🚀 go-pugleaf

I checked the NASA Satellite Situation Report, Vol. 28, No. 4, Dec.
31, 1988 for non-booster Apollo items still in orbit.  Here's what I
found:


Int'l Desig.	Catalog #	Name		Orbit		Mission

1969 043C	3948		LM/DESCENT	Selenocentric	Apollo 10
1969 043D	3949		LM/ASCENT	Heliocentric	Apollo 10

1969 059C	4041		LUNAR MODULE	Selenocentric	Apollo 11

1971 063D	5377		SUBSATELLITE	Selenocentric	Apollo 15

1972 031C	6005		LUNAR MODULE	Selenocentric	Apollo 16


The LMs from Apollos 5 (unmanned, earth-orbit test of LM-1), 9, 12,
14, 15, and 17 were all listed as decayed (actually, only the ascent
stages were mentioned for 12, 14, 15, and 17).

Glaringly absent, however, was any listing of the Apollo 13 LM.
According to one text I have, that LM was never staged (the ascent and
descent stages were kept together) and was jettisoned 18,000 km from
earth.


Notes on Apollo 9 and Apollo 10:

As has recently been stated, Apollo 10 was the mission that was
essentially a lunar dry-run of the Apollo 11 landing.  We must be
careful, though, in saying that its LM "descended" to within some
distance of the lunar surface.  Early in the mission planning, an
abort from powered descent was considered, but was passed up in favor
of a mission that emulated a landing in every regard except for
powered descent and subsequent takeoff from the lunar surface.  With
Young in the CSM (Charlie Brown), Cernan and Stafford in the LM
(Snoopy) performed a DOI (descent orbit insertion).  This orbit had a
perilune of about 15 km above the mean lunar surface -- this was their
closest approach to the surface.  It was from such an orbit that later
LMs began their powered descents.  The ascent and descent staging
occured, but I don't remember at which point.  Also, I believe the
descent engine as well as the ascent engine was used for orbital
manuevers.  Cernan and Stafford spent 8 hours in the LM.  Later, upon
ground command, the ascent stage expended all its fuel and was put
into a heliocentric orbit.

One of the other forgotten Apollo mission was 9 -- the earth-orbit
test of the LM.  Scott stayed with the CSM (Gumdrop) and McDivitt and
Schweickart spent 6 hr 20 min in the LM (Spider).  They achieved a
maximum separation of 185 km and did perform ascent/descent staging.


Bill Chiarchiaro
N1CPK
wjc@xn.ll.mit.edu