1967-035A
Surveyor SC3 (Surveyor C) was launched at 0705 on 1967 Apr 17 by Atlas Centaur from Cape Kennedy. For the first time the 2-burn parking orbit ascent was used on an operational Surveyor flight, with RL10A3-3 engines on the Centaur. Translunar insertion was after a 22 min Earth orbit coast. Midcourse correction was carried out on Apr 18 at 0446. The landing was on Apr 20, with the radar separation at 0001 followed immediately by retrofire. The retro separated at 0004 and landing was at 0004:17. The verniers continued firing at landing, providing a thrust of 90 percent of the spacecraft's lunar weight. The first touchdown was followed by a 18-m sideways hop lasting 24s, then a second hop of about 12m in 12s to a third and final touchdown after vernier cutoff by ground command. Landing was in a 200-m crater. The last contact with Surveyor III was at 0004 on 1967 May 4 when the craft was shut down for the first lunar night. Attempts to revive it on the second lunar day from May 23 to Jun 2 were unsuccessful. However, in Nov 1969 the Apollo 12 astronauts visited the landing site at 2.94S 23.34W and retrieved parts of the Surveyor.
| Surveyor 3 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 Apr 17 | 0705:01 | Launch by AC-12, azimuth 100.81 | CKAFS LC36B |
| 0707:23 | T+2:23 Atlas BECO | ||
| 0707:26 | Booster sep | ||
| 0707:57 | Insulation panels sep | ||
| 0708:24 | Fairing sep | ||
| 0708:59 | Atlas SECO | ||
| 0709:00 | Atlas sep | ||
| 0709:10 | Centaur MES-1 | ||
| 0714:51 | Centaur MECO-1, 22 min coast | 87.70 163 x 174 x 30.0 | |
| 0736:58 | Centaur MES-2 108s? | ||
| 0738:50 | Centaur MECO-2 | 167 x 492121 x 29.94 | |
| 0739:13 | SV legs deploy | ||
| 0739:54 | Centaur sep, SV +0.2m/s | ||
| 0743:55 | Centaur retro | ||
| 0748:04 | Centaur retro cutoff | ||
| 0750:02 | H2O2 depletion test, 44s | 167 x 353413 x 29.97 (AC) | |
| 1967 Apr 18 | 0500 | Surveyor orbit | 168 x 497393 x 30.53 |
| 1967 Apr 18 | 0500:02 | TCM 4m/s 4.3s | |
| 1967 Apr 19 | 2321 | Terminal attitude | |
| 2359:32 | AMR enable | ||
| 1967 Apr 20 | 0001:16 | Verniers on | |
| 0001:17 | Radar sep, 2.7 km/s | -1405 x -8675 x 19.5 | |
| 0001:17 | Retro burn 2.6 km/s | ||
| 0001:59 | Retro burnout 11.3 km, 0.11 km/s | ||
| 0002:11 | Retro sep, 9 km | -1737 x 17 x 19.5 | |
| 0003:51 | 300-m mark | ||
| 0004:16 | Landing, bounce to 10m? | ||
| 0004:41 | Second touch, bounce to 5m? | ||
| 0004:52 | Verniers off | ||
| 0004:53 | Final touchdown | ||
| 0100? | First TV | ||
| 1967 Apr 20 | 0921 | Centaur flyby 34492 km | |
| Centaur orbit | 172143 x 351609 | ||
| 1967 Apr 21 | First SMSS use | ||
| 1967 May 4 | 0004 | End of tx | |
| 1969 Nov | Retrieval visit by Apollo 12 | ||
Payload:
- TV survey camera
- SMSS Soil Mechanics Surface Sampler
