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Author
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Topic: Skylab rescue mission: Rollout of vehicle to pad
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ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 12-10-2008 10:32 AM
   
Folks may remember that Al Bean's Skylab mission had to disable two of the four RCS quads on the Service Module due to leaks, and NASA prepared a modified five-man CM for a potential rescue mission. That vehicle was actually rolled out to the pad, and then rolled back before the final Skylab mission.Does anyone happen to know the date of the rescue vehicle rollout to the pad in 1973? I have been unable to locate any info in the NTRS or other sources. |
Delta7
Member Posts: 1527
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 12-10-2008 10:53 AM
August 14 for SL-3, and December 5 for SL-4, to the best of my knowledge. |
J.L
Member Posts: 681
From: Bloomington, Illinois, USA
Registered: May 2005
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posted 12-10-2008 11:04 AM
I show SL-4 rolling to Pad B on Aug. 14, 1973. Launch was Nov. 16, 1973 and the Rescue Vehicle was then moved to Pad B on Dec. 3, 73. |
dtemple
Member Posts: 730
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 12-10-2008 11:19 AM
Until I began researching the answer to this question, I had believed SA-209/CSM-119 had been rolled out to the pad as a rescue vehicle for the SL-3 crew and then rolled back to the VAB when the determination was made a rescue would not be necessary. Checking "The History of Manned Spaceflight" by David Baker revealed otherwise. In fact SA-208/CSM-118 (ultimately the SL-4 booster and spacecraft) served as the rescue vehicle for the SL-3 crew. This combination was not rolled out for the SL-3 rescue as the decision was made a rescue mission would not be needed. So, SA-208/CSM-118 was launched as SL-4 and SA-209/CSM-119 became the rescue vehicle. This combination was placed on pad 39B in case it was needed for a rescue mission on Dec. 3, 1973. It was rolled back to the VAB at the end of the SL-4 mission. Until now I had believed CSM-119 had been outfitted as a five-man spacecraft at the start of Skylab operations. The five-man setup was a kit that could be fitted to a command module as needed. |
AlanLawrie
Member Posts: 95
From: hitchin, herts, UK
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 12-10-2008 11:45 AM
That's right. In fact cracks were detected in the fins of S-IB-9 in the VAB during November 1973 which resulted in a check and replacement of the fins on that stage and on S-IB-8 on the pad. SA-209 later acted as the back up launch vehicle for ASTP in 1975. It did actually leave the US for 18 months in 78-79 when it was shipped to Japan for an exhibition. |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1332
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 12-10-2008 04:09 PM
If I remember correctly this five man couch arrangement was removed after Skylab operations. The spacecraft was used as the back-up for ASTP. I don't know if all the couches were changed or if two were just added. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 12-10-2008 06:48 PM
Thanks for clarifying the rollout as being for the last Skylab mission. I had been under the impression that it had happened for the second one, and I couldn't make the dates work out, knowing that the last mission's launch vehicle had been rolled out in August. |
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