quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

Buzz Aldrin did his thesis on orbital rendesvous (IIRC they called him Dr Rendesvous). I believe this was a major part of the reason he was chosen for the first landing. If the computers and/or radar failed, he developed procedures for manual rendesvous and docking. You just can’t wing it.

Some stuff was done on the far side of the moon, during comms black-out. The accelleration burn, which would carry the spacecraft from lunar orbit to its trajectory home, was initiated without direct contact from Earth.

Those guys had a lot of faith in their math. Screw up any part of that process and you're both dead. Even just getting the LEM off the lunar surface...I know there's a lot less gravity up there and no atmosphere to contend with, but it's still kinda crazy how much preparation and rocket power it took to get off the earth compared to what they had available to leave the moon. Can you imagine being the first ones to ever try that? You're still dealing with a lot of theory at that point, and you really hope they got it all right!

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
A question about the Apollo missions, for anyone in the know: After they landed on the moon and then took off again, how did the guys in the LEM find the command module to join back up? Sure, the moon isn't as big as the earth, but it's still pretty big and that's a big "sky" to find a little spacecraft in...

There was a lot of piloting going on with Apollo and earlier missions. They used radar to determine their range and relative speed to whatever they were docking with. The pilot delicately made adjustments.

They had black and white targets on the spacecraft that the pilot of the other spacecraft would use to visually maneuver when they were very close. You can see them in the photos taken during actual docking of lunar modules back with the command module.

A Hound Dog posted, Buzz Aldrin was a key player in NASA understanding orbital mechanics. Docking spacecraft isn't like docking a boat.

The Artemis crew did practice manually lining up to a docking target on the first day once in orbit. I would expect that in real life there's a lot of automation these days.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Those guys had a lot of faith in their math. Screw up any part of that process and you're both dead. Even just getting the LEM off the lunar surface...I know there's a lot less gravity up there and no atmosphere to contend with, but it's still kinda crazy how much preparation and rocket power it took to get off the earth compared to what they had available to leave the moon. Can you imagine being the first ones to ever try that? You're still dealing with a lot of theory at that point, and you really hope they got it all right!

Test pilots have even bigger egos than airline pilots! Armstrong was a combat and test pilot. The number of seriously close calls he and the other pilots had prior to their Apollo missions must have given them tons of confidence in their ability to solve any problem.

The biggest worry should have been whether the LEM ascent stage rocket would fire when they wanted to leave the surface.

quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
There was a lot of piloting going on with Apollo and earlier missions. They used radar to determine their range and relative speed to whatever they were docking with. The pilot delicately made adjustments.

This video came up on my YT feed, while I wasn't around for this historic event, how much of the audio was broadcast on live TV when it happened?

Looking him up, I see legendary Flight Director Gene Kranz is still alive, would be interesting to get his impression of today's space industry and the current mission.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

This video came up on my YT feed, while I wasn't around for this historic event, how much of the audio was broadcast on live TV when it happened?

I remember vividly watching the Apollo 11 landing and moon walks. We heard all of the radio transmissions from the astronauts and mission control. When the astronauts were out on the surface in their suits they radioed between each other, so we heard that, too. There were some communications with Collins orbiting in the command module that were broadcast as part of the descent and then the ascent, but I don't recall hearing much of that.

quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig:

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
This video came up on my YT feed, while I wasn't around for this historic event, how much of the audio was broadcast on live TV when it happened?

I remember vividly watching the Apollo 11 landing and moon walks. We heard all of the radio transmissions from the astronauts and mission control. When the astronauts were out on the surface in their suits they radioed between each other, so we heard that, too. There were some communications with Collins orbiting in the command module that were broadcast as part of the descent and then the ascent, but I don't recall hearing much of that.

Yea, I was glued to the TV that night.

Get Wolowitz on the horn:

Artemis II astronauts face toilet trouble as they head toward the moon

The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission are more than halfway to the moon after launching Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center, but a familiar problem has surfaced.

For the second time since launch, Orion’s toilet is malfunctioning.

"During the night, we tried to vent the wastewater tank that's attached to the toilet. We had problems with that, due to suspected blockage we think probably due to ice. So we directed the crew overnight to use their collapsible contingency urine devices," Judd Frieling, the Artemis II flight director, explained during a news conference Saturday.

The astronauts encountered a similar problem with the toilet on the first day of their mission. The ship's lunar loo malfunctioned following liftoff and has remained a lingering issue.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
For the second time since launch, Orion’s toilet is malfunctioning.

Ain't that a real pisser.

A woman has now traveled farther into space than any other woman before her. Her job now is to fix the toilet.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
For the second time since launch, Orion’s toilet is malfunctioning.

Ain't that a real pisser.

I bet the company that designed and made the toilet is catching a lot of shit right now.

Wanna bet it's a $10,000+ toilet?

The CapCom will just tell them to hold it until they return.

quote:

Wanna bet it's a $10,000 toilet?

Ha!


https://nypost.com/2026/04/04/...sive-loo-in-history/

quote:

Artemis II’s titanium toilet cost taxpayers $23M — the 2nd most expensive potty in history

It's not that bad, the $23 million was for two toilets. The first one, Tranquility, was installed on the International Space Station.

Edited to add:
Tranquility is the name of the ISS module the toilet is installed in, not the toilet itself.

So they didn't create a third, one they could use on Earth to help trouble-shoot the ones in space?

Because a Spaceman without a knife is a dead man.

Why NASA Put a First Responder Knife in Every Spacesuit
By Rei Padla / April 2, 2026 / Articles / EDC, folding knife, Knives

https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026...-in-every-spacesuit/


Each Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit holds a Benchmade 916SBK-ORG Triage, a folding rescue tool originally designed for first responders that NASA selected to give the crew extra options during the flight. The orange-handled 916SBK-ORG sold out before launch day. It’s the kind of endorsement most knife companies can only dream about, and it says something real about what Benchmade has built over nearly 40 years.


The Triage wasn’t built for space, but it was built for situations where failure isn’t an option. Director of Product Line Management Vance Collver explains the design. He says the knife had to combine the reliability of Benchmade’s tactical folders, the strength of the AXIS lock, the speed of its rescue hook, and a strong glass breaker. It packed all of that into an everyday carry size with a reversible pocket clip. That combination made the Triage a natural fit when NASA came looking.

What sealed it for the space agency was the large grip, blunt tip, and strap cutter. Those three elements let astronauts safely operate the tool with thick gloves inside pressurized spacesuits. It’s a strict requirement that narrows the field fast. Few folding knives check all three boxes in a single tool.

Over a decade of real-world use by first responders happened before NASA’s selection. The Triage had already earned a strong following among emergency crews when the space agency came calling. All future Artemis missions will carry the Triage in their crew spacesuits, making this more than a one-time appearance. Benchmade builds these tools at its Oregon facility. The brand is now part of the standard crew equipment for NASA’s return to the Moon.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RichardC,

quote:

It's not that bad, the $23 million was for two toilets. The first one, Tranquility, was installed on the International Space Station.

Where is Howard Wolowitz?

They skipped the second planned outbound trajectory correction burn, but did the third one last night:

Artemis 2 ready to fly around the moon

Excerpt:

"The Orion spacecraft performed a trajectory correction maneuver at 11:03 p.m. Eastern April 5, firing auxiliary thrusters on its service module for 17.5 seconds. The maneuver was officially designated Outbound Trajectory Correction-3, but was the first such maneuver after controllers canceled the first two planned burns because of the accuracy of the spacecraft’s trajectory.

That maneuver lined up Orion for its flyby of the moon on April 6. The spacecraft entered the lunar “sphere of influence,” where lunar gravitational forces exceed those from Earth, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern."

Geez, for $23 million you would think they could figure out a way to turn their excrement into wine and brownies.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
A woman has now traveled farther into space than any other woman before her. Her job now is to fix the toilet.

After she makes the sandwiches.


.

quote:

After she makes the sandwiches.

Really?