Children of Apollo: From the Earth, to the Heavens

[Its_Just_Luci]

"For all our failings, despite our limitations and fallibilities, we humans are capable of greatness. What new wonders undreamt of in our time, will we have wrought in another generation, and another? How far will our nomadic species have wandered, by the end of the next century, and the next millennium?"​

​

Chapter 1: An Accident, a Tragedy, a Triumph.​

---

It seems NASA is ready to start this evenings press briefing, here is a statement from Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, James Webb

It is with deep sorrow that I address you here this afternoon. As many of you know, at 9:55 this morning the Gemini VI-A spacecraft suffered an anomaly, and the space program experienced a national tragedy with the loss of the Gemini VI-A spacecraft and her crew. Two dedicated, well trained and experienced pilots were on board that spacecraft, and sadly neither survived.

Approximately eight seconds into its flight, a dramatic loss of thrust was observed in the Titan booster-rocket. Following protocol, command pilot Walter Schirra pulled the ejection ring in an attempt to get himself, and his fellow crewmate Thomas Strafford safely out of the capsule. It is with a heavy heart that I say the protocol failed them both. We here at NASA have failed them both.

All data reported indicates the startup sequence was performed normally and without error, and we are still looking at the potential causes of failure in the booster’s first stage. However, if this were the only problem, the astronauts would still be with us today; Something prevented their parachutes from deploying fully upon ejection, leading them to impact the ground roughly a mile from the launchpad. Recovery teams were sent immediately to begin the recovery of the astronauts, however without a parachute, a fall from that altitude is nearly certain to be a fatal one.

I’m aware of the media broadcasting footage of the ejection, and I appreciate them cutting the cameras shortly after. We are not here to speculate, neither to the cause of the booster failure, nor the parachute failure. It will take all the data we have, extensive testing and investigation to draw any conclusion, and to provide a sense of closure to the families, and to the nation.

A formal board looking into today's accident will be established this evening, and all subsequent reports as to the cause and our agency's findings will be published by this review board. Data collection has begun, as has the analysis of the conditions of the launch pad, ground support systems, and even the notes made by members of our pad staff and launch teams here at the cape. We will get to the bottom of this incident, so that nothing like it can ever happen again. We thank you for your patience, and we ask that you give the families the space and time needed for them to grieve.

As Webb promised, the investigation into the causes of the Gemini 6A failure did begin that evening, however to the public it was known simply as The December 12th Committee. Their findings would shape NASA safety culture, launch schedules, and nearly all subsequent programs for decades to come. The weight of the entire space program, and by extension the space race, was resting on their shoulders.

Changes to the Gemini would be somewhat hard to see, but that didn’t make them any less important; The improved safety offered was considered by many to be well worth the wait caused by retrofitting the remaining five Gemini spacecraft. While not the largest change, easily the most impactful was that of the nitrogen purge. Prior to liftoff, when the cabin’s pressure was at its highest, the capsule would be filled with a mixture of gaseous oxygen and nitrogen to prevent another violent fire. This atmospheric mixture would bleed out of the capsule as it ascended, being replaced with pure oxygen, albeit at a much lower and safer pressure. This yielded an equally safe, and well proven environment of pure oxygen held at a low pressure.

Another hard to spot change would be the Astronaut Tethering Points (ATP) added to the base of the Gemini’s Docking Adapter. These points were mere metal hoops, meant to allow the astronaut to attach his carabiner to while wearing one of the two life support packs included in the Gemini Program. This would, if functional, allow the astronauts to separate themselves from the nose of the craft by up to 75 feet (23 meters) achieving unmatched distances and flexibility during EVA.

Lastly, the capsules would see a complete overhaul in their launch abort capabilities, with their ejection seats traded for a more traditional couch-style seat. NASA would instead opt for a more traditional, thus proven system, the launch abort tower. The tower weighed more than the seats, however due to staging off of the spacecraft 15 seconds after second-stage ignition, this actually resulted in a trivial, yet measurable payload increase. However, the trading of the bulky launch abort seats did have further benefits. First and foremost was astronaut comfort, as the astronauts had substantially more legroom without the ejection mechanism. This legroom could, and would be utilized in upcoming flights to stow tools, house sample containers, and carry additional life support as needed.

The final change would come to the Titan-II. The rocket would receive a small payload containment ring which the Gemini spacecraft would sit atop. This 10 inch tall ring would allow for small payloads to be mounted alongside the Gemini, for use in orbit. Umbilical cables connecting spacecraft to rocket would be routed through this ring, with stringers lining the insides. Ultimately, this modification would see minimal use, however it would be the first demonstration of a concept that had been around as long as man had dreamed of spaceflight. It would demonstrate the prospect of man riding alongside cargo into space.

This capsule, with all of her substantial safety improvements was dubbed Gemini Block IB, and was given a new coat of paint, distinguishing her from her sisters. The changes resulting from the December 12th Committee would ripple outwards into other programs. Of these, the most impacted was NASA’s upcoming Project Apollo. North American had suggested a nitrox cabin environment in their original bid, but was shot down by NASA management who claimed “It wasn’t a problem, and it hadn’t caused issues on Mercury” words which would later come back to bite them, hard.

Rather begrudgingly, NASA agreed to allow the redesign of the Apollo CSM and LM to allow for a mixed gas environment and a reduction in flammable materials, in both the spacecraft and the suits. The agency accepted that this meant yet another delay to Project Apollo, and that it likely meant the first manned flight couldn’t happen any sooner than the third quarter of 1967. Many at NASA’s manned spaceflight center objected to this decision; However ultimately it was considered less of a risk to schedules to wait for a redesign, than to push forward with a flawed one.

And with that, Apollo Block IIA and III were born, and the Gemini program was on track for a return-to-flight in June of ‘66. The Committee had closed its final meeting, after 5 long months.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 2: Stationkeeping

---

Gemini VIII sat atop a cloud of smoke as the Titan’s signature screech brought the rocket to life. Command Pilot Neil Armstrong and Pilot David Scott shot into the air atop a column of flames. Today’s objective was to chase down the Agena, and attempt to do the never before attempted: dock two spacecraft in orbit.

(Gemini VIII lifting off the pad)​

Cape: Gemini VIII has cleared the tower!

Armstrong: Clock’s running, we got a roll program!

Capcom: Roger roll, Gemini.

Scott: Roll is good, we have a nominal pitch program-

Capcom: Roger pitch program..

Scott: Cabin pressure…5.74.

Capcom: Roger that 8, you are go for staging.

Scott: Roger, we have good light on the LR-91, and we are cruising once again!

Armstrong: Let’s get this thing to orbit!

Armstrong: We have guidance, zero pitch and one degree yaw coming in.

Capcom: We copy you loud and clear 8, guidance is looking good.

Scott: Oh, there’s the horizon!

Armstrong: We got about a quarter degree of yaw now.

Capcom: Roger yaw, guidance is good.

Armstrong: This second stage is a real good machine… (to Scott off mic) I was going to say Cadillac, but I guess I better not say that.

Scott: (Laughing) Cabin Pressure is at 5.5 and holding.

Capcom: What’s so funny up there, 8? But we copy you on the cabin press.

Scott: Wow! Look at that view!

Armstrong: That’s fantastic!

Scott: They were right, weren’t they?

Armstrong: Boy! Here we go!

Capcom: You’re looking very good here on the ground.

Armstrong: We’ve had SECO.

Capcom: Roger. SECO.

Scott: Next stop, Agena!

And just like that, Gemini VIII was in orbit. A few minutes were taken to rest, but then it was back to work. Rendezvous with the agena would occur short of 6 hours later, following some minor course corrections by the Gemini capsule.

Armstrong: Flight Hawaii, this is Gemini VIII, we’re stationkeeping with the Agena. About 150 feet out.

Capcom: Copy that, glad to hear.

Scott: I don’t believe it-

Capcom: Gemini VIII, can we get a readout on the OAMS tanks

Armstrong: Roger, we’re at 55 percent. We’d better get to work, we’ve got a lot to do before we can try and dock with this thing…

Capcom: Roger that, OAMS is good. We’re gonna go ahead and transmit an SPC load to reset the Agena’s clock. We need it to be executed swiftly, even if it cuts into the platform parallelism.

Scot: Roger, SPC has priority over Platform Parallelism

Capcom: That’s affirm

Armstrong: Man! That’s Great!

Scott: Man, that’s really slick!

Capcom: Alright 8, we’re expecting LOS soon, we’re gonna wait to hand you over to Houston and then we can get ready for docking.

Armstrong: Roger.

Gemini 8 was now on her own. Free-flying just beyond the reach of the California sunrise, they were stationkeeping with the Agena, just as their mission plan had intended. Traveling at an average velocity in excess of 17,000 mph, it would only be a matter of minutes before acquisition of signal over California.

Capcom: Gemini, Houston. Do you copy?

Scott: We copy you loud and clear, tell the Lockheed boys they built a hell of a beauty, we’re looking right at her.

Capcom : (chuckling) okay Dave, will do.

Armstrong: So how’re we looking, flight?

Capcom: Flight says you are good to go, proceed with the docking whenever ready 8.

Armstrong: Roger.

…

Scott: Okay, we’re docked.

Cheering could be heard as yet another critical objective of the Gemini program was completed successfully. This accomplishment brought NASA one step closer to proving the validity of the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous method they had chosen half a decade prior. All of mission control let out a collective sigh as Capcom managed to push out the words: Glad to hear it 8, welcome to the history books.

Shortly after they would experience the final loss of signal prior to acquisition on the other side of the Atlantic. However, it was break time for the astronauts.

Capcom: Alright 8, y’all can go ahead and open your food, we’ll be having LOS shortly.

Armstrong: Copy that.

Shortly after Scott and Armstrong opened their first meal, the problems started. The spacecraft entered a slow, end-over-end spin. Protocol dictated that the first thing to try was disengaging the Agena’s reaction control thrusters, however if that failed to solve the issue, they were flying blind.

Scott: Okay, I’m cycling it, but it’s clearly not the Agena…

Armstrong: No, that just made it worse!

…

Armstrong: Maybe it’s us?.. Try disengaging our thrusters.

Scott: Are you sure-

Armstrong: Yes… now Scott!

The locking latches on the Agena Target Vehicle creaked, as the centrifugal forces rose to nearly 10 times the force of gravity. Undocking was not an option, as doing so would almost definitely result in a collision with the Agena. Staying with the Agena, however, was the safe bet; The spacecraft’s thrusters began firing to slow the rate of rotation from nearly 40 revolutions per minute down to less than 1.

Capcom: Okay, acquisition of signal in 3…2…1… welcome back eight-

Armstrong: Houston we’ve had a major malfunction.

Capcom: Come again?

Scott: We’ve had a problem, canary!

Capcom: What’s the issue, Gemini?

Armstrong: We’ve entered quite a spin. I had Scott cycle the agena and disengage (unintelligible) and I think that has stabilized us, but we’re still tumbling a bit.

Capcom: Okay, the Agena malfunctioned? Did I copy that correctly?

Scott: Negative, we think we’re the issue. We need to figure it out before we undock because we think the spin might start up again if we re-engage the OAMS.

Capcom: Roger. Let me get you instructions on how to safely re-engage.

Armstrong: OAMS is down, I don’t think re-engaging it will do us any good. Let’s try RCS to slow this tumble then go ahead and undock. Do the engineers have any better ideas, Canary?

Capcom: Go ahead and proceed.

The Reentry Control System thrusters fired up, finally slowing the spin of the tumbling spacecraft pair. Agena had depleted it’s fuel, so undocking was going to be a challenge. It would require quickly engaging the OAMS to perform a brief separation and evasion maneuver, before switching back over to RCS and manual control.

The spacecraft separated successfully, and the small spin caused during this maneuver was easily corrected. America, and by extension, humanity had finished her first rendezvous and docking in orbit and escaped the subsequent brush with death caused by it. Armstrong and Scott were told that it was unsafe to remain in orbit any longer, and that they needed to reenter at their next pass over the Pacific. Their spacecraft splashed down approximately 45 minutes later, safely returning to Earth after, as Scott would later call it, A hell of a mission.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 3: Complex Maneuvers

(Authors note: some chapters, such as this one, will have songs attached to them to help build the mood and provide vibes. Post-Script Authors Note (PSAN?): really excited for Chapter 4... something of a Christmas special and a really interesting mission <3 )

(Arthur Conley, Sweet Soul Music)

Gemini 9 lifted off in much the same way as previous Gemini flights, riding atop a screaming rocket, being lofted up and beyond the sky. This mission, however, was distinct. Gemini 9 would be the first mission to take advantage of the Titan’s payload containment ring, carrying the TDT underneath the capsule. The TDT, or Transposition Demonstration Target was a small docking collar, derived from the Gemini Agena Target Vehicle (GATV). Unlike the GATV, the collar rode mounted directly to the upper stage. This would allow the Gemini spacecraft an opportunity to demonstrate a complex maneuver that would have to be perfected before mankind's odyssey to the moon: Transposition and Docking.

Once the capsule was in orbit, Command Pilot Eliott See and Pilot Charles Bassett successfully separated from the Titan II’s payload ring, flipped their spacecraft around and re-attached to the upper stage. Just like that, their primary mission objective had been accomplished, just in time for a quick lunch break. After this short break, Bassett suited up, and prepared to tackle the secondary mission objective: the AMU.

Bassett departed the capsule, with his eyes focused towards the rear of the spacecraft, as See fed him his umbilical out the hatch. Fighting with the Snake, as previous astronauts had dubbed the stubborn umbilical, he made his way towards the AMU. As he grabbed the hand-rail at the rear of the spacecraft, he pulled himself around and saw it, the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit. With quite a struggle, Bassett successfully donned the jetpack, and used it to maneuver towards the front of the spacecraft and retrieve an ultraviolet camera from See. He then connected his tether to the ATP at the nose of the craft, and began a separation maneuver.

Bassett successfully took over 40 photographs from his new vantage point, floating over 45 feet above the spacecraft. He then handed off the camera to See, before tackling his next objective. He retrieved a spool of cable from inside the capsule, fastened it to the docking collar, then to the Gemini. He then returned to the rear of the capsule and stowed the AMU.

Bassett: We’re doing good up here Houston, You can go ahead and pull me up Elliot.

The next experiment would have to wait though, as the astronauts needed some rest. The next morning, See disengaged the docking port, and began a separation maneuver. The upper stage floated away in their windows, attached to them via a thin, metallic tether; It was slack at first, and finally became taught. The spacecraft began spinning gently, attempting to observe a small force from this rotation, perceived as the astronauts being pushed into their couches. Despite the tether remaining taught, the force was simply too small to measure, and a longer cable would be required in the future.

Bassett went on a final EVA, simply stretching outside the hatch to cut the cord that connected the two craft. Shortly after, they began reentry procedures. Just like that their short mission, totaling less than 24 hours, had concluded. Data collected, experiments performed, mission accomplished.

Gemini 10 would see a similar success in its flight two months later. The spacecraft launched into a rendezvous with the Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle 5005. Once all pre-docking checks were cleared, they successfully docked to the craft, and performed an EVA.. Collins performed the first in-space inspection of another craft while on EVA, verifying that the Agena’s engines were Good to go.

After his first EVA, Collins would return to the capsule, and the Agena’s engines would be fired up once again, boosting the spacecraft to an apogee of 740 nautical miles (1,370km). It was from this new vantage point that a further EVA would be conducted using the AMU, this time deploying a small sensor package to measure the electron wake of the vehicle, and another to measure the South Atlantic Anomaly. Both experiments provided valued results, as did all other experiments performed across their 3 day mission.

Days later, the Gemini and Agena would perform their second maneuver, plotting a course to rendezvous with the ill-fated Agena of Gemini 8.

Young: We see it, Houston. We’re gonna do a bit of a flyaround, and take a few pictures.

(Pilot Michael Collins captured these photographs during their flyaround)​

Collins would go on EVA later that day to attempt and retrieve a micrometeorite sample meant to be retrieved by the crew of Gemini 8. He would be the 2nd person to don the Air Force’s AMU, this time with much less struggle. The device had been modified and reoriented slightly to make it easier to don and doff using insight from the previous flight, as NASA saw potential in its use on upcoming Gemini flights. However, He would have to give up on this endeavor as he found the docking port had broken slightly to reveal a razor sharp edge, easily capable of cutting his Tether.

Despite these difficulties, the spacecraft would perform many firsts. Gemini 10 would be the first to revisit a spacecraft, the first to perform a double rendezvous, and would break existing altitude records. This, putting herself and her crew in the history books as the highest humans had traveled prior to NASA’s upcoming Apollo. The mission was almost a complete success, demonstrating that EVA had become a tried and true method of performing basic work in a space environment, and that humans were up to the task of rendezvousing with orbital craft, and deploying scientific payloads in Earth orbit. But what about retrieving them? That would have to wait for a later mission…

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 4: An Intricate Dance, Part I

“Gemini 11 and 12 will be the most complex to date. It will demonstrate not only the ability to service a spacecraft in orbit, but to manage multiple vehicles in close proximity.”
James Webb.
December 19th, 1966

(Bing Crosby and The Andrew Sisters, Jingle Bells)

(Authors Note: I am finally done with finals! They didn't go terribly, and as the adage says: C's get Degrees. Regardless, I am excited to get back to storytelling, and I hope you all are having a good holiday season, whatever that might mean to you personally. Consider these next two as something of a two-part Christmas special, and a great sound off to Part I. I hope to be releasing Chapter 6, the first chapter of COA Part II: The Gift of Apollo no later than the end of January, anyways, hope you all enjoy, you don't know how happy it makes me to see you all enjoying it <3 stay safe, and give kindness to the people around you. -L )

During the early days of the Apollo program, NASA had intended to launch the majority of early flights atop the Saturn I. Plans quickly changed, and the functional Apollo flights were moved to the more powerful Saturn IB; However these early Saturn I rockets remained, and NASA was determined to use them. This led to the Pegasus program, a series of three satellites launched atop the Saturn I to investigate thermal management, micrometeoroid damages, and the design constraints needed to operate in space long term..

The third of these satellites contained a unique set of samples, called coupons, intended to be recovered. When NASA was planning the Pegasus program, they anticipated 4 Apollo Block II LEO test flights, and it was expected one of these would be capable of retrieving a limited quantity of these coupons; However, due to schedule changes (predominantly caused by the December 12th accident) and time constraints, Apollo was now on the books for only 2 low earth orbit test missions, which deemed the plan invalid. Luckily, Gemini had accomplished all of her objectives with flying colors. And yet two capsules remained, so NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center had proposed a proof of concept mission: Prove that America had what it took to manage a space station, and do multi-man EVA’s while rendezvousing both capsules with the satellite concurrently, and retrieving all of the micrometeorite coupons.

While the MSC’s mission originally called for the rendezvousing of just the capsules with the Pegasus III, this was soon realized to be nearly impossible. The Gemini Block IB would surely have the fuel to get there, however taking stationkeeping into account meant they had almost no fuel left to spare. MSC calculated that the safety margins of this mission mode would leave crews with less than 150 ft/sec (45.7m/s) of Delta V to spare; This would push the capsule, and her OAMS to the breaking point.

NASA realized there was only one option if they wanted this unique 4 man flight attempt. The new mission schedule called for Gemini 11 to be launched, followed shortly by GATV-5004. Assuming all systems were go, the Gemini would continue to the satellite and await 12. GATV-5006 would then be launched, either as a replacement for 5004, or as a transfer vehicle for Gemini 12. If and only if all launches before it had proven to be successful, Gemini 12 would be cleared for liftoff.

It was a daring proposal indeed. However, NASA wasn’t the only one anticipating success with the Gemini 11/12 mission. The USAF was also interested in seeing the demonstration that work could be done on both a controlled and uncontrolled satellite. If this was feasible, there wouldn’t be any show-stoppers in repairing or refurbishing a spy satellite, and possibly investigating or disabling a hostile one. This mission was of great interest to all parties involved. For NASA it was a simulator for future station operations, for the Air Force it was a demonstration of constructive or destructive intervention of foreign and domestic space hardware, and for Congress it was a show of America’s capabilities; It showed to the world that we were, and would continue to be, on top in space.

NASA personnel, from pad technicians to mission control had a daring endeavour ahead. If all was successful, this mission would be the grand finale of NASA’s second manned low Earth orbit program. For all of this to work, new techniques would need to be utilized. The two Titans were rolled out to the pad simultaneously, for all pre-flight checks.

GLV-12 was up first, it’s engines were inspected thoroughly, and all electronic and mechanical connections were tested and re-tested. After receiving a passing grade, the Gemini’s OAMS were static tested as the rocket was held down (a tradition started after the troublesome Gemini 8 flight) and those too received a passing grade. GLV-12 was rolled off the pad, and Gemini 11’s launcher was mated to the pad for launch.

GLV-11 went through much the same testing, however much more thoroughly. The vehicle was inspected, reinspected, connected and reconnected. The spacecraft had its systems tested, OAMS fired, and launch abort tower mated. Both Spacecraft were ready to go, and it was only a matter of days until they would both see flight.

(Early Draft of the mission from NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center)​

As Gemini 11 lifted off the pad, her crew was unsure of exactly what their mission would entail. They was on a trajectory to rendezvous with the primary agena, GATV-5004, within a few hours. As the GLV-11 roared to life, Pete Conrad, Richard Gordon, and all of those involved in America’s space program held their breath. The liftoff was smooth, and Gemini 11 cleared the tower.

Capcom: Liftoff of Gemini 11! Liftoff of America’s daring rescue mission to the Pegasus Satellite!

As the rocket climbed into orbit, and the second stage ignited, the spacecraft was pushed into an elliptical orbit, rendezvousing with the Agena at apogee. The crew successfully got to orbit, successfully performed all pre-rendezvous checks, and successfully prepared to close the distance between them and their target.

Conrad: Gemini CSQ, we have her in our window. We are stationkeeping with the Agena, she looks to be fully operational.

CSQ: That’s great to hear, Pete.

...

Capcom: CSQ, Houston..

CSQ: Go ahead Houston.

Capcom: Can we go ahead and get data points, and pressure on the Agena?

CSQ: Roger, Houston. Gemini 11, can we get a readout of all data you have on the Agena at present?

The Agena was stable, propellant and RCS tanks were at nominal pressure and the Gemini was cleared to dock once AOS occurred over southern California. For now, the Gemini spacecraft was stationkeeping in front of the Agena, as the astronauts got their first break in this busy mission schedule.

Capcom: We are expecting AOS in 3… 2… 1… Gemini 11, Houston, how do you read?

Gordo: We read you loud and clear!

Capcom: Glad to hear Dick, are you and Pete still reading good figures off the Agena?

Conrad: Roger, we are Houston!

Capcom: In that case, y’all are good to proceed with docking.

Conrad: Roger, proceeding with docking.

…

…

Conrad: Gemini, Houston, we’re ready to depart for Anchorage.

Gemini 11 was now ready to plot a course for Pegasus Anchorage; Pete, in tradition with the Navy, had coined it Anchorage as “She wasn’t a station or a port, but she gave us somewhere to drop the anchors and stay a while” They plotted a maneuver for the anchorage. This maneuver would have been strenuous on the Gemini’s limited fuel supply, however now that they had the Agena, this was well within reach. They raised their apogee to 500km, and waited around 30 hours for their closest approach to arrive.

Conrad: Alright Houston, we’re all good to begin closing our velocity with Anchorage.

Capcom: Roger that 11, proceed as planned.

Gordo: We are rendezvoused with pegasus, flight. Tell the engineers over at Fairchild congrats from all of us-

Conrad: That’s right, they built a hell of a bird… This thing seems far bigger up close.

Capcom: Roger that, we’ll send em a big congratulations from all of us here at NASA. This is a hell of a mission if we can pull it off, 11.

Conrad: Agreed, let’s keep our fingers crossed for Thursday's launch.

Command Pilot Pete Conrad rang a bell in honor of naval tradition; The crew of Gemini 11 hereby establish a new anchorage at Pegasus, may it serve us well. He then brought the Gemini into a flyaround, as Richard Gordo took pictures. They thoroughly documented the state and condition of the Pegasus, finding that it would be easy enough to approach on EVA. Additionally, as engineers had hoped, it was found that the central truss was in good condition. This, potentially allowing the capsules to fasten to it, if closer-than-anticipated operations were required.

Gemini 11 was now stationkeeping with the Anchorage, at a distance of around 100 feet (30.5 meters) This gave the astronauts ample time to both relax and prepare for the mission to come. They were now awaiting news on whether the Atlas Agena launch would be a success, or if they would be performing this mission unaccompanied.

The Atlas lifted off gracefully from the pad, rising atop its usual pillar of flames. It shot into the sky and began heading east from the cape

Capcom: We have skirt separation!

The booster continued climbing, before finally expending the first stage which only years prior carried nuclear warheads. The Agena lit, seperating from the former-missile, and continuing its short voyage into orbit. The engine cut off as the Target Vehicle made it to orbit. The fairings had separated perfectly, and all eyes were turned to Gemini 12.

Gemini 12’s rocket, which had been given a full shakedown just days prior, was rolled out to the pad for its final prelaunch checkout. All systems were found to be performing nominally, and the rocket was approved for flight. The Gemini IB’s OAMS engines were given another short firing, validating that the spacecraft would have stable propulsion once in orbit. The rocket began fueling, and the primary and backup crews entered the white room. Gemini 12 was good to go for launch later that evening, and a rendezvous with their Agena within 24 hours.

Gemini 12’s crew boarded their spacecraft at T-115 minutes. This would be the final flight of the Gemini spacecraft. As such, the ambitions of the entire program were on their shoulders. Command Pilot James Lovell was of NASA’s best and brightest, being one of two astronauts to hold the duration record set on Gemini 7. Sitting to his left was Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, the man who literally wrote the guide on orbital rendezvous. If there ever were a crew to do this mission, and catch up with Gemini 11, this was them.

Their LR-87 main engines screeched to life as they were standing on the shoulders of the Titan. The cables draping the rocket in all manners of electrical support and propellant supply fell away, as intended, only to be engulfed in the rocket's fiery exhaust.

Capcom: We got a liftoff, Liftoff of Gemini 12!

Lovell: We got a roll program, clock is running.

Capcom: Roger roll, Gemini.

…

Lovell: Tank pressure is good, cabin at 5.4 and holding.

Capcom: Roger, good cabin pressure, you are go for staging in 10.

Aldrin: MECO, we have main engine cutoff

Lovell: Staging.

The second stage roared to life as the booster below it fell away, the crew were on their way to a parking orbit, 97.1nmi by 108 nmi (180x200km). As their second stage flamed out, expending the final fumes of fuel it had left, the crew was right where they needed to be; They were on course for a rendezvous with the Agena just shy of 24 hours later. For now all the astronauts could do is wait, get some rest, and prepare for the day ahead.

Capcom: Good morning Gemini 12! You’re looking good down here, and you should see the agena coming up on your left hand side shortly.

Lovell: That’s affirm, I can see her out Buzz’s window, if just barely.

Aldrin: Yep, that’s her.

...

Lovell: Okay Kauai, we are closing velocities with the target vehicle… and… okay, we are stationkeeping with the Agena.

Capcom: Glad to hear it. We’ll have LOS shortly, expect to hear from Houston in just a few minutes!

The spacecraft was now stationkeeping in front of the target vehicle, gathering data from the Agena’s sensors. All signs pointed to the Agena performing as intended, and that docking would soon commence. Once they acquired signal over California, the spacecraft and her crew were sent codes to program into the Agena. These would be the final steps needed to take prior to docking.

Lovell: Okay Houston, we are docked.

Capcom: Glad to hear it Jim, we will get the maneuver to you shortly

The pilot programmed in the codes necessary to perform the pre-rendezvous alignment maneuver. This time, the wait between the docking and the burn was short; this left the astronauts with little time to spare. The pilots readied their spacecraft, and the maneuver was performed shortly after LOS over the Atlantic. They were now on course for a rendezvous the next morning, Christmas eve.

Gordon: Okay, I think they ought to be within comms range soon

...

Conrad: Alright, this is Pegasus Anchorage, how do you read us Houston?

Capcom: We copy you loud and clear, Pete.

Gordon: When can we expect to see James and Buzz, Houston?

Capcom: They should be coming into viewable range very soon Gordo-

Conrad: Hey, I can see 12 coming towards us. I see something approaching from the North as well!

Gordon: It seems to be in a polar orbit headed southbound!

Conrad: Houston, I’m trying to get a better look at this thing, I see him carrying something. And I can see a flashing red light leading his craft!

Gordon: Oh- Jingle bells! Conrad smells, Jingle all the way!

Conrad: Hey!!

Capcom: (Laughter can be heard in the background) Oh you two are just too much…

Gemini 12 was on final approach to the Anchorage, and with that, the MSC had proven themselves capable of managing multiple vessels in orbit, and converging them upon a common target. Gemini 12 performed their retro-fire maneuver, slowing their closing velocities down to a halt. All 4 astronauts were now stationkeeping with Anchorage. They had a small period of downtime, but their main task was front and center: retrieve the coupons.

Conrad: So, Jim, how was the trip?

Lovell: Smooth as could be.

Conrad: Hope the Airforce doesn’t give Buzz too much slack for spending time at the anchorage with the Navy-boys-

Aldrin: We’re all in the same boat now-

Gordon: Boat, eh?

Aldrin: Dammit, Dick. You know what I meant-

Conrad, Gordon and Lovell could all be heard laughing over the comms link at this remark…

Capcom: Quit y’alls little quarreling 11 and 12, we gotta get you ready for this EVA.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 5: An Intricate Dance, Part 2

(The Rolling Stones, Satisfaction)

Both pilots departed their vessels, heading towards their service modules. After nearly two full orbits parked above the wings of the pegasus, the astronauts were now donning their Extravehicular Support Packages (ESPs) While the initial mission plan had used the Air Force’s AMU, this was deemed to pose too big a risk of contamination to the samples. The AMU exhausted hot steam and oxygen gas. These molecules were highly reactive, and could easily damage, contaminate or otherwise deem the samples unusable. This is why the choice was made early on to instead use the ESP.

The ESP, by contrast, connected directly to the handheld maneuvering unit (HHMU) which exhausted relatively non-reactive nitrogen gas. This would allow the astronauts to EVA up close to the samples, while allowing the spacecraft, with their toxic and reactive OAMS, to sit relatively far above them. This was through the use of metal tethers, attached to the spacecraft’s Astronaut Tethering Points, which allowed the astronauts to fly over 70 feet from their spacecraft.

Aldrin: Man! This thing’s a bit of a struggle to put on, but it’s nothing a little muscle can’t handle

Lovell: Just make sure not to hurt yourself there, Buzz.

Conrad: How’re you doing back there, Dick?

Gordon: 10 out of 10, Pete! Can you hear us alright, Houston?

Capcom: We roger the four of you loud and clear. Conrad, Lovell, what's y’alls distance above the target?

Conrad: We’re sitting about… 8 yards or so above em here-

Lovell: well we’re a bit closer, I’d say 7 yards or so Houston-

Conrad: It’s not a pissing contest, Jim. (Lovell can be heard chuckling)

Capcom: You two are doing good, just try not to fire the thrusters while the pilots are retrieving the samples okay? We’d like these things to return in good condition, hopefully with the astronauts included

Conrad: I’ll do what I can, flight.

The astronauts were quick to work, as they were on something of a time-crunch. As they migrated to the front of the spacecraft, and fastened their tethers, they also retrieved the tools they needed to free the coupons: modified bolt cutters, and a pressure sealed container.

The first set of samples measured 11 by 16 inches, and were 8 or 16 mils thick. In total there were 40 of these specimens spread across the two wings, each attached to the primary structure by two wire fasteners. These samples ranged in material: from different types of paint and lacquer, to aluminum, titanium, plastics and ceramics. These were the micrometeoroid coupons, and they proved critical in the design of the Apollo Command and Lunar Modules.

The second set of samples were the thermal control samples. These samples were the same width and height, measuring in at 32 mils thick. In total there were 8 of said samples, composed of thermal coatings for the Lunar Orbiters, Mariner, Ranger, ATS, and Apollo spacecraft. These too were attached with 2 wire fasteners which would have to be carefully cut and removed before the sample could be retrieved.

This was to be the first multi-man EVA, as well as the first to prove that having multiple astronauts might prove useful for performing certain tasks. As such, it was to be an incredibly intricate EVA, with both astronauts having to work their tails off to get this done. However, they were some of NASA’s best and brightest, and they had the right stuff.

Aldrin: This is brilliant, this is just absolutely brilliant!

Gordon: You’re telling me… This is a hell of a view.

Aldrin: … okay first sample free, you got it Dick?

Gordon: Got it! Let’s keep up this pace!

Keep up the pace they did. Like clockwork, Aldrin used the bolt cutters to free the samples, and Gordon retrieved them. By doing this, they were able to easily tear through the task in a single EVA; retrieving all 48 samples within an hour and a half, barely scraping by the hour and forty five minute time limit imposed by the MSC.

After performing their primary mission, The pilots stowed their EPS’ in the service module for later retrieval, and returned to their seats. The capsules separated, Gemini 11 pulling up and away from the satellite to a distance of 300 feet, while Gemini 12 moved in closer. James Lovell brought the capsule to the rear of the pegasus satellite to allow Aldrin to perform a second EVA.

Aldrin: Okay flight, these engines look pretty good, just a few minor scrapes on 'em.

Capcom: We’re glad to hear it Buzz, be sure to bring us back some nice photos, would ya?

Aldrin: Affirmative, Jim’s handing me the camera right now.

The camera flashed, as the engines were documented in excruciating detail. By photographing the engines, Aldrin extensively provided information on what damage, if any, the RL-10’s had sustained during flight. Aldrin's EVA would provide both Pratt & Whitney and Douglas with critical information on how the S-IV Stage had held up in it’s nearly 2 year journey in earth orbit. Later analysis of the photos, alongside testimony from Buzz Aldrin himself would find that almost no damage was present, and that the engines would likely be capable of relighting then-and-there, had their propellant not boiled off months prior.

Gordon: How’s the view down there Buzz?

Aldrin: Like lookin’ down the barrel of a gun!

Capcom: How do they look Buzz?

Aldrin: Perfect, they’ve got a few scratches but it’s nothing you couldn’t buff out.

Capcom: That’s great to hear, I bet the guys over at Pratt are jumping from joy right now just hearin’ that…

Once a sufficient number of pictures had been taken, Buzz climbed back into the capsule, and shut the door behind him. Now that the primary and secondary EVA’s were complete, the astronauts were ready for some recreation and relaxation time. Meanwhile, NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center was holding a go/no-go poll on a tertiary EVA. All systems appeared to be good to go to attempt the intricate dance, and the word was sent up to the twin Geminis later that evening.

Capcom: CSQ, 11, how do you read?

Conrad: We read you loud and clear flight.

Capcom: CSQ, 12, do you copy?

Lovell: Roger CSQ, what’s the message?

Capcom: I have good news from Houston, boys. Buzz and Dick are cleared for EVA-3. You can begin filling up the O2 supplies for tomorrow morning.

Aldrin: Good to hear CSQ, tell mission control thanks from the two of us!

It was realized early in mission planning that by refilling the suits’ Extravehicular Life Support System’s oxygen supply, the astronauts would be able to knock off another first with this mission. The astronauts went to sleep for the night, preparing themselves for their next physical challenge: Humanity’s first in-space crew-rotation.

The spacecraft were situated no more than 25 feet from each other, in a nose to nose orientation. This would allow the two pilots to EVA between the craft while always maintaining contact with one or the other. This ensured that, in the case of an emergency, the command pilot could reel the stricken pilot back to safety.

Aldrin was up first, stepping out of the spacecraft and making his way towards the ESP. After putting it one, he grabbed a tether from Command Pilot Lovell, and fastened it to the spacecraft’s ATP. He attached the other end of the tether to his ESP, before finally detaching his suit umbilical. He was on his own now, beginning the slow trip towards Gemini 11. He used his HHMU to provide the thrust needed, waving a final goodbye to Jim Lovell through the spacecraft’s window.

Aldrin: Okay Pete, I’m on my way over. Keep my seat warm okay, Dick?

Gordon: Roger that, I’d keep it extra warm but Pete might get mad-

Conrad: Hush up would ya…

The three astronauts sat in silence as they watched Aldrin gracefully maneuver the eight and a half yard stretch between the craft. This was to be the most dangerous EVA performed, however one still deemed safe by NASA management. Aldrin spun gently, as using the HHMU wasn’t an exact science by any means, but he had made it, and grabbed onto the Gemini’s nose.

Conrad: Okay Flight, be advised I have an Air Force pilot smeared across my windshield.

Capcom: Copy that, Pete. We take it Aldrin’s made it there safely?

Aldrin: I have, I’m fastening their tether to my ESP right now.

Aldrin fastened the ESP left attached to Gemini 11’s nosecone to his suit, then fastened the tether attached to his former craft to the spacecraft’s second ATP. The Gemini capsules were now fastened together. If something were to go wrong it’d be up to Buzz Aldrin to free the spacecraft. Aldrin pushed himself off the nose, floating a short distance above it as the hatch opened. Gordon stepped out of the capsule, repeating much the same maneuvering Aldrin did on his way to the rear of the spacecraft. After donning the ESP, pilot Richard Gordon made his way to Buzz, giving him one last hug in orbit.

Gordon: It’s been good spending time with you buddy, drinks on me for all of us once we touch down okay?

Buzz: The feelings mutual man, see you after splashdown!

Gordon grabbed the tether from Gemini’s nosecone, detached it from the spacecraft and locked it to his suit. He gave one last salute to Pete Conrad as he pushed away from the spacecraft, headed towards Gemini 12.

Gordon: See ya later Pete!

Conrad: See you round bud.

Gordon drifted the distance between the capsules as Aldrin doffed his ESP and reattached it to the service module. Within 25 minutes of Aldrin stepping out of his spacecraft, both pilots were safely sitting back down in each other's couches.

Lovell: I’m not one for Ballette, but that was some brilliant dancing out there boys. Good job you two!

Capcom: Big congratulations from all of us down here at the MSC, you’ve done us proud once again. We’re comin’ up on LOS here shortly.

The astronauts’ main mission was finally over. Command-pilot Pete Conrad took the Gemini for one last flyaround of Anchorage, documenting the view in detail using the spacecraft’s cameras.

(View of Gemini 12 and Anchorage from Gemini 11)​

Pre-entry checks would be performed the next morning, with the spacecraft both set to splash down in the Atlantic later that afternoon.

Conrad: We’re bringing you guys a Christmas gift, it’s a bit late but we had to go a hell of a long way to get it for you so I hope you’ll excuse us.

Capcom: We’ll see, it depends on how good they are. See ya once you get back 11!

The dual mission would set a final record as the first time two manned spacecraft were recovered the same day, both splashing down in the Atlantic on December 26th, 1966. With that, Gemini 11,12 and by extension the whole Gemini Program’s goals had successfully closed. Another flawless mission under NASA’s belt, Gemini Block IB had proven itself to be a reliable, high cadence and highly flexible crew vehicle; NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center had also proven themselves to be an incredibly capable and competent group of engineers, scientists and technicians. They were all more than ready, and eager, to tackle what was sitting just beyond the horizon, Apollo.

A banner on the door into MSC’s mission control read Welcome Home James and Buzz, Welcome Home Pete and Dick, thanks for doing us proud!

(Authors Note: I've had a real fun time doing this over the past few months, and I'm excited to get more out there soon. Here's hoping we all have a good, and more boring, 2022! <3)
- L​

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

[REDACTED] From Yours Truly in Moscow, An Interlude.​

(Tchaikovsky No. 1 Scene. Moderato)

(Authors Note: This is a soviet focused interlude, anticipate the next major section this weekend )

1966 was an extremely eventful year for the Soviet design bureaus. As Sergei Korolev rested following his routine surgery that January, OKB-52 was in a state of disarray. A nearly 6 month long investigation, the cause of the 3 consecutive failures of the UR-500 rocket to reach orbit could not be identified. This was an unsettling conclusion, as if Chelomei’s design bureau couldn’t identify the problem soon, UR-500 would face cancellation. Despite another 2 launch attempts in February and April of 1966, the rocket simply couldn’t seem to fulfill its goal due to a combination of factors; The soviet government saw the funding of proper test stands as a somewhat worthless endeavor. This left Chelomei’s hands tied as he had neither the funding, nor the time to solve his issue. He was quickly running out of time, and facing a forced retirement, or worse, he wrote Korolev in late April of that year. Korolev, I feel it of the utmost importance that we meet discussing the N-1, UR-500, and LK programs as soon as is feasible. Chelomei, Isaev, and Korolev met in an undisclosed building in Moscow that May, and discussions began on the future of the soviet lunar program.

(Monument to the Conquerors of Space. Moscow, USSR 1966)​

Korolev and Isaev were both pursuing development of the N1-L3 rocket. Progress on the launch vehicle was beginning to pick up, the 3rd stage had been successfully fired that January and the first NK-15 engines had begun production. Isaev was in the process of securing funding for future N-1 variants, including some with advanced, hydrogen powered upper stages. It was here in which Chelomei was given an ultimatum; Abandon Glushko and the UR-500 program and begin work on the N11 rocket, or go down with the sinking ship, no matter the cost. It was decided, that with the UR-500’s days numbered due to stubborn soviet leadership, Chelomei would move his design bureaus focus to aiding in Korolev’s efforts, shifting the Soyuz-L1 spacecraft to the N11 rocket.

(N1 Block B, the stage that would serve as the N11’s first stage)
​

The N11 would serve as an all-up testing platform for all but the first stage of the N1 rocket. The launcher would use the Block-B second stage of the N1, modified to run sea level NK-15 engines, with an unmodified N1 3rd stage, the Block-V. The rocket was to be capable of launching 20 tons into Low Earth Orbit and with the help of the N1’s Block-D 5th stage, it could send a small manned craft to fly past the moon. With this design decided upon, Chelomei and Isaev were to work together to pursue the N11, and funding for the liquid hydrogen facilities that would be needed for the program's future; Korolev would shift his focus to developing the N1 Block-A, and securing funding for testing apparatuses.

The N11 was anticipated to start flying no later than January of 1968. This timeframe was ambitious, but if the 3 men could meet this deadline, they felt they could send a man to the moon by the end of that year. While this mission would only be a flyby, it would open up the gates for the N1 to launch a more ambitious mission: the first manned landing. The landing was planned for the summer of 1969, and Korolev stressed to soviet leadership that the only way to make this achievable was through more funding. Begrudgingly, the Soviet leadership obliged. Funding was allocated to the development of test stand equipment for the N1 rocket. These test stands wouldn’t be ready until the end of 1968 or the beginning of 1969. This meant the N1 would have to make at least its maiden launch without a test stand, something Chelomei was deeply uncomfortable with.

However, this was the government's final offer, take it or leave it they would have to make due. The three men set to work in the summer of `66 designing the launch vehicle family that would carry the Soviet Union to the moon, and everything seemed to be going as planned.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

“But if you turned off the byplay between Mission Control and the Sea of Tranquility, with its deliberately mundane and routine chatter, and stared into that black-and-white television monitor, you could glimpse that we humans had entered the realm of myth and legend.”

​

Part II: The Gift of Apollo​

---

Chapter 6: We are the First, We won’t be the Last.​

“I’m coming back in… and it’s the saddest moment of my life.”
- Ed White, Gemini IV EVA.​

(Debby Reynolds, Belly up to the bar, boys)

Apollo faced major hurdles and redesigns following the December 12th accident. Easily the most time consuming change was the reversion back to North American’s original mixed gas atmosphere. This switch made a rapid and spontaneous fire like that of Gemini 6a a near impossibility. Additionally, further fire prevention was taken by replacing nearly all flammable materials within the spacecraft with fire-retardant alternatives.

Ultimately these changes affecting the CSM, LM and EVA Suits would be severe; However their benefit would far outweigh any delays to the Apollo program, as engineers at NASA could proceed knowing this was the safest version of a very dangerous endeavor. Landing men on the lunar surface and returning them safely to the Earth was to be mankind's greatest engineering challenge to date, and this was partially helped by Apollo’s unique flight scheme.

When Project Apollo was originally pitched in 1961, contractors and mission planners had expected to use a mission mode called direct descent. This mode would merge the lunar lander and reentry vehicle into a singular behemoth of a spacecraft, allowing the mission to circumvent pesky rendezvous’ and dockings. This was the mode of choice when North American was chosen in November of that year to proceed with construction of the Apollo spacecraft.

However the Gemini Program had gotten these once complex maneuvers down to an exact science; and even by 1962 (notably many years prior to the first Gemini mission) NASA management was beginning to come around to Grumman’s mission mode of choice: Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR). This mission mode would allow the entire spacecraft to ascend from the Earth to the Moon atop a single Saturn V rocket, and would counterintuitively simplify the mission. This, however, caused an issue with North American’s in-development Apollo spacecraft: it would have to dock.

(Apollo Direct Descent Concept, North American, 9-12-61)​

Before NASA committed to LOR in July of ‘62, the Apollo Spacecraft wouldn’t have docking capabilities. This meant the capsule would have to see major redesigns to the nose area, allowing crew to egress through a pressurized docking tunnel to the now-dedicated lunar vehicle. This led the Apollo designers to favor a two step approach, where they would first develop the capsule and service module, then the docking mechanism and tunnel. This led to two distinct versions of the Apollo CSM, Block I and Block II. Following the December 12th incident, both capsules would yet again see major redesigns and be dubbed Block IIA and Block III respectively.

Block IIA would carry no docking mechanism or pressurized tunnel, and would instead fly with a simplified nose-cone shell, protecting its parachutes during ascent and reentry. This simplified spacecraft would fly four times on Apollo’s 1-4 with all further missions switching to the docking capable Block III. This would ultimately allow NASA to test out the Apollo spacecraft in Earth orbit multiple times before pursuing a lunar landing, while not interfering with their already crammed schedule. Apollo 1, the first crewed mission of the program, was scheduled to lift off in September of ‘67.

Apollo 3 would beat them to the launchpads however, lifting off on August 14th, 1967. This mission reveals a unique quirk of NASA’s naming schemes that carried over from the Gemini Program; Missions were to be numbered in the order in which they were scheduled, not the order in which they flew. As such, Apollo 3 was to be the first all-up test of the Saturn V launcher.

AS-501 lit her engines with a roaring thunder, louder than any of humanity's machines to date, excluding the atomic bomb. The gargantuan rocket rose into the air atop a pillar of soot, as the engines glowed with the light of the sun. Engineers and onlookers alike cheered as the rocket's engines crackled and roared, and Mission Control declared over the loudspeaker: Apollo 3 has cleared the Tower!

(Liftoff of Apollo 3)​

Apollo 3 accelerated as it traveled further into the sky, rapidly approaching Max-Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure on the vehicle. As it was crossing Max-Q, the oscillations began; The vehicle had entered a self-perpetuating cycle of acceleration changes the the engineers had coined Pogo-Oscillations. These oscillations would go largely unnoticed until a minute or so after staging occurred. The S-IC flamed out as the S-II’s interstage motors fired, sending the second and third stages further up and away from the giant first stage.

Mark seven minutes… forty four seconds and we are receiving data showing the premature shutdown of two of the second stage engines.

Despite this failure, the Launch Vehicle Digital Computer (LVDC) adjusted course and began a steeper trajectory. The S-II burned longer and further downrange than anticipated, leaving more work to be done by the rocket’s third stage to reach orbit.

We have shut down of the 3 J-2’s and we are expecting staging shortly.

The S-IVB roared to life, seemingly unscathed by the cascading series of failures below it, the final J-2 engine slowly spooling up to its full, rated thrust. The stage performed nominally as it performed its short burn, ultimately placing Apollo 3 into a stable, albeit more elliptical than desired, orbit.

Apollo 3 completed 3 orbits before successfully deorbiting, reentering and splashing down in the Pacific. This mission would prove the Apollo spacecraft safe for manned flight, while also proving NASA still had some problems to solve with the Saturn V. This was, while not ideal, a good outcome for NASA. Schedules would not need to be changed, and a second unmanned test of the Saturn V, Apollo 5, was scheduled for Q1 1968.

For the time being, Mission Control had more pressing matters. AS-204, Apollo 1, was to be the first manned mission of the Apollo Spacecraft. Her crew consisted of 3 of NASA’s best and brightest. Command Pilot Gus Grissom had been one of the first Americans to fly into space, as well as the first to command the Gemini Spacecraft on Gemini 3. Senior Pilot Ed White was the first American to walk in space on his first mission, Gemini 4. Lastly the mission carried one rookie astronaut, Roger Chaffee. Despite his rookie status, he had been at the consoles of mission control numerous times, and had proved himself more than capable in the simulators.

(Chaffee at the consoles of Gemini 3)​

Gus Grissom, the most experienced of the three, was also seen as something of a troublemaker at NASA. He named his Gemini capsule Molly Brown after The Unsinkable Molly Brown in hopes to avoid his capsule sinking as it had on Liberty Bell 7. While comedic, this did not go over well with NASA personnel, who swiftly banned the practice of naming spacecraft.

This ban, however, would not last forever. Apollo 1’s crew pled to name their capsule Phoenix, in honor of, as Ed White put it Apollo’s rise from Gemini’s Tragic ash. This idea was rather well received by mission control and NASA personnel alike, and in May of that year, NASA’s Associate Administrator James Webb approved the name, on one condition. Future capsule names were to be safe for broadcast, and they couldn’t paint the administration or their goals in a bad light. And with this, CSM-101 dawned the name Phoenix, and was awaiting her final preflight check: the plugs out test.

It was warm and humid as the astronauts arrived at the Cape. The warm pre-sunrise glow dimly illuminated the Floridian coast, as the three walked to the suit-up room. The crew donned their A1C suits with help from support teams, and prepared themselves for the challenging simulation ahead.

(Chaffee seen here wearing the A1C Pressure Suit)​

The A1C took the majority of its design from the Gemini-Era G4C suit. As such, it was far simpler than the later suits destined to walk on the lunar surface; However it was the right fit for the mission. The A1C offered the life support and reliability necessary to perform a LEO flight, and even an EVA if the mission required it.

The astronauts exited the crew quarters and began the walk to NASA’s newly purchased, and extensively modified Clark-Cortez motorhome called the Astronaut Transfer Van, or AstroVan for short. The three astronauts disembarked the van at the launch pad, wiping the fog from their visors and staring up at their Saturn IB in awe.

Grissom: She’s a hell of a beauty, isn’t she?

White: Sure is…

Chaffee: This is really somethin’ else.

The astronauts boarded the elevator up to their vehicle, and entered the white room. Today’s schedule was to be the most complex in the three astronauts’ careers. It would put them through the paces of flying the most complex manned spacecraft ever built, and prove their aptitude thorough enough to fly. The three men boarded Phoenix, helped by a swarm of launch personnel. Once the astronauts were seated, and final checks were performed, the hatch was sealed, and the clock started. Their extensively redesigned Block-IIA spacecraft had been proven for flight months prior. Now it was her crew’s turn.

Nearly as soon as the test began, so did Mission Control’s difficulties. Shortly after disconnecting the capsule, Capcom found it nearly impossible to hear her crew. Following multiple blackouts in communications, and an almost complete breakdown of the test schedule, both the astronauts and mission control were fed up.

Grissom: How are we gonna get to the Moon if we can’t talk between three buildings?

White: They can’t hear a thing you’re saying.

Grissom: Jesus Christ…

…

Capcom: Come again Gus?

Grissom: I said how the hell are we planning on landing on the moon if we can’t talk between two or three buildings?!

Chaffee: Here we go…

Grissom: I mean seriously, you need to get your shit together so we can get this show on the road, Houston.

And get their shit together they did. Shortly after Gus made his remark, in a fit of frustration, Gene Kranz called off the test. The spacecraft was to be rolled back to the Operations and Checkout Building that evening and wasn’t to leave until this little comms issue of theirs was fixed.

It took a few days, but after hours of digging around under the seats of Pheonix, a bundle of frayed wires was found under Gus’s seat; This ultimately was found to be preventing the spacecraft’s antennas from broadcasting at full strength. After some minor checkouts, the Apollo capsule was readied for testing once more. She was scheduled to be rolled out the following morning, the 16th of August, 1967.

(Phoenix being mated to the Spacecraft Adapter)​

Capcom: Good Morning Phoenix, how do you read?

Grissom: Loud and clear Capcom!

Mission control ran the crew through their paces, simulating all manner of failures in their spacecraft leading up to launch; However the crew kept her steady. They did exactly what they needed to to maintain the flight schedule and correct the flight computer’s errors. The three astronauts had performed perfectly, and proven their proficiency with the Apollo. Phoenix and her crew were ready for Apollo’s maiden voyage.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn launch Control at T minus 22 minutes and counting. T minus 22. We are standing by for the next major milestone before flight as the Commander of the Apollo 1 spacecraft, Virgil Grissom, will go through a series of test firings of the spacecraft's Reaction Control Systems. These are the engines located in clusters of four circling the spacecraft’s Service Module; Each engine is capable of outputting some 100-pounds of force (~445N) to allow the spacecraft to rotate about its axi in orbit.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn launch Control at T minus 17 minutes and counting. T minus 17. All signs show we are go for launch at this time. The weather here on the floridian coast is a balmy 81 degrees, with beautiful blue skies. Winds are trending towards favorable, sitting at about 10 miles per hour to the East. We appear to be go for launch!

Grissom: Sheesh, glad we have air conditioning in this thing…

Chaffee: You bet.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn launch Control. We're at 8 minutes… 45 seconds and counting as Spacecraft Test Conductor Skip Chauvin is going through a final status check with the spacecraft team here at the KSC. Teams are monitoring the performance of the Saturn IB, and all pressures seem to be nominal, we are go for launch as we are closing in on 8 minutes to liftoff, T minus 8 minutes and counting. This is Launch Control.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn launch Control at T minus… 3 minutes and counting, we are continuing the countdown. The three astronauts have just completed the final checks of their guidance and navigation systems.

White: Okay Capcom, I can confirm we are running program 2, I repeat running P-02, Verb 75.

Capcom: Copy that, Ed. Good to hear, y’all holding up okay?

Grissom: No complaints here houston!

Phoenix’s Computers were now running internal guidance, and all was set for the launch of Apollo 1. The spacecraft sat in the low hanging floridian sun, seemingly glowing with all the ingenuity of mankind up to that point. Her crew wasn’t going to the moon, not even close. But they understood that with this small step, they’d be placing humanity one giant leap closer to that daring goal.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn launch Control coming up on T minus One minute and counting; Mark. T minus sixty seconds. Atmosphere is internal and guidance is internal. All reports are coming in good as we approach T minus 50 seconds. Coming up on the forty second mark; Mark. T minus forty and counting.

Public Affairs Officer: Forty, all reports coming out of the blockhouse appear good as we converge on the T minus- Mark; T minus thirty seconds to liftoff of Apollo 1. The Saturn IB launch vehicle weighing in in excess of 1.3 million pounds is now ready as we close in on the ten second mark.

Capcom: Standby for the 10-second count.

Grissom: Roger-

Capcom and Public Affairs Officer: T minus 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4…

Capcom: We have Ignition! 2… 1…

Public Affairs Officer: Liftoff! Liftoff of Phoenix towards the Heavens!

White: Yahooo!

Chaffee: Alright!

Grissom: Liftoff Houston- Clock’s runnin’

AS-504 lit her 8 H-1 engines as the Florida coast received their wakeup call. It was showtime. The rocket rose up off the pad as onlookers screamed out in cheers and awe. Phoenix was on her way, and by extension, so was the Apollo Program.

Grissom: Alright Capcom, we got a roll program!

Public Affairs Officer: 12 seconds after liftoff and we have report of a roll program!

Capcom: Roger roll, Phoenix.

The rocket rolled, slowly but surely, lining up the rocket to her 32 degree inclination before beginning the pitch program. The S-IB was performing flawlessly, as it had for the previous flights.

Grissom: Okay Houston, Pitch is looking good on our end

Capcom: Roger Pitch, Gus.

Public Affairs Officer: As we approach 1 minute into the flight, we are getting reports back from the crew that the roll program has suspended, and the computer is back in mode 1. This indicates that in the case of an abort, an extra pitch motor on the launch escape tower would fire to help the crew clear the fireball and splashdown off the coast.

Public Affairs Officer: We are coming up on 2 minutes; Mark, 2 minutes. Status checks show the crew is go for S-IVB staging.

Capcom: Go for Staging, Phoenix.

White: Roger that, go for staging.

Grissom: Inboard cutoff, smoothing out a bit. Okay we have outboard engine cutoff.

Capcom: Roger that Gus, proceed with staging.

The S-IVB separated gracefully from the stage below it as the three ullage rockets fired. Fractions of a second after this event, the propellant settled in the aft of the tanks, and their J-2
roared to life

(S-IVB separation)​

Grissom: Let’s see what this baby can do! We got good light on that J-2 Houston!

Capcom: Glad to hear Gus, Expect to see tower sep here in about T minus 20.

Public Affairs Officer: We’re here at T-plus two minutes… thirty seconds and the crew has lit their second stage engine, expect to see that launch tower on top of the capsule shoot off shortly.

Chaffee: Okay Flight, that tower really shot off. [Unintelligible] Miles and miles!

Capcom: Glad to hear it’d save your skins if we needed it. You’re go for mode 2 Phoenix.

Grissom: Roger, mode 2.

Public Affairs Officer: We have clean tower separation here at T-plus 3 minutes, 5 seconds. Launch teams are reporting the S-IVB is performing nominally, and the flight computer has switched to a ‘Mode 2’ abort. This means the tower will no longer be needed, and the capsule would fire it’s RCS engines in the case of an abort.

Capcom: Okay 1, how do you read?

Grissom: We read you crystal clear flight.

Capcom: Okay we’re having some difficulties hearing y’all, try turning up the S-Band antennas.

White: Roger that, how’s this sound?

Capcom: A bit loud, but we’ll take it… I’ll go ahead and count you down at four… 3, 2, 1, Mark; All systems go at T-plus four, Phoenix.

Grissom: She’s a smooth ride Houston… Gimbal check looking good

Capcom: I’m sure Douglas’s glad to hear that, Gus; Roger good gimbal check.

Public Affairs Officer: We’re seeing slightly elevated heart rates sitting in excess of 100 beats per minute, this is to be expected and all physical parameters are within safe limits. The crews are experiencing 1G of acceleration at this point in flight, T-plus five Minutes.

The rocket was cruising brilliantly, and the three astronauts we’re having the ride of a lifetime, soaring up and beyond the sky at T+5 minutes into flight. G forces were relatively moderate all the way to orbit, at least by the crew’s standard. Both Grissom and White had seen G-Forces above 7 during the Gemini Titan II’s SECO, for the two experienced pilots this was nothing.

Chaffee: Bit of a bumpy ride flight-

Grissom: You ain’t seen nothing yet kid. We’re looking good for orbit at 9 flight.

Capcom: (laughing) Roger that Gus, prepare to switch to Mode IV in 35.

Grissom: Roger.

Capcom: Phoenix, your CMC and trajectory are go! Anticipate SECO here in 20.

Grissom: Roger… switching to mode 4

Grissom: Alright flight… we report SECO, zero-g and feeling great.

Capcom: Beautiful flight, Phoenix. Welcome to space.

Apollo 1 had reached orbit, clearing the first of many milestones for their mission. The 14 day mission was scheduled to put the spacecraft through her paces, ultimately displaying some of the scientific prowess of the program. However, days 1 and 2 of the mission were dedicated to the spacecraft itself; The crew would put the Command and Service Module (CSM) through its paces, as they had many times in the simulators leading up to flight.

White: Alright Gus, I’m gonna get these gimbals off

Grissom: Roger flight, we’re seeing Pitch 1 off, Yaw 1 off, Pitch 2 and Yaw 2 off as well. I repeat all 4 are off.

Capcom: Gotcha Gus, all 4 off. Beautiful.

White: Okay, DSKY is reading velocity at 25565; H-dot is minus four; and altitude is 122.3

Capcom: Roger that; Phoenix, your S-IVB has been safed.

The S-IVB began venting excess propellants, first hydrogen, then oxygen. By the end of the first orbit, the stage had vented almost all excess residuals, and the computer had been shut down. This left the booster safe for separation, and cleared the crew for at least 6 more orbits. The flight computer was reading their velocity at 25,565 feet per second [7,792 m/s] putting them just where they wanted to be.

White: okay flight, guidance is showing us at an apogee of 146, perigee of 135. (270x250km)

Capcom: Roger you loud and clear Ed; We copy your orbit, you guys are looking good down here.

Grissom: I got pretty good aim, don’t I?

Chaffee: -for an air force boy, yeah!

Grissom: Hey!

Grissom: Okay flight, how long until we can expect separation?

Capcom: Come again? We’re having a real rough time hearing ya down here Phoenix.

Apollo 1 was now drifting above the Atlantic, and despite some communications difficulties, was performing nominally. Mission control was trying everything they could to stabilize communications between them and Phoenix, and only by orbit 2 did they do so. Once comms were stable, the crew were go for separation, staging their spacecraft away from the now-safed S-IVB.

Capcom: Okay Phoenix, we got you good for staging.

Grissom: Roger that flight, we’re separating from the S-IVB now. Firing RCS and flipping around.

Chaffee: Isn’t she a beauty?

White: Sure is, no doubt about it.

Grissom: Okay flight, we’re sitting about 25 feet from the S-IVB, drifting away slowly.

Capcom: Glad to hear it, Phoenix

Apollo 1 went on to be yet another in a string of successes since the December 12th accident. The mission, clocking in just shy of 14 days, nearly doubled Gemini 7’s record of 8 days, a record set by NASA just two years prior. This mission showed that America was ready and eager to take on the challenge of going to the moon, while proving we had the tools to do so. Upon splashdown, after days of scientific research and humanities longest spaceflight to date, Gus Grissom put it best in a post flight interview:

Grissom: I mean that’s gotta be one of the greatest test-flights we could have asked for.

Apollo 2 (AS-205) lifted off a mere 48 days after Phoenix’s splashdown, proving that Apollo 1 wasn’t a one-off success. The mission largely repeated the 14 day success story of Phoenix before it, carrying new scientific instruments and collecting further data on the vehicle. The mission would provide training in the Apollo to a further three astronauts: Eliot See, Walter Cunningham, and Done Eisele.

Apollo 5(AS-502) would be the second mission of 1968, following Apollo 4’s LM testflight. The mission would see the Saturn V perform flawlessly after a number of minor modifications had been implemented to dampen the pogo-oscillations. It would be on this flight that NASA would test Saturn’s Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) capabilities for the first time.

Mission Control: Okay, we have burnout of the S-IVB, Apollo 5 is on her way to the moon!

The capsule would, as planned, simulate a critical emergency only 6 hours after TLI. This forced the CSM-201 to fire her main engine, performing a direct abort. This maneuver would provide a critical safety net, and be one of two methods to expedite a return journey if radiation, fuel cell problems, or any number of other hazards presented themselves.

(Direct Return Abort)​

In this abort mode, performable up to T+25 hours post-TLI, the CSM or LM engines would be used to null out the majority of the spacecraft's velocity, and allow it to fall back to the Earth. After T+25 hours, the spacecraft would boost itself towards the moon, performing a high speed free-return before reentering the atmosphere. Because of these two abort modes, if any emergency happened on the way to the moon NASA had a small, but usable window of time to save the crew. Apollo 5 splashed down safely, less than a day after liftoff.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 7: Here there be spiders.​

“Okay Houston, We’re opening the tunnel now.”​

- John Young, Apollo 7​

(Jimmy Hendrix, Voodoo Child)

(Authors Note: Sorry for being a bit late I celebrated my birthday last weekend a bit too hard, and had 2 exams this week leading to very little time to post... That said, I'm back and in good spirits, had a great time and I'm excited to get back to storytelling thanks for the patience and sorry for the wait)

Public Affairs Officer: And we have Liftoff! Liftoff of Apollo 7 from Launch Complex 34! Hot on the heels of Lunar-Module 2!

The Saturn IB rose atop a brilliant column of light, as it had hours prior for the launch of AS-207 (Apollo 6). The hold down clamps released as the 8 H-1 engines reached their full throttle, sending the rocket up and past the launch tower.

Young: Alright flight, we’ve cleared the tower

…

Young :We got a roll program going, Houston.

Capcom: Roger that, John. Expect to start your pitch program here in 12.

Young: I hear ya, pitch here in about 12.

Public Affairs Officer: Commander John Young is reporting a nominal roll program, putting them in the correct orientation to begin their pitch over into Earth Orbit.

The rocket began her pitch program, lofting the astronauts slowly but surely towards their desired rendezvous-trajectory. Commander John Young, LM-Pilot Walter Cunningham, and CSM-Pilot Charles Bassett were now soaring up and beyond the blue skies over Florida.

(Apollo 7’s Ascent to Orbit)​

Capcom: Apollo 7, you are go for staging.

Young: Roger, Go for Staging!

…

Young: Ignition… okay Houston we’ve got a good looking second stage now.

Capcom: Rodge.

Bassett: Holy Cow! Chaffee was right, look at that thing go!

Young: We got good abort tower separation, Houston

Apollo 7 continued their ascent into orbit, burning the S-IVB to depletion and circularizing their orbit at 165 nautical miles (305 km). They were now on track to rendezvous with the lunar module in T-4 hours, giving them ample opportunity to verify all the necessary systems were in order.

Cunningham: Alright Houston, we’ve started on the S-IVB safing checklist.

Capcom: Roger that, Gumdrop. Congrats on a great launch, expect to hear from us shortly about your LM.

Grumman’s Lunar module had been experiencing a number of delays, almost all of which related to the dry-mass of the spacecraft. Grumman had switched from their original pure-oxygen atmosphere to a much more complex mixed gas atmosphere, following North American’s switch the year prior. Additionally, extra precaution had been taken to fireproof both the Apollo Command Module, as well as the Lunar Module. The LM’s complexity kept increasing, and with its complexity, mass.

Every pound added to the LM’s ascent module yielded nearly four more pounds on the pad; Every pound added to the descent stage increased launch mass by a factor of 2.25 to 1. Mass kept increasing while margins remained relatively unchanged, and needless to say, the Lunar Module was overweight. However, by late 1967, with the LM nearly seven thousand pounds over the original design spec, the growth finally came to a stop.

The LM Weight Reduction Program was pushing the landing date back further and further, leaving a trail of slimmed down LM-Carcasses in their wake. Weight was far less of a concern in Earth Orbit, however, so Lunar Module 2 had her leaking hull patched, and her mission reassigned. While originally meant for a second unmanned test of the Lunar Module, Spider was now tasked with proving the LM was controllable during piloted flight.

Apollo 7 was a mission born out of necessity; The lunar module wasn’t expected to be ready for a manned landing for another year, and yet NASA needed to test the flight controls to ensure they were usable for the astronauts. The Saturn V was in the process of undergoing structural improvements, offsetting the pogo-oscillations felt by Apollo 3 the year prior. This ultimately left NASA to find a way to test the LM in earth orbit, without facilitating the use of a Saturn V. Their choice was as obvious as it was complex. Mission designers chose a dual launch Saturn-IB based architecture to place the CSM and LM on path to dock.

Their mission was therefore something of an open ended question; How much could the Lunar Module be tested in Low Earth Orbit? What were the benefits of taking this approach? And ultimately, could the it be proven lunar orbit ready without facilitating the need for a Saturn V flight? Apollo 7’s task was to test the basic maneuverability and docking capabilities of the Lunar Module, with secondary objectives demonstrating the LM’s capability to help during abort scenarios, and to serve as a lifeboat for a stranded Command Module.

NASA’s latest schedule would see Apollo 6 and 7 serving as the LEO test-flight of the Lunar Module, and Apollo 8 delivering men to the moon. Apollo 9 would be the second manned mission to the Moon, and the first to bring along a Lunar Module to practice both High and Low Gate lunar landing approaches. This ultimately left Apollo 10 as the first manned landing attempt on the books for May of ‘69, with backups available every two months as long as needed. This schedule gave NASA ample opportunity to attempt and re-attempt manned landings, allowing them to pursue the ambitious missions safely. This plan was seen as the most conservative and resourceful approach, and it was given approval shortly after the flight of Phoenix in 1967.

However the initial landing wasn’t the only thing on NASA’s mind at the time; In April of 1966, before the Gemini Program had even concluded, the Johnson White House reached out to NASA administrator James Webb regarding the future of the agency, and their Post-Apollo plans. After much debate, it was decided that NASA would pursue a series of studies into Apollo derived hardware that favored reuse and a high flight rate.

However these studies would take time; To hold the agency over, Webb requested funding for a second order of Apollo hardware, and additional funding for the Saturn Apollo Applications (SAA) Office. NASA’s SAA office would now turn it’s focus to developing new lunar and earth orbit uses of Apollo hardware, and developing sustainable derivatives of this hardware. This, however, was presently overshadowed by NASA's current goal: The initial landing.

Capcom: Alright Gumdrop, The LM seems to have held up alright, and we’ve got good data back from its S-IVB, we expect you ought to be able to go ahead and dock once you get there.

Young: Roger, go for docking on arrival.

Capcom: we also show no indication that a course correction will be needed, you are good to separate from the S-IVB and begin separation maneuvers.

Cunningham: We copy ya Houston.

Gumdrop was now on her own, drifting on a slow course that brought her to rendezvous with the Spider. The crews took their leisure time whilst finishing up the final checks necessary prior to the rendezvous. The Apollo was a sturdy craft, and nearly all necessary testing had been done on previous flights. While waiting for the rendezvous, the three astronauts were simply along for the ride.

Capcom: Okay, we anticipate Acquisition of signal here in a few seconds. Seven’s Acquisition of target should only be a few minutes out now…

Capcom: AOS in 3… 2… Apollo 7, this is Houston, how do you copy?

Young: We copy ya loud and clear, Roosa. The three of us just wrapped up lunch.

Capcom: Glad to hear it John. How are y’all holding up?

Bassett: We’re doing great Houston. This vehicle’s flying like a dream.

Cunningham: View’s even better- Speaking of which, I think I can see Spider coming up over the horizon.

Capcom: That’s Great to hear, The LM is ready for your arrival, you three can continue working your way through pre-docking checks. We’ll touch base with you in just a few.

Young: Roger.

(Lunar Module Pilot Walter Cunningham looks out the Apollo’s windows)​

Apollo 7 was now slowly drifting towards a distant spec on their windshield. As Walter Cunningham stared out the window of the Command Module, he could just faintly make out the black markings of the S-IVB, before finally spotting the signature gold foil of their Lunar Module.

Cunningham: Alright Houston, looks like the petals on the S-IVB have separated cleanly, I can see Spider from here and she’s looking good.

Young: RCS has closed out our velocity. We are stationkeeping with the Lunar Module.

Their launch trajectory had given them a relatively hastey 3-orbit rendezvous, allowing them to begin docking procedures later that day. However, before that could be done, the Lunar Module would have to be inspected remotely, ensuring it was both safe to dock with, and safe to separate from it’s S-IVB. Once these checks had been performed, the Command Service Module would begin extracting the Lunar Module from the Spacecraft-LM Adapter (SLA)

Young: Okay Houston, Spider seems to have held up pretty good, we’re going to go ahead and wrap up our pre-dock checklist and begin docking procedures.

Capcom: Copy that Gumdrop, Go ahead and proceed to docking.

(LM-2, Spider, seen from the Gumdrop.)​

Young: Alright… Nice and Easy

Cunningham: You’re aligned, you just gotta make contact, John.

…

Bassett: Easy does it…

…

The Command Module docking probe extended, contacting the LM Drogue cone and expanding to grab hold of it.

Young: Okay Houston, We have soft capture with the spider

The probe retracted, pulling the two spacecraft closer until contact was made. As the Lunar Module’s drogue approached, it depressed the triggers lining the Command Module docking ring and a series of 12 latches automatically slammed shut. This was Hard Capture, and the two spacecraft were made one.

Young: latches are closing now- (a muffled bang could be heard)

…

Young: We’re docked.

Capcom: Glad to hear it 7, we’re gonna run some final diagnostics on her, you have the go-ahead from us to begin S-IVB separation procedures.

Mission controllers stared at their computer monitors, double and triple checking for any sign of deviance. Thankfully none were present, the astronauts secured electrical connections between the two modules, and the two spacecraft now pulled away from Spider’s S-IVB, beginning their free-flight in Earth Orbit. This first manned LM, while unfit for a manned landing on the lunar surface, served a critical role in achieving NASA’s ultimate goal.

The astronauts’ next task was freeing the hatch separating them from their lander. When the Gumdrop and Spider had docked, two distinct mechanisms were at play working to form a pressurized tunnel between the two craft. The first was the probe and drogue assemblies; These assemblies would be the first to make contact, with the Gumdrops docking probe retracting to allow her docking ring to contact the Lunar Module’s tunnel. Once these were attached, latches lining the interior of the docking ring slammed shut, forming an air-tight seal between the ring and the tunnel. Now the tunnel had been fully pressurized, and it was safe for crews to begin opening the hatches.

Cunningham: Alright, capture release handle…

Young: Rodger-

John Young twisted a small knob at the center of the probe mechanism, releasing the probe assembly from the Lunar Module’s drogue mechanism.

Capcom: How’s she look guys?

A loud metallic thud could be heard over the comms system, followed by a slight hissing. Engineers sat with bated breath before finally hearing John Young mutter over the comms system She’s looking great flight. The crew began egressing into the lunar module, looking around at the interior, and inspecting it for any signs of issue. Spider was good to go.

The crew entered the lunar module, inspecting the intricate walls of switches and knobs ensuring everything was as it should be. The crew then verified that the docking assembly could be reinstalled and removed once more. Once all was verified to be operational, the astronauts returned to the command module, and closed the hatch. They were ready to begin winding down for the night. Tomorrow would see the first maneuvers performed by the LM, and the first verification of onboard systems in a free-flight.

The next morning, John Young and Walter Cunningham donned their suits and boarded the Lunar Module in preparation for their first test. This test was interrupted when both astronauts felt nauseous, and Walter Cunningham began to vomit. It was later found that the short contorted movements necessary to don the suits quickly caused motion sickness in microgravity. The astronauts were put on a private communication relay to doctors at NASA’s manned space flight center at Young’s request. This knowledge, though painful, would serve as valuable intel in preventing this phenomenon on later flights.

Once the astronauts vestibular systems had come to a rest, the testing resumed. The LM fired her engine posigrade, simulating the duration and throttling necessary to perform a landing. This demonstrated two things; Firstly the Lunar Module could, at least in theory, provide course corrections in the event of an emergency involving the service module. Secondly, the LM was up to the task of performing a full duration landing burn.

Young: Alright flight, Spider handled that one like a champ.

Capcom: We are glad to hear that John. You two can return to Gumdrop now. Doctors told us to tell you to please take off your suits slowly this time.

Cunningham: Roger that, we definitely don’t want a repeat of that.

Young: Yeah no more of those please.

Day 2 of the mission had wrapped up swimmingly, the LM had demonstrated that her descent engine was fully functional, and that the docking ring was strong enough to deal with the forces involved in an abort scenario. The crews spent the remainder of the day conducting experiments while mission control looked over the data they had collected.

On day 3 of the mission, The three astronauts suited up in preparation for EVA. Commander John Young opened the LM’s front hatch, clasped his support tether to the hand railing, and stood out the open door. Charles Bassett opened the hatch on Gumdrop and poked his head out as well, capturing a photo of Young staring at the world below.

(John Young on EVA from the Spider, 14 August 1968)​

The two men took time on this EVA to assess the spacecraft, their suits and conduct further experiments. Once they had done their tasks, the two returned into the spacecraft, closed the hatches, and repressurized. Days 4 and 5 were spent conducting further experiments and testing in preparation for the mission's ultimate goal: LM free-flight.

On day 6, the Commander and LM pilot boarded their lander. The probe-drogue assembly was reinstalled from the lunar module’s side, and the probe was preloaded to 6000 lbs of tension, allowing the 12 docking latches to disengage while maintaining pressure. Charles Bassett reinstalled the Command Module forward hatch, and the LM’s tunnel door was closed. Only now was Spider ready to undock.

Bassett: How does that convertible handle?

Young: Assuming we can keep the top on her, pretty smooth Charlie!

Bassett: Well that’s brilliant to hear John, I’ll be here when you two come back. Take some cool pictures up there for me okay?

Cunningham: You bet!

(Spider as seen from Gumdrop)​

After stationkeeping with Gumdrop for nearly an hour, Spider was cleared to perform a separation maneuver, sending them up and over the Command Module. The LM slowly separated from the Command module, marking the first time in history that humans had ridden inside a vehicle in space which could not safely reenter in case of an emergency. The mission was daring, if not slightly dangerous, but the two men pushed on.

Spider tested her descent engine at a range of throttles, demonstrating that the Lunar Module’s Descent Engine (LMDE) was stable at a wide range of settings. In total, Spider spent nearly 12 hours separated from the Command Module, and as Commander John Young put it later: It all felt routine. It was just like the simulators. Spider returned to Gumdrop that evening, and the next morning the crews separated from the LM and began reentry.

Apollo 7 had proven that with minor weight reductions, the lunar module was ready for its first flight to the moon, and then its debut landing. The mission had its issues, but in all, had gone well. The crew splashed down in the Atlantic, marking yet another success for NASA’s Project Apollo.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 8: Fly me to the Moon.​

“Nixon: A Campaign in Denial, Despite FBI and French Revelations.

People have got to know whether or not their Candidate is a crook. And I'm not a crook. I’ve worked hard for everything I've got. -Richard Nixon ”

- Front Page of the New York Times, Oct 25, 1968​

(The Rolling Stones, Gimme Shelter)

1968 was a wildfire of a year for US politics. Only months after the attempted assination of Robert F Kennedy in June of that year, the New York Times broke the story of the decade.The story had been leaked to them via an internal memo, originating somewhere within the whitehouse. It had come out that the Nixon Campaign had been conversing with South Vietnamese politicians, promising them a “better deal”, preventing the US from getting out of Vietnam. The scandal, coined the Chennault Affair, would ultimately shape the election that year. While the South Vietnamese Ambassador firmly denied the allegations, the writing was on the wall: This event would single handedly bring the downfall of the Republican nominee, Richard Nixon.

Ultimately, LBJ was tired of the presidency, and RFK would not recover from the attempted assasination in time to resume campaigning, handing his support to Vice President Humphrey. Humphry ultimately won the support of many, campaigning on the promise of an end to the Vietnam War, and an end to so-called civil unrest. Additionally, Humphrey campaigned on the continuation of Johnson’s Great Society Programs, and a continued American presence in space. This left Hubert Humphrey as the democratic candidate chosen in August of 1968, and the elected president early that November.

While the Americans were dealing with their own political troubles, the Soviet N1 rocket was facing an intensive investigation following it’s premature shutdown only 50 seconds into flight. The rocket appeared to have suffered a structural failure due to one or more engines spontaneously shutting down, and a fire seemed to have followed; The underlying causes of these issues was yet to be determined, but the soviets continued onwards with their multi-phase plan unphased.

The L1 rocket sat atop a newly constructed launch facility near the N1’s LC-110 at Baikonur. The L1, a little brother of sorts to the much larger N1, was to be UR-500s replacement. It had flown multiple times before, demonstrating that it’s Block B, V and D stages were more than up to the task of launching today’s payload. This mission would be flown under the Zond classification, a name often given to unmanned lunar and planetary probes, however today's mission would be quite different.

The L1 was launching an unmanned Soyuz L1 spacecraft, her first major payload, alongside a Block D Trans Lunar Injection stage. This launch would, if successful, be followed hours later by a 3 man Soyuz-OK spacecraft. Two cosmonauts would disembark the OK, and board the L1, leaving a single cosmonaut to pilot the capsule back down to Earth’s surface. The two launches went off without a hitch, and by the end of the day, two cosmonauts were on their way to the moon. Just days later, Americans awoke to the news, Pavel Popovich and Vitali Sevastyanov were flying past the moon.

(L1-Block D lunar flyby craft)​

Dammit! Slayton said to himself, slamming his hand down on his desk, They pulled the rug out from under us again! Across the world, photographs of soviet cosmonauts looking out their window at the lunar surface were broadcast to the masses. Their faces lit up in awe, pointing at mankind's first glimpse of the far side. The Soviets had sent men to fly past the moon, something far short of Apollo 8’s upcoming lunar orbit, but a definite show of competence. This launch was also the first publicized of the new L1 heavy lift rocket, something the Americans had overlooked as not being fit for crews yet.

NASA Administrator James Webb gave a statement that morning, addressing the mission, and explaining its merit in comparison to Apollo: We at NASA do not believe the soviets pose any major risk to surpassing us in our goal to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. We believe this mission was done to scare the American public, and to display their technological achievements. While we recognize the mission for its merit, we do not expect to see them on the lunar surface any time soon. Despite this embarrassment, Apollo 8 would continue onwards unabated. The soviets flight was comparable to the first American suborbital flights versus the flight of Yuri Gagarin, both used the nations best technology, while one was far more advanced.

In 1967, it was decided that missions would be given an alphabetical designation, signifying what objectives they were aiming to accomplish. At the time, no delays in the LM were foreseen. The expectation was that the C, D, and E class missions, testing the CSM in Low Earth Orbit, then the LM in Low Earth Orbit, and finally the LM in High Earth Orbit, would lead to the F class mission, the dress rehearsal for landing. However, the Lunar Module was still overweight; And at time of planning, only 4 months before liftoff, it was decided that bringing along a Lunar Module aboard Apollo 8 would prove no benefit, and indeed possibly hinder the mission's abort capabilities.

Instead, it was decided that this mission would be uniquely separate from those originally planned during the early days of Project Apollo. This daring mission would be designated C′-class: Named after its closest analogue, the C-class LEO CSM test missions of Apollo’s 1 and 2. The mission would see the Saturn V deliver a Block III CSM to lunar orbit for a short stay, before ultimately returning her crew safely to the Earth. This objective, though a small step, would prove itself to be the first in a series of leaps towards the ultimate landing. Apollo 8 was scheduled to fly in just over 3 weeks, lifting off on December 21st, 1968.

(CSM-203 being mated to her Launch Vehicle, September ′68)​

The countdown began, T minus one hundred and three hours to lift off. This countdown ultimately bought the engineers just enough time to do a full final checkout of the saturn vehicle. Sleighbell had been mated to her launcher in the months prior, following a checkout regime that had become something of a routine following Apollo 1’s sluggish rollout. Engineers surrounded the vehicle on it’s launch pad, inspecting the electrical and fluid connections lining the vehicle's stringers. The rocket was deemed ready following days of final preparations, and the Terminal Countdown began at T-28 hours.

The rocket was fueling up as the astronauts arrived to the suit up room. Commander James Lovell, LM Pilot William Anders, and CSM Pilot Michael Collins dawned their A7L suits with the help of a swarm of technicians. The three men sat in silence, mentally preparing themselves for the flight ahead. Sleighbell’s flight would be the first manned mission atop NASA’s goliath moonrocket, and only the fourth manned flight of the Apollo program. This mission rode atop the shoulders of giants, and the fate of the Apollo program sat in its hands.

After some deliberation, the three men rode up the access elevator and boarded Sleighbell, walking their final steps before entering the history books. James Lovell, William Anders, and Michael Collins were soon to become the first men to orbit the moon, if all went well. The hatch was sealed, and pad crews evacuated the premises, the men were on their own now.

Capcom: Alright Sleighbell, how are you three holding up?

Lovell: We’re doing great flight, we’re eager to get this show on the road.

Capcom: That’s entirely understandable Jim, we’re trying our best to get you off the pad on schedule.

Flight controllers were resuming their obsessive search for any signs of deviance, any little issues or errors that could suggest something may be wrong with the vehicle. Thankfully, the Saturn V seemed to have matured as a launcher over the course of its two test flights; The rocket’s systems were performing flawlessly, weather was ideal, and the launch window was theirs for the taking.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Launch Control at T-minus 2 minutes to lift off of Apollo 8, America’s mission to the moon.

Capcom: Alright guys, we’re at T-60.

Collins: Roger that.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Launch Control at T-minus 30 seconds until Liftoff…

Public Affairs Officer: T-minus 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5

(S-IC Ignition, December 21, 1968)​

Capcom: We have good S-IC ignition-

Public Affairs Officer: 3… 2…

Lovell: Clamps released, here we go-

Public Affairs Officer: Liftoff! And Apollo 8 has cleared the tower!

The S-IC roared to life, all 5 engines screaming at full thrust. Clamps holding down the rocket gave way, and the launch vehicle was sent on its way to the heavens. The crackling signs of life were heard for miles down the floridian coast, and these three men were on their way to the history books.

Lovell: Okay we got a good roll program flight-

Capcom: Roger that 8, you’re looking great from here.

The Saturn rolled, aligning itself with the 32 degree launch azimuth. The guidance computer was operating flawlessly as the flight continued onwards.

Anders: Okay, we’re seeing pitch over-

Collins: Mode IB flight.

Capcom: Mark. One Bravo.

Public Affairs Officer: The crews are reporting ideal ascent here at 50 seconds into flight, they have switched over to abort mode 1-B as scheduled.

Lovell: Okay we got engine lights here flight-

Capcom: Underperforming, roger. Anticipate staging here shortly-

Lovell: Copy… Alright, engine out-

Capcom: You are go for staging.

Lovell: Separation. Ignition.

(S-II Ignition and staging)​

Capcom: Alright we see good separation of the S-IC, Go Sleighbell Go!

The First stage had, despite minor performance issues, served its purpose. The stage peeled off, revealing another 5 engines that would continue the three astronauts ascent into orbit.

Lovell: How do we read, flight?

Capcom: Loud and clear, 8.

Lovell: Okay flight we see good skirt sep, and the launch abort tower is off.

Capcom: Roger.

Public Affairs Officer: Commander James Lovell is reporting that the interstage has separated cleanly from the vehicle, and the launch abort tower has separated from the spacecraft. All systems are performing nominally, this is Apollo Saturn Launch Control at T-plus 3 minutes, 30 seconds into flight.

The S-II stage burned out as expected, delivering the S-IVB third stage and Apollo Command Module to a near-orbital trajectory. With the second stage expended, on course to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, the third stage ignited, sending the astronauts to orbit.

Collins: Okay… shutdown.

Lovell: Roger capcom, we have S-IVB shutdown-

Capcom: Great to hear Sleighbell, we’re gonna work on your trajectory, expect to hear from us shortly.

The three men spent just over an hour in orbit, as final checks were made on their S-IVB to clear it for Trans-Lunar Injection. During their short orbital stay, the astronauts were checking their own onboard systems, verifying their command module had survived ascent unscathed. Ultimately, both elements of the Apollo TLI stack were performing healthily, and the three men were sent up a message from houston:

Capcom: Apollo 8, Go for TLI!

The J-2 engine ignited, flaring to life and sending Sleighbell on her way to the moon. Once the stage had expended it’s useful life, the S-IVB was safed, and the command module separated. The three men were on their own now, flying the outward leg of the Free-Return Trajectory. While there were abort modes available, the astronauts were now in the position of ‘fix it, or head back home’.

(Lunar Free Return trajectory as flown by Apollo 8)​

The astronauts had a 3 day trip ahead of them, in which they would maintain near constant communications with mission controllers at NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center. The three men conducted Earth and Lunar observation experiments, reporting on their surroundings and personal condition during the flight. Two of the three men reported seeing Flashes of light when they closed their eyes, something that would remain a mystery to NASA for some time. It was eventually figured out that these flashes were likely caused by Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR’s) hitting the astronauts optic nerve.

While their physical condition remained largely unchanged, the astronauts reported a sense of awe in seeing the world from this great distance. On day 2, CSM Pilot Michael Collins noted It is such a strange phenomena, seeing Earth for what it is, a fragile and pale blue dot against the harsh blackness of space. He captured this photo, at the time one of the furthest views of Earth humanity had seen with the unaided eye.

(Earth as seen from Apollo 8)
​

As the three men approached the lunar sphere of influence, all focus was shifted to preparing for Lunar Orbit Insertion. The LOI maneuver would occur on the far side of the moon; This placed the maneuver distinctly outside of communications with the MSC, and therefore added considerable risk. If anything had failed during the burn, the astronauts would be on their own to fix it. However, the three astronauts understood the risk; As Sleighbell was dipping beyond the lunar horizon, Commander James Lovell uttered the soon to be famous words: This is the commander of Apollo 8 speaking. We’ll see you on the other side, flight.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 9: If at First You Don’t Succeed…​

(Led Zeppelin, Good Times Bad Times)

Capcom: We are expecting AOS here in T-25 seconds…

Capcom: Apollo 8, this is Houston, how do you copy?

…

Capcom: Sleighbell, this is Houston, do you copy?

…

…

Capcom: Apol-

Lovell: We hear ya loud and clear flight. Sorry, we were taking in the view from lunar orbit.

Capcom: Well feel free to get some pictures, but try and answer us okay?

(Earthrise from aboard Apollo 8)​

Collins: One step ahead of you, flight. We definitely have some Christmas gifts for you when we land!

Sleighbell had entered Lunar Orbit. The capsule would remain in orbit for just under 24 hours, conducting countless scientific experiments and observations. Landing sites for Apollos 10, 11, and 12 were analyzed from orbit during this period. After their short stunt in lunar orbit, the CSM performed a Trans-Earth Injection, placing itself on a return course for reentry.

Lovell: Okay flight, we’re separating from the service module now.

Capcom: Glad to hear, proceed to reentry.

The Capsule successfully entered Earth's atmosphere, splashing down mere days before new years. The crew’s short stay in lunar orbit had provided ample technical information to NASA, while providing further discoveries about Earth’s natural satellite. The mission paved the way for the more technically demanding Apollo 9; This mission would serve as the dry-run dress rehearsal for the lunar landings. The mission would demonstrate high and low-gate operability of the Lunar Module in low lunar orbit. If all was successful with Apollo 9, Apollo 10 was destined to become humanity’s first lunar landing. This mission was simple in comparison to future plans; The only mission objective was to land, get boots on the lunar surface, and return the astronauts safely to the Earth.

Apollo 9 was NASA’s primary objective at the moment, and with only a 3 month gap between launches, the agency was meeting demands it had never faced before. The Saturn V proved itself capable however, and signs showed that a gap as low as 1 month may be conceptually achievable. For the time being, NASA was aiming for a launch every 2-3 months following Apollo 9 until mankind successfully reached the surface. This was an ambitious pace, but NASA was up for the task. Apollo 9’s spacecraft were mated to the upper stage, and the Rocket was rolled out to the pad.

(Apollo 9 rolling out to the Launchpad. January, 1969.)
​

As Apollo 9 was rolling onto the pad, Apollo’s 10 and 11 were being readied at the cape. By March, Apollo 10 was nearly ready, having its LM installed that January. The first portions of Apollo 12 arrived at the cape that month as well. Project Apollo, along with the VAB it had given way to, was becoming a well oiled machine. Technicians double and triple checked Apollo 9’s launch vehicle, AS-504, for any signs of problems. The rocket proved flawless, according to their inspection, and was given the go ahead to launch on the 3rd of March, 1969.

The rocket lifted off the pad, aiming to once again deliver American’s to the moon. Apollo 9’s mission would be rather similar to Apollo’s 6 and 7 before it, but would no-doubt pave the way for things to come. By now, the Saturn V was proving itself a worthy machine, and the launcher’s first stage performed without error, proving fixes implemented since Apollo 8 were successful.

Capcom: Go for Staging, Charlie Brown.

Scott: Roger that flight, we got a good S-II up here.

Borman: Interstage separated.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Launch Control at T-Plus 3 minutes. Commander David Scott and LM Pilot Frank Borman have reported that the second stage of their launch vehicle is performing as expected, and that the separation motors on the interstage have fired. All systems are performing at T-Plus 3 minutes… 30 seconds. This is Apollo Saturn Launch Control.

The S-II had faced issues in the past, but improvements to the S-IC had largely ironed out those kinks. Apollo 9 continued its ascent into orbit.

Schweickart: Launch tower’s off!

Capcom: Copy that Rusty!

…

Capcom: Okay anticipate S-II burnout here shortly-

Scott: Flameout.

…

Scott: Ullage firing… Ignition!

The S-IVB peeled off the second stage as it had many times before, flying Charlie Brown and Snoopy the remainder of the way into orbit. The S-II had fulfilled its purpose, and was left to die a viking funeral, burning up upon entry into the Earth’s thick lower atmosphere. The S-IVB flamed out, and the three men breathed a sigh of relief as they felt weightless.

Schweickart: Woah!

Scott: Okay we got engine cutoff, Rusty’s gasping up here, typical rookie stuff.

Capcom: (Laughing) Alright Dave, we’re glad to hear y’all made it safe and sound, expect to receive a go no-go from us here shortly.

After one and a half revolutions around the Earth, the men finally got their poll results from Capcom: Apollo 9, you are good to go. Press to TLI! The J-2 engine restarted, sending the two cartoon characters on the adventure of a lifetime. The astronauts felt multiple times their full body weight once more, as the stage flamed out. The three men were on their way to the moon, and began their next task after TLI: Transposition and docking.

Scott: Alright, we’re separating from the S-IVB now.

The spacecraft began the separation by puffing it’s RCS, translating forwards from the stage. The four petals of the Spacecraft-LM Adapter separated, and the LM was fully visible. Charlie Brown flipped about it’s axis, facing towards the LM, Snoopy.

Schweickart: Snoopy is looking great, flight.

Capcom: We’re glad to hear that, 9.

Scott: Alright I’m bringin’ him in to dock…

Borman: Easy does it Dave-

Scott: -I know what I’m doing

The spacecraft inched closer, slowly closing the distance between them before finally-

Scott: Contact!

Borman: Probe retract-

Scott: Capture.

Apollo signature thud could be heard, as mission controllers breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the spacecraft were now securely attached. The tunnel was pressurized, and the spacecraft began separation maneuvers.

Scott: Pulling away from the S-IVB now, flight.

Capcom: We copy ya loud and clear, 9.

The spacecraft were now on their way to the moon, docked and fully secured, destined now to play the waiting game. The 3 day trip to the moon wasn’t entirely wasted time; The CSM and LM were checked out in transit, and the hatch was verified to be safe for separation. Additionally, a number of course-measurements and subsequent course-corrections were made over the course of their trip. Finally, on the 6th of March, Apollo 9 had reached the moon’s sphere of influence.

Capcom: Okay, Charlie. We’re expecting LOS here in a few minutes, we’re here if you need us, but you look 10/10 on the LOI checks here.

Scott: Alright, then all I can ask is you wish us luck, Capcom.

Capcom: Hope you won’t need it, Dave, but we’re all crossing our fingers for ya…

The 3 man spacecraft dipped behind the lunar horizon, and faded into radio silence. Their next task was clear, and was by far one of the most practiced parts of the mission. Charlie Brown ignited his engine. The spacecraft began to slow down, capturing into the lunar gravity's grasp. The spacecraft’s main engine burned for just under 5 minutes, capturing himself and his dog into low lunar orbit. Apollo 9 was now safe and sound, flying a fast course, a mere 65 miles (105km) above the lunar surface. The spacecraft had survived the daunting maneuver unphased, and the astronauts acquired signal only 20 minutes later.

Capcom: Okay Apollo 9, how do you copy?

Scott: We are in lunar orbit, the dog’s doing fine too.

Capcom: Glad to hear about Snoopy, congrats on a good orbit insertion.

The men would spend day 4 of the mission in lunar orbit, preparing for the separation and descent of the Lunar Module. However, this wasn’t all the astronauts did in lunar orbit; a live broadcast from lunar orbit was also conducted, as well as the first EVA around the moon. LM Pilot Frank Borman disembarked from the Apollo and attempted to open the LM’s hatch from the outside. While doing so in a weightless environment proved challenging, it was possible, and the door’s design proved functional.

(Frank Borman on EVA holding on to CSM Charlie Brown. Apollo 9. March 10, 1969)​

At the start of Day 5, David Scott and Frank Borman boarded Snoopy. The two preloaded Charlie Brown’s docking probe to 600lbs of tension, and closed the two hatches. The Lunar Module separated, and waited to begin descent to the test altitude.

Capcom: Alright Snoopy, you are looking good, proceed to begin descent to 45,000 feet.

Scott: Roger that.

The LM was then brought down to 45,000 feet above the surface(13.7km). This was about as close the astronauts could safely get without attempting a landing. This height was rather comparable to those flown in commercial airliners, allowing the astronauts to get a great look at Apollo 10 and 11’s target landing sites. Upon reaching their perigee, the orbit was circularized, and the descent module discarded. The LM’s ascent module fired up it’s engine and plotted a return trajectory bringing it to a rendezvous with Schweickart in the CSM.

Scott: Alright, Houston, we’re approaching Charlie Brown right now, Snoopy has performed flawlessly.
Capcom: Roger that Snoopy, we’re glad to hear that the LM performed as intended; Good job you two.

Borman: Scott flew her like a champ, this thing handles real well.

Scott: That’s for sure, she flies like a dream.

Capcom: I’m sure the boys over at Grumman are thrilled to hear that. We’re all eagerly awaiting the May landing window.

Snoopy and Charlie Brown were reunited, the spacecraft docking and eventually separating for the last time. Charlie Brown fired his engines for the last time, performing a pinpoint Trans Earth Injection.

Scott: We’re on our way home, Houston. Tell Tracy and Doug that I’ll be home by next week, will ya?

Capcom: We’ll pass the message on to Ann for you. You three have done great work today, congrats on the successful dress rehearsal!

Schweickart: Much appreciated, flight.

Borman: Same here.

Fire engulfed the bottom of the vehicle, as engineers monitored the flashes of data in front of them. All systems were performing nominally, and the vehicle had survived the roughest part of its lifespan. The N1-L5 began throttling down it’s engines, providing engineers with the data necessary to find the cause of the N1-L3’s failure. The core 6 engines shut down, and the problems began almost immediately; Fuel lines ruptured, as a pressure wave was measured on the test stand. The vehicle began experiencing Pogo-oscillations, and the shutdown command was sent. An ominous silence followed the roar that had engulfed Baikonur…

Engineers hesitantly approached the vehicle, searching for signs of damage. Despite the somewhat violent failure, the shutdown sequence seemed to have saved the vehicle, and the test-stand. N1-L5 was bruised, but not broken. The vehicle was prepared for further inspection, and the heavily modified N1-L6 first stage began preparations for its test. OKB-276 realized they were running out of time. A hail mary solution was proposed, and the conversion of the NK-15s on N1-L6 began later that month. Engineers knew they were steadily running out of time, and everyone on the N1 program was praying for a successful second test.

Following the safe splashdown of Apollo 9, focus was immediately shifted to Apollo 10. The Saturn V was having her final checks completed before rolling out to the launchpad. Engineers checked the vehicle much the same as they had for all prior flights, however the feeling of suspense hung overhead. Apollo 10 was to be the culmination of Kennedy’s promise; In a few months' time, NASA was scheduled to land men on the moon, and return them safely to the Earth. The vehicle passed all examinations with flying colors; The engineers couldn’t find any deviance from anticipated values or observations, and the Apollo 10 Stack was certified for flight that May.

By now, Grumman had solved all weight issues with their Lunar Module, and it too was cleared for the landing. The lightweight spacecraft was proving itself to be a competent machine, one capable of not only landing men on the lunar surface, but supporting them for short duration lunar stays. The spacecraft’s limited autopilot capabilities had proven fruitful on previous flights, and so the landing site for Apollo 10 was picked; The three men would aim for the southwestern part of the sea of tranquility. The mission was scheduled for the 18th of May, 1969.

The three hardened pilots arrived at the cape that morning. The mission was composed of some of the greatest pilots NASA had in their ranks. Commander Gus Grissom had flown previously on Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and soon the LM. This would make him the first person to fly 4 different space vehicles over his career. LM-Pilot James Mcdivitt was also an experienced pilot, controlling the Gemini Spacecraft during Ed White’s famous spacewalk. Lastly was CM-Pilot Eugene Cernan, he had piloted the Gemini 9 spacecraft, practicing some of the transposition and docking maneuvers necessary to fly the Apollo lunar missions. The mission’s legendarily experienced crew donned their flight suits in the suit up room, and were shuttled to the pad in the AstroVan.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Launch Control anticipating the liftoff of Apollo 10 within the hour! We are currently at T-45 minutes until Liftoff, T-45.

Capcom: How’s she looking, Gus?

Grissom: Clean as a whistle, flight, let’s light this candle.

Capcom: Roger, we’ll keep you posted with updates as we get em, Challenger.

The countdown went smoothly, all systems were performing as they had during the numerous flawless countdowns preceding it; All was going according to schedule.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Launch Control at T-3 minutes to the liftoff of Apollo 10, mankind's daring endeavor to the lunar surface.

McDivitt: Auto-Sequence start

Capcom: Roger, Auto start Challenger.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Launch Control at T-1 minute, 30 seconds to the launch of the Apollo; All indications coming into the control center indicate we are go. 1 Minute, 15 seconds to liftoff, this is Apollo Saturn Launch Control. Our status check indicates the third stage has fully pressurized, and we are within the 60 second window. Mark. T-1 minute to liftoff of Apollo 10.

Capcom: Go for launch, Challenger.

Grissom: Rodge.

Public Affairs Officer: 15… 14… 13… 12… 11-

Capcom: T minus 10, Challenger.

Public Affairs Officer: 9.. 8… 7-

Capcom: Ignition sequence start-

Grissom: All engines running!

Public Affairs Officer: 5… 4… 3… 2…

Grissom: Liftoff!!

Public Affairs Officer: Liftoff… we have- we have a liftoff. 13 minutes past the hour. Liftoff on Apollo 10!

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 10: Try, Try Again…​

(The Beatles, Back In The U.S.S.R)

“If a nuclear bomb was the beat of a drum, The N1 was a droning cord of equivalent magnitude.” - Sergei Korolev, 1969​

(Liftoff of Apollo 10)​

Cernan: (Garbled) Roll Program.

Capcom: Roger Roll, Challenger.

Apollo 10 roared to life, riding atop the beast designed to fulfill their mission's very purpose. Hold-down clamps separated explosively as the rocket leaped off the pad, quickly clearing the launch tower. AS-505 rolled into the launch azimuth, placing itself nearly in alignment with the lunar plane. The S-IC was performing nominally, making quick work of Max-Q, pushing the three men to and beyond the speed of sound.

McDivitt: All systems looking good-

Grissom: We got inboard engine shutdown-

Capcom: Roger, nominal engine shutdown.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Launch Control at T-Plus 2 minutes, 15 seconds into flight. Commander Gus Grissom has just reported the Central F-1 engine has shut down as intended…

Public Affairs Officer: Velocity is 23,118 feet per second… Downrange distance 1,000 nautical miles, altitude 101 nautical miles.

Capcom: Apollo 10, this is Houston, you are good to go at 11.

Grissom: Copy that, flight.

Grissom: Shutdown.

Public Affairs Officer: Commander Gus Grissom reports shutdown of the third stage, delivering them into Earth orbit just as planned.

The stack now sat in earth orbit, awaiting their window. The three men waited for the signal to relight their S-IVB and begin their journey to lunar orbit. Mission controllers began the intensive scan of the data they had; They began going through every value with a fine tooth comb, ensuring the crews were safe and ready to head to the moon.

The atmosphere rang out like a bell, spanning miles from the test stand in Baikonur. The monstrous 30 NK-15A engines came to life, roaring like a dragon attempting to ward off visitors. And perhaps the warning would prove justifiable. After 2 failures caused by the rocket's central computer, KORD, engineers had decided to pursue an intermediate upgrade between the NK-15 and NK-33’s: The NK-15A.

(N1-Block A Test Fire)
​

The NK-15A’s had been equipped with the RDK advanced health monitoring system (не замужем Ракетные двигател контроллер, translation: single rocket motor controller) intended for the NK-33’s. The RDK system was intended to somewhat illuminate the need for KORD, a potential problem child identified early in N1 development. While the 8, and 4 engines on the Block B and V respectively were easily managed by a simple flight computer, the 30 NK-15’s on N1’s first stage were proving more difficult. RDK was developed to distribute the computational load of managing each of the 30 engines, taking it away from the easily overwhelmed KORD main computer.

RDK proved fruitful, and the engines performed nominally, throttling down at T+77 seconds and preparing to shut off the central 6. At T+90 seconds, the central engine cluster shut off, staggered by a fraction of a second, just enough to prevent the fuel lines from rupturing. At this point, engine 8 shut down prematurely, as indicated by the signal received by ground control. Despite the premature shutdown, the remaining rocket engines continued running, and the stage flamed out, allowing the hushed darkness of night to return once more. N1-6L Block A had expended her fuel supply, and an ominous silence fell over Baikonur once more.

Engineers rejoiced all around the pads. N1 seemed to have finally matured past its growing pains. This rejoice proved somewhat short as the realization of just how much work was left to do set in. The N1-7L would have to be retrofitted to use the upgraded engines; This task was definitely achievable, however it ensured the Soviets wouldn’t beat the Americans to the moon. However this success was enough to ensure additional funding, and the program continued on unabated.

Capcom: Anticipating Challenger’s AOS in 3… 2… Challenger this is Houston, how do you read?

Grissom: Loud and clear flight, we have captured into Lunar Orbit.

Capcom: Good to hear, 10. Take a breather, we’re gonna look over your telemetry for a bit.

The lunar landing was scheduled for the following morning; The crew used this extra time to broadcast from orbit, conduct observations on future landing sites, and prepare for descent. Eagle was healthy, all her systems were performing nominally when she was brought online. The three men struggled to sleep that night, knowing full well they could make history the next morning.

The next morning, Grissom and McDivitt boarded the lunar module, and began separation procedures. Challenger’s probe was set to 6000 pounds of tension, and the undocking began. A small puff of the reaction control system sent the LM drifting away from the CSM. Eagle and Challenger had separated healthily as they dipped into the dark side of the moon.

Grissom: This sure is something… We’ll be sure to bring you some souvenirs, Eugene.

Cernan: You better, I don’t know when I’ll get a chance for another vacation trip quite like this.

McDivitt: No kidding… this is something else, let’s make history today boys.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Control at 102 hours, 12 minutes into the flight of Apollo 10. We are now… 2 minutes, 51 seconds from acquisition of signal with the Apollo. Last we heard from the crew, undocking had been performed successfully, and the Lunar Module Eagle was flying on its own. We anticipate the Eagle will be given the go ahead to descend here in about 15 minutes. This is Apollo control at 102 hours, 14 minutes.

Capcom: Eagle this is Houston, how do you read?

Grissom: We read ya loud and clear, flight.

Capcom: Glad to hear, Eagle. Let’s go over some final checks.

(LM-4 Eagle)​

The vehicle was run through its paces, over the course of an orbit. Eagle was flying flawlessly. The lander was ready to fulfill its purpose, and deliver the two astronauts to the lunar surface. The crews were given the go ahead to proceed with their mission-

Capcom: Eagle, if you read us, you are go for powered descent.

Grissom: Rodge, go for powered descent.

The lander fired her engine, slowly but surely slowing her velocity and putting the men on a shallow descent to their targeted Perilune.

Capcom: Challenger, we’re expecting to lose your high gain sometime during powered descent. Over.

Cernan: Rodger.

Grissom: Houston, Eagle. How do you read?

Capcom: Five by, Eagle. Standing by for your burn report.

McDivitt: Roger. The burn was on time and as anticipated. Residuals before nulling were… 0.1, minus 0.4, minus 0.1. X and Z are nulling to zero.

Capcom: Challenger, we’ve lost all telemetry from the eagle, have him reacquire over high gain.

Cernan: Eagle this is Challenger, they want you to reacquire on the high gain, Over.

…


Cernan: Eagle this is Challenger, do you copy?

Grissom: How's this sound flight?

Capcom: Much better Gus, we copied your residuals and sun-check, Over.

Capcom was fighting an uphill battle with Eagle’s comms. The lander's antenna seemed to be incorrectly tracking the Earth, an issue quickly mitigated by ground control. However the issues continued piling up.

Grissom: Okay, flight we’re experiencing some minor oscillations-

Capcom: Roger, what’s the nature of these, Gus?

Grissom: Hard to tell, yaw just keeps shaking a bit from time to time. We’re seeing Verb 47

Capcom: Roger, we’ll work on a solution.

…

Capcom: Okay, AGS initialization sequence looks good, Eagle.

McDivitt: Roger, good Abort Guidance System.

…

…

Capcom: Mark. You are good to go for Powered Descent Eagle.

McDivitt: Roger.

Capcom: Okay Eagle, we’re experiencing a minor data dropout, but you still look good on our end-

McDivitt: Okay… (unintelligible) PGNS. We got a good lock-on. Altitude lights are out Delta-H is minus 2 900

Grissom: We got a good look at earth out our front window, Houston.

Grissom: Program Alarm.

Capcom: Roger program alarm.

McDivitt: 1202. Give us a reading on the 1202 program alarm.

Capcom: Roger… we got-

…

Capcom: … you are go on that alarm.

Grissom Roger, P60. 6 plus 25, throttling down.

…

Grissom: There goes that blasted thing again.

Capcom: Come again?

McDivitt: We got a 1202 alarm again, flight. Looks like it’s tied to 1668?

Capcom: Roger, we’ll monitor your Delta-H from here then.

The lander was continuing onwards, nulling out her velocity and slowly descending. The descent was gentle, however the pilots couldn’t ignore it. A sense of urgency was given to making sure the descent rate was not too steep.

McDivitt: Throttle down.

…

McDivitt: Throttle-

Grissom: Agh my bad- Throttling down.

Capcom: Roger throttle down, Eagle.

Grissom Throttle is much smoother than the sims, that’s for sure.

…

Capcom: Okay, Eagle, we got you at 8 and a half, looking good-

McDivitt: P64.

Capcom: Copy that. Coming up on 9.

Grissom: Manual control is holding well.

Capcom: Roger, got it. Go for landing

McDivitt: Roger. We are go for landing, 3000 feet.

…

McDivitt: Program Alarm. 1201.

Capcom: Roger 1201, we are go. Same type of issue Eagle, We’re go.

McDivitt: 2000 feet. Into AGS 47 degrees.

Grissom: 47 degrees.

…

Grissom: (Unintelligible) flight, this doesn’t look right.

Capcom: Come again, Eagle?

Grissom: We’re in the wrong spot, Houston.

Capcom: Roger, we’re working on it.

McDivitt: 700 feet, 21 down, 33 degrees.

…

McDivitt: 400 feet -

Grissom: There’s boulders everywhere Houston, we can’t land here.

Capcom: Roger. Working on it.

…

Capcom: Flight says to go long

The Eagle began slowly drifting back, aiming to overshoot her automated landing target in hopes for a flatter, more welcoming environment. The crew eventually spotted this landing site coming up, and resumed descent as planned.

McDivitt: Roger, 100 feet. 3 and a half down. 9 back. 5 percent.

…

Capcom: 45 seconds.

Mcdivitt: 75 feet. Drifting to the right a little.

Capcom: 30 seconds.

McDivitt: 50 Feet. Holding steady

Capcom: 25.

Grissom: Damn.

McDivitt: 25 feet.

Capcom: 20. Abort.

…

Capcom: Eagle, Come in, do you copy?

It appeared Eagle had fallen dangerously low on fuel. In an instant, the descent module’s engine shut down, and the explosive bolts connected the ascent and descent stage fired, severing the modules from one another. Eagle's ascent engine roared to life, and the module began ascending rapidly. Communications were lost due to the sudden nature of the abort, however the AGS had successfully taken over control of the lander. Ascent programs were initiated, and the lander began aiming for the Challenger.

Capcom: Eagle, come in.

Capcom: Challenger, can you hear Eagle?

Cernan: Affirmative, they are safe. They initiated the abort and are trying to re-establish comms.

Grissom: AGS initiated, Landing Aborted. We just saw the descent module make impact with the surface.

Capcom: Roger, Gus. Sorry to hear it…

The men had lost their shot at history. Their landing computer had led them to the wrong spot on the lunar surface, and with virtually no window for correction, the lander had run out of propellant. Later analysis would go to show the lander had 45 seconds of propellant remaining, rather than the 20 previously reported. This meant the lander likely could have reached the surface, and real-time estimates proved an unfruitful endeavor. Eagle successfully rendezvoused with Challenger later that afternoon.

(Eagle’s Ascent Module)​

Cernan: Velocity canceled out, flight.

Capcom: Roger. Proceed to dock.

Cernan: Initiating docking.

The spacecraft reattached to one another. The crews were reunited and their mission, although unsuccessful, continued onwards safely. Capcom gave them the go-ahead to perform Trans-Earth Injection (TEI) later that evening, and the crew was sent on their way to Earth. Eagle was left in lunar orbit, her wings clipped and her pride bruised. Apollo 10 wasn’t the success it was meant to be; Nonetheless, future missions would carry the flame. Challenger splashed down safely that week, and her crew was safely recovered.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 11: Arrival at Luna.​

(Jimmy Hendrix, Star Spangled Banner)

The crew of Apollo 11 were just as surprised as any at NASA’s space centers across the country. While they had trained for such a contingency, and NASA had stepped up launch rates in anticipation of a potential failure, no one truly expected it would come to pass. Regardless, the three men understood it was now their turn; The crew of Apollo 11 readied for their new mission, to be the first to reach the lunar surface, and safely return.

Launch teams began immediate preparation for flight. Mission controllers and the crew alike began running simulations, preparing for any contingency to occur. Grumman expressed a hesitant confidence, ensuring NASA that the error with Apollo 10’s guidance was but a fluke. Needless to say, many at NASA weren’t convinced. An overall air of caution overtook NASA as they ran their final pre-launch procedures on LM-5. All appeared good to go, however that was said for NASA’s previous flight. Nevertheless, they pushed forwards, and NASA gave the go-ahead for launch. The mission was now scheduled for liftoff less than a month from now, on July 1st, 1969.

The nation sat with baited breath, anticipating delays in the lunar landing. President Humphrey gave a national address in June, pledging that the incident would not slow America’s pace. This nation has committed itself to an utterly challenging task, and we will not back down. Our next attempt will begin in July, and if that mission fails we have more to follow. We will land a man on the moon by the end of the year. Mark my words. And with that, Humphrey had somewhat restored faith in the space agency. He looked at the camera, and reassured the public there was nothing to fear, America had this.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Control, as we await a start to the count, the three men are suiting up prior to their short shuttle to the pad. Controllers here at the cape and at mission control in Houston seem confident that this will be the lunar landing America has been waiting for.

Conrad: If at first you don’t succeed?

Armstrong: Try, try again, Pete.

Bean: We’ve got this. We’re gonna smash it out of the park this time.

Conrad: You got confidence, kid. I like it!

Armstrong: Hurry up you two, let’s get our asses to the moon already.

Conrad: Someone thinks their the captain here, I’ll have you know-

Armstrong: Oh shut it-

The three men laughed, as if the gravity of the situation wasn’t present. Suit-up technicians helped the three men into their spacesuits, and escorted them to the AstroVan.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Control, the three men have gotten out at the pad, and will begin their trip up to the Apollo shortly.

Conrad leaned back, staring up at the monolith before them. His LM Pilot and CSM Pilot fell to the urge as well, and the three men took but a moment to bask in the sheer size of their ride to orbit.

Conrad: Hell of a machine.

Armstrong: For sure.

The three men boarded the elevator. The small cabin began its journey up the launch tower, itself comparable to the height of a small skyscraper.

(LMP Niel Armstrong in front, and CMP Alan Bean behind him, follow Commander Conrad to Intrepid)​

Capcom: Alright Intrepid, how do you copy?

Conrad: We hear you clearly, Flight.

Capcom: Command Module Pilot, how do you copy?

Bean: 10 out of 10, flight.

Capcom: LMP?

Armstrong: Sound great flight, how do you read us?

Capcom: you three sound great, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?

Conrad: Sounds like a plan, flight.

Armstrong: Let’s light this bad boy, and get going!

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Control, The hatch on Intrepid has been sealed, and the pad evacuated. The three men are safely in their command module, and the count is ticking down. This is Apollo Saturn Control at T-Minus 2 hours, 45 minutes.

The hours went by, and the rocket continued to perform nominally. The three stages began fueling up, as the crew performed their final pre-launch checks. All was good to go, as the count silently passed below half an hour of launch

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Control at T-Minus 15 minutes, 15 seconds to the liftoff of Apollo 11.

Capcom: LMP, can we get your voltage readout?|

Bean: Roger standby.

…

Bean: Okay Charlie, 35 Volts.

Capcom: Roger 3-5.

…

Capcom: ROT confirmed, 13 minutes. Com check.

Armstrong: Loud and clear Houston, how are we?

Capcom: We read you the same, Niel.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Control at T-minus 9 minutes. All systems are performing nominally as we approach the final minutes before liftoff. This is Apollo Saturn Control.

…

Capcom: at T-minus 5, we will be go for full swing arm retract. At my mark 5… 4… 3… 2… Mark. Full arm-9 retract.

The arm retracted, and the CSM was now isolated from the world. The rocket had switched to internal guidance, and the final count progressed to the 1 minute mark.

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo Saturn Control at T-Minus 60 seconds-

Capcom: T-minus 60

Conrad: Roger.

…

Capcom: S-I pre-press.

Public Affairs Officer: Twenty seconds and counting.

…

Public Affairs Officer: 15.

Capcom: T-Minus 10-

Public Affairs Officer: 9… 8… 7… 6-

Capcom: Ignition sequence started.

Public Affairs Officer: 3… 2… 1…

…

Public Affairs Officer: Liftoff we have a liftoff! Liftoff of Apollo 11, on her way to the moon!

(AS-506)​

Conrad: Good Morning Florida!

Capcom: You’ve cleared the tower, 11. Godspeed Intrepid!

Armstrong: (Garbled) Roll program.

Capcom: Roger roll, Intrepid.

Like a monstrous titan, only just tamed by the ingenuity of man, the Saturn V shot off the launchpad. The dimly lit dawn skies were lit by the light of a second sun as the monolithic rocket rose atop her first stage. AS-506 was performing flawlessly, and the first stage burned out as intended mere minutes later.

Conrad: Alright we got good separation.

Armstrong: Motors firing
…

Armstrong: Ignition.

Conrad: Throttle up… We got a good second stage, flight.

Capcom: Copy that Intrepid. You’re looking healthy from here.

The S-II delivered the three to a barely-suborbital trajectory, leaving the final push for the Saturn’s third stage. The S-IVB performed its short maneuver, delivering the three men into their parking orbit.

Capcom: 4… 3… 2… … Mark.

Conrad: S-IVB shutoff. We made it.

Capcom: Welcome to orbit, Intrepid… We’re gonna crunch the numbers down here, we’ll have your burn to you as soon as possible.

Conrad: Roger that, we’ll keep the seats warm while you do your thing, Charlie.

Capcom: Copy that, Pete.

The three men waited eagerly for further news from ground control. After a full revolution spent in orbit, the men finally got their maneuver. The numbers were entered into the Saturn’s flight computer and the men finally got their call.

Capcom: Intrepid, you are go for TLI.

Conrad: Roger, press to Translunar Injection!

The J-2 engine flared to life, sending the spacecraft careening on a course to the lunar sphere of influence. The S-IVB performed nominally, and after 350 seconds, the stage flamed out. The men were on their course, and the S-IVB began safing procedures.

Conrad: Alright flight, we’ve separated from the S-IVB.

…

Armstrong: We’ve got eyes on Aquarius, Houston.

Capcom: How’s she look, 11?

Conrad: Smooth as could be, Flight. Are we good to go for extraction?

Capcom: Proceed to docking when ready.

The two spacecraft performed the once-exciting maneuver. The docking mechanism worked, as it had on numerous previous flights, and the spacecraft began separation from the spent stage beneath them. Intrepid and Aquarius were now on their own, drifting on the slow, gentle and now-mundane free return trajectory that NASA had perfected.

Bean: We’ve pulled away from the stage, Houston.

Capcom: Roger sep, 11.

Despite a small corrective maneuver to maintain course, the trip was all but eventful. The crews conducted extensive tests on the lunar module, attempting to find any errors that the guidance computer may give. The extent to which this testing could help was limited, but NASA was determined to make sure the LM touched down safely this time. The three men performed a broadcast, alongside a series of scientific observations as they entered the lunar sphere of influence, showing their view of the ever-growing moon out Intrepid’s window, for all to see.

(Moon on approach to lunar orbit capture. July 3 1969)​

Conrad: Moon’s getting big in the window for sure.

Armstrong: She’s beautiful up close…

Bean: You bet, this sure is something.

The men finished their broadcast, and prepared to dip below the lunar horizon. They understood they were on their own, and that the spacecraft would only have one shot at the capture maneuver. The burn instructions were transmitted, and the crews signed off:

Conrad: We’ll see you on the other side, flight.

Capcom: Godspeed, Intrepid.

And with that, communications dipped to black. The three men were now as isolated as anyone ever had been, having contact with no other souls than those on board. The spacecraft drifted to her Perilune, and ignited her AJ10-137 SPS main engine. The engine flared to life, slowly but surely capturing the CSM into a stable orbit around the drab gray orb below. The engine shut off, and the crews became weightless once again. With a sigh of relief, Armstrong uttered: We made it.

Conrad: Sure did, bud. We’re finally here.

Bean: Gus told me to make sure we see the Earthrise, he said it changed him.

Armstrong: I bet it did. Here’s hoping we can make it to the surface.

The three astronauts began waiting, waiting for the Earth to appear over the horizon, and for their antennae to make a connection with Houston. Eventually the time came, and the astronauts got their first view of home from this distance.

Mission Controller: We anticipate AOS with Intrepid here shortly everyone.

Conrad: This is Commander Conrad, aboard the Intrepid. We’ve made it. We’re here.

Capcom: We’re thrilled to hear it, Intrepid.

At last, the hatch separating the lunar module from the command module was reopened. The LM looked healthy, and preparations were made for separation. The three men still had nearly a full day ahead of them before they would begin descent, but most of this time would be spent preparing the LM for her mission ahead.

Armstrong: Aquarius looks healthy, Flight.

Capcom: We’re glad to hear it, 11. We’re getting good data down here.

Extra precaution was taken to ensure stable communications between mission controllers and Aquarius, something of particular difficulty on previous flights. Eventually, after a short rest on orbit, where the astronauts got what sleep the adrenaline would allow them, the hatch reopened. Armstrong and Conrad boarded the Aquarius. The toque was set, the hatch was closed, and separation between the two spacecraft occurred.

Bean: Separating from Aquarius now, Houston.

Conrad: We’ve got eyes on Intrepid, what a beautiful machine!

(Intrepid as seen from Aquarius. July 4, 1969.)​

Conrad: All systems look good in here, Houston. We’re gonna go ahead and null out the velocity between us.

Capcom: Roger.

The LM gently puffed her reaction control thrusters, nulling out the push that had occurred at separation. The two spacecraft were sitting together in orbit, no more than what felt like an arms distance away.

Bean: You two sure you don’t have room for me in there? Looks like I could just about reach the hatch from here!

Conrad: I’d love to take you Alan, but I think flight’d kill me.

Capcom: That’s affirm, Pete. Don’t try anything stupid.

Conrad: I wasn’t, calm down.

The LM was awaiting further instructions, and on her third revolution around the moon crews were given the go-ahead.

Capcom: you are good to descend to 50,000 feet.

Conrad: Roger, go for DOI. 5-0 thousand.

(Aquarius begins her descent.)​

Aquarius began her descent burn, lowering herself into a faster, steeper orbit than Intrepid. The spacecraft parted ways, and Houston aimed their focus on the descent. Aquarius’ descent would be brief, bringing her down from their orbit of nearly 60 nautical miles (111km) to 50,000 feet above the lunar surface (15.25km). It would be here, at the lowest point in her orbit, that the crew of Aquarius would begin powered descent, and null nearly all their tangential velocity relative to the surface. If all went to plan, Aquarius would touch down within the hour.

Capcom: Aquarius this is Houston, how do you read?

Armstrong: Loud and clear.

Conrad: Mark. One Minute.

…

Conrad: 5-2-0-8. Minus 20… 48,000.

Armstrong: Looking good.

Capcom: Aquarius, Houston. Noun 69 plus 04200. Over.

Conrad: Roger that flight, Noun 69 0-4200.

Armstrong: 2-1-6-9.

Capcom: Roger.

…

Capcom: Aquarius you are go for enter.

Conrad: You got it, babe.

…

Conrad: RCS check-

Armstrong: it looks good, Pete.

…

Armstrong: Three minutes-

Capcom: Aquarius, Houston. You’re lookin’ good at three.

Conrad: Okay, flight. We have a velocity and altitude light out.

Capcom: Roger.

…

Conrad: Alright, I’m showing minus 918, 1000… How do we look Houston?

Capcom: Looks good Pete, we recommend you incorporate it.

Conrad: You bet, let me know when it converges, I'm switching displays.

Capcom: Okay pete.

…

Capcom: Alright Aquarius, you are going 4 and go past 5-

Armstrong: ED BATs are go, flight.

Capcom: Roger that, Niel.

Conrad: Okay, check over all the gauges, do we look alright?

…

Armstrong: Sure do, Pete.

Armstrong: RCS is good, Electrics are good. Partial Pressure on CO2. It’s the usual.

Conrad: (Laughs) we got a winner this time, Houston. We’re looking good. Aquarius has wings!

Capcom: delighted to hear.

Conrad: We’re out at 35,000.

Capcom: Roger.

…

Capcom: Aquarius, Houston. Throttle down at 6 plus 22.

Armstrong: 6 plus 2-2.

…

Armstrong: Alright, throttle’s down, camera is running.

Houston had decided following the failure of Apollo 10 to reach the surface, to target the same landing site. This allowed the two astronauts who flew Apollo 10’s descent, Gus Grissom and James McDivitt, to give their firsthand opinions and advice regarding the Sea of Tranquility. With this knowledge and experience under her wings, Aquarius soared towards the ocean below.

Capcom: Alright Pete seven minutes. 1153 is showing you’re heading about 30 feet per second. Wait- let’s… go for 730 Pete.

Conrad: Roger.

Armstrong: 730.

Conrad: Alright flight, I can just about make out some craters on the horizon, I’m not sure where I am right now, trying to get a grasp of it.

Capcom: Roger.

Armstrong: Alright Pete. We’re descending a little fast, go ahead and pull up just a hair.

Conrad: pulling up.

…

Armstrong: 160 feet per second, we’ll be down in a minute or two.

Capcom: Aquarius, Houston. You’re looking solid at 8.

Conrad: sounds good, passing below 12,000 feet now.

Capcom: Roger.

Conrad: I’m trying to cheat… see if I can spot my spot out the window.

…

…

Conrad: Okay flight, I can see our spot coming up over the horizon.

…

…

Grissom: Charlie, tell em they should be seeing boulders coming up pretty soon.

Capcom: Rodge-

Conrad: Alright, 1500.

Capcom: Gus says the boulders should be right outside your window.

Armstrong: Look out the window Babe.

Conrad: Son of a gun! Right down the middle Houston! We’re coming in right on target!

Capcom: That’s brilliant Pete. Godspeed Aquarius you’re looking good.

(West crater seen from Aquarius during her descent, altitude around 800 feet.)​

Conrad: Alright, we’re flying over west, should be coming up on 10’s LM soon.

Armstrong: 800, still doing good.

Conrad: I got eyes on Eagle, flight.

Capcom: Roger.

Conrad: Wow… she looks to have held up well, barely even crumpled.

Capcom: Focus, Pete.

Conrad: Right-

Armstrong: 400 Pete, you’re at P66.

Conrad: Right.

…

Armstrong: We’re nowhere near empty Pete. 11 Percent. 250, down at 5

…

Armstrong: 80 feet. 80. Coming down at 4. 70 looking solid Pete. 50 feet, watch for the dust.

Conrad: You bet-

Capcom: Low Level-

Armstrong: 42 feet, down at 3.Coming down at 2, gonna start this clock. 42 Feet coming down at 2. We got plenty of gas in her, stay in there Pete.

Capcom: 30 seconds.

Armstrong: 20 feet, you got it babe

…

Armstrong: 15 feet-

Capcom: Roger-

Conrad: PRO

Armstrong: Got it. PRO

Conrad: Engine off.

Conrad: Mode control auto, descent engine command override off. 413 is in-

Capcom: We copy you down, Aquarius.

Conrad: Roger Houston. This is Apollo 11 from the Sea of Tranquility. Aquarius is down.

Capcom: Roger Ele-Eleven… You got a buncha guys in here about to turn blue, they’re breathing again, thanks a million. (Grissom can be heard screaming)

Grissom: Yes!

McDivitt: Wooohoo!

A moment of celebration, with many in tears, gave way to the stone-cold reality of getting the lunar module ready for her stay on the surface. America had bested the greatest challenge faced by mankind to date, and Earth had delivered her two sons to her only satellite. Humanum genus advenit luna.

Kranz: Alright T-1. Stay No-Stay. Retro

…

Retro: Stay!

Kranz: Fido

Fido: Stay.

Kranz: Guidance-

Guidance: Stay!-

Kranz: Control-

Control: Stay!

Kranz: Telcon-

Telcon: Stay.

Kranz: GNC

GNC: Stay.

Kranz: Ecom

Ecom: Stay

Kranz: Surgeon?

Surgeon: Stay.

Kranz: Capcom, we’re stay for T-1.

Capcom: Aquarius, stay for T-1.

Conrad: Roger, stay for T-1. We are venting Ox now.

Apollo 11 had been cleared to stay, at the very least, but a few more minutes on the lunar surface. Over the course of the next hour, Aquarius proved to be in good health. The two men began preparations for mankind's first steps on the surface.

Conrad: Alright flight, we’re both suited up and ready to go, are we good to open the hatch?

Capcom: That’s affirmative Pete, you two are good to go.

The hatch swung open, and Conrad began testing the ladder; Stepping down slowly at first, before ultimately reaching the lunar surface.

Conrad: Alright, the ladder seems to be alright, bit of a hop up though…

…

Conrad: So what now, do we need to call a tow truck to come get the eagle or…

Armstrong: Bet we’d owe a hell of a fine to get em all the way out here.

Capcom: Humanities first words on the surface ladies and gents…

Conrad: Right, we’re on the moon, I forgot.

Conrad and Armstrong could be heard laughing, as Conrad let go of the ladder and began to survey the surface around him.

Conrad: In all seriousness-

A moment of silence fell over mission controllers and crew alike, as Conrad tried to gather his words. Armstrong continued his descent down the ladder, and the commander finally had the words to say-

Conrad: This is a monument to the ingenuity of our species. We come not as Americans, but as members of humanity. We come as fathers, scientists, pilots… We come in peace, for the benefit and discovery of all mankind.

When the crew of Apollo 11 took their first steps on the moon, history was forever altered. With their steps, mankind had arrived at Luna, and entered the realm of the gods. What once seemed unattainable just a few short years prior was now happening, and within months would feel routine. Commander Pete Conrad planted an American flag in the soil, while Armstrong prepared to take the photo.

Conrad: Make sure you get my good side, babe.

Armstrong: Can’t hardly see your teeth, try smiling a bit more.

In this moment, America had won the space race, and the period of one-upmanship began to wane. The astronauts held a phone call between the surface and the office of President Humphrey. Humphrey asked the two men to make sure they brought back some nice photographs, and to make sure they enjoyed their trip. Conrad replied that:This must be the best dang vacation money can buy, sir.

(Pete Conrad posing with the American Flag)​

Almost as soon as Armstrong, Conrad and Bean had returned safely from their stay around the moon, preparations for Apollo 12 had begun. Their flight would send them to surveyor crater, to meet up with Surveyor 3 to disassemble and return small portions of the long dead spacecraft. Their September launch, like the rest of their mission, would go off without a hitch. America had delivered two more men to the lunar surface; and with that the Apollo landings were proven to be a repeatable feat. Surveyor proved healthy at their arrival, with seemingly the only damage coming from the pinpoint landing some hundred feet away.

(Surveyor as seen by the crews of Apollo 12.)​

While the Americans had won first place, the Soviets had not conceded, and the N1 Program was beginning to prove fruitful. By the end of September, on the heels of Apollo 12’s successful return, it happened: The first N1F had successfully reached orbit, and a TLI burn had been successfully executed. The Soyuz L3 Successfully entered lunar orbit, endured a short stay, and returned safely to the Earth. While this was no doubt a major hurdle to be cleared, the Soviets still had not delivered a man to the lunar surface. The Next N1F was expected to be ready in the first quarter of the following year, and by the end of 1970, the Soviets expected to have one of their own on the lunar surface.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 12: And then, there were two.​

(Ukrainian Folk Song, Мiсяць на небi)

As the spring of 1970 waned, a new era of the soviet space program was just beginning. The Soviets had successfully landed their Lunokhod 1 rover in the Sea of Rains that February, and with that, marked their landing site for LK-1. N1-9L lifted off, delivering a small, unmanned craft in pursuit of the small radio beacon on the lunar surface. The rocket performed perfectly, and before long the Block G was on its way to the lunar sphere of influence.

…

Mission Controller 1: We have Contact-

Mission Controller 2: Landing motors firing!
…

Mission Controller 3: Ura!-

Engineers cheered out with delight as the Lunniy Korabl cut her engines, and was pressed into the lunar regolith; The landing had gone brilliantly. Some clapped, others teared up in joy, and many took but a moment to gather their thoughts. Attention was, however, immediately shifted into getting the lander ready to power down, and enter its month-long hibernation state. After nearly 36 hours of verification, final checkouts and post landing procedures, Lunniy Korabl-01, ангел-хранитель, or Guardian Angel was down on the surface and put to rest.

However successful these events had been with context, the events that had unfolded before them terrified American intelligence agencies. To them, they saw the Soviet moon rocket send a craft to lunar orbit, perform a powered descent and then fall silent just hours after presumably reaching the surface. To many at the NRO, this seemed to be a sign that the Soviets had lost a man on the moon. The Americans were simply left wondering what would come of the stricken cosmonauts, and of the soviet space program as a whole. This is why the launch of N1-10L a mere 28 days later came as such a shock.

Following the launch of Apollo 13, all focus shifted to the preparation and rollout of AS-509, Apollo 14. Following yet another successful mission, the rocket was rolled out to the pad. As their May launch window crept closer and closer, the crew became seemingly more and more focused on the mission ahead of them. Mere hours before their scheduled liftoff, and with days of simulation training under their belts, Commander Buzz Aldrin, LMP Michael Collins, and CMP Don Eisele suited up.

Meanwhile in the Soviet Union, N1-10L began fueling up. Her 30 engines eventually roaring to life as the rocket cleared the launch pad. The rocket continued upwards, the core 6 NK-33 engines shutting down as programmed. Eventually all 24 remaining engines puttered out, and the Block B and V continued onwards delivering the L3 lunar stack to orbit.

As the 3 men began their shuttle to the launch pad, the news came in to the office of James Webb: They’ve launched.

Webb: Are we sure? When are they planning on heading to the moon

Agent: We’re sure, and it could be any time now. We really don’t have any idea what their intentions are, but we assumed if their last mission had failed, they’d surely put off a further attempt.

Webb: Well… We’ll have to wait and see. Apollo 14 is going to keep going on schedule, however.

Agent: We think you should continue unaffected, we just also thought you should know, sir.

Webb: Well I appreciate it, thank you. I assume the president knows?

Agent: He does, but we haven’t heard from the Kremlin yet.

Webb: I see… well let me know if anything changes. Until then though I need to get back to my people.

Agent: Of course.

As Apollo 14 reached orbit, further news of the N1’s intentions finally reached the White House. President Humphrey received a call from the Kremlin promising they would not interfere with Apollo 14’s descent, and informing them they were on their way to the lunar surface as well. Humphrey expressed appreciation that they kept him informed, and told Brezhnev to wish the Soviet scientists good luck from his country. Little did the leaders know, this would be far from their last call, and would in time mark the beginning of further space endeavors.

Nevertheless, the two missions had launched mere hours apart, and by sheer coincidence, a true race to the moon had begun. The L3 lunar complex was placed into orbit, and the soviets began final preparations for their next launch. Apollo 14 was cleared for TLI, and Columbia began her trip to the lunar sphere of influence.

The Soviets, however, were still largely uncertain about the safety of the N1F as a crewed launch vehicle, and thus opted to launch crew on the now-proven Soyuz launcher. Pavel Popovich, Alexi Leonov, and Andriyan Nikolayev lifted off in pursuit of their orbiting lunar complex; Soyuz 9 rose into the air, drifting off into the blue skies over Baikainor. Engineers watched as the 4 boosters onboard the Soyuz separated, forming the iconic Korolev Cross.

(Soyuz 9 Booster Separation)​

Mission Controller 1: We have booster separation, all is looking good on our end!

Mission Controller 2: RD-108 performing normally, go Soyuz-9!

The rocket continued her path to orbit, with the upper stage eventually separating, and delivering the crew of 3 to Earth orbit. Their rendezvous would be fast paced, and the Soyuz would have to make a healthy correction burn to slow down at their closest approach on account of this. Nevertheless, the crews prepared for their rendezvous, and when the time came, performed their burn spectacularly.

Popovich: Ura! We have matched velocities with the L3!

Popovich and Leonov began suiting up. Their next task would be to EVA out of the orbital module of their Soyuz 7K-OK, and into the orbital module of their lunar-bound Soyuz LOK. This maneuver was difficult, but the two experienced pilots made quick work of it. Nikolayev held the craft steady as the two men leaped between the slowly drifting spacecraft; Once the two men had tethered themselves to the LOK, the chords connecting them to their launch vehicle were severed, and the men were on their own. Nikolayev waved his goodbye, and the spacecraft began separation maneuvers

Nikolayev: Godspeed Comrades! Bring me home a souvenir from your journey!

Leonev: Will do Andryian! Will do!

As soyuz 9 drifted away slowly, Nikplayev confirmed with engineers that the LOK was looking absolutely stunning- and was in great condition as best I can tell. With this affirmation, the mission controllers began final checks on the lunar bound stack. Tank pressures seemed nominal, and the two men were given the go-ahead.

Mission Controller: L3-3, Go for NK-19 ignition!

The engine roared to life on final time, and before long, the two men felt weightlessness return once more. As the engine flamed out, the LOK, Block D and the LK-02 “маленькая птица” or “Little Bird” separated from the now depleted Block G. Two of the Soviet Unions’ best and brightest were now on their way to the moon, quickly pursuing Apollo 14.

As day 3 of the mission came and went, the Block D performed a lunar orbit capture maneuver, delivering the two cosmonauts into a low-lunar orbit. It was only here where the Soviets announced to the public, both domestically and abroad, that Soviet cosmonauts had arrived in lunar orbit.

The Soyuz-LOK spacecraft separated from the stack beneath it, and the fairings encompassing the LK were jettisoned. The Soyuz began docking procedures with the LK, and just as engineers had hoped, the simple docking mechanism worked without issue. The LOK Extended her docking probe, aiming for the vast honeycomb structure in front of her. Contact was made, and the two spacecraft fastened together securely. The next major hurdle of the LK had been cleared.

(LK Lander Docking Plate)
​

The two craft began tracking Lunokhod 1’s radio beacon. Over the course of multiple orbits, the location of the landing site was refined, and before long mission controllers felt confident that LK-02 was ready for descent. Leonev suited up, and the Soyuz’s hatch opened. The second EVA of the mission had just begun.

While the American Apollo-LM architecture possessed a pressurized tunnel through which astronauts could board the lunar lander and return to the command module, the Soviet design philosophy differed greatly. The LK had been designed for simplicity, not elegance. As such, the docking mechanism was simply a metal grid, allowing any number of the holes to be contacted by the Soyuz’s docking probe, and docking to occur. This mechanism, while primitive on the surface, proved greatly reliable. However, this left the LK lacking a way to allow a cosmonaut to egress into the spacecraft.

The Soviets, however, had enough experience with Extra-Vehicular Activity to deem this a suitable alternative. As such, the LK’s pilot was required to EVA from the Soyuz, to the LK. This was done with the assistance of handrails, and a backup tether. Once the cosmonaut in question had successfully entered the LK, the tether was detached and stowed in the lander, and the hatch was sealed. The two spacecraft would now be safe to undock, and landing procedures good to proceed.

Leonev: I’ll see you on the other side, Corade!

Popovich: Bring back some good samples, okay?

Leonev: You bet.

…

Leonev: RKA, I have undocked from the LOK.

RKA: Roger.

After a short orbital coast period, the LK and Block D had separated nominally from the Soyuz. The descent vehicle was now ready to begin her final mission.

RKA: маленькая птица, go for Block D Ignition.

Block D roared to life, slowing the lander rapidly as Leonev’s landing site approached. The lander reached an altitude of 4,000m (2.5 miles, or ~13,000 ft.) and the Block D was jettisoned. The lander lit her main engine, beginning the final phase of descent.

Leonev: 4000 meters, I’ve cleared the descent stage.

RKA: Roger that Alexei, all engines running nominally on the LK?

Leonev: Sure are, Moscow.

(LK’s RD-858 running at full throttle, and Block D on a collision course with the Lunar Surface.)​

Leonev: Okay passing 1km, throttling down.

…

Leonev: I can see Lunokhod, we’re looking good.

…

Leonev: Kicking up some dust here-

RKA: We’ve lost image on the Lunokhod-

Leonev: Contact-

A loud roar could be heard over Leonev’s microphone

Leonev: NESTING ENGINES FIRING!
…

…

Leonev: Moscow, I’m down- I’ve landed.

Thunderous applause was heard throughout the control room, and across the world the news broke: Soviet Cosmonaut on the moon. Leonev had brought the lander down in good condition, and with enough fuel for a return to the LOK. The American press reported on the events live, as the Soviet’s first landing largely overshadowed Apollo 14’s mission. Apollo 14, the final H class mission would begin her descent just hours later, and NASA put out a public statement that evening:

We would like to publicly congratulate the Soviet Union on their tremendous accomplishment. We believe it to be the most difficult of modern challenges, both technically and politically, to pull off a landing of this manner. We eagerly await further landings of this type, and anticipate future coordination with the Soviets to avoid potential landing-site overlap in the future.

- Office of the NASA Administrator,
James Webb.​

And with that, the Soviets had joined the exclusive club. A tiny list of nations who had reached another world. But their mission was far from over, and as Leonev opened the hatch, he knew this more than anyone.

Leonev: I land here today, with good intention and for the glory of the Soviet people, for the glory of all workers around the world, for all mankind.

​

Leonev continued his EVA, gathering surface samples and deploying simple scientific equipment over the next hour. All the while, less than 700 miles away, the Americans touched down their lander successfully near the Fra Mauro crater. This marked the end for Apollo’s H-class missions, and proceeded more intricate missions to come. The LK Remained on the moon for another 6 hours, eventually separating from its landing legs, and beginning an ascent to orbit. This concluded not only the first time the Soviets landed a man on the moon, but the first time multiple nations had done so concurrently. By sheer coincidence, the mission marked a precedent that would stand for years to come.

The LK rendezvoused with the Soyuz awaiting it in lunar orbit; Once the two craft had securely docked, Leonev began the intricate task that was transferring himself and the surface samples into the command module. The lone cosmonaut finally closed the hatch on the Soyuz, and the LK was discarded in orbit. Before long, the two men were on their way home, returning safely from their legendary journey just days later.

Apollo 14 was marked by success as well, with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins breaking the lunar EVA endurance record set by Apollo 13 earlier that year. The two men returned to their command module much the same as LOK-02 before them, splashing down on may 23, 1970.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 13: By Leaps and Bounds, Part I: Setting the Stage.​

“The NRO guys are like puppy dogs, delighted to show you what they can do—as long as you don’t tell”​

- Author Unknown, 1979.​

(Don McLean, American Pie)

As Apollo matured, so did her components; The LM in particular saw a series of upgrades, turning it from a lander capable of staying mere hours on the lunar surface to one capable of days, then weeks, then months on the surface. These upgrades would vary, and ultimately split the LM into three major variants. The first of these variants was the original, G or H-Class Lunar Module, that which had been used on Apollo’s 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. With Apollo 15, however, the LM would see fuel and engine performance increases, allowing further payload to be brought to and from the surface.

Foremost of these payloads was the LRV, a small battery powered rover for the astronauts to traverse the surface with; This, alongside extra consumables and upgraded suits would allow the astronauts to stay on the surface for up to three days. However, these upgrades would be but a stepping stone towards NASA’s ultimate goal: The L-Class missions. These missions were still a ways away, and while NASA didn’t presently need to uprate the Saturn V’s capabilities, the need to do so soon had been identified. This ultimately led to the Uprated Saturn Launchers Program, an initiative to upgrade multiple components of the Saturn V, and Saturn IB launchers.

The J-2 would be the first engine to see these changes. A program of cost-savings, reliability increases and capability expansions led to a vastly simplified and much more efficient engine, the J-2S. The J-2S, or J-2 Simplified, was to run on the tap-off cycle rather than the original J-2’s gas generator. This, it was hoped, would dramatically reduce part count, and streamline engine production. By 1970, the engine had received thousands of seconds of run time, and was expected to fly by 1972.

The H-1 engine was also expected to reap the rewards of costs-savings and upratings. An engine development program had begun with the aim of extending the engines runtime, as well as thrust and chamber pressure. At the start of the program, 250,000 pound-force was identified to be the nominal thrust level, with the goal of up to 240 seconds of run time being proven. This was to be an extensive upgrade from the 205,000 pounds of thrust achieved on Apollo 4, but the engine development would coincide with NASA’s final uprating of the program.

With a thrust increase of 15% over that of the current engine, the addition of throttling and ISP increases, the F-1A was to be a behemoth of an engine. The engine was to see extensive manufacturing simplifications, and reliability increases. The aim with the F-1A was largely at post-Apollo vehicle designs, where a 15-45% thrust increase at launch could be accounted for properly. In the meantime, engine development would march on slowly, with first test-fires being expected in 1975 or 1976.

These engine upgrades were but part of a larger whole. The S-IB and S-IVB were to see extensive upgrades over the coming years, extending propellant capabilities, increasing engine count and even allowing for longer-duration use. NASA hoped these upgrades, alongside the cost savings and capability enhancements they would bring, would allow both the Saturn V and Saturn IB to take a much more active role in the late-Apollo program.

Apollo was rapidly maturing, and as a result so were her missions, The J-Class missions were set to be the first with a dedicated scientist-pilot on board and as a result, the missions were anticipated to yield much more dramatic results. These pilots would, however, have to wait for the latter half of the J-Class flights, as Apollo’s 15 and 16 were primarily focused on testing and analyzing the performance of the J-Class upgrades. And it was with these goals that Apollo 15 was rolled out to the pad, awaiting her final call for launch.

Prior to liftoff, political discussions began to take flight. Heads of NASA and the Soviet Space Program met alongside their diplomats to begin discussion of further cooperation and risk aversion. In the autumn of ‘70, it was agreed that NASA and the Soviet Space Agency would communicate their intended launch dates, landing sites and additional information; This was in an attempt to avoid Stepping on each other's feet as Jacob Beam, the US Diplomat to the Kremlin would put it. However, before long these discussions began evolving. The discussion was rapidly shifting away from the risk aversion the two nations originally intended, and towards joint operations in space. With the Soviets planning future lunar missions, as well as continued operations in Earth Orbit, NASA saw an opportunity to prove to the nation that they were more than a weapon of the cold war, but that they could be a tool of peace.

It was with this mindset that The Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes, Often known as the Apollo-Soyuz Treaty was drafted; The treaty, covering three distinct missions, would start with a multinational docking in orbit of the Earth, Apollo Soyuz Test Project-I (ASTP-1). This flight would see a jointly developed docking adapter be placed into orbit alongside the Apollo in 1974, with a Soyuz joining the crew shortly after for a multi-day docked flight before parting ways. The next mission, ASTP-II, was to be a joint lunar-operation conducted in 1976 or 1977, in which multiple crafts from the two nations would descend upon a commonly decided upon site, chosen by 1974. The third and final mission outlined in the treaty consisted of a multi-month mission to Skylab or her successor, aimed at demonstrating the potential for cooperative stationkeeping exercises in the nations’ future. It was under this emblem of peace, that Humphrey addressed the senate on the 12th of September, 1970, mere hours before the scheduled liftoff of Apollo 15.

(Humphrey addresses a Congressional Hearing, emphasizing the importance of cooperating with the Soviets in manned and unmanned spaceflight)​

President Humphrey addressed the houses of congress, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in this new ear of manned space exploration; He also expressed his intentions to set a budget floor for the space agency, stating his belief that until the Shuttle and Space Transportation System had been developed, the agency needed to maintain at minimum a funding level at 1.5% of the national budget, and no less than 1% thereafter. This decision was bold, and to many seemed uncalled for; However, with the presidency controlled by the Democrats, and both houses of congress under their control, the motion seemed doable.

It was on the back of these promises, and the continued development of uprated Saturn vehicles, the voyager and surveyor probes, and all the gifts Apollo had wrought the nation that Apollo 15 lifted off from LC-39B. With final negotiations still underway, and with an all-too-familiar roar, Apollo 15 lifted off for the heavens. All 5 main engines screamed to life, delivering the over 7 million pounds of thrust necessary to throw the monolithic rocket off the launch pad. Eugene Cernan, Kennith Mattingly, and Stuart Roosa were now on their way, and reporting nominal performance from the first and second stages. As the rocket finally made orbit, all systems were performing nominally, and the three men were given the go ahead: Odyssey, go for TLI.

Cernan: Roger, Go for TLI.

(Liftoff of Apollo 15, September 9th, 1970.)​

After a short and by all accounts uneventful coast, Apollo 15 arrived at the lunar sphere of influence. Delivering the crew of Odyssey and the promise of a true scientific endeavor to the moon. The crew peered out their window in awe, awaiting loss of signal and preparing for the maneuver ahead of them.

Cernan: Here she is!

Roosa: We can see the lunar surface real well out the window, flight.

Capcom: We’re thrilled to hear it you three, make sure you’re ready for LOI

Cernan: Roger. Don, Harrison, one of you grab a shot out that window, it looks beautiful!

(A crescent Earth in the Lunar Shadow, Apollo 15, 1970.)​

Cernan: Alright Houston, we’ll see you lovely folks on the other side!

Capcom: Roger that Odyssey.

Odyssey lit her main engine, and began the now-mundane process of lunar orbit insertion. The spacecraft slowed her velocity by nearly 2,600 feet per second (~800m/s) , capturing securely into lunar orbit. The spacecraft reappeared on tracking and data relays minutes later, showing that the maneuver had gone properly as it had over half a dozen times prior.

Cernan: This is Odyssey, how do you copy?

Capcom: 10/10 15. We hear you perfectly!

Cernan: Beautiful.

Before long, Gene Cernan and Stuart Roosa donned their A9L suits and boarded Endeavour. The spacecraft undocked, and as many had before them, they began their descent. Today’s destination was the eastern Mare Serenitatis: the Sea of Serenity. As the crew descended towards the surface they noticed subtle landmarks along the way, notifying them that they were well within their landing corridor.

Roosa: 50 up, down at 3, holding her steady Gene.

Cernan: Roger- Ok Houston we’re lookin’ good

Capcom: Read you loud and clear 15. Keep her steady!

Cernan: You bet-

Roosa: 30, down at 2.

Cernan 2 feet per second

…

Roosa: Down at 1… 0.5… contact!

Cernan: Engine cut-

Roosa: Disengage-

Cernan: Houston, serenity here. Endeavour is down!

Capcom: Roger you down Endeavour. Welcome to the moon!

Roosa: This sure is something-

…

…

Roosa: It's just incredible. I’m at a loss for words.

After initial stay/no-stay polls came back green, the men began preparations for EVA. Their helmets were fastened, and they began their descent. Once both men had descended the ladder to the lunar plains below them, their next task began. Unpack the LRV. The LRV, or Lunar Roving Vehicle, was a compact electric rover that could be used to extend the astronauts effective traversable distance from 2 miles to well over 15. Needless to say, the LRV was in part, the backbone of the J-Class missions, and as such its unfolding was a mission critical endeavor.

(LRV Deployment)​

Cernan: Okay flight, the rover is coming along well

Capcom: Roger you loud and clear, LRV deployment is going good.

Before long, and with little added effort, the men managed to free the LRV from the Lunar Modules bay. As the rover unfolded, her wheels flipped into an active position, and the rover was slowly but surely descending towards the surface. The seats flipped open, and the astronauts had secured their ride for the evening. Humanities most distant of joyrides was about to begin.

Roosa: Convertible is ready babe!

Cernan: She sure is, Tell Boeing they did a good job on this one!

Capcom: Roger, will do Gene-

The two men boarded the rover, and her wheels began to turn. Before long the two men were gliding across the surface at a blisteringly fast 8mph (13km/h).

Roosa: Yippee!

Cernan: Let’s see what this bad boy can do!

For the next few hours, the men roved around the lunar surface, gathering numerous distant samples before ultimately returning to the lunar module. Their surface samples marked the broadest and most varied collection of regolith brought back by a single mission to date, and their documentation of the lunar surface proved fruitful. The two men went to sleep that night knowing full well that they had done groundbreaking science, and were having the time of their lives doing it.

On the second day of the mission, Roosa and Cernan sought out to deploy a series of scientific payloads. These ranged from measurement and data collection equipment to small explosive devices designed to deliver data on the Moon’s interior makeup. Day two of the mission proved fruitful, and the mission was wrapped up with an additional day of travel across the lunar surface. The two men set out on their journey yet again to rove across the lunar surface in search of surface samples.

…

Cernan: Picking up some speed here, outta slow down-

Roosa: ugh-

Cernan: One of the wheels caught something flight, looks like our fender is a bit busted.

Capcom: Roger that Gene, let’s go ahead and see if we can get it buffed out.

The damage had been somewhat severe, with the fender extension falling off entirely as they scraped against a rock. An attempt was made to fix the fender with duct tape, however due to the severe abrasion of the lunar regolith this proved an unobtainable solution. Ultimately it was suggested by Stuart Roosa- Why don’t we use the map? And before long, the men had taped the map in place of their fender extension; While the fix had been messy, and looked somewhat uninspiring, the tape held, and the men continued their drive. Roosa and Cernan eventually disembarked their rover, slowly striding towards a boulder in the distance.

Cernan: Bit of a hard time jumping around in these things

…

Roosa: Bet I can beat ya there!

Cernan: You’re on, old man!

After a short footrace across the regolith dusted plains, the astronauts continued their journey across the surface ahead of them, eventually returning to the LM a few hours later. Before long, their 3 day stint on the lunar surface was over, and the time had come to begin their ascent back to Odyssey. The Computer was set, and the launch commenced-

Cernan: We’re up and away, Houston.

Roosa: So long, friend- take care of 16 for us!

(Cernan Salutes shortly before liftoff)​

Apollo’s 16, 17 and 18 would largely repeat the success of 15 before them; The missions flying to a number of sites determined by the agency in the months leading up to their arrival. While the Surveyor, Ranger, and Lunar Orbiter programs had provided NASA with ample data in the lead-up to Apollo, the time seemed evident for a more extensive study of the lunar topography. It was with this goal that an old favor, offered to NASA in the decade prior was finally dusted off and redeemed: Project Upward.

Project Upward was a mission proposed in the early 1960’s long before Apollo had first taken flight. The mission was to see the delivery of a KH-7 reconnaissance satellite alongside the Apollo to lunar orbit. This, the NRO had promised, would allow NASA to achieve the highest degree of fidelity when documenting the lunar surface. This mission however was turned down in 1966, when NASA deemed they had received enough imagery for the time being from the first two lunar orbiters.

The agency had, however, changed its mind about this decision and in 1970 a request to use a newer KH-8 was sent to the NRO. While the USAF, CIA and NRO were primarily focused on Soviet Activities, the mission was seen as a potential demonstration of cutting-edge imagery technology. With nearly no hesitation, the request was approved, and NASA was sent a delivery by the NRO that winter. This was, of course, under one main condition: The images were not to be made public under any circumstance.

After agreeing to this, NASA moved forward developing the A19SP or the Apollo-19 Scientific Package. The instrument unit would be based around that worked on by the NRO in their 1962 proposal, with a few exceptions. Namely, the module would include a small number of scientific instruments alongside the primary imaging system. These instruments would vary in use case, ranging from spectrometry lenses for the primary optics, to altimeters and accelerometers. These instruments used in tandem with the platform in a near-polar inclination would allow the spacecraft to map the gravitational field, surface features and even chemical makeup of the lunar surface. This would give NASA the plethora of data and factors necessary to move forward with longer term exploration of the lunar surface.

(Early design of the A19SP)​

As Apollos 16, 17 and 18 landed on the moon successfully, Apollo 19’s survey approached ever closer. The mission, dubbed I-Prime, was truly one of a kind, and would prove something of a logistical challenge. The 28 day mission would well-exceed Apollo’s previous staying capabilities, and as such the spacecraft would need extra supplies to be included, and only a skeleton crew would be flown. The crew of two would lessen the load on the Apollo spacecraft just enough that the nearly month-long freeflight proved feasible. By the close of 1971 the plan had been sealed, and in January, the two-man crew were scheduled for liftoff.

(Apollo 19 rolls out to the Launchpad)​

The rocket raised off the pad, as it had for countless flights before. However today’s mission had a unique combination of changes allowing the rocket to greatly overperform. In tandem with a lighter payload, the second and third stages of AS-514 were utilizing the newly flight certified J-2S engine. The engine had racked up tens of thousands of seconds of run-time on test stands and by 1970, NASA had certified AS-514 to be modified to utilize the engine. This would ultimately raise the gargantuan rocket's TLI-capabilities from 45 tons, to just over 50.

The crew had made it to orbit, and TLI shortly followed. After the S-IVB had depleted its usefulness, and the stage had been safed, the petals of the adapter opened up, and the Apollo separated from the spent stage beneath it. Resolution, you are go for docking-

McDivitt: Roger that, Houston.

…

…

Irwin: Okay flight, we’re docking with the package.

Capcom: Roger that James, glad to hear-

McDivitt: But I didn’t say anything-

Irwin: (Laughing) Shut it.

McDivitt: Extraction and separation complete. We’re on our way!

The two men arrived at the moon just under 3 days later; They inserted themselves into lunar orbit successfully, and began their month-long endeavor. The camera was started, and would run almost uninterrupted for the next 670 or so hours. During this time, the astronauts would perform numerous EVA’s to gather science, maintain the platform and perform inspections on the spacecraft’s health.

Apollo would hold up, proving not only that the spacecraft was fit for the task, but that it was ready for the tasks ahead of it. NASA’s upcoming project, Skylab, alongside the variety of longer duration missions the agency had planned would require Apollo to stay the 4 weeks in orbit at least, with some missions set to require many times this duration. Nevertheless, NASA proved as optimistic as they did correct. The spacecraft easily outperformed its initial designed lifespan and allowed the collection of a momentous amount of scientific data. The astronauts performed numerous manual collections alongside the near-automated main optics payload.

The astronauts would gather spectrometry scans of many regions around the moon; Particular emphasis was given to those sites not visited by previous missions, namely the highlands, poles and the far side of the moon. While NASA was not considering landings on the far side of the moon, the former two seemed promising. Landings in both the highest and lowest parts of the lunar surface proved an intriguing proposition. This proposition only became more so once data collection showed something quite… extraordinary.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 14: Playing in the Snow.​

(Dimitri Dourakine - Toi Toi Toi)

Scientist 1: Are we sure it’s ice?

Scientist 2: I mean look at it, what else could that be? The peaks line up perfectly-

In the months following Apollo 19’s survey of the lunar surface, an astounding discovery was announced, and shared with scientists across the globe. While optical imagery could not be provided, data collected by the spectrometer could be. This data was distributed to labs across the world for verification, and the soviet space agency decided to alter course because of it.

Luna 20 had been scheduled to lift off that May. The spacecraft, alongside two identical probes, had been designed to perform a core drilling and sample return. This mission architecture, however, had been abandoned with the successful touchdown of LK-02. Instead of sample returns, the probes had begun modification in the closing months of 1970 to perform in-depth surface analysis of core samples. Armed with this task, and a newfound sense of purpose, engineers set out to land the probe in a site far more interesting than they could have ever asked for: Shackleton Crater.

(L1F-M Rocket Diagram)​

The probe lifted off that May atop the L1F-M rocket. The L1 had since been upgraded to the spec of the N1F that had delivered men to the moon in the years prior, and had received one major upgrade; Block V and G had been replaced by a single unified Block-M stage powered by the RD-57, the USSR’s first flight-ready hydrolox engine. The engine also proved to be the first staged combustion hydrogen engine anywhere on earth, providing the Soviets with a level of efficiency that was presently unmatched. These upgrades would ultimately raise the L1s payload dramatically, allowing the heavy-lift rocket to send even greater payloads to the moon and beyond.

RKA controller 1: We have contact!

RKA Controller 2: Наш маленький снеговик приземлился!!

Luna-20 had successfully touched down on the Shackleton crater wall. Within hours, the probe would begin drilling into the lunar surface and gathering a soil sample to begin analyzing. The drill penetrated the surface, and with some difficulty received a small sample to process. The small sample of soil was loaded into a small heater for spectrometry to be performed. Once the heater had been turned on, a gas was observed separating from the dirt, analysis would show that other than a small quantity of frozen CO2 this was almost entirely water.

(Luna 20)​

Within months of NASA’s announcement, the soviet scientists had proven verbatim that water was present in large quantities on the lunar surface. The news rocked the scientific world to its core. Once thought of as a desolate rock with nothing more interesting than geology to offer humanity; The moon was proving perhaps a viable location for a long term human presence, in Earth’s own backyard. This mission would ultimately reshape plans for Apollo, and the RLK program.

RLK (развиваться Лунный корабль) was the USSR’s true response to Apollo; The lander was not only capable of landing on the lunar surface, but staying there for months at a time. These capabilities would prove the merit of the N1’s, Block V-III, and the Soviet space program as a whole by pushing them to their limits. This lander however, was to be a fully clean-slate design, and as such was not expected to enter service until 1975 or 1976. Until then, Soviet authorities approved an additional 5 landings, 1 in 1972, 2 in 1973, and one a year until 1975.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 15: By Leaps and Bounds, Part II: Staying a Little Longer.​

(Elton John, Crocodile Rock)

“The Space Shuttle program was to define an era, delivering the promise of routine orbital access on a scale never before seen. The Shuttle Orbiter and STS would perform in tandem to allow on-orbit construction, continued and expanded planetary exploration and the delivery of countless humans into Earth-Orbit.”
- Author Unknown, 1972​

With the discovery and eventual analysis of frozen water on the lunar surface, Apollo’s objectives and landing sites were subject to change. Apollo 20, however, would prove an exception. Originally scheduled for Apollo 18, Armstrong and Schmitt were transferred to Apollo 20, demonstrating the intermediate capabilities of the Lunar Module in a site chosen months prior: the Vallis Schröteri. The valley, believed to be a collapsed magma tube created in the result of long-dorman lunar volcanism, was chosen as it would provide scientists on the ground with ancient regolith samples, as well as a large variety of terrain feature analysis.

Apollo 20 was to be the first of as many as four K-Class lunar missions; While later missions aimed to stay on the surface for a month or more, the K-Class flights would demonstrate just a few of the many components necessary to pull this mission off. Foremost of these was the new L-Class Lunar Module; The L-Class upgrades, called earlier in their development the “LM-Taxi” were relatively extensive. The LMDE would receive a small bump in chamber pressure and thus increases in specific impulse and thrust, with fuel load increasing to match. The LM would also gain the capabilities to ferry 3 astronauts through the L-Class Ascent Module. Most importantly however, the Lunar Module would transition from battery power to fuel cells using hydrogen and oxygen stored in both stages, this allowing much longer duration stays and operation in a low-power mode. These changes would, of course, return some of the pesky mass that was removed during early development of the LM; This, however, was offset by the increase in TLI-payload allotted by the J-2S.

The L-Class Descent Module would also gain the ability to fly autonomously. This would, in eventuality, allow the delivery of unmanned supply landings by an S-IVC and LM, alongside semi-permanent base elements. These components, however, were not ready for flight, with only the L-Class Ascent and Descent module being ready by 1972. This, however, was anticipated. The K-class missions aimed to demonstrate L-Class LM hardware by landing a crew of two on the lunar surface for up to 7 days, allowing expanded exploration capabilities over the previous J-Class flights. Additionally, if schedules permitted, the latter K-Class missions were to demonstrate the upgraded S-IVC alongside its capabilities to deliver payloads to lunar orbit directly.

All the while, STS and Space Shuttle development was speeding up as planned. While many proposals had been put forward, ultimately it was Boeing’s proposal that won NASA over. Derived directly from the Saturn V, and promising more than 3 flights a month, the system won over NASA with more than just its cost. The design promised rapid reuse based on engine testing, demonstrating reuse of the J-2S and F-1 engines with little more than cleaning between firings.

The first stage of the Space Transportation System was to be derived closely from the S-IC, with some major changes. While initial design considerations toyed with the idea of a separable wing that would be mounted directly to a lightly modified S-IC, this was eventually decided to be needlessly complex. A staple feature of this design, however, was a split tail fin allowing improved stability at high angles of attack. Ultimately, this feature would be passed on to the fixed-wing alternative, leading to a small run of modified S-ICs.

These S-ICs, Dubbed the Reusable S-IC or RS-IC, were to employ the use of a metallic heatshield. This shielding, not dissimilar to that used on the X-15 by nasa years prior, promised to be lightweight, require minimal inspection and allow near-zero turnaround times. The RS-IC would have a single, monolithic delta wing protruding from its base, with split tail fins either side. This, alongside some simple reaction controls would allow the stage to easily descend from the hellish mach 7 plasma that was to engulf the stage as it fell through the atmosphere. The stage would utilize jet engines to maintain the crossrange capabilities necessary to return to the launch site; These engine’s configuration, however, was something of an internal debate.

(Initial wing-seated S-IC design)

(Initial Fixed-Wing design)​

While most argued for jet engines mounted on the underside of the RS-IC’s wings, still others argued for engines to be mounted inside the wing, or even the nose; This, they argued, would allow the engines to be shielded more thoroughly than the alternatives. As contracts were assigned in 1972, the debate still raged, and it was one of the last major points of discussion. Alloys were chosen later that year, and an initial test flight was expected for 1977 or 1978.

(Boeing internal-diagram demonstrating nose-mounted engines)​

The Space Transportation System was to utilize a semi-expendable upper stage, produced by North American Rockwell, derived from the S-II. This stage would consist of two primary components, the External Tank (ET) and the Engine Recovery Device (ERD). The STS External tank was to be a split-bulkhead design derived from the S-II stage, scaled up to the J-2S’ capabilities. This, it was hoped, would allow the stage to not only be more capable, but significantly cheaper. The validity of such claims, however, was in question to many of those at NASA. The tank would crossfeed propellants into the ERD, something that had not been demonstrated as of yet. If successful, many wondered, would it be cheap?

The ERD was to be the major cost-saving component of the second stage however, allowing nearly all essential components to be recovered. The Engine Recovery Device was a large, conical module capable of recovering the 5 J-2S engines alongside the stage’s avionics and flight computers. This would mean that all the STS expended in a single launch was the fuel tank, a component designed for mass production from the get go. The stage, collectively referred to as the S-IIB by designers, demonstrated the promise of the STS; Increased flight rate, increased redundancy, and routine access to space, all at a low cost.

(Early Concept art of the ERD in Low-Earth Orbit)​

The stage was quite early in development, but was assigned alongside the contract to build the RS-IC, and the Shuttle in 1972. The final piece of the puzzle, the Shuttle, was the largest mystery though. A contract had been awarded to the Boeing and Martin Marietta companies to develop a large, lifting body orbiter. The orbiters were to regularly shuttle 8 crew to orbit alongside more than 20 tons of payload, as many as 24 times a year. These orbiters would ultimately become the backbone of the systems capabilities, acting as a universal utility craft capable of launching, retrieving and servicing a number of craft in orbit. The program had big goals, and the hope was that deriving many components from Apollo-era hardware would allow development to go relatively smoothly.

Nevertheless, Apollo continued his march onwards, and Apollo 20 lifted off that fall. The mission, a week long endeavour to the lunar surface, was the start of Phase-II for the program. This mission would, like Apollo 11 before it, be the proving ground for nearly all missions to come. The launcher lifted off without a hitch, and as the S-IC flamed out, the 5 J-2S’ on the second stage flared to life. The rocket had made it to orbit, and before long the S-IVB performed her TLI once again.

Armstrong: I got eyes on the Constitution-

Capcom: Roger that America, go for docking.

…

Schmitt: We’re docked.

Capcom: Roger that, Joe!

Apollo 20 extracted their lunar module, clearing it from the S-IVB and performing separation maneuvers. The crew continued onwards to the moon as had become routine over the past 4 years; Their 3 day trip was largely uneventful, with minor experiments and tests being run on the LM. At Perilune, the America CSM braked into lunar orbit, slowing her velocity down enough to release the LM. The S-IVB that had delivered them to TLI flew past the moon shortly on their heels, reporting nominal tank pressure as the stage exited the Earth’s sphere of influence shortly thereafter.

After some minor checkouts in lunar orbit, the lander was cleared for descent. Armstrong and Kerwin boarded the LM, leaving Eisele to pilot the CSM by himself. The two spacecraft separated with the signature thud and hiss of the tunnel venting. The LM fired her thrusters separating comfortably from the command module.

Armstrong: Alright, we’re separated, keep her warm for us Joe!

Kerwin: Of course boys!

The LM began her descent shortly thereafter; While the lander's mass had increased by over a ton, the engine’s thrust had increased similarly, allowing the lander to maintain a relatively consistent descent profile. As the lander came in closer to the surface the call was made-

Schmitt: Contact!

Armstrong: Engine off-

…

Armstrong: Houston, Constitution is down. Right on the mark!

Schmitt: This cobra’s got fangs, we can see a couple sharp looking boulders from where we’re at. Dodged a bullet there didn’t we Niel.

Armstrong: Sure did.

Capcom: Welcome to the Vallis Schröteri, 20.

Shortly after their landing, the crew began preparing for their rest period. After checking out the LM, and inflating their mattresses, the two men went to sleep; The crew awaited the grand adventure of a lifetime that was to face them in the days to come. After a restful night's sleep, the theme from 2001 a space odyssey rang over the Lunar Modules speakers, waking the crew from their rest. Spacecraft Communicator Karl Henize’s voice came over the intercom shortly after:

Capcom: Gooooooood morning Apollo 20!

Armstrong: I’m up, I’m up.

Schmitt: Sheesh… quite the entrance, Houston.

The men began deflating their mattresses shortly after, the mattresses stowing into the floorboards beneath them.

Capcom: How’d you sleep, boys?

Armstrong: Hell of a lot better than I did on 11, that’s for sure.

Early Apollo astronauts had complained about a lack of restful sleep; While this was largely a constraint of the LM’s small cabin, and was mitigated temporarily with the inclusion of hammocks, engineers decided to tackle the issue head on in the L-Series landers. The landers would include folding inflatable mattresses that could stow into the floorboards underneath a small hatch in the main standing-room and the main hallway; This allowing the astronauts to receive more restful sleep alongside the use of radiation-shielded facemasks.

Outside of the Earth’s protective magnetic field, NASA found that cosmic-rays, high energy particles emitted by distant suns, could impact and react with the optic nerve. This caused the astronauts to see flashes, clouds or small visual hallucinations. This, understandably made it difficult to sleep, facilitating the need for the face masks.

Capcom: Alright you two, you can begin EVA-1. We’re gonna go ahead and get that new LRV out for a spin!

Armstrong: Roger, depressurizing.

The LM hissed, and the hatch opened. As the crew descended down the ladder, they caught their first up-close glimpse of the lander. Constitution was dressed in a silver cladding, accenting her enlarged fuel tanks. As the men descended the ladder, their focus shifted rapidly to the LM’s rear bay.

(LM-13, Constitution, in the Vallis Schröteri, marking the first use of NASA’s new worm logo.)​

The LRV, or Lunar Roving Vehicle, had received a series of minor upgrades preparing it for the K and L-Class flights ahead. The rover received rechargeable battery-packs, which would charge off the LM’s fuel cells. Additionally, the rover received far heavier batteries, over doubling its range; This impared the top speed of the rover slightly, but as was shown by Ronald Evans on Apollo 18, this wouldn’t be an issue. Evans had demonstrated, by accident or on purpose, the top speed of the LRV to be in excess of 13mph, or 21 kph. Boeing and GM disapproved of this, however, and the upgrades were actually anticipated to make the LRV harder to over-speed.

The mission’s plan was predominately the same as the J-Class missions before it; Explore the lunar surface, gather a few interesting looking rocks, and get your ass back home. This had become something of a routine over the past years, but the K-Class missions aimed to crank this formula to 11. With missions stretching as long as a week, this allowed far greater exploration. Setting out from their landing site in the center of the Valley, the crew headed north to the valley’s edge.

(Map of Apollo 20’s landing site. LEM shown in Blue, EVA-1 in red, EVA-2 in Teal, and EVA-3 in Green)​

By day 3, however, mission controllers had gained enough confidence with the new LRV to push it to its limits. The crew set off that morning on a nearly 7 and a half hour, 100km drive through towards the Cobra’s Head. EVA-2 began and the crew headed to the North-West, slowly trekking through the lunar terrain and stopping periodically

Armstrong: Hell of a drive, eh?

Schmitt: No kidding, this thing can move pretty well.

Capcom: How are you coming along, boys?

Armstrong: The convertible’s zipping across the surface babe, not a worry in the world!

Schmitt: Wooohoo!

Capcom: Drive safe, you two. Last thing we need is to have to call a tow truck.

Armstrong: Roger that, no drifting.

Schmitt: What a bummer.

When the crew arrived at the mouth of the crater, Schmitt was overjoyed. This crater, believed to be an ancient volcano, was one of the most scientifically interesting sites visited thus far. Before long, a small cave was spotted and Schmitt began his stroll to the site of interest, Armstrong in tow.

Schmitt: Yippee

Armstrong: Slow down buddy-

Schmitt: I was strolling on the moon one day…

Scmitt: In the very mary month of-

Armstrong: September!

Schmitt: No, May!

After a jonty stroll across the collapsed lava tube, the crews arrived at the mouth of the small cave, and collected a few samples. In these samples, many volatile compounds would be found, having been shielded from the worst of the Sun’s rays; Among these were traces of ammonium, carbon dioxide, and of course, water. The crew returned to the LRV, looped around the rim of the crater, and began their journey home for the evening.

As the crew returned that afternoon, the LRV was loaded to the brim with surface samples. The mission’s capabilities were somewhat limited by the LM’s lack of a pressurized lab, but NASA hoped to have this sorted out in the coming years. Nevertheless, the crew remained on the surface for four more days, and conducted another long-distance EVA. All the while, NASA was gathering more and more data about how the lunar gravity affected astronauts, conducting a comparative study between Kerwin’s week in microgravity and that of Armstrong and Schmitt. Their mission over doubled Apollo 18’s previous endurance record, clocking in just over 7 days on the lunar surface. Before long though, the crew had to return to the CSM, and their lander began ascent.

Capcom: Okay, we have them in frame-

Armstrong: 3… 2… 1…

Schmitt: Ignition-

Armstrong: Liftoff!

Capcom: Roger liftoff, Constitution!

(Liftoff of the first L-Class LM from the lunar surface)​

After a rapid ascent, the crews finally rendezvoused with the CSM, returning after their week-long mission.

Kerwin: They’re back, flight. And they brought a hell of a lot of rocks.

Schmitt: We sure did!

Kerwin: I told you to bring me back a souvenir, not some measly dirt!

Armstrong: Sorry boss, just followin’ orders.

Capcom: Joe may not appreciate it, but we sure will. Good work out there you two, let’s get you all back home.

The LM and CSM separated one final time, separating the two spacecraft permanently and starting the series of maneuvers necessary to return the three men safely to the Earth. Days later, the capsule separated from the service module, leaving it behind to burn in the hellfire of reentry. The heat shield protected the men and their precious cargo, and the spacecraft splashed down, just shy of 16 days after liftoff.

As Apollo 20 landed, preparations were underway for Apollo 21 and the mission that followed it: Skylab. Skylab 1 and 2 were being prepared in NASA’s vehicle assembly building alongside the far-off Apollo 22. Marking the first, but not final time that four missions were being prepared simultaneously in the complex. Skylab was to be the world’s first space station, following on the failed launch of Salyut 1 in december of 1972. Scheduled to lift off in May of 1973, the station was an incredibly ambitious undertaking.

Skylab, in development since the late 60’s, was to be a station derived from the S-IVB stage. The station was to house a number of scientific payloads, including the Apollo Telescope Mount. The ATM aimed to allow solar observation, and recording. Additionally, the station would demonstrate the costs-savings of the so-called dry-workshop method of hollowing out a fuel tank to turn into a habitation module. The station was to be the first in a series of laboratories, the next of which had gotten approval alongside the ASTP-II mission earlier that summer. As April showers faded across the floridian coast and gave way to the beating sun of summer, Skylab lifted off atop her launcher.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 16: By Leaps and Bounds, Part III: A Launch, an Accident, a Solution.​

(Sweet, Ballroom Blitz)

(Liftoff of Skylab-1)​

Public Affairs Officer: All engines running, the skylab has lifted off and is moving up. Skylab has cleared the tower!

Mission Controller 1: Roll program.

Mission Controller 2: Roger Roll.

…

Mission Controller 1: Mark. 1 minute 20 seconds, 7 nautical miles in altitude, velocity 25-hundred feet per second.

…

Mission Controller 2: First stage shutdown-

Public Affairs Officer: We have first stage cutoff!

Mission Controller 1: Second stage separation and ignition. Full throttle on all 5 stage two engines.

Public Affairs Officer: Skylab’s second stage engine have ignited and are running at full rated performance.

The stage continued traveling upwards, continuing her journey to the heavens. As the launcher’s second stage cut her second 5 J-2S engines, throttling them to zero, the station was placed into orbit. It was here that the first signs of alarm reached mission controllers. Many components of the station were not immediately reading as they should, certainly not a sign of failure, but far from a good sign nevertheless.

Mission Controller 2: Uhh do be advised we are not reading deployment of the port side panel…

Mission Controller 1: Roger.

…

Mission Controller 1: What does this tell us, fight?

Mission Controller 2: Uncertain. It could be a failure to deploy, or just a failure of the sensor.

Mission Controller 1: Understood. Keep an eye on power levels and get back to me in the next orbit-

Mission Controller 2: You bet.

…

…

Mission Controller 3: Um, flight?

Mission Controller 1: Yes?

Mission Controller 3: We’re getting temperature readings that are not stabilizing.

Mission Controller 1: When were we anticipating them to flatten out?

Mission Controller 3: During the previous orbit.

Mission Controller 1: Roger, understood.

Mission Controller 2: Those power levels aren’t reading properly either.

…

…

Mission Controller 2: We’re getting a bit under 40% of what we should be reading on the batteries-

Mission Controller 1: Okay, roger…

Something clearly had occurred, but what was still unclear. It could be assumed that the station had suffered at least minor damages during ascent, however the extent and location of this damage was somewhat unclear. Were the docking ports in-tact? What was the situation on the telescope? Had it even deployed? Was the station even salvageable, or would the batteries be depleted before a repair mission could even be attempted? NASA had few answers, but they did have an answer for this final question. Failure was not an option, and before long a rescue mission was in the works. Skylab 2’s purpose shifted from finishing deployment of instrumentation and finalizing the setup of the station, to beginning repairs, and ensuring the station would remain operational for future crews.

A number of fixes began being prepared, each facing their own limitations and design constraints. The dominant of these constraints by far was the CSM’s volume limitations; The Command module, a small capsule, was simply bever meant to ferry large amounts of repair equipment to and from orbit, so many of these tools would have to be shrunk, folded, and otherwise compacted. The most extreme of these compacted solutions was the Skylab Solar Parasol. The device, a large unfolding umbrella like structure, was meant to replace the micrometeoroid and thermal shielding theorized to have shed off during ascent.

Additionally, hooks, claws and other grappling tools would need to be used not only to secure the astronauts to the station, but also to allow them to deploy the remaining instruments, assuming this was possible. To acquire the compact tools necessary for the job, NASA reached out to an unlikely source, an anchor company. As it turned out, oceanic craft faced similar volume constraints to spacecraft, and the need for folding tools and long reaching mechanisms proved common ground between the two mediums. The A.B. Chance company provided NASA with the tools they needed for the job, with NASA flying a representative to their warehouse the morning after Skylab’s launch.

(Skylab Solar Shield being prepared the week before Skylab-2)​

While Engineers rushed to find a solution, Crew training began. Skylab II, the first manned mission to the station, was intended to follow the launch of the station by only a day; This, however, changed rapidly following the damage observed during and after ascent. It was quickly determined that Michael Collins, Owen Garriot and commander Gordon Cooper would need to train in repair of the station, and do so at a rapid pace. By some miracle of coordination and engineering, a rescue mission was mounted and prepared on the launch pad within the week.

Collins, Garriot, and Cooper suited up prior to boarding their Saturn IB. Their mission had changed dramatically, from one of occupancy to one of repair and problem-solving. That said, the crew had the tools for the job, alongside the training. To the extent by which they could be, the astronauts were prepared for the flight, and equipped to face any hardships they could expect to face. The tools were crammed into the foot space of the Apollo, and the crews boarded their capsule, eager to get off the ground as soon as possible.

Public Affairs Officer: Liftoff! Liftoff of Skylab-2, America’s daring rescue!

Cooper: We got a roll program flight-

(Skylab-2 lifts off from LC-34, delivering the crew to Skylab)​

Capcom: All engines reporting nominal…

Capcom: we got flameout and separation-

Collins: Ignition!

Cooper: We’re goin’ again, flight.

The S-IVB delivered the three-man crew directly to a rendezvous with the station, the crews getting their first views of the station less than an hour after launch. What they saw was terrifying. The station was a husk of her former self, something torn to shreds and mangled. But she was breathing, if just barely.

Collins: We have eyes on the skylab, flight.

Capcom: How’s she look?

Cooper: (off mic and distant) shit…

Collins: Uhh she’s not looking too good, Houston.

Garriot: Micrometeoroid shield seems to have sheared off. I can’t see the solar panel yet though.

Cooper: I’m gonna get her real close for ya’ Ed.

Garriot: Much appreciated

The crew had rendezvoused with Skylab, and began their slow flyaround. Not knowing the exact shape of the object they were flying around, the crew made sure to maintain a safe distance from the station. Having seen the Starport panel jammed shut, Cooper brought the command module around the station, hoping to see the Port-side panel in the same condition. This, however, was not the case. The station remained in a critical condition far worse than what engineers had imagined. The panel had been sheared clean off, presumably when the spacecraft’s thermal shielding had peeled off. By some miracle, this hadn’t damaged the Starport panel, but needless to say this condition was far from ideal.

(View of skylab’s missing micrometeoroid and solar shield, alongside a bundle of dangling wires where the solar panel was meant to attach)​

Garriot: Jesus Christ…

Capcom: How is it Owen?

Garriot: Well our signals on the Starboard pane were incorrect, it appears to be jammed, and the port one has been ripped off. We got a hell of a work week ahead of us.

Capcom: Roger. Go ahead and back off Gordo, we’ll get back to you with more soon.

The crew had met their dragon, and now they had to best it. The mission ahead was fraught with challenges, but the men remained optimistic. The capsule backed away from the station, leaving it to its own for the time being. For now, all they could do was wait for further instruction from the Johnson Space Center.

Capcom: Alright boys, we’re clearing ya for EVA 1.

Collins: Roger.

Michael Collins brought the capsule closer to the jammed array, as the hatch to the Apollo swung open. Gordon Cooper, with an extendable pole in hand prepared to climb out the hatch. The spacecraft’s velocities nulled out, and Cooper climbed out of the spacecraft with Garriot holding onto his boots.

Cooper: Alright, let’s give this a shot-

Cooper extended his 15 foot pole, allowing him to hook onto the stuck solar panel. Once he felt the rod catch, he began trying to leverage the stuck array. The panel was stuck good, and didn’t seem to want to open. He strained harder and harder, trying to unjam the seemingly immovable object. In doing so his heart rate and core temperature rose to levels Houston began to become uncomfortable with.

Cooper: Ugh-

…

…


Cooper: Gonna give er all I got.

Capcom: Careful-

Cooper: Damn!

The panel freed as Cooper’s momentum got the best of him. In an instant, the Apollo began to tumble away from the station. Cooper lashed the rod away from the panel, instinctively trying not to slash the now deploying panel. All the while, Collins immediately began making corrective maneuvers to arrest this spin. Garriot’s grip remained strong, and the three men were briefly fighting for their lives as the spacecraft began to settle.

Collins: Hold on!

Garriot: I gotcha-

Capcom: Everything alright?

Collins: Gordo’s stronger than he looks, that’s all. Got us into a spin when that thing budged.

Cooper: Climbing back in now, Houston, we’re doing alright.

Capcom: Glad to hear, stay safe up there.

The crew corrected the spin, minimizing the extent of the danger in order to not abort the flight. Before long, the crew gained sight of their handiwork; Skylab’s solar wing had fully deployed, returning her power levels to operational limits. The station was now no longer at risk of being unsalvageable, and now they needed to tackle the thermal issues. When the micrometeoroid shield had fallen off during flight, it had exposed the station to the unfiltered radiation of the sun. This caused the station to overheat, reaching temperatures in excess of 120F (50C).

The crew caught their breath, and before long, Gordo had retrieved the solar parasol. The device was one of a kind, and featured four extending arms to deploy a large foil solar shade. If the device worked, NASA hoped the station would return to nominal internal temperatures. This however, was hedging their bets on a fix prepared in the week prior. Needless to say, many were in disbelief, but the astronauts remained confident in their abilities; If they could repair a solar panel in orbit, what else were they capable of?

Cooper: I’m setting her up now, flight.

Capcom: Roger.

Collins: Ok, Gordo has it locked in, we’re gonna start deployment-

Cooper grabbed the shield with his hook, and Collins began a slow separation. The shield was extended to its full area, and the hook was separated and retrieved. Within a day of work, the crew had returned Skylab to a less-than-ideal yet operational state. The station was now ready to begin longer term missions, ones slated to support study of solar phenomena and the effects of long duration spaceflight of human beings.

Skylab 2 would go on to act largely as a precursor for greater things to come. The crew would get the staton dressed up for occupation, deploy experiments and overall perform a limited scientific stay. After their three week mission, demonstrating critical station elements such as the telescope, toilet and shower were in working order, they returned safely to the Earth.

Following in their footsteps was Skylab 3, launching mere months later alongside the continuation of Apollo. While Skylab 3 was performing routine science on the station, Apollo 22 largely repeated the successes of 20 and 21 before it. Apollo had matured into something of a well oiled machine, and before long, the final K-Class mission of Apollo 23 gave way to Skylab 4.

While the K-class flights gave NASA insight into human physiology and psychology on longer term missions to the lunar surface, Skylab 4 aimed to demonstrate the effects of months long spaceflight in microgravity on her crew. Skylab 4 was to be an unprecedented mission for many reasons, only one of which was its duration. Skylab 4 was to mark an EVA record, with as many as 8 EVA’s scheduled over their three-plus month, ninety one day stay in orbit. However more important than either of these objectives was the evidence of progress the mission ascertained. Every mission to date, including the one Soviet flight that delivered a woman to space, saw people of European ancestry enter orbit.

This was, however, to change. Skylab 4 was to be the first time an astronaut of color would enter orbit. Robert Lawrence Junior was to fly aboard the record breaking crew of Skylab-4, alongside veteran commander Alan Bean, and Science Pilot Duane Geraveline.

(Robert Lawrence, first African American in orbit)​

Lawrence had been selected years prior for the Airforce’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. And while MOL was ultimately canceled in 1969, by the end of that year, NASA had onboarded many of the astronauts into the Apollo and Skylab programs. This is where Lawrence first was put onto Skylab 4, putting his years of training and record of excellence to the test.

The mission lifted off in December of 1974, delivering the three men to the now-routine destination. Within hours the crew rendezvoused with, docked to and boarded the station. The three men delivered a small set of experiments to be performed alongside the already present payloads. The crew were to begin testing of new suit technologies NASA had been developing since the flights of Gemini 9, 10, 11 and 12. While the new suit was far from complete, but NASA wished to learn what method of locomotion the astronauts preferred in a weightless environment.

(Alan Bean demonstrates the first of many Intra-Vehicular Spacewalks on the station using the Nitrogen-Powered Prototype Maneuvering Unit (PMU))​

The astronauts settled into their new home nicely, and began working towards accomplishing the station's goals. While the previous mission to the station had suffered something of a mutiny, with crews refusing to communicate with NASA for 24 hours over a lack of relaxation time, Skylab 4’s schedule was much freer, and thus more enjoyable. The crews showered, ate and performed science in space, delivering a sense of normalcy to an otherwise remarkable mission. The crew’s scientific objectives focused on human factor studies, solar observation, and medical experiments telling NASA what months-long spaceflights do to the human body.

Towards the end of the crew's mission, Lawrence and Gibson conducted an EVA to inspect the station. Equipped with the PMU, and tethered to the Skylab, Lawrence separated from the spacecraft, demonstrating the first free-flying EVA since project Gemini.

(Lawrence captured this Iconic photo of Gibson “Hanging 10” from Earth Orbit)​

Lawrence: Okay Ed, gimme a big smile!

Gibson: Smiling as wide as I can man, how do I look?

Lawrence: Brilliant, brother.

Capcom: How’s Skylab holding up you two?

Gibson: She’s held up nicely over the months, no damages that weren’t here when Skylab 2 arrived.

Lawrence: Arguably she’s healthier now than then.

Bean: (Laughing) Good point Rob.

The crews returned to the station, and within a few weeks boarded the Apollo once more. With the station being planned to be decommissioned following their flight, the CSM performed a small burn sending Skylab lower into the atmosphere for a controlled breakup over the Pacific the following week. And with that, Skylab was dead. The world’s first space station had been deorbited, and before long, many more would take her place; But for now, NASA’s aim shifted back to the moon. As 1975 loomed, the mariner program began shutting down. Voyager was on the minds of many at NASA, and their launcher, the USAF funded, Commercial Saturn-IB was to deliver them to the heavens.

Largely uninterested in the shuttle at first, or perhaps out of a lack of faith, the USAF had requested a series of studies into Complementary Expendable Launch Vehicles, or CELV’s in 1972. Out of this program came two launchers: Delta II, and CS-IB. The former would see a stretching of the Thor tank, with an uprated H-1 engine powering its core. The latter would see the S-IB stretched and reinforced to handle a variety of upper stages, and up to 4 UA-1205 boosters. Of note is the contract signed between Chrysler and McDonnel Douglass, forming the Saturn Launch Corporation.

The SLC was to provide the USAF, DOD, NRO and NASA with a plethora of low-cost, high payload options. They would, in the worst case, succeed Apollo in light of a failing shuttle, and in the best case handle overflow payloads from the Shuttle and STS programs. This cooperative strategy between McDonnel Douglass and Chrysler ensured they could keep prices low enough to satisfy the Air Force, while maintaining commonality between the two launchers. By 1975, the H-1-250K was to have performed a full duration burn, and by 1976 the dual-engine S-IVD was to have flown. This, alongside a Centaur-D would deliver the four voyager probes to their destinations: Select flybys of the outer planets and their moons.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 17: A Dance with Destiny.​

(Rush, Finding My Way)

As 1975 dawned, NASA’s focus shifted from the decommissioning of Skylab to the upcoming missions on Apollo’s schedule. First and foremost of these flights was the ASTP, scheduled for February of 1975; ASTP, known to the public as Apollo-Soyuz was to be the first in a series of demonstrations of international cooperation in space. An Apollo spacecraft, carrying a specialized docking adapter, was to launch into a rendezvous with a Soyuz spacecraft launched by the Soviets hours before.

This docking adapter, in addition to doing what is said on the tin, would allow the two parallelly evolved spacecraft to adapt their differing environments to allow safe passage. The adapter contained a number of systems aimed at balancing the nitrogen and oxygen levels, alongside the internal pressures so the astronauts could pass through a pressurized tunnel between the two spacecraft. At the front of the adapter sat APAS, a jointly developed docking apparatus that promised the simplicity and reliability required by such a flight.

The Androdgynous Peripheral Attachment System had long been in the heads of soviet designers, aiming at having a singular port that could be used for stations and spacecraft alike. The system was based around the concept of interchangeability, and unlike the probe and drogue systems of the past, APAS was meant to eliminate port incompatibility. It accomplished this with elegance, using three petals on each port, the spacecraft would capture and form a pressurized passageway using nothing but the docking ring itself. Though graceful, this design came with added mass. APAS massed nearly 250 kilograms (550 lbs) more than its predecessor, making it burdensome to deal with at first. Both nations, however, saw uprating their workhorse rockets as the best path moving forwards with ASTP.

(APAS-75 mounted to ASTP’s docking adapter)​

The Saturn IB had many upratings in the works, and by 1975, a predecessor of the later Commercial Saturn IB was on the launch pad. Sporting uprated H1 engines capable of reaching 250,000 pounds of thrust, and a J-2S engine with thrust and efficiency improvements, the rocket proved more than capable of delivering the Apollo and ASTP-Adapter to their target orbit of 275 nautical miles (509km). To deliver Soyuz to this orbit, the soviets were forced to upgrade the Soyuz rocket, which had been flying largely unchanged since 1966.

Korolev’s original design called for a core powered by the RD-108, boosted to altitude atop four rocket modules powered by the stronger, but less efficient RD-107. This model had proven fruitful for the Soviets, delivering over 30 successful launches to date; The rocket struggled to get a bigger upper stage, and thus was facing a payload ceiling. Looking at their options, engineers decided that the core stage needed an upgrade;

The soviets looked to their available engine options, eventually settling on the idea of using an NK-33, following the success of the N1 program thus far. The engine had proven itself, flying on over half a dozen N1F first stages, and nearly a dozen L1s thus far. It was with this additional thrust, amounting to an over 75% increase, that engineers quickly saw a use for another piece of N1 hardware, the NK-39. The NK-39 powered the soon to be retired N1F Block V. This stage was slated to be replaced with the more powerful hydrogen/oxygen Block V-III in the coming year, and engineers jumped on the opportunity to keep their existing engines flying. And with these decisions, Soyuz-U was born; Powered by the engines that delivered cosmonauts to the moon, the Soyuz-U would deliver them to stations, and rendezvous in Earth orbit.

(Soyuz-U launch, 1974)​

On the backs of these upgrades, and with the hopes of a future in space, freed from geopolitical strife, Soyuz 19 lifted off the pad. While Soyuz-U had been flying for over a year, this flight proved the first crewed flight of the new Soyuz-T. Following the Soyuz-11 tragedy in 1971 leading to the loss of three astronauts aboard a Soyuz-7k-OK, the spacecraft had received several major upgrades; While crew capacity had been limited following the accident, as space only allowed two astronauts to be suited in the capsule at a time, the slightly larger 7K-T reentry vehicle allowed crew capacity to return to three. Additionally, extra life support alongside a shift towards a station-ferrying role allowed the vehicle to be a true second-generation successor to the Soyuz 7k. The vehicle carried the APAS port, which was slated to fly alongside the first Soviet space station later that year. This ultimately reshaped Soyuz’s role, and this was put to the test as she laid in wait for Apollo to approach.

Capcom: Alright Deke, how’re we lookin?

Slayton: 10/10 flight.

Capcom: Beautiful.

Apollo 24 sat atop the launchpad in Florida, awaiting the call from Moscow that the Soyuz had crossed into position. When the time was right, the vehicle was set to lift off into a rapid 2-orbit rendezvous with the foreign spacecraft. Mission controllers got the sign, liftoff was now or never, and the 5 minute countdown began.

Capcom: T-5 ladies and germs.

Slayton: Let’s rock and roll!

Public Affairs Officer: This is Apollo-Saturn launch control and we have entered our launch window, as the final seconds count down we can expect to see the engines light and the vehicle clear the tower, continuing Northeast to its launch trajectory.

Capcom: T-minus 4.

Public Affairs Officer: The Apollo capsule is running entirely on internal power and has been isolated from ground service equipment. The S-IVC has reached internal pressure and the engines are completing their final gimbal checks. This is Apollo-Saturn launch control at T-minus 120 seconds.

Eisele: Ok, we have ignition sequence start…

Roosa: Full throttle-

Capcom: Liftoff!

The rocket roared to life, shooting off the pad utilizing all of its strength. The crew soared into the sky, slowly rolling to their launch heading. The time was now or never, and the rocket began pitching over gently to chase down their comrades in the heavens.

Slayton: Roll-Program complete.

Capcom: Roger roll, Bugs-

Attempting to find common grounds in the naming of their spacecraft, the crews had decided to name them after famous cartoon characters in their countries. For the Americans, Bugs Bunny was chosen, for the Soviets, it was a different rabbit: Zayats. The character was from one of the cosmonauts kids’ favorite shows, a heartwarming note to the already groundbreaking mission.

(Zayats and Volk, or The Hare and The Wolf from the Soviet Children’s show: Well, Just you Wait!)​

Eisele: Okay, we have SECO on that J-2S. She sure is smooth, Rocketdyne did us good once again.

Capcom: I’ll send em your review, Don.

Bugs flipped around, making quick work of extracting the ASTP docking module and separating from the S-IVC. The spacecraft waited another two hours, finally seeing Zayats outside their window.

Slayton: We see Zayats!

Roosa: Zayats… are we saying that right?

Filipchenko: Close enough comrade!

Capcom: We have ya mic’d up to em, just so you know-

Slayton: Sheesh, thanks for keeping us updated

The Russian and Ukrainian crew could be heard laughing as Apollo began preparing for her capture maneuver. The spacecraft began slowing down, matching velocities with the Soyuz awaiting it. Before long, the two craft were staring at each other, no more than 100 meters away.

Leonov: Негодяй кролик направляется прямо на нас!

Eisele: What did he say?

Capcom: He said the wascally wabbit is headed right for us-

Both crews could be heard chuckling as the closing maneuvers were performed. The spacecraft drifted towards each other slowly, closing the distance as the minutes passed. Both craft engaged their APAS ports, extending the spring loaded petals to allow mating to begin. The ports made contact, and they began to retract, before long a thud could be heard echoing through the metal hulls of the mutually alien craft. Apollo and Soyuz were docked.

Kubasov: Ura!

Slayton: We’re docked, flight.

Capcom: Roger docking 24.

Before long, the adapter began pressurizing. The tunnel balanced the oxygen and nitrogen levels in the two craft, and the hatches were cleared to be opened. As the hatches were opened, Slayton caught a glimpse of the Russian staring back at him; Alexi Leonev sat in the orbital module, a carrot in one hand, and a bottle of Vodka in the other.

Slatyon: Oh they are not gonna believe this-

(Slayton and Leonev inside the Orbital Module)​

Eisele: What is i-

Roosa: Bahahahaha

Leonev: Greetings!

The cosmonauts and astronauts hugged and shook hands in the modules, setting the gifts they had brought to the side. Before long, the two sides retrieved their half of a commemorative plaque made for the mission, assembling it in orbit. The two nations had demonstrated peaceful corporations in orbit, and marked the first step towards greater things to come.

(Apollo Soyuz Plaque)​

The craft would spend nearly 6 days docked together, performing joint operations and testing the Soyuz-T’s new capabilities. The spacecraft would dock and undock multiple times over the course of the mission, demonstrating APAS’ appeal as a flexible and quick to use standard. After the two craft parted ways, Soyuz began her reentry. Apollo would follow shortly after, ending the mission after a week in orbit.

As Apollo 24 landed, focus shifted to Apollo 25 and the mission that would proceed it: ASSET-1 and Surveyor 8. ASSET, or the Apollo Surface Stay Extension Technologies were a series of missions to land hardware for use in the much longer term, L-Class lunar missions. ASSET-1 was to deliver two LM Descent Stages to orbit of the moon, alongside their payloads. This impressive feat was made possible thanks to studies like LASS (Lunar Applications for Spent S-IVB Stage) leading up to the S-IVC’s development. The stage received major upgrades to its insulation and propellant venting capabilities which trickled down into other stages. These upgrades ultimately allowed the S-IVC, and the Centaur to perform normal operations in orbit of the moon.

ASSET-1 lifted off the launchpad, atop the Saturn V-1, marking the first time a Saturn V had flown uncrewed since Skylab’s launch in `73. Once the launcher reached orbit, the fairings deployed and the primary lander’s solar panels were exposed. The stage drifted in earth orbit, until finally relighting its J-2S, and continuing its coast to the lunar sphere of influence. From here, the stage would enter a hibernation state, managing pressure and temperature, but powering down unnecessary subsystems. Days later, the S-IVC’s guidance computers blinked to life, and the stage began to position itself for LOI. Mission controllers checked that the computers were healthy and the code was given. ASSET-1 now had a ticking timer, a countdown to ignition and Lunar-Orbit Insertion.

The S-IVC roared to life, thrusting its engines for the final time and slowing MOLAB and ASSET into their targeted orbit. Once the stage and its payloads had been lowered into their 30km target orbit, ASSET separated from the Multiple Payload Adapter beneath it, and began its coast from the taxi that had gotten it there.

(ASSET prior to descent)​

Originally envisioned as a lander to be delivered by crew, and called the Early Lunar Shelter, ASSET had grown to be a 20-ton behemoth, lofted to lunar orbit by the S-IVC. The module, containing scientific and living quarters for three, took advantage of every ounce of the L-Class LM’s descent stage. This allowed the lander to fit critical systems, allowing the base to be analogous to a Skylab on the moon, supporting as many as 4 crews per-lander.

Mission Controller 1: We have good engine performance, throttling down

Mission Controller 2: Ok, down… 5 and a half, 200 ft.

…

Mission Controller 2: Looking like plenty of fuel-

…

Mission Controller 1: Contact light!

Mission Controller 3: Engine off-

Mission Controller 4: Safing-

Mission Controller 5: Descent Mode switch off. We’re down ladies and gents-

Cheering echoed through the control room, they had gotten one down safely thus far. The second lander, carrying MOLAB followed much the same success, landing a mere 300 feet from the ASSET, the lander touched down and deployed a small ramp to get the rover off. The rover promised to allow the astronauts to gather wider samples of soil, and retrieve supply drops delivered by Surveyor probes.

MOLAB, or the Mobile Laboratory, used the remaining mass allotted to engineers by the uprated S-IVC. In addition to allowing the astronauts to traverse the lunar terrain much faster than the J and K-Class LRVs, the lab would allow mobile scientific analysis over the course of days or even week-long drives. While ASSET could support a crew of 3, MOLAB was meant to do so only in an emergency, supporting 1-2 astronauts under normal operations. The rover could also be used to ferry astronauts long distances between sites of interest, staying days at a time and expanding Apollo’s traversable area by 100’s of kilometers.

(Molab mockup, 1972)​

A CS-IB launched in the months before would deliver the last component necessary for Apollo 25’s maiden L-Class Voyage: the Surveyor Block IB. While the lander would go on to prove critical in future exploration of the moon, and the outer planets, today's mission was simpler. Surveyor was to make a grocery run-

(Surveyor Block IB final descent)​

With the help of a Centaur-E-II, the lander was delivered to, and slowed down from lunar orbit. The lander separated from the centaur at an altitude of 20,000 ft, with the stage performing a collision avoidance maneuver to avoid the ASSET modules. Surveyor 11 lit her 6 engines, and began slowing her descent, 1.5 tons of consumables in hand. Within minutes, the small probe contacted the ground, and shut down her engines. The elements were in place, and the moon was ready for Humankind's next move: staying the night.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 18: Staying the Night.​

(ABBA, Dancing Queen)

With the dawn of a new mission type, came the dawn of ever evolving safety concerns; Most of these centered around MOLAB. MOLAB, or the Mobile Geological Laboratory, was to serve the L-Class missions as a potential goldmine of scientific discovery. The limited range of the J-Class missions was largely solved by the K-Class missions, and the L-Class LM. The LM carried extra propellant, allowing it to perform a small hop, reaching a stranded crew if their LRV were to break down, and making the distance traversable on foot. This solution, while theoretically sound, would not suffice for the L-Class missions.

When MOLAB began development in 1970 it was envisioned as having a range between 400 and 800km on a single tank of gas. The rover was to be powered by two hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, allowing the craft to traverse the surface over vast distances no matter the local light levels. This placed the astronauts further than ever before from the Lunar Module, and potentially meant the MOLAB’s crew of two could be faced with an unprecedented situation: How could they get home if they were to be stranded hundreds of kilometers past the Lunar Module’s range?

(Early lunar return craft design)​

After looking over the options, ranging from a propulsive return module akin to a jet pack, to a large hovercraft to deliver the astronauts back to the lander, NASA engineers made a breakthrough. While these devices weighed up to 1500kg, a similar mass of consumables, shielding and equipment could allow them greater mission flexibility, and allow them to rely on proven lander designs. The Apollo-Rescue mission was born. If the crew of a MOLAB expedition were to ever get stranded, they were to stay put, bury the spacecraft in lunar regolith if possible to provide additional shielding, and await a rescue-craft launched at the next available window.

While a scary prospect, this placed further reliance on the now-proven LM, and away from unproven and undeveloped devices. The decision was made, and the development of MOLAB and ASSET was underway. Their maiden voyage was soon to begin. As Apollo 25 rolled out to LC-39A, AS-522 Apollo 25-A, later Apollo 26 rolled out to 39B. This ensured that if anything were to go wrong on their stay, a rescue mission could be mounted within the next launch window, allowing a safe return for all astronauts involved.

(Apollo-Rescue CM layout, with 2 crew launched, and up to 3 retrieved.)​

Final preparations were now underway for Apollo’s maiden L-Class voyage: Apollo 25. As final checkouts were being performed on the Saturn V-1 launcher, the surveyor probe entered its low power statem, planted down on the surface a mere 2 km from MOLAB and ASSET. The crew’s first EVA on the surface would be retrieving these supplies, and loading them into the MOLAB’s trailer. However for the time being, that was only a plan. Skylab had taught NASA the valuable lesson: prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, development was fast underway for the Soviet’s answer to Apollo’s L-Class flights. The L3M would be something of a one-stop shop, providing a single-landing moonbase built atop their proven dual-launch architecture and uprated N1M. The lander would realize a landing scheme theorized by engineers to this point, direct-ascent. Launching from the surface, the lander’s ascent element would continue directly to a return trajectory, entering Earth’s atmosphere days later. Though facing minor delays, the landerwas on-pace to meet ASTP-II’s targeted date of Q4 1976. Nevertheless, Apollo marched forward. AS-521 began fueling up on the pad, and before long the crew were chatting away with Capcom Joe Kerwin as the final count began.

Capcom: How are we doing boys?

Collins: Doing good, flight. Not a worry in the world.

Swigert: Echoing Mikey, smooth sailing in here.

Capcom: Glad to hear, Snowcone.

…

Capcom: Okay, we’re inside T-10 guys.

England: Roger that Kerwin.

The rocket lifted off without issues into the stormy skies above. However shortly after clearing the pad, problems began. A flash filled the capsule, and critical navigation systems went offline, fighting his instincts, Collins didn’t flip the abort switch.

Swigert: Shit!

England: What the hell was that?

Collins: We got a whole lotta warning lights that just came on, flight-

Capcom: We’re having a lotta trouble hearing ya 25, go ahead and turn up the high gain and try again.

Swigert: We are having some problems-

Capcom: All we hear is static, try switching to the OMNIs-

Collins: Roger… (Flips switch) Roger, how do we read?

Capcom: Loud and clear babe, what’s up?

Swigert: The whole dang trees lit up!

Collins: It’s like Christmas morning in here, flight. We got a ton of warnings, some of em don’t seem to be possible at the same time.

Capcom: Roger, what do we have lit up?

Collins: It’d be easier to tell you what we don’t have flight, but here goes. AC Bus light, all three cells, FC disconnect, both AC overloads, Main bus A and B undervolt-

(BANG)

England: Just lost Inertial Guidance-

Capcom: Okay, uhh… just a sec. Hold tight 25.

Swigert: We’re trying.

…

Collins: Ok, center engine out, any news flight?

EECOM: SCE to AUX.

Capcom: Yeah, just a moment 25… EECOM is saying to switch to auxiliary power-

Collins: Roger. Pressing SCE to auxiliary.

Capcom: Okay, what are we reading?

Collins: Well it sure as hell is clearer. A lot of em have gone off, any idea of what in the hell caused that?

Capcom: EECOM’s sayin’ the wrath of god, we think y’all mighta been hit by lightning.

England: (Laughing) sounds about right…

Collins: Staging…. We got S-II ignition

The vehicle continued largely unphased for the remainder of ascent, inserting itself into orbit minutes later.

Collins: Not even Zeus could stop us, eh?

England: You bet!

Swigert: Good eye EECOM-

Capcom: He’s throwin me a thumbs up from his desk, y’all had a good team all round here. Let’s assess that damage.

After a short checkout in orbit, no major damages were observed, and the crews were approved for TLI on the next orbit. After making their second revolution about the earth, the crew fired up their J-2S engine, and raced to the moon. The mission was back on track, and before long the spacecraft would perform the routine transposition and docking maneuvers perfected in flights past.

Collins: Okay, we got haystack-

Capcom: Affirm.

Three short days later, the crew performed LOI and began final checkouts on the LM. The CSM’s tele-operability was assessed, and Houston was satisfied that the spacecraft could be controlled from ground control for a docking at the end of the flight. The three men boarded the cramped lander, and final preparations were made. Swigert closed the hatch on his way back in and the LM undocked, Snowcone drifting off into the black void above.

Swigert: So long Snowcone! See you in a few months!

The Block IV CSM raised its orbit, and entered a low powered hibernation state, spinning up slowly to stabilize its orientation. The LM then began its descent burn, bringing the crew to the lunar surface a mere 300 feet from ASSET.

Swigert: Alright, contact-

Collins: Engine off-

England: We made it!

Capcom: Roger y’all down, haystack.

The crew began assessing the LM, and preparing it for the stay ahead. Equipped with a tiny RTG, capable of generating just enough power to keep the batteries healthy and avoid using the fuel cells, the LM was now ready for its longest stay to date. Aiming at a mission of no longer than 50 days on the surface, Apollo 25 was prepared to spend as many as 90 on the regolith covered plains at Aitkin.

Landing on the moon’s far side, the crew faced unprecedented communications struggles, these were solved by Surveyor’s 8, 9, and 10 which formed a small communications relay network in orbit of the moon. The spacecraft had been delivered by a CS-IB a year prior, and the probes proved effective on previous flights. With this, NASA had the confidence to deliver three of its best to the south pole, marking humanity's first steps on the dark side of the moon. From the outside though, you’d hardly notice; Apollo 25 was going smoothly, and before long ASSET’s solar panels were dusted off, and life support systems were running. The L-Class LM, or LM-T, was powered down, and the three men boarded ASSET-1 for their first night's rest on the surface.

(Sleeping arrangements in the base.)​

Featuring living space, a cooking and eating area, a toilet, collapsible shower, bunk beds and a life support charging station, the ASSET base provided a truly revolutionary level of comfort to an otherwise spartan program. Alongside this comfort came functionality, the base would allow the crews to stay much longer than previously possible, and through the use of resupplies, continue using the base after their mission.

(ASSET interior layout.)​

Capcom: Rise and shine 25! Today’s forecast is gray and drab, but don’t let that keep ya down, the sun is always shining this time of month, so get out there and smell the roses, with your helmet on of course, we’ll be talking to you shortly after this quick song-

Swigert: Sheesh. We’re up.

(Frank Sinatra, It's Nice To Go Trav'ling)

Collins hummed along as the crew began brushing their teeth, and combing their hair. The crew began preparing their breakfast, rehydrating their meal and taking a seat at the dinner table.

Collins: You know, this aint too bad!

England: Hell of a vacation, suppose it is nice to go traveling.

The crew began laughing, and Houston waited for their joy to die down a bit before coming back.

Capcom: How are we doing, 25?

Collins: Crew’s in good spirit. We’ve eaten breakfast and are ready to start trav’ling towards surveyor.

Capcom: Glad you appreciated our wakeup call Mike.

Collins: We all did babe, keep up the good work!

The trio began their eva that morning, beginning to power up the MOLAB. With a rechargeable battery pack, fuel cells and refillable consumables, the rover was a one-stop shop for long-term geological studies. Today’s task would be much simpler however, as Collins and Swigert boarded the MOLAB their only task for the day was to make a supply run. Their drive covered a mere two and a half miles both ways (~4km), and took under half an hour, reaching surveyor in just 13 minutes.

Swigert: Ok, we got eyes-

Capcom: Affirm, once she’s close feel free to park in any available spot.

Collins: Looks like the whole parking lot’s open, won’t even have to parallel park the damn thing

Capcom: (Chuckling) Glad to hear it Mike.

The crew rolled the rover up next to surveyor 11, locking the MOLAB’s brakes and securing their position. Swigert navigated the vast assortment of cabinets and compartments finally finding the stowed cargo he needed, the dolley. Not dissimilar to a tool used to carry canisters, refrigerators and furniture on Earth, a dolly was chosen as the go-to solution to prevent the astronauts from having to lift the 182 local-pound(83 kg) canisters of consumables.

Swigert: Okay, depressurizing the airlock.

The airlock hissed, and the two men made their way down the ramp on the rover's exterior. Once down, Collins unfolded the dolley and approached surveyor. The crew unloaded surveyors cargo, loading it into the MOLAB’s airlock; With little more than 15 minutes work, the crew entered the airlock, pressurized and doffed their suits, they were on the road again.

Collins: Ok, heading back to Basecamp.

Capcom: Roger ya heading back, MOLAB.

After arriving, the crews deposited the three canisters near ASSET, and boarded the laboratory once more. The crew would spend the remainder of the week setting up the base for over half a year of near-continuous habitation. The base had landed down right on target, placing itself firmly in the South Pole-Aitken basin’s western end, between two craters, Lemaître S and Bellinsgauzen.

(South Pole-Aitken site, with Lemaître South on the East, and Bellinsgauzen to the West.)​

The site, while geologically interesting, and of scientific purpose put them within the per-mission driving distance, a 400km radius, of nearly half a dozen sites of interest. Close to the landing site, and on Apollo 25’s mission checklist was Site-Beta: Apollo Basin. The triangular crater formation featured a variety of terrains, and an opportunity to gather a swathe of differing sample types. It also gave the crew an ideal demonstration of how the MOLAB handled on rugged terrain; With these goals in mind, Collins and Swigert headed for the basin rim, leaving Swigert in tail to finish preparations for future endeavors.

Heading out to their Northeast, the crew reached the basin by day 3 of their drive, arriving near Collins crater that afternoon. Having landed during local dawn, the sun was slowly setting when they arrived at the basin, giving them just enough time to perform a detailed survey and sample collection before heading home.

England: Wonder who they named that one after?

Collins: Good question-

Capcom: Shut it and you might have one named after you some day.

Michael Collins laughed, but Anthony England was less amused, the two continued onwards, dodging the occasional boulder along their path. The crew reached an unnamed crater at the edge of the exposed mare, driving around it to find a route of entry. Once a shallow slope had been found the MOLAB descended, driving down into the crater allowing the astronauts to reach the base.

(The Apollo Basin, Collins East, Collins and Collins West in green, the unnamed crater, eventually England Crater, in yellow)​

Once at the base, the MOLAB was put in park and the crew disembarked, Commander Michael Collins carrying one of England’s contributions to the program, a buryable radar to help penetrate the moon’s interior. Once the duo reached the desired burial site, they began digging at the regolith beneath them. With minimal effort, they buried the probe in the regolith, and connected its small solar power cell, providing it just enough energy to collect its data. The probe would continue data collection as long as it could manage, beaming its findings back through the surveyor network. The crew returned to their rover, getting the wheels in motion once more and continuing north.

After spending three days in the basin, exploring craters, planting equipment and gathering samples, the crew embarked for basecamp once more. They would spend the remainder of their time at the base, clocking in a total of 72 days on the lunar surface. England proved essential, providing the knowledge necessary to gather and analyze surface samples, with some of those collected from near the base containing trace amounts of water. The three men would return to the CSM following their over two month voyage, making sure to put their mission patch above the entryway on their way out, Apollo 25, as their patch stated, was truly a voyage into the darkness.

(Apollo 25 Mission Patch)
​

Apollo’s 26 and 27 would go on to demonstrate 90 days each on the lunar surface, visiting multiple sites within their range. Donald Holmquest and William Thornton collected valuable medical insight on their flights for NASA to use in future missions. It was found that bone-density and blood volume loss were dramatically reduced, yet not counteracted in comparison with long duration stays in microgravity. This proved promising for humanity's future, and with this data in hand NASA prepared for the final mission to ASSET-1, Apollo 28.

 

[Its_Just_Luci]

Chapter 19: The Little Capsule on the Moon.​

(Elton John, Saturday Night’s Alright)

As Apollo 28 had been preparing their rescue for Apollo 27, NASA got the news. Viking 1 and 2 had touched down successfully on Mars. The mission was a huge leap forward compared to the missions that preceded it, allowing far more detailed surface analysis than the 2 simple martian rovers the Soviets had landed. NASA hoped that with Viking, definitive evidence for life on Mars could be found, potentially driving forward future endeavors on the planet. Whether this would come to pass was up for debate, but while NASA celebrated the martian landings, the Soviets began planning their next mission to the red planet: Mars 8.

Mars 8 was to be the first of six Mars-5M probes launched out of Baikonur in the coming decade. The probe was a monster, meant to leapfrog Viking entirely, crowning the Soviets champion of martian exploration. Originally envisioned as a dual-launch probe assembled in Earth orbit, the capabilities of the L-1 soon grew to such an extent that a single launch could suffice. Alongside its coast stage, the lander would weigh nearly 11,000kg, and would consist of 4 stages.

(Mars 5M)​

A single L1-F S/R would deliver the monstrous eleven ton payload to orbit, alongside two TMI stages. Once in orbit, the probe would deploy its most unique feature, an unfolding 11.7m (38 foot) heatshield nicknamed зонтик, or the umbrella. From here, Block S would ignite once more, delivering the payload into a slightly elliptical orbit. Block R would then burn at perigee, finishing TMI and delivering the payload to Mars. The lander would coast, making small course corrections as needed and arriving at mars months later.

From here, the probe would enter the martian atmosphere, gliding down on its gargantuan heatshield and pulling a maximum of 16 G’s. The lander would separate from the shield at 3km (2 miles), slowing from a velocity of 290m/s (650mph) to 2m/s (4mph) in minutes. Once on the surface, the lander would collect a surface sample, weighing approximately 200 grams and going to a depth of 4 meters, before loading it into the return capsule. A two stage rocket would then deliver the sample first to Martian orbit, then to the Earth once more. After sterilization, the capsule would impact the ocean at some 40m/s (90mph) months later, landing without the need of parachutes

As many as 6 of said sample returns were planned, allotting 1.2 kilograms of martian soil within 7 years. Mars 5M was a beast of a machine, and as such an early demonstrator flight had been prepared. The mission would test the heatshield at mars, delivering a simple impactor probe to the surface. The mission would demonstrate one of the most complex components of the mission, and would launch 1 window before the initial 5M missions in 1977. For now though, the Soviet’s focus remained on ASTP-II.

Soviet Controller: отрыв от земли!

Launch Commentator: We have confirmation of the second N1 launch this evening. As many of you are aware, the russian lander requires two launches to assemble in orbit of the moon, this allows it…

The Soviets had bested hydrogen technology, and finally the N1 was performing comparably to its western counterpart. The RD-57 and RD-56 engines had been performing perfectly, and the three launches they had been used on thus far went by without a hitch. This left the Soviets with a family wide improvement to the N1 and Soyuz rocket families. Due to the trickle-down nature of the L1 rocket, the soviets were left with a comparably cheap rocket capable of lofting between 30,000 and 40,000 kilograms to Earth orbit in its heaviest configuration.

However for now, the RD-57 was lofting the Block V-III and its payload to orbit. The Block D, used for decelerating the lander down to an approach altitude and velocity, had been delivered to the moon in the days prior; Now was the L3M’s turn. As the Block V-III flamed out, the L3M and its TLI/LOI stages were placed into orbit. As with previous flights, a Soyuz was sent to rendezvous with the waiting spacecraft. Soyuz-25 lifted off, becoming the third and final launch of the mission, rendezvousing with the Block V-III, S, R and L3M, more affectionately called the L3M complex.

Oleg Markarov, Gregory Grechko, and Valery Ryumin nullified their spacecraft’s velocity before disembarking on EVA. The crew navigated their way to the lander's EVA hatch using nitrogen guns similar to those used in NASA’s project Gemini, boarding the lander and contacting mission controllers. Ground control at moscow initiated an automated sequence, and the Soyuz that ferried them to orbit began to separate, the crew were now ready for their voyage to the moon. Block S burned for TLI, delivering Block R and the L3M to a free return trajectory. The crew had a 3 day coast ahead of them, made more bearable thanks to the landers large habitation module.

Apollo 28 prepared for launch shortly thereafter, under the watchful eyes of 29 beside it. Following a minor delay due to a pressure valve malfunction, the rocket lifted off from LC-39B marking the first time that concurrent lunar bound spacecraft had been in space since that fateful encounter in 1970. Apollo 28 like Soyuz 25 before it reached orbit, with her crew performing TLI, chasing the Soviet craft to the moon. Games of chess, battleship and hangman were played between the two lunar-bound craft, giving the crews a way to connect and pass the time leading up to their landings. Three days after their TLI burns, the two craft arrived at the moon, slowing into a highly inclined orbit, and aiming for ASSET-1 at Aitken.

The Americans were the first to land, ensuring that, by the US government’s request, the Russians were under patrol while at Aitken. Shortly after Apollo 28 touched the lunar surface, L3M-1 began her descent, firing up her main engine, a staged combustion cycle engine running on Kerosene and High-Test Peroxide. The lander came to a rest within walking distance of ASSET-1, and the crews waited in silence for their go-ahead. Once it was clear both landers would be secure, and safe to remain on the surface for the time being, the six men began suiting up.

The airlock hissed, slowly drifting into the rumbling silence of the moon. All the cosmonauts could hear was each other, and with bated breath they disembarked the L3M. Commander Vladimir Komarov, Engineering Pilot Victor Gobakto, and research pilot Gurgen Ivanyan stood in front of their lander, watching as the LM’s hatch opened. Commander Harrison Schmitt, LM Pilot James Irwin and CSM Pilot Story Musgrave climbed down the Lunar Module’s ladder, facing the Soviet Cosmonauts a mere 100m away from them. The crews began walking towards each other, Gobakto and Musgrave carrying cameras. The two sides finally met between their craft, Harrison Schmitt reaching out his hand, and Komarov meeting him for a handshake. ASTP-II had begun, US and Soviet astronauts and cosmonauts working cooperatively on the moon, for the benefit of all humankind.

(Apollo-Soyuz Test Project II mission patch.)​

Schmitt: I’m glad to be working with you, welcome to Asset one.

Komorov: The feeling is mutual, comrade. We are glad to be able to work together, representing our nations.

The six men would ultimately spend time traveling between the bases, conducting experiments and staying on the surface for 60 days. A number of noteworthy experiments were performed; from testing the efficacy of lunar regolith as radiation shielding, and as a heat distributor, to electrolyzing lunar water, and turning it into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen. The former experiment would prove useful in the base designs of the future, helping insulate habitats and shield reactors. The latter would prove useful in the exploration of the moon and planets beyond, allowing humanity to produce rocket propellants in-situ, and reducing the need to ship propellants from Earth.

While the benefits of these experiments were far off in the future, NASA waited eagerly for the results, as they would inform future policies and procedures moving forward with lunar exploration post Apollo, congress willing. Apollo-Soyuz II proved a wild success story, demonstrating that longer term cooperative endeavors between the nations were possible. The mission was a political homerun for NASA, placing them firmly as a peacekeeping organization in the eyes of the American public. If we could put aside our differences and explore the moon together, many wondered, what more could we do in the future?

NASA had one remaining ASSET base, alongside 4 Saturn V’s. This would allow them to wrap up Apollo nicely, with another voyage to the moon’s far-side. As the six men celebrated new years on the moon, ASSET-2 touched down in Pavlov crater, 100s of miles from ASSET-1. The crew would continue exploring and mapping the Aitkens Basin in the weeks that followed, with both sides gathering high-fidelity geological mapping of the region. Experiments in Medicine, Geology, Chemistry and Biology topped off the mission, closing ASSET-1’s career as humankind's first lunar base.

(Pavlov crater as seen from Apollo-19.)​

As the crews departed the lunar surface, a number of items were left at the site. The flags of both nations, alongside pins for their missions; Alongside this was a plaque, with the names of all who had died in the pursuit of humankind's spaceflight endeavors. Walter Schirra, Thomas Stafford, Theodore Freeman, Clifton Williams, Edward Givens, Yuri Gagarin, Pavel Belyayeb, Gregory Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Parsayev. Lastly, another plaque was left at the site, in commemoration of the mission, and of humanities success.

(Fallen Astronaut Plaque, meters away from the Hope Plaque.)​

“This plaque denotes the first time that international efforts were taken to explore another terrestrial body. We explored and adventured for the benefit of all nations of the Earth, and their inhabitants. We came in peace, and God willing we shall return in peace, with love and hope for all humankind.”

“Эта мемориальная доска отмечает первый случай, когда международные усилия были предприняты для исследования другого земного тела. Мы исследовали и путешествовали на благо всех народов Земли и их жителей. Мы пришли с миром, и, если Бог даст, мы вернемся с миром, с любовью и надеждой на все человечество.”

-Harrison Schmitt, Vladimir Komarov, James Irwin, Victor Gobakto, Story Musgrave, Gurgen Ivanyan: Inhabitants of Earth, 1976 A.D.

Schmitt: As we leave ASSET for the final time, I would like to express my gratitude to the Soviets for cooperating with us on this. This mission represents the absolute best of humanity, and shows what we can accomplish when we put our differences aside, and meet in the middle with our cooperative spirit and drive to explore.

Komarov: I couldn’t have said it better, Comrade. We aren’t too different after all. The crew of Soyuz 25 salutes you, we wish your future missions go well.

Irwin: Same to you, Komarov.

Ivanyan: The time we spent together was brilliant.

Musgrave: Couldn’t agree more. Hope to see y’all soon, and send mission controllers our regards.

Gobakto: The same to you, Story. Goodbye for now. Москва, мы готовимся к взлету.

Schmitt: Удачи.

​