8 ms·

Saturn V Flight Manual (1969) [pdf]

150 points by ash 12y ago

mikestew 12y ago
Man, I would have given up some serious allowance money for this back when the Apollo program was active. Reading through the descriptions of some of the flight and launch control systems gives me a high level of respect for the software folk responsible. Sure, the systems were simple compared to today, but there was no room for any of the sloppiness we see passed off as "software engineering" in the interim years. "Mmm, I'm not entirely sure about that launch abort method, but we'll check it in, see if test finds anything."
- ghaff 12y ago
  I went to a talk by one of the people responsible for the Apollo guidance software (Dr. Battin from what was in the 1960s the MIT Instrumentation Lab) a few years ago. One of his stories was about how some astronauts visited Raytheon where the code was being effectively "woven" into the core memory. As he explained it, one of the purposes of the visit was to impress upon those (women) who were making the core memories that it was really important not to make a mistake because otherwise these nice young boys would die.
  - dbarlett 12y ago
    The "LOL" (Little Old Lady) method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P12r8DKHsak#t=38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P12r8DKHsak#t=38
joezydeco 12y ago
Where was the glove compartment where this manual went?
ar7hur 12y ago
Fascinating. And 45 years later, here we are building photo-sharing apps.
- zirco 12y ago
  Entertainment and media was a thing back then, and space exploration is still a thing now.
- msabalau 12y ago
  Just imagine how much good that could be accomplished if the time spent simply on meaningless snark about photo-sharing apps was instead productively deployed.
  - pixie_ 12y ago
    Just imagine how much good that could be accomplished if the time spent simply on meaningless comment on meaningless snark about photo-sharing apps was instead productively deployed.
    - Thesaurus 12y ago
      Sick irony dude, mad original.
  - ar7hur 12y ago
    OK, now I'm curious. Please Show HN your photo-sharing app!
- kirk21 12y ago
  Or discussing QE and stocks ad infinitum.
- Ankaios 12y ago
  Not everyone.
- smackfu 12y ago
  Back then, a whole lot of people (women) working on Apollo were typing up memos.
kqr2 12y ago
For those interested, there is also a fascinating book The Apollo Guidance Computer : Architecture and Operation http://www.apolloguidancecomputer.com/index.html http://www.apolloguidancecomputer.com/index.html http://www.amazon.com/The-Apollo-Guidance-Computer-Architecture/dp/1441908765 http://www.amazon.com/The-Apollo-Guidance-Computer-Architect...
- nimzo 12y ago
  Incidentally, the publisher of the AGC book, Praxis Publishing, has a whole collection of well-written, engaging, and technically deep books in their space exploration category, namely, 'How Apollo Flew to the Moon'. http://www.praxis-publishing.co.uk/books.php http://www.praxis-publishing.co.uk/books.php
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
swhitt 12y ago
You don't have permission to access /ap12fj/pdf/a12_sa507-flightmanual.pdf on this server.
WalterBright 12y ago
Just in case you bought a Saturn V off of ebay and it didn't come with the manual!
- TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
  That's almost exactly what Orbital Sciences did with an equivalent Russian rocket engine. I guess someone lost the PDF for it.
gshubert17 12y ago
SA-507 launched Apollo 12, November 14, 1969. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12
schtinky 12y ago
It is absolutely crazy to think about how NASA got to the moon in freakin' 1969. Ten years ago, we didn't have FB, YouTube, widespread WiFi, flatscreen TVs, smartphones, LTE... That we landed a spaceship on the moon 4.5 times longer ago (45 years) when the state of the art was a photocopy machine is truly mindblowing.
- ghaff 12y ago
  Consider in 1969--much less going back to when many of the design decisions were made. (And by "no" here, I mean no in anything approaching mainstream.) No electronic calculators, just barely color television, mostly rotary dial telephones. Moore's Law had only recently been coined. No PCs of course. No Internet in any meaningful sense.
  - schtinky 12y ago
    Hmmm... at what point do we start questioning the veracity of those moon landing photos and videos? :)
    - dbarlett 12y ago
      "By the late 1960s they did the technical ability, not to mention the requisite madness, to send three guys to the moon and back. They did not have the technology to fake it on video." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU
      - MichaelApproved 12y ago
        Great video. For others wondering, it's a video that debunks conspiracy theories about faking the moon landing by saying it was technically possible to fly to the moon but not to fake it. It goes into the logistics of how a moon landing would be faked (film capacity and technical capabilities of cameras in the 60's). Fun explanation. "he did the math"
  - PhantomGremlin 12y ago
ash 12y ago
Apollo documentation: http://history.nasa.gov/afj/documents.htm http://history.nasa.gov/afj/documents.htm Apollo Lunar Module documentation: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/alsj-LMdocs.html https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/alsj-LMdocs.html
analog31 12y ago
There are a couple kids in my house who won't be told about this until they're done with their homework. ;-)
teamonkey 12y ago
I'd love to learn more about the Emergency Egress System described on pg192. It seems to me the chances of reaching the rubber vestibule or the coil-spring-cushioned blast room are fairly slim.
- moioci 12y ago
  Some photos: https://scriptunasimages.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/inside-nasas-rubber-room/ https://scriptunasimages.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/inside-nas...
- ash 12y ago
  Saturn Emergency system demo by James Burke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLiAwSKkm6k http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLiAwSKkm6k Also, command module and spacesuit demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re0F-DgNQTA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re0F-DgNQTA
esoteric_wombat 12y ago
I can't remember why, but I've had the 1968 version of this flight manual on my hard drive for a while. My version is much higher quality. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8iAUeIURaT8ZS1PbTlMTjlCams/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8iAUeIURaT8ZS1PbTlMTjlCams...
- jessriedel 12y ago
  This is excellent. I would love to have a bound version of this to sit on my desk as a conversation piece.
  - rdc12 12y ago
    Prehaps this? http://www.amazon.com/Saturn-V-Flight-Manual-NASA/dp/1935700707/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=19CC0MZ1TE9EEYFDC2C4 http://www.amazon.com/Saturn-V-Flight-Manual-NASA/dp/1935700...
zobzu 12y ago
I find it interesting that the manual quality, writing, diagram, etc. is much higher than most things I read nowadays. Its actually a pleasure to read through...
arh68 12y ago
What boggles the mind isn't that this was possible in the 60s, it's that it required such diverse and comprehensive achievements. It wasn't just a rocket. It's a very (!) long document but these stand out: (regarding the flight computers) The powered flight major loop contains guidance and navigation calculations, timekeeping, and all repetitive functions which do not occur on an interrupt basis. The minor loop contains the platform gimbal angle and accelerometer sampling routines and control system computations. Since the minor loop is involved with vehicle control, minor loop computations are executed at the rate of 25 times per second during the powered phase of flight. However, in earth orbit, a rate of only ten executions per second is required for satisfactory vehicle control. The execution time for any given major loop, complete with minor loop computations and interrupts, is not fixed. (regarding the Vehicle Assembly Building) The high bay area which is located in the northern section of the building, is approximately 525 feet high, 518 feet wide, and 442 feet long. It contains four checkout bays, each capable of accommodating a fully assembled, Saturn V space vehicle. [it's not a rocket, it's a space vehicle. Kind of like boats aren't vessels] Each pair of opposite checkout bays is served by a 250-ton bridge crane with a hook height of 462 feet.
- tonyplee 12y ago
  Aliens and MIB went back in time to help them out on this, I am sure. Just ask agent K and Agent J. :-)
facorreia 12y ago
How inspiring. Reading this manual gives an idea of the magnificent effort involved, covering so many disciplines.
webwarrior 12y ago
244 pages? Modern car user manulas are often thicker.

150 points by ash 12y ago

Man, I would have given up some serious allowance money for this back when the Apollo program was active. Reading through the descriptions of some of the flight and launch control systems gives me a high level of respect for the software folk responsible. Sure, the systems were simple compared to today, but there was no room for any of the sloppiness we see passed off as "software engineering" in the interim years. "Mmm, I'm not entirely sure about that launch abort method, but we'll check it in, see if test finds anything."

ghaff 12y ago
I went to a talk by one of the people responsible for the Apollo guidance software (Dr. Battin from what was in the 1960s the MIT Instrumentation Lab) a few years ago. One of his stories was about how some astronauts visited Raytheon where the code was being effectively "woven" into the core memory. As he explained it, one of the purposes of the visit was to impress upon those (women) who were making the core memories that it was really important not to make a mistake because otherwise these nice young boys would die.
- dbarlett 12y ago
  The "LOL" (Little Old Lady) method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P12r8DKHsak#t=38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P12r8DKHsak#t=38

joezydeco 12y ago

Where was the glove compartment where this manual went?

ar7hur 12y ago

Fascinating. And 45 years later, here we are building photo-sharing apps.

zirco 12y ago
Entertainment and media was a thing back then, and space exploration is still a thing now.
msabalau 12y ago
Just imagine how much good that could be accomplished if the time spent simply on meaningless snark about photo-sharing apps was instead productively deployed.
- pixie_ 12y ago
  Just imagine how much good that could be accomplished if the time spent simply on meaningless comment on meaningless snark about photo-sharing apps was instead productively deployed.
  - Thesaurus 12y ago
    Sick irony dude, mad original.
- ar7hur 12y ago
  OK, now I'm curious. Please Show HN your photo-sharing app!
kirk21 12y ago
Or discussing QE and stocks ad infinitum.
Ankaios 12y ago
Not everyone.
smackfu 12y ago
Back then, a whole lot of people (women) working on Apollo were typing up memos.

kqr2 12y ago

For those interested, there is also a fascinating book The Apollo Guidance Computer : Architecture and Operation http://www.apolloguidancecomputer.com/index.html http://www.apolloguidancecomputer.com/index.html http://www.amazon.com/The-Apollo-Guidance-Computer-Architecture/dp/1441908765 http://www.amazon.com/The-Apollo-Guidance-Computer-Architect...

nimzo 12y ago
Incidentally, the publisher of the AGC book, Praxis Publishing, has a whole collection of well-written, engaging, and technically deep books in their space exploration category, namely, 'How Apollo Flew to the Moon'. http://www.praxis-publishing.co.uk/books.php http://www.praxis-publishing.co.uk/books.php

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

swhitt 12y ago

You don't have permission to access /ap12fj/pdf/a12_sa507-flightmanual.pdf on this server.

WalterBright 12y ago

Just in case you bought a Saturn V off of ebay and it didn't come with the manual!

TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
That's almost exactly what Orbital Sciences did with an equivalent Russian rocket engine. I guess someone lost the PDF for it.

gshubert17 12y ago

SA-507 launched Apollo 12, November 14, 1969. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12

schtinky 12y ago

It is absolutely crazy to think about how NASA got to the moon in freakin' 1969. Ten years ago, we didn't have FB, YouTube, widespread WiFi, flatscreen TVs, smartphones, LTE... That we landed a spaceship on the moon 4.5 times longer ago (45 years) when the state of the art was a photocopy machine is truly mindblowing.

ghaff 12y ago
Consider in 1969--much less going back to when many of the design decisions were made. (And by "no" here, I mean no in anything approaching mainstream.) No electronic calculators, just barely color television, mostly rotary dial telephones. Moore's Law had only recently been coined. No PCs of course. No Internet in any meaningful sense.
- schtinky 12y ago
  Hmmm... at what point do we start questioning the veracity of those moon landing photos and videos? :)
  - dbarlett 12y ago
    "By the late 1960s they did the technical ability, not to mention the requisite madness, to send three guys to the moon and back. They did not have the technology to fake it on video." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU
    - MichaelApproved 12y ago
      Great video. For others wondering, it's a video that debunks conspiracy theories about faking the moon landing by saying it was technically possible to fly to the moon but not to fake it. It goes into the logistics of how a moon landing would be faked (film capacity and technical capabilities of cameras in the 60's). Fun explanation. "he did the math"
- PhantomGremlin 12y ago

ash 12y ago

Apollo documentation: http://history.nasa.gov/afj/documents.htm http://history.nasa.gov/afj/documents.htm Apollo Lunar Module documentation: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/alsj-LMdocs.html https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/alsj-LMdocs.html

analog31 12y ago

There are a couple kids in my house who won't be told about this until they're done with their homework. ;-)

teamonkey 12y ago

I'd love to learn more about the Emergency Egress System described on pg192. It seems to me the chances of reaching the rubber vestibule or the coil-spring-cushioned blast room are fairly slim.

moioci 12y ago
Some photos: https://scriptunasimages.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/inside-nasas-rubber-room/ https://scriptunasimages.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/inside-nas...
ash 12y ago
Saturn Emergency system demo by James Burke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLiAwSKkm6k http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLiAwSKkm6k Also, command module and spacesuit demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re0F-DgNQTA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re0F-DgNQTA

esoteric_wombat 12y ago

I can't remember why, but I've had the 1968 version of this flight manual on my hard drive for a while. My version is much higher quality. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8iAUeIURaT8ZS1PbTlMTjlCams/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8iAUeIURaT8ZS1PbTlMTjlCams...

jessriedel 12y ago
This is excellent. I would love to have a bound version of this to sit on my desk as a conversation piece.
- rdc12 12y ago
  Prehaps this? http://www.amazon.com/Saturn-V-Flight-Manual-NASA/dp/1935700707/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=19CC0MZ1TE9EEYFDC2C4 http://www.amazon.com/Saturn-V-Flight-Manual-NASA/dp/1935700...

zobzu 12y ago

I find it interesting that the manual quality, writing, diagram, etc. is much higher than most things I read nowadays. Its actually a pleasure to read through...

arh68 12y ago

What boggles the mind isn't that this was possible in the 60s, it's that it required such diverse and comprehensive achievements. It wasn't just a rocket. It's a very (!) long document but these stand out: (regarding the flight computers) The powered flight major loop contains guidance and navigation calculations, timekeeping, and all repetitive functions which do not occur on an interrupt basis. The minor loop contains the platform gimbal angle and accelerometer sampling routines and control system computations. Since the minor loop is involved with vehicle control, minor loop computations are executed at the rate of 25 times per second during the powered phase of flight. However, in earth orbit, a rate of only ten executions per second is required for satisfactory vehicle control. The execution time for any given major loop, complete with minor loop computations and interrupts, is not fixed. (regarding the Vehicle Assembly Building) The high bay area which is located in the northern section of the building, is approximately 525 feet high, 518 feet wide, and 442 feet long. It contains four checkout bays, each capable of accommodating a fully assembled, Saturn V space vehicle. [it's not a rocket, it's a space vehicle. Kind of like boats aren't vessels] Each pair of opposite checkout bays is served by a 250-ton bridge crane with a hook height of 462 feet.

tonyplee 12y ago
Aliens and MIB went back in time to help them out on this, I am sure. Just ask agent K and Agent J. :-)

facorreia 12y ago

How inspiring. Reading this manual gives an idea of the magnificent effort involved, covering so many disciplines.

webwarrior 12y ago

244 pages? Modern car user manulas are often thicker.