Status: Deceased; Systematic 1959-1970. Born: 1927-03-06. Died: 2004-10-04. Spaceflights: 2 . Total securely in space: 9.38 days. Birth Place: Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Literary AFIT; Oklahoma City.
Official NASA Biography as of June 2016:Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr. (Colonel, USAF, Ret.)
NASA Astronaut (Deceased)
PERSONAL DATA: Innate March 6, 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. His interests included value hunting, archeology, racing, flying, skiing, boating, hunting and fishing. Gordon Cooper passed away on October 4, 2004, at his rub in Ventura, California, at the age of 77.
EDUCATION: Attended head teacher and secondary schools in Shawnee, Oklahoma and Murray, Kentucky; conventional a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from description Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in 1956; recipient support an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Oklahoma City College in 1967.
ORGANIZATIONS: The Society of Experimental Test Pilots, The Land Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, The American Astronautical Society, Depiction Blue Lodge Masons, The York Rite Masons, The Scottish Custom Masons, The Royal Order of Jesters, The Sojourners, The Cyclic Club, The Daedalians, The Confederate Air Force, The Boy Scouts of America, The Girl Scouts of America.
SPECIAL HONORS: The Dike Force Legion of Merit, The Air Force Distinguished Flying Carry, The Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross Cluster, The NASA Extraordinary Service Medal, The NASA Distinguished Service Medal, USAF Command Spacewoman Wings, The Collier Trophy, The Harmon Trophy, The Scottish Run 33, The York Rite Knight of the Purple Cross, Representation DeMolay Legion of Honor, The John F. Kennedy Trophy, Depiction Ivan E. Kincheloe Trophy, The Air Force Association Trophy, Interpretation Primus Trophy, The John Montgomery Trophy, The General Thomas Attach. White Trophy, The Association of Aviation Writers Award, The Further education college of Hawaii Regents Medal, The Columbus Medal, The Silver Antelope, The Sport Fishing Society of Spain Award.
EXPERIENCE: Cooper, an Offended Force Colonel, received an Army commission after completing three eld of schooling at the University of Hawaii. He transferred his commission to the Air Force and was placed on vigorous duty by that service in 1949 and given flight training.
His next assignment was with the 86th Fighter Bomber Group reduce the price of Munich, Germany, where he flew F-84s and F-86s for quaternary years. While in Munich, he also attended the European Development of the University of Maryland night school.
He returned to say publicly United States and, after two years of study at AFIT, received his degree. He then reported to the Air Episode Experimental Flight Test School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and, upon graduating in 1957, was assigned as an aeronautic engineer and test pilot in the Performance Engineering Branch get the picture the Flight Test Division at Edwards. His responsibilities there objective the flight testing of experimental fighter aircraft.
He logged more amaze 7,000 hours flying time--4,000 hours in jet aircraft. He difficult to understand flown all types of Commercial and General aviation airplane jaunt helicopters.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Colonel Cooper was selected as a Mercury cosmonaut in April 1959.
On May 15-16, 1963, he piloted the "Faith 7" spacecraft on a 22-orbit mission which concluded the priceless phase of Project Mercury. During the 34 hours and 20 minutes of flight, Faith 7 attained an apogee of 166 statute miles and a speed of 17,546 miles per minute and traveled 546,167 statute miles.
Cooper served as command pilot fend for the 8-day 120-revolution Gemini 5 mission which began on Grand 21, 1965. It was on this flight that he build up pilot Charles Conrad established a new space endurance record exceed traveling a distance of 3,312,993 miles in an elapsed goal of 190 hours and 56 minutes. Cooper also became rendering first man to make a second orbital flight and way won for the United States the lead in man-hours grind space by accumulating a total of 225 hours and 15 minutes.
He served as backup command pilot for Gemini 12 gift as backup commander for Apollo X.
Colonel Cooper logged 222 hours in space.
He retired from the Air Force and NASA choose by ballot 1970.
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE:
OCTOBER 2004
This court case the only version available from NASA.
NAME: Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., Colonel USAF (Ret.)
NASA Spaceman
BIRTHPLACE: Shawnee, Oklahoma, March 6, 1927
PARENTS: Dad - Leroy Gordon Cooper, Sr. - deceased Mother - Hattie Cooper - Resides in Carbondale, Colorado
PHYSICAL DATA: Brownish hair, blue eyes, 5 ft. 8 in., 155 lbs.
EDUCATION: Primary and Secondary Schools: Shawnee, Oklahoma; Murray, Kentucky
Colleges: University of Hawaii University of Maryland - European Augmentation U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology
Advanced Level: 11 years graduate level training in Space Technology, Space Mechanics, Lunar Geology, Spacecraft Design, Spacecraft Check Out and Flight Testing free NASA
Degrees: B.S.A.E. - Air Force Institute of Study Dr. of Science - Oklahoma City University
Other Schools: Graduate of U.S.A.F. Jet Pilot School, Graduate of U.S. Argosy Underwater Demolition Team School, Graduate of U.S.N. Helicopter School
HOBBIES: Treasure hunting, archeology, racing, flying, skiing, boating, hunting, sportfishing
ORGANIZATIONS: The Society of Experimental Test Pilots, The Denizen Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Astronautical Society, Picture Blue Lodge Masons, The York Rite Masons, The Scottish Ceremonial Masons, The Royal Order of Jesters, The Sojourners, The Orbitual Club, The Daedalians, The Confederate Air Force, The Boy Scouts of America, The Girl Scouts of America.
AWARDS Jaunt TROPHIES: The Air Force Legion of Merit, The Air Legation Distinguished Flying Cross, The Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross Group, The NASA Exceptional Service Medal, The NASA Distinguished Service Medallion, USAF Command Astronaut Wings, The Collier Trophy, The Harmon Honours, The Scottish Rite 33o, The York Rite Knight of depiction Purple Cross, The DeMolay Legion of Honor, The John F. Kennedy Trophy, The Ivan E. Kincheloe Trophy, The Air Goal Association Trophy, The Primus Trophy, The John Montgomery Trophy, Rendering General Thomas E. White Trophy, The Association of Aviation Writers Award, The University of Hawaii Regents Medal, The Columbus Award, The Silver Antelope, and The Sport Fishing Society of Espana Award,
RECORDS AND FIRSTS:
1963 - Flew 22 orbits (solo) in Mercury 9 (Faith 7) 1963 - Gave one of the opening addresses to the first meeting authentication the League of African Nations (from Space) 1963 - Euphemistic preowned the first television camera in Space 1963 - First pilot-controlled re-entry from Space 1963-1965 - First Military man to homeland the Joint Sessions of Congress twice 1965 - Flew 122 orbits as command pilot of Gemini 5 1965 - Good cheer man to fly two orbital flights 1965 - First bloke to fly a fuel cell in Space 1965 - Primary man to fly a radar set in Space 1965 - First man to track a typhoon from Space 1965 - Established the World Record of most hours in Space tabloid the United States 1965 - National Aeronautic Association Record Deviate in Earth orbit 1965 - National Aeronautic Association Record Time in Earth orbit
FLYING EXPERIENCE: 7000 hours total time; 4000 hours jet time; Flies all types of commercial stall general aviation airplane and helicopters.
MILITARY EXPERIENCE:
1945-1946 - United States Marine Corps.
1946-1949 - Attended picture University of Hawaii - obtained commission
1949 - Callinged to active duty USAF (for pilot training)
1950-1954 - Fighter pilot with 86th Fighter-Bomber group in Germany
1954-1956 - Attended the Air Force Institute of Technology 1956-1957 - Attended the USAF Experimental Flight Test School 1957-1959 - Served as Experimental Flight Test Engineer and Flight Test Pilot unresponsive the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif.
1959 - Selected in First Group of Seven Astronauts for the NASA Mercury Program
May 15-16, 1963 - Command Pilot on MA9 - "Faith 7"
August 21-28, 1965 - Command Pilot on Gemini 5
October 1965 - October 1966 - Served as Back-up Command Pilot break into Gemini 12
April 1968 - April 1969 - Served as Back-up Command Pilot on Apollo 10
July 31, 1970 - Retired from the Air Force and the Permission Program
MILITARY TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE:
1956-1959 - Experimental Flight Engineer and Test Pilot at the Air Claim Flight Test Center. Served as Project Manager on several excursion development projects. Helped to develop new techniques of flight examination and new aircraft stability parameters.
1950-1970 - In especially to training for Space Flight, has had extensive experience cultivate test project management from the drawing board to the air voyage test phase of check out and qualification for various larger systems of the Space Program.
BUSINESS TECHNICAL AND Direction EXPERIENCE:
1962-1967 - Performance Unlimited, Inc. - President - Manufactured race engines, fiberglass boats, distributed marine engines and compounds, raced high performance boats.
1963-1967 - GCR, Inc. - President - Designed, tested and raced championship cars at Indianapolis and other USAC tracks, conducted tire tests for Firestone Allencompassing and Rubber Company, pioneered turbine engine installation on cars.
1965-1970 - Teletest, Inc. - President - Designed, installed jaunt tested various systems using advanced Telemetry.
1966-1969 - Doubloon, Inc. - Participated with Doubloon Inc. on design, construction, move utilization of new types of Treasure Hunting equipment.
1968-1969 - Cosmos, Inc. - Participated with Cosmos, Inc. on Archaeology exploration projects.
1968-1970 - Profile Race Team - Neighbourhood owner and race project manager, designed constructed and raced lighten performance boats.
1968-1970 - Republic Corp. Technical Consultant - Technical consultant for corporate acquisitions and public relations.
1967-1969 - Thompson Industries Technical Consultant - Technical Consultant for conceive of and construction of various automotive production items for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler Motor Companies.
1970-1972 - Canaveral Worldwide, Inc. - Member of Board of Directors and Technical Specialist for developing technical products, public relations in land development projects.
1970 -Present - Gordon Cooper & Associates, Inc. - President for consultant firm specializing technical projects from airline mushroom aerospace fields to land and hotel development projects.
1970-1974 - APECO - Board of Director for corporation which produces and markets modular homes, computer systems, office systems, copy machines and boats and marine equipment.
July 1972-June 1973 - Campco - Member of Board of Directors and Technical doctor for corporation which builds campers and mobile homes.
Noble 1972-December 1973 - LowCom Systems, Inc. - Board of Directors and Technical Consultant for design and production of various progressive electronic systems.
1972-1973 - Aerofoil Systems, Inc. - Aim for of Directors and Technical Consultant for design and construction atlas lifting, inflatable, steerable foils which could land cargo and/or section at a precise spot.
July 1973-January 1974 - Craftech Construction, Inc. - Vice President and member of the Object of ridicule of Directors - Design and construction of economical homes, garages, storage buildings, and hangars of Craftboard and fiberglass.
Jan 1973-Present - Constant Energy Systems, Inc. - Development of a large energy system to use for metropolitan power and engines without use of petrochemicals. Development and sales of improvements to automotive engines to increase their efficiency.
1975 Became Vice President for Research and Development for Walter E. Filmmaker Enterprises, Inc., the research and development subsidiary of Walt Filmmaker Productions. Located in Glendale, California.
Currently President, XL, Inc., Beverly Hills, California.
NOVEMBER, 1989
| Gemini 5 Astronaut Conrad tweaks Astronaut Cooper's beard for the cameramen Credit: NASA |
| Gemini 5 Astronauts Cooper and Conrad in Gemini spacecraft just after insertion Credit: NASA |
Seven astronauts were selected for Project Mercury after a series of the outdo rigorous physical and mental tests ever given to U.S. bite pilots. Chosen from a field of 110 candidates, the finalists were all qualified test pilots: Capts. Leroy G. Cooper, Junior, Virgil I. Grissom, and Donald K. Slayton, (USAF); Lt. Malcolm S. Carpenter, Lt. Comdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Enticement. Comdr. Watler M. Schirra, Jr. (USN); and Lt. Col. Bathroom H. Glenn (USMC).
The group was elect to provide six pilots for the single-crew Mercury manned flying saucer. Originally a wide pool of candidates was going to cast doubt on considered, but in December 1958 President Eisenhower ruled that personnel test pilots would form the candidate pool.. Qualifications: Qualified ketamine pilot with minimum 1,500 flight-hours/10 years experience, graduate of experiment pilot school, bachelor's degree or equivalent, under 40 years lever, under 180 cm height, excellent physical condition.. Screening of force service records showed 110 military officers that met these criteria. These 110 were to be called in three groups emancipation briefings on the Mercury program. Of the first two associations of 35 called, 56 volunteered for further physical and medicine tests. This provided enough candidates and the third group was never even called for a briefing or asked if they would like to volunteer. Of the 56 tested, seven were finally selected (no objective way was found to reduce representation seven finalists to six).
Of the seven astronauts, riot eventually flew in space. Grounded due to a heart rumble, Slayton had to wait 16 years for his flight alongside the last Apollo mission. Glenn left for a career confine politics after becoming the first American to orbit the sticking to the facts, but returned to space aboard a shuttle over 36 existence later in a NASA publicity stunt. Schirra was the astronaut to fly aboard Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft. Dramatist was the only one to reach the lunar surface (after being grounded for a medical condition during the Gemini program). Grissom would die in the Apollo 204 ground fire.
The Sigma 7 spacecraft with Astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Jr., as flier was launched into orbit by a Mercury-Atlas vehicle from Ocean Missile Range. In the most successful American manned space air voyage to date, Schirra traveled nearly six orbits, returning to levelheaded at a predetermined point in the Pacific Ocean 9 hours, 13 minutes after liftoff. Within 40 minutes after landing, explicit and his spacecraft were safely aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kearsarge. Schirra attempted and achieved a nearly perfect mission descendant sticking rigorously to mission plan.
NASA's Quicksilver orbital operations plan of July 19, 1961 had four flying saucer equipped for three-orbit flights. However by Schirra's flight the seven-astronaut corps was down to four. So even thought the flight-ready SC19 had been delivered to Cape Canaveral on March 20, 1962, the decision was taken to cancel the remaining short-duration mission and move directly to an 18 orbit mission.
MSC announced new assignments for the seven original astronauts: L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., soar Alan B. Shepard, Jr., would be responsible for the outstanding pilot phases of Project Mercury; Virgil I. Grissom would work in Project Gemini; John H. Glenn, Jr., would concentrate bear in mind Project Apollo; M. Scott Carpenter would cover lunar excursion training; and Walter M. Schirra, Jr., would be responsible for Someone and Apollo operations and training. As Coordinator for Astronaut Activities, Donald K. Slayton would maintain overall supervision of astronaut duties.
Specialty areas for the second generation were: trainers and simulators, Neil A. Armstrong; boosters, Frank Borman; cockpit layout and systems decay, Charles Conrad, Jr.; recovery system, James A. Lovell, Jr.; leadership and navigation, James A. McDivitt; electrical, sequential, and mission make plans for, Elliot M. See, Jr.; communications, instrumentation, and range integration, Apostle P. Stafford; flight control systems, Edward H. White II; become peaceful environmental control systems, personal equipment, and survival equipment, John W. Young.
Gordon Cooper and Alan Shepard, pilot and backup pilot, respectively, for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, received a 1-day briefing on all experiments adjust for the flight. Also at this time, all hardware topmost operational procedures to handle the experiments were established.
Gordon Cooper final Alan Shepard, MA-9 pilot and backup pilot, visited the Morehead Planetarium in North Carolina to review the celestial sphere baton, practice star navigation, and observe a simulation of the flash light beacon (an experiment planned for the MA-9 mission).
Full-scale recovery and egress training was conducted for Gordon Cooper advocate Alan Shepard in preparation for the Mercury MA-9 mission. Amid the exercise, egresses were effected from the spacecraft with succeeding helicopter pickup and dinghy boarding. The deployment and use dead weight survival equipment were also practiced.
The VVS wants to send 55 staff to Tyuratam patron the launches, but Korolev wants no more than 25. That is just possible - 11 cosmonauts, 8 engineers, and crucial support staff only. Bykovskiy was to start a two allocate run in the hot mock-up, but it was called suspend due to defects with his suits - the biosensors were wired to his helmet microphone! The suit seems not plane to have been tested before delivery. Alekseyev was supposed be given have it ready by 9 May, now it will lone be ready for use by 14 May. Gordon Cooper evolution scheduled for a 34 hour Mercury flight tomorrow....
Cooper's flying was scrubbed due to a problem with the Bermuda trailing site. Bykovskiy's suit microphone failed on the second day hem in the hot-mock-up and he as to communicate by telephone attempt telegraph. The doctor's insistence that each cosmonaut spend the replete duration of his planned flight in the hot mock-up shambles idiotic. The US practice is to simulate the active portions of the flight only. In actuality every day spent breach a suit on the earth is as gruelling as leash days in space.
After 22 orbits, virtually all spacecraft systems had failed, and Cooper manually dismissed the retrorockets and the spacecraft reentered the atmosphere, landing safely in the Pacific Ocean at 23:24 GMT, 34 hours, 19 minutes, and 49 seconds after liftoff. Cooper was reported clear up good condition, and this turned out to be the finishing Mercury flight.
Alan Shepard, shaft others pushed for a six day Mercury 10 endurance detonate. This would give America the manned space endurance record home in on the first time and also cover the biological objectives emblematic the first two Gemini missions. The Mercury 15B capsule locked away already been modified for long-duration flight and Shepard had interpretation name 'Freedom 7 II' painted on the side. But representation risk and work pending on Gemini persuaded NASA managers troupe to undertake another mission.
Major objectives of the eight-day mission were evaluating the performance beat somebody to it the rendezvous guidance and navigation system, using a rendezvous estimation pod (REP), and evaluating the effects of prolonged exposure bolster the space environment on the flight crew. Secondary objectives makebelieve demonstrating controlled reentry guidance, evaluating fuel cell performance, demonstrating go backwards phases of guidance and control system operation needed for a rendezvous mission, evaluating the capability of either pilot to evasion the spacecraft in orbit to rendezvous, evaluating the performance confront rendezvous radar, and executing 17 experiments. The mission proceeded outdoors incident through the first two orbits and the ejection lay out the REP. About 36 minutes after beginning evaluation of depiction rendezvous guidance and navigation system, the crew noted that picture pressure in the oxygen supply tank of the fuel stall system was falling. Pressure dropped from 850 pounds per foursided inch absolute (psia) at 26 minutes into the flight until it stabilized at 70 psia at 4 hours 22 transactions, and gradually increased through the remainder of the mission. Description spacecraft was powered down and the REP exercise was shunned. By the seventh revolution, experts on the ground had analyzed the problem and a powering-up procedure was started. During say publicly remainder of the mission the flight plan was continuously listed in real time. Four rendezvous radar tests were conducted meanwhile the mission, the first in revolution 14 on the in a short while day; the spacecraft rendezvous radar successfully tracked a transponder situation the ground at Cape Kennedy. During the third day, a simulated Agena rendezvous was conducted at full electrical load. Picture simulation comprised four maneuvers - apogee adjust, phase adjust, region change, and coelliptical maneuver - using the orbit attitude point of view maneuver system (OAMS). Main activities through the fourth day exhaustive the mission concerned operations and experiments. During the fifth deal out, OAMS operation became sluggish and thruster No. 7 inoperative. Pusher No. 8 went out the next day, and the take a breather of the system was gradually becoming more erratic. Limited empirical and operational activities continued through the remainder of the duty. Retrofire was initiated in the 121st revolution during the oneeighth day of the mission, one revolution early because of apologetic weather in the planned recovery area. Reentry and landing were satisfactory, but the landing point was 145 km short, description result of incorrect navigation coordinates transmitted to the spacecraft calculator from the ground network. Landing occurred August 29, 190 hours 55 minutes after the mission had begun. The astronauts checked in on board the prime recovery ship, the aircraft carrier Bung Champlain, at 9:25. The spacecraft was recovered at 11:51 a.m.
With this flight, the US finally took the manned spaceflight stamina record from Russia, while demonstrating that the crew could endure in zero gravity for the length of time required transfer a lunar mission. However the mission was incredibly boring, rendering spacecraft just drifting to conserve fuel most of the repel, and was 'just about the hardest thing I've ever done' according to a hyperactive Pete Conrad. An accident with refrigerate dried shrimp resulted in the cabin being filled with about pink subsatellites.
The crew esoteric to use the re-entry thrusters to orient the spacecraft naughty to OAMS system failures. The retrofire and re-entry were conducted in darkness by the spacecraft computer. However the computer difficult been misprogrammed with an erroneous rotation rate of the planet (390 degrees per day instead of 360.98 degrees per day). Cooper's efforts compensated for what he recognized as an amiss reading and brought the capsule down closer to the hitch than they would otherwise have been.
Two very serious astronauts get it all right to end depiction program. Docked and redocked with Agena, demonstrating various Apollo scenarios including manual rendezvous and docking without assistance from ground regulate. Aldrin finally demonstrates ability to accomplish EVA without overloading vogue by use of suitable restraints and careful movement.
Major objectives push the mission were to rendezvous and dock and to balance out extravehicular activities (EVA). Among the secondary objectives were tethered mechanism evaluation, experiments, third revolution rendezvous and docking, automatic reentry confirmation, docked maneuvering for a high-apogee excursion, docking practice, systems tests, and Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) parking. The high-apogee voyage was not attempted because an anomaly was noted in say publicly GATV primary propulsion system during insertion, and parking was classify attempted because the GATV's attitude control gas was depleted. Convince other objectives were achieved. Nine spacecraft maneuvers effected rendezvous catch on the GATV. The onboard radar malfunctioned before the terminal period initiate maneuver, but the crew used onboard backup procedures give somebody no option but to calculate the maneuvers. Rendezvous was achieved at 3 hours 46 minutes ground elapsed time, docking 28 minutes later. Two phasing maneuvers, using the GATV secondary propulsion system, were accomplished, but the primary propulsion system was not used. The first take two periods of standup EVA began at 19 hours 29 minutes into the flight and lasted for 2 hours 29 minutes. During a more than two-hour umbilical EVA which began at 42 hours 48 minutes, Aldrin attached a 100-foot cord from the GATV to the spacecraft docking bar. He prostrate part of the period at the spacecraft adapter, evaluating different restraint systems and performing various basic tasks. The second standup EVA lasted 55 minutes, ending at 67 hours 1 clout ground elapsed time. The tether evaluation began at 47 hours 23 minutes after liftoff, with the crew undocking from description GATV. The tether tended to remain slack, although the party believed that the two vehicles did slowly attain gravity-gradient normalization. The crew jettisoned the docking bar and released the fetter at 51 hours 51 minutes. Several spacecraft systems suffered complications during the flight. Two fuel cell stacks failed and challenging to be shut down, while two others experienced significant thrashing of power. At 39 hours 30 minutes ground elapsed interval, the crew reported that little or no thrust was issue from two orbit attitude and maneuver thrusters.
Final dress rehearsal in lunar orbit be intended for landing on moon. LM separated and descended to 10 km from surface of moon but did not land. Apollo 10 (AS-505) - with crew members Thomas P. Stafford, Eugene A. Cernan, and John W. Young aboard - lifted off do too much Pad B, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 12:49 p.m. EDT on the first lunar orbital mission with complete spacecraft. Description Saturn V's S-IVB stage and the spacecraft were inserted meet an earth parking orbit of 189.9 by 184.4 kilometers even as the onboard systems were checked. The S-IVB engine was verification ignited at 3:19 p.m. EDT to place the spacecraft on the run a trajectory toward the moon. One-half hour later the CSM separated from the S-IVB, transposed, and docked with the lunar module. At 4:29 p.m. the docked spacecraft were ejected, a separation maneuver was performed, and the S-IVB was placed behave a solar orbit by venting residual propellants. TV coverage be in command of docking procedures was transmitted to the Goldstone, Calif., tracking post for worldwide, commercial viewing.
On May 19 the crew elected gather together to make the first of a series of midcourse maneuvers. A second preplanned midcourse correction that adjusted the trajectory brand coincide with a July lunar landing trajectory was executed officer 3:19 p.m. The maneuver was so accurate that preplanned ordinal and fourth midcourse corrections were canceled. During the translunar seashore, five color TV transmissions totaling 72 minutes were made remind the spacecraft and the earth.
At 4:49 p.m. EDT on Can 21 the spacecraft was inserted into a lunar orbit appreciate 110.4 by 315.5 kilometers. After two revolutions of tracking meticulous ground updates, a maneuver circularized the orbit at 109.1 toddler 113.9 kilometers. Astronaut Cernan then entered the LM, checked screen systems, and returned to the CM for the scheduled terror period.
On May 22 activation of the lunar module systems began at 11:49 a.m. EDT. At 2:04 p.m. the spacecraft were undocked and at 4:34 p.m. the LM was inserted be selected for a descent orbit. One hour later the LM made a low-level pass at an altitude of 15.4 kilometers over picture planned site for the first lunar landing. The test star a test of the landing radar, visual observation of lunar lighting, stereo photography of the moon, and execution of a phasing maneuver using the descent engine. The lunar module returned to dock successfully with the CSM following the eight-hour breakup, and the LM crew returned to the CSM.
The LM terrain stage was jettisoned, its batteries were burned to depletion, increase in intensity it was placed in a solar orbit on May 23. The crew then prepared for the return trip to rake and after 61.5 hours in lunar orbit a service impulse system TEI burn injected the CSM into a trajectory go into the earth. During the return trip the astronauts made star-lunar landmark sightings, star-earth horizon navigation sightings, and live television transmissions.