AS-201

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Mission emblem
Emblem of the Apollo program
Mission dates
Mission: Apollo-saturn 201
COSPAR-ID : APST201
Command module: CM 009
Service module: SM 009
Launcher: Saturn IB
serial number SA-201
Crew: unmanned
Begin: February 26, 1966
16:12:01 UTC
Starting place: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
LC-34
Landing: February 26, 1966
16:49:21 UTC
Landing place: South Atlantic 8 ° 11'N, 11 ° 9'W
Flight duration: 37 min 20 s
Earth orbits: suborbital
Recovery ship: USS Boxer
Apogee : 499 km
Covered track: 8,472 km
◄ Before / After ►
A-105 AS-203
Start of AS-201

AS-201 (also SA-201 called) was the first unmanned test flight of the Apollo spacecraft of NASA .

preparation

It was the first flight for both the rocket and the payload. As a rocket, a Saturn IB was available for the first time , which was able to develop a greater thrust compared to the previously used Saturn I and had a new second stage. A “2” in the hundreds of the mission designation was used to identify the Saturn IB.

The payload consisted of an early version of the Apollo spaceship with the serial number 009. It was planned that the spaceship should not orbit the earth, but should ignite its own engine shortly after the Saturn burns out and bring about an increased re-entry speed around the heat shield to test.

AS-201 was mounted on launch pad 34 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base . The individual parts of the rocket arrived by sea: the first stage on August 14, 1965, the second stage on September 19 and the instrument cluster on October 22.

The transport of the Apollo spaceship had been delayed because the transport aircraft "Pregnant Guppy" had been stranded for several days at Ellington Air Force Base due to an engine failure . The company Aero Spacelines was obliged to keep spare parts for the aircraft at several airports along the usual routes.

On December 26th, the rocket and spaceship were assembled so that the tests could begin. At that time, the Gemini program was halfway through and five of the ten planned manned space flights had already taken place.

Flight history

The start was originally planned for February 23, 1966, but had to be postponed several times due to bad weather. On February 26th, the countdown was canceled three seconds before the scheduled start due to an error in the helium system. The start count was reset twice and the countdown restarted at T-15 minutes. Four minutes before take-off, a voltage monitor reported that the voltage on a distributor was too low, but flight control decided to take off anyway.

The launch took place on February 26, 1966 at 16:12:01  UTC . The first stage was dropped after 147 seconds at a height of 57 km, the second after 602 seconds at 425 km, with the second stage burning ten seconds longer than planned. A phase of unpowered flight followed. At a height of 488 km, the Apollo spacecraft fired its engine to accelerate reentry. The engine ran first for 184 seconds, later again for ten seconds. The speed of entry into the earth's atmosphere was approximately 8,300 m / s (29,880 km / h), roughly the same as that of re-entry after an orbital flight.

As expected, the radio link was down for 82 seconds. 36 minutes and 59 seconds after take-off, at 16:49:00 UTC, the Apollo landing capsule watered in the South Atlantic, at 8.18 ° S and 11.15 ° W, 8,472 km from the launch site and 72 km from the intended target point. The recovery was carried out by the aircraft carrier USS Boxer two and a half hours after the landing. The lander was brought ashore in Norfolk, Virginia on March 6 and transported by airplane to North American Aviation in Downey for further investigation on March 10 .

Impact on the Apollo program

Both rocket and spaceship worked largely satisfactorily.

Three major problems were identified:

  • The Apollo engine only worked flawlessly for 80 seconds. Helium had entered the combustion chamber through a leak in a pipe, which led to strong fluctuations in engine performance.
  • Due to incorrect wiring, the spaceship lost control during re-entry.
  • A short circuit meant that measurements could not be taken during re-entry.

The next test, AS-202, was also to be a suborbital flight, a longer flight duration and a greater number of engine ignitions were planned. However, AS-203 was preferred because the Apollo spacecraft was not yet available.

The CSM-009 command module was later used for drop tests in the White Sands Missile Range . Today it is in the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland , Nebraska .

Web links

Commons : AS-201  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files