Tag Archives: Fra Mauro Highlands

6 February 1971

Space Flight, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Alan B. Shepard conducting geological investigation at the Fra Mauro Highlands, 6 February 1971. Mission time 139:16:44. (Edgar D. Mitchell/NASA) AS14-68-9405

6 February 1971: During the second EVA of Apollo 14’s mission to The Moon, Mission Commander Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr., and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Dean Mitchell conduct a geological exploration of the area near the Antares Lunar Module landing site.

Captain Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN, during geology training for the upcoming Apollo 14 mission, Arizona, 1970. (NASA)
Captain Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN, during geology training for the upcoming Apollo 14 mission, Arizona, 1970. (NASA)
Apollo 14 traverse map (United States Geological Survey)

FAI Record File Num #10301 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – superseded since approved
Region: World
Class: Astronau (Space records)
Sub-Class: K_Absolute (Absolute record for Astronautics)
Category: General
Group: Not applicable
Type of record: Extravehicular duration in space
Performance: 9 hr 12 min 27 sec
Date: 1971-02-09
Course/Location: Cape Kennedy, FL (USA)
Claimant Alan B. Shepard, Jr (USA)
Crew Stuart A. ROOSA, Edgar D. MITCHELL (USA)
Spacecraft: Apollo 14

FAI Record File Num #10304 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – superseded since approved
Region: World
Class: K (Space records)
Sub-Class: K-3 (Missions to celestial bodies)
Category: Spacecraft with more than one astronaut
Group: General category
Type of record: Extravehicular duration on the surface of the celestial body by an astronaut
Performance: 9 hr 12 min 27 sec
Date: 1971-02-09
Course/Location: Cape Kennedy, FL (USA)
Claimant Alan B. Shepard, Jr (USA)
Crew Stuart A. ROOSA, Edgar D. MITCHELL (USA)
Spacecraft: Apollo 14

FAI Record File Num #10308 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – superseded since approved
Region: World
Class: K (Space records)
Sub-Class: K-3 (Missions to celestial bodies)
Category: Spacecraft with more than one astronaut
Group: General category
Type of record: Distance covered on foot on the surface of the celestial body
Performance: 1 454 meters
Date: 1971-02-09
Course/Location: Cape Kennedy, FL (USA)
Claimant Alan B. Shepard, Jr (USA)
Crew Edgar D. MITCHELL (USA)
Spacecraft: Apollo 14

FAI Record File Num #10309 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – superseded since approved
Region: World
Class: K (Space records)
Sub-Class: K-3 (Missions to celestial bodies)
Category: Spacecraft with more than one astronaut
Group: General category
Type of record: Total extravehicular duration on the surface of the celestial body by all crew members
Performance: 17h 33mn 29 sec
Date: 1971-02-09
Course/Location: Cape Kennedy, FL (USA)
Claimant Alan B. Shepard, Jr (USA)
Crew Edgar D. MITCHELL (USA)
Spacecraft: Apollo 14

Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot, photographed this sweeping view showing fellow Moon-explorer astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., mission commander, and the Apollo 14 Lunar Module (LM). A small cluster of rocks and a few prints made by the lunar overshoes of Mitchell are in the foreground. Mitchell was standing in the boulder field, located just north by northwest of the LM, when he took this picture during the second Apollo 14 extravehicular activity (EVA-2), on February 6, 1971. (Edgar D. Mitchell/NASA)
Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot, photographed this sweeping view showing fellow Moon-explorer astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., mission commander, and the Apollo 14 Lunar Module (LM). A small cluster of rocks and a few prints made by the lunar overshoes of Mitchell are in the foreground. Mitchell was standing in the boulder field, located just north by northwest of the LM, when he took this picture during the second Apollo 14 extravehicular activity (EVA-2), on February 6, 1971. (Edgar D. Mitchell/NASA) AS14-68-9487?

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

5 February 1971, 09:18:11 UTC, T + 108:15:09.30

Space Flight, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
The Apollo 14 Lunar Module Antares (LM-8) on the surface of The Moon. (NASA)
The Apollo 14 Lunar Module Antares (LM-8) on the surface of The Moon. (NASA)

5 February 1971, 09:18:11 UTC, T + 108:15:09.30: The Apollo 14 Lunar Module Antares (LM-8), with astronauts Alan B. Shepard and Edgar D. Mitchell aboard, landed at the Fra Mauro Highlands, The Moon.

This was the third manned lunar landing. It was 9 years, 8 months, 30 days, 18 hours, 43 minutes, 58 seconds since Shepard had lifted off from Cape Canaveral aboard Freedom 7, becoming the first American astronaut launched into space.

5 hours, 36 minutes later, at 14:54 UTC, T + 113:51, Alan Shepard stepped on to the surface of The Moon.

Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr., Captain, United States Navy, Astronaut, on the surface of The Moon, 5 February 1971. (Edgar D. Mitchell/NASA)
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr., Captain, United States Navy, Astronaut, on the surface of The Moon, 5 February 1971. (Edgar D. Mitchell/NASA)
Edgar D. Mitchell died last night, 4 February 2016, at the age of 85 years. (Alan B. Shepard/NASA)
Edgar D. Mitchell, Sc.D., Captain, United States Navy, died last night, 4 February 2016, at the age of 85 years. (Alan B. Shepard/NASA)

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

31 January 1971, 21:03:02 UTC, T plus 000:00:00.57

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The flight crew of Apollo 14, Edgar D. Mitchell, Alan B. Shepard and Stuart A. Roosa, stand in front of their Saturn V rocket, AS-509, at Space Flight Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center. (NASA)

31 January 1971, 04:03:02 a.m., Eastern Standard Time: Apollo 14 (AS-509) lifted off for The Moon from Space Flight Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mission Commander was Captain Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr., United States Navy. The Command Module Pilot was Colonel Stuart Allen Roosa, United States Air Force, and the Lunar Module Pilot was Captain Edgar Dean Mitchell, Sc.D., United States Navy. Their destination was the Fra Mauro Highlands.

Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission of the Apollo Program, and the third to land on the surface of the moon.

Alan Shepard was the first American astronaut. He flew into space aboard a Mercury spacecraft, Freedom 7, launched from Cape Canaveral by a Redstone rocket, 5 May 1961.

Captain Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Mission Commander, Apollo 14. (NASA)
Captain Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Mission Commander, Apollo 14. (NASA)

Mitchell and Roosa had not flown in space before. This would be their only space flight.

The Apollo Command/Service Module was built by the Space and Information Systems Division of North American Aviation, Inc., at Downey, California.

The SPS engine was an AJ10-137, built by Aerojet General Corporation of Azusa, California. It burned a hypergolic fuel combination of Aerozine 50 and nitrogen tetraoxide, producing 20,500 pounds of thrust (91.19 kilonewtons). It was designed for a 750 second burn, or 50 restarts during a flight.

The Saturn V rocket was a three-stage, liquid-fueled heavy launch vehicle. Fully assembled with the Apollo Command and Service Module, it stood 363 feet (110.642 meters) tall. The first and second stages were 33 feet (10.058 meters) in diameter. Fully loaded and fueled the rocket weighed 6,200,000 pounds (2,948,350 kilograms). It could lift a payload of 260,000 pounds (117,934 kilograms) to Low Earth Orbit.

The first stage was designated S-IC. It was designed to lift the entire rocket to an altitude of 220,000 feet (67,056 meters) and accelerate to a speed of more than 5,100 miles per hour (8,280 kilometers per hour). The S-IC stage was built by Boeing at the Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, Louisiana. It was 138 feet (42.062 meters) tall and had an empty weight of 290,000 pounds (131,542 kilograms). Fully fueled with 203,400 gallons (770,000 liters) of RP-1 and 318,065 gallons (1,204,000 liters) of liquid oxygen, the stage weighed 5,100,000 pounds (2,131,322 kilograms). It was propelled by five Rocketdyne F-1 engines, producing 1,522,000 pounds of thrust (6770.19 kilonewtons), each, for a total of 7,610,000 pounds of thrust at Sea Level (33,850.97 kilonewtons). These engines were ignited seven seconds prior to lift off and the outer four burned for 168 seconds. The center engine was shut down after 142 seconds to reduce the rate of acceleration. The F-1 engines were built by the Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation at Canoga Park, California.

The S-II second stage was built by North American Aviation at Seal Beach, California. It was 81 feet, 7 inches (24.87 meters) tall and had the same diameter as the first stage. The second stage weighed 80,000 pounds (36,000 kilograms) empty and 1,060,000 pounds loaded. The propellant for the S-II was liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The stage was powered by five Rocketdyne J-2 engines, also built at Canoga Park. Each engine produced 232,250 pounds of thrust (1,022.01 kilonewtons), and combined, 1,161,250 pounds of thrust (717.28 kilonewtons).

Stuart A. Roosa wearing an ILC Dover A7L full-pressure suit, 31 January 1971. (NASA)

The Saturn V third stage was designated S-IVB. It was built by Douglas Aircraft Company at Huntington Beach, California. The S-IVB was 58 feet, 7 inches (17.86 meters) tall with a diameter of 21 feet, 8 inches (6.604 meters). It had a dry weight of 23,000 pounds (10,000 kilograms) and fully fueled weighed 262,000 pounds. The third stage had one J-2 engine and also used liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for propellant. The S-IVB would place the Command and Service Module into Low Earth Orbit, then, when all was ready, the J-2 would be restarted for the Trans Lunar Injection.

Eighteen Saturn V rockets were built. They were the most powerful machines ever built by man.

Apollo 14 lifts off from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, 4:03:02 a.m., EST, 31 January 1971. (NASA)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes