Saturday, September 3, 1994

Surveyor 3

  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 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

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 

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