Apr 22

Space Rocket History #337 – Apollo 15 – LMP Jim Irwin & CDR Dave Scott

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Mike Annis

Dave Scott showed incredible presence of mind during the unexpected events of the Gemini 8 mission. Even in the middle of an emergency, out of contact with Mission Control, he had thought to reenable ground control of the Agena before the two vehicles separated. This allowed NASA to check the Agena from the ground and use it for a subsequent Gemini mission. Scott’s competence was recognized by NASA when, five days after the brief flight, he was assigned to an Apollo crew and was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Apr 08

Space Rocket History #336 – Apollo 15 – Introduction, Crew Selection & CMP Al Worden

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Mike Annis

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The twelve day Apollo 15 mission was scheduled to launch on July 26, 1971. It would be the fourth United States human exploration of the Moon. As compared with earlier missions, Apollo 15 would double the time and extend by a factor of ten the range of lunar surface exploration.

Mar 25

Space Rocket History #335 – Impacts of Soyuz 11 on Future Soyuz, Salyut-1 & Apollo

Posted on March 25, 2020 by spac9750

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It was decided that henceforth, cosmonauts would wear pressure suits for launch and the return to Earth. Also, a system was installed to automatically pump air into the descent module in the event of decompression. Additionally, the ventilation valves were modified so a premature opening would cause them to re-close automatically. Of course these changes meant the spacecraft could only accommodate two cosmonauts.