GirlygirlShuttlefan - 12/1/2006 11:03 PMIt's easy for us youngers posters to forget about this, we tend to always talk about the two Shuttle disasters. These three astronauts need the same level of respect, so thanks for this thread.
Ben E - 13/1/2006 9:49 AMMoving on again, I understand there originally was a Skylab-5 crew (Brand, Lind and Lenoir) who were tipped for a 14-day mission sometime in 1975. What was the purpose of this mission and why was it cancelled?
Ben E - 13/1/2006 7:28 AMHow could Mike Collins have even been considered as backup commander for Apollo 14 and rotate into the command of Apollo 17? Surely, as Cernan had flown Apollo 10, he was already in front of Collins in the queue for the 14/17 slot anyway.
(Excerpts from 'Chariots for Apollo')Even before Gemini had chalked up the world's first docking, the successful rendezvous of Gemini VI-A with VII the previous December had affected the thinking of Apollo mission designers. The inability of the Saturn IB to toss the command and service modules and the lunar module into orbit together had forced planners to consider "LM-alone" flights. Gemini's successful dual missions suggested that it might be possible to launch a crew aboard a command module to hunt down a lunar module launched by a different Saturn IB. Two of the crewmen would then transfer to the lander and carry out an earth-orbital operation previously planned for a Saturn V flight.Although the dual flight for Gemini had been greeted with enthusiasm, the proposal for an Apollo tête-à-tête met with resistance. John D. Hodge, Kraft's chief lieutenant in the mission control trenches, said there would be problems in simultaneously tracking four booster stages and in operating two mission control rooms. Planning continued, anyway, and Howard Tindall started working up flight rules - such as which launch vehicle would go first, the one with the command and service modules (AS-207) or the one with the lunar module (AS-208). A spate of "Tindallgrams" ensued. By May, Tindall agreed with Hodge about the complexity of the proposed mission.
rsp1202 - 13/1/2006 9:18 PMI got the impression from Collins' statements and other reference material that he was set to retire after Apollo 11 rather than get back in the queue, which was changing all the time anyway.
GirlygirlShuttlefan - 17/2/2006 7:59 PMWho was the astronaut that missed out on the Apollo 13 mission and ended up being a hero by finding a way to get them back with the lack of power via the mock up on Earth? He was the one that slept in and took his phone off the hook because he was so down about it.
Tony T. Harris - 18/2/2006 2:03 AMKen Mattingly. And that was made up by Hollywood for the film. He was not sulking at home with the phone off the hook. Apollo 13 the film was very sweethearted up.
dvandorn - 19/2/2006 12:05 PM He was indeed offered the backup CDR job on what was then Apollo 13, when Shepard took over as the prime CDR of that crew, but was told he probably wouldn't be allowed to rotate to the prime CDR of Apollo 16, so he told Slayton and Shepard to shove it.-Doug
Ben E - 20/2/2006 7:23 AMThanks, Doug. I think both Cunningham and Schweickart also did a lot of work towards Skylab, but never flew it. Why?
Ben E - 20/2/2006 10:30 AMWithout questioning the competence of the Skylab-4 crew, it seems unusual that three rookies should fly when, in my mind, Cunningham or Schweickart were far more qualified candidates to command. Perhaps it's down to office politics. In Andy Chaikin's book, I think Cunningham and Schweickart were regarded, like Anders and Bean, as test engineers - 'scientists' even - rather than potential CDR material. Yet Bean flew as CDR on Skylab-3.A real minefield.
Ben E - 23/2/2006 8:42 AMYes, he did wait a long time
rsp1202 - 24/2/2006 9:11 PMAs Slayton said, any crew or individual astronaut could handle any mission. Maybe. But there are examples of the Right Stuff in the extreme throughout the space program. Some that come to mind are:1. Schirra's split-second decision not to pull the abort handle during the non-launch of Gemini 6.2. Armstong wrestling Gemini 8 under control.3. Stafford regaining control of the Apollo 10 lunar module during staging in lunar orbit.4. Armstong, again, finally finding Eagle a safe place to land.Any others?
rsp1202 - 25/2/2006 3:11 AMAs Slayton said, any crew or individual astronaut could handle any mission. Maybe. But there are examples of the Right Stuff in the extreme throughout the space program. Some that come to mind are:1. Schirra's split-second decision not to pull the abort handle during the non-launch of Gemini 6.2. Armstong wrestling Gemini 8 under control.3. Stafford regaining control of the Apollo 10 lunar module during staging in lunar orbit.4. Armstong, again, finally finding Eagle a safe place to land.Any others?