This is the First of the Big Shots

8/6/2019 This is the First of the Big Shots

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-hat8+:America ll,eo sen( man 1 ,nc oon. ~ ~ d i & : i she-aft; Saturn V is the launch vehicle. In a shortthe complete "stack" Will be l a ~ n c h e d - ~ ~

he first time. The first stage alone will300 lbs. of thrust. We have already

nY I steps toward putting man - rw e f i r 6 ,*Apollo/Saturnm - V test fligM, calledhl!O 4 mission,will be a Giant Stem.wrhat9swhy it's the Biq L..ot.ipi


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SATURN V LAUNCH VEHICLE APOLLO SPACECRAFTI

fve F-1enanes n he/e Besdesconnectng he.frsttwostages (as ts nameimples), he 18-ft.-hghlnterstagecontainsulagemotors (seegossary) or he second

stage. and electronicequpment or the frst.It s ettsoned 32seconds after second-stage gnition.

\weght. Its deveopmentwas no smpe matter.Insulaton s hecriticalprobem because of thevast difference n em-peraturebetween thetwo liquids-4 BFbeow zero for the LHzcomparedwith a rea-t i d y bamy293F belowfor the LOX

Sbgc). It s a hugestructure(81ft.. 7 n.hgh. 33 ft. across)machned o the toler-ance of a ine watch.90%of its 1033000-bweght is propelant orits ve 5-2engnes. TheSII second stage akesover from the first stageat an alttudeof about38 mes, when thevehce s going some6100 mph. It res about6 mnutes. boostng hevehce to an altitude of117mles above theearth and a speedof15300 mph.

SaturnS i ~ i r . 1Sage) Ths is he bigone H stands 138ft.tal. with a 33-ft.btameter. and weghs307000 Ibs.. withoutpropelant.With pro-pe ant,the weghtjumps to 4707000 Ibs.more than 3/4ths of theentre Apol o/SaturnVweght. Its ob is o push62 million pounds 38mies through theatmosphere to a er-minalspeed of amost6100 mph. Toaccom-plish hs. twill consume214000 gaons ofspeca kerosene (RP-1)and 346.400 gaons ofliquidoxygen- nd doit n 152seconds.

5-2 fingin&. There s acluster of fve 5-2engneson the secondstage. Together, theydeveop over a millionpounds of thrust. Theyburn some sx mnutes.consuminga total of940,000 Ibs. (or 355100galons)of fuel andoxdzer.

S p m w n t ys t k .Thesecondstage ispoweredby iquidhydrogen(LHz) withliquidoxygen (LOX)asan oxidizer-both inhuge quanttes o stokethe fve J-2 engnes. Ina . there are 267700galons of LH2 and87400 of LOX Thetwopmpdlantsare carredin a single giant tankwith a common bulk-headseparatng hem.Without the commonbukhead here woudhave o be wo anks.which would meananother 10feet inlength or this stageand another4 tons of

powerng he hird

lnslwmentn ~u).burns or 142 seconds. 3 ft. hgh, with a a-ft.,SlVB Propelant boostng 'peed sin . dameter, the IU17*500 mph-Now he weghs about 4750 Ibs.wm Thesingle2 vehicle s n ree orbit isthebrainsf thengne of the hird around he earth; but SaturnV launch vehce,tage is powered by the third stages job contrdng the tr ng6,900galons of liquid i After hehydrogen, with 20400 second orbt it mus and ettsoning of thethree launch-vehc e9albns of liqu id oxygen regn e topun he smesasan oxdzer. spacecraft out of acircular earth orbit witha 117-me alttude,and nto an eccentrc

(egg-shaped) orbit- thefarthest point bengsome 11400 mie sout in space.

a unar flight the LMwill carry two astronautsdown o he surface ofthe moon. then back upto rendezvous with heorbiting CSM Thedescent engne canprovide up to 10500Ibsof thrust; the ascentstage deveops a3500-1b thrust. OnApolo 4 he LM willbe a boierplate a full-scae, but non-operat-ing, mode) snce est ngthe LM s not part ofthis light.

Ssnice2ft. hgh.oduleith a(a).2-ft..10-n. dameter. wegh-ing about 55000Ibs.The SM contain s uelcells or electrcalpower, propelant anks,and systems support ngtheCM Its engnesprovide he power forall spacecraft maneuversafter ranslunar njectionis compteted and thethird stage has been,e soned

Abla t ve Heat S h iDurng re-entry, thetemperature on heabatve materal of theCM heat shield willprobab y reach 4500F.However it's desgnedtowithstand temperatures n excess of5000F The heat shieldis a staness-steehoneycomb with aspeca plastc-keabatve materalbonded o t. Thsabatve matera burnsoff dur ng re-entry.

Command~ a & kcM)12ft. high, with a basedameter of 12 t.. 10in.Weght about 12000Ibs.Ths s "home" for the3 astronauts on heirwayto he moon andback. (In he Apo o 4test, their pace will betaken byan electronicdevice-the MissonContml Programmer.)The CMs sma. 94-b.-thrust Reacton Controlengnes alow for fineatttude adustmentsdurng earth re-entry.

Launch EscaG Systemand Boost ProtectveCover (LES & BPC)irst stage.eachcapabeof deveopng 15 mi-lton pounds of thrustfor a otal of 75 million.Together. they burn1,250 galons of RP-1fue and2,083galonsofLOXper second!Althoughthese engneshave been extensveytested over a perodofyears, this is he firsttme they will auncha vehce into space.

34 ft. long, wtfh a150,000- b.-thrustlaunch escape motor,a 33,WCLIb.-hrust towerjettson motor and a3000-b.-thrust pttch-control motor. TheBoost Protectve Coverfits over the CM oprotect it rom theexpected 1200F fric-tion heat durtng aunch.Norma y, LES and BPCare ettsoned about 3mnutes , 8 seconds afterlift-off. For an abort.the LESwou d carry theCM up and away fromthe aunch vehce spath.

System SPS)Engne.The Servce Modue spropulsion engne, withsome 22000Ibs. ofthrust, is powered byhypergo c propelants-fuels that ignite oncontact with each other.It can be restarted asmany as50 tmes.

Apollo 4 is an unmanned testWhat makesitsuch aBigShot?

1 6,200,000 Ibs. is over 3000 tons; a good-sizedNavy destroyer is 1.only 2200 tons. Which gives youa fair idea of how muchweightwill have to be lifted off the ground beforetheApollo spacecraft Icanbe boosted into orbit, then shot almost 11,400 statute milesout into space and intricatelymaneuveredduring the Apollo 4 flight.To accomplish the most awe-inspiringweight-liftingact inOne thing, of course, is the historic significance of Apollo 4.This is the first time the Apollo/SaturnV will'be launchedandtested as a complete unit.Butjust in terms of sheer physical size it is big. In fact,compared with former space vehicles, it's gigantic. ApollolSaturn V ]stands 364feet tall-the size of a 36-story building.Comparethat with Gemininitan at 109 feet; or withMercury/Atlasat 95/3 feet. Thechart on the right givesyoua vivid graphic idea of their relativesizes.In fact, Apollo/SaturnV is bigger than anyother space vehicleever fired- ncluding anyclaimed by the U.S.S.R.Apollo 4 adds up to about 6,200,000 Ibs. of weight, with fuel. Anda considerable amount of that weight is electronic andmechanicalequipment of a complexity never fired into space before. (TheCommand Module alone contains some 2 million ntricate parts.)That's why, as one NASA official put it,Apollo 4 willhave to perform about 12times better than Mercuw-or Gemini just to get off the launching pad?

history, Apollo 4 will have a total'thrust, counting all rocketenaines. of better than 9 million lbs.I ~h; first-staae enaines alone develop a thrust of 7.5 million

1ounds. ~ha i 'sniugh to have sent into earthorbit al l the space-craft we've ever launched.In the chart, at left, youcansee howSaturn V compares with therocketsused in our last two manned programs.All these comparisonsI are illuminating: payload, overallweight andsize, thrust, etc.Butwhat is hard to grasp is the staggering complexity of launchingsuch a mammothvehicle-especially for the first time.I it will truly be oneof the greatest technological achievementsin our nation's history.

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IIi Apollo/Saturn V hasI been tested on theI ground as much asI possible. But a first

flight can't be tested; itsimply has to bemade.In this first Apollo/Saturn V flight thereare about 200 other"firsts." Here are a fewkey ones.

One of the key firsts is to find outif the Command Module's ablative- I heat shield canwithstand the fear-some heat of re-entry into theearth'satmospheres at the actualearth-return speedI of a lunar mission.u Nearly 25,000 mph.

Unt l~ow, spacecraft have re-enteredfrom the normal earth-orbiting speedof 17.500 mph. Becauseof this dra-matic difference in re-entry speeds,Apollo's CM heat shield has beendesiqned to weather twice as muchheat as Gemini and Mercury did.Re-ignition. The third stage (S-IVB)is powered by a single J-2 engine. It

i t has hadI to fire onlyonce dur-ing eachflight. On amoon-landing mission, it will have to re-ignite. Apollo 4 will be the first test,in space, of firing the J-2 engine,shutting down, then re-igniting.

fl minutes after launch,\: the Launch EscapeSystem engine willignite, carrying theBoost ProtectiveCover away with it.This will be the firsttest of the systemunder actual lunar-mission flightconditions.

Long Firing. Once Apollo is on theway to the moon, its propulsion willbe furnished solely by the ServicePropulsion System. On this mission,the SPS will be fired longer than itever has been in flight-for 24seconds on its first burn, and 4minutes, 25 seconds on the secondburn. The second burn simulates thefiring required to put an Apollospacecraft into lunar orbit.Deep Space. This will be the first timesuch a large, sophisticated mass hasoperated in the violent temperatureranges of deep space. What are theeffects? To find out, the spacecraftwill be positioned for some 4% hourswith one side constantly facing thesun. It will allow a test of the effectthat the extreme heat and cold ofspace will have on such an intricatemechanism.

Complex 39. Before Apollo 4 is everlaunched, therewill be a first: this

will mark the first use of KennedySpace Center's Launch Complex 39.The word is "giant" for everythingconnected with it. HousingApollo/Saturn V is the biggest building (involume) in the world. It's so big thatif it weren't air-conditioned, there 1would be rainstorms inside thebuilding. The huge tractor thatmoves the rocket from the buildingto the launching pad, three milesaway, haseight treads. Eachof the57 links that make up each treadweighs about a ton.

First Flight of theSaturn S-IC. The ,Saturn S-IC firststage, with five F-1engines, will be Ilaunched for thefirst time-after 1years of exactingground tests. Its7.5 million Ibs. of I

thrust and nearly 4% million Ibs. of 1weight (with fuel) make it the biggest,most powerful single object everlaunched by anyone, anywhereon earth.Another First- SaturnS-11. Thesecondstage, Saturn S-ll, will also belaunched for theI first time.I With five JQ Iengines Idelivering a

total of - .1 million Ibs. of thrust, this is thebiggest, most powerful stage that'spoweredby liquid hydrogenever to fly.Liquid hydrosen is considered themost efficient rocket fuel. But it's - - *tricky to handle-and there's a tre-mendous amount of it in the S-I1(more than 267,000 gallons). So thisfirst flight will be an important andimpressivemilestone in the historyof rocketry.Welcome Home. The mission willresult, for the first time, in therecovery of a spacecraft that hasflown higher (11,400 miles) andfaster (almost 25,000 mph) andre-entered, with-standing more

heat, than any


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Some facts aboutApollo/Satum V aren?exactly technical, butthey help you betterappreciate the scope ofthe Apdlo program.And they certainly areamazing. In fact, forreasonsyou'll under-stand as you read them,they mightwell becalled "GeeWhiz"data.

We have launched a good manyspacecraft since our nation's spaceprogram began. Even so, a singleSaturn V hasenough power to putall of them into an earth orbit atthe same time.I There's enough liquid oxygen in ust' the first stage to fill 34 railroad tank

cars. And that stage's fuel pumpswork with the force of 30diesellocomotives.The Boost ProtectiveCover shieldsthe Command Module from frictionheat during launch. That temperatureis expected to reach 1200 degrees onthe way up-not much less thanthe amount of heat the Mercurycapsule withstoodon re-entry.A space vehicle consistsof a space-craft and a launchvehicle, the latterbeing far and awaythe larger compo-1 nent. The Apollo 4

1 spacecraft- LaunchEscape System (notI shown); Command,, Sewice and LunarModules; plus theLM Adapter- s 82feet high. That'sonly 13 feet shorter' than the whole1 Mercury/Atlasspace vehicle,which was used in John Glenn'shistoric earth-orbiting mission.

The Apollo Command Module isdouble the size of the Gemini space- 'craft-which was half aaain bigger .? Mercury- kL7't'&~'.The cryogenic fuel tanks aboard theService Module are really huge

- - I of America through steam turbinesYou could drive three big movingvans, side by side, into the Saturn V at the same time-you'd get onlyfirst stage. half the 160 million horsepower thatFor all the all five of Saturn's F-1 enginescom~lexity f generate.

Thermos bottles. But of drinkable water each day.super-efficient (the Why three stages? Here's an analogy:

its electronicsystems, theCommand

vacuum between the

Module usesonly about3000 watts of

A locomotivepulling three coal

electricity-about the same as theoven in an electric kitchen range.This power is provided by fuel cellsthat, in the process of generatingelectricity, also produce 17quarts

hlner and outer walls , tenders can go about 500 miles untilis created by Pumps the coal runs out-if it drags theworking continuousl~ tenders all the way. If it drops eachfor 28 days). Three ice off, as the tender's coal runs out,cubes placed inside the locomotive can go 900 miles.would take 8V2 yearsto melt. , If you ran all the rivers and streams

uThe photo shows a single F-1 enginefiring during a captive test.When the CommandModulere-entersthe earth's atmosphere, the heatenergy generated will be about thesame as 2300 kilowatt-hours ofelectrical energy. That would beenough to light the whole city ofWashington, D.C., for 61/2 seconds-or to lift all the people in the U.S.A.three f e e t off the ground. To protectagainst this incredible heat, there isan ablative shield that, at its thickestpoint, is only 2% inches.


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You can watch the lift-off on TV.Here's what will be happening after that-out where the cameras can't see. 8:21:4l -The Command8:14:39-SPS enginere-ignition. It will fire forabout 4% minutes, ongerthan it has ever fired inspace before. The space-craft will travel at the truelunar-mission eturn speed

8:01:09-The CSM orie ntsitself, by means of small ReactionControl engines; it s now"pointing" toward the earth.oduleand the SenriceThe mission projected here is typical-and accurate as possible. The timesgiven, though, wil l n ot necessarily be exact. There are too many variables involved.For instance, the force of earth's gravity-and its effect on Apollo-w illvary slightly, depending on the time of day when the rocket lift s off. And even thattiny change is enough to change the timing of some events pictured here.

Moduleseparate. Before t wenters the atmosphere. 819:04-SPS cutoff.the CM has hree minutes The CSM must nowto reorient tself by means orient itself for cleanof small ReactionControl separation.of almost 25,000 mph.r j . - -L..,

:';,?&7YV?..:.a,..-? .??I 8:23:06-400,000 ft. abovethe earth-about 78 mies. This b is considered the effectivestart of the earth's atmos-phere. From here on herewill be friction resulting n' 0 truly fearsome heat-about4500F.8:31):19-At approximately10,000 f three mainpara-chutes deploy to ower heCM gently down. Relatively A- .peaking. Some 15rnin-utes before, it re-enteredat a speed of 25000 mph. 1Now the CM will splashdown at about the samespeed you would if you

jumped c --l2/2-ft.

0:11:10-Third-stage cutoff.Apollo is now in a circularparking orbit around theearth. about 117miles high.at a speed of 17,500 mph.The spacecraft is coasting,without propulsion.

O:08:44-The single 5-2engineof the Saturn thirdstage ignitesafter thesecondstage is ettisoned.Veh~cle peed: about 15,300mph; altitude: ust shortof 117 miles.-- If the third stage burned ust 19 'seconds onger and were orientedin a slightly different attitude-Apollo would go clear to the moon.Thats what several other vehicbshave done- nd have neverreturned to earth. But this

mission has a different purpose.About 8% minutes before entryinto the atmosphere, the ServiceModule engine will fire for about4% minutes. That will boost thevehicle's speed to the true lunar-mission re-entry speed of 36,333feet per second: almost 25,000 .mph. (This simulates the firingthat, on a lunar mission, is requiredto slow Apollo out of its flightpath to the moon and inject it intoan orbit around the moon. So, ineffect, this second SPS firing isstill another test of operations ona manned lunar flight.)Then the Command Module willseparate from the Service Moduleand orient itself, thick side of theheat shield first, for re-entry-allin a little over 2 minutes.Apollo/Saturn V s he argestspac- 3vehicle ever launched; Apollo 4 isthe first launching. At the start,the whole vehicle weighs 6.2 millionIbs.; at re-entry, the CommandModule part of it will be travelingalmost 25,000 mph.From ift-off to splashdownApollo 4is, indeed, a very big Big Shot.

For one thing, the launch vehiclesthat have already sent payloadsto the moon-ours and theRussians'-are pygmies comparedto Saturn V But to get man to themoon and back requires a vehiclethis size.

- CM will landabout 630miles north of theHawaiian slands. Thereare still many vital teststo come. But he firstGiant Step is over.

3:28:59-8:0119- Cold Soak.Immediatelyafter SPSfiring,Apollo againorients tselfto face the sun for the testof wide-ranging, hostile - .0

temperatures on its ,,electronic systems and ' :,insulation. It will stay in''this attitude past apogeeto the next SPSburn,just before re-entry.

Then there's the problem ofre-entry. Earth-orbiting speed isaround 17,500 mph. So far, everyorbiting spacecraft that hasre-entered earth's atmosphere hasslowed down from that speed and"dropped" back in. But a space-craft returning from the moon willhave to smash into the atmosphereat about 25,000 mph. Thedifference in heat is awesome.

Is Apollo 4 really a BigShot?After all, it is unmanned; and itis traveling "only" 11,400 or somiles into space- hereas we havealready landed vehicles on themoon while two space vehiclesare right now hurtling towardVenus. Is Apollo 4 really all thatimportant?

3:ll:30-Havingcompleteda -3:28:35-After a quickreorientationback to theflight-path attitude. theSPSengine ires forabout 24seconds,simulating ranslunarmid-coursecorrections-and adding some1000miles o Apollo'saltitude.

3:26S-The Command andServiceModules(CSM)separate rom the third stageand Lunar ModuleAdapter(SLA). During he preceding10 minutes, the vehicle hasbeen orientedso that oneside wU constantly acetoward he sun for the next4(/2hours (exceptduring theSPSfiring) to test the effectsof deep-space heat and cold.

Apollo 4 will prove that theCommand Module's heat shieldcan take it. To do it, the vehiclewill simulate a return from themoon. After orbiting the earth, thethird-stage engine will refire forabout 5% minutes, long enough tosend the Apollo spacecraft about11,400 mile s out.

3:17fi2-Third-stage cutoff. If theJ-2 engineburned 19secondslonger, and the vehicle's attitudewere different, Apollo could go tothe moon. As it s, there is enoughvelocity or a 10,400-mie "ride"before earth's gravity pulls thespacecraftback. A short firing ofthe SPSwill provideanother 1000miles' worth of thrust.

secondorbit, the thirdstage re-ignites o send thevehicle out of earth orbit.On a flight to the moon,this would be called"translunar injection."Firing must beginwithinan "envelope" of twoseconds: no more hanone second early or late.

The answer s a firm, emphat icyes! It's a very big Big Shot indeed-crucial to our country's programof putting a man on the moon inthis decade.


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Like any other greatachievement, Apollo 4will have many highpoints. But the first-and, perhaps, mostdramatic- will belift-off. And like othergreat moments, it'sthe result of countlesshours, days andmonths of unremittinglabor by thousandsof people. Here arejust a few of themoments leading toThe Moment.. .


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Ablating Materials- Special epoxyphenolic (plastic-like) heat-dissipating materialson the surfaceof a spacecraft that are carriedaway or vaporized during re-entry.Abort-To cut short an aerospacemission before it has accomplisheditslobjective.

Apogee-The point at which amoon or artificial satellite in itsorbit is farthest from the earth.Attitude-The position of an aero-space vehicle's axes in relation tosome frame of reference, usuallythe earth's surface.Ax& (pi. Axes)-In aircraft termi-nology, any of three straight lines,the first running through thecenter of the fuselage lengthwise(X); the second, at right angles tothis and parallel to the horizontalairfoils (Y); and the third, perpen-dicular to the first two axes attheir point of intersection (Z).Ballistic Trajectory-The curved portionof a vehicle's trajec- \$\\tory after the propul- PI -sive force is cut off. fBoilerplate- full-size model that hastheweight, size andshape of the true item, but not allof its functional features,

- Baaster-(1) a unit that assists thenormal propulsive system of avehicle or other system of avehicle; (2) the first stage of amulti-stage launch vehicle.Burnout- When combustion (andtherefore thrust) ceases in a rocketengine.Canard-A short, stubby, wing-like element located on an aircraftor spacecraft forward of the centerof gravity to provide better stabilityin the atmosphere.

Capsule- A small, pressurizedcabin with an acceptable environ-ment, usually for containing a manor animal for extremely high-altitude flights, space flight oremergency escape.Circular Velocity-The criticalspeed at which a satellite willmove in a circular orbit; it is anextremely difficult thing to attainbecause of the accuracy of thecontrol needed.Circumlunar-Trips or missions inwhich a vehicle will circle themoon.Cluster-Two or more rocketengines boundtogether so as to ,function as one III

ropulsive unit.CM-Apollo Command Module.Command-A pulse or signalinitiating a step or sequence.Cryogenics -The subject ofphysical phenomena in the tem-perature range below about-50 degrees C. More generally,cryogenics (or its synonym,cryogeny) refers to methods ofproducing very low temperatures.CSM-Apollo Command andService Modules.Deep Space- Used to refer tospace other than that in thevicinity of earth.Docking Drogue-The hollow partof a connector into which a probepart fits.Ecliptic- Plane of the earth's orbitaround the sun, used as a refer-ence for other interplanetaryorbits:

Whatthev'reabout:

also the name for the apparentpath of the sun through the con-stellation as projected on thecelestial sphere.ECS- Environmental ControlSystem.Entry Corridor-During re-entry,the angular limitsof flight that allowsafe recovery of aspacecraft.Gimballed Motor A-A rocket motormounted on gim- 1bals; i.e., on a contrivance havingtwo mutually perpendicular axesof rotation, so as to obtainpitching and yawing correctionmovements.G& N Guidance and Navigationsystem.Glitch-Originally in electronicsjargon, meaning an irregularity involtage, it has been adopted byaerospace and expanded to mean afluff, foul-up, mistake, anomalyor interruption of plans, ranking inseriousness somewhere between aheartfelt "Good grief!" and a fairlycasual "Oops." The etymology isuncertain. However, glitches gen-erally occur with inanimate things-like computer programsor piecesof machinery; and it is character-istic of glitches that they cannotbe traced to, or blamed on, anyparticular person. Hence, someaerospace people think "glitch" isan acronym for "gremlin-laid-on-hitch."Guidance System-A systemwhichmeasures and evaluates flightinformation, correlates this withtarget data, converts the resultinto the conditions necessary toachieve the desired flight path,and communicatesthis data in theform of commands to the flightcontrol system.Hypergolic- Refers to bipropellantcombinations which ignite spon-taneously upon contact or mixing.Inertial Orbit- The type of orbitdescribed by all celestial bodies.This applies to all satellites and

spacecraft not under propuls~vepower, their driving force beingimparted by their momentumat theinstant propulsive power ceases.Interface- Most simply, it is thetouching surface of two objectsthat are joined-like two blocks ofwood that are glued together. Butit has been personalized in theaerospace industry; people aresaid to "interface" when they confer.Injection- he proc-ess of placing aspacecraft into a cal-culated orbit.Interstage-Exten- 0---sion of a stage or .section that providesa ready means of fitting anotherstage or section to it.Jettison-Separation of an instru-ment section or package from theremainder of the rocket vehicle byapplication of force, internal to thepackage.LES- Launch Escape System.Liquid Hydrogen (LH2)-A liquidrocket fuel that, when oxidized byliquid oxygen, provides about 40%greater thrust than any previouslyused fuel.Liquid Oxygen (LOX)-Oxygensupercooled and kept under pres-sure so that its physical stateis liquid.LM- Apollo Lunar Module.Oxidizer- n a rocket propellant,a substance such as liquid oxygenor nitric acid that yields oxygenfor burning the fuel.Parking Orbit-A self-sustainingorbit achievedwhen the momentumof the circular veloc-ity of an objectequals the force ofgravity acting uponthat object. Withearth orbits, it means

a spaceglossary.


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(at about 115 milesaltitude) that a spacecraft mustbe going about 17,500 mph. Oncea parking orbit is achieved,no further power is needed tomaintain it.

Perigee-The point at which amoon or an artificial satellite in itsorbit is closest to the earth.Pitch-The rotation of a spacevehicle about an axis (Y) that is atonce perpendicu-lar to its longi- \ Qtudinal axis andhorizontal withrespect to the earth. d\RCS-Reaction Control System.Reaction Engine- nengine or motor that 4derives thrust by expel-ling a stream of gases tothe rear. A

Re-entry-The return of aspacecraft that re-entersthe atmosphere after flightabove it. Technically, ofcourse, the word should be"entryM-since it's entering for thefirst time; but "re-entry" has comeinto common usage.Retrorocket-A rocket that givesthrust in a direction opposite tothe direction of an object's motion.Roll-The rotationof a space vehicle -about its longitudi-nal (X) axis. ' I L?RP-1 Fuel- ero-sene-like fuel. -Ql.Scrub-To cancel out a scheduledlaunch either before or duringcountdown.SM- Apollo Service Module.SPS-Service Propulsion System.Step Rocket-A rocket with two ormore stages.Telemetry-A system for takingmeasurementson the ground orwithin an aerospace vehicle inflight and transmitting them byradio to another station.Time Hack- Space talk for "Whattime is it?" But, because of theprecision necessary in space talk,a time hack may be expressed inhundredths of a second-or evenmilliseconds.The hour-minute-second listings on pp. 10-11 of thissupplement are time hacks.Ullage-The volume in a closedtank or container above the surfaceof a stored liquid. Also the ratio ofthisvolume to the total volume ofthe tank. Ullage does not existwithout gravity. So, in space, smallrockets must be fired to createullage-that is. to force the fuel tothe bottom of the tankwhere it can feed into the engines.Yaw- otation of aspace vehicle aboutits vertical (2) xis. &

k

Space(Howto explain rocketryand spac

What is space? Space is consideredto beeverything beyond earth'satmosphere. In space, there is analmost total lack of the molecules thatmake matter. In our atmosphere,"thin" air is really composed ofmoleculesthat are (relativelyspeaking) packed tightly together.In space, there are only a fewmoleculespercubic foot, comparedwith millions in a cubic foot of the airwe breatheon earth.What do you hear and see in space?Because there's no air in space.there is no sound. That's becausesound dependson air molecules.When you clap your hands, you hearit because molecules are compressedin waves that strike your eardrum.There are noair molecules to compressin space-so no sound. The blue ofour sky is caused by the way inwhich molecules and dust particlesdisperse light rays. Without them,there is no color; space is black.Is it hot or cold in space? Both-andalways in extremes. Again. it is theair on earth that makes for moderatetemperatures. dispersing heat so itnever gets too hot, retainingheat soit never gets too cold. In space, thereis nothing to retain heat, so it is very,very cold. Onthe other hand, near thesun (or any other star), there's nothingto shield you from the heat. If youtook a "sun bath" in space, thesidefacing the sunwould burn up-while the side away from the sunwould freeze.

Primere to your children. Or your parents.)

How does a rocket work? If you fire ashotgun, a blastgoes out the muzzle;at the same time, the stock kicks backinto your shoulder. That's becauseevery action has an equal reaction&in the opposite direction. Place theshotgun vertically, muzzle down, pullthe trigger and you have a rocketofsorts. The stock (in fact, thewhole gun)is moving in the oppositedirectionfrom the direction of blast. Notbecause it's pushingagainst anything;that just happensto be a natural lawof motion. Blast hard enough andlong enough and you canmove anawful lot of weight at an awfully highspeed. That's what a rocketdoes.What keeps a spacecraft "up"?In orbit, that is. Think of a weight tiedon the end of a long rubber band. 'Start twirling and the weight will, ofcourse, go around in a circle. It willalso rise up until- f you twirl fastenough-its path will be in a circleparallel to the floor. It is "in orbit"around your fingers. Itsspeed outwardbalances the pull of the rubber band.The same thing happenswith a rocketand earth's gravity- which acts as therubber band.How do you get out of orbit? Thereare two answers. Either slow down(in which case you fall back to earth)or speed up-and go out into space.Again, it's like the weight on therubber band. Twirl fast enough a n fthe band will break, the weight flyingoff and out. Same goes for a rocket.Increase its speed enough, and it willbreak the pull of earth's gravity. Itwill go out of orbit.Which way is up?We can think ofa rocket going "up" from the earthwithout upsettingan astrophysicist toomuch: that's becausetheearth istryingto pull it down. Butonce we escapethe earth's gravitation-and until weenter the effective field of some otherbody's gravitation-there's no longera "down." So there is no up.

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Putting man on the moon is, perhaps, the gr ea ta tsingle test that man's ingenuity, will and technicalability have ever faced. That is the Apolloprogram. Launching the Apollo/Saturn Vvehicle, in the test cal led "Apollo 4," is the first

' I, of the Big Shots in the program. More thanI \ 300,000 dedicated scientists, engineers, techniciansand craftsmen, from over 20,000 companies, areI committing their talents and efforts to the Apolloprogram. They have made Apollo 4 possible.


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C Principal Contractor for, Apollo/Saturn.

Documents

This is the First of the Big Shots