More Details for 1968-08-26
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
Payload weight of 39.78 tonnes for Apollo AS-503
ASPO Manager George M. Low asked Joseph N. Kotanchik, head of the Structures and Mechanics Division, to verify that all spacecraft load analyses and safety factors were compatible with the recently agreed-on payload weight of 39,780 kilograms for the AS-503 mission.
Low passed along the concern voiced by Lee B. James, Saturn V Program Manager at MSFC, that the problem of an S-IC engine failure in the Saturn launch vehicle might be more severe for the 503 mission than for a heavier payload. Had adequate stress analysis been done on the high-gain antenna attachments and its support inside the adapter? When would pogo dynamic analysis of the actual 503 payload be completed? And finally, what was the situation regarding loads on LTA-B, the LM test article to be substituted in place of an actual lunar lander aboard the flight?