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50th anniversary of Apollo 16

  • 16-04-2022 7:44am
    #1
    Itssoeasy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,698 ✭✭✭✭


    https://youtu.be/_PEGi3k6yNQ


    Today the 16th of April is 50 years since Apollo 16 lifted off from launch pad 39A on the penultimate moon mission with NASA veteran John Young as commander, Ken Mattingly (originally scheduled to be CMP on Apollo 13) as CMP, and Charlie Duke as LMP.  Something I’ve just realised is Ken Mattingly missed his chance to fly on Apollo 13 due to Charlie duke’s kids getting the measles, and they then flew together on Apollo 16. Anyway, The command/service module was named Casper and the LM module was named Orion. This was the second of three missions which had the lunar rover onboard which enabled the astronauts travel greater distances and would be helpful on this mission due to a less than accurate landing. 


    The flight outwards to the moon was smooth and went like it was expected to according to mission transcripts I’ve read. It was uneventful. There were issues nearer the moon however when CM pilot Mattingly noticed there was gimble lock and had to correct the spacecraft’s position using the sun and the moon to reorientate themselves. There was also issue with the backup gimbal system on the SPS which technically under mission rules should’ve meant an abort of a lunar landing but after long discussions it was decided they could work around it which they did.


    The lunar landing occurred on April 21st between 2 and 3am UTC and unlike his landing of the first space shuttle 9 years later which was down the centre line and right on the money, John young’s landing on the lunar surface was a distance away from the landing site, which was in part due to the delay over deciding whether to attempt to land. John young was a member of Gemini 3 with Gus Grissom and my recollection is they missed their landing spot on re entry by going long. 


    The LM lifted off and docked with the CSM three days later on April 24th. The LM upper stage was supposed to be crashed into the lunar surface after docking like previous ones had been to test the seismic equipment left on the surface by the crew but NASA lost control and it didn’t occur as scheduled. It did happen eventually.


    The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 27th, 1972.

    Post edited by Itssoeasy on


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