Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

[Kepler]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

FYP- Marathon runners are not normal people.

Still, the era that these guys were test pilots was in an era that the very first time a concept was tried in real full scale was not a model. They had to learn how to solve problems in real time just to come home safely. And I do think that many of the flight controllers came from a background where they were on the other side of the mic helping to solve those problems- thus they were cool, calm, and collected too.

To make something so dramatic and difficult sound so very boring take some serious skill and confidence.

I think a lot of them were ex-mil. Probably not combat vets given their ages but still, that does adjust the Overton Window of what constitutes an emergency. A guy on my trivia team is a refugee from Somalia who spent three years in camps and saw unbelievably horrific stuff happen with such regularity that he is completely unflappable. I've seen it on a couple occasions where he just pivots into "dealing with it" mode with not even a millisecond of stopping to emotionally react or process the scene. It's like the way we tie shoes without thinking about it -- but he can do that with, say, an active shooter.

 

[alfablue]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

I think a lot of them were ex-mil. Probably not combat vets given their ages but still, that does adjust the Overton Window of what constitutes an emergency. A guy on my trivia team is a refugee from Somalia who spent three years in camps and saw unbelievably horrific stuff happen with such regularity that he is completely unflappable. I've seen it on a couple occasions where he just pivots into "dealing with it" mode with not even a millisecond of stopping to emotionally react or process the scene. It's like the way we tie shoes without thinking about it -- but he can do that with, say, an active shooter.

From what I understand, for many of them, there was a requirement to be a test pilot. Which is the path I was going down. Lest we forget, Armstrong had an issue with an X15 where he was bouncing had serious control issues prior to him being part of Gemini. And his Gemini flight also almost killed him. So he had massive background in dealing with totally unknown flight problems. Test pilots of that era were amazing.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

I remember my parents made me come in from outside to watch the broadcast (thanks mom & dad) and thinking the exact same thing. It seemed to take forever for Armstrong to step outside.

Armstrong touched the surface of the moon at 10:56 pm ET. He started to open the hatch at 10:39 pm ET. What time zone did you live in? Are you sure you were outside playing?

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

From what I understand, for many of them, there was a requirement to be a test pilot. Which is the path I was going down. Lest we forget, Armstrong had an issue with an X15 where he was bouncing had serious control issues prior to him being part of Gemini. And his Gemini flight also almost killed him. So he had massive background in dealing with totally unknown flight problems. Test pilots of that era were amazing.

Not to mention he ran the fuel on the LM down to zero as he landed on the moon...

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

Some highlights with the last 2 not yet completed as mission is currently at 24:24:13. They slept for roughly 10 hours. I can't imagine why.

000:00:00 Lift-off
000:02:42 Stage 2
000:09:12 Stage 3
000:11:51 Entered Earth Orbit
001:06:00 Armstrong offers Collins some gum
001:20:11 Lost hasselblad
002:44:18 Trans-Lunar Injection (TLI)
002:53:03 Saturn "magnificent ride"
003:19:44 16mm filming
003:20:48 flies like a spacecraft instead of a simulator
003:21:01 Transposition and Docking
003:53:06 Neil can see most of the world
004:28:46 RCS propellant concern
004:52:19 Armstrong describes his view out the window
004:53:28 Collins jokes about his view
005:20:31 Eating lunch
005:23:47 Wishing Dr. George Mueller a happy birthday
008:04:08 Collins debates trunnion measurements with Mission Control
011:19:56 Eating peanut butter and jelly
012:47:04 Crew Sleep Period Start
022:50:12 Crew wake-up
023:14:22 News report: Man on Mars by 2000, hippies, loch ness
024:45:35 Collins says Earth is a "beautiful sight"
025:11:15 Jim Lovell says hello

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

024:48:04 The attitude angles that the onboard computer came up with to aim the fixed line of sight at the substellar point on Earth's horizon, also happened to hide Alpheratz behind the LM, which perhaps says a litle about the lack of sophistication of the CMC's software. It is worth noting that with the objectives of the optics being mounted on the upper part of the CM's conical surface, the LM actually obscures a substantial amount of their field of view. (AFJ Commentary)
025:07:05 Strictly speaking, it is the difference in pressure between the tunnel and the CM cabin. However, since a valve in the LM's overhead hatch has been deliberately left open, the reading will reflect the pressure in the LM cabin also. Note that the pressure gauge that Mike is reading is only connected across either side of the forward hatch when the Tunnel Vent Valve is in its "LM/CM Delta-P" position. If the valve is in any other position, then the gauge reading is meaningless. (AFJ Commentary)
025:07:05 In Mission Control, the backup commander of Apollo 11, Jim Lovell, has temporarily taken the CapCom position.] (AFJ Commentary)
025:43:56 Verb 59 means 'Please calibrate'. (AFJ Commentary)
025:48:24 When water is dumped from the spacecraft, it has a tiny propulsive effect that affects the spacecraft's trajectory. Mission Control want the dump to go ahead soon so that radio tracking after the burn will be inclusive of the dump's effects. MCC number 2 in the Flight Plan will in fact be the first Midcourse Correction actually carried out, because MCC-1 was deemed unnecessary and was cancelled. (AFJ Commentary)

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

Don't think I heard about this before, although I knew there were several other issues that occurred. Crazy.

That was never a problem for Aldrin when he was shooting down Soviet MiG-15s over Korea. He flew 66 combat missions, but he never became a test pilot.

That’s what NASA was looking for in astronauts, but it was dazzled by Aldrin’s brainpower. He got a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His chatty nerdiness could be a bit much, even around NASA.

“We tried sometimes not to sit next to Buzz at a party,” astronaut Michael Collins once joked.

He sure came in handy on the moon, however. When it was time for the Eagle to depart, Aldrin noticed a switch that activated the engine had broken off.

It could have been a fatal problem, but Aldrin stuck a felt-tipped pen into the small cavity to reengage the circuit breaker. Minutes later, the Eagle took off for home.

 

[joecct]

Don't think I heard about this before, although I knew there were several other issues that occurred. Crazy.

Armstrong flew PantherJets (Grumman) in Korea. He lost a piece of a wing when he clipped a cable the NKs had strung across a valley to cut back low level ground attacks.

 

[aparch]

Don't think I heard about this before, although I knew there were several other issues that occurred. Crazy.

I never heard that one either. Here's a slightly long explanation, but not by much: https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=4&doc_id=1283891

Boy is *that* going to be some good audio to tune into.

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

I never heard that one either. Here's a slightly long explanation, but not by much: https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=4&doc_id=1283891

Boy is *that* going to be some good audio to tune into.

Yeah I'm going to hopefully be able to pay a lot of attention when they start their activities around the moon.

027:15:00 Mission Control Okay. Roll for the COMM situation: have S-band antenna OMNI A in Bravo, S-band antenna OMNI to OMNI, high-gain track to MANUAL, and the pitch is minus 50 and yaw is 270.
027:15:24 Collins You may have to repeat some of that, James. We've got a LM guy taking care of the high-gain right now.
027:15:29 Aldrin Yes, and he is eyeballing the Earth.
027:15:31 Collins He's got his head out the window.
027:15:34 Mission Control I understand, I had trouble on 12 with him, too.
027:15:41 Aldrin Say again what you'd like.
027:15:43 Mission Control Okay, The S-band antenna OMNI A switch to Bravo which you have now, and S-band antenna OMNI to the OMNI position, and the high-gain track to the MANUAL position -
027:15:58 Aldrin Manual.
027:15:59 Mission Control - and the pitch and yaw angles are minus 50 for pitch and yaw is 270.
027:16:08 Aldrin Minus 50 and 270.
027:16:28 Public Affairs That's Jim Lovell, the Commander of the backup of Apollo 11 crew communicating with Apollo 11 at the present time. He also commanded the Gemini 12 flight in which Buzz Aldrin was his pilot.
027:17:06 Aldrin Hey, Jim, I'm looking through the monocular now, and to coin an expression, the expression that the view is just out of this world. I can see all the islands in the Mediterranean. Some larger and smaller islands of Majorca, Sardinia, and Corsica. A little haze over the upper Italian peninsula, some cumulus clouds out over Greece. The Sun is setting on the eastern Mediterranean now. And, the British Isles are definitely greener in color than the brownish green that we have in the islands, in the peninsula of Spain. Over.
027:18:01 Mission Control Roger. I understand that the Northern Africa - Mediterranean area is fairly clear today, huh?
027:18:10 Aldrin Right.
027:18:13 Collins Yes. We see a bunch of roads with cars driving up and down, too.
027:18:18 Mission Control Do you find that the monocular is any good to you, Buzz?
027:18:26 Aldrin Yes, It would be nicer if it had another order of magnitude of power on it. Of course, it has a tendency to jiggle around a little bit, and you might want to have some sort of a bracket. I hate to use that word though.
027:18:53 Aldrin Got an anticyclone going in the southern hemisphere southeast of Brazil, and some - Well, the diameter of it must be over 2000 miles across.
027:19:14 Mission Control How does the weather look up in the southern part of the western hemisphere, or up in the United States area?
027:19:24 Aldrin Well, you all are just beginning to come over the limb now. I can see parts of Central America, and it looks to be fairly - fairly clear there. The islands in the Caribbean are beginning to come in and rather a few streaming lines of clouds. Looks like there is a system up to the - well, off of Greenland that has some large cloud streamers extending back down to the southwest. The east coast of the U.S. is just coming into view now, and it doesn't look too bad that I can see right now. We may have some pretty good shots later on this afternoon. Over.
027:20:15 Mission Control Roger. Thank you.
027:20:23 Public Affairs That was Buzz Aldrin giving the description of what he could see on the Earth. The backup Lunar Module Pilot Fred Hayes is also in the Control Center at the present time.
027:21:49 Aldrin Houston, Apollo 11.
027:21:51 Mission Control Go ahead, 11.
027:21:54 Aldrin I've got a comment about the point on the Earth where the Sun's rays reflect back up toward us. In general, the color of the oceans is mostly uniform and it's bright and darker blue except for that region that's about one-eighth of an Earth's radius in diameter; and in this circular area, the blue of the water turns a grayish color, and I'm sure that's where the Sun's rays are being reflected back on up toward us. Over.
027:22:40 Mission Control Roger, Buzz. We noticed the same thing. It's very similar to looking at a light shining on something like a billiard ball or a bowling ball. You get this bright spot in the blue of the water, and that turns it to sort of a grayish color.
027:22:55 Aldrin Yes. Is there a Navy term for that?
027:22:59 Mission Control (Laughing) A lot of gray paint.

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

Some recent and soon to come events:

026:45:06 Mid-course correction 2
027:15:24 Collins joking about Aldrin
027:17:07 Aldrin: View "out of this world"
027:22:41 Observing zero-phase point of the ocean
027:27:47 Lovell and Aldrin talk about Gemini
027:28:43 Armstrong jokes about cramped quarters
028:08:13 McCandless jokes about PTC
028:39:22 Eating with music in background
028:42:18 Music: Bettye Swann - Cover Me
030:51:25 White team shift starts
030:51:33 Collins exercising
030:59:41 Goldstone comm tech discussion about tv signal
031:22:48 Duke calls Armstrong "Plasticman"
031:26:45 Collins jokes about being at a high altitude
032:40:33 Collins jokes about crew using DSKY
032:50:57 Collins jokes that he can see the runway
032:53:28 Just past half-way

 

[aparch]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

Thank you for the summary points, I can jump to those points in time when I get home.

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

027:49:36 Armstrong Okay. Understand that. Install the cabin quick disconnect out of R-6 on the 251 urine connector and verify that the waste dump valve is closed, and say again the last part.
027:49:59 Mission Control Roger. And then put the waste management overboard drain valve into the DUMP position. Over.
027:50:13 Armstrong Roger. Put the waste management overboard drain valve to the DUMP position.
027:50:18 Mission Control Right. That's the one down on panel 251 also. And we'll watch your O2 flow on telemetry down here.
027:52:48 Armstrong Okay, Houston. That configuration is set up.
027:52:55 Mission Control 11, this is Houston. Say again, please.
027:52:59 Armstrong You do have the O2 flow transducer checkout setup accomplished.
027:53:06 Mission Control Okay. Understand you have opened the drain valve at this time.
027:53:11 Armstrong That's affirm. It's in DUMP.
027:53:15 Mission Control Roger. We're not getting telemetry data from you right due to low signal strength. There it comes back. I expect it'll probably take us anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour to see an increase in O2 flow due to the size of the cabin and of course of the small size of the drain. Over.
027:53:35 Armstrong Roger.
028:07:12 Collins Houston, Apollo 11.
028:07:15 Mission Control Go ahead, 11.
028:07:19 Collins Roger. I've got the world in my window for a change and looking at it through the monocular, it's really something. I wish I could describe it properly, but - The weather is very good. South America is coming around into view. I can see on the - what appears to me to be upper horizon, a point that must be just about Seattle, Washington, and from there I can see all the way down to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego and the southern tip of the continent.
028:07:54 Mission Control Roger. Sounds like you've got a beautiful view up there.
028:07:59 Collins Absolutely fantastic. I hope the pictures come out. We're rotating around where it's going out of view again.
028:08:07 Public Affairs That's Mike Collins talking.
028:08:08 Aldrin I'm waiting to pick it up in the sextant.
028:08:13 Mission Control Sounds like one of these rotating restaurants.
028:08:56 Public Affairs And Bruce McCandless is back on the Capcom console now,
028:30:32 Mission Control Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
028:36:08 Aldrin Houston, Apollo 11. Do you need some help keeping OMNI's locked on us?
028:36:14 Mission Control Apollo 11, this is Houston. Negative. We had a command computer at the Madrid site go down. We had to switch over to Ascension temporarily. We're now back remoting through Madrid, and the computer is back, and we're ready to resume control of your OMNI's and full communication. Over.
028:36:37 Aldrin Okay. You've got it.
028:36:39 Mission Control Okay. One thing that we did miss in the dropout in the noise here is your LM/CM DELTA-P reading for about 28 hours GET. Over.
028:37:05 Aldrin Okay. The LM/CM DELTA-P is 0.98.
028:37:10 Mission Control Roger. 0.98, and what have you been reading for O2 flow on your onboard gage? Over.
028:37:22 Aldrin Well, right now, after we put that gadget in, we've got it back to 0.35. Before that, we were reading off-scale-low. I think ours is relatively correct, at least when time comes for the water accumulator to kick in at 10 seconds, it goes on up to about 0.75, 0.8, something like that.

I don't think most people realize how many communications stations has to be built across the planet as this was before the days of a satellite on every corner.

 

[aparch]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

I knew there was a network of relays across the globe, California, Spain, and Australia. The Australian sites got the live feed from the moon, which was relayed to Houston, then relayed to the world.

*edit* I think there was an issue at first with the Australian feed, so they used the California feed (which was losing its connection fast due to the moon setting) for the first minute or two, then when things settled in Australia, flipped to those receivers.

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

027:07:42 Image measurement and triangulation suggests that two photographs are taken around this time. (AFJ Commentary)
027:16:10 When the spacecraft is in a relatively stable attitude, communications are usually via the High Gain Antenna as long as Earth is within the range of its articulation. This dish antenna can automatically track a ground station by sensing when it is going slightly off track. If the spacecraft is rolling in its Passive Thermal Control mode, a set of four omnidirectional antennae mounted at 90° intervals around the periphery of the CM are brought into play. Normally only two of these antennae are used; B and D on opposite sides of the spacecraft, but these have to be switched every 10 minutes as the spacecraft rotates. It is possible for Mission Control to remotely switch the antenna but often they request that the crew carry make the switch. (AFJ Commentary)
027:22:41 The specular reflection of the Sun off the ocean surface is a phenomenon that artists depicting Earth prior to the Moon flights usually failed to portray. (AFJ Commentary)
027:28:13 Jim Lovell is referring to his and Buzz's flight in Gemini 12. (AFJ Commentary)
027:47:46 Prior to their sleep period, Mission Control had notified the crew of some 'funnies' regarding the transducer that measures the flow of oxygen into the cabin. The flow of oxygen is not only necessary to keep the spacecraft pressurised against leaks and its consumption by the crew, it is also being use to gradually flush nitrogen from the cabin. At launch, the cabin was filled with a 60/40 mixture of oxygen and nitrogen. As they ascended through the atmosphere, the mixture began to be dumped overboard until the cabin had reached about 5 psi (35 kPa), a third of sea level pressure. As the mission continues the remaining nitrogen will gradually be replaced with pure oxygen. (AFJ Commentary)
028:36:15 The Command Module has four low-gain omnidirectional antennae spaced around its periphery, designated A to D, which can be used instead of the High Gain Antenna. As the spacecraft revolves, the crew can maintain communication by manually selecting whichever Omni is facing Earth. Additionally, Mission Control can remotely switch between antennas B and D on the crew's behalf. (AFJ Commentary)
028:39:21 As Buzz talks to Mission Control, music can be faintly heard in the background each time he keys his microphone. Your lowly editor had determined that the crew are listening to 'Angel of the Morning' by Merrillee Rush and the Turnabouts which was a hit in 1968. (AFJ)

It's not only the science of it all that's fascinating, but the the smaller nuances of a human being in space and that they still have to eat, sleep, interact with each other on top of the job they have to do. It's a fascinating level of detail of the goings on that I've never seen before - although I suspect there's stuff out there like this for ISS were I to look into it.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

I don't think most people realize how many communications stations has to be built across the planet as this was before the days of a satellite on every corner.

There was a small budget movie made many years ago about the Australian communications station that had to be running because they were going to be the key communications point for the actual walk. Let's just say the prep lead up didn't go very smoothly and there were a lot of nervous folks at that station.

The main character was a major American star, who I am drawing a blank on. Everyone else were local Aussie actors.

 

[aparch]

It's not only the science of it all that's fascinating, but the the smaller nuances of a human being in space and that they still have to eat, sleep, interact with each other on top of the job they have to do. It's a fascinating level of detail of the goings on that I've never seen before - although I suspect there's stuff out there like this for ISS were I to look into it.

I think fellow poster GFMorris would be our closest poster with some experience in details similar to this. Would love to have him pop in this thread.

 

[aparch]

There was a small budget movie made many years ago about the Australian communications station that had to be running because they were going to be the key communications point for the actual walk. Let's just say the prep lead up didn't go very smoothly and there were a lot of nervous folks at that station.

The main character was a major American star, who I am drawing a blank on. Everyone else were local Aussie actors.

Sam Neill in The Dish, right?

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

Recent and future Mission Milestones. Mission currently at 031:23:50

026:45:06 Mid-course correction 2
027:15:24 Collins joking about Aldrin
027:17:07 Aldrin: View "out of this world"
027:22:41 Observing zero-phase point of the ocean
027:27:47 Lovell and Aldrin talk about Gemini
027:28:43 Armstrong jokes about cramped quarters
028:08:13 McCandless jokes about PTC
028:39:22 Eating with music in background
028:42:18 Music: Bettye Swann - Cover Me
030:51:25 White team shift starts
030:51:33 Collins exercising
030:59:41 Goldstone comm tech discussion about tv signal
031:22:48 Duke calls Armstrong "Plasticman"
031:26:45 Collins jokes about being at a high altitude
032:40:33 Collins jokes about crew using DSKY
032:50:57 Collins jokes that he can see the runway
032:53:28 Just past half-way
034:01:31 Video: Neil describes Earth
034:14:18 Duke jokes about Buzz holding cue cards
034:14:25 Collins describes their "comfortable home"
036:08:08 Music audible
036:53:10 Crew Sleep Period Start
048:09:00 Crew wake-up
048:10:55 Collins jokes about the best kind of CAPCOM
050:53:58 Music barely audible
051:29:40 Press conference on Luna 15 with Frank Borman
053:52:05 News report: Thor Heyerdahl, baseball, porridge eating championship
054:53:51 Collins says master alarm is a pleasing tone
055:09:00 Video: TV broadcast
055:11:19 Kranz "prefer the flight controllers use their consoles for looking at data"
055:25:20 Collins jokes stagehands don't know where to stand
055:32:37 Cernan visits the MOCR
056:03:44 Duke joking about possible wardrobe malfunction
056:07:46 Jack Schmitt visits the MOCR
056:34:47 Collins "hello there Earthlings"
056:38:06 Is collins allowed in the LM?
056:42:41 Neil sends best wishes to Scout jamboree
057:25:07 Moon cheese
058:41:47 Music audible
059:10:12 Music from crew (unidentified). "Who's on horns?"
060:51:39 Crew Sleep Period Start
061:39:55 Entering Lunar sphere of influence

Next sleep is for just over 11 hours. Man these guys are slackers!!

 

[aparch]

Wasn't it Dennis Quaid in ________?.

The Right Stuff? No he was one of the Mercury 7 in that one.