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Apollo Rescue CSM

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Apollo Rescue CSM The Apollo Command Module as modified to rescue stranded crews for the Skylab program. Two crew + three rescuees packed like sardines....

Status: Study 1970. Gross mass: 16,800 kg (37,000 lb). Span: 3.90 m (12.70 ft).

A kit was developed to fit out an Apollo command module with a total of five crew couches. In the event a Skylab crew developed trouble with its Apollo CSM return craft, a rescue CSM would be prepared and launched to rendezvous with the station. It would dock with the spare second side docking port of the Skylab docking module.

During Skylab 3, one of the thruster quads of the Apollo service module developed leaks. When the same problem developed with a second quad, the possibility existed that the spacecraft would not be maneuverable. Preparation work began to fit out a rescue CSM, and astronauts Vance Brand and Don Lind began preparations to rescue astronauts Bean, Garriott, and Lousma aboard the station. However the problem was localized, workarounds were developed, and the first space rescue mission was not necessary. The Skylab 3 crew returned successfully in their own Apollo CSM at the end of their 59 day mission.

Crew Size: 5. Habitable Volume: 6.17 m3.

• Assessment of crew rescue capability for Skylab. - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM.

  An assessment of the feasibility of providing a crew rescue capability for Skylab was conducted by KSC, MSC, and MSFC during 1970. The study culminated in a NASA Hq decision to provide a limited rescue capability should return capability fail while the CSM were docked to the OWS. The rescue vehicle for the first two manned Skylab missions would be the next CSM in flow at KSC. Should a rescue call occur, the CSM next in flow would be modified so as to permit a five- man carrying capacity. It would be launched with a two-man crew and return with the additional three astronauts.

• A plan was devised to provide a rescue capability for SkyIab in the event the crew became stranded in the OWS because of failed CSM. - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM.

  A plan was devised to provide a rescue capability for SkyIab in the event the crew became stranded in the OWS because of failed CSM. The rescue capability was based on the assumption that the stranded crew would be able to wait in the Skylab cluster with its ample supply of food, water, and breathing gases until a modified CSM capable of carrying five crewmen could he launched. If a failure occurred which stranded the crewmen in their CSM, this rescue capability would not be possible.

• Proposed Skylab rescue mission profile requirements - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM.

  Proposed Skylab rescue mission profile requirements were: The trajectory planning for a rescue mission would be the same as the nominal Skylab mission. Nominal mission duration from launch to recovery would be limited to five days. The orbital assembly would maneuver to provide acquisition light support for the rescue CSM. The rescue CSM would be capable of rendezvous without very-high frequency ranging. Landing and recovery would be planned for the primary landing area; transfer of the crew from the MDA to the CSM would be in shirt sleeves with no extravehicular activity. The KSC rescue launch response time would vary from 10 to 45 1/2 days, depending on the transpired time into the normal checkout flow.

• A Skylab rescue kit preliminary requirements review was held at MSC - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM.

  It was determined that the rescue kit could be installed in one shift, that suits would be worn for reentry, and that the center couch would be ballasted for launch. Studies were being conducted to determine the feasibility of jettisoning disabled CSM from the axial port.

• A Skylab rescue vehicle preliminary design review was held at North American Rockwell. - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM.

  The anticipated reentry mode for the rescue vehicle would be with the crewmen suited, thus providing additional return stowage volume for program-critical items. North American would define the return volume and loading available, while MSC would identify the returnable program-critical items. The rescue command and service modules would be designed for both suited and unsuited reentry and for axial and radial docking. The rescue kit would include provisions for the return of five men.

• Skylab rescue mission a definite NASA commitment. - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM.

  The Skylab rescue mission was a definite NASA commitment. The hardware, procedures, documentation, and training would need to be available immediately after the launch of Skylab 2 for a potential rescue mission. To accomplish this requirement, the rescue mission would be treated as a separate mission in the Skylab Program. The rescue mission would be established as a standing agenda item for major boards and panels, and its status would be reviewed on a regular basis with other missions.

• Tests with the rescue mission configured Skylab command module. - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM.

  An MSC team was conducting tests with the rescue mission configured Skylab command module at KSC. Purpose of the test was to evaluate the equipment, techniques, and procedures involved in the egress required by a five-man command module loading. Navy and Air Force helicopters were participating in the test.

• CSM 119 would be utilized in a dual role: as a spacecraft rescue vehicle for the Skylab Program and later for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Flight: Apollo (ASTP), Skylab Rescue. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM. CSM 119 would be utilized in a dual role: as a spacecraft rescue vehicle for the Skylab Program and later for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. However, CSM 111 would continue to be the primary Apollo- Soyuz Test Project spacecraft..

• Skylab Rescue (cancelled) - . Crew: Brand, Lind. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brand, Lind. Program: Skylab. Flight: Skylab 3, Skylab Rescue. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM.

  Influenced by the stranded Skylab crew portrayed in the book and movie 'Marooned', NASA provided a crew rescue capability for the only time in its history. A kit was developed to fit out an Apollo command module with a total of five crew couches. In the event a Skylab crew developed trouble with its Apollo CSM return craft, a rescue CSM would be prepared and launched to rendezvous with the station. It would dock with the spare second side docking port of the Skylab docking module. During Skylab 3, one of the thruster quads of the Apollo service module developed leaks. When the same problem developed with a second quad, the possibility existed that the spacecraft would not be maneuverable. Preparation work began to fit out a rescue CSM, and astronauts Vance Brand and Don Lind began preparations to rescue astronauts Bean, Garriott, and Lousma aboard the station. However the problem was localized, work arounds were developed, and the first space rescue mission was not necessary. The Skylab 3 crew returned successfully in their own Apollo CSM at the end of their 59 day mission.

• The Skylab rescue mission hardware was on schedule. - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM. Vehicle rollout to the launch complex was scheduled for 5 December. Integrated testing and the flight readiness test would be completed about 13 December. Flight readiness review dates would only be established if a rescue launch was required..

• Plans for the Skylab rescue capability discontinued. - . Nation: USA. Program: Skylab. Spacecraft Bus: Apollo CSM. Spacecraft: Apollo Rescue CSM.

  KSC was directed to discontinue plans for the Skylab rescue capability and to move the rescue vehicle (SA-209 and CSM-119) back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Upon completion of this action, Headquarters responsibility for the SA-209 and CSM-119 would be transferred to the Program Director of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program.