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More Details for 1963-01-18

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Two aerodynamic strakes were added to the CM to eliminate the danger of a hypersonic apex-forward trim point on reentry. (During a high-altitude launch escape system (LES) abort, the crew would undergo excessive g forces if the CM were to trim apex forward. During a low-altitude abort, there was the potential problem of the apex cover not clearing the CM. The strakes, located in the yaw plane, had a maximum span of one foot and resulted in significant weight penalties.

The size of the strakes had to be increased later because of changes in the CM which moved the center of gravity forward and because of the additional ablative material needed to combat the increased heating of the strakes during reentry. Removal of the strakes would cause a major redesign to permit the apex cover to be jettisoned in the low angle-of-attack (apex forward) region. In the summer of 1963, however, MSC and North American representatives agreed that the strakes should be removed and an apex-mounted flap be added. The flap could be jettisoned with the LES tower during normal missions and retained with the CM during a LES abort.

North American then suggested a "tower flap dual mode" approach. This concept incorporated fixed surfaces at the upper end of the LES tower which would be exposed to the air stream after jettison of the expended rocket casing, For aborts below 9,140 meters (30,000 feet), the jettison motor would pull away the expended motor casing, the LES tower, and apex cover. The contractor carried out extensive wind tunnel tests of this configuration and reported to MSC during October that a 0.5941-square-meter (920-square-inch) planer flap located in the upper bay of the LES, coupled with a more favorable CM center of gravity, would be required to solve the reentry problem.

An independent investigation of deployable aerodynamic surfaces, or canards, at the forward end of the LES rocket motor was also being conducted. These canards would act as lifting surfaces to destabilize the LES and cause it to reorient the spacecraft to a heatshield-forward position.