[NASSP 8][Apollo 7] Realtime simulation Debriefing

[STS]

In this thread I will post the debriefing of the flight days of Apollo 7 wich I flew realtime, as I think it will provide feedback for users trying this mission and for the NASSP Team.

I considered the Flight Days as follows, a little bit different from the flightplan numbering, and starting from FD1 as the launch day:

• FD1 (07/11/2021) GET -04:37:45 to GET 13:58:15
• FD2 (08/11/2021) GET 13:58:15 to GET 36:58:15
• FD3 (09/11/2021) GET 36:58:15 to GET 60:58:15
• FD4 (10/11/2021) GET 60:58:15 to GET 84:58:15
• FD5 (11/11/2021) GET 84:58:15 to GET 108:58:15
• FD6 (12/11/2021) GET 108:58:15 to GET 132:58:15
• FD7: (13/11/2021) GET 132:58:15 to GET 156:58:15
• FD8: (14/11/2021) GET 156:58:15 to GET 180:58:15
• FD9: (15/11/2021) GET 180:58:15 to GET 204:58:15
• FD10: (16/11/2021) GET 204:58:15 to GET 228:58:15
• FD11: (17/11/2021) GET 228:58:15 to GET 252:58:15
• FD12: (18/11/2021) GET 252:58:15 to GET 259:56:06

Flight Day 1:

During flight day one, the following activities were to be performed:

1. Backup Crew Prelaunch Procedure
2. Prime Crew Prelaunch Procedure
3. Saturn I-B Boost Procedure
4. Post Insertion checks & config, including S-IVB LOX Dump and S-IVB manual takeover demo.
5. S-IVB Sep and T&D Demo.
6. Phasing maneuver to start a 24 hour rendezvous with S-IVB
7. Day and night retro attitude tests
8. H2 Stratification Test

Backup Crew Prelaunch:
Procedure was started at T-4 hours, performed via the Word Checklist (reading it on a small Kindle device to avoid printing it and wasting paper, and because I prefer to read things from paper). Added a V35 after computer power up, and completed in 51 minutes and 16 seconds. As feedback for the NASSP team: panel 227 is not modeled on the VC and some items for 600´s panels have to be completed using the 2D panels.

Prime Crew Prelaunch:
Procedure was started at T- 2:40:00 hours and was performed also via the word checklist. Concerns about the wind were discussed with the flight controllers and the launch was delayed 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

Saturn I-B Boost Procedure:
The Saturn I-B booster lifted off at 11:02:45 local time, and the boost procedure was done via the word checklist. It was observed that the cabin pressure did not decrease as expected, and that VC switches stopped working after first stage separation. SECO ocurred at 00:10:19 GET, and "Go for Orbit" was given at 00:11:03 GET. Insertion data was:

N62 VI +25547
N62 H DOT +00015
N62 H PAD +01230
N44 HA +01528
N44 HP +01229
N44 TFF -59 59

LVPD During S-IVB Burn: GET 00:06:00 30 0 OXID, 29 0 Fuel

LVPD after insertion: GET 00:15:30 0 2 OXID, 5 5 Fuel

Post Insertion Checks & config, S-IVB dump, S-IVB manual takeover demo:
Post insertion checks & config were done also following the Word Checklists, but a mistake was done by the crew. Half a page of checklist was skipped by mistake, and the radiator temps increased. This was later worked around and no issues were caused.
S-IVB Lox Dump was as expected, but MOCR had an electrical glitch, but caused no problems to the mission. Data during the dump is as follows:

LVPD GET 1:27:00 0 2 OXID, 5 5 Fuel
LVPD GET 1:48:30 0 1 OXID, 3 4 Fuel

S-IVB Passivation DV
DVX +0013.3
DVY -0001.9
DVZ +0009.6
DVC +16.9

S-IVB manual takeover demo went as planned, but the crew got a few seconds behind schedule. Rates and attitude were as planned.

S-IVB Sep and T&D Demo:
Separation from S-IVB occured at GET 2:55:00. VC Switches stopped working. Spacecraft got a little bit of pitch rate after the +X (expected). Pitch rate was 5º/s. S-IVB and docking target were clearly visible, but one panel failed to fully extend. Maneuvering the spacecraft was not like the simulator but it was easily manageable. Demo completed without issues, not being able to close very much to the S-IVB as the SLA panel failed to open completely.

Phasing maneuver:
Maneuver was performed one minute earlier by mistake (side note, crew said that there will be no more mistakes during the mission ), at GET 3:19:00 and the orbit change was:

Before Burn (PAD Plan):
HA +0165.7
HP +0123.0
After Burn:
HA +0165.9
HP +0123.2

Day and night retro attitude tests:
Retro attitude tests were "improvised" but data is as follows:

Day:
Plan: GET 6:10:00 R 179 P 138 Y 0
Actual: GET 6:10:00 R 177.60 P 130.94 Y 356.00

Night:
Plan: GET 6:50:00 R 180 P 339 Y 359
Actual: GET 6:50:45 R 183.76 P 333.63 Y 359.6

Crew took the first sleep cycle between GET 07:40:00 and GET 12:25:00. Crew felt good after the sleep cycle.

H2 Stratification test:
The first H2 stratification test was performed at 13:00:40 GET. Data is as follows:

Step 1 GET 13:00:40 H2 1 Press: 250; H2 2 Press: 250; H2 1 Qty: 94; H2 2 Qty 94;
Step 2 GET 14:55:45 H2 1 Press: 230; H2 2 Press: 230; H2 1 Qty: 93; H2 2 Qty 93;
Step 3 GET 15:23:15 H2 1 Press: 275; H2 2 Press: 275; H2 1 Qty: 93; H2 2 Qty 93;
Step 4 +1 minute: H2 1 Press: 272; H2 2 Press: 272; H2 1 Qty: 93; H2 2 Qty 93;
Step 4 +2 minute: H2 1 Press: 270; H2 2 Press: 270; H2 1 Qty: 93; H2 2 Qty 93;
Step 4 +3 minute: H2 1 Press: 270; H2 2 Press: 270; H2 1 Qty: 93; H2 2 Qty 93;
Step 4 +4 minute: H2 1 Press: 269; H2 2 Press: 269; H2 1 Qty: 93; H2 2 Qty 93;

An CRYO PRESS light was triggered as of the test, but went off a few moments later.

 

[rcflyinghokie]

As feedback for the NASSP team: panel 227 is not modeled on the VC and some items for 600´s panels have to be completed using the 2D panels.

I don't think 227 is in the 2D either, probably should be added. As for Panel 600, full proper functionality will be added with the CSM ECS overhaul I am working on. I believe only Panel 602 isn't clickable and 601 isn't working at the moment. What did you find missing?

 

[STS]

I don't think 227 is in the 2D either, probably should be added. As for Panel 600, full proper functionality will be added with the CSM ECS overhaul I am working on. I believe only Panel 602 isn't clickable and 601 isn't working at the moment. What did you find missing?

Will have to check what I found missing exactly, but I used the 2D panel for that as I felt more comfortable doing the 600´s stuff there.

 

[STS]

Flight Day 2:

During flight day two, the following activities were to be performed:

1. Systems Data Column 2
2. First O2 Stratification test
3. First and Second SPS burns (NCC 1, NSR)
4. Rendezvous with S-IVB
5. Phasing maneuver for separation from S-IVB
6. Housekeeping procedures

The day started with the H2 stratification test completion. It was explained on yesterday´s post. As explained, an CRYO PRESS light & MA was triggered at 15:22:50 GET, but was solved by placing the H2 heaters and fans to OFF at 15:42:21 GET until the light went off at around 15:50 GET.
A second phasing maneuver was scrubbed at 14:16:00.

Crew took a sleep cycle between 16:00:00 GET and 20:00:00 GET. Crew felt good after that:

A waste water dump was performed at 20:40:00 GET, and took 20 minutes.

Systems Data Column 2:
Second system data column was taken starting at 22:00:00 GET.

GET 22:00:00
SPS Tank Temp: +38ºF
SPS He PRESS +3850 PSIA
SPS N2A PRESS +2600 PSIA
SPS N2B PRESS +2600 PSIA
SPS QTY 23.9 %
SM PKG Temp: A: 125ºF B: 120ºF C: 118ºF D: 120ºF
SM He PRESS: A: 4050 PSIA B: 4000 PSIA C: 4000 PSIA D: 4000 PSIA
SM He Temp: A: 62ºF B: 54ºF C: 54ºF D: 58ºF
SM QTY: A: 385 lbs B: 380 lbs C: 382 lbs D: 380 lbs
EPS H2 QTY: 90%
EPS O2 QTY: 90%
FC Amps: 1: 20 2: 20 3: 22
MNA Volts: 28
MNB Volts: 27
BAT A Volts: 36
BAT B Volts: 36.5
Primary Radiator Inlet Temp: 83ºF
Primery Radiator Outlet Temp: 5ºF
Primery Evaporator Outlet Temp: 47ºF
Glycol Pump Press: 37
Suit Temperature: 58ºF
Cabin Temperature: 71ºF
Suit pressure: 5.2 PSIA
Cabin Pressure: 4.7 PSIA
CO2 Part Pressure: 2 mmHG

First O2 Stratification test:

The first Oxygen stratification test was started at GET 24:10:10. Data oir the test is as follows:

Step 1 GET 24:10:30 O2 1 Press: 920; O2 2 Press: 920; H2 1 Qty: 90; O2 2 Qty 90;
Step 2 GET 30:07:50 O2 1 Press: 850; O2 2 Press: 850; H2 1 Qty: 89; O2 2 Qty 89;
Step 3 GET 30:24:50 O2 1 Press: 950; O2 2 Press: 950; H2 1 Qty: 89; O2 2 Qty 89;
Step 4 +1 minute: O2 1 Press: -; O2 2 Press: -; H2 1 Qty: -; O2 2 Qty -;
Step 4 +2 minute: O2 1 Press: -; O2 2 Press: -; H2 1 Qty: -; O2 2 Qty -;
Step 4 +3 minute: O2 1 Press: -; O2 2 Press: -; H2 1 Qty: -; O2 2 Qty -;
Step 4 +4 minute: O2 1 Press: -; O2 2 Press: -; H2 1 Qty: -; O2 2 Qty -;
(Can´t remember reason why I dint record data for step 4...)

MA Was triggered, CRYO PRESS, at GET 30:24:30.

First and Second SPS burns (NCC 1, NSR):
First SPS Burn was performed without important issues at 26:24:55.54. Crew said "Yabadabaduu" because SPS kicked in harder than expected. Burn was performed with 15 seconds 4 jet ullage and A+B thrust switches on, TVC G&N, SPS On/Off G&N. Propellant usage was 1.4%. Burn time was about 8 seconds.

NCC 2 Burn was not required.

Stutter on the simulation was beginning to be noticed. Later on the mission it was proved that it was caused by the particles around the CSM caused by automatic dumps, urine dumps and waste dumps. Stutter is stopped by reloading the simulation.

Second SPS Burn was performed also without anything special to comment. Burn was performed with 15 seconds 4 jet ullage and A+B thrust switches on, TVC G&N, SPS On/Off G&N. Couches were set in seated position for this burn. Propellant usage was 1.3%. Burn time was about 7.8 seconds.

Rendezvous with S-IVB
Rendezvous with the S-IVB worked very good and was performed with less issues than those on the simulator. I have to make a note that the crew trained the rendezvous a lot and NASSP guys helped me a lot there. This rendezvous is probably the hardest on the Apollo Program. S-IVB visibility was good, but on the night side the vessel marker had to be enabled. Computer took around 3 minutes to compute solutions after the marking sequences (as expected). Solutions were as follows:

TPI Solution 1: GET 29:25:18.92
TPI Solution 2: GET 29:24:14.17
TPI Solution 3: GET 29:24:14.17
Didn´t take note of DV´s because of the high workload, but it´s visible on part 4 of the real time simulation video.

No mistake was done when running P35 (it was very easy to do mistakes) and rendezvous completed without issues. Maybe the final approach speed was a bit low, but I didn´t want to risk. Fuel usage was above the curve. Faith helped to find the S-IVB on COAS, as discussed on another threads the vessel marker dissapears making it challenging to find the S-IVB. As feedback for the NASSP team, I will comment that there are mistakes on the checklist of Checklist MFD for the flashing verb and noun after completing marking sequences. A graphical glitch that seems related to shadows appears on windows 2 and 4 on the VC when markers are enabled (F9).

A little bit of maneuvering was required to keep a proper keepstation.

Phasing maneuver for separation from S-IVB:
Separation maneuver was performed at GET 30:20:00, a 2 FPS burn with RCS thrusters.

Housekeeping procedures were performed between 30:25:00 GET and 35:06:00 where the crew started another sleep cycle.

 

[rcflyinghokie]

As feedback for the NASSP team, I will comment that there are mistakes on the checklist of Checklist MFD for the flashing verb and noun after completing marking sequences.

As with your comments on panel 600, could you be more specific? Your feedback is a bit general and makes it hard to pinpoint the errors to actually fix. There are many marking sequences throughout the checklist so knowing which ones and which verbs/nouns were incorrect would help us a lot.

 

[STS]

As with your comments on panel 600, could you be more specific? Your feedback is a bit general and makes it hard to pinpoint the errors to actually fix. There are many marking sequences throughout the checklist so knowing which ones and which verbs/nouns were incorrect would help us a lot.

Yeah, sorry about that. As I was explaining on IRC, I want to enumerate things first during the debriefing and then go into details. But those are easier than I thought:

About panels 600´s. On the VC you can see all the panels but two items on them, wich are there, but I felt comfier using the 2D panel there.

About panel 227, I skipped it . I knew it was off. and didn´t bother switching to 2D for that because I was 100% sure that it was off. On the 2D panel it´s on the RH panels:

https://www.orbiter-forum.com/threads/vc-graphical-issues-and-observations.39866/post-581777

 

[rcflyinghokie]

Oh ok I thought you said the 600s were missing a panel in 2D

 

[STS]

... There are many marking sequences throughout the checklist so knowing which ones and which verbs/nouns were incorrect would help us a lot.

Errors here are as follows:

• Apollo 7 Checklists.xls, rows 115-119

It should be:
114 - F51
115 - (Last mark being processed)
116 - PRO (Accept marking sequence)
117 - (Goes to F16 45 while marking sequence is being Processed)
118 - F06 49
119 - PRO
120 - F 16 45 (wait around 5 seconds for mark counter R1 to increase by one unit)

• Rows 177-181

It should be:
176 - F06 49
177 - PRO (Accept Mark)
178 - F51
179 - (Last mark being processed)
180 - PRO (Accept marking sequence)
181 - (Goes to F16 45 while marking sequence is being Processed)
182 - F06 49
183 - PRO
184 - F 16 45 (wait around 5 seconds for mark counter R1 to increase by one unit)

• Rows 259-265

It should be (same as above):
259 - F06 49
260 - PRO (Accept Mark)
261 - F51
262 - (Last mark being processed)
263 - PRO (Accept marking sequence)
264 - (Goes to F16 45 while marking sequence is being Processed)
265 - F06 49
267 - PRO
268 - F 16 45 (wait around 5 seconds for mark counter R1 to increase by one unit)

• Rows 380-386

It should be (same as above):
380 - F06 49
381 - PRO (Accept Mark)
382 - F51
383 - (Last mark being processed)
384 - PRO (Accept marking sequence)
385 - (Goes to F16 45 while marking sequence is being Processed)
386 - F06 49
387 - PRO
388 - F 16 45 (wait around 5 seconds for mark counter R1 to increase by one unit)

• And the same should apply for rows 427-433:

427 - F06 49
428 - PRO (Accept Mark)
429 - F51
430 - (Last mark being processed)
431 - PRO (Accept marking sequence)
432 - (Goes to F16 45 while marking sequence is being Processed)
433 - F06 49
434 - PRO
435 - F 16 45 (wait around 5 seconds for mark counter R1 to increase by one unit)

Best regards,

 

[rcflyinghokie]

Each checklist xls file has many sub checklists in it, again which procedure are you referring to.

 

[STS]

Each checklist xls file has many sub checklists in it, again which procedure are you referring to.

Woops!

"Rendezvous Procedures" sheet/tab.

 

[rcflyinghokie]

Thanks! I will investigate.

 

[STS]

Flight Day 3:

During flight day three, the following activities were to be performed:

1. S-IVB Tracking at a distance of 170 nm
2. Systems Data Column 3
3. Attitude hold test
4. S-IVB tracking at a distance of 320 nm
5. G&N Power down

Crew´s sleep period wich started at GET 35:06:00 ended at 39:20:00 GET. Crew felt good but maybe starting to feel some tiredness.

Crew noted that they were expecting a P52 Option 3 realign at 39:30:00 GET, but noted that it is not shown on Checklist MFD. (Apollo 7 Checklist.xls, Flightplan tab, no row for that, but appears on Flightplan/Apollo 7 Flight Plan.doc):

A waste water dump was performed starting at GET 41:00:00. Finished at 41:20:00

By mistake an SPS line heater was left on during the last sleep cycle and the SPS temperature gauge was off scale-high. Crew took action by turning the heater off and pointing the spacecraft away from the sun.

I performed various tests to troubleshoot the stuttering issues. It was determined that it was not caused by OBS or by my PC configuration. Orbiter session was reloaded at GET 41:45:00.

S-IVB Tracking at a distance of 170 nm:
By using P20, S-IVB was tracked at a distance of 170 nm by using Sextant. It appeared as any other star, had to wait a little for sunrise:

Systems Data Column 3:
Third system data column was taken starting at 45:00:00 GET:

GET 45:00:00
SPS Tank Temp: +180ºF
SPS He PRESS +3300 PSIA
SPS N2A PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS N2B PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS QTY 21.4 %
SM PKG Temp: A: 117ºF B: 125ºF C: 117ºF D: 120ºF
SM He PRESS: A: 3300 PSIA B: 3350 PSIA C: 3300 PSIA D: 3350 PSIA
SM He Temp: A: 54ºF B: 58ºF C: 56ºF D: 57ºF
SM QTY: A: 240 lbs B: 245 lbs C: 240 lbs D: 245 lbs
EPS H2 QTY: 85%
EPS O2 QTY: 87%
FC Amps: 1: 20 2: 20 3: 23
MNA Volts: 28
MNB Volts: 27.5
BAT A Volts: 37
BAT B Volts: 36.5
Primary Radiator Inlet Temp: 83ºF
Primery Radiator Outlet Temp: 10ºF
Primery Evaporator Outlet Temp: 47ºF
Glycol Pump Press: 37
Suit Temperature: 59ºF
Cabin Temperature: 70ºF
Suit pressure: 5.2 PSIA
Cabin Pressure: 4.7 PSIA
CO2 Part Pressure: 2 mmHG

Attitude hold test:
This activity was started at GET 48:00:00. Data is as follows: Will try my best. You can see the test here:

:

Attitude Control Tests
GET Test 1,2,9 & 10: 48:02:15.0
Body Rates (Prior to Att. Hold): R: 000.1
P: 000.2
Y: 000.1
GET Start Test 3,4,5,7,8: 48:09:46
Begin: R 0, P 0 Y 0.
Maneuver Rate: 0.1
Coclusion R 0, P 0, Y 0
GET Stop: 48:30:15
Maneuver rate: 0.5

Rate Reversals:
GET Start Test 1,2,7&10 R p Y
48:29:40 48:09:46
48:12:03
48:13:00
48:14:29
48:15:47
48:17:13
48:18:35
48:19:55
48:21:25
48:22:53
48:24:10
48:25:20
48:26:45
48:28:07
48:29:40

Crew looked at the Moon through Sextant at 50:49:00 GET by maneuvering the optics manually (just for fun).

S-IVB tracking at a distance of 320 nm:
By using P20, S-IVB was tracked at a distance of 320 nm by using Sextant. It appeared as a tiny dot of light.

G&N Power down:
As last activity for FD3, the G&N system (SCS, IMU, OSS) was powered down at GET 54:30:00, except for the computer. ISS light remained on, but was expected as per the power down.

Crew started an 9.5 hour sleep cycle at GET 57:50:00, concluding FD3 activities.

 

[thermocalc]

great job and mission have you done STS, you gave me "hope" to can accomplish A7 finally, the RNDZ part was totally mysterious, at least with your videos and previous treats I may have a starting point ... really great videos (for now I am still "stacked" learning using the LM, and still "staked" on Tranquility Base), so probably I will start A7 only beginning of next year, but I will follow you up closely...hope you will do in the same detailed and descriptive manner also all other missions, and if already done some please let me know where can I find your videos.
all the best and stay healthy---

 

[STS]

Flight Day 4:
During flight day four the following activities were to be performed:

1. Systems Data Column 4
2. G&N power up
3. First TV transmission
4. Third SPS Burn
5. G&N power down
6. Waste water dump

Systems Data Column 4:
Fourth column of systems data was recorded and is as follows:

GET 68:00:00
SPS Tank Temp: +23ºF
SPS He PRESS +3300 PSIA
SPS N2A PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS N2B PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS QTY 21.4 %
SM PKG Temp: A: 118ºF B: 123ºF C: 125ºF D: 135ºF
SM He PRESS: A: 3300 PSIA B: 3350 PSIA C: 3350 PSIA D: 3340 PSIA
SM He Temp: A: 54ºF B: 57ºF C: 60ºF D: 63ºF
SM QTY: A: 240 lbs B: 242 lbs C: 240 lbs D: 242 lbs
EPS H2 QTY: 76%
EPS O2 QTY: 78%
FC Amps: 1: 16 2: 16 3: 26
MNA Volts: 30
MNB Volts: 27.5
BAT A Volts: 37
BAT B Volts: 36
Primary Radiator Inlet Temp: 87ºF
Primery Radiator Outlet Temp: 25ºF
Primery Evaporator Outlet Temp: 45ºF
Glycol Pump Press: 37
Suit Temperature: 59ºF
Cabin Temperature: 71ºF
Suit pressure: 5.2 PSIA
Cabin Pressure: 4.8 PSIA
CO2 Part Pressure: 2 mmHG

G&N power up:
Systems powered down at 54:30:00 GET were powered up again at 69:00:00 GET. P51 IMU orientation and P52 IMU realign with option 2 and GET 70:58:00 were performed. A GDC align to IMU was also done.

First TV transmission:
First TV transmission from a CSM in orbit was performed at GET 71:41:41 (Corpus Christi AOS) where the crew placed the S Band Aux TV switch to TV. Some camera adjustment was required, but the TV transmission was received on ground.

Transmission ended at 71:52:09 at Merrit LOS.

Third SPS Burn:
Third SPS burn was performed at 75:49:52 GET, with 15 seconds 4 jet ullage and A+B thrust switches on, TVC SCS Auto, SPS On/Off pb On EMS Off. Crew pressed the "Thrust On" button as intended at TIG. Burn time was around 8 seconds. Fuel usage was 1.3 %. Engine gave a good punch and spacecraft got some rates. Crew didnt set the gimbals before the burn. A slosh damp test was performed.

G&N power down:
G&N systems were powered down, including the computer at 76:30:00 GET. Computer will not be on standby for more than 20 hours.

Waste water dump:
As last activity of the day, a waste water dump was performed at 83:00:40 GET. Ended at 83:28:46.

Crew started a sleep cycle between 83:30:00 GET and 87:30:00 GET.

 

[STS]

Flight Day 5:
During flight day five the following activities were to be performed:

1. Systems Data Column 5
2. G&N power up
3. Radiator degradation test
4. Second H2 Stratification test
5. Second TV transmission
6. G&N power down

Day started with the crew waking up at 87:30:00. Crew status was not 100%, was tired and sleepy for the first hours of the day. Crew reported that didn´t sleep too well.

Crew took a power nap between 92:13:00 GET and 92:26:30 GET. (Crew slept for 2 minutes and reported that it was good).
As crew was not coordinating properly, crew took a power nap between 94:45:00 and 95:07:35. (Crew reported that they resurrected after the nap).

Systems Data Column 5:
Fifth column of systems data was recorded and is as follows:

GET 88:00:00
SPS Tank Temp: +62ºF
SPS He PRESS +3075 PSIA
SPS N2A PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS N2B PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS QTY 20.1 %
SM PKG Temp: A: 117ºF B: 122ºF C: 121ºF D: 119ºF
SM He PRESS: A: 3200 PSIA B: 3200 PSIA C: 3225 PSIA D: 3200 PSIA
SM He Temp: A: 54ºF B: 60ºF C: 58ºF D: 56ºF
SM QTY: A: 222 lbs B: 220 lbs C: 222 lbs D: 220 lbs
EPS H2 QTY: 71%
EPS O2 QTY: 74%
FC Amps: 1: 18 2: 18 3: 17
MNA Volts: 29.5
MNB Volts: 30
BAT A Volts: 37
BAT B Volts: 37
Primary Radiator Inlet Temp: 87ºF
Primery Radiator Outlet Temp: 23ºF
Primery Evaporator Outlet Temp: 46ºF
Glycol Pump Press: 37
Suit Temperature: 59ºF
Cabin Temperature: 71ºF
Suit pressure: 5.2 PSIA
Cabin Pressure: 4.8 PSIA
CO2 Part Pressure: 2 mmHG

G&N power up:
Just as FD4, systems powered down at 76:30:00 were powered back on at 89:30:40 GET. P51 IMU orientation and P52 IMU realign with option 3 were performed. A GDC align to IMU was also done.

Radiator degradation test:
The radiator degradation test was started at 92:35:15. Data is as follows. Test can be seen on the video:

GET Start: 92:35:30
CDU: R 045.0 P 000.0 Y 000.0
GET Stop: 93:13

GET Start: 93:52:30
CDU: R 350.0 P 000.0 Y 000.0
GET Stop: 94:41

GET Start: 95:19:10
CDU: R 340.0 P 000.0 Y 000.0
GET Stop: 96:04

GET Start: 96:50:00
CDU: R 350.0 P 000.0 Y 000.0
GET Stop: 97:00:00

Radiator degradation test was complete at 97:00:15

Second H2 Stratification test:
The second H2 stratification test was performed at GET 94:12:30. Crew by mistake forgot, and was performed later than scheduled. (Radiator degradation test was running)

Step 1 GET 94:12:30 H2 1 Press: 240; H2 2 Press: 240; H2 1 Qty: 70; H2 2 Qty 70;
Step 2 GET 94:23:10 H2 1 Press: 230; H2 2 Press: 230; H2 1 Qty: 69; H2 2 Qty 69;
Step 3 GET 94:40:00 H2 1 Press: 270; H2 2 Press: 270; H2 1 Qty: 69; H2 2 Qty 69;
Step 4 +1 minute: H2 1 Press: 275; H2 2 Press: 275; H2 1 Qty: 69; H2 2 Qty 69;
Step 4 +2 minute: H2 1 Press: 280; H2 2 Press: 280; H2 1 Qty: 69; H2 2 Qty 69;
Step 4 +3 minute: H2 1 Press: 280; H2 2 Press: 280; H2 1 Qty: 69; H2 2 Qty 69;
Step 4 +4 minute: H2 1 Press: 275; H2 2 Press: 275; H2 1 Qty: 69; H2 2 Qty 69;

CRYO PRESS alarm was triggered. H2 fans and heaters were left on AUTO. The light went away after some time.

Second TV transmission:
The second TV transmission started at 95:25:40. TV camera was reconfigured to black and white and quality was better than FD4 TV transmission. NASSP´s Deke Slayton equivalent was asked if he was a turtle. He has to answer before Apollo 8. Transmission ended at 95:33:30.

G&N power down:
G&N systems were powered down, including the computer at 99:30:00 GET. Computer will not be on standby for more than 20 hours.

To coclude FD5, crew started a sleep cycle between 106:48:00 GET and 114:40:00 GET.

 

[STS]

Flight Day 6:
Activities for the day are as follows:

1. Systems Data Column 6
2. G&N Power up
3. Third TV transmission
4. Fourth SPS Burn
5. P22 Orbital Navigation
6. P23 Star/Horizon Sighting
7. G&N Power down
8. Waste water dump
9. Second O2 Stratification test

Day started with the crew waking up at 114:42:00 GET. SPS Line Heater A/B was turned on at crew wake up as the SPS propellant temperature was reading 0. Crew status was good at wakeup.

Systems Data Column 6:
Sixth column of systems data was recorded and is as follows:

GET 115:00:00
SPS Tank Temp: +37ºF
SPS He PRESS +3075 PSIA
SPS N2A PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS N2B PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS QTY 20.1 %
SM PKG Temp: A: 121ºF B: 123ºF C: 118ºF D: 121ºF
SM He PRESS: A: 3200 PSIA B: 3200 PSIA C: 3150 PSIA D: 3160 PSIA
SM He Temp: A: 56ºF B: 60ºF C: 54ºF D: 54ºF
SM QTY: A: 217 lbs B: 215 lbs C: 210 lbs D: 210 lbs
EPS H2 QTY: 64%
EPS O2 QTY: 69%
FC Amps: 1: 18 2: 18 3: 19
MNA Volts: 30
MNB Volts: 29.5
BAT A Volts: 37
BAT B Volts: 37
Primary Radiator Inlet Temp: 90ºF
Primery Radiator Outlet Temp: 40ºF
Primery Evaporator Outlet Temp: 45ºF
Glycol Pump Press: 37
Suit Temperature: 60ºF
Cabin Temperature: 70ºF
Suit pressure: 5.2 PSIA
Cabin Pressure: 5 PSIA
CO2 Part Pressure: 2 mmHG

G&N Power up:
Systems powered down at 99:30:00 were powered back on at 117:00:00 GET. P51 IMU orientation and P52 IMU realign with option 2 GET 120:43:00 were performed. A GDC align to IMU was also done. Before the P51, crew yawed 45º to avoid falling in Gimbal Lock.

Third TV transmission:
The third TV transmission from Apollo 7 started at 119:08:00 and ended at 119:15:45. Camera was reconfigured back to color and quality was better than on previous transmissions.

Fourth SPS Burn:
Fourth SPS burn was performed at 120:43:00 GET, with 20 seconds 2 jet ullage and A thrust switch on, TVC G&N, SPS On/Off G&N. As recommendation from MCC-H, crew added 4.3 fps to the +X DV on P30 and also added to EMS. Burn time was around 1 second. Fuel usage was 0.1 %. Data was recorded this time and is as follows:

Mnvr Purpose : SPS-4
TIG: 120:43:00
N81 DVX: +00154
DVY: +00000
DVZ: +00000
N42 DVT: +00154
EMS DVC: +5.7
N44 HA: +01592
HP: +00928
SPS QTY: 20.1
After Burn:
N85 DVX: -00013
DVY: +00002
DVZ: +00003
EMS DVC: -9.9
N44 HA: +0165.6
HP: +0092.9
SPS QTY: 20.0

P22 Orbital Navigation:
Crew had some fun with P22 orbit navigation. MCC-H provided the crew, during spare time on FD-5 instructions to get Landmark Tracking PAD´s using RTCC MFD, and also a landmark map. Those were very helpful.
Crew learned that optics are intended to be moved manually to the landmark when pitchdown starts. It was shown that 20 seconds between marks maybe it not the best interval for Earth, it is maybe between 20 and 17 seconds. Also, the crew learned how to react to Program alarms during P22.
Crew got some results, and are as follows:

GET	Landmark	DR	DV	SV Updated (Y/N)
122:20:00	10	+00163	+00000	N
-	67	-	-	-
122:40:00	141	+00129	+01019	N

No data for Landmark 67 was recorded because crew missed the target.

P23 Star/Horizon Sighting:
At 123:42:00 GET a P23 was tested with Star 37 and NEH option, and Star 45 NEH, but failed miserably. Later it was known that as we use Apollo 8 software, P23 can´t work properly below 420 nm of altitude (correct this if that is wrong) and that it is very hard, if not impossible to perform a P23 on earth orbit, as the horizon will move if you don´t pitch to track it, and the stars will move if you pitch to track it.

G&N Power down:
As previous days, G&N systems were powered down, including the computer at GET 124:20:00.

Waste water dump:
A waste dump was performed starting at GET 127:40:00 and finishing at 128:06:40.

Second O2 Stratification test:
Second O2 stratification test was performed starting at 131:01:00 and finishing at 134:36:00. Crew was scheduled to start the sleep cycle at 133:30:00, so that bothered the crew a little bit. Also, a Master Alarm CRYO PRESS was triggered. By using the AOH, crew started an O2 Purge on the fuel cells at around 135:13:04, because didn´t want to leave O2 heaters and fans OFF for the sleep cycle.

To conclude FD6, crew started an sleep cycle (delayed) between 135:20:00 and 137:45:00.

 

[STS]

Flight Day 7:
Activities for the day are as follows:

1. Systems Data Column 7
2. G&N Power up
3. Manual State Vector Update
4. Fourth TV transmission
5. P22 Orbital Navigation
6. P23 Star/Horizon Sighting
7. G&N Power down

Day started with the crew waking up at 137:45:00 GET, Crew was tired at wake up but started to work on the first activity of the day.

Systems Data Column 7:
Seventh column of systems data was taken at 138:00:00 GET.

GET 138:00:00
SPS Tank Temp: +27ºF
SPS He PRESS +3000 PSIA
SPS N2A PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS N2B PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS QTY 20.0 %
SM PKG Temp: A: 122ºF B: 120ºF C: 122ºF D: 122ºF
SM He PRESS: A: 3180 PSIA B: 3180 PSIA C: 3100 PSIA D: 3120 PSIA
SM He Temp: A: 64ºF B: 63ºF C: 65ºF D: 66ºF
SM QTY: A: 197 lbs B: 200 lbs C: 196 lbs D: 200 lbs
EPS H2 QTY: 59%
EPS O2 QTY: 62%
FC Amps: 1: 18 2: 18 3: 24
MNA Volts: 32
MNB Volts: 28
BAT A Volts: 37
BAT B Volts: 37
Primary Radiator Inlet Temp: 85ºF
Primery Radiator Outlet Temp: 10ºF
Primery Evaporator Outlet Temp: 47ºF
Glycol Pump Press: 37
Suit Temperature: 58ºF
Cabin Temperature: 72ºF
Suit pressure: 5.2 PSIA
Cabin Pressure: 5 PSIA
CO2 Part Pressure: 2 mmHG

G&N Power up:
Systems powered down at 124:20:00 GET were powered back on at 139:00:00 GET. A P51 and P52 with option 2 and GET 141:14:00. Crew got a little bit behind flightplan as spacecraft´s opics were not pointing at stars and mistakes during P51. GDC Alignment to IMU was peformed at 139:53:00

Manual State Vector Update:
A manual state vector update was performed at 139:45:20 GET. To help users, it´s as follows: You enter V71E, verify P27 is displayed. You enter the Index from the State Vector Update PAD: 304 01 INDEX 21, so 21E and then enter the data on the pad, pressing E to go to the next data entry. When you see 00330 on R3, it is possible to verify the data entered. Do V1N1E. Enter the "register" that you want to check: 304E. Data entered previously is shown on R1. Do N15E, and 00305 will be shown on R3 with the corresponding data on R1. Press E to go to the next ones, 306,307,310 (remember, octal), etc... and compare data shown on R1 with the PAD. Press KEY REL to end verification. Press PRO and confirm P00 displayed. Verify state vector with P21 and a Nav Check PAD.
It can be seen here:

Fourth TV transmission:
The fourth TV started at 141:18:00 GET, at Corpus Christi AOS, and ended at 141:25:55. Camera was set as on the previous FD.

P22 Orbital Navigation:
Today, crew had a great chance to practice P22 landmark tracking, and P52 IMU realigns were performed on each night pass for two orbits. Crew was able to move the optics manually and got better results than on previous day. A problem ocured with landmark 209. It was covered in clouds and was not visible. Data is as follows:

GET	Landmark	DR	DV	SV Updated (Y/N)
142:46:00	8	+00000	+00000	Y
143:01:00	37	+00000	+00000	Y
143:16:00	209	+00000	+00000	Y

144:31:00	18	+00000	+00000	Y
145:04:00	225	+00000	+00000	Y
146:04:20	10	+00000	+00000	Y
146:24:40	142	+00000	+00000	Y

It was seen that crew got all balls on all the P22 runs. Don´t have a conclusion on why is that.

P23 Star/Horizon Sighting:
P23 was run again testing Earth Horizon and Lunar near horizon, and things failed again. It was confirmed that the lunar horizon test was for sure the altitude limitation on Apollo 8 software that we were running.

G&N Power down:
G&N and computer were powered down at 148:00:00 GET.

Crew took a nap between 150:40:30 and 151:53:00 GET.

To conclude the day, crew started a sleep cycle between 154:09:00 to 158:45:00.

 

[STS]

Flight Day 8:
Activities for the day are as follows:

1. Systems Data Column 8
2. G&N Power up
3. Fifth SPS Burn
4. PTC Test
5. SPS Propellant Thermal Control Test
6. G&N Power down

Day started with crew wake up at 158:45:00. Crew felt good after wakeup.
Crew took a power nap between 167:15:00 GET and 167:38:30 GET.
Starting today, dumps were avoided to prevent particles to be formed around the spacecraft, that causes stutter after some time.

Systems Data Column 8:
Eight column of systems data was taken and is as follows:

GET 159:00:00
SPS Tank Temp: +33ºF
SPS He PRESS +3050 PSIA
SPS N2A PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS N2B PRESS +2400 PSIA
SPS QTY 20.0 %
SM PKG Temp: A: 135ºF B: 120ºF C: 122ºF D: 125ºF
SM He PRESS: A: 3100 PSIA B: 3075 PSIA C: 3000 PSIA D: 3050 PSIA
SM He Temp: A: 65ºF B: 58ºF C: 65ºF D: 64ºF
SM QTY: A: 184 lbs B: 182 lbs C: 180 lbs D: 180 lbs
EPS H2 QTY: 52%
EPS O2 QTY: 58%
FC Amps: 1: 18 2: 18 3: 17.5
MNA Volts: 29.5
MNB Volts: 30
BAT A Volts: 36.5
BAT B Volts: 37
Primary Radiator Inlet Temp: 85ºF
Primery Radiator Outlet Temp: 25ºF
Primery Evaporator Outlet Temp: 47ºF
Glycol Pump Press: 37
Suit Temperature: 59.5ºF
Cabin Temperature: 71ºF
Suit pressure: 5.2 PSIA
Cabin Pressure: 5 PSIA
CO2 Part Pressure: 2 mmHG

G&N Power up:
G&N systems that were powered down on the previous Flight Day at 148:00:00 GET were put online again at 160:40:00 GET. P51 IMU orientation was performed.

Fifth SPS Burn:
This burn, wich was the most challenging burn for the mission (longest SPS-burn with a crew aboard CSM, and with manual TVC control takeover, and manual shutdown via the thrust switches) was performed at 165:07:10.41 GET. Crew had difficulty pointing sextant to star for attitude check, in fact, couldn´t do it. Star wasn´t there at T-10 minutes, wich according to checklist MFD is when that test is performed for all burns, but attitude was correct. (For NASSP team: Is that an issue on checklist, wich needs to be specific for each burn, or is that an issue with PAD calculations, as not having into account that star may be behind Earth at T-10 minutes?)
MTVC was taken at TIG +30 seconds, maneuvering the CSM was not like in the simulator, but manageable. Crew had problem with the switches on the VC when the EMS showed +100 fps, moment of shutdown. NASSP team implemented this to avoid this problem in the future:

V8 Release Work Thread

The update I was talking about in the last post is now released. The CSM now has a center of gravity that shifts depending on (mainly) SPS propellant mass being burned. That means that for all SPS burns you now need to use SPS trim gimbal angles that are non-zero. The MCC and RTCC MFD should be...

www.orbiter-forum.com

As a result of the shutdown problem, burn had a lot of residuals, and orbit was higher than expected. After reviewing the data, the mission was still go, but changed to the flighplan would have to be done in the coming up days.
Data for the burn is as follows:

Mnvr Purpose : SPS-5
TIG: 165:07:10.4
N81 DVX: +0086.5
DVY: +1593.1
DVZ: +0230.8
N42 DVT: +16120
EMS DVC: +17120
N44 HA: +0168.3
HP: +00930
SPS QTY: 20.0
After Burn:
N85 DVX: -00947
DVY: +00515
DVZ: +00330
EMS DVC: 4.6
N44 HA: +0273.9
HP: +0094.5
SPS QTY: 8.8

Burn can be seen here:

PTC Test:
PTC test/demo was started at GET 166:09:20, on PTC attitude 0,0,0. PTC Test was finished at 167:12:10 GET. PTC was a little ustable, maybe because the attitude was not trimmed properly at the start of PTC.

SPS Propellant Thermal Control Test:
This test was started at GET 168:02:15 when the attitue change to start it completed. Test completed at 171:00:00. Crew reported that maybe just a little bit of SPS line heater is required to maintain the temp. Maybe caused by the nightime passes while in orbit.

G&N Power down:
G&N systems, including computer were powered down at 171:20:00 GET.
Later, the crew realized that they couldn´t have the computer on standby (21 hours, exceeds the 20 hour limit), so the computer was brought back online at 172:38:27. At computer power up a F37 was not displayed, instead a 50 25 00062 was shown. Clock was also unsyncronized. This was caused by a Virtual AGC issue with a downrupt. (Correct me if I am wrong here). Clock was syncronized again at 173:48:00 via an uplink and RTCC MFD. Computer was left on and periodically clock checks were performed.

To end the day, crew started an sleep cycle between 174:15:00 and 180:30:00

 

[rcflyinghokie]

For NASSP team: Is that an issue on checklist, wich needs to be specific for each burn, or is that an issue with PAD calculations, as not having into account that star may be behind Earth at T-10 minutes?

The check time is usually based on when it was in the flight plan. Most missions this is 15-30 minutes before the TIG. However this also was greatly dependent on when in sun or shadow especially in LEO as the reflection off of the earth and atmosphere (and the moon when in LPO) would wash out some stars. This burn in particular was performed right before sunrise necessitating a short interval between the check and TIG. I haven't looked at 7's checklist MFD, but when it gets a comb through and updated MCC, these will be adjusted to the proper times as well as the angles adjusted in MCC to better fit the TFI intervals for each star check.

 

[STS]

Flight Day 9:
Activities for the day are as follows:

1. Systems Data Column 9
2. Secondary Coolant Loop Test
3. Inverter Changeover
4. Fifth TV transmission
5. G&N Power up, backup IMU orientation and aligns, G&N power down
6. Last O2 Stratification test.

Day 9 started with the crew waking up at 180:11:30. Crew status was good.
A test with the computer to test the standby mode as of the problem of FD8, computer was put on standby at 181:47:16 GET. It was then recovered from standby correctly at GET 181:53:18, and the clock was checked. As tests passed, CMC was put on standby again at 182:03:17 until the next G&N power up.
Crew took a power nap between 186:46:00 GET and 187:06:00.
Crew took a nap between 189:35:00 and 192:06:00 GET.

Systems Data Column 9:
Ninth column of systems data was taken and is as follows:

GET 181:00:00
SPS Tank Temp: +0ºF
SPS He PRESS +1450 PSIA
SPS N2A PRESS +2300 PSIA
SPS N2B PRESS +2350 PSIA
SPS QTY 8.8 %
SM PKG Temp: A: 120ºF B: 115ºF C: 117ºF D: 130ºF
SM He PRESS: A: 3050 PSIA B: 3000 PSIA C: 3000 PSIA D: 3050 PSIA
SM He Temp: A: 58ºF B: 55ºF C: 58ºF D: 62ºF
SM QTY: A: 170 lbs B: 162 lbs C: 162 lbs D: 163 lbs
EPS H2 QTY: 45%
EPS O2 QTY: 52%
FC Amps: 1: 19 2: 19 3: 18
MNA Volts: 29
MNB Volts: 29.5
BAT A Volts: 36
BAT B Volts: 36.5
Primary Radiator Inlet Temp: 85ºF
Primery Radiator Outlet Temp: 20ºF
Primery Evaporator Outlet Temp: 45ºF
Glycol Pump Press: 37
Suit Temperature: 59ºF
Cabin Temperature: 71ºF
Suit pressure: 5.2 PSIA
Cabin Pressure: 5 PSIA
CO2 Part Pressure: 2 mmHG

Secondary Coolant Loop Test:
Secondary coolant loop test was started at 183:40:00. Temperatures were monitored, but as crew didn´t have clear the temperature ranges for the test, Inlet Rad Temp was off scale hi on primary radiator and 65ºF on secondary (for the crew, very high and very low).
Test was complete ("interrupted") at 187:31:40 GET.

Inverter Changeover:
As per flightplan, the Inverter changeover was performed at 187:20:00 GET.
At the following step (INV 2 - OFF):

some parts of the spacecraft I think that went off, but went back on after "INV 2 AC2 - OFF" and "INV 3 AC2 - ON". Now I understand, that systems on MNB went off between the changeover. Correct me if that is not what happened.
Test was complete without further comments at 187:25:00. Temperatures "normalized" approximately at 188:10:00 GET.

Fifth TV transmission:
Fifth TV transmission started at 189:22:05 GET, it was 18 minutes later than planned because as of the result of SPS-5, orbit was higher.
Crew sent an important message for mankind:

Transmission ended at 189:31:03 GET.

G&N Power up, backup IMU orientation and aligns, G&N power down:
G&N systems, including computer were brough back online at GET 192:40:00. Computer was OK after the power up.
P53 IMU orientation was done by using COAS.
P54 IMU realign was performed with Option 3 and with COAS. Crew had difficulty finding the stars, as didn´t knew their position in space.

You can see the procedures here:

P52 IMU realign Option 2 with GET 000:00:00 was performed. GDC Alignment to IMU was also performed.

G&N systems, including computer were put on standby at 194:45:00 GET.

Last O2 Stratification test:
The last O2 Stratification test was performed at 197:00:20. Data is as follows:

Step 1 GET 197:00:20 O2 1 Press: 890; O2 2 Press: 890; H2 1 Qty: 49.5; O2 2 Qty 49.5;
Step 2 GET 199:30:00 O2 1 Press: 849; O2 2 Press: 849; H2 1 Qty: 49; O2 2 Qty 49;
Step 3 GET 199:35:00 O2 1 Press: 925; O2 2 Press: 925; H2 1 Qty: 49; O2 2 Qty 49;
Step 4 +1 minute: O2 1 Press: 940; O2 2 Press: 940; H2 1 Qty: 48.5; O2 2 Qty 48.5;
Step 4 +2 minute: O2 1 Press: 945; O2 2 Press: 945; H2 1 Qty: 48.5; O2 2 Qty 48.5;
Step 4 +3 minute: O2 1 Press: 950; O2 2 Press: 950; H2 1 Qty: 48.5; O2 2 Qty 48.5;
Step 4 +4 minute: O2 1 Press: 953; O2 2 Press: 953; H2 1 Qty: 48.5; O2 2 Qty 48.5;

This stratification test also caused CRYO PRESS MA, and was solved by managing Fans & Heaters, and with a O2 FC purge.

Day ended with a sleep cycle between 200:13:00 GET and 202:30:00 GET.