AS-203
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| Mission Insignia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mission statistics | |
| Mission name: | Apollo-Saturn 203 |
| Call sign: | AS-203 |
| Launch: | July 5, 1966 14:53:13 UTC Cape Canaveral Complex 37B |
| Destroyed: | July 5, 1966 ~20:53:00 UTC |
| Duration: | ~6 hours |
| Number of orbits: | 4 |
| Apogee: | 131.7 mi (212 km) |
| Perigee: | 113.7 mi (183 km) |
| Period: | 88.5 min |
| Inclination | 31.94 deg |
| Distance traveled: | 100,583 mi (161,872 km) |
| Apogee mass: | 26,552 kg |
| AS-203 | |
AS-203 (or SA-203) was an unmanned flight Saturn IB launch vehicle.
| Contents |
Objectives
The main purpose of the AS-203 flight was to investigate the effects of weightlessness on the fuel in the S-IVB tank. The reason for this was that the S-IVB would be used by Apollo astronauts to boost them from Earth orbit to a trajectory towards the moon. Engineers wanted to see what the liquid hydrogen would do in the tank - settle in one place or maybe even slosh violently. The S-IVB tank was equipped with 83 sensors and two TV cameras to record what the fuel did.
Because this was an engineering flight, there was no Command Service Module (CSM). This was also the first flight of a new type of Instrument Unit that controlled the Saturn rockets during launch and the first launch of a Saturn IB from Pad 37B.
As203_launch.jpg
Preparation
In the spring of 1966 it was decided to launch AS-203 before AS-202 as the CSM that was to be flown on 202 was delayed. The S-IVB stage arrived at the Cape on 6 April, 1966 and the S-IB first stage arrived six days later and the Instrument Unit came two days after that.
From the 19 April technicians began to erect the booster at Pad 37B. Once again the testing regime ran into problems that had plagued AS-201. The problem was due to cracked solder joints in the printed-circuit boards, causing over 8000 to be replaced.
June of 1966 saw three Saturn rockets set up on various pads across the Cape. At Pad 39A was a full size mockup of Saturn V, at 34 was AS-202 and 37B was AS-203.
Objectives
The main purpose of the AS-203 flight was to investigate the effects of weightlessness on the fuel in the S-IVB tank. The reason for this was that the S-IVB would be used by Apollo astronauts to boost them from Earth orbit to a trajectory towards the moon. Engineers wanted to see what the liquid hydrogen would do in the tank - settle in one place or maybe even slosh violently. The S-IVB tank was equipped with 83 sensors and two TV cameras to record what the fuel did.
Because this was an engineering flight, there was no Command Service Module (CSM). This was also the first flight of a new type of Instrument Unit that controlled the Saturn rockets during launch and the first launch of a Saturn IB from Pad 37B.
Preparation
In the spring of 1966 it was decided to launch AS-203 before AS-202 as the CSM that was to be flown on 202 was delayed. The S-IVB stage arrived at the Cape on 6 April, 1966 and the S-IB first stage arrived six days later and the Instrument Unit came two days after that.
From the 19 April technicians began to erect the booster at Pad 37B. Once again the testing regime ran into problems that had plagued AS-201. The problem was due to cracked solder joints in the printed-circuit boards, causing over 8000 to be replaced.
June of 1966 saw three Saturn rockets set up on various pads across the Cape. At Pad 39A was a full size mockup of Saturn V, at 34 was AS-202 and 37B was AS-203.
Flight
The rocket launched on the first attempt on 5 July. The S-IVB and IU were inserted into a 188 km circular orbit.
It was found that the stage could restart and the fuel behaved just as predicted. It was observed over four orbits and then the stage was pressurised to see how much pressure it could stand. In the end this test passed the structural abilities of the stage and it fragmented.
Apart from stage being lost, the mission was classed as a success and achieved all the mission objectives. In September Douglas Aircraft Company, who built the S-IVB declared that the stage was operational and ready to send men to the Moon.
External links
- Evaluation of AS-203 Low Gravity Orbital Experiment - Jan 1967 - NASA (PDF format) (http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19680012073_1968012073.pdf)
- http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1966-059A
- Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/cover.html)
- Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/cover.html)