Apollo 10
Encyclopedia : A : AP : APO : Apollo 10
| Mission insignia | |
|---|---|
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| Mission statistics | |
| Mission Name: | Apollo 10 |
| Call sign: | Command module: Charlie Brown Lunar module: Snoopy |
| Number of Crew: | 3 |
| Launch: | May 18, 1969 16:49:00 UTC Kennedy Space Center LC 39B |
| Lunar orbit: | May 21 20:44:54 UTC- May 24 10:25:29 UTC |
| Splashdown: | May 26, 1969 16:52:23 UTC 15° 2' S - 164° 39' W
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| Duration: | 8 d 0 h 03 min 23 s |
| Number of Lunar Orbits: | 31 |
| Time in Lunar Orbit: | 61 h 37 min 23.6 s |
| Mass: | CSM 28,834 kg; LM 13,941 kg |
| Crew picture | |
 Apollo 10 crew portrait (L-R: Cernan, Stafford, and Young) | |
| Apollo 10 Crew | |
Contents
Crew
- Thomas Stafford (flew on Gemini 6A, Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, & Apollo-Soyuz), commander
- John W. Young (flew on Gemini 3, Gemini 10, Apollo 10, Apollo 16, STS-1, & STS-9), command module pilot
- Eugene Cernan (flew on Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, & Apollo 17), lunar module pilot
Backup Crew
- Gordon Cooper (flew on Mercury 9, Gemini 5), commander
- Donn Eisele (flew on Apollo 7), command module pilot
- Edgar Mitchell (flew on Apollo 14), lunar module pilot
Support Crew
- Charles Duke (flew on Apollo 16)
- Joe Engle (flew on STS-2, STS 51-I)
- James Irwin (flew on Apollo 15)
- Jack Lousma (flew on Skylab 3, STS-3)
Mission parameters
- Mass: CSM 28,834 kg; LM 13,941 kg
Earth Orbit
- Perigee: 184.5 km
- Apogee: 190 km
- Inclination: 32.5°
- Period: 88.1 min
Lunar Orbit
- Perilune: 111.1 km
- Apolune: 316.7 km
- Inclination: 1.2°
- Period: 2.15 hours
LM - CSM Docking
LM closest approach to lunar surface
On May 22 1969 at 20:35:02 UTC, a 27.4 second LM descent propulsion system burn inserted the LM into a descent orbit of 112.8 km by 15.7 km so that the resulting lowest point in the orbit occurred about 15° from lunar landing site 2 (the Apollo 11 landing site). The lowest measured point in the trajectory was 15.6 km above the lunar surface at 21:29:43 UTC.See also
Mission highlights
This dress rehearsal for a Moon landing brought Stafford and Cernan's lunar module, nicknamed "Snoopy", to 8.4 nautical miles (15.6 km) from the lunar surface. Except for that final stretch, the mission went exactly as a landing would have gone, both in space and on the ground, where Apollo's extensive tracking and control network was put through a dry run. Shortly after leaving low Earth orbit, the command/service module separated from the S-IVB stage, turned around, and docked its nose to the top of the lunar module still nestled in the S-IVB. The CSM/LM stack then separated from the S-IVB for the trip to the moon. Upon reaching lunar orbit, Young remained alone in his command module "Charlie Brown," while Stafford and Cernan flew separately in the LM. They checked out the LM's radar and ascent engine, rode out a momentary gyration in the lunar lander's motion (due to a faulty switch setting), and surveyed the Apollo 11 landing site in the Sea of Tranquillity. This test article of the lunar module was not equipped to land, however. Apollo 10 also added another first - broadcasting live color TV from space.On May 22 1969 Apollo 10's lunar module flew within 15.6 km of the Moon's surface.
- Launched: May 18, 1969 from Pad 39B
- Returned: May 26, 1969
- Crew members: Tom Stafford, commander; John Young, command module pilot; Gene Cernan, lunar module pilot
- Command module: Charlie Brown
- Lunar module: Snoopy
Mission insignia
The shield-shaped emblem for the flight shows a giant Roman numeral X sitting on the moon's surface, in Stafford's words, "to show that we had left our mark." A CSM, trailing fire, is flying through the top half of the X as the ascent stage of the LM flies up from close to the surface. The earth is visible in the background. A wide, light blue border carries the word APOLLO at the top and the crew names around the bottom. The patch is trimmed in gold.Trivia
- Of the three backup crew members, only Edgar Mitchell would fly, which would have originally been on Apollo 13, but because of nearly 10 years since Alan Shepherd's Mercury 3 flight (due to a medical disqualification), Mitchell and Shepherd would fly on Apollo 14, swapping flights with Jim Lovell and his crew, who were the backup crew for Apollo 11 at the time of the Apollo 10 flight.
Images
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References
- [NASA NSSDC Master Catalog]
- [APOLLO BY THE NUMBERS: A Statistical Reference by Richard W. Orloff (NASA)]
- [Apollo 10 Characteristics - SP-4012 NASA HISTORICAL DATA BOOK]
- Lattimer, Dick (1985). 'All We Did was Fly to the Moon''. Whispering Eagle Press. ISBN 0961122803.
External links
- [Apollo 10 entry in Encyclopedia Astronautica]
- [The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology]
- [Apollo Program Summary Report]
- [Mission Report: Apollo 10]
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