2001: A Space-Time Odyssey

[lordroel]

Mar 2, 2022 18:26:07 GMT michelvan said:

13 - A Man on the Moon

This post is dedicated to a man, who off all, had the right to be first on the Moon.

During 1967 and 1969 the Soviet tested there L3-complex in low orbit.
First unmanned as Kosmos satellites, then manned Rendezvous with Soyuz, follow by Rendezvous with Lunniy korabl
all went good (with some problems) except Soyuz 7 cislunar

Soyuz 10 was another thing is was analog to Apollo 10, to bring the Lunniy korabl to moon and land it automatic on moon.
On June, 1969 the First Manned N1-L8 was launched, on board was Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Gorbatko.
nearly perfect flight except that Block-D use almost too much fuel for Lunar orbit injection.
But they were able to ready the LK and send it to way to the surface, guides by a 1000 kHz signal emit by Lunokhod 2.

While the CIA and NASA believed that Soyuz 10 was Soviet version Apollo 10, follow end of year by manned landing
and Apollo 11 Launch was scheduled launch on 16 July, 1969.
But Soviet ministry of Space was cautious, they wasn't confident in the LK lander's reliability.
and weren't about to risk the life of their heroic lunar cosmonaut without redundancy.
So Soyuz 10 mission was to bring the Backup Lunniy korabl to it destination for flight of Soyuz 11
At 27 June as the Americans did the Countdown Demonstration Test with Apollo 11
The Soyuz-11 blasted off with Pavel Popovich and Vladimir Komarov.



After it entered into a 200 km low earth orbit it remained there for 25 hours, checking the systems and uploaded new information for TLI
28 June Soyuz 11 made it Trans Lunar Injection burn. It will need over 5 days to reach the Moon
until Soyuz 11 entered an elliptical lunar orbit (150x50 km) at afternoon of the 2 July.
On 3 July the Crew located the Lunokhod 3 and LK-backup landing site.
LOK pilot Pavel Popovich and Flight Engineer Vladimir Komarov prepared the landing procedure,
the L-3 complex lowered its orbit to 100 km by 20 km
Vladimir Komarov enter his Kerchet Spacesuit and began to EVA to the LK craft,
He entered it and started up its systems then detached the LK with its Block-D from the Load-baring structure cover and LOK
Komarov used the Block-D last propellants reserves to brake out of Lunar orbit descending toward the surface,
Guided by 1000 kHz signal radio beacon from Lunokhod 2.
4000 meter over lunar surface Komarov jettison the Empty block-D and ignite the LK engines.
On July 4 1969 Vladimir Milhaylovich Komarov landed as First human in history on the Moon.
Only 177 meter near Lunokod 2 and 360 meter near LK-backup
While Komarov prepared his EVA, Lunokhod 2 was reactivated and rolled toward the LK
Film by it’s TV cameras, Komarov exit the LK, erecting the Flag of USSR and saluting it,
Televised world wide by TASS with background music, the Soviet national anthem.
For a moment Komarov looked up at the Earth and said:

"Планета есть колыбель разума, но нельзя вечно жить в колыбели"
Translation: "Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot stay in the cradle forever"

After that Komarov pulled the Scientific equipment package out the LK and deployed that near by, then he collected samples of Lunar soil and rocks.
He made several photos of his LK, the Lunokhod 2 which followed him via remote control and the LK-Backup at lunar horizon.
After 3 hours of exhausting EVA, he made a report over TV camera outside LK and return into in for the first meal on the Moon and resting.
While he was eating something happened as he heard a loud BANG follow by hissing sound, lucky Komarov was inside his Spacesuit with faceplate up, which he close very fast.
It was not the Pressurized cosmonaut compartment, but the pressurized avionic container which depressurized !
and that was even worse, the avionic was cooled by nitrogen gas which ventilated through containers, now that it was depressurised,
The electronics started to overheat fast and was now failing, Komarov report what happen before the LK radios went dead.

Mission Control in Kaliningrad, react in turmoil and consternation at the news, now everything lies on the flight control crew of the Lunakhod 2 in getting Komarov to backup LK.
But the question was whether his LK-backup had a similar problem?
Komarov inspected his LK, took photos of the depressurized avionic container and took the Sample container to Lunokhod 2.
and hold tight on Rover, which was driven as fast as they could toward the LK-Backup.
Komarov radioed home with the backup LK and without hesitation initiated the ascent order and took off a mere 4 hours after initially arriving on the Moon.
Now it was the turn of LOK Pilot Pavel Popovich, because the LK had a passive rolle in Rendezvous and docking,
it was the task of Popovich to manage to catch up the LK and dockt with it,
Komarov made his final EVA with his samples and Photos back to the LOK.
On 5 July at 10:59 the LOK jettison it’s Utility module with it dockt LK and return to Earth.
at 8 July around 10:00 the Descent Module entered the Earth's atmosphere for a skip maneuver and re-entered for landing on USSR.

Vladimir Milhaylovich Komarov was awarded a second time with "The Hero of The Soviet Union“ and "order of Lenin“.
The flight control crew of Lunokhod 2 was awarded with "The Hero of The Soviet Union“ and "order of Lenin“ for rescue of Komarov.

The LK malfunction was do to a faulty seal on the pressurized avionic container, which caused the depressuring, reason was a faulty acceptance test at the point of manufacture.

Acting General Sectary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Alexei Kosygin announced the official Soviet program of manned Exploration of Solar system called: Galaktika (Russian for Galaxy)
Comprised of further Moon expeditions and a Soviet Space Station program beginning in the 1970s.

In USA the disappointment was great, on their National holiday,
the commies landed on Moon first and made spectacularly heroic events wordy of a Hollywood Movie.
Nixon's first reaction was to fire NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine and and lucking for New Administrator
Now the responsibility lay on Nixon to react to the Soviet victory and challenge.
On 16 July Apollo 11 lifted off to the Moon.

SIDENOTE:
This was original written in July 2015
For All Mankind was broadcast November 1, 2019

Another first for the Soviet Union, the United States needs to do something quick.

[michelvan]

Mar 2, 2022 19:23:54 GMT lordroel said:

Another first for the Soviet Union, the United States needs to do something quick.

Wait on next part Nixon get active

[lordroel]

Mar 2, 2022 19:56:53 GMT michelvan said:

Mar 2, 2022 19:23:54 GMT lordroel said:

Another first for the Soviet Union, the United States needs to do something quick.

Wait on next part Nixon get active

Well i hope he pulls a rabbit out of his hat, because the United States needs something big.

[michelvan]

14 - The Political Fallout


Nixon Reaction on what happened...

He not only fired NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine, Nixon throw him to the wolves in Capitol Hill.
follow by now former CIA director Richard Helms
And look for way to counter Soviet success in the Space Race, but for that he needed the right man to run NASA,
A man he could trust and is a Republican!

Congressman George H. W. Bush endorsed Nixon in the 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries,
Nixon considered selecting Bush as his running mate in the 1968 presidential election, but he chose Spiro Agnew instead.
Now he offers Bush the post of NASA Administrator !
NASA react baffled on the News, but they got a experience politician who was determent to his job.

In mean time Apollo 11 made it moon landing, Neil Armstrong became first American on Moon follow by Edwin Aldrin,
They return save to Earth and got a ticker-tape parade in Washington D.C. but like Aldrin say much later in Interview:

To be the second, is not like to be number one...

In September 1969, Vice president Spiro Agnew presented the Space Task Group result on Study what NASA had to do next.
There called it, The Intergraded Program Plan short IPP proposed in three different program options,
They mostly involved the same hardware set, but with a different timetable and annual development/operating cost overtime.

Option A like a for "ambitiously", is $500 Billion Space program spent over next 30 years.
it would have include six Space Station, 1983 first manned Mars landing, a Moon base and Mars base in 1990s, with hundreds of Astronauts working in space.

Option C like c for "cheap" with $25 billion, over next 10 years.
It would after Apollo program is ended, focus on a Reusable Space Shuttle and a low orbit Space station, that launch by the Shuttle.
This however could not fulfilling the national needs to beat the Soviets in Space.

The Option B as being the obvious choice that balances both cost and capability: $50 Billion over 20 years.
Reusable Space Shuttle with Space Tug, Two Space station, with option for Nuclear Shuttle if Approved.
a Lunar Orbit station with outpost on moon and as option 2 Mars Expedition end of 1980s if Approved.
In total would work 36 to 48 men in space in 1990s

The only person who believed that Option A would be taken was Spiro Agnew.
Nixon took Option B because gave the USA the option to counter the Soviets in Space,
NASA Administrator Bush proposed that Apollo program should continue so long Soviets made Lunar landings.
and demanded to restart the Saturn V and Apollo hardware production so fast as possibly for 1973 use.
Nixon authorised that together with Apollo Orbital Workshops.

NASA was looking for Name for IPP option B and the naming rules were straightforward.
Candidate names were to be simple and easily pronounced, not refer to living persons,
neither duplicate nor closely resemble other NASA or non-NASA space program names,
be translatable into the languages of the International Partners,
and have neither ambiguous nor offensive meanings in the International Partner languages.
In addition, acronyms were to be avoided. So the name "Odyssey" was chosen.

[lordroel]

Mar 3, 2022 18:59:50 GMT michelvan said:

14 - The Political Fallout


Nixon Reaction on what happened...

He not only fired NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine, Nixon throw him to the wolves in Capitol Hill.
And look for way to counter Soviet success in the Space Race, but for that he needed the right man to run NASA,
A man he could trust and is a Republican!

Congressman George H. W. Bush endorsed Nixon in the 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries,
Nixon considered selecting Bush as his running mate in the 1968 presidential election, but he chose Spiro Agnew instead.
Now he offers Bush the post of NASA Administrator !
NASA react baffled on the News, but they got a experience politician who was determent to his job.

In mean time Apollo 11 made it moon landing, Neil Armstrong became first American on Moon follow by Edwin Aldrin,
They return save to Earth and got a ticker-tape parade in Washington D.C. but like Aldrin say much later in Interview:

To be the second, is not like to be number one...

In September 1969, Vice president Spiro Agnew presented the Space Task Group result on Study what NASA had to do next.
There called it, The Intergraded Program Plan short IPP proposed in three different program options,
They mostly involved the same hardware set, but with a different timetable and annual development/operating cost overtime.

Option A like a for "ambitiously", is $500 Billion Space program spent over next 30 years.
it would have include six Space Station, 1983 first manned Mars landing, a Moon base and Mars base in 1990s, with hundreds of Astronauts working in space.

Option C like c for "cheap" with $25 billion, over next 10 years.
It would after Apollo program is ended, focus on a Reusable Space Shuttle and a low orbit Space station, that launch by the Shuttle.
This however could not fulfilling the national needs to beat the Soviets in Space.

The Option B as being the obvious choice that balances both cost and capability: $50 Billion over 20 years.
Reusable Space Shuttle with Space Tug, Two Space station, with option for Nuclear Shuttle if Approved.
a Lunar Orbit station with outpost on moon and as option 2 Mars Expedition end of 1980s if Approved.
In total would work 36 to 48 men in space in 1990s

The only person who believed that Option A would be taken was Spiro Agnew.
Nixon took Option B because gave the USA the option to counter the Soviets in Space,
NASA Administrator Bush proposed that Apollo program should continue so long Soviets made Lunar landings.
and demanded to restart the Saturn V and Apollo hardware production so fast as possibly for 1973 use.
Nixon authorised that together with Apollo Orbital Workshops.

NASA was looking for Name for IPP option B and the naming rules were straightforward.
Candidate names were to be simple and easily pronounced, not refer to living persons,
neither duplicate nor closely resemble other NASA or non-NASA space program names,
be translatable into the languages of the International Partners,
and have neither ambiguous nor offensive meanings in the International Partner languages.
In addition, acronyms were to be avoided. So the name "Odyssey" was chosen.

Nice mixing your TL with the For All Mankind.

[michelvan]

Actually, i envision exact how Nixon React on bad News
only 4 year later to see this in For all Mankind episode

A cartoon on How Nixon React on Option A

[lordroel]

Mar 3, 2022 19:13:42 GMT michelvan said:

Actually, i envision exact how Nixon React on bad News
only 4 year later to see this in For all Mankind episode

Well seems the writers of the Apple show read your TL.

Now hire a lawyer and sue them.

[stevep]

  michelvan ,

  I must admit it sounds rather rash and unfair to sack a professional who has only recently been appointed to head NASA for the fact the Soviets got to the moon 1st.  Replacing him with a politician, albeit that Bush has experience as a businessman also sounds strange but it does mean he has the ear of useful people.

  Its going to be interesting now and with both superpowers engaged in a continued challenge which will have great symbolic importance for both sides.  As such its going to be hard for either to concede 'defeat' in this race which means in the longer term you could see something more approaching the $500 billion of proposal A than the $50 billion of the actually selected Proposal B.  Its also going to make demands on the economies and technological base of both nations and affect things around the world.  With the added burden of the Vietnam War this is going to be specially relevant for the US I suspect so interested to see what happens there.

  Steve

[michelvan]

stevep ,

Thomas O. Paine became head of NASA in under Johnson Administration
Was stuck in Scheduling of Apollo launches and face the Wrath of Nixon, after Soyuz 11

Option A was over the top ambitious with $500 billion
Parallel D&R programs for Shuttles, Manned Space Station core module, manned Mars mission 1981, Manned post Apollo program.
the typical 1980s Space Infrastructure under A

Spacebase 100 men in low orbit
syn orbit station 24 men in geostationary orbit
Lunar Base 24 men in Lunar orbital base and 48 men in surface station
Mars Base 24 men in mars orbital base and 48 men in surface station

So in total 268 us Astronauts work in space, (24h/day7/7 in 3 shift of 8 hours unter 1968 technology)

So Nixon goes for more realistic option B with $50 billion, that twice of Apollo program (1969) and scale back.
But it's not about R&D and master Technical problems, its the Political Problems they need to solve !
in our Time NASA has those problem, they got inexperienced administrator James Fletcher during Space Shuttle program.
he made compromises that let to death of 14 US astronauts under Shuttle program...

Paradoxal Nixon put a technical inexperienced Bush as Head of NASA, but he is professional politician
And that is what NASA needs for that what coming in next post...

[lordroel]

Mar 3, 2022 18:59:50 GMT michelvan said:

14 - The Political Fallout


Nixon Reaction on what happened...

He not only fired NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine, Nixon throw him to the wolves in Capitol Hill.
follow by now former CIA director Richard Helms
And look for way to counter Soviet success in the Space Race, but for that he needed the right man to run NASA,
A man he could trust and is a Republican!

Congressman George H. W. Bush endorsed Nixon in the 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries,
Nixon considered selecting Bush as his running mate in the 1968 presidential election, but he chose Spiro Agnew instead.
Now he offers Bush the post of NASA Administrator !
NASA react baffled on the News, but they got a experience politician who was determent to his job.

In mean time Apollo 11 made it moon landing, Neil Armstrong became first American on Moon follow by Edwin Aldrin,
They return save to Earth and got a ticker-tape parade in Washington D.C. but like Aldrin say much later in Interview:

To be the second, is not like to be number one...

In September 1969, Vice president Spiro Agnew presented the Space Task Group result on Study what NASA had to do next.
There called it, The Intergraded Program Plan short IPP proposed in three different program options,
They mostly involved the same hardware set, but with a different timetable and annual development/operating cost overtime.

Option A like a for "ambitiously", is $500 Billion Space program spent over next 30 years.
it would have include six Space Station, 1983 first manned Mars landing, a Moon base and Mars base in 1990s, with hundreds of Astronauts working in space.

Option C like c for "cheap" with $25 billion, over next 10 years.
It would after Apollo program is ended, focus on a Reusable Space Shuttle and a low orbit Space station, that launch by the Shuttle.
This however could not fulfilling the national needs to beat the Soviets in Space.

The Option B as being the obvious choice that balances both cost and capability: $50 Billion over 20 years.
Reusable Space Shuttle with Space Tug, Two Space station, with option for Nuclear Shuttle if Approved.
a Lunar Orbit station with outpost on moon and as option 2 Mars Expedition end of 1980s if Approved.
In total would work 36 to 48 men in space in 1990s

The only person who believed that Option A would be taken was Spiro Agnew.
Nixon took Option B because gave the USA the option to counter the Soviets in Space,
NASA Administrator Bush proposed that Apollo program should continue so long Soviets made Lunar landings.
and demanded to restart the Saturn V and Apollo hardware production so fast as possibly for 1973 use.
Nixon authorised that together with Apollo Orbital Workshops.

NASA was looking for Name for IPP option B and the naming rules were straightforward.
Candidate names were to be simple and easily pronounced, not refer to living persons,
neither duplicate nor closely resemble other NASA or non-NASA space program names,
be translatable into the languages of the International Partners,
and have neither ambiguous nor offensive meanings in the International Partner languages.
In addition, acronyms were to be avoided. So the name "Odyssey" was chosen.

Is Wernher von Braun still for the time being active at NASA.

[michelvan]

15 - Odyssey through the US House of Representatives

The news of NASA's Odyssey program hit the US media like a bomb.
Some journalist remembering Stanley Kubrick science fiction movie "2001: A Space Odyssey"
compared the program to the similarly, named film while other point out the gigantic cost of $50 billion something similar to the ongoing Vietnam War !
And labeled Odyssey as Megalomaniac madness, even speaking of a NASA Empire.
In the latest Gallup Poll 53% of US citizens were against the Apollo program !
While Spiro Agnew was booed when he spoke of the Odyssey program in public.
With the media hype the House of Representatives started to react.
They cut down NASA 1970 budget 17.31% lower compare to year 1969.


Joseph Karth (Dem) member of House committee on Science, Space and Technology,
Started to criticizes NASA in public "for miss-using Odyssey for getting to Mars only".
In the spring of 1971 Krath tried several times to issue a bill to block the financing of the combination program,
the votings ended in a stalemate.


Walter Mondale (Dem) tried in July, to past a more radical bill.
He proposed to shut down NASA manned Space Flight activity and close Marshall Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center !
With the argument that USA had lose the Moon Race, and that it better to spend the money on social welfare programs.
His proposal was rejected with 32 to 28 Votes.


Caspar Weinberger (Rep), newly responsible for the US federal budget, tried unsuccessful to cancel the Apollo and Odyssey program.
At NASA rang the alarm bells, Odyssey was in danger of getting canceled by US politicians !
Administrator Bush deal with new hostile situation.
Luckily the planned NASA budget cuts by Representatives were stop by Nixon's vetos.

NASA started to Lobby for the program, focusing on Space shuttle, Space Station and Manned lunar missions,
endeavouring not mention future manned Mars missions.
In same time the USAF look into a joint venture in the Shuttle program which would reduce NASA's portion of the costs of Odyssey.
Bush made harsh cut in NASA programs like Apollo Application Program, scaling it down to just two Skylab
while canceling the Apollo-Soyuz program all together
At the same time the US Aerospace Industry acquired the best Lobbyists in Washington D.C.
because even the scaled down version of proposed Odyssey program would bring them even more revenue than the Apollo program !

In Mean time Administrator Bush contacted Henry Kissinger, he ask the Diplomat for Helping him to secure foreign partners for Odyssey Program.
What protect the program against cancelation, Kissinger went on good will tour under Allies of USA and found interested partners,
Under conditions that Partner Aerospace Industry can produce for Odyssey program.

Then came the news the Soviet would increase their manned space efforts under the Galaktika program.
Finally Congress react, instead of immediately accepting Odyssey in the beginning, they pushed for more Apollo missions.
NASA could restart the Saturn V and IB production.
In the Senate the battle restart, Walter Mondale claimed that Odyssey was a waste of money.
Congress voted for Odyssey in march 1972, but with budget only for more Apollo Missions, the Space Station & Space Shuttle
with an eventual lunar base in the early 1980s (utilising the Shuttle's chemical "Space Tug" and a reusable orbit to orbit Nuclear Shuttle)
In total $25 billion for next 10 years (with a peak annual budget of $5.5 billion).
For Von Braun and his colleagues this decision was a secret victory. With the nuclear shuttle, space tug, space shuttle, space station and Saturn booster,
the option would be available to any future president who wished to send humans to Mars.
The only item not funded would be the Mars Excursion Module (MEM). If funding for the MEM were approved in FY 1976,
the first landing would be in 1983. If the MEM were approved in 1978, the first landing would be in 1985 and so on.
This wasn't publically discussed as spending even more money on an MEM wasn't politically viable at the time.

Some Representatives even Democrats began considering Walter Mondale as "treacherous",
A simple majority shared opinion the USA had to counter the Soviet Space activity,
after nearly losing every space milestone to the Soviets from Sputnik to the Moon.
Despite warning of his colleagues and allies, Mondale issued until 1973 several bills to stop the financing of Odyssey,
They were each rejected with a narrow majority.
Because US House of Representatives had other problems:
FBI director John Edgar Hoover died, Mark Felt become his successor, Spiro Agnew resigned,
President Nixon took Gerald Ford as Vice President,
For 1971 to 1976 the financing of Odyssey was save for moment, again thanks to Nixon's Vetos.


In 1975 the first Golden Fleece Award is awarded by William Proxmire (Dem) to NASA Odyssey program,
because "for launched billions of public dollars into Space".

[stevep]

  michelvan ,

   Ah that last bit about Nixon vetoing cuts to the programme suggests that either he doesn't do something or he gets away with it.  Could be an interesting time ahead.

  Steve

[michelvan]

16 - Apollo 12: Last spaceflight of the decade

November 14th 1969
Being the last mission of the year, the engineers on Apollo 12 wanted to make sure this mission count.
Since Soviet were not launching do issue with there Lunniy korabl.
This mission marked the second manned lunar landing of the Apollo program and rendezvous with Surveyor 3 probe,

Launching on schedule on November 14th 1969, the Saturn V was taking off during a rainstorm.
36 seconds after lift-off, the vehicle triggered a lightning discharge through itself and down to the earth through the Saturn's ionized plume.
Protective circuits on the fuel cells in the service module falsely detected overloads and took all three fuel cells offline,
Along with much of the CSM instrumentation. A second strike at 52 seconds after launch knocked out the "8-ball" attitude indicator.
The telemetry stream at Mission Control was garbled.
However, the Saturn V continued to fly correctly as the strikes had not affected Saturn V's Instrument Unit.
with quick manual override to backup the mission continue and Conrad and Alan Bean manage close landing near Surveyor 3
Charles Conrad first word on moon were:

"Yippee ! did you see that commies ?, we can do spot on landing too !".

This was televised nationwide to millions of people and was followed by a fit of coughing by Walter Cronkite on NBC.
During 31 hours on Moon they conducted 3 EVA were several sample were taken also from Surveyor 3.
With both the color television film and the fantastic selfie photo next to Surveyor (with the LM easily seen in the background)
Apollo 12 was featured prominently in Time Magazine as a year end consolation for losing the Moon race.



The 1960s was a time of great change in social, political, technological and economic worldwide.
The decade began with a series of crisis: the Brezhnev Crisis, the failed invasion of Cuban, the Berlin Crisis,
The assassination of the President of the United States John F. Kennedy, the race riots, civil unrest, the Vietnam war etc.

The Vietnam War was a particularly shocking blow to the United States.
As the crisis following the death of Mao Zedong in China lead to increased militarism at Vietnam border,
The United States was forced to choose pullback and defeat or risk of a Korea-like conflict sparking an all out nuclear conflict.
Thankfully, Johnson chose the pullback although, with the prise that Republicans swept into the White House at decades end.
In USA racial barriers were broken as Martin Luther King Jr lead the civil rights movement,
Ultimately leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 (abolishing Jim Crow & Segregation)

But not only in US but in Europe and East block happened changes
Alexander Dubcek played a big role in reforming Czechoslovakia to create "Socialism with a human face".
While East Germany would undergo a drastic changes in coming years, as Walter Ulbrich public critiqued the german Communist !
In West Germany the government face radical leftist Terrorist inspire by Vietcong.
France had almost civil War in May 1968 as student riots let nationwide uprise !
While group of environmentalist voted for armed combat. they will become the Rainbow Warriors

People were look onwards on 1970s in hope and fear what would bring that new Decade ?

[michelvan]

17 - The 1970 Moon mission

The problems of Soyuz 11's landing made overwork of the LK necessary, along with getting ready to launch for April 1970.
To honor Vladimir Lenin's 100th Birthday.
In the mean time Apollo 12 made their precision landing in November 1969.
Beginning in January 1970 Lunokhod 4 landed on the lunar surface, driving untill it they found what it was looking for and switched on The radio beacon, after an unusually long search time.

Soyuz 12.

Beginning in April was launch of an N1 Luna rocket with Soyuz-12 on board Georgi Grechko and Aleksey Guarev
for Orbital mission and landing of the unmanned LK Backup.
After Lunar Surface Mapping they return to earth passing by Apollo 13 on way to the Moon.
Guarev on this unique encounter:

It is strange there was another manned complex on way to Moon, we knew there were out there, but not could see them.
While they fighting for Survival on board, we fall back to Earth unable to help them..

Apollo 13

On April 11, Apollo 13 was launched to moon with Lovell, Mattingly, Haise, under a lack of interest with the US public and media.
The Saturn V showed a malfunction suffering from pogo oscillations and on second stage one of J-2 engine shut down too early.
56 hours into the mission, Mattingly actived the stirring fans in Oxygen tank number 2 which then exploded!

Mattingly: Houston, we have a master alert here!
CAPCOM: This is Houston, Say again, please
Mattingly: Houston, We’ve got MASTER ALERT!
Lovell: We’ve hav a MAIN B BUS UNDERVOLT!!!

The CSM main power system died in minutes, The Crew activated the LM and used it as a Lifeboat
From now on Apollo 13 mission became a struggle for the survival of three Astronauts,
Suddenly the world media show interest in Apollo mission.
In a Heroic effort NASA manage to bring the Crew safe back to Earth, calling it "A successful failure"

Apollo 13 showed America that Space flight were not easy.
The cause of the explosion was found in damaged Teflon isolation tape on electrical wires of the stirring fan inside the oxygen tank.
The Oxygen tanks were redesigned and moved farther apart, also a third oxygen tank and a emergency battery were installed,
Also started a program to replace the lithium hydroxide canister from LM and CSM with molecular sieve beds for future mission.
This delayed Apollo 14 mission to January 1971.



The next Luna rocket brought Soyuz-13 into the Moon's orbit with Vesily Lazarev and Oleg Makarov on board.
on 22 April 1970, Makorov landed 55 km away from Apollo 12 & Surveyor 3 Landing site confirmed by there ALSEP seismograph.
The Target was near Luna 5 crash site, a probe that failed to land on may 9, 1965.
Oleg Mekarov's first word on Moon were

To Honor Vladimir Lenin 100th Birthday, We came back to the Moon, to unravel it’s secrets.

After that he deployed the Scientific equipment package near by.
Then he collected samples of the Lunar soil and rocks. after that he went for a pause inside the LK
Then on the second EVA, he used the help of the Lunokhod 4 to drive to the Luna 5 crash site,
Makorov study the man made crater, took samples of the probe's remains and lunar material in crater, helped by Lunokhod 4.
He made an excellent job by photographing the site and position were he took the samples
After 7 hours the LK worked perfect and start of the moon back into orbit to rendezvous with LOK
On command of Ground control activated Backup LK to test it’s systems, it work perfectly just like the previous one.

Thanks to excellent work of Oleg Mekarov, the scientists could analyze the contamination by Probe propellants on Lunar soil.
This gave valuable information how Lunar soil get saturated with organic materials by rocket engines exhaust or asteroid impact.
Also change in tactic on Soviet landing, from now on the each lunar Soyuz mission would land a cosmonaut.

The Soviet Government made diplomatic requests to NASA for research data of the Apollo 12 and Surveyor 3.
What let to political turmoil in Washington D.C.  Allot of Anti communist were upset that NASA would help the "Evil Ones".
To end this, President Nixon gave word of Command !
Reasoning that NASA is US government agency with free access to there research data, if the Soviet academy of sciences, gives free access to there research data.
The Soviets, they not only sent their research data and some Lunar sample,
Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Makarov even came to USA to gave a briefing on there mission at NASA.
This was the begining of "Lunar Diplomacy" between USA and Soviet Union beginning a short thaw period of Cold War known
as 1970s Détente.

[lordroel]

Mar 6, 2022 12:47:53 GMT michelvan said:

This was the begining of "Lunar Diplomacy" between USA and Soviet Union beginning a short thaw period of Cold War known
as 1970s Détente.

"Lunar Diplomacy", has a nice ring to it.