The following articles on the Apollo Launch Escape System were posted to the sci.space.history newsgroup in June 2002. There were detailed plans for launch failures if the Apollo-Saturn flights. Fortunately they never had to be tested.
On Tue, 25 Jun 2002 10:25:36 -0400, D. Liebenwurst
wrote:
>The Apollo spacecraft had a launch escape rocket that was jettisoned
>about 3 minutes after Saturn liftoff. Was the Service Module engine
>then supposed to be ignited in the event of an emergency shutdown of
>the launch vehicle?
As Henry indicated, the SM's SPS was used for aborts after LES
jettison. There were 4 "modes" of abort, which depended on down range
distance and speed:
1 - Used the LES and was "short down-range".
2- After LES, separate and burn the SPS for separation. Again, "short
down-range".
3- Further down-range, separate, orient the CSM (normally retrograde)
and burn the SPS to achieve landing in a designated target area.
4- If almost in orbit, separate, orient the CSM posigrade and burn to
orbit. Then set up a "normal" reentry burn for the primary landing
area.
I used to have all the numbers memorized, but it was too long ago.
:-) You see, I wrote the RTCC code that organized all this junk.
-----------------------
James Summers
IBM-ret, "old space guy".
Apollo 201, 202, 203, 204, 1, & 9 RTCC Support. Apollo 13 "back room".
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>FORTRAN? ;-)
The math code was in FORTRAN. The control logic was in MAP (Macro
Assembler Programming) on the 7094 II's and then in Assm360 on the
360/75's. Eventualy we moved up to "Assembler H". (Boy, talk about a
language!!! It's macro precompiler was comprable to REXX or other
"high level" languages that came 10-20 years later.)
I actually wrote some "debug/test" code in FAP - Fortran Assembler
Programming. It had subroutines to do the FORTRANish things like
"formatted print".
-----------------------
James Summers
IBM-ret, "old space guy".
Apollo 201, 202, 203, 204, 1, & 9 RTCC Support. Apollo 13 "back room".
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
James Summers wrote in message
news:3d18a4bd.134346066@news.texas.net...
> On Tue, 25 Jun 2002 10:25:36 -0400, D. Liebenwurst
> wrote:
>
> As Henry indicated, the SM's SPS was used for aborts after LES
> jettison. There were 4 "modes" of abort, which depended on down range
> distance and speed:
> 1 - Used the LES and was "short down-range".
And there were three subdivisions of Mode 1. The CM/LES combination had to
be turned around after separation from the Service Module, so that the
heatshield was forward. Depending on how far into the flight they were when
the abort was called, they would use one of three methods:
1a - Used the pitch control motor in the LES
1b - Used the pop-out canards at the top of the LES
1c - Used the Command Module attitude thrusters
In the early minutes of launch you can hear the CAPCOM advising the crew
when they switch from one mode to another - "Mode one-Bravo" etc.
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland
"Slipped the surly bonds of Earth...to touch the face of God"
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