Echoes of Apollo Space News

Apollo 12 Returns – T minus 40 Years

Despite the lightning strike that may have caused problems with the parachute, the Command Module  Yankee Clipper returned to Earth on November 24, 1969, at 20:58 UTC (3:58pm EST, 10:58am HST), approximately 500 miles (800 km) east of American Samoa. Apart from the lightning strike during the launch, one of the most dramatic events of the mission happened during the descent. A 16 mm camera dislodged from storage and struck Bean in the forehead, rendering him briefly unconscious. He suffered a mild concussion, and needed six stitches.

Wikipedia states:

“The Yankee Clipper is displayed at the Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia. Its recovery ship, the USS Hornet, is now open to the public as a museum in Alameda, California.

The Surveyor 3 camera retrieved by the Apollo 12 astronauts now resides in the Exploring the Planets gallery at the National Air and Space Museum”.

Encyclopedia Astronautica states:

“Parachute deployment and other reentry events occurred as planned. The CM splashed down in mid-Pacific at 3:58 p.m. EST (20:58 GMT), 7.25 kilometers from the recovery ship, U.S.S. Hornet. The astronauts, wearing flight suits and biological face masks, were airlifted by helicopter from the CM to the recovery ship, where they entered the mobile quarantine facility. They would remain in this facility until arrival at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, MSC. The Apollo 12 mission objectives were achieved and the experiments successfully accomplished.”

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244:19:26 Weitz: Hello, Apollo 12; Houston through ARIA.

244:19:30 Conrad: Loud and clear, Houston [garble].

244:19:40 Weitz: Roger, 12.

244:19:50 Conrad: On my mark, you’ll have moonset, Houston. You can check your time. 3, 2, 1…

244:19:57 Conrad: Mark.

244:19:58 Conrad: Moonset.

[Comm break.]

Public Affairs Office – “2 minutes now from time of entry. Capsule Communicator, Paul Whites, has communicated through the Aria Aircraft through our VHF. We’re at 244 hours, 20 minutes now into the flight of Apollo 12. A minute and a half away now from time of entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Less than a minute away now from entry. The period of blackout should begin 19 seconds after we enter the Earth’s atmosphere. We’ll stand by and continue to monitor, and this is Apollo Control, Houston. “

Click here to download MP3 Audio Clip GET 244:22:30 to 244:36:24 [ 31 mins 52 sec]

Public Affairs Office – “Apollo 12 should be entering the Earth’s atmosphere at this time at 400,000 feet. “

244:22:30 Weitz: 12, Houston. Coming up on blackout. We’ll see you at 3:28.

[Long comm break.]

Public Affairs Office – “Apollo 12 should have begun its blackout some 7 seconds ago. We should be in blackout some 2½ more minutes from this time. We now show a Ground Elapsed Time of 244 hours, 23 minutes into the flight of Apollo 12. “

Public Affairs Office – “Copy heading south 12 – we copied the Hornet is heading south 12 knots for its terminal position for splash, which would be 5.25 nautical miles north of our target point. “

Public Affairs Office – “Apollo Control Houston, Recovery reports the Hornet has radar contact from Apollo 12. “

Public Affairs Office – “We’re less than 30 seconds away from the time when blackout period should be ended. Mission Control may try to get Yankee Clipper between the blackout and drogue deploy which occurs at some 23,000 feet to get some readings off the computer display keyboard, but its current plan is not to attempt to contact the Yankee Clipper after drogues have been deployed. “

244:25:51 Weitz: Hello, Apollo 12; Houston. Over. [No answer.]

244:26:37 Weitz: Hello, Apollo 12; Houston. Over. [Long pause.]

244:27:04 Conrad: Hello, Houston. You read Apollo 12 out of blackout?

Public Affairs Office – “Apollo Control Houston. Report from the Hornet indicates that that radar contact showed a range of 103 nautical miles and a bearing of 261 degrees. “

244:27:08 Weitz: Roger, 12. Reading you loud and clear now.

244:27:12 Conrad: Okay. It’s right on the money.

244:27:16 Weitz: Roger. We concur, Pete.

Public Affairs Office – “Pete Conrad says right on the money. “

244:27:17 Gordon: We’re taking our second dive in.

244:27:19 Weitz: Roger.

244:27:25 Gordon: Pulling 3g’s, and it starts the Earth mode.

244:27:29 Conrad: That first time I get a shower at 6g [garble] thought I’d wiped all the water out of the tunnel [garble]. We’re doing great.

244:27:33 Weitz: Roger. 12. [Long pause.]

Public Affairs Office – “Very good voice reception through ARIA. “

244:28:04 Gordon: Okay, Houston. We’ve got 50 miles to go on my mark.

244:28:08 Gordon: Mark.

[Comm break.]

Public Affairs Office – “Hornet advises radar contact now with a range of 69 nautical miles with an altitude of 121,000 feet. We’re about a minute and a half away now from time of drogue deploy. This is Apollo Control Houston. “

244:29:23 Weitz: Hello, 12; Houston. We have radar and S-band contacts on you.

244:29:29 Conrad: Roger. [Long pause.]

Public Affairs Office – “We should be getting that drogue chute deployment right now and we’re standing by. “

244:30:44 Bean: Got drogues, Houston. [Long pause.]

Public Affairs Office – “Al Bean reports deployment of the drogues. “

Public Affairs Office – “Less than 10 seconds away from main chute deployment. “

244:31:29 Conrad: 10,000. Standing by for mains.

244:31:33 Conrad: There go the mains. Three, but they’re not reefed. There they go. They dereefed. Hello, Houston; Apollo 12. Three gorgeous beautiful chutes. And we’re at 8,000 feet, on our way down in great shape.

Public Affairs Office – “Al Bean reports that the 3 main chutes have deployed. “

244:32:04 Weitz: 12, Houston. Give us your Lat-Long, please.

244:32:11 Bean: Air Boss, we read you loud and clear, and we’re okay.

244:32:15 Air Boss: Roger, Apollo 12. Set your contact report, please. [Pause.]

244:32:33 Air Boss: Say again. Over.

244:32:40 Recovery: This is Recovery. Tally ho; I have a visual.

244:32:47 Air Boss: [Garble].

244:32:51 Recovery: This is Recovery. I am 3 miles north of the 300 radial. Three miles – I have a visual. He is bearing 135 from me, 6000. I am – pretty good [garble]. Looks good.

244:33:11 Air Boss: Roger [garble] 2 had zero bearing…

244:33:31 Recovery: The Command Module is just above the cover of the clouds at 5,500 feet.

244:33:44 Photo 1: Photo 1 has [garble] zero, zero.

244:33:51 Photo 1: [Garble] 200.

244:34:01 Recovery: This is Recovery. I still have a visual. He’s just beginning to sink into the clouds.

244:34:07 Air Boss: Apollo 12, Apollo 12, this is Air Boss transmitting in the blind. Your primary transmitter is inoperative, inoperative. Switch to Secondary 259.7 and [garble]. Over. We have a visual on you; we have a visual on you.

244:34:29 Recovery: This is Recovery. I’ve lost visual contact. He hit the clouds. I’m [garble] down. Tally ho, another visual: 4 miles, getting N 130 [?], passing through 4,000 feet.

Public Affairs Office – “What appeared to be smoke from the spacecraft is the dumping of propellants.”

244:34:54 Recovery: This is Recovery. Passing through 3,500. Range 4 miles on the Command Module; three chutes; looks good. Going into another cloud.

244:35:11 Air Boss: [Garble] 12, how do you read Air Boss?

244:35:20 Conrad: Roger. Read you same. We’re all okay.

244:35:24 Air Boss: Roger. Understand. You look great.

244:35:34 Recovery: Recovery 1 has visual [garble] 100. This is Recovery. Seems to be about 1,500 feet above the water, three good chutes.

244:35:47 Air Boss: Roger, Recovery. Roger.

244:36:14 Recovery: This is Recovery. Still in contact.

244:36:23 Recovery: Splashdown.

Public Affairs Office – “We’ll record splash at Ground Elapsed Time of 244 hours, 36 minutes, 24 seconds. “

Public Affairs Office – “Apollo 12 landed stable 2; the inflation bags will upright them. “

Public Affairs Office – “It takes about 6 or 8 minutes to upright the Command Module from a stable 2 position with apex up. “

Public Affairs Office – “A preliminary estimate from the Hornet places Apollo 12 some 2.5 nautical miles from the ship. “

Public Affairs Office – “And the Command Module is uprighting itself at this time. “

Public Affairs Office – “That report confirming stable 1 says the spacecraft is uprighted at this time. “

Public Affairs Office – “The first swimmer deployed will attach a sea anchor, an underwater parachute to stop the drift of the Command Module. “

Public Affairs Office – “That is Dick Gordon talking from the Apollo 12 spacecraft.

Public Affairs Office – “The first swimmer into the water is Photographers Mate Third Class William R. Pozzi, Pozzi spelled P-O-Z-Z-I, age 22, Lynwood, California. “

Public Affairs Office – “Swim 1 will drop the flotation collar and two additional swimmers. “

Public Affairs Office – “The remaining swimmers from Swim 1 – are Lt. [Junior grad] William C. Robertson, 27, Hampton, Va. and Sonar Technician First Class Arles L. Nash, 29, Edinboro, Pa. Swim 1 And are attaching it to the CSM attachment ring. “

Public Affairs Office – “The floatation collar is pulled out one side at a time and pulled around with bungy lines two air bottles will inflate. “

Public Affairs Office – “The first of three rafts will be deployed very shortly. ”

Public Affairs Office – “Yankee Clipper for ten days a space worthy vessel now proving to be a sea worthy vessel. We’re standing by. “

Public Affairs Office – “The tether line will be hooked to the sea anchor ring. “

Public Affairs Office – “The last swimmer in was the decontamination swimmer, Lt. (Junior grade) Ernest Lee Jahncke. Lt. Jahnke is 26 years old from Greenwich, Connecticutt. “

Public Affairs Office – “At the given point, the Apollo 12 crew will open the hatch and receive flight coveralls and face masks from the decontamination swimmer who will be standing on the flotation collar. The decontamination swimmer again is Lt. Jahnke. “

Public Affairs Office – “The Hornet reports spacecraft now 900 yards upwind of spacecraft of the Hornet. The Hornet now 900 yards upwind of the Yankee Clipper. “

Public Affairs Office – “The first astronaut coming out now of the Command Module. “

Public Affairs Office – “All three astronauts now in the raft. “

Public Affairs Office – “Conrad, Gordon, and Bean was the exit order from the spacecraft. “

Public Affairs Office – “Conrad, Gordon, and Bean was the exit order from the spacecraft. “

Public Affairs Office – “The pickups will be made with the recovery net or so-called “Billy Que Net” which is in position. “

Public Affairs Office – “The “Billy Que Net”… ”

Public Affairs Office – “The recovery net of “Billy Que Net” looks much like a hanging chair. Its center of gravity is toward the back and has the effect that scooping up or… “

Public Affairs Office – “We repeat that last report. The first astronaut aboard is Commander Gordon, condition good. “

Public Affairs Office – “We repeat that last report. The second astronaut aboard Commander Alan Bean. “

Public Affairs Office – “The Apollo 12 crew is now aboard.”

This concludes the Apollo 12 Flight Journal.

Quarantine Facility:

Note the dressing on Bean’s forehead from the incident with the dislodged camera during descent.

The smiling Apollo 12 astronauts peer out of the window of the mobile quarantine facility aboard the recovery ship, USS Hornet. Pictured (Left to right) are Spacecraft Commander, Charles Conrad; Command Module (CM) Pilot, Richard Gordon; and Lunar Module (LM) Pilot, Alan L. Bean. The crew were housed in the quarantine facility immediately after the Pacific recovery operation took place. The second manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 12 launched from launch pad 39-A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 14, 1969 via a Saturn V launch vehicle. The Saturn V vehicle was developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. The LM, Intrepid, landed astronauts Conrad and Bean on the lunar surface in what’s known as the Ocean of Storms while astronaut Richard Gordon piloted the CM, Yankee Clipper, in a parking orbit around the Moon. Lunar soil activities included the deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP), finding the unmanned Surveyor 3 that landed on the Moon on April 19, 1967, and collecting 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of rock samples. Apollo 12 returned safely to Earth on November 24, 1969. (NASA)

Photos courtesy of NASA