Newsgroups: sci.space.history,alt.paranet.ufo,sci.space.shuttle,alt.astronomy,
	alt.alien.visitors
From: henry@spsystems.net (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Disney Attacks NASA In "Mission To Mars"
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 14:30:03 GMT

In article <38D9C96C.677B@navix.net>,
David W. Knisely <KA0CZC@navix.net> wrote:
>> Look at all the mistakes in Apollo 13, such as the Saturn V being
>> rolled out only 2 days before launch.
>
>I am not certain as to whether this is an error or not, as the Saturn V
>was prepped for launch inside the VAB and not on the pad.  At least in
>theory, it could have been moved to the pad 2 days before launch and
>then launched.  The only books I have on the subject don't mention
>exactly when the booster stack was moved to the pad...

The usual Apollo rollout was 2-3 months before launch, with a lot of the
final fitting-out done on the pad.  The only Saturns where a real effort
was made to minimize pad work were the ones for Skylab, where a
combination of schedule pressure and budget constraints discouraged
extensive work on the pad, but they still rolled out weeks ahead.

I don't think there was any *fundamental* reason why a Saturn V couldn't
launch a couple of days after rollout, although it would have meant
revising a lot of procedures, and probably having some arguments with the
Cape safety people.  (One reason for the long stays on the pad was that
the safety clowns insisted that pyros -- explosive bolts, etc. -- must
be installed on the pad, not before rollout.)  The actual Saturn V
*countdown* was only about two days, and in principle you could start
that as soon as the rocket reached the pad.  Ariane 5 launches a few
hours after rollout.
--
Computer disaster in February?  Oh, you |  Henry Spencer   henry@spsystems.net
must mean the release of Windows 2000.  |      (aka henry@zoo.toronto.edu)

Newsgroups: sci.space.history,alt.paranet.ufo,sci.space.shuttle,alt.astronomy,
	alt.alien.visitors
From: henry@spsystems.net (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Disney Attacks NASA In "Mission To Mars"
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 00:14:45 GMT

In article <3AsC4.661$gf3.994@client>,
Martin R. Soderstrom <mrs@klg.com> wrote:
>You sure they didn't say the rollout =took= 2 days, not took place 2 days
>before launch?  (I seem to remember when I was there for the Apollo 17
>launch, that the rollout took 2-3 days.  I also seem to remember the rollout
>happening a =lot= less than 2 months before launch).

No, rollout normally takes only a few hours.  It was a design requirement
for the crawler, in fact, to be able to get a Saturn V back into the VAB
within a few hours if a hurricane took a surprise turn offshore.

The Apollo 17 rollout was over three months before launch:  28 Aug, for
a 7 Dec launch.
--
Computer disaster in February?  Oh, you |  Henry Spencer   henry@spsystems.net
must mean the release of Windows 2000.  |      (aka henry@zoo.toronto.edu)