piersquared
Mercury
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Post by piersquared on Jul 22, 2011 12:08:58 GMT -4
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, "LIFTOFF"
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
Hi Mike,
In response to your request, here is the story of the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment as I recall and like to tell it. The Lunar Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR) project was one of the two major science experiments placed on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts. Physicists Caroll Alley (U. of Maryland) and James Faller (Wesleyan) were PIs. The plan was to use the 3m reflector to fire brief (some nanoseconds in length) but intense pulses of light at a reflector placed on the moon, then precisely time the arrival of the return pulse back at the telescope about 2.5 seconds later. Each pulse would allow measurement of the distance to the moon to within a few meters. Repeated pulses would allow increased precision of measurement, and were expected to result in a night-to-night distance to the moon accurate to a few centimeters. The primary goal was to investigate fundamental aspects of gravitation. Anticipating the Apollo 11 Mission in 1969, NASA gave us $75,000 to dig a pitbelow the coude slitroom. Into that pit we installed the two most powerful lasers anyone in the world would admit to having, mounted on brand new Bridgeport mills. From the lasers mounted on optical benches on the mill tables in the pit below the telescope, the light pulses went up through holes in the floor of the slitroom, bounced off of large mirrors (still in the slitroom mounted on rails) which sent the light up the polar axle and then through the telescope, which was thus used in reverse as a giant laser gun. We were issued unbelievably dense safety glasses, darker than typical welding glasses, in case we had to go out on the dome floor during laser firing. After a couple of tries on test nights we found no one could see anything through them, and everyone stopped using them. We were quite cautious about going onto the dome floor, however. Channel 9 (PBS) and Channel 7 (ABC) both had news crews at the telescope for that first moon landing event in July 1969. The idea was to broadcast this exciting big-time Bay Area science effort to the local citizens as it happened. Fortunately, I think we were so overshadowed by lunar events that evening that nothing was ever broadcast from Lick. We had what I believe was the first civilian-use low-light-level vidicon camera, which had just been declassified by the Defense Department and been mounted on the 3m only a couple of weeks before. We had used it successfully for a few practice nights when it had delivered excellent images, and all seemed in order. I had just been promoted out of my initial job as night assistant, but was there nevertheless as Joe Wampler's hand-picked telescope operator for this special occasion. Thus I was at the center of the first difficulty, which was that we could not find the moon with the world's second largest telescope! In those days the Astronomical Almanac included geocentric lunar coordinates for every hour during the year. When I set to the coordinates given for the nearest hour (usually plenty good enough to find the moon), nothing was there. Over the next 30 or 40 minutes I repeatedly and frantically interpolated coordinates to the nearest 5 minutes, checked to be sure I really had the current Almanac and not last year’s, made sure I had the correct time and tried again -- but still couldn't find the moon. This was deeply humiliating with the TV geeks just out in the hall, and Louis Alvarez sitting there being very polite. Finally someone shouted “There it is!” It appeared as the most delicate spiderweb tracery of just the brightest highlights, still barely perceptible. We had started to set to it in very early twilight with this new camera which we had previously used only at night. The contrast of a bright moon on a bright sky was not as expected. We could find the moon after all, and in fact we must have been on it 100 times already that evening. Whew! We took a break to watch Neil Armstrong’s historic first step event on TV, a thrill shared by all present. After the PR opportunity, the astronauts began to place science experiments out on the moon's surface. The first such experiment was our retroreflector, an array of 100 beautiful corner cube prisms, cut so as to return any inbound light exactly back to the source. The Retroreflector array is seen here about 1/3 from the left edge of this photo, between the flag and Lunar Expedition Module. The astronaut in the foreground is now placing a seismograph on the lunar surface It seemed then as if we were all set, but we still needed to know exactly where on the moon the astronauts were. As the laser beam diameter at the moon was only about two miles, we had to be able to point fairly accurately. The lunar module, under manual control in order to avoid some rough terrain, had not been landed exactly where planned. The astronauts soon determined their precise location on the moon and radioed that information to Mission Control in Houston Later that evening, Joe Wampler spoke with Mission Control to obtain the coordinates for the actual landing site. I was sitting next to him as he stood at the night assistant's desk in the 3m control room, upon which he had a large scale moon map spread out. I heard Joe repeat back the coordinates three times in order to be absolutely certain he had them correct. Then, with the spot carefully marked on the map, we pointed the telescope to that exact lunar location and started firing a laser at it - scientific history in the making! We blasted away all night but detected no return signal whatsoever. Things got pretty subdued later in the evening as it became apparent we had a problem. This problem was identified the next day when someone called Houston again to verify the lunar coordinates, which turned out to be 00°41′15″N, 23°26′00″W. Despite the fact that Joe had repeated every number three separate times, they were still wrong. The person he had spoken with in Houston that first night had a deep Texas accent, and although the last two digits in the N-S coordinate group were 15, through the thick Texan drawl Joe had consistently heard "fifty" rather than "fifteen", so we had not been pointed at the correct spot on the first night. The Retroreflector is an array of 100 corner-cube prisms, each 3.8cm in diameter. It is still in service. We started the second night with confidence but still obtained no return signal, and the same was true for a couple more nights. Nothing. Yet, very careful checks appeared to verify that everything was functioning as expected; laser power, optical alignments, location on the moon, atmospheric clarity, photon detectors, timing electronics ... everything looked good. We were only searching for the reflected pulse within a small time window, because the belief was that the distance was already known to within 500m My recollection is that we had only 2 kilobytes of memory in which to store the return pulse. That 2k of memory was cost-limited, and in the late 1960s it represented approximately a $10,000 expense to the project (about $65,000 in current dollars)! But it should have been enough to ensure the return pulse was detected within the few millionths of a second time window during which that return pulse was expected. After all, the Solar System experts from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory had provided an ephemeris for the anticipated separations between the 3m telescope and the retroreflector on the moon which included the carefully calculated influences of every known variable. Finally Lloyd Robinson suggested that, despite our assurance that we were looking for the return pulse at the right time, since we were unable to pinpoint any other source of difficulty we should try moving the small window of time within which we were looking for a return signal. That idea soon produced a result, and we were able to center up on a good signal with the expected strength, and began to accumulate data. It remained to explain the unexpected discrepancy in timing. Every detail of the experiment was examined carefully. It took weeks to finally locate the source of the error within the computer program JPL had used to generate the expected timing for the return signal. They quite reasonably had assumed that Lick Observatory (LO) was where the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac (predecessor of the Astronomical Almanac) said it was, which in turn and equally reasonably listed the observatory location as given by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS). USCGS thought LO was where their Lick Observatory benchmark was placed. Their benchmark was in the parking lot west of the Main Building, 1700 feet from the 3m telescope. Thus, the first result of this very sophisticated Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment was to accurately measure the distance between the 3m telescope and the Main Building parking lot - via a retroreflector on the moon! The first scientific paper which resulted from this experiment improved the previous best measurements of distance to the Moon by a factor of 100. This activity is still being conducted from McDonald Observatory. Using the much shorter laser pulses and faster electronics now feasible, distances to the Moon are routinely measured to within about one centimeter per night! Rem
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017 Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
Laser Ranging RetroReflector: Continuing Measurements and Expected Results Abstract. After successful acquisition in August of reflected ruby laser pulses from the Apollo 11 laser ranging retro-reflector (LRRR) with the telescopes at the Lick and McDonald observatories, repeated measurements of the round-trip travel time of light have been made from the McDonald Observatory in September with an equivalent range precision of +2.5 meters. These acquisition period observations demonstrated the performance of the LRRR through lunar night and during sunlit conditions on the moon. Instrumentation activated at the McDonald Observatory in October has yielded a precision of +0.3 meter, and improvement to + 0.15 meter is expected shortly. Continued monitoring of the changes in the earth-moon distance as measured by the round-trip travel time of light from suitably distributed earth stations is expected to contribute to our knowledge of the earth-moon system.
The performance (1) of the Apollo II laser ranging retro-reflector (LRRR) left on the moon, as well as that of the instrumentation at the ground observatories, has been in accord with the original expectations (2-5). The scientific objectives are such that lengthy analysis of a long-continuing series of frequent measurements is required before results are available. The experiment had its origin in discussions among members of the experimental gravitational research group at Princeton University (6). Because of the many areas of science and technology involved in the experiment, a group (7) was organized to carry it out. The compact array of high-precision Table 1. Lunar orbital data parameters. Present 0.15-m Range accuracy* Quantity uncertainty Time (approximate) Uncertainty (yr) Mean distance 500 m 25 m 1 Eccentricity 1 X 107 4 X 10-9 1 Angular position of Moon With respect to perigee 2 X 10- rad 4 X 10 rad 1 With respect to Sun 5 X 10-v rad 4 X 10-8 rad 1 Time necessary to check predictions of Brans- Dicke scalar-tensor gravitational theory 8 * Three observing stations. Table 2. Lunar libration and relation of LRRR to center of mass. Present 1.5-m Range accuracy* Quantity uncertainty Time (approximate) Uncertainty (yr) Librauion parameterst -- (C-A)/Bt 1 X 10-5 3 5< 10-' 4 a-- (B-A)/C 5 x 10-5 2 x 10- 1.5 Coordinates of LRRR with respect to center of masst XO500m 25rm 1 X., 200m 7rm 1 X, 200 m 5 m 3 * Three observing stations are assumed. t A is the moment of inertia about the principal axis toward the earth, B is the moment about the principal axis tangent to the orbit, and C is the moment about the moon's rotation axis. Knowledge of the parameters ,B and 'y is important in determining the mass distribution within the moon. X , X, and X3 are measured along the principal axes about which the moments A, B, and C are defined. Table 3. Geophysical data determinable from LRRR. Quantity Present uncertainty (estimated) 0.15-m Range accuracy Rotation period of earth (sec) 5 x 10- 1 X 10-: Distance of station from axis of rotation (m) 10 0.3 Distance of station from equatorial plane (m)* 20 0.6 to 2, Rotation period of earth (sec) 5 x 10- 1 X 10-: Distance of station from axis of rotation (m) 10 0.3 Distance of station from equatorial plane (m)* 20 0.6 to 2, Motion of the pole (m)* 1 to 2 0.15 East-west continental drift rate observable in 5 years (cm/yr)* 30 to 60 3 Time for observing predicted drift of 10 cm/yr of Hawaii toward Japan (years) 15 to 30 1.5 Three or more observing stations are required. Depending upon the latitude of the station. 458 optical retro-reflectors (cube corners) deployed on the moon (1, 8) is intended to serve as a reference point in measuring precise ranges between the array and points on the earth by using the technique of short-pulse laser ranging. The atmospheric fluctuations in the index of refraction diverge a laser beam and prevent the spot on the moon from being smaller than approximately 1.6 km in diameter. The curvature of the lunar surface results in part of the short pulse being reflected before the rest, producing a reflected pulse measured in microseconds, even if the incident pulse is measured in nanoseconds. The retroreflector array eliminates this spreading because of the small size of the array. (The maximum spreading of a pulse because of optical libration tipping of the array will be approximately + 0.125 nsec.) In addition, the retro-reflective property causes a much larger amount of light to be directed back to the telescope from the array than is reflected from the entire surface area illuminated by the laser beam. The basic uncertainty in measuring the approximately 2.5-sec round-trip travel time is associated with the performance of photomultipliers at the single photoelectron level. This uncertainty is estimated to be approximately 1 nsec. When the entire system is calibrated and the effects of the atmospheric delay are calculated from local temperature, pressure, and humidity measurements and subtracted from the travel time, where the uncertainty in this correction is estimated to be less than 0.5 nsec, an overall uncertainty of + 15 cm in one-way range seems achievable. The present uncertainty of three parts in 107 in the knowledge of the velocity of light will not affect the scientific aims of the experiment, since it is the practice to measure astronomical distances in light travel time. Primary scientific objectives include the study of gravitation and relativity (secular variation in the gravitational constant), the physics of the earth (fluctuation in rotation rate, motion of the pole, large-scale crustal motions), and the physics of the moon (physical librations, center-of-mass motion, size, and shape) (2-5). Estimates of improvements expected in some of these categories are shown in Tables 1 to 3. The estimated uncertainty for each quantity is intended to be an upper limit. Reflected signals from the LRRR were acquired 1 August (and 3 August, with a different laser system) with the 120-inch telescope of the Lick Observatory (9) at Mt. Hamilton, California, and 20 August with the 107-inch tele- SCIENCE, VOL. 167 Table 4. Measurements at the McDonald Observatory of round-trip travel time during acquisition. The residuals represent the difference between the observed time of travel and that predicted on the basis of the JPL LE16 ephemeris Residual round-trip Day U.T. travel time (nsec) 20 August 3 September 4 September 22 September 17 October 18 October 1 November 16 December 03:00 11:10 10:10 04:00 01:44 01:17 11:40 01:45 96 + 15 490 ± 15 795 ±+24 -1430 + 15 -798 + 15* -978 + 15* -2034 + 15* 1232 + 15* * The present accuracy is +15 nsec in the knowledge of the electronic time delays. Upon completion of the current calibration, the accuracy will be determined by the present overall resolution, less than ±2 nsec, limited by the laser pulse length and photomultiplier jitter scope of the McDonald Observatory (10) at Mt. Locke, Texas. These observations showed that the LRRR did not suffer any major degradation, if any at all, from debris generated during liftoff of the lunar module. The signals are consistent with the return expected from the LRRR design, within the uncertainties of atmospheric "seeing," telescope transmission, and other optical losses. Continued acquisition period measurements at McDonald in September (10), taken with the initial observations, have demonstrated the successful performance of the LRRR at several sun illumination angles, as well as during and after a lunar night, confirming the prediction of thermal design analyses.
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
The Lick Observatory participated in the acquisition phase of the experiment to increase the probability of getting early returns. The weather and seeing are generally excellent there in the summer. Laser ranging activities ceased at Lick in August. In October a custom-built four-stage ruby laser, made by Korad, was installed at the McDonald Observatory. This laser was built to specifications developed for long-term precision measurements in the lunar ranging experiment. The pulse length is produced by a time-varying reflectivity mode of operation and can be as short as 2.8 nsec, although a more typical value is 4 nsec. It transmits 5 joules with a beam divergence (full width) of 1.4 mradian at a repetition rate capability of one shot every 3 seconds. At the same time, vernier timing circuits (11-13) shown schematically in Fig. I were activated. This instrumentation allows a resolution uncertainty of ±2 nsec on each measured return. The accuracy depends on thorough calibration of all electronic delays. This will be com- INITIAL FINAL VERNIER DIGITAL TIME INTERVAL VERNIER A IA tt LASER 50nsec LLASER OUTPUT RETURN Fig. 1. Representation of the nanosecond-resolution time-interval measurement system now in use at the McDonald Observatory. Special circuits eliminate any ±+1 count uncertainty in the 20-Mhz, digitally measured interval. The vernier components are time to pulse height converters. 30 JANUARY 1970 pleted soon to the 1-nsec level. The measurements made in October, November, and December, and which are shown in Table 4, still have a calibration uncertainty in accuracy of ±15 nsec. These later measurements are subject to reduction of the accuracy uncertainty upon completion of the final calibration. As more experience is gained in the use of the new 107-inch McDonald telescope, the goal is three measurement periods daily. Each period would last about 15 minutes, enabling several hundred laser shots to be fired; the periods would be scheduled near the time of meridian crossing, several hours before. and several hours after. From these measurements, one can obtain the minimum range and its epoch of occurrence. Harmonic analysis of this range time series will permit the determination of the qualities listed in Tables 1 through 3. In order to satisfy all the scientific aims of the experiment, it is hoped that more U.S. and foreign ground stations can be established to carry out regular precision ranging to the LRRR. The deployment of several more LRRR's on the moon would allow a more detailed study of the lunar physical librations, independent of any model. One of these should be designed to give a larger return than the Apollo 11 LRRR, so as to allow participation in the ranging program by smaller telescopes. C. 0. ALLEY, R. F. CHANG D. G. CURRIE, S. K. POULTNEY Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park P. L. BENDER Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, National Bureau of Standards and University of Colorado, Boulder 80302 R. H. DICKE, D. T. WILKINSON Palmer Physical Laboratory, Princelon University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 J. E. FALLER Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut W. M. KAULA Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles 90024 G. J. F. MAcDONALD University of California, Santa Barbara J. D. MULHOLLAND Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91103 H. H. PLOTKIN, W. CARRION Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 E. J. WAMPLER Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz 95060 459 References and Notes l. C. 0. Alley et al., "Laser ranging retro-reflector" in Apollo 11 Preliminary Science Report (NASA Special Publication SP-214, 1969) 2. C. 0. Alley, P. L. Bender, R. H. Dicke, J. E. Faller, P. A. Franken, H. H. Plotkin, D. T. Wilkinson, J. Geophys. Res. 70, 2267 (1965). 3. C. 0. Alley and P. L. Bender, in Symposium No. 32 of the International Astronomical Union on Continental Drift, Secular Motion of the Pole, and Rotation of the Earth, W. Markowitz and B. Guinot, Eds. (Reidel, Holland, 1968). 4. C. 0. Alley, P. L. Bender, D. G. Currie, R. H. Dicke, J. E. Faller, Proceedings of the N.A.T.O. Advanced Study Institute on the Application of Modern Physics to the Earth and Planetary Interiors, S. K. Runcorn, Ed. (Wiley, London, 1969). 5. G. J. F. MacDonald, Science 157, 204 (1967). 6. W. F. Hoffman, R. Krotkov, R. H. Dicke, Inst. Radio Eng. IRE Trans. Military Electron. 4, 28 (1960). The authors served as a committee for the whole group: C. 0. Alley, J. Brault, D. Brill, R. H. Dicke, J. Faller, W. F. Hoffman, L. Jordan, R. Krotkov, S. Liebes, R. Moore, J. Peebles, J. Stoner, and K. Turner. 7. Formal responsibility has rested with the followinig group: principal investigator, C. 0. Alley (University of Maryland); co-investigators: P. L. Bender (National Bureau of Standards), R. H. Dicke (Princeton University), J. E. Faller (Wesleyan University), W M. Kaula (University of California at Los Angeles), G. J. F. MacDonald (University of California at Santa Barbara), J. D. Mulholland (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), H. H. Plotkin (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), and D. T. Wilkinson (Princeton University); participating scientists: W. Carrion (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), R. F. Chang (University of Maryland), D. G. Currie (University of Maryland) and S. K. Poultney (University of Maryland). 8. Responsibility for the detailed design of the LRRR to perform continuously in the lunar environment has been carried primarily by J. E. Faller, D. G. Currie, R. F. Chang, and C. O. Alley, supported by the following engineering companies: Arthur D. Little, Inc. (P. Glaser, J Burke, F. Gabron, and D. Comstock); Perkin-Elmer Corporation (J. Atwood, P. Forman, G. Watt, D. Corbett, and S. Lauffer); and the Bendix Aerospace Corporation (C. Weatherred, R. Hill, J. Brueger, R. Wolford, and K. Moore); and by project engineer H. Kriemelmeyer (University of Maryland). 9. J. E. Faller et al., "Observations of the First Returns from a Laser Beam Directed at the Lunar Retro-Reflector Array," Science 166, 99 (1969). 9a. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. (1969). 10. C 0. Alley, R. F. Chang, D. G. Currie, J. Mullendore, S. K. Poultney, J. D. Rayner, E. C. Silverberg, C. A. Steggerda, H. H. Plotkin, W. Williams, B. Warner, H. Richardson, B. Bopp, Science 167, 368 (1970). 11. S. K. Poultney, The Concept of the Time Interval Measurement and Control Circuitry for the Lunar Ranging Experiment: a History (University of Maryland Department of Physics and Astronomy Technical Report No. 70-068, December 1969). 12. C. A. Steggerda, A Description of the Time Interval Measurement and Laser Control Circuitry for the Lunar Ranging Experiment (University of Maryland Department of Physics and Astronomy Technical Report No. 70-049, November 1969). 13. J. D. Rayner, A Description of the Control Program for the Lunar Ranging Experiment (University of Maryland Department of Physics and Astronomy Technical Report No. 70-064, November 1969) 6 January 1970 SCIENCE, VOL. 167 460
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 144 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
ARMSTRONG: "wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are" , (APOLLO 11 TRANSCRIPT)
COLLINS: "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has.", (CARRYING THE FIRE) COLLINS "Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope.":(LIFTOFF)
ALDRIN: "We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (APOLLO 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)ALDRIN:
ALDRIN: "Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later],"
ALDRIN: "Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine OUR PRECISE LOCATION just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969,"
ALDRIN: "This star chart was the single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon."
ALDRIN: "This star chart was used by Neil Armstrong and myself while on the lunar surface during July 20 - 21, 1969. Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot."
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report) latitude longitude
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
COLLINS "Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope.":(LIFTOFF)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
They wondered about their exact location, glancing out the windows and describing what they saw to give flight control and Collins some clues to aid in the search. While waiting to be found, Armstrong relayed all that he could remember about the landing. They knew they were at least six kilometers beyond the target point, although still within the planned ellipse.
While his crewmates had been active on the surface, Collins had been busy in the command module. There was not much navigating to do, so he took pictures and looked out the window, trying to find the lunar module. He never found it; neither did flight control. There was just too much real estate down there to be able to search the whole area properly. Collins divided the part of the moon he was flying over into segments, but he had no better luck. Armstrong and Aldrin had taken the 26-power monocular with them, but Collins did not think it would have helped much, anyway. He did complain that all this searching cut into the time he needed for taking pictures on each circuit, but he was philosophical about it. As he said, “When the LM is on the surface, the command module should act like a good child and be seen and not heard.”10
Brooks, Courtney (2008). Book, CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO
COLLINS: "Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope." (LIFTOFF)
"But no one, not Armstrong and Aldrin nor anyone in mission control, knew just where Eagle was. The location would be a helpful, though not essential, piece of information for this computer to have during tomorrow's rendezvous. It fell to Collins to try to find the LM on the surface, using the command modules 28 power sextant."…………
"Each time he went around from the far side, mission control had a new set of coordinates for him to try, but on his map, one guess was as much as 10 grid-squares away from the last. It didn't take long to realize no one had a handle on the problem. His search continued fruitlessly for the rest of his 22 solo hours."
Andrew Chaikin, book, A MAN NOT ON THE MOON.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude 0.523=N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 144 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude 0.523=N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 2342
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
1) CDR/ARMSTRONG.(TRANQ) "Houston, the guys that said that we wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are are the winners today. We were a little busy worrying about program alarms and things like that in the part of the descent where we would normally be picking out our landing spot; and aside from a good look at several of the craters we came over in the final descent, I haven't been able to pick out the things on the horizon as a reference as yet."
APOLLO 11 VOICE TRANSCRIPT.
2) "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has."
Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, book, CARRYING THE FIRE.
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that Buzz Aldrin, a man with a genius for astrophysics, who held a Ph.D. in space rendezvous from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Neil Armstrong, one of the coolest hands in the history of aviation, were chosen for the job. NASA believed the Apollo 11 team could do it, and so did they. In the end, NASA's failure to ascertain the exact location of Tranquility Base had no great impact on the docking of Columbia and Eagle, which was fortunate, because it wasn't until 5 days after splash-down on July 29, when film taken by the astronauts was processed and studied, that an official determination was reached."
Leon Wagner's authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, ONE GIANT LEAP.
4) "In the meantime we were monitoring the signal sent back by the passive seismic experiment and attempting to find the LRRR that the astronauts had left behind. This latter operation was not as easy as we expected, since the exact location of the landing site was not immediately known. Mike Collins had attempted unsuccessfully to locate the LM from orbit using the command module sextant. After analyzing the flight data and the returned photographs, we passed our best estimate to the LRRR PIs, and the LRRR was found on August 1, 1969 by the Lick Observatory in California."
Apollo experimental scientist Donald Beattie, book, TAKING SCIENCE TO THE MOOON.
5) "But no one, not Armstrong and Aldrin nor anyone in mission control, knew just where Eagle was. The location would be a helpful, though not essential, piece of information for this computer to have during tomorrow's rendezvous. It fell to Collins to try to find the LM on the surface, using the command modules 28 power sextant."…………
"Each time he went around from the far side, mission control had a new set of coordinates for him to try, but on his map, one guess was as much as 10 grid-squares away from the last. It didn't take long to realize no one had a handle on the problem. His search continued fruitlessly for the rest of his 22 solo hours."
Andrew Chaikin, book, A MAN ON THE MOON.
6) They wondered about their exact location, glancing out the windows and describing what they saw to give flight control and Collins some clues to aid in the search. While waiting to be found, Armstrong relayed all that he could remember about the landing. They knew they were at least six kilometers beyond the target point, although still within the planned ellipse.
While his crewmates had been active on the surface, Collins had been busy in the command module. There was not much navigating to do, so he took pictures and looked out the window, trying to find the lunar module. He never found it; neither did flight control. There was just too much real estate down there to be able to search the whole area properly. Collins divided the part of the moon he was flying over into segments, but he had no better luck. Armstrong and Aldrin had taken the 26-power monocular with them, but Collins did not think it would have helped much, anyway. He did complain that all this searching cut into the time he needed for taking pictures on each circuit, but he was philosophical about it. As he said, “When the LM is on the surface, the command module should act like a good child and be seen and not heard.”10
Brooks, Courtney (2008). Book, CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO
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piersquared
Mercury
BANNED (Sock-puppet of Fattydash)
Posts: 6
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Numbers
Jul 22, 2011 12:07:25 GMT -4
Post by piersquared on Jul 22, 2011 12:07:25 GMT -4
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, "LIFTOFF"
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
Hi Mike,
In response to your request, here is the story of the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment as I recall and like to tell it. The Lunar Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR) project was one of the two major science experiments placed on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts. Physicists Caroll Alley (U. of Maryland) and James Faller (Wesleyan) were PIs. The plan was to use the 3m reflector to fire brief (some nanoseconds in length) but intense pulses of light at a reflector placed on the moon, then precisely time the arrival of the return pulse back at the telescope about 2.5 seconds later. Each pulse would allow measurement of the distance to the moon to within a few meters. Repeated pulses would allow increased precision of measurement, and were expected to result in a night-to-night distance to the moon accurate to a few centimeters. The primary goal was to investigate fundamental aspects of gravitation. Anticipating the Apollo 11 Mission in 1969, NASA gave us $75,000 to dig a pitbelow the coude slitroom. Into that pit we installed the two most powerful lasers anyone in the world would admit to having, mounted on brand new Bridgeport mills. From the lasers mounted on optical benches on the mill tables in the pit below the telescope, the light pulses went up through holes in the floor of the slitroom, bounced off of large mirrors (still in the slitroom mounted on rails) which sent the light up the polar axle and then through the telescope, which was thus used in reverse as a giant laser gun. We were issued unbelievably dense safety glasses, darker than typical welding glasses, in case we had to go out on the dome floor during laser firing. After a couple of tries on test nights we found no one could see anything through them, and everyone stopped using them. We were quite cautious about going onto the dome floor, however. Channel 9 (PBS) and Channel 7 (ABC) both had news crews at the telescope for that first moon landing event in July 1969. The idea was to broadcast this exciting big-time Bay Area science effort to the local citizens as it happened. Fortunately, I think we were so overshadowed by lunar events that evening that nothing was ever broadcast from Lick. We had what I believe was the first civilian-use low-light-level vidicon camera, which had just been declassified by the Defense Department and been mounted on the 3m only a couple of weeks before. We had used it successfully for a few practice nights when it had delivered excellent images, and all seemed in order. I had just been promoted out of my initial job as night assistant, but was there nevertheless as Joe Wampler's hand-picked telescope operator for this special occasion. Thus I was at the center of the first difficulty, which was that we could not find the moon with the world's second largest telescope! In those days the Astronomical Almanac included geocentric lunar coordinates for every hour during the year. When I set to the coordinates given for the nearest hour (usually plenty good enough to find the moon), nothing was there. Over the next 30 or 40 minutes I repeatedly and frantically interpolated coordinates to the nearest 5 minutes, checked to be sure I really had the current Almanac and not last year’s, made sure I had the correct time and tried again -- but still couldn't find the moon. This was deeply humiliating with the TV geeks just out in the hall, and Louis Alvarez sitting there being very polite. Finally someone shouted “There it is!” It appeared as the most delicate spiderweb tracery of just the brightest highlights, still barely perceptible. We had started to set to it in very early twilight with this new camera which we had previously used only at night. The contrast of a bright moon on a bright sky was not as expected. We could find the moon after all, and in fact we must have been on it 100 times already that evening. Whew! We took a break to watch Neil Armstrong’s historic first step event on TV, a thrill shared by all present. After the PR opportunity, the astronauts began to place science experiments out on the moon's surface. The first such experiment was our retroreflector, an array of 100 beautiful corner cube prisms, cut so as to return any inbound light exactly back to the source. The Retroreflector array is seen here about 1/3 from the left edge of this photo, between the flag and Lunar Expedition Module. The astronaut in the foreground is now placing a seismograph on the lunar surface It seemed then as if we were all set, but we still needed to know exactly where on the moon the astronauts were. As the laser beam diameter at the moon was only about two miles, we had to be able to point fairly accurately. The lunar module, under manual control in order to avoid some rough terrain, had not been landed exactly where planned. The astronauts soon determined their precise location on the moon and radioed that information to Mission Control in Houston Later that evening, Joe Wampler spoke with Mission Control to obtain the coordinates for the actual landing site. I was sitting next to him as he stood at the night assistant's desk in the 3m control room, upon which he had a large scale moon map spread out. I heard Joe repeat back the coordinates three times in order to be absolutely certain he had them correct. Then, with the spot carefully marked on the map, we pointed the telescope to that exact lunar location and started firing a laser at it - scientific history in the making! We blasted away all night but detected no return signal whatsoever. Things got pretty subdued later in the evening as it became apparent we had a problem. This problem was identified the next day when someone called Houston again to verify the lunar coordinates, which turned out to be 00°41′15″N, 23°26′00″W. Despite the fact that Joe had repeated every number three separate times, they were still wrong. The person he had spoken with in Houston that first night had a deep Texas accent, and although the last two digits in the N-S coordinate group were 15, through the thick Texan drawl Joe had consistently heard "fifty" rather than "fifteen", so we had not been pointed at the correct spot on the first night. The Retroreflector is an array of 100 corner-cube prisms, each 3.8cm in diameter. It is still in service. We started the second night with confidence but still obtained no return signal, and the same was true for a couple more nights. Nothing. Yet, very careful checks appeared to verify that everything was functioning as expected; laser power, optical alignments, location on the moon, atmospheric clarity, photon detectors, timing electronics ... everything looked good. We were only searching for the reflected pulse within a small time window, because the belief was that the distance was already known to within 500m My recollection is that we had only 2 kilobytes of memory in which to store the return pulse. That 2k of memory was cost-limited, and in the late 1960s it represented approximately a $10,000 expense to the project (about $65,000 in current dollars)! But it should have been enough to ensure the return pulse was detected within the few millionths of a second time window during which that return pulse was expected. After all, the Solar System experts from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory had provided an ephemeris for the anticipated separations between the 3m telescope and the retroreflector on the moon which included the carefully calculated influences of every known variable. Finally Lloyd Robinson suggested that, despite our assurance that we were looking for the return pulse at the right time, since we were unable to pinpoint any other source of difficulty we should try moving the small window of time within which we were looking for a return signal. That idea soon produced a result, and we were able to center up on a good signal with the expected strength, and began to accumulate data. It remained to explain the unexpected discrepancy in timing. Every detail of the experiment was examined carefully. It took weeks to finally locate the source of the error within the computer program JPL had used to generate the expected timing for the return signal. They quite reasonably had assumed that Lick Observatory (LO) was where the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac (predecessor of the Astronomical Almanac) said it was, which in turn and equally reasonably listed the observatory location as given by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS). USCGS thought LO was where their Lick Observatory benchmark was placed. Their benchmark was in the parking lot west of the Main Building, 1700 feet from the 3m telescope. Thus, the first result of this very sophisticated Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment was to accurately measure the distance between the 3m telescope and the Main Building parking lot - via a retroreflector on the moon! The first scientific paper which resulted from this experiment improved the previous best measurements of distance to the Moon by a factor of 100. This activity is still being conducted from McDonald Observatory. Using the much shorter laser pulses and faster electronics now feasible, distances to the Moon are routinely measured to within about one centimeter per night! Rem
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017 Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
Laser Ranging RetroReflector: Continuing Measurements and Expected Results Abstract. After successful acquisition in August of reflected ruby laser pulses from the Apollo 11 laser ranging retro-reflector (LRRR) with the telescopes at the Lick and McDonald observatories, repeated measurements of the round-trip travel time of light have been made from the McDonald Observatory in September with an equivalent range precision of +2.5 meters. These acquisition period observations demonstrated the performance of the LRRR through lunar night and during sunlit conditions on the moon. Instrumentation activated at the McDonald Observatory in October has yielded a precision of +0.3 meter, and improvement to + 0.15 meter is expected shortly. Continued monitoring of the changes in the earth-moon distance as measured by the round-trip travel time of light from suitably distributed earth stations is expected to contribute to our knowledge of the earth-moon system.
The performance (1) of the Apollo II laser ranging retro-reflector (LRRR) left on the moon, as well as that of the instrumentation at the ground observatories, has been in accord with the original expectations (2-5). The scientific objectives are such that lengthy analysis of a long-continuing series of frequent measurements is required before results are available. The experiment had its origin in discussions among members of the experimental gravitational research group at Princeton University (6). Because of the many areas of science and technology involved in the experiment, a group (7) was organized to carry it out. The compact array of high-precision Table 1. Lunar orbital data parameters. Present 0.15-m Range accuracy* Quantity uncertainty Time (approximate) Uncertainty (yr) Mean distance 500 m 25 m 1 Eccentricity 1 X 107 4 X 10-9 1 Angular position of Moon With respect to perigee 2 X 10- rad 4 X 10 rad 1 With respect to Sun 5 X 10-v rad 4 X 10-8 rad 1 Time necessary to check predictions of Brans- Dicke scalar-tensor gravitational theory 8 * Three observing stations. Table 2. Lunar libration and relation of LRRR to center of mass. Present 1.5-m Range accuracy* Quantity uncertainty Time (approximate) Uncertainty (yr) Librauion parameterst -- (C-A)/Bt 1 X 10-5 3 5< 10-' 4 a-- (B-A)/C 5 x 10-5 2 x 10- 1.5 Coordinates of LRRR with respect to center of masst XO500m 25rm 1 X., 200m 7rm 1 X, 200 m 5 m 3 * Three observing stations are assumed. t A is the moment of inertia about the principal axis toward the earth, B is the moment about the principal axis tangent to the orbit, and C is the moment about the moon's rotation axis. Knowledge of the parameters ,B and 'y is important in determining the mass distribution within the moon. X , X, and X3 are measured along the principal axes about which the moments A, B, and C are defined. Table 3. Geophysical data determinable from LRRR. Quantity Present uncertainty (estimated) 0.15-m Range accuracy Rotation period of earth (sec) 5 x 10- 1 X 10-: Distance of station from axis of rotation (m) 10 0.3 Distance of station from equatorial plane (m)* 20 0.6 to 2, Rotation period of earth (sec) 5 x 10- 1 X 10-: Distance of station from axis of rotation (m) 10 0.3 Distance of station from equatorial plane (m)* 20 0.6 to 2, Motion of the pole (m)* 1 to 2 0.15 East-west continental drift rate observable in 5 years (cm/yr)* 30 to 60 3 Time for observing predicted drift of 10 cm/yr of Hawaii toward Japan (years) 15 to 30 1.5 Three or more observing stations are required. Depending upon the latitude of the station. 458 optical retro-reflectors (cube corners) deployed on the moon (1, 8) is intended to serve as a reference point in measuring precise ranges between the array and points on the earth by using the technique of short-pulse laser ranging. The atmospheric fluctuations in the index of refraction diverge a laser beam and prevent the spot on the moon from being smaller than approximately 1.6 km in diameter. The curvature of the lunar surface results in part of the short pulse being reflected before the rest, producing a reflected pulse measured in microseconds, even if the incident pulse is measured in nanoseconds. The retroreflector array eliminates this spreading because of the small size of the array. (The maximum spreading of a pulse because of optical libration tipping of the array will be approximately + 0.125 nsec.) In addition, the retro-reflective property causes a much larger amount of light to be directed back to the telescope from the array than is reflected from the entire surface area illuminated by the laser beam. The basic uncertainty in measuring the approximately 2.5-sec round-trip travel time is associated with the performance of photomultipliers at the single photoelectron level. This uncertainty is estimated to be approximately 1 nsec. When the entire system is calibrated and the effects of the atmospheric delay are calculated from local temperature, pressure, and humidity measurements and subtracted from the travel time, where the uncertainty in this correction is estimated to be less than 0.5 nsec, an overall uncertainty of + 15 cm in one-way range seems achievable. The present uncertainty of three parts in 107 in the knowledge of the velocity of light will not affect the scientific aims of the experiment, since it is the practice to measure astronomical distances in light travel time. Primary scientific objectives include the study of gravitation and relativity (secular variation in the gravitational constant), the physics of the earth (fluctuation in rotation rate, motion of the pole, large-scale crustal motions), and the physics of the moon (physical librations, center-of-mass motion, size, and shape) (2-5). Estimates of improvements expected in some of these categories are shown in Tables 1 to 3. The estimated uncertainty for each quantity is intended to be an upper limit. Reflected signals from the LRRR were acquired 1 August (and 3 August, with a different laser system) with the 120-inch telescope of the Lick Observatory (9) at Mt. Hamilton, California, and 20 August with the 107-inch tele- SCIENCE, VOL. 167 Table 4. Measurements at the McDonald Observatory of round-trip travel time during acquisition. The residuals represent the difference between the observed time of travel and that predicted on the basis of the JPL LE16 ephemeris Residual round-trip Day U.T. travel time (nsec) 20 August 3 September 4 September 22 September 17 October 18 October 1 November 16 December 03:00 11:10 10:10 04:00 01:44 01:17 11:40 01:45 96 + 15 490 ± 15 795 ±+24 -1430 + 15 -798 + 15* -978 + 15* -2034 + 15* 1232 + 15* * The present accuracy is +15 nsec in the knowledge of the electronic time delays. Upon completion of the current calibration, the accuracy will be determined by the present overall resolution, less than ±2 nsec, limited by the laser pulse length and photomultiplier jitter scope of the McDonald Observatory (10) at Mt. Locke, Texas. These observations showed that the LRRR did not suffer any major degradation, if any at all, from debris generated during liftoff of the lunar module. The signals are consistent with the return expected from the LRRR design, within the uncertainties of atmospheric "seeing," telescope transmission, and other optical losses. Continued acquisition period measurements at McDonald in September (10), taken with the initial observations, have demonstrated the successful performance of the LRRR at several sun illumination angles, as well as during and after a lunar night, confirming the prediction of thermal design analyses.
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
A first "geodetic result" from the acquisition observations at Lick (9) was the discovery, from the drift of the residual round-trip travel time with respect to the JPL lunar ephemeris 16 (LE16) predictions, that the coordinates for the 120-inch telescope are not those given for Mt. Hamilton (Lick Observatory) in the American Ephetneris and Nautical Almanac (9a).
The Lick Observatory participated in the acquisition phase of the experiment to increase the probability of getting early returns. The weather and seeing are generally excellent there in the summer. Laser ranging activities ceased at Lick in August. In October a custom-built four-stage ruby laser, made by Korad, was installed at the McDonald Observatory. This laser was built to specifications developed for long-term precision measurements in the lunar ranging experiment. The pulse length is produced by a time-varying reflectivity mode of operation and can be as short as 2.8 nsec, although a more typical value is 4 nsec. It transmits 5 joules with a beam divergence (full width) of 1.4 mradian at a repetition rate capability of one shot every 3 seconds. At the same time, vernier timing circuits (11-13) shown schematically in Fig. I were activated. This instrumentation allows a resolution uncertainty of ±2 nsec on each measured return. The accuracy depends on thorough calibration of all electronic delays. This will be com- INITIAL FINAL VERNIER DIGITAL TIME INTERVAL VERNIER A IA tt LASER 50nsec LLASER OUTPUT RETURN Fig. 1. Representation of the nanosecond-resolution time-interval measurement system now in use at the McDonald Observatory. Special circuits eliminate any ±+1 count uncertainty in the 20-Mhz, digitally measured interval. The vernier components are time to pulse height converters. 30 JANUARY 1970 pleted soon to the 1-nsec level. The measurements made in October, November, and December, and which are shown in Table 4, still have a calibration uncertainty in accuracy of ±15 nsec. These later measurements are subject to reduction of the accuracy uncertainty upon completion of the final calibration. As more experience is gained in the use of the new 107-inch McDonald telescope, the goal is three measurement periods daily. Each period would last about 15 minutes, enabling several hundred laser shots to be fired; the periods would be scheduled near the time of meridian crossing, several hours before. and several hours after. From these measurements, one can obtain the minimum range and its epoch of occurrence. Harmonic analysis of this range time series will permit the determination of the qualities listed in Tables 1 through 3. In order to satisfy all the scientific aims of the experiment, it is hoped that more U.S. and foreign ground stations can be established to carry out regular precision ranging to the LRRR. The deployment of several more LRRR's on the moon would allow a more detailed study of the lunar physical librations, independent of any model. One of these should be designed to give a larger return than the Apollo 11 LRRR, so as to allow participation in the ranging program by smaller telescopes. C. 0. ALLEY, R. F. CHANG D. G. CURRIE, S. K. POULTNEY Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park P. L. BENDER Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, National Bureau of Standards and University of Colorado, Boulder 80302 R. H. DICKE, D. T. WILKINSON Palmer Physical Laboratory, Princelon University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 J. E. FALLER Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut W. M. KAULA Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles 90024 G. J. F. MAcDONALD University of California, Santa Barbara J. D. MULHOLLAND Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91103 H. H. PLOTKIN, W. CARRION Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 E. J. WAMPLER Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz 95060 459 References and Notes l. C. 0. Alley et al., "Laser ranging retro-reflector" in Apollo 11 Preliminary Science Report (NASA Special Publication SP-214, 1969) 2. C. 0. Alley, P. L. Bender, R. H. Dicke, J. E. Faller, P. A. Franken, H. H. Plotkin, D. T. Wilkinson, J. Geophys. Res. 70, 2267 (1965). 3. C. 0. Alley and P. L. Bender, in Symposium No. 32 of the International Astronomical Union on Continental Drift, Secular Motion of the Pole, and Rotation of the Earth, W. Markowitz and B. Guinot, Eds. (Reidel, Holland, 1968). 4. C. 0. Alley, P. L. Bender, D. G. Currie, R. H. Dicke, J. E. Faller, Proceedings of the N.A.T.O. Advanced Study Institute on the Application of Modern Physics to the Earth and Planetary Interiors, S. K. Runcorn, Ed. (Wiley, London, 1969). 5. G. J. F. MacDonald, Science 157, 204 (1967). 6. W. F. Hoffman, R. Krotkov, R. H. Dicke, Inst. Radio Eng. IRE Trans. Military Electron. 4, 28 (1960). The authors served as a committee for the whole group: C. 0. Alley, J. Brault, D. Brill, R. H. Dicke, J. Faller, W. F. Hoffman, L. Jordan, R. Krotkov, S. Liebes, R. Moore, J. Peebles, J. Stoner, and K. Turner. 7. Formal responsibility has rested with the followinig group: principal investigator, C. 0. Alley (University of Maryland); co-investigators: P. L. Bender (National Bureau of Standards), R. H. Dicke (Princeton University), J. E. Faller (Wesleyan University), W M. Kaula (University of California at Los Angeles), G. J. F. MacDonald (University of California at Santa Barbara), J. D. Mulholland (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), H. H. Plotkin (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), and D. T. Wilkinson (Princeton University); participating scientists: W. Carrion (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), R. F. Chang (University of Maryland), D. G. Currie (University of Maryland) and S. K. Poultney (University of Maryland). 8. Responsibility for the detailed design of the LRRR to perform continuously in the lunar environment has been carried primarily by J. E. Faller, D. G. Currie, R. F. Chang, and C. O. Alley, supported by the following engineering companies: Arthur D. Little, Inc. (P. Glaser, J Burke, F. Gabron, and D. Comstock); Perkin-Elmer Corporation (J. Atwood, P. Forman, G. Watt, D. Corbett, and S. Lauffer); and the Bendix Aerospace Corporation (C. Weatherred, R. Hill, J. Brueger, R. Wolford, and K. Moore); and by project engineer H. Kriemelmeyer (University of Maryland). 9. J. E. Faller et al., "Observations of the First Returns from a Laser Beam Directed at the Lunar Retro-Reflector Array," Science 166, 99 (1969). 9a. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. (1969). 10. C 0. Alley, R. F. Chang, D. G. Currie, J. Mullendore, S. K. Poultney, J. D. Rayner, E. C. Silverberg, C. A. Steggerda, H. H. Plotkin, W. Williams, B. Warner, H. Richardson, B. Bopp, Science 167, 368 (1970). 11. S. K. Poultney, The Concept of the Time Interval Measurement and Control Circuitry for the Lunar Ranging Experiment: a History (University of Maryland Department of Physics and Astronomy Technical Report No. 70-068, December 1969). 12. C. A. Steggerda, A Description of the Time Interval Measurement and Laser Control Circuitry for the Lunar Ranging Experiment (University of Maryland Department of Physics and Astronomy Technical Report No. 70-049, November 1969). 13. J. D. Rayner, A Description of the Control Program for the Lunar Ranging Experiment (University of Maryland Department of Physics and Astronomy Technical Report No. 70-064, November 1969) 6 January 1970 SCIENCE, VOL. 167 460
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 144 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
ARMSTRONG: "wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are" , (APOLLO 11 TRANSCRIPT)
COLLINS: "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has.", (CARRYING THE FIRE) COLLINS "Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope.":(LIFTOFF)
ALDRIN: "We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (APOLLO 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)ALDRIN:
ALDRIN: "Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later],"
ALDRIN: "Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine OUR PRECISE LOCATION just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969,"
ALDRIN: "This star chart was the single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon."
ALDRIN: "This star chart was used by Neil Armstrong and myself while on the lunar surface during July 20 - 21, 1969. Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot."
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report) latitude longitude
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
COLLINS "Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope.":(LIFTOFF)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
They wondered about their exact location, glancing out the windows and describing what they saw to give flight control and Collins some clues to aid in the search. While waiting to be found, Armstrong relayed all that he could remember about the landing. They knew they were at least six kilometers beyond the target point, although still within the planned ellipse.
While his crewmates had been active on the surface, Collins had been busy in the command module. There was not much navigating to do, so he took pictures and looked out the window, trying to find the lunar module. He never found it; neither did flight control. There was just too much real estate down there to be able to search the whole area properly. Collins divided the part of the moon he was flying over into segments, but he had no better luck. Armstrong and Aldrin had taken the 26-power monocular with them, but Collins did not think it would have helped much, anyway. He did complain that all this searching cut into the time he needed for taking pictures on each circuit, but he was philosophical about it. As he said, “When the LM is on the surface, the command module should act like a good child and be seen and not heard.”10
Brooks, Courtney (2008). Book, CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO
COLLINS: "Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope." (LIFTOFF)
"But no one, not Armstrong and Aldrin nor anyone in mission control, knew just where Eagle was. The location would be a helpful, though not essential, piece of information for this computer to have during tomorrow's rendezvous. It fell to Collins to try to find the LM on the surface, using the command modules 28 power sextant."…………
"Each time he went around from the far side, mission control had a new set of coordinates for him to try, but on his map, one guess was as much as 10 grid-squares away from the last. It didn't take long to realize no one had a handle on the problem. His search continued fruitlessly for the rest of his 22 solo hours."
Andrew Chaikin, book, A MAN NOT ON THE MOON.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude 0.523=N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 144 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude 0.523=N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude N 00 31 23
LRRR Confirmed Tranquility Base latitude N 00 41 15
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 2342
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
1) CDR/ARMSTRONG.(TRANQ) "Houston, the guys that said that we wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are are the winners today. We were a little busy worrying about program alarms and things like that in the part of the descent where we would normally be picking out our landing spot; and aside from a good look at several of the craters we came over in the final descent, I haven't been able to pick out the things on the horizon as a reference as yet."
APOLLO 11 VOICE TRANSCRIPT.
2) "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has."
Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, book, CARRYING THE FIRE.
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that Buzz Aldrin, a man with a genius for astrophysics, who held a Ph.D. in space rendezvous from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Neil Armstrong, one of the coolest hands in the history of aviation, were chosen for the job. NASA believed the Apollo 11 team could do it, and so did they. In the end, NASA's failure to ascertain the exact location of Tranquility Base had no great impact on the docking of Columbia and Eagle, which was fortunate, because it wasn't until 5 days after splash-down on July 29, when film taken by the astronauts was processed and studied, that an official determination was reached."
Leon Wagner's authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, ONE GIANT LEAP.
4) "In the meantime we were monitoring the signal sent back by the passive seismic experiment and attempting to find the LRRR that the astronauts had left behind. This latter operation was not as easy as we expected, since the exact location of the landing site was not immediately known. Mike Collins had attempted unsuccessfully to locate the LM from orbit using the command module sextant. After analyzing the flight data and the returned photographs, we passed our best estimate to the LRRR PIs, and the LRRR was found on August 1, 1969 by the Lick Observatory in California."
Apollo experimental scientist Donald Beattie, book, TAKING SCIENCE TO THE MOOON.
5) "But no one, not Armstrong and Aldrin nor anyone in mission control, knew just where Eagle was. The location would be a helpful, though not essential, piece of information for this computer to have during tomorrow's rendezvous. It fell to Collins to try to find the LM on the surface, using the command modules 28 power sextant."…………
"Each time he went around from the far side, mission control had a new set of coordinates for him to try, but on his map, one guess was as much as 10 grid-squares away from the last. It didn't take long to realize no one had a handle on the problem. His search continued fruitlessly for the rest of his 22 solo hours."
Andrew Chaikin, book, A MAN ON THE MOON.
6) They wondered about their exact location, glancing out the windows and describing what they saw to give flight control and Collins some clues to aid in the search. While waiting to be found, Armstrong relayed all that he could remember about the landing. They knew they were at least six kilometers beyond the target point, although still within the planned ellipse.
While his crewmates had been active on the surface, Collins had been busy in the command module. There was not much navigating to do, so he took pictures and looked out the window, trying to find the lunar module. He never found it; neither did flight control. There was just too much real estate down there to be able to search the whole area properly. Collins divided the part of the moon he was flying over into segments, but he had no better luck. Armstrong and Aldrin had taken the 26-power monocular with them, but Collins did not think it would have helped much, anyway. He did complain that all this searching cut into the time he needed for taking pictures on each circuit, but he was philosophical about it. As he said, “When the LM is on the surface, the command module should act like a good child and be seen and not heard.”10
Brooks, Courtney (2008). Book, CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO
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piersquared
Mercury
BANNED (Sock-puppet of Fattydash)
Posts: 6
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Post by piersquared on Jul 22, 2011 12:00:49 GMT -4
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that Buzz Aldrin, a man with a genius for astrophysics, who held a Ph.D. in space rendezvous from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Neil Armstrong, one of the coolest hands in the history of aviation, were chosen for the job. NASA believed the Apollo 11 team could do it, and so did they. In the end, NASA's failure to ascertain the exact location of Tranquility Base had no great impact on the docking of Columbia and Eagle, which was fortunate, because it wasn't until 5 days after splash-down on July 29, when film taken by the astronauts was processed and studied, that an official determination was reached."
Leon Wagner's authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, ONE GIANT LEAP.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot. book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
4) "In the meantime we were monitoring the signal sent back by the passive seismic experiment and attempting to find the LRRR that the astronauts had left behind. This latter operation was not as easy as we expected, since the exact location of the landing site was not immediately known. Mike Collins had attempted unsuccessfully to locate the LM from orbit using the command module sextant. After analyzing the flight data and the returned photographs, we passed our best estimate to the LRRR PIs, and the LRRR was found on August 1, 1969 by the Lick Observatory in California."
Apollo experimental scientist Donald Beattie, book, TAKING SCIENCE TO THE MOOON.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module PiloT, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
5) "But no one, not Armstrong and Aldrin nor anyone in mission control, knew just where Eagle was. The location would be a helpful, though not essential, piece of information for this computer to have during tomorrow's rendezvous. It fell to Collins to try to find the LM on the surface, using the command modules 28 power sextant."…………
"Each time he(referring to Collins) went around from the far side, mission control had a new set of coordinates for him to try, but on his map, one guess was as much as 10 grid-squares away from the last. It didn't take long to realize no one had a handle on the problem. His search continued fruitlessly for the rest of his 22 solo hours."
Andrew Chaikin, book, A MAN ON TYHE MOON.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
6) They wondered about their exact location, glancing out the windows and describing what they saw to give flight control and Collins some clues to aid in the search. While waiting to be found, Armstrong relayed all that he could remember about the landing. They knew they were at least six kilometers beyond the target point, although still within the planned ellipse.
While his crewmates had been active on the surface, Collins had been busy in the command module. There was not much navigating to do, so he took pictures and looked out the window, trying to find the lunar module. He never found it; neither did flight control. There was just too much real estate down there to be able to search the whole area properly. Collins divided the part of the moon he was flying over into segments, but he had no better luck. Armstrong and Aldrin had taken the 26-power monocular with them, but Collins did not think it would have helped much, anyway. He did complain that all this searching cut into the time he needed for taking pictures on each circuit, but he was philosophical about it. As he said, “When the LM is on the surface, the command module should act like a good child and be seen and not heard.”10
Brooks, Courtney (2008). CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 144 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
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piersquared
Mercury
BANNED (Sock-puppet of Fattydash)
Posts: 6
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Numbers
Jul 22, 2011 11:59:17 GMT -4
Post by piersquared on Jul 22, 2011 11:59:17 GMT -4
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that Buzz Aldrin, a man with a genius for astrophysics, who held a Ph.D. in space rendezvous from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Neil Armstrong, one of the coolest hands in the history of aviation, were chosen for the job. NASA believed the Apollo 11 team could do it, and so did they. In the end, NASA's failure to ascertain the exact location of Tranquility Base had no great impact on the docking of Columbia and Eagle, which was fortunate, because it wasn't until 5 days after splash-down on July 29, when film taken by the astronauts was processed and studied, that an official determination was reached."
Leon Wagner's authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, ONE GIANT LEAP.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot. book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
4) "In the meantime we were monitoring the signal sent back by the passive seismic experiment and attempting to find the LRRR that the astronauts had left behind. This latter operation was not as easy as we expected, since the exact location of the landing site was not immediately known. Mike Collins had attempted unsuccessfully to locate the LM from orbit using the command module sextant. After analyzing the flight data and the returned photographs, we passed our best estimate to the LRRR PIs, and the LRRR was found on August 1, 1969 by the Lick Observatory in California."
Apollo experimental scientist Donald Beattie, book, TAKING SCIENCE TO THE MOOON.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module PiloT, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
5) "But no one, not Armstrong and Aldrin nor anyone in mission control, knew just where Eagle was. The location would be a helpful, though not essential, piece of information for this computer to have during tomorrow's rendezvous. It fell to Collins to try to find the LM on the surface, using the command modules 28 power sextant."…………
"Each time he(referring to Collins) went around from the far side, mission control had a new set of coordinates for him to try, but on his map, one guess was as much as 10 grid-squares away from the last. It didn't take long to realize no one had a handle on the problem. His search continued fruitlessly for the rest of his 22 solo hours."
Andrew Chaikin, book, A MAN ON TYHE MOON.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
6) They wondered about their exact location, glancing out the windows and describing what they saw to give flight control and Collins some clues to aid in the search. While waiting to be found, Armstrong relayed all that he could remember about the landing. They knew they were at least six kilometers beyond the target point, although still within the planned ellipse.
While his crewmates had been active on the surface, Collins had been busy in the command module. There was not much navigating to do, so he took pictures and looked out the window, trying to find the lunar module. He never found it; neither did flight control. There was just too much real estate down there to be able to search the whole area properly. Collins divided the part of the moon he was flying over into segments, but he had no better luck. Armstrong and Aldrin had taken the 26-power monocular with them, but Collins did not think it would have helped much, anyway. He did complain that all this searching cut into the time he needed for taking pictures on each circuit, but he was philosophical about it. As he said, “When the LM is on the surface, the command module should act like a good child and be seen and not heard.”10
Brooks, Courtney (2008). CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 144 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
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piersquared
Mercury
BANNED (Sock-puppet of Fattydash)
Posts: 6
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Post by piersquared on Jul 22, 2011 11:31:01 GMT -4
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
1) CDR/ARMSTRONG.(TRANQ) "Houston, the guys that said that we wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are are the winners today. We were a little busy worrying about program alarms and things like that in the part of the descent where we would normally be picking out our landing spot; and aside from a good look at several of the craters we came over in the final descent, I haven't been able to pick out the things on the horizon as a reference as yet."
APOLLO 11 VOICE TRANSCRIPT.
2) "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has."
Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, book, CARRYING THE FIRE.
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that Buzz Aldrin, a man with a genius for astrophysics, who held a Ph.D. in space rendezvous from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Neil Armstrong, one of the coolest hands in the history of aviation, were chosen for the job. NASA believed the Apollo 11 team could do it, and so did they. In the end, NASA's failure to ascertain the exact location of Tranquility Base had no great impact on the docking of Columbia and Eagle, which was fortunate, because it wasn't until 5 days after splash-down on July 29, when film taken by the astronauts was processed and studied, that an official determination was reached."
Leon Wagner's authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, ONE GIANT LEAP.
4) "In the meantime we were monitoring the signal sent back by the passive seismic experiment and attempting to find the LRRR that the astronauts had left behind. This latter operation was not as easy as we expected, since the exact location of the landing site was not immediately known. Mike Collins had attempted unsuccessfully to locate the LM from orbit using the command module sextant. After analyzing the flight data and the returned photographs, we passed our best estimate to the LRRR PIs, and the LRRR was found on August 1, 1969 by the Lick Observatory in California."
Apollo experimental scientist Donald Beattie, book, TAKING SCIENCE TO THE MOOON.
5) "But no one, not Armstrong and Aldrin nor anyone in mission control, knew just where Eagle was. The location would be a helpful, though not essential, piece of information for this computer to have during tomorrow's rendezvous. It fell to Collins to try to find the LM on the surface, using the command modules 28 power sextant."…………
"Each time he went around from the far side, mission control had a new set of coordinates for him to try, but on his map, one guess was as much as 10 grid-squares away from the last. It didn't take long to realize no one had a handle on the problem. His search continued fruitlessly for the rest of his 22 solo hours."
Andrew Chaikin, book, A MAN ON THE MOON.
6) They wondered about their exact location, glancing out the windows and describing what they saw to give flight control and Collins some clues to aid in the search. While waiting to be found, Armstrong relayed all that he could remember about the landing. They knew they were at least six kilometers beyond the target point, although still within the planned ellipse.
While his crewmates had been active on the surface, Collins had been busy in the command module. There was not much navigating to do, so he took pictures and looked out the window, trying to find the lunar module. He never found it; neither did flight control. There was just too much real estate down there to be able to search the whole area properly. Collins divided the part of the moon he was flying over into segments, but he had no better luck. Armstrong and Aldrin had taken the 26-power monocular with them, but Collins did not think it would have helped much, anyway. He did complain that all this searching cut into the time he needed for taking pictures on each circuit, but he was philosophical about it. As he said, “When the LM is on the surface, the command module should act like a good child and be seen and not heard.”10
Brooks, Courtney (2008). Book, CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
Hi Mike,
In response to your request, here is the story of the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment as I recall and like to tell it. The Lunar Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR) project was one of the two major science experiments placed on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts. Physicists Caroll Alley (U. of Maryland) and James Faller (Wesleyan) were PIs. The plan was to use the 3m reflector to fire brief (some nanoseconds in length) but intense pulses of light at a reflector placed on the moon, then precisely time the arrival of the return pulse back at the telescope about 2.5 seconds later. Each pulse would allow measurement of the distance to the moon to within a few meters. Repeated pulses would allow increased precision of measurement, and were expected to result in a night-to-night distance to the moon accurate to a few centimeters. The primary goal was to investigate fundamental aspects of gravitation. Anticipating the Apollo 11 Mission in 1969, NASA gave us $75,000 to dig a pitbelow the coude slitroom. Into that pit we installed the two most powerful lasers anyone in the world would admit to having, mounted on brand new Bridgeport mills. From the lasers mounted on optical benches on the mill tables in the pit below the telescope, the light pulses went up through holes in the floor of the slitroom, bounced off of large mirrors (still in the slitroom mounted on rails) which sent the light up the polar axle and then through the telescope, which was thus used in reverse as a giant laser gun. We were issued unbelievably dense safety glasses, darker than typical welding glasses, in case we had to go out on the dome floor during laser firing. After a couple of tries on test nights we found no one could see anything through them, and everyone stopped using them. We were quite cautious about going onto the dome floor, however. Channel 9 (PBS) and Channel 7 (ABC) both had news crews at the telescope for that first moon landing event in July 1969. The idea was to broadcast this exciting big-time Bay Area science effort to the local citizens as it happened. Fortunately, I think we were so overshadowed by lunar events that evening that nothing was ever broadcast from Lick. We had what I believe was the first civilian-use low-light-level vidicon camera, which had just been declassified by the Defense Department and been mounted on the 3m only a couple of weeks before. We had used it successfully for a few practice nights when it had delivered excellent images, and all seemed in order. I had just been promoted out of my initial job as night assistant, but was there nevertheless as Joe Wampler's hand-picked telescope operator for this special occasion. Thus I was at the center of the first difficulty, which was that we could not find the moon with the world's second largest telescope! In those days the Astronomical Almanac included geocentric lunar coordinates for every hour during the year. When I set to the coordinates given for the nearest hour (usually plenty good enough to find the moon), nothing was there. Over the next 30 or 40 minutes I repeatedly and frantically interpolated coordinates to the nearest 5 minutes, checked to be sure I really had the current Almanac and not last year’s, made sure I had the correct time and tried again -- but still couldn't find the moon. This was deeply humiliating with the TV geeks just out in the hall, and Louis Alvarez sitting there being very polite. Finally someone shouted “There it is!” It appeared as the most delicate spiderweb tracery of just the brightest highlights, still barely perceptible. We had started to set to it in very early twilight with this new camera which we had previously used only at night. The contrast of a bright moon on a bright sky was not as expected. We could find the moon after all, and in fact we must have been on it 100 times already that evening. Whew! We took a break to watch Neil Armstrong’s historic first step event on TV, a thrill shared by all present. After the PR opportunity, the astronauts began to place science experiments out on the moon's surface. The first such experiment was our retroreflector, an array of 100 beautiful corner cube prisms, cut so as to return any inbound light exactly back to the source. The Retroreflector array is seen here about 1/3 from the left edge of this photo, between the flag and Lunar Expedition Module. The astronaut in the foreground is now placing a seismograph on the lunar surface It seemed then as if we were all set, but we still needed to know exactly where on the moon the astronauts were. As the laser beam diameter at the moon was only about two miles, we had to be able to point fairly accurately. The lunar module, under manual control in order to avoid some rough terrain, had not been landed exactly where planned. The astronauts soon determined their precise location on the moon and radioed that information to Mission Control in Houston. Later that evening, Joe Wampler spoke with Mission Control to obtain the coordinates for the actual landing site. I was sitting next to him as he stood at the night assistant's desk in the 3m control room, upon which he had a large scale moon map spread out. I heard Joe repeat back the coordinates three times in order to be absolutely certain he had them correct. Then, with the spot carefully marked on the map, we pointed the telescope to that exact lunar location and started firing a laser at it - scientific history in the making! We blasted away all night but detected no return signal whatsoever. Things got pretty subdued later in the evening as it became apparent we had a problem. This problem was identified the next day when someone called Houston again to verify the lunar coordinates, which turned out to be 00°41′15″N, 23°26′00″W. Despite the fact that Joe had repeated every number three separate times, they were still wrong. The person he had spoken with in Houston that first night had a deep Texas accent, and although the last two digits in the N-S coordinate group were 15, through the thick Texan drawl Joe had consistently heard "fifty" rather than "fifteen", so we had not been pointed at the correct spot on the first night. The Retroreflector is an array of 100 corner-cube prisms, each 3.8cm in diameter. It is still in service. We started the second night with confidence but still obtained no return signal, and the same was true for a couple more nights. Nothing. Yet, very careful checks appeared to verify that everything was functioning as expected; laser power, optical alignments, location on the moon, atmospheric clarity, photon detectors, timing electronics ... everything looked good. We were only searching for the reflected pulse within a small time window, because the belief was that the distance was already known to within 500m. My recollection is that we had only 2 kilobytes of memory in which to store the return pulse. That 2k of memory was cost-limited, and in the late 1960s it represented approximately a $10,000 expense to the project (about $65,000 in current dollars)! But it should have been enough to ensure the return pulse was detected within the few millionths of a second time window during which that return pulse was expected. After all, the Solar System experts from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory had provided an ephemeris for the anticipated separations between the 3m telescope and the retroreflector on the moon which included the carefully calculated influences of every known variable. Finally Lloyd Robinson suggested that, despite our assurance that we were looking for the return pulse at the right time, since we were unable to pinpoint any other source of difficulty we should try moving the small window of time within which we were looking for a return signal. That idea soon produced a result, and we were able to center up on a good signal with the expected strength, and began to accumulate data. It remained to explain the unexpected discrepancy in timing. Every detail of the experiment was examined carefully. It took weeks to finally locate the source of the error within the computer program JPL had used to generate the expected timing for the return signal. They quite reasonably had assumed that Lick Observatory (LO) was where the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac (predecessor of the Astronomical Almanac) said it was, which in turn and equally reasonably listed the observatory location as given by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS). USCGS thought LO was where their Lick Observatory benchmark was placed. Their benchmark was in the parking lot west of the Main Building, 1700 feet from the 3m telescope. Thus, the first result of this very sophisticated Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment was to accurately measure the distance between the 3m telescope and the Main Building parking lot - via a retroreflector on the moon! The first scientific paper which resulted from this experiment improved the previous best measurements of distance to the Moon by a factor of 100. This activity is still being conducted from McDonald Observatory. Using the much shorter laser pulses and faster electronics now feasible, distances to the Moon are routinely measured to within about one centimeter per night! Rem
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins, Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Data Source for Solution latitude longitude
Primary guidance onboard vector 0.649 23.46
Abort guidance onboard :vector 0.639 23.44
Powered flight processor 0,631 23.47 (based on 4-track solu- tion)
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Rendezvous radar 0.636 23.50
Best estimate trajectory 0.647 23.505 accelerometer recon- struction
Lunar module targeted 06.91 23.72
Photography 0.647 23.505
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
The navigational chart used by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to determine their exact position on the lunar surface just after their historic lunar landing was one of the major sales at Bonham's Space Sale, in New York, on July 16.
It sold for an incredible $218,000, including buyer's premium.
One of the few flight devices returned from the lunar surface to be available on the market, the chart was a major auction highlight in a great year for space memorabilia, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the momentous Apollo XI moon landing.
Amazingly, the chart still contains traces of moon dust. It was used by Armstrong and Aldrin some 20 hours after they landed on the moon to update the Eagle module's navigational equipment, just prior to their lunar lift-off.
The historic piece was formerly displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The historic piece was formerly displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The historic piece was formerly displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The chart is signed by Buzz Aldrin, and its sale also included a typed and signed letter from the second man on the moon.
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
"The stars and constellations are projected onto a black background above and below lines defined as the ecliptic and the lunar equator. The Sun, Earth, Venus, and other planets are marked as to their relative positions along the ecliptic plane.
"This star chart was the single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon."
Not only does the navigational chart and its accompanying letter give a fascinating insight into the risks encountered by the brave Apollo 11 crew, the chart was also crucial in allowing Neil Armstrong to become the first man to set foot upon the Moon.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
Circular areas on chart are based on readings recorded by the astronaut's Alignment Optical Telescope (AOT), used to track the stars in the Moon's skies above.
"Completion of these tasks enabled us to carry out our lunar timeline and allowed Neil Armstrong to become the first human to set foot upon the Moon," writes Aldrin.
Especially fascinating to collectors are the areas of the chart where what is most likely lunar dust became embedded during its use on the Moon's surface.
According to Aldrin, "On the back of the star chart, there is a square velcro patch. It has an overall tint of gray with darker grayish material embedded
within. Those gray areas are most likely lunar dust that came off our space suits or from various equipment such as the sample return container."
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Aldrin's signature on the chart reads: "This star chart was used by Neil Armstrong and myself while on the lunar surface during July 20 - 21, 1969. Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot."
The Apollo XI eventually landed back on Earth at 4:17 pm Eastern Daylight Time (20:17 GMT), within a minute of the planned time.
The massive success of the Bonham's auction shows the continued global interest in the Apollo 11 mission around the 40th Anniver
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report) latitude longitude
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report) latitude longitude
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, "LIFTOFF"
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
1) CDR.(TRANQ) "Houston, the guys that said that we wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are are the winners today. We were a little busy worrying about program alarms and things like that in the part of the descent where we would normally be picking out our landing spot; and aside from a good look at several of the craters we came over in the final descent, I haven't been able to pick out the things on the horizon as a reference as yet."
Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong shortly after landing on the surface of the moon from THE APOLLO 11 VOICE TRANSCRIPT.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
2) "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has."
Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, book, CARRYING THE FIRE.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523 latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that B
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piersquared
Mercury
BANNED (Sock-puppet of Fattydash)
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Numbers
Jul 22, 2011 11:28:41 GMT -4
Post by piersquared on Jul 22, 2011 11:28:41 GMT -4
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
1) CDR/ARMSTRONG.(TRANQ) "Houston, the guys that said that we wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are are the winners today. We were a little busy worrying about program alarms and things like that in the part of the descent where we would normally be picking out our landing spot; and aside from a good look at several of the craters we came over in the final descent, I haven't been able to pick out the things on the horizon as a reference as yet."
APOLLO 11 VOICE TRANSCRIPT.
2) "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has."
Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, book, CARRYING THE FIRE.
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that Buzz Aldrin, a man with a genius for astrophysics, who held a Ph.D. in space rendezvous from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Neil Armstrong, one of the coolest hands in the history of aviation, were chosen for the job. NASA believed the Apollo 11 team could do it, and so did they. In the end, NASA's failure to ascertain the exact location of Tranquility Base had no great impact on the docking of Columbia and Eagle, which was fortunate, because it wasn't until 5 days after splash-down on July 29, when film taken by the astronauts was processed and studied, that an official determination was reached."
Leon Wagner's authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, ONE GIANT LEAP.
4) "In the meantime we were monitoring the signal sent back by the passive seismic experiment and attempting to find the LRRR that the astronauts had left behind. This latter operation was not as easy as we expected, since the exact location of the landing site was not immediately known. Mike Collins had attempted unsuccessfully to locate the LM from orbit using the command module sextant. After analyzing the flight data and the returned photographs, we passed our best estimate to the LRRR PIs, and the LRRR was found on August 1, 1969 by the Lick Observatory in California."
Apollo experimental scientist Donald Beattie, book, TAKING SCIENCE TO THE MOOON.
5) "But no one, not Armstrong and Aldrin nor anyone in mission control, knew just where Eagle was. The location would be a helpful, though not essential, piece of information for this computer to have during tomorrow's rendezvous. It fell to Collins to try to find the LM on the surface, using the command modules 28 power sextant."…………
"Each time he went around from the far side, mission control had a new set of coordinates for him to try, but on his map, one guess was as much as 10 grid-squares away from the last. It didn't take long to realize no one had a handle on the problem. His search continued fruitlessly for the rest of his 22 solo hours."
Andrew Chaikin, book, A MAN ON THE MOON.
6) They wondered about their exact location, glancing out the windows and describing what they saw to give flight control and Collins some clues to aid in the search. While waiting to be found, Armstrong relayed all that he could remember about the landing. They knew they were at least six kilometers beyond the target point, although still within the planned ellipse.
While his crewmates had been active on the surface, Collins had been busy in the command module. There was not much navigating to do, so he took pictures and looked out the window, trying to find the lunar module. He never found it; neither did flight control. There was just too much real estate down there to be able to search the whole area properly. Collins divided the part of the moon he was flying over into segments, but he had no better luck. Armstrong and Aldrin had taken the 26-power monocular with them, but Collins did not think it would have helped much, anyway. He did complain that all this searching cut into the time he needed for taking pictures on each circuit, but he was philosophical about it. As he said, “When the LM is on the surface, the command module should act like a good child and be seen and not heard.”10
Brooks, Courtney (2008). Book, CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
Hi Mike,
In response to your request, here is the story of the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment as I recall and like to tell it. The Lunar Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR) project was one of the two major science experiments placed on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts. Physicists Caroll Alley (U. of Maryland) and James Faller (Wesleyan) were PIs. The plan was to use the 3m reflector to fire brief (some nanoseconds in length) but intense pulses of light at a reflector placed on the moon, then precisely time the arrival of the return pulse back at the telescope about 2.5 seconds later. Each pulse would allow measurement of the distance to the moon to within a few meters. Repeated pulses would allow increased precision of measurement, and were expected to result in a night-to-night distance to the moon accurate to a few centimeters. The primary goal was to investigate fundamental aspects of gravitation. Anticipating the Apollo 11 Mission in 1969, NASA gave us $75,000 to dig a pitbelow the coude slitroom. Into that pit we installed the two most powerful lasers anyone in the world would admit to having, mounted on brand new Bridgeport mills. From the lasers mounted on optical benches on the mill tables in the pit below the telescope, the light pulses went up through holes in the floor of the slitroom, bounced off of large mirrors (still in the slitroom mounted on rails) which sent the light up the polar axle and then through the telescope, which was thus used in reverse as a giant laser gun. We were issued unbelievably dense safety glasses, darker than typical welding glasses, in case we had to go out on the dome floor during laser firing. After a couple of tries on test nights we found no one could see anything through them, and everyone stopped using them. We were quite cautious about going onto the dome floor, however. Channel 9 (PBS) and Channel 7 (ABC) both had news crews at the telescope for that first moon landing event in July 1969. The idea was to broadcast this exciting big-time Bay Area science effort to the local citizens as it happened. Fortunately, I think we were so overshadowed by lunar events that evening that nothing was ever broadcast from Lick. We had what I believe was the first civilian-use low-light-level vidicon camera, which had just been declassified by the Defense Department and been mounted on the 3m only a couple of weeks before. We had used it successfully for a few practice nights when it had delivered excellent images, and all seemed in order. I had just been promoted out of my initial job as night assistant, but was there nevertheless as Joe Wampler's hand-picked telescope operator for this special occasion. Thus I was at the center of the first difficulty, which was that we could not find the moon with the world's second largest telescope! In those days the Astronomical Almanac included geocentric lunar coordinates for every hour during the year. When I set to the coordinates given for the nearest hour (usually plenty good enough to find the moon), nothing was there. Over the next 30 or 40 minutes I repeatedly and frantically interpolated coordinates to the nearest 5 minutes, checked to be sure I really had the current Almanac and not last year’s, made sure I had the correct time and tried again -- but still couldn't find the moon. This was deeply humiliating with the TV geeks just out in the hall, and Louis Alvarez sitting there being very polite. Finally someone shouted “There it is!” It appeared as the most delicate spiderweb tracery of just the brightest highlights, still barely perceptible. We had started to set to it in very early twilight with this new camera which we had previously used only at night. The contrast of a bright moon on a bright sky was not as expected. We could find the moon after all, and in fact we must have been on it 100 times already that evening. Whew! We took a break to watch Neil Armstrong’s historic first step event on TV, a thrill shared by all present. After the PR opportunity, the astronauts began to place science experiments out on the moon's surface. The first such experiment was our retroreflector, an array of 100 beautiful corner cube prisms, cut so as to return any inbound light exactly back to the source. The Retroreflector array is seen here about 1/3 from the left edge of this photo, between the flag and Lunar Expedition Module. The astronaut in the foreground is now placing a seismograph on the lunar surface It seemed then as if we were all set, but we still needed to know exactly where on the moon the astronauts were. As the laser beam diameter at the moon was only about two miles, we had to be able to point fairly accurately. The lunar module, under manual control in order to avoid some rough terrain, had not been landed exactly where planned. The astronauts soon determined their precise location on the moon and radioed that information to Mission Control in Houston. Later that evening, Joe Wampler spoke with Mission Control to obtain the coordinates for the actual landing site. I was sitting next to him as he stood at the night assistant's desk in the 3m control room, upon which he had a large scale moon map spread out. I heard Joe repeat back the coordinates three times in order to be absolutely certain he had them correct. Then, with the spot carefully marked on the map, we pointed the telescope to that exact lunar location and started firing a laser at it - scientific history in the making! We blasted away all night but detected no return signal whatsoever. Things got pretty subdued later in the evening as it became apparent we had a problem. This problem was identified the next day when someone called Houston again to verify the lunar coordinates, which turned out to be 00°41′15″N, 23°26′00″W. Despite the fact that Joe had repeated every number three separate times, they were still wrong. The person he had spoken with in Houston that first night had a deep Texas accent, and although the last two digits in the N-S coordinate group were 15, through the thick Texan drawl Joe had consistently heard "fifty" rather than "fifteen", so we had not been pointed at the correct spot on the first night. The Retroreflector is an array of 100 corner-cube prisms, each 3.8cm in diameter. It is still in service. We started the second night with confidence but still obtained no return signal, and the same was true for a couple more nights. Nothing. Yet, very careful checks appeared to verify that everything was functioning as expected; laser power, optical alignments, location on the moon, atmospheric clarity, photon detectors, timing electronics ... everything looked good. We were only searching for the reflected pulse within a small time window, because the belief was that the distance was already known to within 500m. My recollection is that we had only 2 kilobytes of memory in which to store the return pulse. That 2k of memory was cost-limited, and in the late 1960s it represented approximately a $10,000 expense to the project (about $65,000 in current dollars)! But it should have been enough to ensure the return pulse was detected within the few millionths of a second time window during which that return pulse was expected. After all, the Solar System experts from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory had provided an ephemeris for the anticipated separations between the 3m telescope and the retroreflector on the moon which included the carefully calculated influences of every known variable. Finally Lloyd Robinson suggested that, despite our assurance that we were looking for the return pulse at the right time, since we were unable to pinpoint any other source of difficulty we should try moving the small window of time within which we were looking for a return signal. That idea soon produced a result, and we were able to center up on a good signal with the expected strength, and began to accumulate data. It remained to explain the unexpected discrepancy in timing. Every detail of the experiment was examined carefully. It took weeks to finally locate the source of the error within the computer program JPL had used to generate the expected timing for the return signal. They quite reasonably had assumed that Lick Observatory (LO) was where the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac (predecessor of the Astronomical Almanac) said it was, which in turn and equally reasonably listed the observatory location as given by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS). USCGS thought LO was where their Lick Observatory benchmark was placed. Their benchmark was in the parking lot west of the Main Building, 1700 feet from the 3m telescope. Thus, the first result of this very sophisticated Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment was to accurately measure the distance between the 3m telescope and the Main Building parking lot - via a retroreflector on the moon! The first scientific paper which resulted from this experiment improved the previous best measurements of distance to the Moon by a factor of 100. This activity is still being conducted from McDonald Observatory. Using the much shorter laser pulses and faster electronics now feasible, distances to the Moon are routinely measured to within about one centimeter per night! Rem
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins, Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Data Source for Solution latitude longitude
Primary guidance onboard vector 0.649 23.46
Abort guidance onboard :vector 0.639 23.44
Powered flight processor 0,631 23.47 (based on 4-track solu- tion)
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Rendezvous radar 0.636 23.50
Best estimate trajectory 0.647 23.505 accelerometer recon- struction
Lunar module targeted 06.91 23.72
Photography 0.647 23.505
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
The navigational chart used by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to determine their exact position on the lunar surface just after their historic lunar landing was one of the major sales at Bonham's Space Sale, in New York, on July 16.
It sold for an incredible $218,000, including buyer's premium.
One of the few flight devices returned from the lunar surface to be available on the market, the chart was a major auction highlight in a great year for space memorabilia, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the momentous Apollo XI moon landing.
Amazingly, the chart still contains traces of moon dust. It was used by Armstrong and Aldrin some 20 hours after they landed on the moon to update the Eagle module's navigational equipment, just prior to their lunar lift-off.
The historic piece was formerly displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The historic piece was formerly displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The historic piece was formerly displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The chart is signed by Buzz Aldrin, and its sale also included a typed and signed letter from the second man on the moon.
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
"The stars and constellations are projected onto a black background above and below lines defined as the ecliptic and the lunar equator. The Sun, Earth, Venus, and other planets are marked as to their relative positions along the ecliptic plane.
"This star chart was the single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon."
Not only does the navigational chart and its accompanying letter give a fascinating insight into the risks encountered by the brave Apollo 11 crew, the chart was also crucial in allowing Neil Armstrong to become the first man to set foot upon the Moon.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
Circular areas on chart are based on readings recorded by the astronaut's Alignment Optical Telescope (AOT), used to track the stars in the Moon's skies above.
"Completion of these tasks enabled us to carry out our lunar timeline and allowed Neil Armstrong to become the first human to set foot upon the Moon," writes Aldrin.
Especially fascinating to collectors are the areas of the chart where what is most likely lunar dust became embedded during its use on the Moon's surface.
According to Aldrin, "On the back of the star chart, there is a square velcro patch. It has an overall tint of gray with darker grayish material embedded
within. Those gray areas are most likely lunar dust that came off our space suits or from various equipment such as the sample return container."
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Aldrin's signature on the chart reads: "This star chart was used by Neil Armstrong and myself while on the lunar surface during July 20 - 21, 1969. Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot."
The Apollo XI eventually landed back on Earth at 4:17 pm Eastern Daylight Time (20:17 GMT), within a minute of the planned time.
The massive success of the Bonham's auction shows the continued global interest in the Apollo 11 mission around the 40th Anniver
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report) latitude longitude
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report) latitude longitude
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, "LIFTOFF"
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
1) CDR.(TRANQ) "Houston, the guys that said that we wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are are the winners today. We were a little busy worrying about program alarms and things like that in the part of the descent where we would normally be picking out our landing spot; and aside from a good look at several of the craters we came over in the final descent, I haven't been able to pick out the things on the horizon as a reference as yet."
Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong shortly after landing on the surface of the moon from THE APOLLO 11 VOICE TRANSCRIPT.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
2) "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has."
Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, book, CARRYING THE FIRE.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523 latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that B
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piersquared
Mercury
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Numbers
Jul 22, 2011 11:20:00 GMT -4
Post by piersquared on Jul 22, 2011 11:20:00 GMT -4
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
1) CDR/ARMSTRONG.(TRANQ) "Houston, the guys that said that we wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are are the winners today. We were a little busy worrying about program alarms and things like that in the part of the descent where we would normally be picking out our landing spot; and aside from a good look at several of the craters we came over in the final descent, I haven't been able to pick out the things on the horizon as a reference as yet."
APOLLO 11 VOICE TRANSCRIPT.
2) "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has."
Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, book, CARRYING THE FIRE.
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that Buzz Aldrin, a man with a genius for astrophysics, who held a Ph.D. in space rendezvous from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Neil Armstrong, one of the coolest hands in the history of aviation, were chosen for the job. NASA believed the Apollo 11 team could do it, and so did they. In the end, NASA's failure to ascertain the exact location of Tranquility Base had no great impact on the docking of Columbia and Eagle, which was fortunate, because it wasn't until 5 days after splash-down on July 29, when film taken by the astronauts was processed and studied, that an official determination was reached."
Leon Wagner's authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, ONE GIANT LEAP.
4) "In the meantime we were monitoring the signal sent back by the passive seismic experiment and attempting to find the LRRR that the astronauts had left behind. This latter operation was not as easy as we expected, since the exact location of the landing site was not immediately known. Mike Collins had attempted unsuccessfully to locate the LM from orbit using the command module sextant. After analyzing the flight data and the returned photographs, we passed our best estimate to the LRRR PIs, and the LRRR was found on August 1, 1969 by the Lick Observatory in California."
Apollo experimental scientist Donald Beattie, book, TAKING SCIENCE TO THE MOOON.
5) "But no one, not Armstrong and Aldrin nor anyone in mission control, knew just where Eagle was. The location would be a helpful, though not essential, piece of information for this computer to have during tomorrow's rendezvous. It fell to Collins to try to find the LM on the surface, using the command modules 28 power sextant."…………
"Each time he went around from the far side, mission control had a new set of coordinates for him to try, but on his map, one guess was as much as 10 grid-squares away from the last. It didn't take long to realize no one had a handle on the problem. His search continued fruitlessly for the rest of his 22 solo hours."
Andrew Chaikin, book, A MAN ON THE MOON.
6) They wondered about their exact location, glancing out the windows and describing what they saw to give flight control and Collins some clues to aid in the search. While waiting to be found, Armstrong relayed all that he could remember about the landing. They knew they were at least six kilometers beyond the target point, although still within the planned ellipse.
While his crewmates had been active on the surface, Collins had been busy in the command module. There was not much navigating to do, so he took pictures and looked out the window, trying to find the lunar module. He never found it; neither did flight control. There was just too much real estate down there to be able to search the whole area properly. Collins divided the part of the moon he was flying over into segments, but he had no better luck. Armstrong and Aldrin had taken the 26-power monocular with them, but Collins did not think it would have helped much, anyway. He did complain that all this searching cut into the time he needed for taking pictures on each circuit, but he was philosophical about it. As he said, “When the LM is on the surface, the command module should act like a good child and be seen and not heard.”10
Brooks, Courtney (2008). Book, CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
Hi Mike,
In response to your request, here is the story of the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment as I recall and like to tell it. The Lunar Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR) project was one of the two major science experiments placed on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts. Physicists Caroll Alley (U. of Maryland) and James Faller (Wesleyan) were PIs. The plan was to use the 3m reflector to fire brief (some nanoseconds in length) but intense pulses of light at a reflector placed on the moon, then precisely time the arrival of the return pulse back at the telescope about 2.5 seconds later. Each pulse would allow measurement of the distance to the moon to within a few meters. Repeated pulses would allow increased precision of measurement, and were expected to result in a night-to-night distance to the moon accurate to a few centimeters. The primary goal was to investigate fundamental aspects of gravitation. Anticipating the Apollo 11 Mission in 1969, NASA gave us $75,000 to dig a pitbelow the coude slitroom. Into that pit we installed the two most powerful lasers anyone in the world would admit to having, mounted on brand new Bridgeport mills. From the lasers mounted on optical benches on the mill tables in the pit below the telescope, the light pulses went up through holes in the floor of the slitroom, bounced off of large mirrors (still in the slitroom mounted on rails) which sent the light up the polar axle and then through the telescope, which was thus used in reverse as a giant laser gun. We were issued unbelievably dense safety glasses, darker than typical welding glasses, in case we had to go out on the dome floor during laser firing. After a couple of tries on test nights we found no one could see anything through them, and everyone stopped using them. We were quite cautious about going onto the dome floor, however. Channel 9 (PBS) and Channel 7 (ABC) both had news crews at the telescope for that first moon landing event in July 1969. The idea was to broadcast this exciting big-time Bay Area science effort to the local citizens as it happened. Fortunately, I think we were so overshadowed by lunar events that evening that nothing was ever broadcast from Lick. We had what I believe was the first civilian-use low-light-level vidicon camera, which had just been declassified by the Defense Department and been mounted on the 3m only a couple of weeks before. We had used it successfully for a few practice nights when it had delivered excellent images, and all seemed in order. I had just been promoted out of my initial job as night assistant, but was there nevertheless as Joe Wampler's hand-picked telescope operator for this special occasion. Thus I was at the center of the first difficulty, which was that we could not find the moon with the world's second largest telescope! In those days the Astronomical Almanac included geocentric lunar coordinates for every hour during the year. When I set to the coordinates given for the nearest hour (usually plenty good enough to find the moon), nothing was there. Over the next 30 or 40 minutes I repeatedly and frantically interpolated coordinates to the nearest 5 minutes, checked to be sure I really had the current Almanac and not last year’s, made sure I had the correct time and tried again -- but still couldn't find the moon. This was deeply humiliating with the TV geeks just out in the hall, and Louis Alvarez sitting there being very polite. Finally someone shouted “There it is!” It appeared as the most delicate spiderweb tracery of just the brightest highlights, still barely perceptible. We had started to set to it in very early twilight with this new camera which we had previously used only at night. The contrast of a bright moon on a bright sky was not as expected. We could find the moon after all, and in fact we must have been on it 100 times already that evening. Whew! We took a break to watch Neil Armstrong’s historic first step event on TV, a thrill shared by all present. After the PR opportunity, the astronauts began to place science experiments out on the moon's surface. The first such experiment was our retroreflector, an array of 100 beautiful corner cube prisms, cut so as to return any inbound light exactly back to the source. The Retroreflector array is seen here about 1/3 from the left edge of this photo, between the flag and Lunar Expedition Module. The astronaut in the foreground is now placing a seismograph on the lunar surface It seemed then as if we were all set, but we still needed to know exactly where on the moon the astronauts were. As the laser beam diameter at the moon was only about two miles, we had to be able to point fairly accurately. The lunar module, under manual control in order to avoid some rough terrain, had not been landed exactly where planned. The astronauts soon determined their precise location on the moon and radioed that information to Mission Control in Houston. Later that evening, Joe Wampler spoke with Mission Control to obtain the coordinates for the actual landing site. I was sitting next to him as he stood at the night assistant's desk in the 3m control room, upon which he had a large scale moon map spread out. I heard Joe repeat back the coordinates three times in order to be absolutely certain he had them correct. Then, with the spot carefully marked on the map, we pointed the telescope to that exact lunar location and started firing a laser at it - scientific history in the making! We blasted away all night but detected no return signal whatsoever. Things got pretty subdued later in the evening as it became apparent we had a problem. This problem was identified the next day when someone called Houston again to verify the lunar coordinates, which turned out to be 00°41′15″N, 23°26′00″W. Despite the fact that Joe had repeated every number three separate times, they were still wrong. The person he had spoken with in Houston that first night had a deep Texas accent, and although the last two digits in the N-S coordinate group were 15, through the thick Texan drawl Joe had consistently heard "fifty" rather than "fifteen", so we had not been pointed at the correct spot on the first night. The Retroreflector is an array of 100 corner-cube prisms, each 3.8cm in diameter. It is still in service. We started the second night with confidence but still obtained no return signal, and the same was true for a couple more nights. Nothing. Yet, very careful checks appeared to verify that everything was functioning as expected; laser power, optical alignments, location on the moon, atmospheric clarity, photon detectors, timing electronics ... everything looked good. We were only searching for the reflected pulse within a small time window, because the belief was that the distance was already known to within 500m. My recollection is that we had only 2 kilobytes of memory in which to store the return pulse. That 2k of memory was cost-limited, and in the late 1960s it represented approximately a $10,000 expense to the project (about $65,000 in current dollars)! But it should have been enough to ensure the return pulse was detected within the few millionths of a second time window during which that return pulse was expected. After all, the Solar System experts from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory had provided an ephemeris for the anticipated separations between the 3m telescope and the retroreflector on the moon which included the carefully calculated influences of every known variable. Finally Lloyd Robinson suggested that, despite our assurance that we were looking for the return pulse at the right time, since we were unable to pinpoint any other source of difficulty we should try moving the small window of time within which we were looking for a return signal. That idea soon produced a result, and we were able to center up on a good signal with the expected strength, and began to accumulate data. It remained to explain the unexpected discrepancy in timing. Every detail of the experiment was examined carefully. It took weeks to finally locate the source of the error within the computer program JPL had used to generate the expected timing for the return signal. They quite reasonably had assumed that Lick Observatory (LO) was where the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac (predecessor of the Astronomical Almanac) said it was, which in turn and equally reasonably listed the observatory location as given by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS). USCGS thought LO was where their Lick Observatory benchmark was placed. Their benchmark was in the parking lot west of the Main Building, 1700 feet from the 3m telescope. Thus, the first result of this very sophisticated Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment was to accurately measure the distance between the 3m telescope and the Main Building parking lot - via a retroreflector on the moon! The first scientific paper which resulted from this experiment improved the previous best measurements of distance to the Moon by a factor of 100. This activity is still being conducted from McDonald Observatory. Using the much shorter laser pulses and faster electronics now feasible, distances to the Moon are routinely measured to within about one centimeter per night! Rem
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins, Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Data Source for Solution latitude longitude
Primary guidance onboard vector 0.649 23.46
Abort guidance onboard :vector 0.639 23.44
Powered flight processor 0,631 23.47 (based on 4-track solu- tion)
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Rendezvous radar 0.636 23.50
Best estimate trajectory 0.647 23.505 accelerometer recon- struction
Lunar module targeted 06.91 23.72
Photography 0.647 23.505
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
The navigational chart used by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to determine their exact position on the lunar surface just after their historic lunar landing was one of the major sales at Bonham's Space Sale, in New York, on July 16.
It sold for an incredible $218,000, including buyer's premium.
One of the few flight devices returned from the lunar surface to be available on the market, the chart was a major auction highlight in a great year for space memorabilia, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the momentous Apollo XI moon landing.
Amazingly, the chart still contains traces of moon dust. It was used by Armstrong and Aldrin some 20 hours after they landed on the moon to update the Eagle module's navigational equipment, just prior to their lunar lift-off.
The historic piece was formerly displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The historic piece was formerly displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The historic piece was formerly displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The chart is signed by Buzz Aldrin, and its sale also included a typed and signed letter from the second man on the moon.
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
"The stars and constellations are projected onto a black background above and below lines defined as the ecliptic and the lunar equator. The Sun, Earth, Venus, and other planets are marked as to their relative positions along the ecliptic plane.
"This star chart was the single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon."
Not only does the navigational chart and its accompanying letter give a fascinating insight into the risks encountered by the brave Apollo 11 crew, the chart was also crucial in allowing Neil Armstrong to become the first man to set foot upon the Moon.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
Circular areas on chart are based on readings recorded by the astronaut's Alignment Optical Telescope (AOT), used to track the stars in the Moon's skies above.
"Completion of these tasks enabled us to carry out our lunar timeline and allowed Neil Armstrong to become the first human to set foot upon the Moon," writes Aldrin.
Especially fascinating to collectors are the areas of the chart where what is most likely lunar dust became embedded during its use on the Moon's surface.
According to Aldrin, "On the back of the star chart, there is a square velcro patch. It has an overall tint of gray with darker grayish material embedded
within. Those gray areas are most likely lunar dust that came off our space suits or from various equipment such as the sample return container."
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
Aldrin's signature on the chart reads: "This star chart was used by Neil Armstrong and myself while on the lunar surface during July 20 - 21, 1969. Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot."
The Apollo XI eventually landed back on Earth at 4:17 pm Eastern Daylight Time (20:17 GMT), within a minute of the planned time.
The massive success of the Bonham's auction shows the continued global interest in the Apollo 11 mission around the 40th Anniver
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report) latitude longitude
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report) latitude longitude
Alignment optical tele- scope 0.523 23.42
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, "LIFTOFF"
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could ONLY be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Michael Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
Printed near the 270 degree point of the chart is an inscription that reads, "LM-TD+2 STAR CHART (A), LAUNCH JULY 16, 20 JULY 20:17:11 GMT."
TD was short for Touchdown with +2 meaning that the chart had its highest accuracy within 2 hours of landing. Touchdown was to be 20:17:11 Greenwich Mean Time on July 20, assuming a July 16 earth launch.
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
1) CDR.(TRANQ) "Houston, the guys that said that we wouldn't be able to tell precisely where we are are the winners today. We were a little busy worrying about program alarms and things like that in the part of the descent where we would normally be picking out our landing spot; and aside from a good look at several of the craters we came over in the final descent, I haven't been able to pick out the things on the horizon as a reference as yet."
Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong shortly after landing on the surface of the moon from THE APOLLO 11 VOICE TRANSCRIPT.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine
our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location our precise location our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
2) "Of course the ground can take its measurements as well, but it really has no way of judging where the LM came down, except by comparing Neil and Buzz's description of their surrounding terrain with the rather crude maps that Houston has."
Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, book, CARRYING THE FIRE.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 MissionReport)
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Our Lunar Module's gyroscopic guidance equipment lost precision over time. It was imperative to re-align this equipment just after landing in case of an emergency lift-off or our inability to make such an adjustment for the scheduled lift-off some 22 hours [later]," writes Aldrin.
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523
"Accompanying this letter is the actual star chart that Neil Armstrong and I used to determine our precise location (Mission Report confirmed star sighted latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523 latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523, latitude 0.523) our precise location
our precise location
our precise location
our precise location just after we made history's first lunar landing on July 20, 1969," writes Aldrin. "It is a circular device that has a movable translucent overlay with six over lapping."
ALDRIN-We also made use of the stars through the telescope in aligning a crosshair by rotating the field of view so the cross hair superimposed on the star-this would give us the angular measurement of the star within the field of view of the telescope. We then determined the distance out by aligning another radical spiral on this. We went through an averaging technique on board and then we fed this information into the computer and this came up with our various alignment checks. This was all in preparation for a possible liftoff that would occur about two hours after touchdown as Mike and Columbia came over for the first revolution…………Following the sleep period, as we were approaching the lift-off point, we progressed with a gradual power up of the lunar module, which included another star alignment check, and as Mike came over in Columbia, one revolution before liftoff, we used the radar to track him as he went over. (Apollo 11 POST FILGHT CREW PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 12, 1969 10:00 AM)
"Updating the inertial measurement unit could only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only only be done on board, shooting two stars with the sextant or telescope."
Collins Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, book, LIFTOFF
05 02 51 36(Apollo 11 Transcript Time)
CapCom Roger. LMascentPAD: TIG12422000000 NOUN 76 55349 00322, plus 0017; DEDA 47, plus 37104, minus 70470, plus 58604, plus 56936. Your LM weight 10837. Your T14 126, plus 20, plus 12. Over.
plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017,plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017, plus 0017
Time 05 02 53 18 CDR/Armstrong What figure is the crossrange and NOUN 76? (TRANQ)
Time 05 02 53 26 CapCom Roger. Your crossrange for NOUN 76 - By the way, we may update this later, but now it is plus 0017. Over.
Crossrange is north/south measure from intended latitude.
Apollo 11 Mission Report: TABLE 7-VIII.- LATITUDE TARGETING SUMMARY/Landing site latitude on the landing revolutions, deg. Desired 0.691, actual, 0.769, error 0.078 north.
Crossrange is north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous.
TABLE 5-1V.- LUNAR LANDING COORDINATES(from NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report)
Alignment optical tele- scope Lat 0.523, long 23.42
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave .691. 0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691.
TIME 04 16 22 20 Apollo 11 Transcript
CMP/Collins: Columbia. You got the new coordinates?
CapCom: Columbia. This is Houston Go ahead.
CMP/Collins: Roger, Have you got the new coordinates for me?
CapCom: Roger. Latitude 00.691 - that would be plus 00.691 - and longitude over 2 is plus 11.713. The altitude is minus 1.44 nautical miles. Over.
CMP/Collins: Roger. Thank you. Columbia, this is Houston. On latitude, make that plus 00.692, rounding off. Over.
LM latitude by optical telescope alignment 0.521 degrees PLUS north/south out of plane measurement for rendezvous .17 degrees gives precisely desired landing site latitude from Apollo 11 Mission Report, TABLE 7-VIII gave 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
0.521 + 0.17 = 0.691
Apollo 11 navigation chart sells for $218k
Described by astronaut Buzz Aldrin as, 'The single most critical navigational device we used while on the Moon,' this was the star of Bonham's NY space auction
"BUT NO ONE, NOT ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN NOR ANYONE IN MISSION CONTROL KNEW JUST WHERE EAGLE WAS."
CHAIKIN, BOOK, A MAN ON THE MOON
3) "While Houston and Eagle prepared for liftoff, feeding coordinates into the computer that would, with luck, achieve a smooth rendezvous with Columbia on its twenty-fifth lunar orbit, there were two nagging worries. One was a slightly embarrassing technical failure: Houston wasn't precisely sure where Tranquility Base was located on the lunar surface. Ever since touchdown, NASA's geological survey team had been scrambling to unravel just how far away from the planned landing site Neil had gone while scrambling to avoid the deadly escarpment. The United States Geological Survey in Houston and the Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff, Arizona, desperately studying maps and analyzing information available, had finally come to a consensus. But it was just an educated guess. There had been no provision for an aborted site and a zig-zag, last-second dash to find a safe landing zone. The one hope for a completely accurate fix was the laser retro-reflector experiment Aldrin and Armstrong had assembled a few hours prior. But, thus far Houston hadn't been able to locate the reflector with the laser. Less than an hour prior to scheduled liftoff, Capsule Communicator Ron Evans apologetically briefed the astronauts on the situation: "We have fairly high confidence that we know the position of the Eagle. However, it is possible that we may have a change of plans. But in the worst case it could be up to 30 feet per second, and of course we don't expect that at all". Meaning: If they were far off Eagle's location, a successful rendezvous would require some quick and accurate throttling up or down to thread the needle properly tricky work at 5,000 miles per hour. Of course, it was for such contingencies that B
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