Icons of the Sky: An Alternate History of the Space Transport System & Apollo Spacecraft

[Wasaspacegeek]

Icons of the Sky: An Alternate History of the Space Transport System & Apollo Spacecraft

Chapter 1: Divergence

July 20, 1969
Mare Tranquilitatis
​

As millions of people across the world watch as two men are about to land on the lunar surface, those men suit up, preparing for their EVA. This was the crew of Apollo 11, the first mission to land on the moon. Commanding the mission was Neil Armstrong, a brilliant test pilot who served in the Korean War. Tagging along with him was his Command Module Pilot, Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot, Fred Haise.

Armstrong goes down the ladder, leaping off the last rung. Millions watch as he checks his surroundings and after some hesitation, firmly plants his foot onto the lunar regolith.

"That's one small step for a man... one giant leap for mankind"

Indeed it was, LMP Fred Haise then joins Armstrong approximately 15 minutes after and they both explored the surface, deploying the flag, using science equipment & visited nearby craters.

---

Apollo 11 was being broadcasted everywhere, even the highest office in the United States. President Robert Kennedy, younger brother of fellow president, John F. Kennedy & the man who helped spearheaded the space program. He was watching the broadcast live & was overall glad that he met his deceased brother's demands.

He won the election of 1968 against republican, Richard Nixon, who didn't seem to be keen with NASA & the Apollo missions. As he watched the broadcast, stacks of proposals were sitting on his desk for the future of the space program. As Apollo 11 were finishing their EVA, Kennedy looked at these concepts further and one of them caught his eye, the Space Transport System.

1970 Concept art of the Space Transport System (STS)

He saw this proposal as a way to support Apollo and Apollo in turn could support the STS and so, on July 30, 1969, he announced the next steps for NASA to take to the public & with the recent success of Apollo 11, they were on board with the concept. This defiance to Congress' plan to slash NASA's budget was one of the defining moments for the space program. Over the next few years, NASA would develop the STS whilst they continued to land humans on the moon. These concepts, marked by ambition and heroism would eventually become the Space Shuttle Program.

NASA was developing Icons of the Sky.

End of Chapter 1

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 2: Taking the Steps

October 18, 1970
Littrow Crater
Apollo 14, EVA 1
​

Two astronauts are exploring their surroundings, their shiny, mylar covered Lunar Module sparkle in the barren landscape. One of the men, wearing red stripes on his head, elbows and knees seem excited yet serious and asks his colleague, the one with no stripes to follow him. The red striped astronaut then opens a container that houses the american flag on the landing leg. On the leg, there is a plaque with the words:

APOLLO 14
 AQUARIUS
OCTOBER 1970
JAMES A. LOVELL JR THOMAS K. MATTINGLY EDWIN E. ALDRIN JR​

After Apollo 11's successful landing, NASA started development on the STS with the design process beginning in September, 1969, a little over a month before the next Apollo mission. Apollo 12 would serve as a "pinpoint landing" as Apollo 11 entirely missed their landing site. This time, 12 would land near the landing site of the Surveyor 3 probe in Oceanus Posselarum. Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean accomplished this goal with flying colors, landing their LM  Intrepid within walking distance to the probe while Gordon stayed, orbiting the moon in their CSM Yankee Clipper. Apollo 12 was also notable for bringing the first color camera to the moon where they filmed live to the world. Though it didn't have the same viewer ship as Apollo 11, the broadcast was still respectable with over 40 million people seeing the broadcast.

Apollo 12 Lunar Module Pilot, Alan Bean taken by Commander, Pete Conrad, November 19, 1969

---

Apollo 13 saw the return of Mercury veteran, Alan Shepard, who along with LMP Edgar Mitchell landed the LM Antares in the Fra Mauro highlands while CMP Stuart Roosa stayed in orbit in May 12, 1970. Originally, the launch date would have been in April 11 but during assembly in late 1969, their CM Kitty Hawk's SM, SM 109 was damaged on the assembly line which caused delays & the scrapping of the original SM 109. Apollo 13 launched without a hitch & Shepard became at the time, the oldest man on the moon at 47. They would traverse the landscape of Fra Mauro and reach several craters such as Cone Crater which Mitchell took several samples from. The most famous aspect of Apollo 13 would be golfing, as Shepard smuggled two golf balls and club head on his pockets & swung both of them 30 meters away from the LM.

Alan Shepard poses next to the American flag, note the red commander stripes on his suit, which would be the first mission to do so, May 12, 1970

Apollo 14 would serve as the first scientific based mission, which is displayed on the mission patch, Ex Luna, Scientia meaning From the moon, Knowledge. It launched on October 14, 1970 and landed in Littrow Crater on October 18.

"Hey Buzz, can you hand me the map?"

"Got it, Jim! Here's the map"

LMP Buzz Aldrin gives the map to CDR Jim Lovell. Both of them were veterans of the Gemini Program, with both being the crew of Gemini 12, the final mission. Lovell himself had 3 prior missions before Apollo 14. He was Pilot of Gemini 7 in 1965 and commanded Gemini 12 in 1966. In 1968, he became one of three people who first went to the moon on Apollo 8 & he was the first man to go to the moon twice. If these two weren't suited to the job, know one knows who is.

One detail of note is the Navy Decal on Lovell's helmet. This would be the first of many customizations on helmets for the following years.

They would explore the landscape with the help of the Modular Equipment Transporter nicknamed the rickshaw.
Lovell and Aldrin explored the crater's rim, finding fragments of meteorites in the interior & deploying the ALSEP & other equipment. Meanwhile, Mattingly was surveying in lunar orbit in the CSM  Odyssey and was conducting experiments as well, including several insects that he studied during his solo stay. EVA 2 was spent gathering samples and experimenting with the equipment, Lovell & Aldrin brought in total, nearly a hundred pounds worth of samples & brought them back to Odyssey where they undocked with the LM and returned to Earth on October 22, 1970

Apollo 14 Commander Jim Lovell next to the MET, October 18 1970

---

By Early 1971, NASA was busy with their Apollo Missions but as these continued, they were still in development of their Space Transport System. One of their goals was the use of a Space Shuttle, launching crew into LEO & launching payload to rocket boosters, heading to the moon. Several concepts are considered but none seem plausible compared to one design: The Saturn-Shuttle.

It would consist of an orbiter, a booster stage which could house the orbiter and the S-IC of the Saturn V. It seemed very plausible as that same year, Kennedy would add funding to see this concept come into fruition and to compete against the Soviets, who were steadily building their N-1, despite hurdles that destroyed test vehicles from 1968-1970. The S-IC would be recovered in the ocean and refurbished and await a future mission in under two months. The Orbiter would be powered by two OMS engines that would put it into orbit & rendezvous with satellites and stations. The booster stage, powered by 4 J-2 engines would be on top of the S-IC and would launch the orbiter into orbit before detaching & falling back down, burning up over the Indian ocean.

By Early 1971, NASA was choosing the designs, with this concept becoming more & more like reality. It really seemed that it would be a prime candidate for the final shuttle design. Even Kennedy was considering it as it could save funds from developing completely new boosters and engines. Though, it would have some tough competition and over the next year, it would battle with the other designs that were into consideration.

End of Chapter 2

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 3: The Korolev Legacy

May 18, 1971
Baikanour Cosmodrome, Kazakh SSR
Launch of Luna 1
​

For the entirety of 1968 to 1970, the Soviet Space Program were hard at work with their own moonshot. Though, every launch so far has been failure after failure of the launch system, the N-1.

The N-1 was the brainchild of Sergei Korolev, chief engineer of the soviet space program. Though, Korolev died on Febuary 16, 1967 due to complications from a surgery the year previously, leaving the moon program in disarray. But before his untimely death, he helped with the development of the N-1 and by November, 1968, a year on from his death, they launched the first vehicle, which failed spectacularly a couple miles downrange. The second test, launched on March 11, 1969 and exploded a few miles away from the pad as well. The third test on December, 1969 exploded just before first stage separation and the fourth test exploded after stage sep on January 19, 1970. This spurred an investigation and the complete revamp of the N-1 system which would include the complete upgrade for the first stage main engines that caused most of the catastrophic failures of the last several attempts. All of these would delay any further N-1 launches until the next year in 1971.

That didn't mean that they didn't achieve any accomplishments in the past few years. In late 1969, the Soviets launched Zond 7, the first manned mission to the moon for the Soviet Union, carrying cosmonauts Vladimir Shatalov and Victor Patsayev around the moon and in January of 1970, the first LK was tested in Low Earth Orbit, passing it's tests with flying colors. The Soyuz 7K-LOK also flew, in May, 1970 where it performed all it's objectives. The Spacecrafts needed for a moon landing mission completed training and testing. All that's left is the launch vehicle itself.

---

May 18, 1971

Launch of Luna 1

On Launch Complex 110, the second largest & most powerful rocket at the time stands tall and proud. This upgraded N-1 mission would travel all the way to a High Earth Orbit to simulate a trans lunar injection. Then, they would perform a dress rehearsal in High Earth Orbit with the complete stack before de-orbiting and landing in the plains of Kazakhstan. This mission would be followed by a crewed mission to the moon by late 1971 and a planned landing by mid 1972. If this mission goes as planned, than it would give the space program time to breathe before the next mission. If it fails yet again, than it would the the final blow to the Soviet Moon Program.

So, with sweat in his head and a shaky hand, the engineer gave his go ahead for the launch. The sun approaching dusk by the minute and several engineers checking the rocket's stages and engines. By this point, no N-1 vehicle had went past first staging and so, the entire space program saw with nervous expressions, the last hope for their moonshot. Even with the upgrades, it might not be enough to stop another catastrophe but, the engineers kept their eyes at their screens, checking the launch vehicle's status.

"10... 9... 8... main engines start..."

As the announcer had said just a split second ago, all 30 of the N-1's engines lit up, causing the ground to shake. Now, it's time to launch the final hope of the moonshot.

"6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1!"

The clamps holding down the vehicle are let free as the most powerful rocket lifts off from the pad. The orange flames now brighten up the sky as the sun sets below the horizon. After 2 minutes, the moment of truth comes around, the staging. The first stage jettisons and miraculously, the second stage fires up and does not explode. The improvements and preceding investigation had payed out. The second stage fired until it was nearly in orbit and got jettisoned. The N-1 has never been this far before. And now, the third stage fired until it reached orbit. The N-1 had performed flawlessly on it's fifth launch and the engineers who spent months working to see this moment were elated. But more testing is required and so, the third stage ignited again to send the Luna Stack up to 4'573 kilometers up in it's apogee and 2'298 kilometers in it's perigee.

The LK detached from the Soyuz and for the next few days, both ships were tested and both performed flawlessly much like their first flights. At the third day, the LK docked with the Soyuz, performing the first rendezvous with the two spacecraft. At the fourth day, the Soyuz undocked with the lander & de-orbited, landing in Kazakh SSR on May 22, 1971.

Luna 1 was a complete success & served as a wakeup call for the Soviet Space Program. The moonshot was far from lost & this mission proved it. The rest of 1971 would be the further development of the vehicles & by November of that year, a crewed mission to the moon. These missions would serve as the benchmark for the eventual soviet landing on the moon. Soon, the moon will turn violet.

End of Chapter 3

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 4: The Red Star in Lunar Orbit

November 8, 1971
Descartes Highlands
Apollo 16 EVA 2
​

"Okay John, just check the rover, Charlie can survey the surface, alright?"

CAPCOM Anthony England said to Apollo 16 Commander, John Young. A mere second later, John picks up the command and responds in kind.

"Roger, Houston, With this new ride, anything's possible!"

As he does, LMP, Charlie Duke is checking samples nearby then as he looks up for a brief moment, he sees a spacecraft, which is a small dot passing by but... their CSM Fortune is currently 3'500 kilometers behind them and their LM Orion. Charlie tells John about it and as John looks at the dot, it disappears into the horizon. Meanwhile, CMP Jack Swigert was conducting experiments in the CSM and he is given word by the crew about the anomaly and that's when Jack looked out the window and saw the craft pass by. Now, John relayed this to Houston.

"Hey, Houston, did you launch a spacecraft into lunar orbit by any chance?"

"No John, what's happening?"

"Well, a spacecraft just flew by us... I have a feeling it's from the Soviets, did they launch any satellites recently?"

"Well... no, John. Maybe it was something else"

Houston and John were puzzled but soon it becomes clear as they read the news on what is going on. NASA is informed by Houston about it and a shocking feeling fills the air at mission control. The Soviets are rehearsing their own moon landing.

---

Four Days Earlier...

November 5, 1971

Launch of Luna 2

Crew:
Vladislav Volkov-Commander
Valery Kubasov-LOK Pilot

After the success of Luna 1, development continued on Luna 2, the first crewed mission of the Luna Program. As they had tested both the spacecraft and the crew aspect of the program, it was time for the dress rehearsal, much like Apollo 10 two years before. They would separate the LK and the LOK then simulate every aspect of the mission, exept the final descent to the surface.

The two men head into their N-1 rocket, Volkov went in first before Kubasov then, they were strapped to their seats for a couple of hours. Then, mission control in Moscow checks all of their scopes including the engines, the computer, the launch vehicle itself and many more and soon, they went with the go ahead. The crew were glad and so were the engineers, this was the first crewed mission of the N-1 and now, they saw their engineering coming into fruition. The countdown reached zero and the N-1 had lifted off.

After reaching orbit, despite a premature shutdown of one of the engines on the second stage, the third stage propelled both spacecraft moon ward. Coincidentally, only a few days before, the crew of Apollo 16 had reached lunar orbit, crewed by John Young, Jack Swigert and Charlie Duke. This would be one of the only instances where both a Luna Spacecraft and an Apollo Spacecraft were ever in the same orbit together. As Young and Duke performed a flawless descent to the Descartes Highlands, Volkov and Kubasov were orienting their Luna Stack retrograde to the orbit. As Young & Duke explored their surroundings & drove the first lunar roving vehicle, Luna 2 had started their burn, ending up at an orbit of 20 km and 23 km, slightly above the Apollo 16 CSM.

Volkov performed the very first transfer EVA of the Luna program and entered the hatch to the LK dubbed Rodina while Kubasov stayed orbiting in the LOK Zenit. Mission Control watched intensely as the two craft become further and further away from one another. Volkov, the first cosmonaut to pilot the LK would descend to 12 km from the surface, where he then returned to the orbiting LOK. All of this would be documented by Apollo 16 as Luna 2 passed by several times during the rehearsal. Luna 2 would return in November 12, 1971 with Apollo 16 returning a few days later. Both missions would be big successes in both worlds as the US were happy with the deployment of the first Lunar Car and the Soviets were proud with the dress rehearsal. Soon, both worlds would see the culmination of the supposedly dead moon race. Luna 3, preparing to launch in May, 1972

End of Chapter 4

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 5: The Shuttle Goes Through

April 1, 1972
Marius Hills
Apollo 17, EVA 1
​

1972 was yet another year of lunar exploration with Apollo 17 and Apollo 18 both being planned to launch in April and December of that year. Due to the upcoming launch of the Skylab space station, Apollo 20 would be delayed until a sixteenth Saturn V would be built by 1976, rescheduling Apollo 19 to late 1973.

But during Apollo 17, the crew were given some very good news about the future of spaceflight.

Apollo 17 launched on March 26, 1972, carrying Gene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Joe Engle during the second night launch of a Saturn V rocket, Apollo 15's Scott, Worden and Irwin, who were heading to Censorinus Crater were the first to do it in early 1971. They landed on Marius Hills on the Ocean of Storms on April 20 and by April 21, Gene Cernan and Joe Engle exited their Lunar Module Challenger and explored the unique site that was Marius Hills. Meanwhile, Ronald Evans was orbiting the moon in the Command Module Adventure, studying the surface and conducting experiments.

"Hey Gene, this looks perfect, the LM, the rover, the flag and you, how about you pose for a salute"

"Joe, that is a swell idea! Hold on!"

As they took turns posing, Mission Control decided to give some news.

"This looks like a good time for some good news here, the house passed the space budget yesterday, 197 to 140, which includes further lunar exploration and the votes for the shuttle, the shuttle has been approved!"

Gene and Joe were excited about the news.

"Wow! That's fantastic! I'm telling you as I salute the flag, I'm proud to be an American and I'm proud to be a part of a remarkable space program" Gene remarked.

"The nation needs that spacecraft mighty bad, I hope that someday, Me and Gene will fly that remarkable machine..."

Much like NASA, Gene and Joe seemed to be excited about the future of space exploration.

---

The design consideration of the shuttle was a heated discussion among the people at NASA. From it's inital proposal in 1969 to the final design in 1972 many designs were considered, some better than others.

The two final candidates were the Saturn-Shuttle and the DC-3. After several heated debates and seeing both of their flaws, the Saturn-Shuttle was chosen as the final design of the Space Shuttle in March 24, 1972, cementing further production of the Saturn V rocket and use of Apollo hardware.

Top to Bottom: The final design of the Space Shuttle, the Saturn-Shuttle and the DC-3 design proposed by North American Rockwell and Maxine Faget

Congress passed the proposed budget in March 30, 1972 which included the further Apollo Missions and the Shuttle with 197 representatives in favor of the proposed budget (though this was spurred by the recent success made by the soviet Luna Program) and 140 not in favor of the proposed budget but with the Vietnam War being over for 2 years now, the public was now intrigued by the Apollo missions with at most 18 million americans tooning in to see the astronauts walk on the moon.

Apollo had been saved by the Kennedy administration and now, it will work in tandem with a new program. NASA was very happy seeing Congress being in favor of the shuttle and Apollo & the crew of Apollo 17 was much the same.

---

"Well Joe, how about we finish this photo shoot and get back to work?"

"You bet, Gene! What a program to be in"

LMP Joe Engle, filled with optimism for the future of NASA finished the photoshoot, with the last one becoming the most iconic photo of the mission, say for the Blue Marble.

Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan saluting the American Flag at Marius Hills, April 1, 1972

End of Chapter 5

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 6: The Moon Turns Purple

June 19, 1972
​

In the night, thousands of Americans sit by their TV. The parents sit back in their couch with some even cracking a cold one. The children sit on the floor, feet dangling in the air as they see gray skies and a monstrous rocket sitting in a launchpad in the middle of their screen. They are watching yet another mission to bring men to the surface of the moon but... something's off. The rocket on screen is a light shade of gray, nothing like the black and white Saturn V rocket. It had a tapered shape to it which makes it more like a cone rather than the skyscraper like Saturn V. There's no sign of a red launch umbilical tower, the rocket stood by itself. The sky was very clearly daytime, even though the entire US had reached nighttime. This was no Saturn V and it was not going to be launched by NASA. It was an N-1 rocket and it was going to be launched by the US' rival. The Soviet Union.

Baikanour Cosmodrome
Launch of Luna 3
​

A Bus stops by the launchpad as the mighty N-1 sits on the launchpad. Two cosmonauts, donned in their flight suits head to the walkway leading to the tower.

"Vasily, let's go!"

"Got it, Alexei! I'm just trying to walk around the puddles"

Several personell near the N-1 welcome the crew as they headed up the many stairs all the way to the hatch to their Soyuz spacecraft. Alexei Leonov first stepped into the seat, followed by Vasily Lazarev. After several minutes, the personell are ready to seal the hatch but before that, they speak to the crew.

"Hey Alexei, Vasily"

"Yes?" Lazarev said.

"The Launch team wishes you goodluck"

The crew smiled at his remark.

"Thank you, we will not let you down!"

The N-1 began filling up with fuel at T minus 42 minutes, the hissing sound could be heard inside the capsule. This fuel was the cause of the early fiery explosions of the first N-1 rockets and now, this N-1, with new systems in place will not end up like those first launches.

The minutes turned to seconds, ticking down. A Comm narrates the countdown.

"Systems nominal, 10..."

"9..."
"8..."
"7..."
"6..."

At T minus 6 seconds, all 30 engines of the Block A came to life as rumbling in the rocket is felt around it and the launchpad it was standing on.

"Engine start, 3..."
"2..."
"1..."

Everything holding the rocket down was set free as the N-1 lifted off from Site 110, cameras nearby broadcasting the launch from the Soviet Union to even the United States.

The Launch of Luna 3, June 19, 1972 (Image Credit by Roscosmos Archive, 2010)

After several hours and several stage separations, Luna 3 was moon bound. During the time in cis lunar space Leonov and Lazarev broadcasted a tour of their Soyuz 7K-LOK to the world much like Apollo 11 did several years before. They reached Lunar Orbit in June 22 with no hiccups. The time had come.

---

Luna 3 Day 4

As the first man to walk in space in 1965 and very nearly dying on Voskhod 2, Commander Leonov was understandably a bit shaken up from EVAs but with courage, Leonov transferred to the LK Molniya, separating it and himself from the LOK Foton and started descending to Gassendi Crater.

Molniya and Foton after separation, June 23, 1972

---

The Soviet Space Program broadcasted the landing to home and abroad. In the US, thousands of people were watching Leonov's descent to Gassendi Crater with CBS News giving current news straight from Moscow in the USSR. President RFK himself was watching the broadcast as CBS's Walter Cronkite was narrating the landing to the American public.

"This is Molniya, descending at 6 meters per second, everything is nominal" Leonov said as he descended further and further down to the surface.

The engineers waited with baited breath as the culmination of their efforts was happening in their screens. The citizens of the USSR awaited their cosmonaut to acomplish a goal set by the USSR back in the early 1960s. With each second, Leonov could feel more and more sweat in his head as his craft would descend slowly and the lunar surface coming closer in his window, he knew that the eyes of the Soviet Union were all on him to accomplish this mission, to accomplish this dream made by the Soviet people, to acomplish his aspirations.

"Crater is in view, 300 feet now, descending at 5 meters per second"

"We copy, Molniya"

Now, each second counts as the rumbling beneath him becomes more stronger the closer he is to the surface. Every other second, he looks over to the abort button as he goes closer. Now, he's at 200 feet, going down at 4 meters per second. Both he and his crewmate is waiting anxiously as the LK passes over the crater to reach the targeted landing spot.

"100 feet, 4 meters per second still, fuel's good at 15%"

"Roger Molniya, we copy"

Passing over the crater, now it was time for the final descent. Leonov switched to manual control, checking a flat spot to land on. His crewmate in orbit waits anxiously over the radio as the fuel drops from 15 to 12 to 10 to now, 7 percent fuel.

"20 feet now, throttling up, 2 feet per second"

The dust had been blown off the ground, nearly blinding Leonov's window from the landing site but, he held to the controls, the lander now at 10 feet at 2 feet per second.

After what felt like forever, Molniya's engine shutdown as the 4 solid rocket motors fired, firmly planting the LK to the ground. The LK rattled as it was trying to settle itself on the surface.

Leonov sighed as he radioed to mission control in Moscow.

"This is Molniya, I've landed successfully next to Gassendi"

The LK becomes silent. The vibrations and rattling had ceased as it settled to the surface. Mission Control and Lazarev celebrated Leonov's success but, landing was just the start, there was no time to rest.

Molniya on the lunar surface, June 23, 1972

---

"Okay, Leonov has exited the LK lander, Molniya and is heading down the ladder" Walter Cronkite said to everyone watching the channel.

Leonov stepped off the ladder and took in his surroundings. It felt like hours have passed when in reality it had only been 30 or so seconds. Silence is the best word to describe what has happening to Leonov, Lazarev and mission control back in Moscow. He looked at his boots, noticing that he had strayed several feet away from the LK, all without saying a word.

Leonov, the First Cosmonaut to walk on another celestial body had all but a sentence to say for the people back at home to hear.

"The Journey has begun for my nation..."

---

Luna 3 had successfully brought a Soviet cosmonaut on the lunar surface after several hectic years that was riddled with engineer rivalries and death of crutical people and fellow cosmonauts. The landing and subsequent EVA of 2 hours made headlines around the world with headlines such as REDS LAND MAN ON THE MOON or THE MOON TURNS PURPLE and even REDS ON THE MOON springing about in western newspapers. Leonov planted the Soviet Flag on the lunar surface and brought commemorative medals similar to the early unmanned Rodina probes of the 1960s. He also brought back several lunar samples which were a bit more than Apollo 11's samples and returned to Foton on June 24, 1972 and Luna 3 returned to Earth on June 28.

Luna 3 was a complete success and signified the turning point of the Soviet Space program. Soon, plans in both nations were proposed after the Soviets became even with the US in it's space program. Some of these proposals would be thrown to the dustbins of history but some would come true, ushering a new era of Space Exploration.

End of Chapter 6

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 7: Skylab Goes Through

May 14, 1973
Kennedy Space Center
Launch of Skylab 1
​

"Skylab for me was a great feat of engineering, sure at times it was a hot mess in fact, my crew had to repair the lens of the Apollo Telescope during the fall of '80 but that's what will happen with pioneering spacecraft. Skylab may not have been as exciting compared to landing on the moon but, I would sure be glad if that station was still here right now..."

-Buzz Aldrin, Commander of STS 5/7, Skylab 7

---

The Journey of the world's first space station would start in the 1960s. As Apollo continued with the moon landings, NASA was developing a space station, a manned outpost in Low Earth Orbit using the upperstage of the Saturn V and Saturn IB, the S-IVB. During development, two different paths for the station which Wet-Workshop and a Dry-Workshop. Wet-Workshops would use the spent rocket stage itself as habitation while Dry-Workshops would refit the rocket stage into a habitable module before launch and would be a payload instead of a dedicated rocket stage. By the late 1960s, NASA would choose a Dry-Workshop configuration for the station, giving the contract to build two identical workshops to McDonnell Douglas in August, 1969.

The path chosen was picked due to the limited number of Saturn IBs left in storage which would be used for 4 planned missions to the station from 1973-74, the docking of an Apollo CSM to a Soyuz spacecraft planned for launch in late 1975 and a final launch of a CSM to Skylab in 1980 where from then on, crew rotations would use the planned Space Shuttle which would use the CSM during the period of time where the shuttle couldn't be used. Unfortunately, this would mean that Apollo 20 would be delayed until early 1976, when the second run of Saturn Vs would be ready.

The initial configuration of Skylab (Image Credit: NASA)

The workshop was constructed by early 1972 which was equipped with several things. It had two solar panels that would swing 90 degrees on either side once deployed. It was paired with a micro meteoroid shield that would deploy 13 centimeters away from the workshop, these would provide protection and avoid the station from overheating. The Airlock Module housed two docking ports and stored the EVA equipment. The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) would be housed on top of the airlock module during launch and be deployed to the right position. The ATM could observe the sun in X-Ray, Ultraviolet and Visible Light and was powered by four solar panels.

The Saturn V, SA-515 was assembled by August, 1972 and the Orbital Workshop was attached to the rocket in September of 1972, just as Apollo 18's Saturn V rolled out of the VAB. In October, testing on the Micro Meteoroid Shield was made with the test going smoothly without fault. In April, 1973, Skylab was moved to LC-39A with the Skylab 2 Saturn IB not being far behind. By May, 1973, Skylab was ready to launch.

---

May 14, 1973

Launch of Skylab 1

Crowds have gathered near the Cape as the first cargo Saturn V sits on the launchpad in the distance. A Saturn IB sits nearby on the second launchpad, standing atop a "milkstool". The countdown begins as commentators start the proceedings.

Skylab 1 on the launchpad with Skylab 2 in the distance just before launch May 14, 1973

"Ain't that a beauty..." Rusty Schweickart said to himself. He, Story Musgrave and Bruce McCandless were watching as the fuel was being loaded to the Saturn V in the distance. These astronauts were the backup crew of Skylab 2, the first mission to the station the next day. The prime crew, Pete Conrad, Joseph Kerwin and Paul Weitz were nearby.

"Okay, we have passed the twenty second mark, the deluge system is nominal, T-18 second mark"

The launch arms swing out as the Saturn V gears up for engine ignition.

"Now we have 14..."
"13..."
"12..."
"11..."
"10..."
"9..."
"8..."
"We have start of ignition sequence..."

The 5 F-1 engines come to life as the ground beneath it shook uncontrollably.

"5..."
"4..."
"3..."
"2..."
"1..."

The remaining launch arms and clamps let go as the final first production Saturn V lifts off of the pad.

"We have liftoff, The world's first space station now moving up and clearing the tower!"

The first cargo mission of a Saturn V went smoothly besides some pogo oscillation in the first stage. By 15 minutes, Skylab had reached orbit and deployed it's solar panels and ATM at an altitude of 441 Kilometers in it's Apogee and 434 Kilometers in it's Perigee and an orbital inclination of 50.0° relative to the equator.

The Launch of Skylab 1 May 14, 1973

---

Skylab 2 Day 2

"Okay Houston, Skylab's in sight now, approaching the docking port"

"Roger Olympia, we can see the footage"

"Steady there, Paul" Commander Conrad said to Pilot Paul Weitz.

"Aaand Bam! Houston, we are hard docked!"

"Roger Olympia, that's super"

CAPCOM Robert Crippen said. The Skylab 2 crew docked to the station on May 16, 1973 and began turning on equipment and checking the station for errors that happened during launch. For nearly a month, they conducted medical experiments, collect solar and Earth science data and performed 392 hours worth of experiments. The mission tracked a solar flare that lasted 2 hours and returned some 21'000 frames of film of the sun. They returned on June 10, 1973 with an overall time of 28 days in space.

Skylab 2 CSM, Olympia docked to Skylab May 16, 1973

---

The next mission, Skylab 3 was crewed by Alan Bean, Owen Gariott and Jack Lousma and launched on July 28, 1973 and lasted for 59 days. Unfortunately, several factors plagued Skylab 3 namely crew sickness and more seriously, the malfunction of the CSM, Albedo's RCS that "created a blizzard" just outside the Skylab window. These would concern NASA who put out a rescue mission though it never happened as the crew had found a solution later on into the mission. The crew conducted experiments namely, the two spiders named Arabella and Anita as part of an experiment to see if spiders could produce webs in space which they did. Skylab 3 accomplished all it's objectives and returned to Earth on September 25, 1973. The world's first space station is up and running.

Skylab 3 CSM, Albedo (The CSM was named by the crew due to the white coloring of the CM) August 6, 1973


End of Chapter 7

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 8: Apollo 19

December 5, 1973
Kennedy Space Center
Launch of Apollo 19
​

A Saturn V sits on LC-39B, frost building up on the walls of the rocket. It is the 9th Apollo mission to land on the moon and would be the last for the next three years.

Astronaut Jim McDivitt looks on at the monstrous rocket solemnly in the distance as the rocket prepares for launch.

"Hey Jim, how do you feel that your mission was delayed?" A person said.

McDivitt looked back at the person who was waiting for his response.

"Oh, I don't mind, that's how missions go but... I've never seen a mission be delayed for three entire years"

"Well just keep on training for it, I heard that 20 will be very different from 19..."

The person returned to staring at the rocket in the distance as back on LC-39B, the crew head to the white room, preparing for the adventure of a lifetime.

Apollo 19 on LC-39B, December 5, 1973

---

By 1973, the Saturn V rocket had proved itself as a reliable machine, taking men and cargo above the Earth and to the moon but also by 1973, there were only two Saturn Vs left and one of them would be used for the launch of the Skylab space station in May. One Saturn V remained and that vehicle would launch the final mission to the moon until 1976. Apollo 19.

Apollo 19 was crewed by veteran Stuart Roosa, the CMP of Apollo 13, rookie CMP Don Lind and rookie LMP Anthony England, and their landing site would be Hadley Rille. It would be the final J-Mission of the Apollo Program. Since Apollo 20 was delayed until 1976, it was repurposed as a K-Mission, the return of lunar operations mission similar to the G-Mission of Apollo 11. SA-514 was be the final Saturn V from first production and would be used for the mission. CSM 114 was given the callsign Taurus and LM 13 would be named Osprey. The Saturn V rolled out to the pad on September 29, 1973 and underwent many checks before launch. The crew underwent the usual training for an Apollo mission and by December, Apollo 19 was ready.

December 5, 1973

Launch of Apollo 19

"Apollo 19, crewed by Roosa, Lind and England will be the last scheduled mission of the Apollo Program until 1976. It's mission is to explore the moon's Hadley Rille which would supposedly answer the burning questions of the solar system and our planet. If successful, Apollo 19 would be the longest stay on the moon so far..."

-Jim Hartz, NBC News

Roosa, Lind and England stepped out of the van and headed to the tower at around 4 PM.

"Alright gentlemen, let's head off..." CDR Stuart Roosa said

"You bet, Stu!" LMP Anthony England replied.

The crew then headed to their spacecraft and strapped in and for the next few hours, the final checks are done and the launch vehicle prepares for launch.

"Launch sequence has reached the 25 second mark and counting... we have T minus 15 seconds and the guidance is now internal..."

The swing arms retract as the announcer begins the final countdown.

"10..."
"9..."
"We are go for main engine start..."

The enormous F-1 engines ignite as the entire ground shakes.

"5..."
"4..."
"3..."
"2..."
"1..."
"0!"

The launch umbilical tower lets go of the rocket and the Saturn V lifts off the pad.

"Commit and we have liftoff! At 6:45 Eastern Standard Time!"

Apollo 19 had launched on time. The crewed radioed to Houston that their launch is nominal. They rolled to the right inclination and the Saturn V dissapeared into the evening sky, a first for a Saturn V.

The Launch of Apollo 19, December 5, 1973

---

Apollo 19 Day 4

"Hadley... such beautiful desolation..."

Those were the first words spoken by Commander Stuart Roosa upon becoming the nineteenth man to walk on the moon on December 9, 1973. EVA 1 would be spent with inspecting the LM by Roosa, deploying the MESA and ALSEP, deploying the LRV and testing it near Osprey. Hadley-Apennine was a very unique region for such a seemingly boring rock orbiting the Earth it had a mountain rage on the east with a meandering channel thought to be ancient lava channels in the west. Apollo 19 had landed smack dab in between both of them, becoming the most precise landing yet. Meanwhile, Don Lind spent his time experimenting and surveying the surface much like any CMP in an Apollo mission.

During their stay, Roosa and England found many samples, some with evidence of lunar basalt and most excitingly for scientists back on Earth, a piece of anorthosite, thought to be 4.1 billion years old and would be dubbed as the Genesis Rock. Apollo 19 would shatter every record set by every previous Apollo mission.

Roosa and England would stay on the moon for three days and spent 24 hours and 32 minutes outside the LM, conducting EVAs and exploring their landing site. After their mission, Lind conducted an EVA in cis-lunar space, retrieving film from the SIM Bay of the CSM. Taurus returned to Earth on December 17, 1973, putting Apollo in the back burner for the rest of the early 1970s.

Apollo 19 LMP Anthony England salutes the American Flag next to LM Osprey, December 9, 1973

Apollo 19 had completed all of it's objectives with flying colors, ending the J-Missions in style. Taurus would be displayed at the KSC in 1983 and the Genesis Rock would be meticulously studied for the following years. With the moon in the back burner, the next generation of spacecraft, the Space Shuttle was gearing up for the next steps for space exploration. By 1972, NASA had authorized the construction of a test article meant for flight and landing test missions and in the next year, the construction of the crew compartment would commence. A new era of space exploration had begun.

End of Chapter 8

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 9: 1973-1976: The First Pause​

Today, 1973 to 1976 was considered NASA's first pause as it didn't see any manned lunar missions and only two further manned missions but, it also saw a flurry of activity behind the scenes. From unmanned probes to the next phase of Lunar Exploration, all of this started in the first pause and today, we will see what happened from 73-76.

Immediately following Apollo 19, NASA ordered a second run of Saturn Vs and 6 S-IC boosters for the Shuttle Program, all of this was possible thanks to Congress' approval of the proposed space budget in March, 1972. The second run of Saturn Vs which amounted to 23 vehicles would be complete by 1976, just in time for Apollo 20. As Apollo was given new life, the next phase for lunar exploration began planning in June, 1972 with many proposals from the Apollo Extension Series (Now the Apollo Applications Program) reviewed again and some even going past the drawing board.

By 1974, NASA had approved several proposals for Phase 2 which included the following.

• The Lunar Module Taxi- This would be an enhanced version of the base LM. As it was not the main living quarters, it would have space for extra life support enough for up to three people to land on and return from the lunar surface. An extended version that could house 4 people would also be approved for later missions.

• Lunar Module Shelter- This would house the astronauts for the majority of their stay, which would be up to 30 days on the lunar surface.

• Command Service Module Block III- It would be capable of unmanned flight, allowing the entire crew to transfer to the LM and land on the Moon and could house upto 4 people. It also houses solar panels on both sides of the service module, removing the need for batteries. An LEO version with a shortened service module would be housed in the Space Shuttle until it would be docked to a station for 6 months before returning and refurbishing for another mission. The first LEO CSM would launch on the last Saturn IB in 1980.

• Lunar Module Truck- The descent stage would bring an unfolding two to three manned pressurised truck placed where the ascent stage would be and be deployed by the crew on the surface.

NASA would contract Grumman to build the LM Shelter for Apollos 20-29 in June, 1974 with the first one being completed and prepared by March, 1976. The crew of Apollo 20 trained extensively for the mission with Jim McDivitt and his LMP, Joseph Allen training for precise landing right next to the shelter. CMP Robert Crippen trained to learn how to adapt to being by himself for two weeks in lunar orbit.

SA-516 would be assembled in early 1976 which would launch the LM Shelter. SA-517 would launch the crew. CSM 117 (Previously CSM 115) would be the final Block II model with Apollo 21 using the first Block III in late 1976. LM Shelter 1 rolled out to Pad 39A on May 18 and Apollo 20 rolled out on May 23. Phase 2 is underway.

---

Skylab 4, carrying Carr, Gibson and Pogue launched a month before Apollo 19 in their CSM, Argos and returned on Febuary, 1974. But, one more mission was planned for the station for the rest of the 1970s, Skylab 5.

Skylab 5 was planned to be a full 6 months and would carry Schweickart, Musgrave and McCandless, the backup crew of Skylab 2. The crew launched on April 13, 1974 and a day later, the CSM Orleans docked to Skylab.

Skylab 5 Commander Rusty Schweickart during EVA 2 April 24, 1974

They spent their 6 months performing EVAs, conducting experiments and observing the sun through the Apollo Telescope. Skylab 5 held the record for the longest human space mission at 193 days docked to the station with an overall time of 195 days in space and returned to Earth on October 25, 1974. Rusty Schweickart now held the longest time in space for an American astronaut with 205 days in space. With Skylab 5 done, the station was now dormant, waiting for the next generation of spacecraft to revive it.

---

On the other side of the curtain, the Soviet space program was busy with their moonshot and new space station. After the success of Luna 3, the Soviets had begun construction of their own space station, the Salyut stations. Salyut 1 failed to launch on November, 1972 due to a malfunction on the second stage. Salyut 2 had failed due to an explosion mid air in April, 1973, a month before Skylab launched. Salyut 3 failed in orbit when the solar panels failed to deploy, it seems that the Soviets can't catch a break with their stations.

The Luna program had more success than expected. Luna 4 had launched on May 12, 1973, carrying Pyotr Ivanovich Kolodin and Valentin Lebedev to Hyginus Rille where Kolodin went on a 5 hour EVA exploring Hyginus. Luna 5, crewed by Pyotr Klimuk and Pavel Popovich launched on July 1, 1974 where Klimuk landed on Mare Crisium and spent over 9 hours collecting samples and conducting experiments. Luna was more successful than the Salyut program but, with the 4th station promising to fix the problems plaguing the Salyut program, Salyut 4 was ready to try again.

On the morning of September 21, 1974, Salyut 4 launched from Baikanour and performed flawlessly, becoming the Soviet Union's first space station then, on September 23, Soyuz 16, carrying Boris Volynov and Vitaly Zholobov launched to the station where they stayed for 30 days and returned on October 23, 1974.

On August 12, 1975, the much anticipated Apollo-Soyuz Test Project launched with Apollo being crewed by Commander Fred Haise, CMP Joe Engle and DMP Robert Overmyer, The penultimate launch of the Saturn IB carried their CSM Peacemaker to the Soyuz Yantar, crewed by Alexei Leonov and Valeri Kubasov where Haise shook hands with Leonov, signifying the end of the Space Race.

Peacemaker & Yantar about to dock, depicted in a 1974 painting.

---

This period of time also would be marked further by space probes exploring the planets of our solar system for the first time. Sure, 1964
was very significant with Mariner 4's flyby of Mars but it was in 1973 to 1976 where the boom of interplanetary exploration began. It started with Pioneer 10's flyby of Jupiter which took the very first photos of the planet and it's moons.

Pioneer 10 first launched on March 3, 1972 and reached Jupiter on December 3, 1973, taking iconic pictures of the gas giant. It was followed by Pioneer 11, which launched on April 5, 1973 and flew by Jupiter on December 3, 1974, one year after 10. Pioneer 11 is now on it's way to Saturn, planning to reach the planet in 1979.

Mariner 10, launched on November 3, 1973 became the first spacecraft to flyby Mercury and one of few to flyby Venus. On Febuary, 1974, Mariner 10 flew by Venus, studying the planet in detail, it then flew by Mercury two times in March and September of 1974 and March of 1975, before moving on to Heliocentric Orbit.

The Soviet Venera program would have the only dedicated program exploring Venus. Venera 9 became the first probe to take photos of another planet on October, 1975, this was followed by Venera 10-12 which saw similar results.

Pioneer 10 flyby of Jupiter, December 3, 1973, The Launch of Pioneer 11, April 5, 1973, Mosaic photograph of Mercury by Mariner 10, March 29, 1974 & The first clear image of the Venusian surface taken by Venera 9, October 22, 1975

---

All in all, The First Pause of 1973 to 1976 saw a flurry of activity despite NASA's human spaceflight program taking a backseat. It saw the long dead lunar proposals of the 1960s return and be given new life as a new era of space exploration began, it saw the sparse yet important missions of Apollo and Skylab, the first Soviet Space Station had launched, paving the way for it's presence in Low Earth Orbit, it saw the exploration of our planetary neighbors and most importantly, it saw the end of a fierce rivalry in space that began 18 years ago by a beeping satellite going around the globe. Though it is in the footnotes of history, this period in NASA would be as important as any time before and after it. Ultimately, the first pause wasn't really a pause, it was the slow beginning of a whole new era.

End of Chapter 9

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 10: A Whole New Kind of Exploration

June 18, 1976
Kennedy Space Center
Launch of Apollo 20
​

Astronaut Jim McDivitt was in a unique position in 1976. He was the only astronaut to have a mission delayed for three years, during the "First Pause" of the early 1970s. He was announced as the commander of Apollo 20 way back in early 1972, when people weren't sure if Skylab or 20 would be delayed and when 20 was eventually delayed in September, 1972, McDivitt and his crew would begin training on a new type of Apollo mission.

In June, 1974, NASA contracted Grumman to build a new type of Lunar Module, the LM Shelter, capable of housing up to three astronauts for a maximum of 30 days. NASA would also make an upgrade to the A7LB spacesuits, making them more durable, flexible and overall more capable of multiple days of EVA. LMS-2 would be used for the Lunar Shelter 1 mission and rolled out to pad 39A on May 18 and a few days later, Apollo 20 rolled out to pad 39B on May 23.

McDivitt and his crew, CMP Robert Crippen and LMP Joeseph Allen trained extensively on precise landings, LM Shelter living for 7 days (This was due to the limited lifetime of 14 days in the CSM Block II), and EVA training never seen in any Apollo training by the time of launch, they were more than prepared for the mission. CSM-115 would be the final Block II to fly with Apollo 21 already being built with the upgraded Block III. LM-15 was the first LM Taxi built for Apollo, it looked similar but housed extra life support and have a design life of up to 35 days. Their LM would remain shut down for their 7 day stay in the shelter.

The original concept for the LM Shelter, 1967

CSM-115 would be dubbed the S.S. Ed White, named after McDivitt's crewmate on Gemini 4 who died during the Apollo 1 fire. LM-15 would be dubbed Liberty as the Bicentennial of the United States was coming up. SA-517 was also notable for having the new NASA "Worm" logo painted in the S-IC stage.

The landing site of Lunar Shelter 1 would be Mare Ingenii on the far side of the moon, the first far side mission for the Apollo program. As this would inhibit contact with Earth, a relay satellite would be needed so, 3 weeks before the landing of LS 1, a satellite named the LFCS (Lunar Farside Communications Satellite) was launched on an Atlas-Agena to the L2 Lagrange point where the satellite could have communications to Earth and the Moon. LS 1 would launch on June 13, 1974 and land on June 17. Project Apollo was now ready for the next phase of lunar exploration.

---

June 18, 1976

Launch of Apollo 20

Apollo 20 Mission Patch​

"Apollo 20, crewed by veteran astronaut, Jim McDivitt and rookies Robert Crippen and Joseph Allen will mark the first manned mission to the moon since 1973. It's goal is to make an endurance run of 7 days in the lunar surface, over doubling the record set by Apollo 19 three years earlier. Today, history will be made as the first endurance mission will commence in just a few short hours..."

-Jim Hartz, NBC News

After being delayed for two hours and forty minutes, Apollo 20 lifted off from LC-39B at 5:54 ETC. Among the 500,000 people watching at the Cape was President Robert Kennedy, which would become the last time he would witness a Saturn V launch in his administration. The launch to orbit had several problems namely, pogo oscillation on the S-II center engine but the mission continued and 6 hours later, they were moon bound.

---

Apollo 20 Day 4

"Okay, I'm checking my surroundings now and... I see it! Ha ha! The shelter's there!"

"Roger Jim, that's super, were glad to hear that!"

"Thank you Houston now Joe, let's head out, make sure to shut down Liberty for now"

"Okey Dokey, Jim"

"Houston, Liberty is powered down, we're ready for our endurance mission. I gotta tell you, this is a whole new kind of exploration over here..."

Liberty landed about 0.8 kilometers away from the Shelter, dubbed Yorktown. McDivitt and Allen then shut down the LM and deployed their lunar rover and traveled across the baren landscape, about to begin their week long stay on the moon.

McDivitt and Allen approaching  Yorktown, June 8, 1976

---

Apollo 20 Day 6

"Hey there, space fans today, we thought that you might like to see a tour of Yorktown, the Lunar Module Shelter"

"Now over here is the base of the Habitation Module, where we conduct experiments and store our equipment"

On June 25, McDivitt and Allen broadcasted to the world a tour of the Shelter. Approximately 2 million people tuned in to see the broadcast. The broadcast laster 35 minutes then afterwards, they began preparing for their second EVA. Their day on the surface would go like this first, they eat their breakfast, exit the LMS for 8 hours and explore the surface and conduct experiments, go back to the shelter after their EVA was done and do various tasks before going back to sleep. This was the cycle repeated for the next 7 days. Crippen's day would be much the same of any CMP, conducting experiments and surveying the surface.

It wasn't without struggle. In Day 6, the left and right rear wheels of the LRV shut down, leaving the two front wheels for the rest of the crew's stay. On Day 7, Allen fell and nearly broke his life support doing it and on Day 9, the fender of the LRV broke off, causing dust to kick up near the crew. Despite these hurdles, they accomplished every goal set for them and now, all that was left was to return home.

---

Apollo 20 Day 10

"Joe, you are go for power up"

"Rog, powering up!"

A few seconds later, the LM computer turns on, the lights turn on and the heat comes in.

"Houston, this is  Liberty! LM powered up successfully!"

"Roger Liberty, that's great news"

The first power up of a LM in over 7 days was successful and 4 hours later, Liberty lifted off from the surface and reached S.S. Ed White some two hours later. Liberty was jettisoned and crashed some 6 kilometers from the landing site. Apollo 20 returned on July 2, 1974, with the CSM batteries barely able to complete the journey. With the return of manned lunar exploration, Phase 2 was well underway. Coming up will be Apollo 21, the second lunar endurance mission featuring a full capacity LM Shelter and an upgraded CSM Block III, the breaking ground of LC-39C and the rollout of a new kind of spacecraft. Things are getting big this time.

End of Chapter 10

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 10.5: Rollout to the Future

September 17, 1976
Palmdale, California
Rollout of Space Shuttle Enterprise
​

The hangar doors opened as a crowd of politicians and members of the media await the next generation of spacecraft to be unveiled.

A towing vehicle decked in patriotic red, white and blue first came into view and then, a pitot, a needle like structure that limits aircraft to slow speeds. An aircraft nose loomed into view, this was no ordinary spacecraft. Slowly, each part of the spacecraft would be shown, the crew compartment, the cargo bay and wings, the tail and finally, two small engines on the rear of the vehicle. The next generation was set to be a unique and special kind of spacecraft and it all started here, with this brick like craft dubbed, Enterprise.

From 1974 to 1976, NASA and North American Rockwell started construction of the Space Shuttle with Enterprise being the first to be constructed. The test article would be designated as OV-101, the first in it's class. Originally, it was planned for the vehicle to be named Constitution but fans of the TV show Star Trek asked president RFK to change the name to the USS Enterprise to which he obliged. Although, there were still some people who wanted the name Constitution but, there's no telling on if it will happen. [1]

Enterprise rolled out of the Rockwell plant on September 17, 1976. With the recognition of it's fictional name the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry and most of the principal cast would show up to the rollout. The next era was in full swing.

Gene Roddenberry and the Star Trek cast (Minus Shatner) attending the rollout ceremony, September 17, 1976 [2]

---

Ever since the mid 1960s, Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center always had two main launch pads, 39A and 39B. These two launchpads did their job well but, these two were supposed to be a part of a trio of launchpads for LC-39. When originally conceived, 39 would've had 3 launchpads from A, B and C with D proposed for future expansion. Unfortunately, LC-39C was never constructed and it seemed that Launch Complex 39 would be left with two of what was supposed to be four.

However, with the increased budget (2.4% of the Federal Budget), frequent missions to the moon and a new launch vehicle that was planned to launch almost monthly, a new pad would be necessary for the crowded KSC. So on July 10, 1974, NASA was given approval for the construction of LC-39C and the option of future expansion if needed. Construction would begin on August 18, 1976 and would be completed at least by early 1979.

Another part of LC-39, the launch tower would also need some needed upgrades. As the Shuttle is significantly shorter than the Saturn V, it would need it's own crew access arm and so, it was decided that two new arms would be added to the Launch Umbilical Tower, the Shuttle main access arm and the GOX vent arm. MLP 3 would be the first to have these arms installed in October, 1976 with MLP 2 and 1 planned for installation in April 1977 and May 1978 respectively. America's Moonport is expanding.

Construction of LC-39C, Mid 1977 [3]

End of Chapter 10.5

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Chapter 11: No Vacancy

November 17, 1976
Apollo 21 Day 4​

"Okay Houston, we got everything prepared and we're about to leave Independence now"

Commander Rusty Schweickart said. He and LMP Deke Slayton were ready to descend to Yorktown but one more thing or should I say one more person awaits them.

"Hey, don't leave me hanging here!"

CMP Joseph Kerwin jokingly said to the crew. He is about to do something no CMP has done ever. Kerwin enters the LM and is greeted by the crew.

"Welcome to Galileo, Joe"

Slayton said as Kerwin was finding his footing in the small Lunar Module Taxi.

"Thanks Deke, it's just incredible that I get to walk with you guys"

"It's incredible for us as well, Joe"

Schweickart said. All three of them closed the hatch to the CSM and undocked, landing near Yorktown a few hours later.

---

For the entirety of Phase 1, each and every Command Module Pilot of a landing mission stayed in lunar orbit in the CSM while the CDR and LMP landed and walked on the surface in their LM. The CMP never landed on the surface.

Collins, Gordon, Roosa, Mattingly, Worden, Swigert, Evans, Brand, Lind and Crippen of Apollos 11 to 20 never walked on the moon as the CMPs of those missions. To the normal person, it seems like the worst position in an Apollo mission, to stay in lunar orbit, never walking on the moon and on top of all that, constantly loosing contact with mission control when the CSM was in the far side, it seems like it would be the most loneliest job ever.

But to the CMPs, it was no biggie. They were content with their positions and were even fine with the constant communication loss. They surveyed the surface from afar, conducted experiments and were the astronaut's way home. The CMP was the most important job in any mission even though they didn't walk on the moon. Many of them expressed their contentment with the position, with Collins famously saying that he would go "99 percent of the way there" and was fine with that. It seemed like the CMP would stay in lunar orbit.

But, that would all change with Phase 2 of the Apollo Program. With the increased budget, NASA could upgrade the Lunar Module, so much so that a third person can join the CDR and LMP. The Command Module Pilot.

Apollo 20 would be the last mission of the Block II, an iteration of the CSM that has been used since 1968. The new Block III could fly unmanned for up to 6 months, allowing the CMP to go with the rest of the crew to the surface. Apollo 21 would be the first mission to test the fully upgraded Apollo Spacecraft as well as the first 30 day endurance and would be crewed by veterans Rusty Schweickart of Apollo 9 and Joseph Kerwin of Skylab 2 as well as rookie and Mercury 7 astronaut Deke Slayton [1]. Apollo 21 launched on November 13, 1976 to Yorktown and on November 17, they powered down the CSM Independence to journey to the surface in the LM Galileo.

The Launch of Apollo 21, November 13, 1976 [2]

---

Upon landing on the moon, the crew brought out equipment, food and an extra bed for the CMP. Slayton and Schweickart brought out the LRV in one of Galileo's storage compartments which housed an extra seat for the CMP. One notable part of the CMP EVA suit was it's blue stripes much like the commander's stripes used since Apollo 13 [3].

Apollo 21 CMP Joseph Kerwin adjusting his camera during EVA 1, November 17, 1976 [4]

The LM Shelter was a small area for a crew. Two floors yet so little room for everyone. The bottom floor housed an inner airlock, the wardrobe, experiment racks and a shower and a small galley. The second floor housed the three beds for the crew as well as extra storage, Schweickart said in an interview that the Shelter had so little space that one person had to stay upstairs, reading a book or writing a log.

EVAs usually consisted of either the entire crew or just two of them while one stayed in the shelter. The crew explored the site and visited several points of interests. The most notable part was when the crew visited Liberty's descent stage and took several equipment including the T.V camera near the ladder.

LM 15 Liberty taken by the LRV Camera, November 20, 1976 [5]

Life in the LM Shelter was much the same with 20, experiments, housekeeping and the occasional EVA. The crew spends 12 hours of working a day with lunch breaks and several much smaller breaks throughout the day. They conducted experiments and brought rock samples to study. Experiments included the study of bacteria, plants and the sun, solar observations, medical studies, studies of lunar samples and much more.

Their stay was nearly overcome by one problem after another. On Day 7, Slayton accidentally depressurized the waste collection system but was quickly stopped by Kerwin [6]. Day 8 saw the crew catch a cold, scrubbing any planned EVAs for the day. Day 15 saw the near shutdown of the shelter's computer and on Day 27, Schweickart nearly vomited in an EVA, forcing an early end for his moonwalk [7].

Overall, each crew member acomplished the goals of the mission and they held the record for the most time spent on the lunar surface when their stay was over.

At the end of their stay, Slayton placed their mission patch near Yorktown, starting a long tradition for Apollo missions. Another first was achieved when they conducted the first relight of the Descent Stage engine, a key part of the LM Taxi design. The engine fired until it was out of fuel and was jettisoned about 3 miles downrange from Yorktown.

Apollo 21 returned to Earth on December 20, 1976, ending the mission with complete success. With multiple problems and issues with Yorktown, NASA concluded that they should abandon the base as it became too problematic for the crew and mission control. The improved LMS-3 Saratoga was planned to launch in early 1977 to Mare Frigoris in the Lunar North Pole and could house the crew up to 6 months. SA-518 rolled out on January 7, 1977 with Apollo 22 not far behind. Lunar exploration is now at a turning point.

End of Chapter 11

 

[Wasaspacegeek]

Here's a poorly drawn diagram of a LM Shelter

spacegeek