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Author
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Topic: Splashdown
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Aztecdoug
Member Posts: 1405
From: Huntington Beach
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 10-20-2005 11:39 AM
   
I found this handy reference which displays where all of the M-G-A flights splashed down. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splashdown
Of interest is GT-8 which came down in a contingency site. Apollo 14... why so far South?
While the first two Redstone shots were logical, does anybody know the criteria for putting capsules down in the Atlantic or the Pacific? I can understand a trip coming back from the Moon you might want the biggest target and use the Pacific. But a couple of Mercury shots went in the Pacific and Apollo 7 and 9 went into the Atlantic... ------------------
Kind Regards Douglas Henry Enjoy yourself and have fun.... it is only a hobby!
http://home.earthlink.net/~aztecdoug/ |
Tom
Member Posts: 1610
From: New York
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 10-20-2005 12:21 PM
Doug:
Another factor involved had to do with the time of entry and lighting conditions in the area.
I believe there was only one splashdown in "darkness". That was Apollo 8 and it was about an hour or two before local sunrise. |
Duke Of URL
Member Posts: 1316
From: Syracuse, NY
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 10-20-2005 03:48 PM
Darn it! I was going to say that! |
Tom
Member Posts: 1610
From: New York
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 10-20-2005 04:11 PM
You can say it too...LOL |
spaceman1953
Member Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 10-21-2005 05:02 PM
7 and 9 were Earth orbital missions....isn't that why they were Atlantic splashdowns ?All of the Apollo's that went to the Moon came back to the Pacific....I thought it had to do with flight mechanics and not the "bigger target" consideration. But the more knowledgeable among us can give you the "real" details for sure. Gene Bella |
Duke Of URL
Member Posts: 1316
From: Syracuse, NY
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 10-23-2005 10:08 PM
quote:
Originally posted by spaceman1953:
All of the Apollo's that went to the Moon came back to the Pacific....I thought it had to do with flight mechanics and not the "bigger target" consideration.
So you're suggesting these guys - who could calculate lunar trjectories - needed a target the size of the Pacific Ocean? That's like suggesting a spacecraft that navigated all the hazards of interstellar Outer Space crashed because it got tangled up in some Earthling telephone wires outside of Rosewell, NM. Isn't the Pacific as wide as the Moon? |
dss65
Member Posts: 1171
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 10-23-2005 11:30 PM
If I remember correctly, I believe that in "Lost Moon" Jim Lovell says that the PC+2 burn that was chosen had taken into consideration that the Navy had a lot more ships in the Pacific than the Atlantic, thus the recovery options were better.------------------
Don |
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