Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-09-22

party could stay as long as
about eight days, half in day
light and half in darkness.
Suddenly, a quarter of a mil
lion miles away, one of the
orbiting geophysical observa-
tories high above the earth
reported hints of a disturbance
on the suns surface - trouble
that might herald a solar flare.
Word was flashed to the space
craft. The co-pilot summoned
his crewmateS to return for
emergency departure.
Even as the pilot and navi-
gator turned their moon-jeep
back toward the rocket, the
co-pilot began the pre-launch
checklist procedure. He reflect
ed wryly that he would have
no opportunity to set foot on
the moon. even after coming
this far-''not this trip"
When ex-PreSident Ken
nedy'S moon program was only
a day old-on May 26, 1861
Space Scientist George M. Low
told a meeting at Tulsa, Okla,
that one of the toughest parts
of the moon mission would be
preparation for return. There
had been many improvements
since then, but the pre-blast-
off routine was still an ex-
tremely critical operation.
"All the equipment for the
takeoff must be prepared,
erected and checked out by
three men in the spacecraft,"
Mr.. Low had said. when we
consider that each current
launching from Cape Canaveral
involves directly hundreds of
people in the blockhouse and
control centers, and indirectly
thousands more at the check
out and tracking facilities, it
becomes clear that the lunar
takeoff by three men will be
a difficult task indeed"
TakeOff Faces Delay
In space flight particularly,
time waits for no man, nor
will time be hurried. Impending
solar flare or no, takeoff could
not occur before 2:04 am. EST
July 5, some Is hours after
landing. BY leaving the moon
at this precise moment the
spacecraft would arrive at a
certain hole in the sky" the
middle of it's re-entry corridor
high over the Pacific shortly
before 3 o'clock Pacific time
on the afternoon of July z.
Earlier or later takeoff would
bring the craft to earth at
some spot other than the right
one.
AS he ran down the checklist
and waited for his partners,
the co-pilot reflected on the
matter of the germ free moon"
Early in the space age there
had been loud talk about ster-
ilizing Instrumental spacecraft
so as not to "contaminate" the
lunar surface with earthly BAG
terra. That lasted about as
long as most good intentions.
Three years from now you'll
get athletes foot if you step
out there without Shoes" the
co-pilot told himself wryly.
Humans and contamination
had a way of going hand-in-
hand.
At T minus 2 hours the crew
was reunited, buttoned up in
the spacecraft and back in
their takeoff costumes. A hun
dred pounds (earth weight of
lunar samples had been taken
aboard and a corresponding
amount of food had been Jet
tisoned to balance the weight
budget.
Communication with earth
was loud and clear, instruments
showed the propulsion system
to be in good working order,
and the sun continued to be-
have itself. Blastoff was the No.
concern now, and radiation
was No. 2. The former would
be settled shortly, one way or
the other. The latter was some
thing to sweat out at length.
The countdown reached zero
and the spacecraft lifted off.
The event was in sharp con-
trast to the launching on July
at Cape Canaveral, when the
world watched a 9-million-
pound flying skyscraper take
off in a great gust of noise
and flame. Here was a squat
contraption weighing hardly Is
tons, lifting silently off an air
less globe with no one watch
ing at all.
The long procedure of firing
rocket stage after rocket stage
to reach escape velocity was
not necessary for the return
flight. The moons gravity, only
1/6 that of earth, held the
rocket in comparatively fragile
bonds. A brief period under
power from its two RL-10 n.y.
drogen engines brought the
Spacecraft up to the ~ mile
a-Secono lunar escape speed.
Less than half a minute after
blastoff the rocket was on it's
way home.
Two and a half days and a
half dozen course corrections
later (the sun meanwhile mere
fully sitting it's homicidal i'm
pulses the spacecraft ap-
preached the hole in the sky.
Lunar landing had been the
co-pilot's speciality, but earth
re-entry was that of the COM
mander. In his own mind the
pilot ikened the re-entry ma
neuver to driving a racing car
backward at breakneck speed
down a crowded highway while