Apollo 10 - To Sort Out The Unknowns

[Music] May 18th 1969 we were almost ready man had orbited the moon once man had test flown the lunar module the lunar landing craft in Earth orbit once but before we would commit men to a lunar Landing there were still a number of things to be worked out this was the mission of Apollo 10 in the words of its Commander Tom Stafford to sort out all the unknowns and pave the way for a lunar [Music] Landing it was a veteran crew spacecraft Commander Tom Stafford had flown on gmany 6 and N lunar module pilot Jean cernon had flown with Stafford on giny 9 John Young had been on gmany 3 and gmany 10 they would face problems on Apollo 10 problems that would be solved for Apollo 11 most would be minor but they would be solved Stafford young cernon they brought to their mission enthusiasm dedication responsibility even amazement and through the means of color television they took us with them as they played their part in man's Greatest Adventure we are go for a mission to the moon at this time Tom Stafford reports they are go we're coming up in the 202nd Mark T minus 20 seconds and counting 17 seconds in counting guidance internal 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 we have ignition sequence start engines on 5 4 three 2 all engines running lunch commit liftoff we have liftoff 49 minutes past the hour one r Roger good ignition on the second stage man that staging was quite a sequence just like old times it's beautiful out there you guys sound ecstatic man this was the greatest joury Apollo 10 was headed for its initial parking orbit around the Earth after the checkout in orbit it was time for tli Trans lunar injection the burn of the s4b engine to send Apollo 10 to the Moon minutes car up uh Roger 10 your go for tli uh s4b looking as [Applause] planned Rogero we confirm the cut off Apollo 10 with a perfect burn was on its way to the Moon now the command and service module separated from the s4b and turned around to dock with the lunar module for the first of many times Tom Stafford turned on the small highresolution color television camera and shared with the people of Earth the spectacular sites of outer space Apollo 10 took along all those who had made and were making the conquest of the Moon a reality [Music] Charlie we can't be more than about 5 10 ft Roger 10 it's looking real stable to us we show you closing fing be docked in a second I hope Roger 10 Houston you're looking good we can see the markings in the Ry it looks like he just died captur you haven't fired yet R snap snap and we're there got two Grays Roger you saw the docker [Music] Charlie Jean we can read the uh numbers on the lamb uh docking window during the docking Apollo 10 encountered its first problem the myar containing the insulation on the spacecraft hatches had broken releasing a snowstorm of fiberglass in the zero gravity hey we're going to have a heck of a cleaning job here they had insulation all in the seal all in the valve and it really a heck of a mess up here for Apollo 11 it would be fixed then we watched as they pull free of the s4b and got our first live color pictures of the blue planet Earth Charlie this is it it it's it's so hard to describe you can go right up past Alaska and you can see the polar caps uh it's incredible well we see it all here Jean it's colors are really beautiful that's great and the blackest black that you ever could conceive is a setting for all this right so Stafford young and cernon began their Coast away from Earth their speed continually dropping as the arms of Earth gravity tried to pull them [Music] back to control the temperature of the spacecraft they performed a slow steady rotation yeah it sounds like shortly we'll soon be about 55,000 mil out yeah that's right sound like a long way from home it was time to continually check the trajectory and the spacecraft The Command Module call sign Charlie Brown the lunar module Snoopy it was time for conversation and it was time for showing the people at home on the earth what space travel is like for one time you have your choice if you don't like things right side up you can go upside down I just do whatever he says all right you're down here okay we got one of you in each Direction that's the only way to fly farther and farther from Earth Stafford young and cernon flew on their their wingless flight now off the rotating home planet day and night became only a progression of minutes as the spacecraft rotated at three revolutions an hour they're about to finish that Ambi thing and we're going to sack out okay and tomorrow we should be around [Music] right r r up all hands he out Tri up Clean Sweep down four and a half Apollo 10 Houston sounds like we're ready for a naval drill on the flight dck and here is your horoscope reading for today Apollo 10 Tom Stafford you should concentrate on finishing things that you have already started today's Pace will be moderate use this time to take inventory John Young you will have a slow day today this will give you time to concentrate on the work ahead you will enjoy your surroundings and Companions and Gino your hor scope reads give careful thought to your working and driving habit do something nice for your friends the crew of Apollo 10 was getting ready for lunar orbit checklists gone over clock synchronized computers updated as the time for the lunar orbit insertion burn neared the men in Mission Control concentrated on their displays here apoll 10 just tried looking out as far as I can out of the top hatch window and still can't see the moon but we'll take your word that it's there it's there plus 60 miles no guarantee on that aan Houston 2 minutes to L uh everybody here says got see okay and we'll see you right on the other side or Rog L loss of signal the burn to place the spacecraft into lunar orbit would take place behind the moon out of contact with Earth later a second burn would make the orbit circular 60 Mi above the Moon the flight controllers waited for AOS acquisition of signal we have AOS hello apan Houston over uh Roger Houston Apollo 10 you can tell the world that we have [Applause] arrived how's the view T Charlie it might sound corny but the view is really out of this world for the second time three Americans orbited the moon the electronic senses of Miss Finn the man space Flight Network followed their flight measuring precisely their orbital path in information vital to the success of the first man landing on the first orbit the crew turned the TV camera on the scarred lunar landscape see the sea crisis up here that's the first real thing I'm positive of that I've seen that I recognize and boy it's really stands out Stafford young cernon a qu of a million miles from Earth 60 M of above our desolate satellite well that's this is really a rugged Planet but also looking at at the Horizon in some of the mountains we can see down here that's going to be a real kick tomorrow down at 50,000 ft over right we copy that [Applause] hello Houston Apollo 10 we've got a beautiful view of the earth here but it's absolutely [Music] [Applause] [Music] fantastic now it was time for lunar module pilot Jean cernon to crawl into the lunar module called Snoopy to check it out for the next day is descent his evaluation and I personally am very happy with the fella and I hope we can give you his good a report tomorrow you about your life hey you watch Snoopy well tonight and uh make him sleep good and we'll take him out for a walk and let him stretch his legs in the morning okay the next day Stafford and cernon were in the lunar module John Young And The Command Module called Charlie Brown they checked out Snoopy for the last time one of the items involved venting the tunnel connecting Snoopy and Charlie Brown to make sure that the spacecraft hatches did not leak rer I say again we cannot get the tunnel V over right understand tunnel will not this was a real problem the vent pipe seemed to be clogged however the hatch integrity was checked by reducing ing the pressure in the lunar module the inability to reduce pressure in the tunnel also caused a 3 and 1/2 de rotation between the two spacecraft not enough to endanger undocking but for Apollo 11 it would be fixed okay Char Brown and Snoop uh 3 minutes going over the hill you go for undocking and we'll see you around other side Roger Roger the undocking took place behind the [Music] moon when contact was reestablished Snoopy and Charli Brown were ready for the separation maneuver prior to descent the word from John Young and Charlie Brown was you'll never know how big this thing gets when there ain't nobody in here but one guy you never know how small it looks when you're as far away as we are hey John if you get a chance you can turn on the radar transponder will correlate the VHF ranging with it okay my transponder is on transponder is on and the test switch is in Opera I should be getting a radar signal here and I sure don't an electronic piece of radar equipment in the command module was not functioning without it there would be no Rendevous and no low orbit descent in the lunar module to the Moon in mission control and in the two spacecraft switch positions and procedures were rechecked for The Descent and subsequent Rendevous were the heart of the Apollo 10 Mission from Mission Control one last ditch instruction was set up uh Roger how about trying to recycle power switch uh Charlie Brown in the Command Module young turned the switch off then on again hey that did it you guys it's on hey and I got signal stri all bu what do you know about that a little thing a stuck switch but for Apollo 11 it would be corrected okay say adios and we'll see you back in about 6 hours right have a good time while we're gone babe yeah don't get load from out there John and don't accept any Tei [Music] update charie Brown Houston 45 seconds to Los you're still go for DOI DOI descent orbit insertion would come about 180° from Landing site 2 the primary site for Apollo 11 according to the inexurable laws of celestial mechanics this burn of the lunar module descent engine would put Stafford cernon and Snoopy less than 10 Mi above the site once more in Mission Control they waited for word from the Moon Houston houon Char they're down there among the rocks mumbling about the boulders things right now 8 m above the surface 35,000 ft over the ancient Hills then a Communications problem contact with Snoopy was reestablished through Charlie Brown hello Houston Houston this is Snoopy right Snoop go ahead we is going we is down among them Charlie Roger I hear you weaving your way up the freeway Roger fantastic J fantastic [Music] right Charlie babe it's fantastic babe [Music] [Music] really we just can't believe what we're seeing I tell you Joe this this satellite of ours this Moon of ours at a rough beginning somewhere back [Music] there I tell you we're down here where we can touch the top of some hills though then one of the key aspects of the mission Tom Stafford describes the landing site selected for Apollo 11 yeah okay the approach end looks a lot smoother than some of the Orbiter photos show and still estimate 25 to 30% a semic clear area so if the limb has enough hover time at least from what we could see at 50,000 ft it should not be a problem or if you come down in the wrong area and you don't have the hover time you're going to have to shove [Music] off now it was time to begin the Rendevous on this first low orbit they would make the initial burn to put Snoopy and Charlie Brown into the proper phase relationship for the coming Maneuvers okay we're burning John we're burning Snoopy was now ready for the Rendevous sequence to be performed on the next orbit once more they rounded The Battered face of the Moon oh Charlie we just saw Earth rise and it's got to be magnificent Charlie I don't know how the big man must see things but if his view is any better than ours uh it's got to be fantastic before the actual Rendevous Burns took place the lunar module's Ascent stage would have to be separated from The Descent [Music] stage but during the separation something went wrong Snoopy began to roll rapidly get out of there babe that's that last attitude Snoop Houston we show you as close to giml loock yeah okay something went wild there on that sing and we're all set we didn't lock it we're going ahead to the auto Charlie Brown Houston they got saing uh they uh had a wild gation though but they got it under control it was an unexpected system malfunction Stafford and cernon quickly had it under control in fact Tom Stafford and Jean cernon were in any kind of danger but for a few seconds they didn't know that for Apollo 11 it would be found and [Music] corrected now the Rendevous sequence came step by step it was old hat for the veteran crew in gmany Stafford had flown five Rendevous cernon four and young three so Snoopy rose up from the Moon to join Charlie Brown Hey Joe uh we're about ready to dock stand by okay John you're into about 5T babe looking beautiful hello H trippy and Charlie Brown are hugging each other Roger that we heard him down here but the day was not over yet they still had to prepare the ascent stage and Command Module for their final [Music] separation h we're all back in the Command Module the tunnel's all locked up and we're in attitude and uh standing by the sep here when you give us the word and we can go ahead and separate now uh Charlie Brown okay Houston we'll give you a count down we're all set to go for SE give you a five count 4 3 2 1 fire and when he leaves he leaves yeah and it was right into the sun babe right into the sun actually like Tom said there's a lot of people who did a good job and I tell you these vehicles so far that little Snoopy was a real winner we con Cur big Charlie Brown is no slot either the next day Apollo 10 stayed in orbit around the moon the orbital deviations of Apollo 10 were being determined with greater and greater precision on board there was more photography more Landmark tracking and navigation with each Revolution the Figures were being pinned down closer and closer in preparation for the arrival of Apollo 11 Jacki there's some very interesting looking uh things that uh sort of look like uh volcano there's one on the backside that I that if it was in a different setting you can call it m F [Music] IA but now it was time to head home to Earth trans Earth injection the one burn of the mission that absolutely had to work the burn that would push Apollo 10 out of its lunar orbit everything looks good fori here the way again this most critical of all Maneuvers would take place behind the moon cut off from Earthly [Music] [Applause] contact uh Roger Houston we are returning to the Earth over glad to have you on the way back back home 10 for the last time Apollo 10 watched the sapphire called Earth rise over a stark lunar Horizon and as they had throughout the mission Stafford young and cernon shared with us the sights and feelings of their Voyage Through color television you guys are really hauling the mail out of there oh you better believe it this like we're climbing straight out Joe it's a fantastic sight it's like we were shot straight out from the center of the Moon uh you're going about 6,000 ft a second as the crew of Apollo 10 hurdled earthward they decided to perform one more test a test not in the original objectives of the mission but a test that would solve a problem that had baffled Space Engineers for years somebody finally came up with the idea of using the razor and BR shaving cream AC the int absolutely that's what the space age does for you I tell you Charlie that's one of the most refreshing things that's happened in the last couple of days that was really great you guys really look [Applause] good down from the Moon toward the coast of Earth Apollo 10 sped on its incandescent path toward its Dawn Rendevous at [Music] sea [Music] problems had been met faced and solved for that was the mission of Apollo 10 to sort out the unknowns and pave the [Music] way but as the men of Apollo 10 were reunited with their families and friends attention was already turning elsewhere Apollo 11 had been rolled out to its Launchpad even before Apollo 10 had entered orbit about the moon now it stood pointed toward a distant lunar [Music] sea how much we're going to progress in the future is left to your imagination but if we harness our energy and keep our perspectives right uh the goals are Unlimited