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  Apollo 10 training for first moon landing

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Author Topic:   Apollo 10 training for first moon landing
Scottvirgil
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Posts: 2
From: London UK
Registered: Aug 2019

posted 08-12-2019 11:51 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scottvirgil   Click Here to Email Scottvirgil     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If the Apollo 8 lunar module had been available on time, Jim Lovell's crew would have completed the Earth orbit test of the LM. Presumably Jim McDivitt would have led the lunar orbit rendezvous mission, meaning Apollo 10 would have been the first moon landing.

Were any of the crews training for this?

Headshot
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From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 08-12-2019 12:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Had Apollo 8 (the McDivitt crew) flown the D mission (CSM/LM in LEO) as originally planned, NASA probably would have maintained its original schedule and not eliminated the E mission. Apollo 9 (Borman crew) would have probably flown the E mission (CSM/LM in HEO). Apollo 10 (Stafford crew) would have still flown the F Mission (CSM/LM in lunar orbit) and Apollo 11 (Conrad crew) flown the G mission (lunar landing attempt). Apollo 12 would have been flown by the Armstrong crew.

Of course this is all speculation.

AstroCasey
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posted 08-12-2019 12:40 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for AstroCasey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hello Scottvirgil. Welcome to collectSPACE. According to “A Man on the Moon” by Andrew Chaikin, some people thought about attempting a landing on Apollo 10 since it was going to the moon anyway.

Eventually, NASA vetoed this idea because the lunar module “Snoopy” was too heavy and the moon’s lumpy gravity field, known as mascons, was still an unknown.

According to the same book, the Apollo 8 decision possibly cost Pete Conrad a shot at the first landing. Originally, Conrad was the backup commander of Apollo 8. This would have put him as prime commander of Apollo 11 due to the three mission wait time between backup and prime crews. After it was decided to orbit Apollo 8 around the moon, both the backup and primary crews of Apollo 8 and 9 were swapped. This put Neil Armstrong from Apollo 9 backup commander to Apollo 8 backup commander. Of course, this meant he got to command Apollo 11.

I also heard that Deke Slayton considered placing Frank Borman’s Apollo 8 crew on the Apollo 11 prime crew after they came back from the moon. Borman decided to retire even before Apollo 8 left the ground, so nothing became of this plan.

Space Cadet Carl
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From: Lake Orion, Michigan
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 08-12-2019 06:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Space Cadet Carl   Click Here to Email Space Cadet Carl     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Reading all of these responses, it's apparent that Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins just happened to fatefully fall in line at the perfect time to attempt the first landing.

The part that intrigues me is the assertion I've heard many times through the years that Armstrong was the guy with a little extra "something special" that could get the LM down to the surface and back up again. The astronauts all had very healthy egos, and every one of them thought of themselves as that special guy that could successfully pull off the first lunar landing. I'll always wonder if guys like Slayton, Webb and Shepard actually did feel that Neil Armstrong had that little extra "something special" or not.

Headshot
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From: Vancouver, WA, USA
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posted 08-12-2019 07:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Of course Slayton stated in his autobiography that had Gus Grissom still been alive, he would have flown the first lunar landing mission and not Neil Armstrong. It was a very unequivocal statement and I believe it had to do more with Gus' seniority in the astronaut corps than piloting skills. Slayton maintained that all astronauts were equal, but there was an undertone that the original Mercury astronauts were more equal than others.

AstroCasey
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posted 08-12-2019 08:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for AstroCasey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
As far as “something special” goes, I read something similar to this in “First Man.” In a meeting between Slayton, Kraft, Low, and Gilruth, Armstrong was chosen over Aldrin to step out first because he lacked ego and had a quiet “Lindbergh” type personality. According to the book, the part about Armstrong leaving the lunar module first due to his position near the hatch was made up after the results of this meeting.

To a certain extent, it was pure luck. On the other hand, his performance during Gemini 8 and the crashed training vehicle combined with his “Lindbergh” qualities made him stand out. Maybe it was meant to be. He certainly was a fine choice.

Mike Dixon
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From: Kew, Victoria, Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 08-12-2019 09:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mike Dixon   Click Here to Email Mike Dixon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Armstrong had commanded a flight and of course, Aldrin had not. That's the way I've always looked at it.

AstroCasey
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posted 08-12-2019 09:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for AstroCasey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That is also a good point. Why give the top honor to the second ranked astronaut?

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 08-12-2019 09:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
As Aldrin (prodded by his father) pointed out at the time, in Gemini, it was always the pilot and never the commander who performed the EVA.

And if a quick escape from the moon was needed — and the contingency sample underscored that as a possibility — then perhaps it was better to have the commander ready at the controls. But the layout of the lunar module cabin did not support such.

All times are CT (US)

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