NASA APOLLO PROGRAM BP-12 BOILERPLATE HIGH

on four thousand square miles of the Tularosa basin in south-central New Mexico the US Army maintains its White Sands Missile Range here the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has constructed facilities for testing the launch escape system of the Apollo command module in the early hours of May 12 1964 these facilities were prepared for the test of Apollo boiler plate 12 an unmanned test command module which would be subjected to launch and abort under conditions of high dynamic pressure [Music] the haikyuu abort test of border plate 12 will demonstrate the capability of the Apollo launch escape configuration the launch escape system will be required to propel the command module away from the launch vehicle under conditions of high dynamic pressure in the transonic speed range trajectory and speed at the time of abort will duplicate a nominal saturn v launch however for purposes of the test the border plate will be boosted to abort conditions by the Little Joe to a reliable low-cost vehicle designed especially for the Apollo testing program to achieve its planned trajectory the vehicle will be angled approximately six degrees on its launch frame in flight the vehicle attains its ballistic path as it approaches the transonic speed range air pressure and vehicle velocity combined to exert heavy aerodynamic stresses on the command module at approximately 20,000 feet the abort signal triggers separation of the module from the launch vehicle simultaneously the launch escape motor and pitch control motor ignite accelerating the command module away from the launch vehicle at a safe distance from the vehicle explosive bolts are fired and the power jettison motor is ignited the command modules forward compartment cover is removed as the escape tower is jettisoned permitting deployment of the earth Landing systems parachutes first a drogue parachute to stabilize the module and oriented blood end forward then mortar deployed pilot parachutes to draw the main landing parachutes from their bags the story of boiler plate 12 began at Downey California here at the space & Information Systems Division of North American Aviation Apollo command and service modules are fabricated boiler plate command modules are identical in size and shape to the command modules that will carry three astronauts on manned Apollo missions however they are designed over strength for test purposes hence the name boiler plate equipment to be carried on board is determined by the border plates mission boiler plate 12 for example carries power instrumentation data transmission and data recording equipment an important structure in the test is the 33 foot long launch escape system its main components are the pitch control motor the tower jettison motor the launch escape motor and the launch escape tower the service module for the boiler plate 12 mission contains pressure instrumentation and the release mechanism for freeing the command module at the moment of abort once component and system tests are completed mortar plate modules are brought to the test tower at the Downey facility here they are tested again as an integrated system in this operation known as stacking boiler plate components are brought together for the first time they are checked for mechanical v and r then mated to full configuration with verification of electrical continuity the entire configuration undergoes full-scale testing a launch vehicle simulator umbilical set and pyrotechnic simulator are connected and all onboard systems are operated in the same manner and sequence as they will be during launch and flight at the san diego plant of general dynamics convair work continued on the fabrication of the Little Joe to launch vehicle the Little Joe 2 is 13 feet in diameter it is made up of two sections a four body and an after body and is stabilized in flight by four fins when the two body sections are joined they measure 29 feet overall nearly twice the length of the Little Joe one used in mercury boilerplate testing the Little Joe to is also the nation's most powerful solid propellant launch vehicle having a maximum payload capacity of 80,000 pounds total thrust is changed by varying the combination of motors one Algol and six recruit motors will be used for the boiler plate 12 tests simplified construction and capability to use various rocket motor combinations make the vehicle and economical and versatile test tool like the boiler plate components the Little Joe 2 was also subjected to detailed systems and integrated tests an important launch vehicle test was that of the thrust termination system for the Little Joe two's Algol motor the system was proved out during captive test firings of the motor at the Sacramento facility of the manufacturer Aerojet general the thrust termination system comprises explosive strips which ruptured the motor by causing longitudinal cuts in the motor case restraining cables prevented the explosion of the motor during the captive test in flight the motor will be allowed to explode not only to create a realistic launch hazard but also to prevent the Little Joe to powered by the high-energy Algol motor from overtaking the escaping command module the Little Joe to completed factory tests in late January and on February 17th that arrived at White Sands on February 29th boilerplate components were delivered on schedule to Holloman Air Force Base New Mexico where they were trucked the remaining 65 miles to the White Sands range all components were delivered to the vertical Assembly Building for inspection and check-out in the weeks that followed the earth landing system was installed and tested in the command module inspections and individual system tests were conducted the propellant grain of the launch escape motor was inspected for cracks which would prevent even burning the cue ball pressure analyzer located in the nose cone of the launch escape system was given a final test of its air pressure sensing equipment with its systems installed the command module was subjected to weight and balance checks the launch escape system was also checked and the two components were then weighed and balanced in mated condition to determine the critical center of gravity of the assembly from the resulting readings the thrust angle of a launch escape motor was established to compensate for slight displacement of the command module center of gravity assembly of white components began with the erection of the Little Joe after body in the gantry next the rocket motors were installed the six thiokol recruit booster motors generate high thrust of short duration they will supplement the one hundred three thousand pound thrust of the algal sustainer motor at launch the forward section of the vehicle was then added and the stabilization fins were in place the service module was brought from the vertical Assembly Building to the pad it was lowered in the gantry and secured to the launch vehicle on March 30th 1964 the command module was transferred to the launch pad where it was mated to the service module the launch escape system followed in the blockhouse a series of tests were then conducted to ensure the integrated performance of the vehicle the boilerplate components the launch complex and the supporting facilities the services of the White Sands Missile Range were integrated into the test plan electronic and optical devices to scrutinize the launch operation engineering and documentation cameras to provide a film record of boiler plate 12 flight computer and plotting equipment to determine the precise moment of abort and army personnel who would directly support the operation on May 4th the launch vehicle and boiler plate modules were subjected to a full-scale simulated flight test all flight components and ground support equipment were in operation the tests proceeded through countdown and initiation of the firing sequence umbilical ejection ignition and all elements of the flight including abort initiate were simulated all signals were telemetered out and received data were reduced and analyzes boilerplate 12 proved itself ready for launch the countdown began in the early morning hours of May 12 however by 7:00 a.m. mounting wind and dust conditions forced a 24-hour postponement of the test the final countdown began at 1:00 a.m. on the following morning May 13 the Operations Director and his staff proceeded through the countdown routines monitoring all electrical circuitry temperature and pressure sensors throughout the system and the performance of key subsystems and components the fine line is ready final status reports are in and all t minus ten seconds and counting [Music] what 20 seconds plus 25 termination coming up frost termination occurred at 28 seconds after liftoff destroying the Little Joe - at the same instant the launch escape and pitch control motors ignited speeding the boiler plate into its planned trajectory P plus 40 we have a telemetry indication of we have a toiletry indication that no chute has deployed oscillations during main chute deployment caught the module in an apex downward attitude from this position one of the risers was pulled under the sharp edge of the drove disconnect assembly when the severed parachute pulled free friction burns from its shroud line split a canopy Gore on one of the remaining parachutes the damage did not affect the parachutes ability to help slow the modules descent 5 minutes and 22 seconds after the ground signal to abort was given boiler plate 12 returned to earth here are the highlights of the test as recorded by special-purpose engineering cameras the countdown proceeded without a hold and Little Joe - lifted off perfectly at 6 a.m. the abort signal from the ground was issued at 21,000 feet triggering both thrust termination and instantaneous separation of the command module the tower jettison motor ignited carrying with it the forward heat shield cover and allowing pyrotechnic deployment of the 13 foot drogue parachute the drogue parachute was released and mortars deployed the three pilot parachutes the 388 foot diameter ring sail parachutes were pulled from their deployment bags in the process the one parachute tore away from the module the remaining parachutes were kept in reefed condition for six seconds to reduce opening shock they were then allowed to fully inflate to control the boilerplates descent at approximately 30 feet per second since a third parachute was designed into the earth landing system as a redundant safety feature its loss did not affect the safe return of the module abrasion marks indicated where the riser had been drawn across the command modules upper deck and skin just before being severed the launch escape system and earth landing system sequencers had performed perfectly while oscillation of the command module did not affect launch escape test results efforts will be made to correct the problem on future flights data indicated that man could have survived the abort conditions imposed by the test a preliminary inspection of the command module showed that the heat shield sustained minor damage as a result of the thrust termination explosion and from impact on a sand hummock with all primary objectives of the boiler plate 12 tests successfully met the Apollo launch escape test program continues on schedule