxv), and explored lunar sur- face, After 71 hrs 14 min on lunar surface Orion rejoined orbiting command and service module (CSM-113) Casper and astronauts transferred for safe return to earth with lunar samples.
April 16-18: Spacecraft-carrying Astronauts John W. Young (commander), Thomas K. Mattingly II (command module pilot), and Charles M. Duke, Jr. (lunar module pilot)-was launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, Pad A, on time at 12;54 pm EST April 16 by Saturn V booster. Launch was watched by group of invited guests-including Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, King Hussein of Jordan, and President Jose Figueres Ferrer of Costa Rica-and estimated half million other viewers near KSC and 38 million TV viewers. Spacecraft and S-IVB combination entered parking orbit with 175.9-km (109.3-mi) apogee and 166.7-km (103.6-mi) perigee. Insertion into trajectory toward moon was achieved at 2:34 GET in spite of minor anomalies-leak in instrument unit (to) temperature control system's gaseous nitrogen bottle pressure and malfunction of S-IVB auxiliary propulsion system (APS) helium regulators, which caused continuous venting. CSM separation from LM/S-IVB/Iu at 3:05 GET and docking with LM was shown on color TV for 13 min. First S-IVB APS burn was near nominal, but because of helium depletion and potential trajectory disturbances, second burn was not made and S-IVB lunar impact operations were terminated. Tracking of stage ended at 27:09 GET when iu signal was lost. S- IVB impacted lunar surface at 75:03 GET (4:02 pm EST April 19) at point estimated to be 1.8° north latitude and 23.3° west longitude. Impact was detected by seismometers at Apollo 12, 14, and 15 sites. Unexplained light-colored particles streaming from LM close-out panel during docking were reported by crew at 7:18 GET. Young and Duke entered LM, powered up, and found all systems normal. Grass- like particles, shown on CM TV, were later identified as shredded thermal paint, but degraded thermal protection was not expected to affect LM operations. First midcourse correction (MCC-1) was canceled because spacecraft trajectory was near nominal. Electrophoresis demonstration began on schedule at 25:05 GET and appeared to be successful, from crew's description of reaction of charged particles in liquid. Ultraviolet (uv) photographs of earth from 107 300 km (66 700 mi) and 216 600 km (134 600 mi) were taken as planned. Duke reported "spectacular" view of half earth from 201 000- km (125 000-mi) altitude when he could see sun shining on only half of planet. During MCC-2, made at 30:39 GET, services propulsion system (sPs) tank pressure anomaly that had occurred earlier in mission was tracked and minor leak in transducer reference cavity was located. Procedures were sent to crew to account for transducer reading. Visual light flash experiment was started about two hours late, at 49:10 GET, because of problem in aligning spacecraft. Duke counted 70 white, instantaneous light flashes that left no after-glow. uv photography of earth at 327 800 km (203 700 mi) was completed as planned. Young and Duke entered LM at 53:50 GET for two-hour checkout of LM systems. All system checks were nominal. Scientific instrument module (SIM) door jettisoned at 69:59 GET.
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