Apollo Safety Plan

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32036, 10 July 1969, Page 18

Apollo Safety Plan

(N Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) CAPE KENNEDY, July 9. The three Apollo 11 astronauts will today rehearse the various manoeuvres they would have to perform if something went wrong during the initial stages of the giant rocket’s fiery blast-off from the earth at 1.32 a.m., New Zealand time, or. Thursday, July 17. On top of the moonship, attached to the nose of the Apollo spacecraft, is a 33fttall tower, known as the launch escape system, which has its own rocket engine; and this could pull the spacecraft clear in the event of a malfunction during lift-off. The astronauts would then deploy parachutes on their craft to land safely in the sea about 600 miles off the coast.

In any later trouble, they could use the spacecraft’s own rocket engine to leave the main rocket and go into a safe earth orbit before making a normal re-entry. Last night the astronauts reviewed every item of equipment that will be aboard their spacecraft when they take off on their eight-day mission. Later, technicians filled the water tanks on the moonship and fitted batteries to the descent stage of the lunar module. The unique rocket engine

of this,section of the lunar ferry, named Eagle, can be controlled like that of a motor-car to enable the astronauts to guide their craft down to a gentle landing on the best-looking area of lunar surface they can find. Other rocket engines on the spaceship are of fixed power, controlled by length of firing, rather than by throttling up or down. If the astronauts think their initial landing site too rough; they can use the descent engine to hover over the sur-

face at between 150 and 500 feet, moving up to half a mile away to find a better spot. When a set of fift-long probes fitted to the ends of the lunar module's four telescopic legs touch the surface, the astronauts will switch off the engine, allowing the craft to come to rest at the rate of about three feet per second. A parachutist normally hits the ground about 10ft per second, so the astronauts should barely notice the impact when they land.