Tag Archives: Astronauts

21 July 2011, 21:54:00 UTC

July 21, 2024Space FlightAstronauts, Atlantis, Cape Canaveral, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Kennedy Space Center, Last Flight, Manned Space Flight, NASA, Space Shuttle, STS-135Bryan Swopes

Atlantis touches down at the Shuttle Landing Facility, 0554 EDT, 21 July 2011. (NASA) — *Atlantis* touches down at the Shuttle Landing Facility, 0554 EDT, 21 July 2011. (NASA)

21 July 2011, 5:54:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, (21:54:00 UTC) Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135, landed at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Wheel stop was 5:57:54 a.m., EDT.

This 13-day mission had been the thirty-third flight for Atlantis. It had spent a total of 307 days in Earth orbit.

Atlantis (STS-135) landing at he Shuttle Landing Facility. (NASA)

This brought to a close The Era of American Manned Space Flight which began 50 years, 2 months, 15 days, 20 hours, 23 minutes, 41 seconds earlier with the launch of Alan Shepard in Freedom 7, 5 May 1961, 09:34:13 EST.

The benefits of the NASA programs over these decades are immeasurable.

Space Shuttle Atlantis main wheel stop. (NASA) — Space Shuttle *Atlantis* main wheel stop. (NASA)

20 July 1969, 18:12:01 UTC, T + 100:40:01.9

July 20, 2024Space FlightApollo 11, Apollo Program, Astronauts, Command and Service Module, Eagle, Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr, Lunar Landing, Lunar Module, Manned Space Flight, Michael Collins, Moon Landing, Moon Shot, NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Neil Alden ArmstrongBryan Swopes

The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle shortly after separation from teh Command and Service Module, in orbit around the Moon, 20 July 1969. (NASA) — The Apollo 11 Lunar Module *Eagle*, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin aboard, shortly after separation from the Command and Service Module, in orbit around the Moon, 20 July 1969. (Michael Collins, NASA)

20 July 1969, 18:12:01 UTC, T + 100 hours, 40 minutes, 1.9 seconds: The Lunar Module Eagle completes the separation maneuver, moving away from the Apollo 11 Command and Service Module Columbia.

19 July 1969, 22:42 UTC, T + 81:10

July 19, 2024Space FlightApollo 11, Apollo Program, Astronauts, Buzz Aldrin, Eagle, Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr, LMP, Lunar Landing, Lunar Module, Manned Space Flight, NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Neil Alden ArmstrongBryan Swopes

Colonel Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr., United States Air Force, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Astronaut, in the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Eagle, 20 July 1969. (Neil Alden Armstrong/NASA)

19 July 1969, 22:42 UTC, T + 81 hours, 10 minutes: Just over 58 minutes since the Apollo 11 spacecraft entered a circular orbit around the Moon, Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin entered the Lunar Module Eagle to power it up and start systems checks in preparation for the descent to the Lunar surface.

16 July 1969, 13:34:42.30 UTC, T + 2:42.30

July 16, 2024Space FlightApollo 11, Apollo Program, Astronauts, First Stage Separation, Manned Space Flight, Moon Shot, Rocketdyne F-1, S-IC, Saturn VBryan Swopes

Apollo 11 S-1C first stage separation at 2 minutes, 41 seconds, altitude 42 miles (67.6 kilometers), speed 6,164 mph (9,920 kph), has burned 4,700,000 pounds (2,131,884 kilograms) of propellant. (NASA)

16 July 1969: At 13:34:42.30 UTC, 2 minutes, 42.30 seconds after launch, the S-IC first stage of the Apollo 11/Saturn V has burned out and is jettisoned. Apollo 11 has reached an altitude of 42 miles (68 kilometers) and a speed of 6,164 miles per hour (9,920 kilometers per hour). The five Rocketdyne F-1 engines have burned 4,700,000 pounds (2,132,000 kilograms) of liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellant.

After separation, the S-IC first stage continued upward on a ballistic trajectory to approximately 68 miles (109.4 kilometers) altitude, reaching its apex at T+4:29.1, then fell back to Earth. It landed in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 350 miles (563.3 kilometers) downrange.

16 July 1969, 13:34:30 UTC, T + 2:30

July 16, 2024Space FlightApollo 11, Apollo Program, AS-506, Astronauts, Boeing EC-135N A/RIA, CECO, Manned Space Flight, Moon Shot, Rocketdyne F-1, S-IC, Saturn VBryan Swopes

Apollo 11 gains altitude while the first stage Rocketdyne F-1 engines increase thrust. (NASA)

16 July 1969: Apollo 11/Saturn V AS-506 accelerates with all five Rocketdyne F-1 engines burning. As the rocket climbs through thinner atmosphere, the engines become more efficient and the total thrust for the S-IC first stage increases from 7,648,000 pounds of thrust to 9,180,000 pounds of thrust at about T+1:23.0.

In order to limit acceleration, a pre-planned signal to cut off the center engine is sent at T+2:15.2 (Center Engine Cut-Off, “CECO”). As the first stage burns fuel at a rate of 13 tons per second, the rapidly deceasing weight of the Saturn V and the increasing efficiency of the F-1 engines could cause the limits of vehicle acceleration to be exceeded.

By T+2:30, the Saturn V has reached an altitude of 39 miles (62.8 kilometers) and is 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) downrange.

The photograph above was taken by a 70mm telescopic camera aboard a USAF/Boeing EC-135N A/RIA (Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft) serial number 60-374. The airplane is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

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