Aug 5 1971
From The Space Library
August 5-7: At 241:58 GET (11:32 am EDT Aug. 5) Worden left CSM for inflight EVA to retrieve panoramic and mapping camera film cassettes from SIM on SM. He made three trips to SM bay, two to retrieve cassettes and one to observe condition of instruments, reentering CSM after 38-min 12-sec EVA.
CM Endeavour separated from SM at 294:44 GET. Drogue and main parachutes deployed but one of three main parachutes partially closed during descent, causing harder landing than expected. CM splashed down in mid-Pacific about 10.1 km (5.5 nm) from recovery ship U.S.S. Okinawa at 295:12 GET (4:47 pm EDT Aug. 7)-12 days 7 hrs 12 min after liftoff. Astronauts, wearing fresh flight suits, were carried by helicopter to biomed area on recovery ship for post-flight examinations. After being declared in very good shape, astronauts were flown on following day to Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and to Ellington AFB, Tex. CM was retrieved and placed on board recovery ship. Lunar samples, data, and equipment were flown to Ellington AFB, and CM was off-loaded at San Diego.
Mission achieved primary Apollo 15 objectives: to make selenological survey and sampling of materials in preselected area of Hadley- Apennine region, emplace and activate surface experiments; evaluate capability of Apollo equipment to provide extended lunar surface stay time, increased EVA operations, and surface mobility; and conduct inflight experiments and photographic tasks from lunar orbit. Launch vehicle and spacecraft systems performance were near nominal except for intermittent short circuit in Delta V thrust switch A, CSM-LM failure to undock properly, and increase in CM tunnel pressure preceding LM jettison. Flight crew performance was excellent. Accomplishments included first use of LRV, lunar surface navigation device, direct lunar communications without LM relay, and ground-controlled remotely operated TV camera on moon; largest payload in earth orbit (140 310 kg 309 330 lbs) and largest pay-load in lunar orbit (33 803 kg; 74 522 lbs) ; longest lunar surface stay time, lunar surface EVA, distance traversed on lunar surface (28 km; 17.4 mi), and lunar orbit time (74 orbits); first subsatellite launched in lunar orbit; and largest amount of lunar samples brought to earth. Apollo 15 was 12th Apollo mission to date, 9th manned Apollo mission, and 4th successful lunar landing mission. Apollo 14 mission had been conducted Jan. 31-Feb. 3. Apollo program was directed by OMSF; MSC was responsible for Apollo spacecraft development, MSFC for Saturn V launch vehicle, and KSC for launch operations. Tracking and data acquisition was managed by GSFC under overall direction of OTDA. (NASA Proj Off; NASA Release 71-245; NYT, 7/26-8/7/71; W Post, 7/27-8/8/71, GSFC SSR, 7/31/71; NASA Special Release; NASA Release 71-119K, Lannan, W Star, 7/30/71, Al; AP, W Star, 8/1/71, A10)
