The following is a series of questions and answers prepared by Michael Collins, command module pilot for Apollo 11. Collins issued the following statement in lieu of media interviews:
These are questions I am most frequently asked, plus a few others I have added. For more information, please consult my book, the 40th anniversary edition of CARRYING THE FIRE, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. All of the following sections in quotation marks are from that reference.
Q: Circling the lonely moon by yourself, the loneliest person in the
universe, weren’t you lonely?
A: No.
“Far from feeling lonely or abandoned, I feel very much a part of what is taking place on the lunar surface. I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have. This venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two. I don’t mean to deny a feeling of solitude. It is there, reinforced by the fact that radio contact with the Earth abruptly cuts off at the instant I disappear behind the moon, I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God knows what on this side.”
Q: Did you have the best seat on Apollo 11?
A: No.
“The cancellation of 014 also freed Borman-Stafford-Collins for reassignment, and reassigned we were, but not as a unit. Tom Stafford moved up a notch and acquired his own highly experienced crew, John Young and Gene Cernan; they became McDivitt’s back-up. Score one for Tom. Borman and Collins got promoted to prime crew of the third manned flight, picking up Bill Anders as our third member.
In the process, Collins also got ‘promoted’ from lunar module pilot to command module pilot, and lost right then and there his first chance to walk on the surface of the moon. The reason I had to move up was that Deke at that time had a firm rule that the command module pilot on all flights involving LM must have flown before in space, the idea being that he didn’t want any rookie in the CM by himself. Since Bill and Anders had not flown, I was it. Slowly it sunk in. No LM for me, no EVA: no fancy flying, no need to practice in helicopters anymore.”
Q: Were you happy with the seat you had?
A: Yes, absolutely. It was an honor.
Q: Has the space program helped young people become interested in careers in math and science? Don’t you tell kids to opt for these choices?
A: Yes and no. We definitely have a national problem in that kids seem to be going for money rather than what they consider ‘nerdy’ careers. Other countries are outstripping us in the quality and quantity of math and science grads, and this can only hurt in the long run. But a liberal arts education, particularly English, is a good entry point no matter what the later specialization. I usually talk up English.
Q: Turning to your flight, what is your strongest memory of Apollo 11?
[ReviewAZON asin=”B000XJ5TPE” display=”inlinepost”]A: Looking back at Earth from a great distance.
“I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles their outlook could be fundamentally changed. That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified fa?ade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or Communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied.”
Small, shiny, serene, blue and white, FRAGILE.
Q: That was 40 years ago. Would it look the same today?
A: Yes, from the moon, but appearances can be deceiving. It’s certainly not serene, but definitely fragile, and growing more so. When we flew to the moon, our population was 3 billion; today it has more than doubled and is headed for 8 billion, the experts say. I do not think this growth is sustainable or healthy. The loss of habitat, the trashing of oceans, the accumulation of waste products – this is no way to treat a planet.
Q: You are starting to sound a little grumpy. Are you grumpy?
A: At age 78, yes, in many ways. Some things about current society irritate me, such as the adulation of celebrities and the inflation of heroism.
Q: But aren’t you both?
A: Not me. Neither.
Heroes abound, and should be revered as such, but don’t count astronauts among them. We work very hard; we did our jobs to near perfection, but that was what we had hired on to do. In no way did we meet the criterion of the Congressional Medal of Honor: ‘above and beyond the call of duty.’
Celebrities? What nonsense, what an empty concept for a person to be, as my friend the great historian Daniel Boorstin put it, “known for his well-known-ness.” How many live-ins, how many trips to rehab, maybe–wow–you could even get arrested and then you would really be noticed. Don’t get me started.
Q: So, if I wanted to sum you up, I should say “grumpy?”
A: No, no, lucky! Usually, you find yourself either too young or too old to do what you really want, but consider: Neil Armstrong was born in 1930, Buzz Aldrin 1930, and Mike Collins 1930. We came along at exactly the right time. We survived hazardous careers and we were successful in them. But in my own case at least, it was 10 percent shrewd planning and 90 percent blind luck. Put LUCKY on my tombstone.
Q: Okay, but getting back to the space program. What’s next?
[ReviewAZON asin=”B001BEK8CY” display=”inlinepost”]A: I hope Mars. It was my favorite planet as a kid and still is. As celestial bodies go, the moon is not a particularly interesting place, but Mars is. It is the closest thing to a sister planet that we have found so far. I worry that at NASA’s creeping pace, with the emphasis on returning to the moon, Mars may be receding into the distance. That’s about all I have to say.
Q: I understand you have become a recluse.
A: I’m not sure that’s the word. I think of the Brown Recluse, the deadliest of spiders, and I have a suntan, so perhaps. Anyway, it’s true I’ve never enjoyed the spotlight, don’t know why, maybe it ties in with the celebrity thing.
Q: So, how do you spend your time?
A: Running, biking, swimming, fishing, painting, cooking, reading, worrying about the stock market, searching for a really good bottle of cabernet under ten dollars. Moderately busy.
Q: No TV?
A: A few nature programs, and the Washington Redskins, that’s about it.
Q: Do you feel you’ve gotten enough recognition for your accomplishments?
A: Lordy, yes, Oodles and oodles.
Q: Oodles?? But don’t you have any keen insights?
A: Oh yeah, a whole bunch, but I’m saving them for the 50th.
Collins’s official NASA astronaut biography is available online at: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/collins-m.html
Additional information about the 40th anniversary of Apollo can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/apollo40th
Filed under: Mercury, Gemini & Apollo
Apollo Abort Systems Summary:
A. Emergency Detection System
The Emergency Detection System (EDS) is designed to detect and display emergency conditions of the launch vehicle (Saturn -1b or Saturn-V) to the astronauts. The EDS also provides automatic abort initiation, under certain conditions, between liftoff and T+90 seconds from launch. The display circuitry and automatic abort capabilities are enabled at liftoff. A lockout system provided to prevent enabling the automatic abort circuitry prior to liftoff. The Commander may initiate an abort manually at any time with the Commanders translation control device.
B. Automatic Abort
The EDS will initiate an automatic abort signal after launch by sensing excessive rates or engine out conditions. The abort signal will cause booster cutoff, event timer reset (provides a time reference for manual descent operations), and launch escape system (LES) activation.
C. Manual Abort
A manual abort can be initiated prior to, or during launch by manual counter clockwise rotation of the Commanders translation control. The launch escape system can be utilized until approximately normal tower jettison. During a normal mission, the LES tower is jettisoned shortly after second stage ignition (approx 280,000 ft. for Saturn-1b, or 320,000 ft. for Saturn-V), and any abort thereafter is accomplished by utilizing the Service Propulsion System (SPS) in the Service Module (SM). An SPS abort must be manually initiated. Upon abort initiation, the booster automatically separates from the spacecraft, the SM reaction control system (RCS)thrusters fire to accomplish the SPS ullage (propellant settling)maneuver, and the SPS engine ignites to thrust the spacecraft away from the booster.
D. Abort Request Indicator
The ABORT request indicator light is illuminated by ground control (the decision to initiate ABORT request command may be made by the Launch Operations Manager, the spacecraft communicator (an astronaut) in the Launch Control Center, the Spacecraft Test Conductor, and the Houston Flight Director), or the Range Safety Officer (RSO) after liftoff, using Ground Support Equipment (GSE) or a radio command via the command uplink. When illuminated, the ABORT indicator indicates an Abort request and serves to alert the crew of an emergency situation.
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Abort Mode Definitions/Summaries:
1. Pad Abort:
T-51 minutes; Both of the high speed elevators within the mobile launch tower are parked at the 320 foot level. The Command Module (CM) access arm, Swing Arm 9, which is also located at the 320 foot level, is moved back to the retract position. This is a 12-degree standby position. From this position, it can be quickly returned to the spacecraft, if needed, and remains at this parked position until T-5 minutes to launch. At T-minus 5 minutes, it swings back to the full retract position. The astronaut crew aboard the spacecraft, in an emergency situation, could use their Launch Escape Tower to clear themselves well away from the spacecraft. The CM and the launch escape system (LES) separate from the Service Module, with the LES propelling itself and the CM beneath it upward and eastward to the sea using a small solid-fueled engine (the pitch control motor) at the top of the tower on the launch escape system. The launch escape tower would then be jettisoned in anticipation of the parachute deployment and the CM would splash down. In addition, hey also have the option where the swing arm, at the 12-degree position, is called back where they could quickly exit the spacecraft, then go across the swing arm, again having an option of either taking an elevator to safety at the bottom of the pad, or a slide wire which has a cab attached to it which would carry them to the pad perimeter. These would be decisions depending on the type of emergency.
T-5 minutes; Five minutes before launch, Swing Arm 9 retracts and swings clear of the rocket. If an anomalous condition occurs within the last five minutes before launch, the CM and the launch escape system (LES) separate from the Service Module with the LES propelling itself and the CM beneath it upward and eastward to the sea..
2. Aborts after Launch; Throughout the powered ascent of the launch vehicle, there are various modes of aborting the mission, each of which are appropriate to the current height and speed.
a. Mode IA (One Alpha):
The initial 42 seconds, to an altitude of about 10,000 ft. are flown in Abort Mode IA (one alpha). If a dangerous situation occurs within this period, the CM would separate from the SM, and the LET (Launch Escape Tower,) would carry the CM up from the wayward launch vehicle while a small 'pitch control' motor at the top of the LET steers the assembly east out over the ocean and away from a possibly exploding booster below. The main rocket motor of the LES, if used, would burn for eight seconds, generating 147,000 pounds of thrust through four nozzles which were angled to direct the exhaust away from the CM. The tower would be jettisoned only 14 seconds after the initiation of the abort. While this was going on, the highly dangerous hypergolic propellants of the Command Module's RCS would quickly and automatically be dumped overboard as they would be harmful to the recovery forces. The CM would then descend on parachutes to a normal splashdown.
b. Mode IB (One Bravo)
Abort Mode IB extends from 42 seconds into the flight to an altitude of 16.5 nautical miles- as defined by the abort checklist. With the vehicle being further downrange and tilted over, the pitch control motor would not be required in the event of a Mode IB abort. However, it had been discovered during hypersonic testing, that the CM/LET stack could be aerodynamically stable in a tower-first as well as a base-first attitude so a pair of canards were added which would be deployed automatically to force the combination into an attitude where the base of the CM is facing the direction of travel, ready for the safe deployment of the drogue and main parachutes. While the canards have little effect in a low altitude abort, they become increasingly important as the Saturn V gains speed through the IB mode.
For the first two of these Modes, IA and IB, the Flight Plan defined the safe range of vehicle motion rates as not exceeding ±4° per second in pitch and yaw, ±20° per second in roll. Motion rates exceeding these limits would have entailed an abort.
c. Mode IC (One Charlie)
Mode IC was used for aborts occurring between 16.5 nautical miles and the jettison of the tower. As the air is now very thin, the airflow around the pair of canards at the top of the tower would have little aerodynamic effect during an abort, so the Command Module's RCS would be used to control the orientation of the spacecraft until they become effective. The safe range of vehicle motion rates are now defined as not exceeding ±9° per second in pitch and yaw, ±20° per second in roll. During One-Charlie, the first staging occurs, that is the jettisoning of the spent S-1C (first stage) and ignition of the S-II (second stage). One-Charlie ceases about 30 seconds after the staging when the LES is jettisoned. As the S-IC nears the end of its burn, the crew inhibits the EDS with a switch directly below the computer keypad. The EDS is only needed for flight through the thickest part of the atmosphere where high aerodynamic forces and the structural load they impart to the vehicle could cause loss of control to turn catastrophic too quickly for the crew to react in time. With EDS switched off, any required aborts must be initiated by the crew, giving them more control.
d. Mode II – tower jettison T+3 min 20 sec
The first action that occurs with the start of Mode 2 is LES jettison. A single, small, solid-propellant motor near the top of the tower fires for one second, jettisoning the entire LES and the checklist the crew uses moves to abort Mode II. As with most Apollo systems, the crew could manually command the LES jettison if the automatic system failed. Abort Mode II lasts from the jettisoning of the tower to the decision to stage from the S-II to the S-IVB. In a Mode II abort, the Command and the Service Modules will separate from the launch vehicle and the SM main engine or its RCS engines will be used to get the spacecraft away from the launch vehicle. Then the CM and SM will separate before the CM completes a normal splashdown on the ocean.
During this time, the crew prepares the Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine for use in case it is needed during an abort. The SPS would only be needed in the event of a Mode III or Mode IV abort after T+05:52. In a Mode III abort, the SPS would be used to correct the spacecraft trajectory to achieve the desired landing site in the Atlantic. In a Mode IV abort, the SPS would be used to take the spacecraft to orbit. In each case the SM Reaction Control System (RCS) would first be used to separate the CSM from a wayward S-IVB. There is no possibility to use a fire-in-the-hole maneuver given the proximity of the SPS to the fully loaded LM propellant tanks.]
When the SPS is firing, the pitch and yaw attitude of the spacecraft must be controlled by positioning the gimbals that control the direction that the massive SPS engine is pointed in relative to the Service Module – the thrust vector. This can either be done automatically by the Command Module Computer (CMC), or manually by the Command Module Pilot (CMP) using the Rotational Controller. This latter is termed Manual Thrust Vector Control (MTVC), and this mode would be used in an abort since it provides more direct control to the pilot. However, the thrust vector must point through the spacecraft's center of gravity or the spacecraft would start to tumble during any SPS burn. Under Rate command, any tendency to tumble is automatically corrected using signals from the spacecraft gyros. Under the alternative, termed Acceleration Command, the pilot would make the necessary corrections himself. Hence, Rate Command would make it easier to fly the spacecraft in what would be a very challenging situation.
e. Mode III -aka COI (approx T+ 6 min)
COI stands for Contingency Orbit Insertion. This is another way of saying “Abort Mode III”. The S-IVB would now have the capability to take the spacecraft to a point where the Service Module's large SPS engine can ignite and place the CSM into Earth orbit. However, in the event of such an abort, and without the S-IVB, the spacecraft would not be able to depart for the Moon, instead embarking on a planned for, but hopefully unrequired Earth orbit mission.
f. Mode IV (approx T +9 min 15 sec; S-II cutoff, SIV-b ignition)
Mode IV was the abort mode where the crew were given a Go decision to continue to orbit using the S-IVB, and should that stage deviate from its allowed limits, the CSM would separate from the Saturn and use the SPS (Service Propulsion System) to continue into Earth orbit.
The above was referenced and edited from the Apollo 16 Flight Journal and Apollo CSM Sys Handbook
I hope this all wasn't too much, but it illustrates the complexity and variations that launch aborts entail… Barely touches the surface….
CB
What a fantastic piece, thank you for sharing it with us. For those wondering about the value of such an item, Richard Gordon (Apollo XII’s Command Module Pilot) is currently selling one of those bigger flags for $12,000. This flag, having flown on three other missions besides Apollo XII, is probably worth twice as much, maybe even more. But I am sure that it is priceless to CampConcentration and his family. I am in awe. Your house must be filled with incredible memorabilia from your grandfather’s years as an astronaut. I, for one, would love to see more! Here is my little contribution. A little over 41 years ago, [my piece of and your piece of fabric flew together on an epic voyage to the Moon. It is nice to see them reunited for the first time here on reddit. 🙂
17 March 1930 Born NASA Astronaut James Irwin, Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15 and 8th person to walk on the Moon
My grandfather was hugely saddened by the cancellation of the Avro Arrow on February 20, 1959 and apprehensive that Canada was going to lose its top engineers to the United States. Shortly after, Jim Chamberlin, design chief at Avro, led the exodus to the United States, prompting Michael Collins, the American Command module pilot for the Apollo 11 moon landing, to remark that NASA was lucky that the CF-105 Arrow program had been cancelled. The program had provided them with 25 highly-skilled and badly-needed aeronautical engineers. Chamberlin played a huge role in the design of the Mercury capsule and the creation and promotion of the Gemini concept, for which he received the NASA Gold Medal. Oh Canada!