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Unmanned Mission
AS-201 (17)
Pad 34 (5)
Saturn-1B (1)
AS-201 ()
Demonstrate structural integrity and compatibility of launch vehicle and confirm launch loads
(Achieved).
Demonstrate separation of first and second stages of Saturn, LES and boost
protective cover from CSM, CSM from instrument unit/spacecraft/lunar module (LM) adapter,
and CM from SM
(Achieved).
Verify operations of Saturn propulsion, guidance and control,
and electrical subsystems
(Achieved).
Verify operation of spacecraft
subsystems and
adequacy of heatshield for reentry from low earth orbit
(Partially Achieved).
Evaluate
emergency detection system in open-loop configuration
(Achieved). Evaluate heatshield
ablator at high reentry rates
(Not Achieved due to loss of data during maximum
heating).
Demonstrate operation of mission support facilities
(Achieved)
February 26, 1966; 11:12:01 am EST.
Launch Complex 34, Eastern Test Range (EST), Cape
Canaveral FL.
Hold for 3 days due to bad weather conditions and for a break in subcable to
downrange station. Hold for 30 minutes on February 26, 1966 to catch up on LOX loading.
Hold for 30 min to complete liquid-hydrogen loading, which had been delayed by work on a
GSE helium regulator problem. Hold for 78 minutes to complete closeout of spacecraft. Hold
for 66 minutes because of cutoff caused by failure of helium pressure switch in Saturn 1B
ready circuit. Hold for 30 minutes (during which flight was canceled and then re-instated) for
further information on helium pressure problem.
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1
Spacecraft
CSM-009
Payload
Milestones
08/14/65 - S-1 Stage ondock at KSC
08/14/65 - S-1B Stage ondock at KSC
09/18/65 - S-IVB ondock at KSC
10/22/65 - S-IU ondock at KSC
10/25/65 - Launch Vehicle on Pad
12/26/65 - Spacecraft on Pad
02/09/66 - Countdown demonstration test
02/20/66 - Countdown begins
02/26/66 - Launch
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Altitude: 303 miles (488 kilometers)
Inclination: xxx degrees
Orbits: (suborbital)
Duration: 36 minutes & 59 seconds
Distance: 5,264 miles (8,472 kilometers)
February 26, 1966, 11:49 am EST. Splash down in Atlantic Ocean, 8472 kilometers downrange,
Impact point 8.18 deg South, 11.15 deg West. Miss distance 72 kilometers; Recovery by
U.S.S. Boxer by 02:20pm EST.
Both booster and spacecraft performed adequately. From liftoff to touchdown in the South
Atlantic, the mission lasted only 37 minutes. The spacecraft was recovered two and a half
hours after splashdown. There were several malfunctions, mostly minor. Three were serious.
First, after the service propulsion system fired, it operated correctly for only 80 seconds. Then
the pressure fell 30 percent because of helium ingestion into the oxidizer chamber. Second, a
fault in the electrical power system caused a loss of steering control, resulting in a rolling
reentry. And, third, flight measurements during reentry were distorted because of a short
circuit.
(NASA SP-4205 - Chariots for Apollo page 193)
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