Apollo Applications program
Encyclopedia
The Apollo Applications Program (AAP) was established by NASA headquarters
in 1968 to develop science-based manned space missions using surplus material from the Apollo program. AAP was the ultimate development of a number of official and unofficial Apollo follow-on projects studied at various NASA labs.
and Saturn V
boosters. These included a manned lunar base, an earth-orbiting space station
, the so-called Grand Tour
of the Outer Solar System, and the original "Voyager program
" of Mars Lander probes.
(CSM) on the Moon. A second Saturn V would carry a three-man crew and a modified CSM and Apollo Lunar Module
(LM) to the Moon. The two-man excursion team would have a surface stay time of nearly 200 days and use of an advanced lunar rover
and a lunar flier as well as logistics vehicles to construct a larger shelter. The isolation of the CSM pilot was a concern for mission planners, so proposals that it would be a three-man landing team or that the CSM would rendezvous with an orbiting module were considered.
The Apollo LM Shelter was essentially an Apollo LM with ascent stage engine and fuel tanks removed and replaced with consumables and scientific equipment for 14 days' extended lunar exploration.
The MOBEV F2B was a multi-man surface-to-surface flying vehicle.
LESA (Lunar Exploration System for Apollo) represented the last lunar base concept studied by NASA prior to the cancellation of further Saturn V production. LESA would use a new Lunar Landing Vehicle to land payloads on the lunar surface and extended CSM and LM Taxi hardware derived from the basic Apollo program would allow crews to be rotated to the ever-expanding, and eventually permanent, lunar base. A nuclear reactor would provide power.
Phases:
as a means of returning two astronauts from the lunar surface to an orbiting CSM if the Lunar Module
ascent-stage engine failed to ignite.
to send three men on a Manned Venus Flyby
, using the Saturn S-IVB
stage as a "wet workshop
". First the S-IVB
would boost itself and the Apollo CSM on a trajectory that would pass by Venus and return to Earth, then any remaining fuel would be vented to space, after which the astronauts would live in the empty fuel tanks until they separated from the S-IVB
shortly before reentry on their return to Earth.
, Grumman, North American Aviation
and Rockwell
also hoped to put off the inevitable scaling down of staff and facilities following the completion of the first Moon landing.
Three AAP proposals were selected for development:
The Apollo Telescope Mission
would be an Earth-orbiting mission for solar observation. The telescope would be based on a modified Lunar Module ascent stage, and launched using a S-IVB. The telescope would be docked to a CSM with a three-man crew. Solar panels on the telescope would provide additional power, allowing an extended mission of 21–28 days. The telescope module would include a pressurized compartment providing additional living and workspace for the crew.
The Apollo Manned Survey Mission proposed an Earth-observation science module also based on the LM ascent stage, and would also have been launched using a S-IVB vehicle into a high-inclination orbit. It was also proposed that a surplus Saturn V would launch a manned lunar survey mission to establish suitable sites for later manned landings.
The wet workshop
space station
concept provided for a low-budget Earth orbiting station. The original plan, as proposed by Wernher von Braun
, used the S-II
stage as the primary structure of the station, with the area normally filled by the S-IVB stage replaced with an equipment carrier. These plans were modified to use the S-IVB when Saturn V production ended with just enough boosters for the lunar missions alone.
In the meantime several of the Earth-orbit "checkout" missions for Apollo had been canceled, leaving a number of Saturn IBs unused. The plans were changed to use the S-IVB stage, used on both rockets, as the primary station structure. A modified S-IVB would be launched into orbit, the second stage carrying a docking module and large solar panels in the area normally carrying the LM. A CSM would then be able to dock with the second stage and enter the now-empty fuel tanks. It was also suggested that the Apollo Telescope and Survey Mission modules might be docked to the Wet Workshop to create a modular space station.
space station proposal, which managed to accommodate the equipment already specified for some of the AAP missions. Specifically, Skylab included the Apollo Telescope Mission (renamed the Apollo Telescope Mount) attached to the docking station used by the CSMs. Since the first two stages of the Saturn V had enough payload capability by themselves to place a pre-fabricated S-IVB workshop into the appropriate orbit, this enabled the "dry workshop" concept. This allowed the interior space to be better fitted out, although many design concepts from the "wet" workshop, notably the open flooring that allowed fuel to flow through it, were kept in Skylab.
The concept of launching another Skylab into lunar orbit using a spare S-IVB was briefly discussed around the same time, but no justification could be found for it, so the project was abandoned early on.
space vehicles, NASA's next manned mission would not be until STS-1
on April 12, 1981.
NASA Headquarters
Two Independence Square, often referenced as NASA Headquarters, is a low-rise building in the two-building Independence Square complex at 300 E Street SW in Washington D.C. The building houses NASA leadership who provide overall guidance and direction to the US government executive branch agency...
in 1968 to develop science-based manned space missions using surplus material from the Apollo program. AAP was the ultimate development of a number of official and unofficial Apollo follow-on projects studied at various NASA labs.
Origins
Initially the AAP office in Washington was an off-shoot of the Apollo "X" bureau, also known as the Apollo Extension Series. AES was developing technology concepts for mission proposals based on the Saturn IBSaturn IB
The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program...
and Saturn V
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
boosters. These included a manned lunar base, an earth-orbiting space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
, the so-called Grand Tour
Planetary Grand Tour
The Planetary Grand Tour was an ambitious plan to send unmanned probes to the planets of the outer solar system. Conceived by Gary Flandro of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the late 1960s, the Grand Tour would have exploited the alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, an event...
of the Outer Solar System, and the original "Voyager program
Voyager program (Mars)
The Voyager Mars Program was a planned series of unmanned NASA probes to the planet Mars. The missions were planned, as part of the Apollo Applications Program, between 1966 and 1968 and were scheduled for launch in 1974–75...
" of Mars Lander probes.
AES (Apollo Extension Series) Lunar Base
The Apollo lunar base proposal saw an unmanned Saturn V used to land a shelter based on the Apollo Command/Service ModuleApollo Command/Service Module
The Command/Service Module was one of two spacecraft, along with the Lunar Module, used for the United States Apollo program which landed astronauts on the Moon. It was built for NASA by North American Aviation...
(CSM) on the Moon. A second Saturn V would carry a three-man crew and a modified CSM and Apollo Lunar Module
Apollo Lunar Module
The Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman to carry a crew of two from lunar orbit to the surface and back...
(LM) to the Moon. The two-man excursion team would have a surface stay time of nearly 200 days and use of an advanced lunar rover
Lunar rover
The Lunar Roving Vehicle or lunar rover was a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program during 1971 and 1972...
and a lunar flier as well as logistics vehicles to construct a larger shelter. The isolation of the CSM pilot was a concern for mission planners, so proposals that it would be a three-man landing team or that the CSM would rendezvous with an orbiting module were considered.
Evolution
The following phases were considered:- Phase 1: 1969-1971: This "Apollo Phase" commenced with the first lunar landing and continued for four missions, or until sufficient experience had been achieved to allow the next phase to commence. As actually flown by NASA, these missions corresponded to Apollo 11Apollo 11In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
to Apollo 14Apollo 14Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the American Apollo program, and the third to land on the Moon. It was the last of the "H missions", targeted landings with two-day stays on the Moon with two lunar EVAs, or moonwalks....
.
- Phase 2: 1972 to 1973: This Lunar Exploration Phase would commence about two years after Apollo and consisted of four flights of the Extended Lunar Module (ELM), a modification of basic Apollo Lunar Module hardware. ELM missions extended lunar stay time to 3 or 4 days with landed payloads approaching 450 kg. This scenario corresponded to Apollo 15Apollo 15Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...
to Apollo 17Apollo 17Apollo 17 was the eleventh and final manned mission in the American Apollo space program. Launched at 12:33 a.m. EST on December 7, 1972, with a three-member crew consisting of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 remains the...
as flown.
- Phase 3: 1974: A single Lunar Orbital Survey Mission was indicated after the Lunar Surface Exploration phase and would be the end of the initial buy of Apollo spacecraft. This 28-day lunar polar orbit mission would be flown after the Apollo's and ELM's, in order to have several "ground-truth" sites.
- Phase 4: 1975-1976: This Lunar Surface Rendezvous and Exploration Phase nominally consisted of two dual-launch missions. A Lunar Payload Module (LPM - essentially the LM Truck of earlier studies) would be delivered by an unmanned cargo carrier to the surface and provide a rendezvous target for a manned ELM that would arrive up to 3 months later.
Associated vehicles
The Apollo LM Taxi was essentially the basic Apollo LM modified for extended lunar surface stays. This was expected to be the workhorse of both Apollo Applications Extended Lunar Surface Missions beginning in 1970 and to larger Lunar Exploration System for Apollo in the mid-to-late 1970s.The Apollo LM Shelter was essentially an Apollo LM with ascent stage engine and fuel tanks removed and replaced with consumables and scientific equipment for 14 days' extended lunar exploration.
The MOBEV F2B was a multi-man surface-to-surface flying vehicle.
LESA (Lunar Exploration System for Apollo) Lunar Base
The basic Apollo hardware would evolve into AES (Apollo Extension Systems), followed by ALSS (Apollo Logistics Support System), and then LESA (Lunar Exploration System for Apollo). The end result would be ever-expanding permanent stations on the Moon.LESA (Lunar Exploration System for Apollo) represented the last lunar base concept studied by NASA prior to the cancellation of further Saturn V production. LESA would use a new Lunar Landing Vehicle to land payloads on the lunar surface and extended CSM and LM Taxi hardware derived from the basic Apollo program would allow crews to be rotated to the ever-expanding, and eventually permanent, lunar base. A nuclear reactor would provide power.
Phases:
- 2 men/2 days - Apollo
- 2 men/14 days - AES - LEM Shelter (2050 kg surface payload - LEM Shelter)
- 2 men/14 to 30 days - ALSS with shelter or MOLAB (4100 kg surface payload)
- 3 men/90 days - LESA I (10,500 kg surface payload)
- 3 men/90 days - LESA I + MOLAB (12,500 kg surface payload)
- 6 men/180 days - LESA II with shelter and extended-range roving vehicle (25,000 kg surface payload)
Lunar Escape Systems
To support longer stays on the Moon, NASA also studied a number of simple Lunar Escape SystemsLunar Escape Systems
Lunar Escape Systems were a series of emergency vehicles designed for never-flown long-duration Apollo missions. Because these missions were even more hypothetical than the planned cancelled Apollo missions, the designs were never constructed.-Details:...
as a means of returning two astronauts from the lunar surface to an orbiting CSM if the Lunar Module
Apollo Lunar Module
The Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman to carry a crew of two from lunar orbit to the surface and back...
ascent-stage engine failed to ignite.
Manned Venus Flyby
Another plan for Apollo-based extended-duration manned spaceflight would use a Saturn VSaturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
to send three men on a Manned Venus Flyby
Manned Venus Flyby
A manned Venus flyby was considered by NASA in the mid 1960s as part of the Apollo Applications Program, using hardware derived from the Apollo program...
, using the Saturn S-IVB
S-IVB
The S-IVB was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine...
stage as a "wet workshop
Wet workshop
Wet workshop is the idea of using a spent rocket stage as a makeshift space station. A liquid-fuel rocket primarily consists of two large, airtight fuel tanks; it was realized that the fuel tanks could be retrofitted into the living quarters of a space station. A large rocket stage would reach a...
". First the S-IVB
S-IVB
The S-IVB was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine...
would boost itself and the Apollo CSM on a trajectory that would pass by Venus and return to Earth, then any remaining fuel would be vented to space, after which the astronauts would live in the empty fuel tanks until they separated from the S-IVB
S-IVB
The S-IVB was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine...
shortly before reentry on their return to Earth.
Development
When procurement of Saturn Vs other than those required for the lunar landing was stopped in 1968, focus shifted to AAP. Aside from attempting to show that Apollo presented value for money, NASA and the main contractors of BoeingBoeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, Grumman, North American Aviation
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
and Rockwell
Rockwell
- People :* Dick Rockwell, an American comic strip and comic book artist, nephew of Norman Rockwell* Francis W. Rockwell, a United States Congressman from Massachusetts* Francis W...
also hoped to put off the inevitable scaling down of staff and facilities following the completion of the first Moon landing.
Three AAP proposals were selected for development:
The Apollo Telescope Mission
Apollo Telescope Mount
The Apollo Telescope Mount, or ATM, is the name of a solar observatory that was attached to Skylab, the first US space station.The ATM was one of a number of projects that came out of the late 1960s Apollo Applications Program, which studied a wide variety of ways to use the infrastructure...
would be an Earth-orbiting mission for solar observation. The telescope would be based on a modified Lunar Module ascent stage, and launched using a S-IVB. The telescope would be docked to a CSM with a three-man crew. Solar panels on the telescope would provide additional power, allowing an extended mission of 21–28 days. The telescope module would include a pressurized compartment providing additional living and workspace for the crew.
The Apollo Manned Survey Mission proposed an Earth-observation science module also based on the LM ascent stage, and would also have been launched using a S-IVB vehicle into a high-inclination orbit. It was also proposed that a surplus Saturn V would launch a manned lunar survey mission to establish suitable sites for later manned landings.
The wet workshop
Wet workshop
Wet workshop is the idea of using a spent rocket stage as a makeshift space station. A liquid-fuel rocket primarily consists of two large, airtight fuel tanks; it was realized that the fuel tanks could be retrofitted into the living quarters of a space station. A large rocket stage would reach a...
space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
concept provided for a low-budget Earth orbiting station. The original plan, as proposed by Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
, used the S-II
S-II
The S-II was the second stage of the Saturn V rocket. It was built by North American Aviation. Using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen it had five J-2 engines in a cross pattern...
stage as the primary structure of the station, with the area normally filled by the S-IVB stage replaced with an equipment carrier. These plans were modified to use the S-IVB when Saturn V production ended with just enough boosters for the lunar missions alone.
In the meantime several of the Earth-orbit "checkout" missions for Apollo had been canceled, leaving a number of Saturn IBs unused. The plans were changed to use the S-IVB stage, used on both rockets, as the primary station structure. A modified S-IVB would be launched into orbit, the second stage carrying a docking module and large solar panels in the area normally carrying the LM. A CSM would then be able to dock with the second stage and enter the now-empty fuel tanks. It was also suggested that the Apollo Telescope and Survey Mission modules might be docked to the Wet Workshop to create a modular space station.
Skylab
Originally, AAP missions would alternate with Apollo lunar missions, starting in 1969. However when NASA's 1969 budget was cut, focus was shifted to the SkylabSkylab
Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
space station proposal, which managed to accommodate the equipment already specified for some of the AAP missions. Specifically, Skylab included the Apollo Telescope Mission (renamed the Apollo Telescope Mount) attached to the docking station used by the CSMs. Since the first two stages of the Saturn V had enough payload capability by themselves to place a pre-fabricated S-IVB workshop into the appropriate orbit, this enabled the "dry workshop" concept. This allowed the interior space to be better fitted out, although many design concepts from the "wet" workshop, notably the open flooring that allowed fuel to flow through it, were kept in Skylab.
The concept of launching another Skylab into lunar orbit using a spare S-IVB was briefly discussed around the same time, but no justification could be found for it, so the project was abandoned early on.
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project involved a docking in Earth orbit between a CSM and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. The mission lasted from July 15 to July 24, 1975. Although the Soviet Union continued to operate the Soyuz and SalyutSalyut
The Salyut program was the first space station program undertaken by the Soviet Union, which consisted of a series of nine space stations launched over a period of eleven years from 1971 to 1982...
space vehicles, NASA's next manned mission would not be until STS-1
STS-1
STS-1 was the first orbital flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. Space Shuttle Columbia launched on 12 April 1981, and returned to Earth on 14 April, having orbited the Earth 37 times during the 54.5-hour mission. It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project...
on April 12, 1981.
Summary of missions
| U.S. Mission | Booster | Crew | Launched | Mission Goal | Mission Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skylab 1 | Saturn V Saturn V The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload... |
Unmanned | May 14, 1973 | Earth orbit | Partial Success - launch of Skylab, first US space station; micrometeoroid shield and one solar panel lost at launch, second jammed during deployment |
| Skylab 2 Skylab 2 -Backup crew:-Support crew:*Robert L. Crippen*Richard H. Truly*Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr*William E. Thornton-Mission parameters:*Mass: 19,979 kg*Maximum Altitude: 440 km*Distance: 18,536,730.9 km... |
Saturn 1B | Charles "Pete" Conrad Pete Conrad Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr. was an American naval officer, astronaut and engineer, and the third person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 12 mission. He set an eight-day space endurance record along with command pilot Gordon Cooper on the Gemini 5 mission, and commanded the Gemini 11 mission... , Paul Weitz Paul J. Weitz Paul Joseph Weitz is an American former astronaut who flew in space twice.-Personal data:Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on July 25, 1932. Married to the former Suzanne M. Berry of Harborcreek, Pennsylvania. Two children: Matthew and Cynthia. Hunting and fishing are among his hobbies. His mother, Mrs... , Joseph Kerwin |
May 25, 1973 | Space station mission | Success - Apollo spacecraft takes first US crew to Skylab for a 28 day stay; freed stuck solar panel and deployed replacement sunshield |
| Skylab 3 Skylab 3 Skylab 3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. The Skylab 3 mission started July 28, 1973, with the launch of three astronauts on the Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 59 days, 11 hours and 9 minutes... |
Saturn 1B | Alan Bean Alan Bean Alan LaVern Bean is a former NASA astronaut, engineer, and painter. Bean was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Group 3. He made his first flight into space aboard Apollo 12, the second manned mission to land on the Moon, at the age of thirty-seven years in... , Jack Lousma, Owen Garriott |
July 28, 1973 | Space Station mission | Success - Apollo spacecraft takes second US crew to Skylab for a 59 day stay |
| Skylab 4 Skylab 4 Skylab 4 was the fourth Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew on board the space station. The mission started November 16, 1973 with the launch of three astronauts on a Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 84 days, 1 hour and 16 minutes... |
Saturn 1B | Gerald Carr, William Pogue, Edward Gibson Edward Gibson Edward George Gibson, PhD, is a former NASA astronaut, pilot, and engineer.Before becoming a NASA astronaut, Gibson graduated from the University of Rochester and the California Institute of Technology... |
November 16, 1973 | Space station mission | Success - Apollo spacecraft takes third US crew to Skylab for an 84 day stay |
| Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Apollo-Soyuz Test Project -Backup crew:-Crew notes:Jack Swigert had originally been assigned as the command module pilot for the ASTP prime crew, but prior to the official announcement he was removed as punishment for his involvement in the Apollo 15 postage stamp scandal.-Soyuz crew:... (ASTP) |
Saturn 1B | Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand Vance D. Brand Vance DeVoe Brand is an engineer and former test pilot and NASA astronaut. He served as command module pilot during the first U.S.-Soviet joint space flight in 1975, and as commander of three space shuttle missions.... , Donald K. "Deke" Slayton Deke Slayton Donald Kent Slayton , better known as Deke Slayton, was an American World War II pilot and later, one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts.... |
July 15, 1975 | Earth orbit | Success - Apollo space craft conducted rendezvous and docking exercises with Soviet Soyuz 19 in earth orbit; sometimes referred to as "Apollo 18" |