Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in ... - The Black Vault

Exploring the Unknown 693
It had been clear for some time that a lunar landing in this decade could
be assured only if the AS 503/CSM 103/LM 3 mission could be flown before the
end of 1968. During the June-July time period the projected launch date had
slipped from November into December, and the December date was by no means
assured. The over-all problem was compounded by the Pogo anomaly resulting
from the Apollo 6 mission, and this remained a significant unknown.
In this time period also the possibility of a circumlunar or lunar orbit
mission during 1968, using AS 503 and CSM 103, first occurred to me as a
contingency mission to take a major step forward in the Apollo Program.
July 20 to August 5, 1968. By now the Pogo situation looked a lot more
encouraging. MSFC had demonstrated analytically that a relatively simple launch
vehicle fix was available to cure the problem. The results of many tests and analyses
at MSC led to the general conclusion that the Spacecraft/LM Adapter problem
would most likely be cured if the launch vehicle Pogo is cured.
In the same time period, work on CSM 103 continued to progress
somewhat slower than expected but in a satisfactory manner. Delivery of the
spacecraft to KSC during the second week of August was virtually assured. The
spacecraft was extremely clean. LM-3, however, required much more work at KSC
than anticipated. There was a significant number of changes in addition to test
failures, requiring trouble-shooting, changeouts and re test, and a serious EMI
problem that continued to persist. The [2] outlook for a 1968 launch, although
mathematically still possible, appeared to be very dim.
August 6, 1968. Presented a long list of LM changes to the OMSF
Management Council review in Houston. In collecting this information it had
become more and more apparent that we still weren’t quite on top of the situation
and that the list of problems continued to grow instead of decreasing.
August 7, 1968. With the background of open work and con tinued
problems on LM-3 and the real concern that the mission might not be able to fly
until February or March, 1969, I asked Chris Kraft to look into the feasibility of a
lunar orbit mission on AS 503 with CSM 103 and without a LM.
August 8, 1968. Spent the day at KSC, reviewing 503 open work and
schedules with Debus, Petrone, Phillips, Hage, Bolender, and many others. The
official KSC schedule showed an earliest possible launch date during the first
week of January, 1969; however, the EMI problem was still open. KSC pointed
out that the hardware changes were not the real cause of the problem. The
many retest requirements and checkout problems caused real concern. There
was little confidence in the assembled group that the early January launch date
could be met. In fact, until the EMI problem was solved, things were essentially
at a standstill.
Steps in Planning the Mission:
August 9, 1968. Met with Gilruth at 0845 and reported to him the detailed
status of LM-3 and CSM 103 and informed him that I had been considering the