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| Mission Insignia | |
|---|---|
| Mission Statistics | |
| Mission Name: | Apollo 10 |
| Call Sign: | Command module: Charlie Brown Lunar module: Snoopy |
| Number of Crew: |
3 |
| Launch: | May 18, 1969 16:49:00 UTC Kennedy Space Center LC 39B |
| Lunar Orbit: | May 21 20:44:54 UTC- May 24 10:25:29 UTC |
| Landing: | May 26, 1969 16:52:23 UTC 15° 2' S - 164° 39' W |
| Duration: | 8 d 0 h 03 min 23 s |
| Number of Lunar Orbits: |
31 |
| Time in Lunar Orbit: |
61 h 37 min 23.6 s |
| Mass: | CSM 28,834 kg; LM 13,941 kg |
| Crew Picture | |
| Apollo 10 Crew | |
Apollo 10 was the fourth manned mission in the Apollo program, and the first mission to launch from pad 39B. The mission included the second crew to orbit the Moon, and the test of the lunar module in lunar orbit. The module came to within 8.4 nautical miles (15,557 m) of the lunar surface during practice maneuvers. According to the 2001 Guinness World Records Apollo 10 has the record for the highest speed done by a manned vehicle: 39 897 km/h, 11,08 km/s. The speed record was set when they were on their way back from the Moon on the 26 May 1969.
| Contents |
On May 22, 1969 at 20:35:02 UTC, a 27.4 second LM descent propulsion system burn inserted the LM into a descent orbit of 112.8 km by 15.7 km so that the resulting lowest point in the orbit occurred about 15° from lunar landing site 2 (the Apollo 11 landing site). The lowest measured point in the trajectory was 14,450 meters above the lunar surface at 21:29:43 UTC.
This dress rehearsal for a Moon landing brought Stafford and Cernan's lunar module nicknamed "Snoopy" to 8.4 nautical miles (15,557 m) from the lunar surface. Except for that final stretch, the mission went exactly as a landing would have gone, both in space and on the ground, where Apollo's extensive tracking and control network was put through a dry run. Shortly after leaving low Earth orbit, the LM and the command/service module separated, then redocked, top to top. Upon reaching lunar orbit, they separated again. While Young orbited the Moon alone in his command module "Charlie Brown," Stafford and Cernan checked out the LM's radar and ascent engine, rode out a momentary gyration in the lunar lander's motion (due to a faulty switch setting), and surveyed the Apollo 11 landing site in the Sea of Tranquillity. This test article of the lunar module was not equipped to land, however. Apollo 10 also added another first-broadcasting live color TV from space.
On May 22, 1969 Apollo 10's lunar module flew within 15,557 m of the Moon's surface.
The command module is displayed at the London Science Museum, London, England. The lunar module is in heliocentric orbit, thus making it the only intact lunar module ascent stage out of all of the lunar modules built.
| Preceded by : Apollo 9 |
Project Apollo | Followed by : Apollo 11 |
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