Some interesting responses and comments there. Thanks.
Here are some of my thoughts.
The Baldwin/Stevens/Poole mission is definitely designated Apollo 21. At the end of Episode 5, the voice over refers to the Jamestown base being ready to receive the crew of Apollo 21, and is dated October 1973. However, it seems certain that Apollo 21 didn’t launch until well into 1974, if the crew were waiting to be relieved in August 1974. An initial stay on the Moon of longer than, say, one month, seems to stretch credibility too far.
It’s probably right that there is a parallel Apollo programme operating in LEO, and Apollo 25 seems to be part of this. This may be where they are building experience of longer duration flights, for both crews and hardware, and it would account for some of the missing numbers, and also explain how they can stay on the Moon for longer periods, with some confidence.
However, as someone said, it would be interesting to see the scriptwriters’ flight schedules and crew assignments.
It is clear, from the dialogue, that Apollo 25 will be Tracy Stevens’ first flight, although she’s been assigned for 3 years. Before that, Waverly and Slayton will fly on Apollo 24, so we may learn if this is Waverly’s first mission. The way her character has been built up, with the focus on her private life, suggests that it is. If she’d already been to the Moon, she’d surely have a much higher profile in society generally, and so keeping her affairs secret, would be much tougher, and she’d probably be less concerned about being exposed, and losing her up-coming flight.
Here are some of my thoughts.
The Baldwin/Stevens/Poole mission is definitely designated Apollo 21. At the end of Episode 5, the voice over refers to the Jamestown base being ready to receive the crew of Apollo 21, and is dated October 1973. However, it seems certain that Apollo 21 didn’t launch until well into 1974, if the crew were waiting to be relieved in August 1974. An initial stay on the Moon of longer than, say, one month, seems to stretch credibility too far.
It’s probably right that there is a parallel Apollo programme operating in LEO, and Apollo 25 seems to be part of this. This may be where they are building experience of longer duration flights, for both crews and hardware, and it would account for some of the missing numbers, and also explain how they can stay on the Moon for longer periods, with some confidence.
However, as someone said, it would be interesting to see the scriptwriters’ flight schedules and crew assignments.
It is clear, from the dialogue, that Apollo 25 will be Tracy Stevens’ first flight, although she’s been assigned for 3 years. Before that, Waverly and Slayton will fly on Apollo 24, so we may learn if this is Waverly’s first mission. The way her character has been built up, with the focus on her private life, suggests that it is. If she’d already been to the Moon, she’d surely have a much higher profile in society generally, and so keeping her affairs secret, would be much tougher, and she’d probably be less concerned about being exposed, and losing her up-coming flight.
