In this chapter, Apollo 11 passes out of the Moon's gravitational dominance and returns to Earth's sphere of influence. The crew undertake Midcourse Correction number 5 to refine their path towards Earth.
Less than four hours ago over the far side of the Moon, the crew carried out a burn of the SPS engine to leave lunar orbit. From the point of view of the Moon, this burn accelerated them onto a hyperbolic trajectory that will exit the Moon's sphere of influence. But from the point of view of Earth, what the burn did was to counter the Moon's orbital velocity of one kilometre per second, thereby bringing the spacecraft almost to a halt. The Moon then continues on its path around Earth leaving the spacecraft behind to begin its long fall towards splashdown in three days time.
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This is Apollo Control at 139 hours. The crew of Apollo 11 is in the rest period. We have not contacted them within the last hour, and have not heard from them. All systems aboard the spacecraft performing well. Apollo 11 is now 10,149 nautical miles [18,796 km] from the Moon; approaching the Earth at a velocity of 4,659 feet per second [1,420 m/s]. Spacecraft weight is 26,510 pounds [12,025 kg]. This is Mission Control, Houston.
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This is Apollo Control at 140 hours. Apollo 11 is now 12,835 nautical miles [23,770 km] from the Moon. Velocity; 4,552 feet per second [1,387 m/s]. All systems still performing well. Dr Kenneth Beers, the Flight Surgeon, reports his data indicates all three of the crewmen are asleep. This is Mission Control, Houston.
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This is Apollo Control at 141 hours. Apollo 11 is 15,488 nautical miles [28,684 km] from the Moon. Velocity; 4,480 feet per second [1,366 m/s]. Crew is still asleep. All systems continuing to perform very well. This is Mission Control, Houston.
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This is Apollo Control at 142 hours, 3 minutes. Apollo 11 is 18,243 nautical miles [33,786 km] from the Moon. Velocity; 4,426 feet per second [1,349 m/s]. Apollo 11 is in the Passive Thermal Control mode. The performance of all systems nominal, and the crew is asleep. This is Mission Control, Houston.
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This is Apollo Control at 143 hours. Apollo 11 is 20,704 nautical miles [38,344 km] from the Moon. Velocity; 4,390 feet per second [1,338 m/s]. The crew, still in the rest period. The weather bureau's space flight meteorology group reported this morning that weather conditions in the primary landing area are expected to be acceptable - the sky partly cloudy, winds easterly at 10 knots and seas of 3 feet are predicted. Tropical storm Claudia is now located 2,300 miles east of the landing area and will not affect the weather in the landing area Thursday. This is Mission Control, Houston.
Tropical storm Claudia was a Pacific Ocean depression upgraded to storm status on July 22 but downgraded again on July 23.
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This is Apollo Control at 144 hours. Apollo 11 is 23,289 nautical miles [43,131 km] from the Moon; approaching the Earth at a velocity of 4,361 feet per second [1,329 m/s]. All systems performing well, and the crew still in the rest period. It does not appear likely that we will perform Midcourse Correction number 5 scheduled for approximately 150½ hours elapsed time. However, a firm decision on this Midcourse will not be made for approximately 3½ hours. This is Mission Control, Houston.
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This is Apollo Control at 145 hours. Apollo 11 is 25,857 nautical miles [47,887 km] from the Moon, heading toward home at 4,338 feet per second [1,322 m/s]. Apollo 11 will leave the Moon's sphere of influence at an elapsed time of 148 hours, 7 minutes, 23 seconds. This is Mission Control, Houston.
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This is Apollo Control at 146 hours. We have heard nothing from the crew. We assume they are still asleep. That sleep period began at about 137 hours, 47 minutes. At this time, Apollo 11 is 28,421 nautical miles [52,636 km] from the Moon, and traveling at a speed of 4,322 feet per second [1,317 m/s]. The decision on Midcourse Correction number 5 is still tending toward not doing that Midcourse. However the decision hasn't been made finally and there will be some additional tracking prior - prior to firming up that decision. At this point, it appears that the Midcourse at the number 5 opportunity would require about 4 to 5 feet per second [1.2 to 1.5 m/s]. By waiting until the opportunity of Midcourse Correction 6, about 7 feet per second [2.1 m/s] would be required. We do not plan to awaken the crew, at least immediately. Let them continue sleeping. All spacecraft systems continue to look very good to us here on the ground. We've completed the change of shift here in Mission Control. Flight Director Clifford Charlesworth has relieved Milton Windler, and our Capsule Communicator is astronaut Bruce McCandless. At 146 hours, 2 minutes; this is Apollo Control, Houston.
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This is Apollo Control at 147 hours. The Flight Surgeon reported a short while ago that the crew appeared still to be sleeping. However, we have seen some signs of activity aboard the spacecraft; suspect they may be, uh, wakening shortly. At the present time, Apollo 11 is 30,980 nautical miles [57,375 km] from the Moon. Speed is 4,308 feet per second [1,313 m/s]. The Flight Plan for today is relatively quiet and we are continuing to await the crew's own awakening. We don't plan to awaken them from the ground at this time. At 147 hours, 1 minute; this is Mission Control, Houston.
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This is Apollo Control at 147 hours, 30 minutes. The Flight Surgeon reported a short while ago that the Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin appears to be up at this time. Both Armstrong and Collins appear still to be sleeping. At the present time, Apollo 11 is 32,253 nautical miles [59,733 km] from the Moon and traveling at a speed of 4,303 feet per second [1,312 m/s]. Flight Director Clifford Charlesworth has elected to perform the Midcourse Correction maneuver scheduled at Trans-Earth Injection plus 15 hours. That would be at about 150 hours, 25 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. The exact time of that Midcourse Correction is not critical and it could move around somewhat. We expect that it would be a velocity change of about 5 feet per second [1.5 m/s]. We expect that there will be some conversation with the crew before too much longer. We'll come back up when we hear from the - from the spacecraft. This is Apollo Control at 147 hours, 32 minutes.
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This is Apollo Control at 147 hours, 39 minutes. The Flight Surgeon reports that all three crewmen now are awake. We expect to be hearing a 'good morning' from the spacecraft before too much longer so we'll stand by for that. We said goodnight to the crew last night at about 137 hours and 47 minutes so they have apparently had a good 10-hour rest period and we'll probably be getting a crew status report indicating just how much sleep each of the crewmen got. We'll stand by for any conversation with the spacecraft.
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147:47:11 Armstrong: Good afternoon, Houston. Apollo 11 up. [Long pause.]
147:47:24 McCandless: Good morning, 11. This is Houston. Over.
147:47:31 Armstrong: Okay. Crew status report. 8, 8 and 8.5.
These are the crew sleep hours, in the order of Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin.
147:47:38 McCandless: Roger. 8, 8 and 8.5. When you're ready, we've got a small Flight Plan update for you. [Long pause.]
Within the Command Module, Buzz usually has the role of copy secretary, taking down verbal updates from Mission Control.
147:48:14 Aldrin: Houston, we're ready to copy.
147:48:16 McCandless: Roger. At about 148 hours, if you've not already done so, a CO2 filter change, and the H2 purge line heater on 20 minutes before the O2 and H2 purge. At 148 hours, we'd like you to initiate a charge on Battery Alpha instead of at 151 hours, and leave the charge on until we notify you further. At 150 hours GET, waste-water dump to 10 percent. We do plan to burn Midcourse Correction 5. It will be an RCS burn about 5 feet per second [1.5 m/s] at about the nominal time in the Flight Plan. Over. [Long pause.]
147:49:24 Aldrin: Roger. Understand. We'll be accomplishing the filter change shortly, the purge line heater is on, and we'll take care of O2 and H2 purge shortly, and at 148 will initiate a charge on Battery A until you notify us further. 150 hours, waste-water dump to 10 percent. And we're looking forward to Midcourse Correction 5 at about 5 feet per second at the nominal time. Over.
As shown on page 3:109 of the Flight Plan, The planned time for Midcourse Correction 5 is 150:25 GET or 15 hours after TEI.
147:49:52 McCandless: Roger. I've got your consumables update, if you're ready to copy. [Pause.]
147:50:02 Aldrin: Copy.
147:50:04 McCandless: Okay. At GET of 147 plus 00, RCS total minus 2.0 per cent, which is about minus 14 pounds. Alpha minus 12.0, Bravo plus 10.0, minus 3.0, minus 2.0. Hydrogen total, minus 1.5 pounds; O2 total, plus 20 pounds. Over. [Pause.]
148:01:51 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
148:01:57 Collins: Go ahead.
148:01:58 McCandless: Roger. Would you ask Buzz to check his biomedical TM sensors for a loose or dried out sensor? We're getting erratic electrocardiogram readings. That would be one of the three sternal leads. Over.
The sternal leads come from biomedical sensors positioned over the sternum, or breastbone.
148:02:18 Collins: Okay. [Garble].
Comm break.
148:03:58 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Say again your last, please.
148:04:07 Collins: Disregard.
148:04:11 McCandless: Roger. Out.
Long comm break.
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This is Apollo Control at 148 hours, 7 minutes. In about 24 seconds from now, the spacecraft will pass the imaginary line into the Earth's sphere of influence.
148:07:14 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Stand by for a Mark leaving the lunar sphere of influence.
148:07:22 McCandless: Mark.
148:07:23 McCandless: You're leaving the lunar sphere of influence. Over.
148:07:31 Collins: Roger. Is Phil Shaffer down there?
Phil Shaffer was FIDO on Cliff Charlesworth's Green Team though with the staff movements made for the landing, his position is being taken by Dave Reed at this time.
148:07:34 McCandless: Negative. But we've got a highly qualified team on in his stead.
148:07:42 Collins: Rog. I wanted to hear him explain it again at the press conference.
148:07:50 McCandless: Okay.
148:07:54 Collins: That's old Apollo 8 joke but tell him the spacecraft gave a little jump as it went through the sphere.
148:07:58 McCandless: Okay. I'll pass it on to him. Thanks a lot, and Dave Reed is sort of burying his head in his arms right now.
In his autobiography, Mike tells how Shaffer struggled to explain to non-technical journalists what the concept of crossing the equigravisphere actually meant. At this point, the trajectory experts would change the reference for their calculations from Moon-centered to Earth-centered and, due to the relative speeds of these two objects, there would be a jump in stated velocities. Apparently some journalists were convinced there must be a physical jump felt by the crew, a nonsense that crews played with throughout the Apollo programme.
148:08:10 Collins: Roger that.
148:08:15 Armstrong: Those guys down there in the trench did a pretty good job this flight.
148:08:20 McCandless: Yes, they have. [Long pause.]
148:08:30 Armstrong: We don't want them to give up yet, though.
148:08:34 McCandless: No. They'll hang in there for about another 47 hours or so.
148:08:39 Armstrong: Okay.
Very long comm break.
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This is Apollo Control at 148 hours, 21 minutes. At the time the spacecraft crossed from the Moon's sphere of influence to the Earth's sphere of influence, that point at which the Earth is computed as having the dominant influence on the spacecraft trajectory, Apollo 11 was about 33,800 nautical miles [62,600 km] from the Moon, and about 174,000 nautical miles [322,000 km] from Earth. At the present time, the spacecraft is traveling at a speed of 3,994 feet per second [1,217 m/s] with respect to the Earth. After awakening this morning, Neil Armstrong reported all three crewmen getting at least 8 hours of sleep. The Commander received about - got about 8 hours; the Command Module Pilot Mike Collins, about 8 hours; and Armstrong reported that Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin got about 8½ hours of sleep.
148:22:48 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. If you're not busy now, I can read you up the morning news.
148:23:01 Aldrin: Okay. We're all listening.
148:23:05 McCandless: Say again, 11?
148:23:11 Aldrin: Roger. We're all listening. Go ahead.
148:23:13 McCandless: Roger. From the hot wires of the Public Affairs Office, Apollo 11 still dominates the news around the world. Only four nations - Communist China, North Korea, North Vietnam, and Albania - have not yet informed their citizens of your flight and landing on the Moon. One newsman said that he has run out of ways to describe your success. Tonight, President Nixon is scheduled to watch the All Star baseball game in Washington. After the game, he will depart for the Pacific recovery area. Wednesday evening, he will fly from Johnston Island by helicopter to the Navy communications ship Arlington. Then on Thursday morning, he will reboard the helicopter and fly to the Hornet in time to witness your splashdown. Accompanying the President will be Secretary of - Secretary of State William Rogers and Frank Borman. They will watch the splashdown from the bridge of the recovery ship with Admiral John Sidney McCain, Jr., Commander of the Pacific Forces. Following the President's stay aboard the Hornet, he will depart for his tour of Asia and scheduled visit to Romania. Luna 15 is believed to have crashed into the Sea of Crises yesterday after orbiting the Moon 52 times. The Soviet News Agency TASS reported that, quote, scientific research in near-Moon space was carried out, unquote. Sir Bernard Lovell at Jodrell Bank Observatory said that Luna 15 hit the surface of the Moon at a speed of about 300 miles per hour. Things have been relatively quiet recently in Vietnam. GIs on patrol were observed carrying transistor radios tuned into your flight. The Armed Forces radio and TV network in Vietnam gave the mission full coverage. Skirmishes still continue between the Egyptians and Israelis along the Suez Canal. UN observers there are trying to halt the action. In Washington, the House Ways and Means Committee has voted to reduce the 27.5 percent oil depletion allowance to 20 percent. We've had rain several times here in the Houston area. Today it is cloudy, and more showers are expected. On the sports front, as we mentioned earlier, the All Star game is tonight. There were no games played yesterday. Last night in New York, the Baseball Writers Association of America named Ba - Babe Ruth the greatest ball player of all time. Joe DiMaggio was named the greatest living ball player. Frank Borman made the announcements at a dinner honoring the players. Joe Namath put in a full day at the New York Jets' training camp. Five policemen had a hard time restraining about 500 kids who wanted to touch Broadway Joe. He said he feels fine and will play in the All Star game August 1 if Coach Weeb Ewbank lets him. The Oilers' camp at Kerrville got wet yesterday, but the workouts continued. There have been some minor injuries, but nothing too serious. Coach Wally Lemm is satisfied so far with the workouts. The Oilers are expecting attendance by over 30,000 for the preseason game with Buffalo. Apparently, Don Meredith's retirement isn't expected to dampen enthusiasm, especially around here in Houston. Mario Andretti won the 200-mile Trenton Auto Race, Sunday, and is now the leading race driver in the US Auto Club's point standings. And that's about the summary of the morning news this afternoon in Houston. Over.
Wilbur 'Weeb' Ewbank (1907-1998) was coach at the New York Jets football team from 1963 to 1973. Wally Lemm (1919-1988) was his counterpart at the Houston Oilers.
148:26:52 Armstrong: Would you look up the Dow Jones Industrials for us.
148:26:55 McCandless: Roger. Stand by a minute, please.
Long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
148:33:45 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. We see you in P00. When you can give us Accept, we have a state vector and target load uplink ready for you. [Long pause.]
148:34:15 Aldrin: Roger, Houston. Go ahead. You've got the computer.
148:34:18 McCandless: Roger. Thank you.
Long comm break.
As Apollo 11 coasts toward Earth, the engineers at the ground stations have had a good opportunity to pin down the precise shape of the spacecraft's flight path. The state vector will define their trajectory based on these measurements and the target load gives the computer details of what it is aiming for when it carried out the upcoming midcourse correction. This data is uplinked into the computer.
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148:38:41 McCandless: Apollo 11, we've completed the uplink. The computer's yours.
148:38:48 Collins: Thank you.
Long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
148:43:41 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
148:43:47 Collins: Go ahead.
148:43:49 McCandless: Roger. With respect to the Dow Jones Industrials, since closing on Tuesday afternoon the 15th up to about 1:05 p.m. Houston time this afternoon, why, the effect has been a net drop. That is, minus 6 points on the industrial average. So far today since opening, the Dow Jones industrial average has gone down by 11.05 after rising 1½ shortly after opening. Today's performance on the utilities is a drop of 1.63; and railroads, a drop of 1.58. Over. [Pause.]
148:44:36 Collins: Yeah. Every flight has to have some disadvantages, I guess.
148:44:40 McCandless: Roger. Some speculation that you all are responsible for that 1½-point rise right after opening. [Pause.]
148:44:55 Collins: Well, don't blame the 11-point drop on us, anyway.
148:44:59 McCandless: Roger. [Long pause.]
148:45:30 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. If you have a minute or so free, I wonder if we could get Mike to give us a little bit of clarification on what happened around about the time of docking. We copied him as mentioning that contact was very smooth, almost imperceptible, and we're a little bit inquisitive or curious about his remarks as to what happened after probe retraction. Over.
148:46:00 Collins: Roger. I docked in CMC Auto, and as I said, I wasn't really sure of the moment of contact. I kept cross-checking the docking probe indicators. I got two barber poles indicating that the three capture latches - not capture latches, but the three giz-maches had made, and we were soft docked. And at that time the situation looked very stable. So, I went to CMC Free, glanced back out the window. It still looked stable and I fired primary 2 bottle. And at that time, a gyration began between the two vehicles due I'm not sure to what. Perhaps the LM thrusting or perhaps it was building up prior, and I hadn't noticed it. But anyway, during the Retract of the probe, there were yaw - my yaw excursions of, I would guess, around 15 degrees, and I had to come back on, take the Free switch and throw it back to Auto, and try to damp them out; and I guess Neil was doing the same in the LM. I'll let you tell him about his side of it. And I thought that we were not going to get a successful Retraction and hard dock. However, in about - oh, I guess 6 or 8 seconds, I did hear - could see the situation damping out, and then we heard the noise indicating the docking latches had fired; and later on when I got into the tunnel, all 12 of them had properly engaged.
148:47:44 McCandless: Roger.
148:47:49 Armstrong: And on the LM side, we were in AGS Min deadband Att Hold, and at contact, I thrusted plus-X. And shortly after that we had a sizable attitude oscillation and thruster firing, so we opened up the deadband to Max and manually flew the vehicle into stable attitude during the retraction. And we went to Off after [garble] completion of retraction.
148:48:28 McCandless: Roger. Thank you very much. Out.
Comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
148:50:48 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. I have your Midcourse Correction 5 PAD available when you're ready to copy.
148:50:56 Armstrong: Stand by.
Comm break.
148:51:56 Collins: Houston, Apollo 11. Ready to copy.
148:52:02 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. Midcourse Correction number 5. RCS/G&N: 26025, pitch and yaw trim NA, TIG 150:29:54.53; minus 0004.8, plus all balls, plus 0000.1; 075, 159, 328. HA is NA; HP, plus 0023.0. 0004.8, 0:11, 0004.8. Sextant star 03, 090.8, 38.2. Boresight star block, none available. Latitude plus 11.02, minus 172.04; 1180.3, 36275, 195:03:33; GDC align, Deneb and Vega, 007, 144, 068; no ullage of course, four-quad thrusting. Over. Read back.
148:53:51 Collins: Roger. Midcourse number 5. RCS/G&N: 26025, pitch and yaw NA, 150:29:54.53, minus 0004.8, plus all zeros, plus 0000.1; 075, 159, 328. NA, plus 0023.0; 0004.8, 0:11, 0004.8. 03, 090.8, 38.2. NA three times. Plus 11.02, minus 172.04, 1180.3, 36275, 195:03:33; Deneb and Vega, 007, 144, 068; and four quads for the burn. Over.
148:55:17 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Readback correct. Out.
Long comm break.
Thanks to the accuracy of yesterday's TEI burn, this midcourse correction is small and was almost held over to the next opportunity to allow the small errors to build up. An interpretation of the PAD follows:
Purpose: This PAD will be used to correct their trajectory at the fifth preplanned opportunity.
Systems: The burn will be made using the RCS thrusters arranged around the Service Module under the control of the Guidance and Navigation system.
CSM Weight (Noun 47): 26,025 pounds (11,805 kg).
Pitch and yaw trim (Noun 48): Not applicable. They are not using the SPS engine so there are no angles needed to aim it through the spacecraft's centre of mass.
Time of ignition, TIG (Noun 33): 150 hours, 29 minutes, 54.53 seconds.
Change in velocity (Noun 81), fps (m/s): x, -4.8 (-1.46); y, 0 (0); z, +0.1 (+0.03). These velocities are expressed with respect to the Local Vertical/Local Horizontal frame of reference of Earth. Note that the main component is negative, meaning that this is a retrograde burn.
Spacecraft attitude: Roll, 75°; Pitch, 159°; Yaw, 328°. The desired spacecraft attitude is stated relative to the alignment of the guidance platform which itself has been aligned per the PTC REFSMMAT.
HA, expected apogee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): Not applicable. The spacecraft is on a trajectory coming from the Moon so an apogee figure is meaningless.
HP, expected perigee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): +23.0 nautical miles (+42.6 km). The perigee distance is so low, it intersects Earth's atmosphere. In other words, the spacecraft will re-enter.
Delta-VT: 4.8 fps (1.46 m/s). This is the total change in velocity that the spacecraft would experience. (It is a vector sum of the three components given above.)
Burn duration or burn time: 11 seconds.
Delta-VC: 4.8 fps. The crew enter this figure into their EMS Delta-V counter display. The EMS has a dedicated accelerometer that will provide a backup means of monitoring the burn. Unlike SPS burns, where Delta-VC is less than Delta-VT, the RCS thrusters do not exhibit a tail-off thrust. Therefore the two values are the same.
Sextant star: Star 03 (Navi, Gamma Cassiopeiae) is visible in sextant when shaft and trunnion angles are 90.8° and 38.2° respectively. This is an attitude check.
The next three items are not applicable. They relate to viewing a star through the COAS but this is not being used in this instance. The next five items after that all relate to re-entry, during which an important milestone is "Entry Interface," defined as being 400,000 feet (121.92 km) altitude. In this context, a more important milestone is when atmospheric drag on the spacecraft imparts a deceleration of 0.05g.
Expected splashdown point (Noun 61): 11.02° north, 172.04° west; in the mid-Pacific.
Range to go at the 0.05g event: 1,180.3 nautical miles. To set up their EMS (Entry Monitor System) before re-entry, the crew need to know the expected distance the CM would travel from the 0.05g event to landing. This figure will be decremented by the EMS based on signals from its own accelerometer.
Expected velocity at the 0.05g event: 36,275 fps. This is another entry for the EMS. It is entered into the unit's Delta-V counter and will be decremented based on signals from its own accelerometer.
Predicted GET of 0.05g event: 195 hours, 3 minutes and 33 seconds GET.
GDC Align stars: Stars to be used for GDC Align purposes are Deneb and Vega. This is in case the IMU loses its ability to provide an orientation reference. By manoeuvring the spacecraft to place Deneb and Vega in a certain position through the telescope, they would know the orientation of the spacecraft and can dial in the given attitude angles to align the Gyro Display Couplers.
Final notes mention that there is no ullage burn as the RCS tanks do not require settling, and that all four quads will be used for the burn.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 148 hours, 58 minutes. The series of numbers passed up to the crew a few minutes ago was for Midcourse Correction number 5. That is scheduled to occur at 150 hours, 29 minutes, 54 seconds. It will be a Reaction Control System burn using the spacecraft Reaction Control System thrusters, with a velocity change of 4.8 feet per second, and that will be retrograde. Primary purpose of the maneuver will be to adjust the entry conditions which is - would primarily be for corridor control, controlling the flight path angle at entry. And the current predicted splash time in the Pacific is 195 hours, 17 minutes, 25 seconds. At the present time, Apollo 11 is 172,654 nautical miles [319,755 km] from the Earth, traveling at a speed of 4,017 feet per second [1,224 m/s]. We estimate that the spacecraft will be halfway home at a Ground Elapsed Time of 159 hours, 53 minutes, 43 seconds. At that point, the spacecraft will be 145,583 nautical miles [269,620 km] from the Earth's surface, and we'll have completed half of the return trip measured from Lunar Orbit Insertion [means Trans-Earth Injection] to splashdown. Now we also have another figure that - before the time at which the spacecraft velocity is equal with respect to both the Earth and the Moon. At that point the velocity will be 4,300 feet per second [1,311 m/s] with respect to both bodies. And we would define this as the equal potential point. That will occur at 155 hours, 30 minutes. And at that time the spacecraft will be 156,874 nautical miles [290,531 km] from the Earth; 52,543 nautical miles [97,310 km] from the Moon. We're now 1 hour, 28 minutes, 26 seconds from ignition for the Midcourse Correction 5 maneuver.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
149:03:11 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
149:03:18 Aldrin: Roger. Go ahead, Houston.
149:03:20 McCandless: Roger. If Neil has a free minute, we've got a question or two regarding the CO2 partial pressure and water in the suit loop discrepancies noted yesterday. Over.
149:03:33 Armstrong: Go ahead.
149:03:36 McCandless: Roger, 11. Was water noted in both suits or only in yours, Neil?
149:03:44 Armstrong: I think only in my suit.
149:03:48 McCandless: Okay. Can you locate that occurrence for us in time when you first noticed water in the suit, either by mission time or relation to any particular event? [Long pause.]
149:04:17 Armstrong: I think it was after insertion sometime, Bruce. I don't remember exactly when. I - It was when we were in orbit and had our - after we took our helmets off.
Mission Control is referring to a water leak incident discussed at 125:37:38, and mentioned again at 126:13:01, in Day 6, part 2.
149:04:31 McCandless: Roger. Did you call it to us when you first noticed it, or was it some time after, when you called it?
149:04:38 Armstrong: I'd guess it might have been probably 20 minutes after I noticed it that I mentioned it to you.
149:04:44 McCandless: Roger. Was this noticing the water accompanied by erratic CO2 partial pressure readings, or was that a separate problem? Over. [Pause.]
149:04:57 Armstrong: Well, the water problem evidenced itself before we noted any erratic motions of the PCO2 gauge.
149:05:06 McCandless: Roger. And what was the relative sequence on selecting water separator number 2 and the secondary CO2 canister? That is, did you go to the secondary water separator first and then the secondary CO2? Over. [Pause.]
149:05:27 Armstrong: I believe we went to secondary CO2 first.
149:05:37 McCandless: Roger. We copy. And was there any change in your suit loop...
149:05:40 Armstrong: No.
149:05:41 McCandless: Go ahead.
149:05:44 Armstrong: I should mention, Bruce, that when I went to water secondary - water separator to secondary there, I didn't notice any change. But about after 15 minutes or 20 minutes, the water stopped coming out. So maybe that was just water that was already in the loop that was still blowing out, but the secondary water separator was operating properly.
149:06:11 McCandless: Roger. Did you make any changes in the suit loop configuration after you went from the egress mode to the cabin mode after insertion? That is, in particular, they're interested in knowing if you recall changing the diverter valve position to Egress at any time while you were on the secondary canister? Over.
149:06:36 Aldrin: No. I don't believe we did that at all, Bruce.
149:06:40 McCandless: Okay, 11. Thank you. That sums up our questions for now, and we'll crank these back into the engineering pipeline and see what we can come up with.
149:06:51 Aldrin: Okay. Are you satisfied that the CO2 circuit breaker was in on jettison? Over.
149:07:00 McCandless: Say again, please?
149:07:04 Aldrin: Roger. On LM jettison, are you satisfied that the CO2 circuit breaker was in? Over.
149:07:10 McCandless: Yes. It was in.
149:07:17 Aldrin: Roger. Could you confirm that? I thought there was some question after we got into the Command Module as to whether that had been left in or not. Over. [Pause.]
149:07:34 McCandless: Roger, 11. It was in and confirmed in, and the readings after jettison stayed about 0.1 to 0.2.
Very long comm break.
According to page 90 of the Apollo 11 Mission Report, Mike completes a platform realignment at 149:19. This realignment was achieved by Mike sighting on stars 14 (Canopus, Alpha Carinae) and 16 (Procyon, Alpha Canis Minoris). The angles through which the platform had to be rotated to compensate for drift in its orientation were +0.265° in X, +0.268° in Y and +0.012° in Z. The difference in the actual angle between these two stars and Mike's measured angle is 0.01°, a very good result.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
149:24:24 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. We have not noticed any change in the signal coming through on the LMP's EKG. When he has a little free time, we'd like him to check into it again. Over.
149:24:41 Aldrin: Roger. I looked at all three of the upper chest center ones, and they appear to be fairly tight. I'll push them back in again. Over.
149:24:53 McCandless: Roger. On the TM here, we noticed some fluctuations that may have been attributed to your moving the sensors around or pushing on them, but the erratic problem seems to be persisting.
Very long comm break.
As Apollo 11 leaves the Moon behind and heads for Earth, a sequence of photographs begins on colour magazine V starting with AS11-44-6668 and continuing to the end of the film at AS11-44-6696, 29 exposure in all that document their approach to the home planet. The first eight are taken with the 250-mm lens, the rest with the 80-mm. Using measurements of Earth's disc some basic trigonometry, the distances at which these images were taken have been calculated. Then by interpolating within the distance numbers given by the PAO announcer, the times of the photos can be deduced. There will be some degree of error in these calculations so all distances and times are approximate,
AS11-44-6668 - Earth at about 317,000 km or 171,000 nautical miles. Photograph taken at approximately 149:30:00. South is up and South America is prominent in the upper part of the half-Earth. 250-mm lens. Image credit: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center.
AS11-44-6669 - Earth at about 317,000 km or 171,000 nautical miles. Photograph taken at approximately 149:30:00. South is up and South America is prominent in the upper part of the half-Earth. 250-mm lens. Image credit: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 149 hours, 41 minutes. We're now about 49 minutes away from the first midcourse correction on this trans-Earth leg of the Apollo 11 flight. That maneuver will be a 4.8-foot-per-second burn of the spacecraft Reaction Control System thrusters and is scheduled to occur at a Ground Elapsed Time of 150 hours, 29 minutes, 54 seconds. At this time, Apollo 11 is 171,017 nautical miles [316,723 km] from the Earth and the spacecraft velocity is 4,043 feet per second [1,232 m/s].
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
149:44:27 Aldrin: Houston, Apollo 11. Over. [Long pause.]
149:44:40 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. Over.
149:44:45 Aldrin: Roger. I wonder if you've noticed any change in the Biomed return you're getting. Over.
149:44:54 McCandless: Negative, Buzz. It still looks kind of bad. Apparently, when you move around, it's cutting in and out. Have you checked the little electrical connector where it goes into the signal conditioner? Over.
149:45:07 Aldrin: Yes. They're all about as tight as can be. I tell you what - I'll take them off and put them back on again and see if that makes any difference.
149:45:17 McCandless: Okay. If you would, at your convenience. We'll be watching it down here.
Very long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 150 hours, 4 minutes. Telemetry data at this time shows the spacecraft in the proper attitude for the upcoming midcourse correction maneuver. The crew will soon be verifying their attitude by taking a sighting on a star through the sextant and then be running some tests on the Guidance and Control system and the Reaction Control System before the maneuver takes place. That burn now scheduled to come in a little over 25 minutes. Apollo 11 is now 170,102 nautical miles [315,029 km] from the Earth and the spacecraft velocity is 4,058 feet per second [1,237 m/s].
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
150:10:19 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. We'd like you to try acquisition on the High Gain Antenna for us at pitch minus 90, yaw 270. Over.
150:10:33 Aldrin: Roger. That's in work.
150:10:37 McCandless: Roger. Out.
Comm break.
150:12:36 McCandless: 11, this is Houston. We're showing about 6.8 percent on waste water on our telemetry now. Over. [Pause.]
150:12:48 Aldrin: Okay. Got about 9, up here. Over.
150:12:51 McCandless: Roger. Out.
Very long comm break.
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150:28:31 McCandless: 11, Houston. We're standing by for your burn. Everything's looking good from down here.
150:28:39 Collins: Thank you, Bruce. You've got about a minute and 20 seconds.
150:28:42 McCandless: Roger. We concur.
Comm break.
One minute now until Midcourse Correction number 5. That will be a 10.9-second burn of the spacecraft Reaction Control System thrusters giving a change of velocity retrograde of 4.8 feet per second. The primary purpose of this maneuver will be to control the spacecraft flight path angle at Entry Interface. We're now less than 30 seconds from the initiation of the burn.
150:31:16 Armstrong: Houston, you copy our residuals? [Long pause.]
150:31:33 McCandless: Roger. We've got your residual. Do you have a counter reading for us.
150:31:43 Armstrong: Delta-VC is plus 0.2.
150:31:46 McCandless: Roger. Plus 0.2.
150:31:50 Armstrong: That was actually plus 100.2. Okay?
150:31:54 McCandless: Okay.
Very long comm break.
Two systems were measuring the acceleration from this burn; the G&C system via the three accelerometers in the IMU, and the EMS with its solitary accelerometer. The displays on both decremented to zero as the burn progressed. Mission Control can see the three values that remain from the G&C's measurement, this being the so-called residuals. The EMS Delta-V display had been offset by +100 fps to give an initial reading of 104.8. The reading after the burn implied that as far as its accelerometer was concerned, the Delta-V was 4.6 fps.
That midcourse correction was performed at a distance of about 169,000 nautical miles [313,000 km] from the Earth. The spacecraft velocity; 4,075.6 feet per second [1,242.2].
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 150 hours, 35 minutes. Our telemetry data here on the ground shows that midcourse correction maneuver [was] just about nominal; burn duration, 10.5 seconds. Prior to the maneuver, we were predicting a splashdown time of 195 hours, 17 minutes, 25 seconds. And we expect there will be some modification to that after we've had a chance to do some tracking following this midcourse correction maneuver. Apollo 11 is now 168,843 nautical miles [312,697 km] from the Earth, traveling at a speed of 4,078 feet per second [1,243 km], and we're continuing to see a very slow build-up in the velocity.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
150:43:34 Collins: Hou - Houston, Apollo 11.
150:43:38 McCandless: Go ahead, 11.
150:43:43 Collins: Roger. We're in PTC attitude and would you please give us a call when our thruster activity has subsided sufficiently?
150:43:52 McCandless: Roger. Stand by.
Very long comm break.
Having completed the midcourse correction burn, the spacecraft can return to its roll manoeuvre to distribute heat across its external surfaces. This Passive Thermal Control mode will only commence once the motions of the spacecraft have reduced to a minimum so that its rotation around its long axis stays stable for longer and doesn't begin coning excessively. The digital autopilot is set for a narrow deadband and as the spacecraft's attitude settles into its range of ±0.5°, the firing of thrusters will occur less often.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
150:56:41 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. We're going to hand over from Madrid to Goldstone at 151 hours even. If you should lose lock on the High Gain at this time, you may reacquire at pitch minus 45, yaw 270. Break. We're still watching your rates. Over.
150:57:05 Armstrong: Okay. Thank you.
Very long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
151:08:49 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
151:08:56 Armstrong: [Faint] Apollo 11 here. [Pause.]
151:09:07 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over. [Pause.]
151:09:15 Armstrong: Go ahead, Houston.
151:09:17 McCandless: 11, we're still seeing rates on your spacecraft above those that we'd like for any - continuation of the PTC mode. We're still monitoring it, and we'll advise you when it's settled down. Over.
151:09:34 Armstrong: Okay.
Very long comm break.
This is Apollo Control at 151 hours, 11 minutes. The crew is presently setting up the spacecraft for Passive Thermal Control. Once it stabilizes out, it will begin a slow roll rate of three revolutions per hour to maintain temperature control. At the present time, Apollo 11 is 167,448 nautical miles [310,114 km] from the Earth and the velocity is 4,101 feet per second [1,250 m/s].
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
151:21:51 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. You are go for the spin-up on PTC. Over.
151:22:59 Collins: Thank you.
Comm break.
151:24:23 Collins: Houston, Apollo 11. Over.
151:24:27 McCandless: Go ahead, 11.
151:24:32 Collins: Rog. It didn't like it that time. When I got down to the entry 27303 Enter, it took off in roll at a high rate in excess of 1 degree per second. Over. I've stopped it now, and we are going to have to go back and do it over again. I'd like to try to find out the reason why it did that.
151:24:55 McCandless: Roger. You might as well start setting up for it, and we'll be working the problem here.
151:25:02 Collins: Okay. Do you have us on high bit rate here now?
151:25:07 McCandless: That's affirmative.
151:25:11 Collins: Okay, good. I'll maneuver back to PTC initiation attitude while you guys look at the data and see what you think.
151:25:20 McCandless: Roger. [Long pause.]
151:25:50 Collins: Houston, Apollo 11. I think the reason is in having 16 20 on the DSKY during the subsequent entries, or at least that's one possibility.
151:26:06 McCandless: Roger. We'll check it out.
Long comm break.
Mike means that he has Verb 16 Noun 20 on the DSKY. Translated, this code means 'please display in decimal, the IMU's gimbal angles'.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
151:33:33 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. While you're waiting for the CSM to settle down and for us to look at the tapes on your latest maneuver, would you feel like answering some more questions with relation to the lunar surface? Over. [Pause.]
151:33:52 Armstrong: Go ahead.
151:33:57 Armstrong: Go ahead, Bruce.
151:33:59 McCandless: Roger. For 64 thousand dollars, we're still trying to work out the location of your landing site, Tranquillity Base. We think it is located on LAM-2 chart at Juliet 0.5 and 7.8. Do you still have those charts on board? Over.
151:34:24 Collins: Yeah. Stand by one. They're packed.
A copy of the LAM-2 chart showing the landing ellipse is included in Mike's Solo Book. This version has the actual landing site marked for comparison
LAM-2 chart from the CMP Solo Book with the actual landing site marked
Eagle landed at coordinates Juliet 0.7 and 7.5 and West Crater can be seen at Juliet 0.6 and 8.1. The point where Mission Control think they landed is about midway between West Crater and the actual landing site, so they are perhaps less than 250 metres out.
151:34:31 McCandless: Roger. You may not have to unpack it. The position which I just gave you is slightly west of West Crater. I guess it's about two-tenths of a kilometer west of it, and we were wondering if Neil or Buzz had observed any additional landmarks during descent, lunar stay, or ascent which would confirm or disprove this. One thing that we're wondering about is that if you were at this position, you would have seen the Cat's Paw during ascent just up to the north of your track. Over.
151:35:18 Armstrong: We were looking for the Cat's Paw, too, thinking we were probably downrange, beyond the Big V. But I think that it's likely that that might have been West Crater that we went across in landing, but - Stand by. [Long pause.]
151:36:22 Armstrong: We're hoping, Bruce, that our 16-mm film was working at that point in descent, and we'll be able to confirm our touchdown position. We thought that during ascent we might be able to pick up some recognizable objects close to the landing site, and we did see a number of small craters, and crater rows, and things like that, which we may be able to pick out after the fact, but we haven't been able to yet.
The 16-mm film worked well and showed the debris field of Crater West as Eagle approached then flew over it.
The 16-mm film at real time with synchronised voice and captions.
151:36:58 McCandless: Roger. And the next question from our panel is for Buzz. We recall that he reported seeing a laser upon AOS of the Earth the first time after - the first rev after ascent, and we're wondering what color the beam was and if he could determine at the approximate location with respect to the Earth. Over.
151:37:25 Aldrin: It was mostly white, perhaps a tinge of yellowish color to it. And it seemed to be - as I recall it, the terminator of the Earth was toward the horizon and seemed to be about a quarter to a third of the way down from - down towards the terminator of the Earth - from the opposite horizon. That's a third to a quarter Earth radii. Over.
151:38:10 McCandless: Roger. And that puts it in the light side? Over.
151:38:18 Aldrin: Roger. Yes, it was in the light side. The Earth was about - a two-thirds lit Earth, with the terminator down toward the horizon. And now coming from the opposite limb of the Earth, the sunlit limb, coming down about one-quarter to one-third of a radius in from the limb. Generally, centrally located with respect to a line drawn perpendicular to the terminator that goes through the center. Over.
151:38:58 McCandless: Roger, Buzz. We copy.
151:39:02 Aldrin: And I got pictures of that. I'm sure that'll show up.
No pictures of Earth taken from the LM after ascent can be located in the Apollo 11 Hasselblad collection.
151:39:07 Armstrong: And I saw that, too. It was a very bright spot of light and I confirm Buzz's observation of its position.
151:39:15 McCandless: Okay, 11. Very good. Now, with respect to the documented sample container - on television it appeared to us as though the samples for that container were in fact being given - being selected in accordance with some thought or consideration being given to the rocks themselves. And we were wondering if you could give any further details from memory about any of these samples, and the context of the material or the surface from which they were taken. Over.
151:39:56 Armstrong: Yes. You remember I initially started on the cut side of the LM that the TV camera was on, and I took a number of samples of rocks on the surface, and several that were just subsurface - about 20 - 15 to 20 feet north of the LM. And then I recalled that that area had been probably swept pretty well by the exhaust of the descent engine, so I crossed over to the southern side of the LM and took a number of samples from the area around the elongate double crater that we commented on and several beyond that and tried to take as many different types - of rock types as I could see by eye, as I could in the short time we had available. There were a number of other samples that I had seen earlier in our stroll around the LM that I had hoped to get back and pick up and put in the documented sample, but I didn't get those and I'll be able to comment on those in detail when we get in the debriefing session.
151:41:17 McCandless: Roger. Did you observe any small craters with conspicuously blocky rims? Over.
151:41:28 Armstrong: Well, aside from the real big one that we went over, I guess there were none in our area. I took a stroll back after putting up the PSEP [Passive Seismic Experiment Package], and while Buzz was starting to unpack [likely means 'pack up'] the documented sample, took - took a stroll back to a crater behind us that was maybe 70 or 80 feet in diameter and 15 or 20 feet deep, and took some pictures of it. It had rocks in the bottom of pretty good size, considerably bigger than any that were out on the surface, but there was no - we apparently, at 15 feet or so, had not gotten below the regolith. We were essentially showing no bedrock, at least in the walls of the crater at that depth. Over.
The crater visited by Armstrong is now generally referred to as either East Crater because it lies to the east of the landed LM, or more commonly as Little West Crater because of its proximity to West Crater.
151:42:28 McCandless: Roger. We copy. [Long pause.]
151:42:50 McCandless: Okay. Thank you, Neil. That about wraps up the questions we have on hand for now.
151:43:00 Armstrong: Okay. [Long pause.]
151:43:50 Collins: My compliments to the chef. The food is outstanding. This cream of chicken soup I give at least three spoons.
151:43:58 McCandless: Okay. Cream of chicken, three spoons.
Comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
151:46:22 McCandless: Apollo 11, This is Houston. Over.
151:46:27 Aldrin: Go ahead.
151:46:29 McCandless: 11, we concur that having Verb 16, Noun 20 up on the DSKY may well have had some effect on your PTC initiation. It looks like this would give - let the computer work with a knowledge of the actual CDU angles. What we'd like you to do is, do a CDU zero which is Verb 40, Noun 20, Enter, and then start the PTC procedure again at Step 2 with loading Verb 6, Noun 22, desired attitude in the Auto maneuver, and all that. Over.
151:47:08 Collins: Okay. The only thing I don't understand about that is why it took off at the rate it did. What rate should it have taken off at under that theory?
151:47:17 McCandless: Stand by a minute, Mike.
Long comm break.
A CDU is a Coupling Data Unit. It acts as an electronic interface between the IMU's ability to measure angles and the computer's need for digital information. As such, it is essentially an analogue to digital converter and vice versa. There are three of them; one each for the three gimbals that support the guidance platform. Two more also exist to go between the computer and the axes of the spacecraft optics, the shaft and trunnion angles.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
151:52:17 McCandless: 11, CMP, this is Houston. Over. [Pause.]
151:52:25 Collins: Go ahead, Houston.
151:52:27 McCandless: Mike, over here on page 9-7 of your checklist where we're setting up PTC, there's been a note penciled in after: 'Wait 20 minutes for rates to damp. Do not monitor Verb 16, Noun 20.' It turns out that the significance of that is that, if you are monitoring 16 Noun 20, then when you get down here in step 7, the second time you do a Verb 24, you've got to reload the Noun 01, to make it 'Verb 24, Noun 01, Enter', before you load the three registers. Over.
151:53:09 Collins: Roger, that. I was just questioning the rate at which the maneuver would begin if that were not done.
151:53:17 McCandless: Roger. We're still working on computing the rate for you. [Long pause.]
151:53:39 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. We'd like you to select Reacq mode on the High Gain Antenna. Looks like we're about to lose you. Over.
Very long comm break.
The Reacq or Reacquisition mode of the High Gain Antenna's operation has the antenna automatically lock onto the signal coming from Earth to keep it properly pointed even as the spacecraft rotates. This only works as long as the line of sight to Earth is within the antenna's range of articulation. If Earth goes outside this range, i.e. the antenna reaches its end stops, then it will move to angles that are preset on panel 3 in the spacecraft. The idea is that if the spacecraft is rotating in PTC or going around the Moon, then the angles at which it can reacquire Earth can be calculated so that reacquisition can be automatic.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 152 hours, 9 minutes. At this time, the crew is getting the spacecraft set up to reinitiate the Passive Thermal Control. Apollo 11 currently 165,143 nautical miles [305,849 km] from the Earth and traveling at a speed of 4,142 feet per second [1,262 m/s]. The Flight Plan has relatively few activities scheduled for now through the beginning of the crew's sleep period tonight. We do have a television transmission scheduled. I believe, the time on that is a little after 8:00 pm Central Daylight Time. And we show the sleep period to begin at about 160 hours Ground Elapsed Time, or a little less than 8 hours from now. We'll continue to stand by for any conversation with the crew. It has been relatively quiet for a good part of today. We'll - We'll stand by for a call from the CapCom or from the spacecraft down to the ground.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
152:17:13 McCandless: Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston broadcasting in the blind. If you read us, attempt to acquire on Omni antennas. Attempt to acquire us on Omni antennas, if you read. This is Houston. Out. [No answer.]
Comm break.
152:18:34 McCandless: Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston broadcasting in the blind. If you read, attempt acquisition on an Omni antenna. Attempt acquisition using an Omni antenna. Over. [No answer.]
Comm break.
152:20:14 McCandless: Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston broadcasting in the blind. If you read, attempt contact using Omni antennas, using an Omni antenna. This is Houston. Out. [No answer.]
Very long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 152 hours, 29 minutes. In the process of re-establishing the Passive Thermal Control with the spacecraft in a slow rotation, we have apparently lost High Gain lock-on and we expect that the crew will reacquire lock with the antenna once the Passive Thermal Control is re-established. At the present time Apollo 11 is 164,320 nautical miles [304,321 km] from the Earth and the velocity is up now to 4,156 feet per second [1,267 m/s]. We'll continue to stand by here for reacquisition of the spacecraft, for re-establishment of High Gain lock-on.
About now, two more photos of Earth are taken on magazine V.
AS11-44-6670 - Earth at about 304,000 km or 164,000 nautical miles. Photograph taken at approximately 152:30:00. South is up and the west coast of South America is passing the terminator. North America is to the bottom right of the globe. 250-mm lens. Image credit: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center.
AS11-44-6671 - Earth at about 304,000 km or 164,000 nautical miles. Photograph taken at approximately 152:30:00. South is up and the west coast of South America is passing the terminator. North America is to the bottom right of the globe. 250-mm lens. Image credit: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
152:35:08 McCandless: Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston broadcasting in the blind. If you read us, attempt acquisition using an Omni antenna. Attempt acquisition using an Omni antenna. This is Houston. Out. [No answer.]
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
152:43:48 Comm Tech (may be McCandless): [Garble] Goldstone.
152:43:54 McCandless: Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston. Radio check. Over. [No answer.]
Comm break.
152:46:15 Comm Tech: [Garble].
152:46:46 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. How do you read? Over.
152:46:51 Collins: Loud and clear, Bruce. How me?
152:46:54 McCandless: Roger. What antenna are you using? [Long pause.]
152:47:27 Collins: Houston, Apollo 11 is calling you on the High Gain. How do you read? Over.
152:47:31 McCandless: Roger. Loud and clear on the High Gain. [Long pause.]
152:47:48 Collins: So what's new?
152:47:51 McCandless: Oh, we were wondering what was new with you up there.
152:47:56 Collins: All very quiet. We're just sitting here letting the thruster firing damp down. When they get good enough, let us know, and we'll start this PTC.
152:48:06 McCandless: Roger. [Long pause.]
152:48:29 Collins: Nice to sit here and watch the Earth getting larger and larger and the Moon smaller and smaller.
152:48:37 McCandless: Roger. We'll give you a call when your rates have damped down sufficiently, and we're unable at the present time to predict what rate you should have seen at your last attempt to initiate PTC. We saw about 2½ degrees per second. Over.
152:48:57 Collins: Yeah. I believe that. [Long pause.]
152:49:21 Collins: Buzz thinks we should have a PTC program built into the computer. He could very well be right.
Very long comm break.
Comm Tech: [Garble] 2 3 4 5. 5 4 3 2 1.
Comm Tech: 1 2 3 4 5. 5 4 3 2 1. [Garble]
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control at 153 hours, 7 minutes. At the present time, we are changing shifts here in Mission Control. Flight Director Gene Kranz will be coming on to relieve Flight Director Clifford Charlesworth. The Capsule Communicator on this shift will be astronaut Charlie Duke. There will be a change of shift briefing in the news center, in the Building 1 auditorium in about 10 minutes. At the present time, Apollo 11 is traveling at a speed of 4,185 feet per second [1,276 m/s]. The spacecraft is about 162,700 nautical miles [301,300 km] from the Earth. During the change-of-shift briefing, we will take the circuit down, record any conversation that develops with the spacecraft and play it back following the change-of-shift briefing. At 153 hours, 9 minutes; this is Apollo Control, Houston.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
153:19:17 Collins: Houston, Apollo 11.
153:19:21 McCandless: Go ahead, 11.
153:19:27 Collins: Rog. Just checking the radios, and how is the thruster activity coming?
153:19:51 McCandless: 11, Houston. The radios are still in good shape, and we're still waiting for your rates to decay. We've got 0.03 degrees per second in pitch now.
153:20:05 Collins: Okay. We're - we're in no rush. This is a very pleasant attitude, as a matter of fact. The Sun is down in the LEB, so it's not shining through the windows and heating the place up. We've got the Earth steady out Window 1. We have the Moon steadily out Window 3 and, of course, we're locked up on the High Gain. So as long as the thermal people are happy, we're happy.
153:20:29 McCandless: Roger. We copy.
Very long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
153:33:27 McCandless: Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.
153:33:33 Collins: Go ahead, Houston.
153:33:35 McCandless: Okay, 11. We're about ready to start PTC. I'd like to give you some High Gain Antenna angles, though. We'd like to operate in the Reacq mode, and do you plan on spinning up in the positive or negative direction? Over.
153:33:52 Collins: We can do it either way. I had planned the positive.
153:33:53 McCandless: Okay. For positive, the High Gain Antenna setting should be pitch plus 30, yaw 270, and in Reacq. Over.
153:34:14 McCandless: Roger. And if you would, when you're making your DSKY entries to set up for PTC, go a little slower, and we'll try to follow each entry from down here. Over.
153:34:28 Collins: Roger that.
Long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
153:39:47 Collins: Houston, 11. PTC established.
153:39:50 McCandless: Roger, 11.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
153:43:05 McCandless: 11, Houston. We observe the PTC to be fairly well established here, and we'll keep you posted on how it's going, and your friendly White Team commentator is taking over now.
153:43:23 Collins: Okay. Thanks to all you Black Team.
153:43:26 McCandless: That was the Green Team.
153:43:28 Collins: Correction, all you Green Team - correction, Green Team. Excuse me.
153:43:31 McCandless: Roger. Out. [Long pause.]
153:43:48 Collins: How could I forget? I used to be a Green one.
Comm break.
153:45:42 Duke: Hello, Apollo 11, Houston. Your White Team is now on. We're standing by for an exciting evening of TV and a pre-sleep report. Over.
Long comm break.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control. 153 hours, 49 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. Apollo 11, homeward bound, is now 161,050 nautical miles [298,265 km] out from Earth. Velocity now 4,216 feet per second [1,285 m/s]. Some 3½ minutes of recorded air-to-ground transmissions have accumulated during the recent Change-of-Shift Press Conference here in the Apollo News Center. Let's play that tape back now.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
153:53:12 SC: [Shrieking noises then some laughter.]
153:53:31 Duke: Apollo 11, Houston. You sure you don't have anybody else in there with you?
153:53:38 Collins: Houston, Apollo 11. Say again, please.
153:53:41 Duke: We had some strange noises coming down on the downlink, and it sounded like you had some friends up there.
153:53:55 Collins: Where - where do the White Team go during their off hours anyway?
153:53:59 Duke: Say again.
Very long comm break.
Based on timings in released audio recordings, there are further odd shrieking sounds on the downlink at 153:58:27.
Download MP3 audio file. PAO loop. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.
This is Apollo Control. Still no explanation, the weird noises emanating from Apollo 11, if indeed it is from Apollo 11 and it's reported from Network that it's being received on the downlink at two different stations in the Manned Space Flight Network. Perhaps it will all shake out later in the mission as to what these strange noises are. We'll come back up again as conversation is resumed with Apollo 11; now 160,410 nautical miles [297,079 km] out from Earth, traveling at 4,228 feet per second [1,289 m/s]. At 154 hours, 5 minutes Ground Elapsed Time, this is Apollo Control.
Apollo 11 is now about 7 hours into Flight Day 7 and accelerating towards Earth. The crew are continuing to have a quiet day and are about to begin preparations for a television broadcast.
