Apollo 10

Beeker

Apollo 10 splashed down 41 years ago today. It is probally one of the least remembered of the moon flights. Apollo 10 was a full dress rehersal for the first moon landing. It was the only Apollo to launch from Pad 39B and was crewed by Tom Stafford {who went on to command the ASTP joint US/USSR flight in 75} John Young {who went on to Command Apollo 16} and Gene Cernan {who went on to command Apollo 17}.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_10/overview/

thecornflake

don't know much about this mission , but . . . was there something actually stopping them from landing ? . Just wondering , if the crew decided to be cheeky and take the LM down and land , nobody could have stopped them and they would have been the first. Would they not have been extremely tempted ?

lord lucan

thecornflake wrote: »

don't know much about this mission , but . . . was there something actually stopping them from landing ? . Just wondering , if the crew decided to be cheeky and take the LM down and land , nobody could have stopped them and they would have been the first. Would they not have been extremely tempted ?

I guess they wouldn't have had the fuel in the LM to land and take off. Also,i doubt they'd have had the telemetry worked out and a landing spot identified(not to say they couldn't have visually spotted a sight.).

thecornflake

lord lucan wrote: »

I guess they wouldn't have had the fuel in the LM to land and take off. Also,i doubt they'd have had the telemetry worked out and a landing spot identified(not to say they couldn't have visually spotted a sight.).

i thought they would of had the fuel ? , did they not do everything except touch the surface with the LM ? seems like it was a bit of a waste given how much these missions are , just that tiny bit further and they would been the moon no prob, i know i would have been very tempted . . . . . . . . .
prob why N.A.S.A won't let me go when they are going back

lord lucan

thecornflake wrote: »

i thought they would of had the fuel ? , did they not do everything except touch the surface with the LM ? seems like it was a bit of a waste given how much these missions are , just that tiny bit further and they would been the moon no prob, i know i would have been very tempted . . . . . . . . .
prob why N.A.S.A won't let me go when they are going back

Even Apollo 11 barely had enough fuel to get down and get up again. They weren't happy with the landing site so Armstrong flew the LM a bit further to a better site but was running out of fuel and time on the way to touch down.

All the previous Apollo flights were recon flights,survey and test everything so when it came to the real deal it would go off without a hitch. Unfortunately some astronauts had to serve as effective guinea pigs and do the less glamorous work.

Beeker

thecornflake wrote: »

don't know much about this mission , but . . . was there something actually stopping them from landing ? . Just wondering , if the crew decided to be cheeky and take the LM down and land , nobody could have stopped them and they would have been the first. Would they not have been extremely tempted ?

As LL said they were short fueled in order to prevent a landing. Astronauts are professionals but they are also test pilots with hugo ego's and NASA could not risk one of them trying to make history like that.

cyrusdvirus

Little known fact about Apollo 10 is that on their return from lunar orbit they set a speed record for the fastest manned vehicle.

Beeker

gatecrash wrote: »

Little known fact about Apollo 10 is that on their return from lunar orbit they set a speed record for the fastest manned vehicle.

24,791 mph what a way to go..................:D

cyrusdvirus

Aside from the speed demon bit, they were testing the CM to see what would happen if a returning spacecraft was slightly off on it's trajectory, coming in a li'l bit shallower than it should have.

Apollo 10 didn't come in shallow, just damn fast!!!

johno2

I saw the Apollo 10 capsule in the Science museum in London a few years ago. I think NASA gifted it to the UK, if so it should still be there.

johno

Beeker

johno2 wrote: »

I saw the Apollo 10 capsule in the Science museum in London a few years ago. I think NASA gifted it to the UK, if so it should still be there.

johno

It sure is, saw it only a while back.