Suggested Searches

6 min read

50 Years Ago: Apollo 16 Rolls to the Launch Pad

In December 1971, preparations for the planned March 1972 launch of Apollo 16 continued with the stacking of the spacecraft atop its Saturn V rocket and rollout of the vehicle to its seaside launch pad. The crew of Commander John W. Young, Command Module Pilot Thomas K. Mattingly, and Lunar Module Pilot Charles M. Duke and their backups Fred W. Haise, Stuart A. Roosa, and Edgar D. Mitchell, continued training for their planned 12-day mission to the Descartes landing site in the lunar highlands. In addition to simulator training, the astronauts prepared for the three lunar surface traverses and continued their extensive geology training, including a field trip to Hawaii. Mattingly trained for his deep-space spacewalk in a neutral buoyancy tank.

preflight_crew_press_conference_dec_1_1971 apollo_16 apollo 16 backup crew
Left: Apollo 16 prime crew of John W. Young, left, Thomas K. Mattingly, and Charles M. Duke pose following their preflight press conference. Middle: Mattingly, left, Young, and Duke pose outside the Command Module simulator at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Right: Apollo 16 backup astronauts Stuart A. Roosa, left, Fred W. Haise, and Edgar D. Mitchell pose outside KSC’s Command Module simulator.

The prime crew held their preflight press conference at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, on Dec. 1, 1971. Young, Mattingly, and Duke described their upcoming 12-day mission to explore the Descartes landing site in the lunar highlands. Following their planned March 17, 1972 launch and three-day coast to the Moon, Young and Duke planned to land their Lunar Module Orion for a three-day stay on the lunar surface, during which they would conduct three surface excursions using Lunar Roving Vehicle-2 (LRV-2) for transportation. In addition to geology work, they planned to set up several experiments that would return data after they left the lunar surface. They also planned to deploy an ultraviolet telescope and spectrometer, the first crew-tended observatory on the Moon. While Young and Duke explored the lunar surface, Mattingly would stay in lunar orbit aboard the Command and Service Module Casper and operate a series of instruments in the Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) bay in the Service Module to study the Moon. During the trip back from the Moon, Mattingly planned to conduct a spacewalk to retrieve film canisters from the SIM-bay instruments. Splashdown was planned in the Pacific Ocean.

apollo_16 apollo_16 apollo_16
Left: Apollo 16 astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly dons his spacesuit to train for his deep-space spacewalk to retrieve film canisters. Middle: In the Water Immersion Facility (WIF) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Mattingly trains for his deep-space spacewalk. Right: Another view of Mattingly training for his deep-space spacewalk in MSC’s WIF.

On Dec. 1, Mattingly practiced for his deep-space spacewalk in the Water Immersion Facility (WIF) at MSC’s Mission Training and Simulation Facility (Building 5). Wearing a pressure suit, Mattingly rehearsed retrieving film canisters using a mockup of the Command and Service Module and the SIM bay placed in the water tank. Roosa repeated the activity in the WIF on Jan. 7, 1972.

apollo_16 haise_and_mitchell_eva_training-12.3.71 apollo_16
Left: Apollo 16 backup astronauts Fred W. Haise, left, and Edgar D. Mitchell during training for lunar surface spacewalks at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: Haise, left, and Mitchell rehearsing setting up experiments at KSC. Right: Mitchell, left, and Haise practice driving the Lunar Roving Vehicle at KSC.

On Dec. 2, backup astronauts Haise and Mitchell rehearsed the first of the three lunar surface spacewalks at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. With the astronauts fully suited, the training session involved following the spacewalk’s timeline, including setting up experiments and practicing driving a training version of the LRV on a mock lunar surface. Between Dec. 6-13, Young, Duke, Haise, and Mitchell, accompanied by support astronauts Anthony W. England and Donald H. Peterson and a team of geologists, embarked on a field trip to the islands of Hawaii and Oahu. The astronauts conducted several simulated lunar traverses on volcanic and smooth terrains and practiced identifying and collecting rock and soil samples.

apollo_16 apollo_16 apollo_16
Left: The Apollo 16 spacecraft departing the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on its way to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Middle: Inside the VAB, workers stack the Apollo 16 spacecraft atop its Saturn V launch vehicle. Right: Apollo 16 astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly in front of the Apollo 16 Saturn V vehicle as it exits the VAB.

At KSC, workers prepared the Apollo 16 spacecraft for its flight to the Moon. In the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building, they mated the Command and Service Modules with the Lunar Module (LM) encased in the Spacecraft LM Adapter. On Dec. 8, they trucked the spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where ground crews stacked it atop its Saturn V rocket and topped it with the Launch Escape System tower.

apollo_16 apollo_16 apollo_16
Left: The Apollo 16 Saturn V begins its rollout to the launch pad as seen from the Vehicle Assembly Building. Middle: The Apollo 16 Saturn V passes the Mobile Service Structure on its way to Launch Pad 39A. Right: The Apollo 16 Saturn V rocket on Launch Pad 39A.

On Dec. 13, KSC Deputy Director Miles “Mike” Ross welcomed an estimated 10,000 guests to view the rollout of the Apollo 16 Saturn V from the VAB to Launch Pad 39A, describing it as “a very historic event.” Of the Apollo 16 crew, only Mattingly attended as Young and Duke were still on their geology field trip in Hawaii. He described the rollout as an “extremely impressive sight.” Once at the pad, ground crews began preparing the launch vehicle and the spacecraft for its launch.

apollo_16 apollo_16 apollo_16
Left: Apollo 16 astronaut John W. Young training to set up the ultraviolet telescope and spectrometer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Middle: Young, left, and Charles M. Duke practice setting up the U.S. flag, with a training version of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) behind them. Right: Duke, left, and Young practice driving the LRV.

apollo_16 apollo_16
Left: Apollo 16 astronauts Charles M. Duke, left, and John W. Young practice driving the Lunar Roving Vehicle at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Right: Young, left, and Duke practice collecting rock and soil samples.

On Dec. 22-23, Young and Duke rehearsed all three of their planned lunar traverses, including deploying the U.S. flag and the surface experiments, collecting rock and soil samples, and driving the LRV trainer.

To be continued…

World events in December 1971

December 1 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono release “Happy Christmas (War is Over).”

December 2 – Soviet Mars 3 lander becomes the first spacecraft to soft land on Mars.

December 2 – The United Arab Emirates declares independence from the United Kingdom.

December 10 – Lucasfilm Ltd. Is founded as a film and television production company in San Francisco by George Lucas.

December 16 – Independence of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, is recognized internationally.

December 17 – “Diamonds are Forever,” the seventh James Bond film, is released.

December 19 – Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” premieres.

December 20 – Preview issue of Gloria Steinem’s “Ms” magazine is published.

December 22 – United Nations General Assembly ratifies Kurt Waldheim of Austria as the UN’s fourth Secretary General.