apollo-soyuz pamphlet no. 9 general science

8/8/2019 Apollo-Soyuz Pamphlet No. 9 General Science

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Apollo-SoyuzPamphlet No. 9:General Science N78-27154NASA-EP-1U1) APOLLO-SOYUZ PAMPHLET NO. 9:GENERAL SCIENCE (National Aeronautics andSpace Administration) 88 p MF A01; SOD HC

set of 9 volumes CSCL 22A OnclasG3/12 24996


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Apollo-SoyuzExperimentsInSpace

This is one of a series of ninecurriculum-related pamphletsfor Teachers and Studentsof Space ScienceTitles in this series ofpamphlets include:EP-133 Apollo-Soyuz Pamphlet No 1: The FlightEP-134 Apollo-Soyuz Pamphlet No 2: X -Rays , Gamma-RaysEP-135 Apollo-Soyuz Pamphlet No 3: Sun. Stars, In BetweenEP-136 Apollo-Soyuz Pamphlet No 4 Gravitational FieldEP-137 Apollo-Soyuz Pam phlet No 5: The E arth from Orb itEP-138 Apol lo-Soyuz Pamphlet No 6: Cos mic Ray Dos ageEP-139 Apollo-Soyuz Pamphlet N o 7 Biology mZero-GEP-140 Apollo-Soyuz Pamphlet No 8: Zero-G TechnologyEP-141 Apol lo-Soyuz Pamphlet No 9: G eneral Scienc e

On The Cover Launch of the Apollo S pac ec raft from theNASA John F. Kennedy Space Centeron July 15 . 1975


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Apollo-SoyuzPamphlet No. 9:General SciencePrepared by Lou W ill iams Page and Th ornton Page FromInvest igators' R eports of Experimental R esults and W ithth e Help of Advis ing Teachers

f t it i i A i e w t w n *101.011 liiflSTRATIfiWf WP

NASANational Aeronaut ics andSpace Adminis t ra t ionWashington, D.C. 20546October 1977


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For sale by the Superintendent of Documents,U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402(9-Part Set; Sold in Sets Only)Stock Number 033-800-00688-8


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Preface

The Ap ollo-Soyuz Test Project (A STP), wh ich flew in Ju ly 1975, arousedconsiderable public interest; first, because the space rivals of the late 1950'san d 1960's were working together in a joint endeavor, an d second, becausetheir mu tual effor ts included develop ing a space rescue sys tem. The ASTPalso included significant scientific experiments, the results of which can beused in teaching biology, physics, and mathematics in schools an d colleges.This series of pamphlets discussing th e Apollo-Soyuz mission an d experi-men ts is a set of curriculum sup plements designed for teachers, supervisors,curriculum specialists, an d textbook writers as well as for the general public .Neither textbooks nor courses of study, these pamphlets are intended toprovide a rich source of ideas, examples of the scientific method, pertinentreferences to standard textbooks, and clear descriptions of space experim ents.In a sense, they may be regarded as a pioneering form of teaching aid. Seldomhas there been such a forthright effort to provide, directly to teachers,curr icu lum-relevant reports of current scient ific research. Hig h schoolteachers who reviewed the texts suggested that advanced students who areinterested might be assigned to study on e pamphlet an d report on it to the restof the class. After class discussion, students might be assigned (withoutaccess to the pamphlet) one or more of the "Questions fo r Discussion" fo rformal or informal answers, thus stressing the application of what waspreviously covered in the pamphlets.

The authors of these pamphlets are Dr. Lo u Wil l iams Page, a geologist, an dDr. Thornton Page, an astronomer. Both have taught science at severaluniversities and have published 14 books on science for schools, colleges, andth e general reader, inc lud ing a recent one on space science.

Technical assistance to the Pages was provided by the Apollo-SoyuzProgram Scientist , Dr. R. Thomas Giuli , and by Richard R. Baldwin,W. W ilson Lauderdale, and Susan N. M ontgom ery, memb ers of the group atth e N A S A L y n d o n B. Johnson Space Center in Houston wh i ch organized th escientis ts ' participation in the ASTP an d published their reports of exper imen-ta l results.Selected teachers from high schools an d univers it i es throughou t th e UnitedStates reviewed th e pamphle t s in draft form. They suggested changes inwording , th e addition of a glossary of terms unfamil iar to s tudents , an dimprovem ents in diagrams. A list of the teachers and of the scient ific inves-tigators w ho reviewed th e texts fo r accuracy follows this Preface.

This set of Apollo-Soyuz pamphlets was initiated and coordinated by Dr.Frederick B. Tuttle, Director of Educational Programs, and was supported byth e NA SA A pol lo-Soyuz Program Off ice, by Leland J. Casey, AerospaceEngineer for ASTP, and by Wi l l i a m D . Nixon, Educa t iona l ProgramsOfficer, all of NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

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App reciation is expressed to the scientific investigators and teachers whoreviewed the draft copies; to the N AS A specialists who provided diagramsan d photographs; and to J. K. Holcomb, Headquarters Director of ASTPoperat ions, and Chester M. Lee, ASTP Program Director at Headquarters,whose interest in this educat ional endeavor made this publication possible.

I V


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TeachersAnd Scientific InvestigatorsWho Reviewed the Text

Harold L. Adair, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.Lynette Aey, Norwich Free Academy, Norwich, Conn.J. Vemon Bai ley, NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex.Stuart Bowyer, Universi ty of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif.Bill Wesley B row n, California State Un iversity at Chico , Chico, Calif.Ronald J. Bruno, Creighton Preparatory School, Omaha, Nebr .T. F. Budinger, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif.Robert F. Collins, Western States Chiropractic College, Portland, Oreg.B. Sue Criswell, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex.T. M . Donahue, Universi ty of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.David W. Eckert, Greater Latrobe Senior High School, Latrobe, Pa.Lyle N . Edge, Blanco High School, Blanco, Tex.Victor B. Eichler, Wichita State Universi ty, Wichita , Kans.Farouk El-Baz, Sm ithsonian Inst i tut ion, W ashington, D.C.D. Jerome Fisher, Emeri tus, Universi ty of Chicago, Phoenix, Ariz.R. T. Giul i , NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston,Tex.M. D. Grossi, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass.Wendy Hindin, North Shore Hebrew Academy, Great Neck, N.Y.Tim C. Ingoldsby, Westside High School , Omaha, Nebr.Robert H. Johns, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.D. J . Larson, Jr., Grumm an Aerospace , Bethpage, N.Y .M. D. Lind, Rockwell Internat ional Science Center, Thousand Oaks, Calif.R. N. Lit t le , U niversi ty of Texas, A ust in, Tex.Sarah Manly, Wade Hampton High School , Greenvil le , S.C.[Catherine Mays, Bay City Independent School District , Bay City, Tex.Jane M . Oppenheimer , Bryn Maw r College , B ryn Mawr, Pa.T. J. Pepin, Un iversi ty of Wyo min g, Laramie, Wyo .H . W. Scheld, NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex.Seth Shu lma n, N aval Research Laboratory, Wash ington, D.C.James W . Skehan, Boston College, Weston, Mass.B. T. Slater, Jr., Texas Educa t ion Ag ency, Au st in, Tex.Robert S. Snyder, N AS A George C. M arshal l Space Fl ight Center, H untsv i l le , Ala.Jacqueline D. Spears, Port Jefferson High School , Port Jefferson Stat ion, N.Y.Robert L. Stewart , M onticel lo H igh School, M onticel lo, N .Y.Aletha Stone, Fulmore Junior High School , Aust in ,Tex.G. R. Taylor , NASA Lyndon B . Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex.Jacob I . Trombka , NASA Robert H. Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt , M d.F. O. V onbun , NA SA Rober t H. Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt , M d.Douglas Winkler, Wade Hampton High School , Greenvil le , S.C.


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Contents

Section 1 Introduction: TheA#ollo-Sbyuz Mission .!; 1A. Astronauts and Cosmonauts 1. . .-::?>. 1B. International Cooperation 3Section 2 The Spacecraft 5A. The Docking Module 5B. Launch and Booster 8C. Orbit 12

D. Weight lessnes s 13E. Questions for Discuss ion (Time Zones, Docking Module,Launch, Zero-g) 14

Section 3 Astronomy Experiments 15A. Expe riment Proposals and O rganization for Apollo-Soyuz 15B. X - R a y Pulsar 22C. Artif icia l Solar Eclipse 23D . Questions fo r Discuss ion (X-Rays , Solar Eclipse) 26Section 4 Geoscience Experiments 27A. Aerosols 2 7

B. Clouds, W ater Currents, and Landforms 29C. Questions fo r Discuss ion (Sunset, R efract ion,Aerosols , Geometry) 38Section 5 Biology Experiments 39A. Light Flashes in Astronauts' Eyes 40B. Biostack III 43C . "Up" and "Down" for Fish in Zero-g 45D . Questions fo r Discuss ion (L ight F lashes, Cosmic Rays , Zero-g) . . . 48Section 6 Materials Experiments 49

A. Wetting, Wic ks, and Foam in Ze ro-g 49B. Multipurpose Electric Furnace 50C. Eutectics Formed in Zero-g 53D. Crystals Formed in Zero-g 55E. Questions for Discussion (Wett ing, Foams, Furnace, Crystals) 59Appendix A Discuss ion Topics (Answers to Quest ions) 61Appendix B SI Units an d Powers of 10 66

VII


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Appendix C Glossary 69Appendix D Further Reading 75

V I I I


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Table and Figures

Table 3.1 Apollo-Soyuz Experiments and Tests 16The Apollo-Soyuz Crewmen xApollo and Soyuz Spacecraft and the Docking Module 6Apollo and Soyuz Launch Configurations 9Diagram of a Multistage Launch 11Satellite O rbit Around the Earth 12Organization Diagram for NASA Space Science Experiments 21Explanation of the SMC X-1 X - R a y Pulsar 23Orbit and Separation of Apollo and Soyuz for theArtificial Solar Ec lipse 24Diagram of the Inner Corona, the Outer Corona, andthe Zodiacal Light 25Diagram of MA-007 Sunset Obs ervations 28Storm Clouds Over the South Atlantic Ocean 30Sunlight Reflected From the Parana River in Peru and Brazil 31View Across Spain Into the Mediterranean Sea 32Internal Waves in the Atlantic Ocean West of Spain 33The Nile River Delta 35The Simpson Des ert in Aus tralia 36The Levantine Rift in Israel 37Shapes and Sizes of R eported Light Flashes 41Orbit Track, Location, and Type of Light Flashes 42Diagram of Biostack II I With a Cosm ic -Ray Track 44MA-161 Bags of Fish an d Eggs in Water 46Orientation of Fish in a R otating Drum 47Mult ipurpose Electr ic Furnace and Con trols 51Furnace Ca rtr idge for the MA-07 0 Experiment 52Lithium-Fluoride Fibers in Eutectic From Experiment MA-13 1 54Fibers in Magnetic Eutectic From Experiment MA-07 0 55Growth Lines in the Germanium Crys tal From Experiment MA-060 ... 57Diagram of the MA-028 R eac to r 58The MA-028 Crystals Grown in Zero-g 59Height of a Cloud Determined From a Pair of Apollo Photographs . . . .63Dis tance to the Horizon From Apollo-So yuz 63

Figure 1.1Figure 2.12.2

2.32.4

Figure 3.13.23.33.4

Figure 4.14.24.34.44.54.64.74.8

Figure 5.15.25.35.45.5

Figure 6.16.26.36.46.56.66.7

Figure A.1A.2

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Figure 1.1 Apollo-Soyuz crewmen Donald K. Slayton, Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D.Brand, Aleksey A. Leonov, and Valeriy N. Kubasov.

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1 Introduction

The Apollo-Soyuz MissionIn Ju ly 1975, for the first time, manned spacecraft were launched by twonations an d docked (sealed together). The spacecraft were in orbit 222kilometers above th e Earth's surface. The two-man Soyuz vehicle waslaunched first, at 2:20 p.m.Moscow t ime on Ju ly 15 from th e giant Bayko nurCosmodrome nearT yura tam in central Russia. Seven and one-half hours laterat 2:50 p.m. eastern daylight t ime, th e three-man Apollo vehicle w aslaunched from the NA SA John F. K enne dy Space Center at Cape Canaveral inFlorida. After making some careful changes in their orbit, the Apollo as-t ronauts maneuvered close to Soyuz and the two spacecraft docked at 16:09Greenwich mean t ime on July 17. This was 4:09 p.m. in Greenwich, nearLondon , E nglan d. Greenwich mean t ime (GMT) was used to avoid confusionbetween M oscow t ime, eastern day light t ime, an d the central dayligh t t imeused in Houston, Texas, where the Apollo Mission Control Center waslocated. Moscow time is 2 hours ahead of GMT, an d central daylig ht t ime is 5hours behind GMT.So 16:09GMT was 6:09 p.m. in Moscow and 11:09a.m.in Houston.

After 2 days of joint operations in orbi t 222 kilometers above th e Earth'ssurface, Apollo and Soyuz undocked at 16:00 GMT on Ju ly 19, and Soyuzlanded in the U . S . S . R . at 10:51 G MT on July 21. Apollo remained in orbit 3days longer in order to complete 28 experiments, then splashed down in thePacific Ocean south of Hawai i at 21:18 GMT on Ju ly 24. There was one"glitch" just before splashdown, when toxic gases were sucked into th eApollo spacecraft and painful ly burned th e eyes, sk in , and l ungs of theastronauts. However, the 23 American experiments and the five j o i n tAmerican-Russ ian exper iments went wel l . Several Ru ssian experim ents werealso conducted dur ing the mission. Apollo and Soyuz brought back (orradioed back) much important scientific data, and the mission was a greatsuccess.

Astronauts and CosmonautsThe three Apollo crewmem bers and the two Soyuz crewmem bers who visi tedeach other in space are shown in Figure 1.1 . They ha d worked together in theUnited States and the U . S . S . R . fo r more than a year before th e flight and hadlearned to speak each other 's language. (I n orbit, each m an spoke th elan-guage of his listeners.) They also learned all about the two spacecraft. Thecosmonauts visi ted th e N A S A L y n d o n B. Johnson Space Center in Hous t on ,Texas , to examine a ful l -scale model of the Apollo spacecraft. The astronautsvisited the Soviet Space Center near Moscow and saw ful l -scale models of theSoyuz vehicle, and engineers constructed a s imi la r model in Hous t on .


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The Apollo Com mander , Tom Stafford, is a Ma jor General in the U. S . AirForce. Before Apollo-Soyuz, he had flown on three NASA miss ionsGemini VI, Gemi ni IX, and Apollo 10. The Soyuz Commander was Col.Aleksey Leonov. On March 18, 1965, during th e Voskhod 2 mission, he hadtaken ma n's fi rst walk in space. After Apollo-Soyuz, he was promoted to therank of General.

For 13years, D. K. (Deke) Slayton, the Apollo Docking Module Pilot, hadbeen Director of Flight Operations at the Johnson Space Center. He hadpreviously been excluded from spaceflight because of a heart problem, wh ichcleared up by 1972. Apollo-Soyuz was also th e first space mission fo r VanceBrand, the Apollo Command Module Pi lot . Valeriy Kubasov, the SoyuzFlight Engineer , had f lown on one previous Soviet mission, Soyuz 6.

In add ition to the general t raining for the entire mission, eac h astronaut hadto become a specialist. For instance, before the flight, Deke Slayton learnedevery design detail of the Docking Module and was ready to repair or serviceit .

During the flight, each crewman had specific jobs to do in at least 10experiments. In addition, all of them had scheduled duties in operating thespacecraft. These tasks occupied almos t every m inu te of the flight excep t formeals and rest periods. The schedule was arranged in advance by missionplanners, and the crewmen practiced every part of it , over and over again.Although they kn ew it almost by hea rt, they took a printed schedule w ith themthat showed just what was to be done and when to do i t .

Beginning 45 days before launch, frequent medical tests were made oneach crewman to check his health and to measure the bacteria in and on hisbody. He was weighed; his blood, sal iva, urine, and excrement wereanalyzed; his eyes were examined; and his pulse and blood pressure weremeasured. The bacteria coun ts were checked once durin g the fl ight , and themedical tests were resumed after the flight for another 45 days. These testsallowed biologists to check the effects of spacefl ight on the human body.Very little effect w as recorded on the 9-day Apollo-Soyuz mission . Some lossof body weig ht and loss of calciu m in the bones had been recorded on previousflights, especially on the longer Skylab flights wh ich lasted as long as 84 da ys .Both before an d after the flight, the as t ronauts an d cosmonauts conferredw i th the scientists who had designed the experiments. One scientist, thePrincipal Investigator fo r Experiment MA-136, Earth Observat ions andPhotography, lectured the astronauts about what to look for on severalcont inents and what kinds of photographs to take. He even took them onhigh-alti tude airplane flights to help them learn to identify important land-forms , water currents, and cloud types.


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International CooperationEver since Spu tnik was launched by the Ru ssians in 1957 to circle the Earth atan al t i tude of 600 ki lometers, the U nited States and the U.S .S.R . have been ina space race. The goal of the Apollo-Soyuz mission was to show that tw omajor powers, while still competing in space, could benefit by a cooperativemission. For the first time, the Russian people saw U.S.astronauts on l ivetelevision and Americans were able to view a Soviet launch an d l a nd i ng .Specialists in both countries recognized the value of a common dockingsystem for possible rescue missions in space. People in the rest of the world,seeing the cooperation between two rival major powers, may now have m oreinterest in space science an d technology.

The joint space project was first discussed between the Nation al Aero nau-tics and Space Adm inis t ra tion (NA SA) and the Sovie t Academy of Sciencesin October 1970. Almost 2 years later on M ay 24, 1972, the mission conceptwas final ized in Moscow. During the next 3 years, detai led plans for thef l ight, the scientific exp erim ents , and the press coverage w ere negotiated liketreat ies. The astronauts and cosmonauts exchanged visi ts , learned eachother 's langu age, and subseq uen tly shared meals while in orbi t 222 ki lo-meters above th e Earth. They are now respected fr iends.

In these and in ma ny o t he r wa ys , th e Apol lo-Soyuz miss ion improvedinternational relat ions.


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2 TheSpacecraft

Both the Apollo and the Soyuz veh icles had been used on m any earlier fligh ts.Apollo was designed to carry three men to the Moon, together with the LunarModule which was used to land two of them there. The first Apollo spacecraftwas laun ched in 1966, and several test flights were flown before the first menwere landed on the Moon in July 1969 by Apollo 11. Six more Apollospacecraft flew to the Moon , and five Lun ar Mod ules landed. (On Apollo 13,an oxy gen tank exploded and the spacecraft had to return to Earth wit ho ut alunar l anding. ) Three more Apollo spacecraft carried three astronauts each(but no Lu nar Mod ule) up to Sky lab in 1973. Each of these spacecraft dockedwith the orbiting Skylab 444 kilom eters above the Earth and carried experi-mental equipment to use in the large Skylab workshop. The last Skylab crewworked there for 84 days. The Apollo spacecraft got its onboard electricpower from a special kind of battery called a fuel cel l , which uses hydrogenand oxygen.

Soyuz w as designed in 1966 and has been used in man y Soviet missions inorbit around the Earth. The Russians have also buil t a space workshop that issimilar to the Am erican S kylab , althoug h it is sma ller. It is called Salyu t, andSoyu z spacecraft have carried up several crews, each of two or three men, todock with Salyut workshops in orbi ts about 260 ki lometers in al t i tude. TheSoyuz spacecraft uses solar panels for converting sunl ight to electric power.

A The Docking ModuleA l though an Apollo spacecraft had docked with Sky lab and a Soyuz v ehiclehad docked with Salyut , Apollo and Soyuz could not dock w ith each o therdirectly because their seals and latches were different . Also, the cabin atmos-phere in Apollo w as pure oxygen at low pressure, wh ereas Soyuz had ordinaryai r at sea-level pressure. (Of course, this cabin air had to be con tinu ou slyrecondit ionedoxygen added and carbon dioxide removedas the cos-monauts l ived and worked in Soyuz . ) The first important job for the Apollo-Soyuz mission was the construct ion of a Docking Module that woul d fi t bothApollo and Soyuz seals and latches. The Docking Module also had to havetanks of compressed oxygen an d nitrogen to use in filling it to match ei ther th epure-oxygen atmosphere in Apollo or the air in Soyuz .

The Apollo spacecraft with the Docking Mo dule at tached to i ts front end,facing Soyuz , is shown in Figure 2 .1 . The Apollo vehicle, including th eDock ing Mod ule, was longer (about 12 meters, or 39 feet) and more massive(about 14 900 kilog rams , or 15 tons) than Soyuz. The spa cecraft consisted oftwo parts or "modules": th e conica l Command M odu le , where th e astronautsworked, and the cyl indrical Service Module, which contained the instru-ments , fuel t a nks , and water t anks . The ma in thruster w as located at the back

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Figure 2.1 Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft and the Docking Module. The labels are in Englishand Russian for the original publication in both countries. The cylindrical Ser-vice Module (left part of Apollo) has four sets of four jets each around its mid-dle for moving in to dock with Soyuz.

Solar panelTej iMoycTaHOBKa

Instrument AssemblyModule

H6opHO-arpet aNewcompatibledocking systemHoBoeCOBMeCTHMOeCTbiKOBO


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of the Service Module. Just before reentering th e Earth's atmosphere at theend of the mission, th e Command Module was separated from th e ServiceMo dule, and the astronauts rode in the Com mand Mo dule, w ith its flat, wideend forward, through th e atmosphere to splashdown.

The Soyuz spacecraft (Fig. 2.1) w as smaller and lighter than th e Apolloabout 6 meters (2 0 feet) in length an d 6750 kilograms (7 tons) in weight . Itconsisted of three parts: th e spherical Orbital Module, where the two cos-monauts worked; th e Descent Vehicle, w hich corresponds to the ApolloCommand Module; and the Instrument Assembly Module, which carries th esolar panels an d corresponds to the Apollo Service Module.As Figure 2.1 shows, th e guide plates, hooks, latches, an d sealing rings onth e Soyuz Orbital Module fit the guide plates, latches, hooks, and sealingrings on the Apollo Docking M odule. These components form th e "Compati-ble Docking System." The parts mus t fi t exact ly so that when th e sealingrings are pressed tightly together, n o air will leak from the cabin to the vacu umof space, even though th e pressure inside is much higher than th e pressureoutside. O f course, there w ere sealed hatch es (doors) inside th e sealing ringson th e Orbital M odule and the Docking Module, an d also between th e ApolloDocking Module and Command Module and between the Soyuz OrbitalModule and Descent Vehicle.

After Apollo an d Soyuz m aneuvered to "rendezvous" (to meet at the sameplace on the same orb it), the two crews lined up the two spacecraft as shown inFigure 2.1. Apollo approached Soyuz cautiou sly; no one wanted a collision inspace! The astronau ts used th e small jets on the sides of the Service M odule toroll an d turn Apollo exactly to the right posi t ion; then they m oved in slowly.The latches caught the hooks and pulled the sealing rings into contact. Thisrendezvous an d docking is described in more detail in Pamphle t I.

When the seals had been tested, th e astronauts filled th e Docking Modulewith oxygen at one-third sea-level air pressure and opened the hatch betweenth e Com mand M odule and the Docking Mod ule. Apollo Comman der Staffordan d Docking Module Pi lot Slayton moved into th e Docking Module, closedthe hatch behind them , and slowly changed the Docking Modu le atmosphereto a higher pressure m ixture of ni trogen and oxy gen. At the same t ime, thecosmonauts reduced the pressure in Soyuz to match the Docking Modulepressure. Then the two hatches between the Soyuz Orbital Module and theDocking Module were opened, and Soyuz Commander Leonov entered theDocking Module for the first inte rna t iona l handshake in space, an eventcarried l ive by television in both the United States and the U.S.S.R.

The astronauts and cosmonauts worked for a while in the Docking Mo dule .Stafford and Slayton looked around inside Soyuz. Go ing back, the astronau tshad to close the hatches between Soyuz and the Docking Module, slowlychange the Dock ing Module atmo sphere to pure oxygen at one-th ird sea-levelpressure, and then open the ha tch into Apol lo ' s Command Module .


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This complicated p rocedure, using the Docking M odule to convert from th eSoyuz atmosphere to the Apollo atmosphere (and vice versa), was followedseveral times du ring the 44 hou rs that the two spacecraft w ere sealed together.Each crewman visi ted the other spacecraft for a meal , and astronaut-cosmonaut pairs worked together in the Docking Module. They used theelectric furnace described in Section 6, photographed several experiments,an d exchanged parts of other experiments. Then all the hatches were sealed,an d the two spacecraft undocked for the Artificial Solar Eclipse Experiment,in wh ich Apo llo mov ed between S oyuz and the Sun (see Sec. 3 ). Apollo thendocked with Soyuz again, to t ry out the Compatible Docking System in adifferent w a y . After 4 more hours, Apollo undocked and moved aroundSoyuz at three different distances to measure the amount of oxygen andnitrogen in the Earth 's outer atmosphere (see Pamphlet V). Apollo thendeparted from Soyuz for the last time.

Launch and BoosterThe launch of a spacecraft is a spectacular sight, as shown by the colorphotograph on the cover of this pamphlet . In this photograph, th e huge SaturnIB booster is l ift ing about 588 000 ki lograms (580 tons) off the laun ch pad atth e Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Most of thi s weight is the fuel for thetw o rocket motors in the two boosters that put Apollo in orbit around th eEarth. The rocket moto r gets- its thrust by ejecting hot gases produced byburning kerosene with l iquid oxyg en. I t is a reaction motor and is describedmore fully in Pamphle t I .

T he complete Apollo and Soyuz " launch configura t ions"the combina-t ions of boosters and spacecraft on the l aunch padare show n in Figure 2 .2 .Apollo, on the left, is mu ch larger than Soy uz because it was designed to go toth e Moon. The Docking Module w as carried in a spec ia l ' ' adapter'' below th eService M odu le. The L unar Mo dule was carried in this adapter on the lunarmissions. (Later, Apollo had to detach itself from the adapter, move awayfrom it , turn a round, an d move in to dock with th e Docking Module.) Belowthe spacecraft modu les were the two stagesof the Saturn IB booster rocket . Asshown at the bottom of the f igure , th e first stage fired for 2 minutes and 30seconds. Then the emp ty tanks , pum ps, comb ustion chamber, and nozzles ofth e Saturn IB first stage were unlatched an d discarded. (They fell back toEarth. ) In the mea nt i me , th e La unc h Escape System (which would haverescued th e astronauts if the l a unc h had gone wrong) w as also unla tched anddiscarded. It fell into th e ocean south of Florida, together with th e empt ybooster.


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ApolloSpacecraft

Saturn IBBoosterRocket

Spacecraft massLift-off thrustSecondary thrustNumber of enginesFuelLaunch weightFiring time

APOLLO14900kg6,67 X106N (Saturn IB)1.0 X 10 N (Saturn IVB)8 (Saturn IB)1 (Saturn IVB)Kerosene/LOX (Saturn IB)Liquid hydrogen/LOX (Saturn IVB)588000kg2 minutes 30 seconds (Saturn IB)7 minutes 25 seconds (Saturn IVB)

SoyuzSpacecraft

SoyuzBoosterRocket

SOYUZ6750 kg7 . 0 3 X 1 06N

20 (in two stages)Kerosene/LOX300000kg12 minutes

Apollo and Soyuz launch configurations. The information beneath the drawingdescribes each spacecraf t in terms of mass, booster thrust, total launchweight, and booster firing time.Figure 2.2


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After the Saturn IB booster was discarded, the "second-stage" Saturn IVBbooster fired for 7 mi nut e s and 25 seconds. This booster accelerated Apollofrom a speed of 4 km/sec (8750 m p h ) to a speed of almost 8 km/sec (17 500m p h ) and changed the direction of the spacecraft from vertical toward hori-zontal . The second-stage Saturn IVB was then turned off. As show n schemat-ically in Figure 2.3 , the Apo llo lift-off was a m ult istage launc h (see PamphletI) . It put Apollo into a nearly circular orbit about 16 5 kilometers above theEarth's surface.The sm aller Soyuz spacecraft had only one booster, with tank s that could bediscarded when they were empty, and no launch escape system. I ts dimen-sions and booster characteristics are shown at the right in Figure 2.2. The20-engine booster lifted the 300 000-kilogram (300-ton) co nfigu ration off thelaunch pad, turned th e spacecraft to the horizontal, and put Soyuz in an orbitabout 220 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Along the way, it droppedfour of the tubular booster engines after their fuel was used up.

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M fuel for the f i rs t stagefuel for the second stagemass of the emptysecond-stage rocket

v velocity

Schematic diagram of a multistage launch. The total launch mass is the sum ofthe mass of the payload m_, the mass of the booster tanks m^, and the mass ofthe fuel M: mp + mb + M.After the first stage, the empty tank mb is discardedand the remaining mass is speeded up to a higher velocity vm2.

Figure 2.3

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c OrbitAfter th e boosters were turned off, Apollo was moving horizontally at7.8 km/sec in orbit around th e Earth. The orbit of a satellite around th eEarth, shown in Figure 2.4, is s imilar to the mu ch larger orbit of the M oon.The spacecra ft, now a satellite, is being pulle d toward the cen ter of theEarth by g rav i ty , but it is moving horizontally so fast that it never reachesthe Earth's surface. The arrow labeled v, shows th e horizontal motion in5 minutes , and the smaller arrow Ar shows how far the satelli te falls in5 minutes . Starting from the end of Ar, we can follow th e next 5 m i n u t e s ofhorizontal motion and falling, and so on, all the way around the Earth. If thespeed v_ is just r ig ht, the orbit wil l be a circle; otherwise, it wi l l be an ellipse,as in Figure 2.4.

Elliptical ofbit

Satellite at perigee s 'a Apogee

Actual heights, kmSoyuz initial 186 221Apollo initial 148 168Apollo- Soyuzdocked (circular) 222 222

Figure 2.4 The orbit of a satellite around the Earth. The orbit size is exaggerated forclarity. The actual heights for Apollo and Soyuz are given at the bottom. The ar-row Fg represents the force of gravity pulling the satellite mass ms toward thelarge Earth mass ME

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An ellipse looks like an ova l. A t one end of the ellipse, the s atellite (space-craft) is closest to the Earth. This point (left side of Fig. 2.4) is called perigee.At the other end of the oval, the satellite is farthest from the Earth, and thispoint is called apogee. The perigee height H p and the apogee height H adescribe the shape of an orbit. When Apollo started in orbi t , it had an Hp of148 ki lometers and an#a of 168kilometers. Space engineers cal l this a " 148-by 168-kilometer orbit." The time needed to go around th e Earth once iscalled th e period T. This period becomes larger as the height H increases.For the first Soyu z orbi t , which was 186 by 221 ki lometers, the period was92.5 minutes. For the smaller orbi t of Apollo, th e period w as 91.7 minutes .

Several other numbers are needed to describe an orbi t ful ly. The mostimportant is the inclination i. The inclin ation is the angle between the orb italplane and the Equator of the Earth. I f a satellite moves along th e Equator, i is0. For Apollo and Soyuz, / was 51.8, which means that they crossed th eEquator going north, mov ed up to 51.8 N lat itude, crossed the Equator goingsouth and moved down to 51.8 S la t i tude .Several changes in orbit were made by using th e thrusters on Apollo an dSoyuz to increase their speed at apogee. These changes put Apollo in a 205-by 205-kilometer circular orbi t and Soyuz in an accurate 222- by 222-ki lometer circular orbi t . A t jus t th e right t ime, Ap ollo increased it s speed toreach th e 222-ki lom eter he ight near Soyuz fo r rendezvous and docking.Pamphlet I gives a more detailed description of these orbits and how they werechanged.

WeightlessnessW h e n you s it in a chair, you feel th e force of gravity pul l ing yo u down becauseth e chair pushes back up wi t h an equa l but opposite force (New ton 's ThirdLaw). On Earth, every mass m mus t be supported by a force F equal to itsweight : F = mg, where g is the acceleration of gravi ty , a9.8-m/sec increase inspeed during every second of fall. When Apollo or Soyuz , or any otherspacecraft, is in orbi t wi t h th e thrus te rs off , th e spacecraft is fal l ing towardEarth, and n oth ing inside needs to be supported. W hen an elevator starts to godown, you can feel a lessening of your we i gh t , th e force between yo ur feet andth e elevator floor. If the elevator cable broke so that th e elevator fell d o w n th eshaft, th e force on your feet would be zero. There is not h i ng to push you upbecause you and the elevator are fal l ing together at the same speed and sameaccelera t ion . This app l ies equa l ly to other people and objects in the fal l ingelevator. In this "free fa l l , " everything is weightless; F = 0 a n d # = 0 . Thisweightless condi t ion is called zero-g.

Zero-g is one of the most significant factors affect ing biological an dmater ia ls exper iments in space. I t also produces surp rising effects on the daily

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l ives of astronauts a nd cosmonauts . For instance, the astronau t cannot jus t putsomething on a table; it would float away. There is no "down" in the cab in .To stay in place without floating, the astronaut must anchor himself tosomething fixed on the cabin wall. ( In Skylab, each astronaut had specialcleats on his shoes that fit into a grating on the floor.) Liquids in zero-g won'tstay in cups, so dr inks ar e squeezed from p lastic bags into th e mouth . Water orfuel doesn ' t stay at the "bottom" of a partly filled tank. There are noconvection currents in the cabin air; hot air doesn ' t rise. The astronautsneeded 2 or 3 days to get used to zero-g. It made some of them seasick at firstan d shifted blood from their legs to the upper parts of their bodies . Othereffects are described in Pamphlet VII.

Questions for Discussion(Time Zones , Docking Module, Launch, Zero-g)1. The cosmonauts at e supper in Soyuz at 10:55 p.m. Moscow standard

time. W hat was the time then in London, E nglan d (GMT)? Wh at was the timein your home town?

2. Why was there never an open passageway between Apollo and Soyuzwh i l e they were docked?

3. How m u c h fuel (kerosene an d l iquid oxygen) w as needed to put eachkilogram of Apollo into orbit? How muc h for Soyuz?

4. An astronaut in zero-g w ants to push a cabinet door shut . What wouldhappen if he did so without anchor ing h imself?

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3 Astronomy Experiments

Astronomers using data obtained outside the Earth's atmosphere have twomajor advantages over astronomers observing from Earth. The more impor-tant advantage is that their data come from outside the Earth's atmosphere,which blocks x-rays, ul t raviolet , and most of the infrared l ight coming fromspace. Even wi th large telescopes l ike th e 508-centimeter (200-inch) one atth e Palomar Observatory in Californ ia, ground-based astronomers can photo-graph or detect only visible l ight (violet , blue, green, ye l low, red)and a smallportion of ultraviolet an d infra red. Pamphle t II describes this in greater detail.Because the atmosphere blurs the photographs taken with large telescopes,very faint stars are missed and larger objects (gasclouds and galax ies) are notshown sharply. Observa t ions obta ined ou ts ide th e a tmosphere thus have asecond advantage.

A telescope was carried to the Moon on Apollo 16, and other telescopeshave been used above th e a tmosphere in Skyl a b and in unm a nned sa t el l it e s . Aspecial x-ray detector was used on A pollo- Soy uz, and photograp hs weretaken of the solar corona, a gas clou d around the Sun with a temp erature ofabout 1 000 000 K.

Experiment Proposals and Organizationfor Apollo-SoyuzIn 1972,N A S A invited scientists from all over th e world to propose experi-ments for the Apol lo-Soyuz miss ion. In all, 161 proposals were submit ted toN A S A Headquarters in Wa shi ng t on , D.C. Each proposed experiment w asassigned a numb er: MA -001 to M A -16 1. Of these , 135 came from sc ient i s t sin th e United States; eight from West Germ any; seven from France; four fromIndia ; three from th e U . S . S . R . ; and one each from I re land, Scot land, Swe-den, and Switzerland. Each proposal specified a scientific objec t ive , de-scribed th e equip men t necessary, and es t imated th e a m o u n t of as t ronaut orcos monau t t ime required in fl ight . Fi na l l y , th e cost of bui lding th e e q u i p m e n tand ana lyz ing th e expe r i ment r e su l t s w as es t imated. F or U.S. inves t iga t ions ,N A S A suppl ied th e necessary funds; foreign inv est igators were f inanced bytheir gove rnment s .The U.S. Na t i ona l Ac a demy of Sciences reviewed most of the proposalsand rated them according to scientif ic value . Then, on the basis of wei ght ,cost , operat ing t ime , and c ompl ex i t y of spacecraf t mane uve rs requi red , th eN A S A M anned Space Fl ight Experimen ts Board (M SFE B) selec ted 28 exper-iments . These exper imen ts are listed in Table 3.1.Five of them requi red jointas tronaut-cosmonaut ac t ivi t ies , and the Soviet Space Science Board added si xmore for the cosmonauts only. There was a Princ ipa l Inves t iga tor fo r eachexper iment ; he was held responsible by N A S A fo r ana lyz ing th e resul t s and

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Table 3.1 A p olio-Soy uz Experiments and Tests

Experimentnumber

Experimentna me

Objective Principal Investigator'sorganization

Reference

MA-048 Soft X-R ay Survey the sky for soft x-rayObservat ion sources and backg round

MA -151 Crystal Measure the radioact iveActivation isotopes created by cosmicrays in crystals used fo r

gamma-ray detectorsM A - 1 4 8 Art i f icial Photograph the solar corona

Solar Eclipse from Soyuz wh i l e Apollo(joint) blocks out the SunMA-083 Ext reme Survey of the sky for

Ultraviolet extreme-ultraviolet sourcesSurvey and background

MA-088 Interste llar Detect inte rstel lar hel iumHel ium Gl ow en t e r i ng the solar system

and measure it s densi ty andmot ionMA -089 Doppler Measure large-scale (300-km)

Tracking gravity anomalies on theEarth's surface by detectingminute changes in the 300-kmseparation between Apolloand the Docking Module

M A - 1 2 8 Geo dyn am ics Measu re large-scale gravityanomalies by detect ing smallaccelerat ions of Apollo in the222-km orbi t , us ing Dopplert racking from th e ATS-6geosynchronous satel l i te

M A - 1 3 6 Earth Detect, photograph , andObservat ions measure pecu liar surfaceand features (rifts, deserts.Photography long waves in the sea)

U. S . Nav a l ResearchLaboratory

Pamphlet I I ,Sec. 3

NASA Robert H . Goddard Pamphlet II ,Space Flight Cen ter (GSFC) Sec. 4

Soviet Academy ofSciences, Moscow, andN A S A JSCUnivers i ty of Cal i forniaat Berkeley

Univers i ty of Cal i forniaat Berkeley

N A S A GSFC

Smithsonian Inst i tut ion

Pamphlet I I I ,Sec. 2



Smithsonian Astrophysica l Pamphle t IV ,Observatory an d Harvard Sec. 4Univers i ty

Pamphlet IV ,Sec. 5

Pamphlet V ,Sec. 2

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Table 3.1 Continued

Experimentnumber

Experimentname

Objective Principal Investigator's Referenceorganization

MA -106 Light Flashes

MA-007 Stratospheric Measure infrared sunlightAerosol inte nsity at spacecraft sunriseMe asurement and sunset to determ ine the

amoun t of aerosols from 30to 150 km a l t i tude , an d testth is t echn ique for cont inuousmonitor ing of the atmosphere

MA-059 Ultraviolet Measure th e dens i ty of atomicAbsorption oxygen and nitrogen at the(joint) 222-km alti tude by detectin g oabsorption of 1304 an d 1200 A

(130.4 and 120.0 nm) lightfrom a beam reflectedfrom Soyuz back to ApolloCount the flashes seen byblindfolded as tronauts andmeasure h igh-ene rgy cosmic-ra y intensi ty in the CM cabin

MA-107 Bios tack II I Expose to cosmic rays spores,seeds, and eggs in stacksbetween layers of plastic andphotographic film to measurehigh-energy cosmic-ray tracks

M A-147 Zone-Forming Photograph cultu res ofFungi ( jo in t) fungusl ike cells and their

spores before , dur ing , an dafter exposure to zero-g andcosmic rays an d measureth e cosmic-ray in tensi ty

MA -011 Electro- Operate an d photographphoresis eigh t static electrophoresisTechnology columns in zero-g to separate

live blood cells and livekidney cells fo r postflightexamina t ion

Univers i ty of W y o m i n gand NASA Langley ResearchCenter

Pamphlet V ,Sec. 3

University of Mich iganan d N A S A JSC

Univers i ty of Californiaat Berkeley

University of Frankfur t .West Germany

Soviet Academy ofSciences, Moscow, andN A S A JS C

NASA George C . Mars ha l lSpace Flight Center (MSFC)

Pamphlet V ,Sec. 4

Pamphlet V I ,Sec. 2

Pamphlet V I ,Sec. 3

Pamphlet VI I ,Sec. 3

Pamphle t V I I ,Sec. 4

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Table 3.1 C o n t i n u e d

Experimentn u m b e r

Experimentname

Objective Principal Investigator's Referenceorganization

M A - 014 Electro- Test in zero-g th e operationphoresis of a free-flow electrophoresis

tube with electr ic fieldacross th e flow

M ax Planck Inst i tute ofBioc he mis t r y , M unic h ,West Germany

Pamphle t VII ,Sec. 4

AR-002 Microbial Obtain skin-sw ab samplesExchange from astronauts and cosmo-( joint) nauts before, d u r i n g , and after

f l ight , and saliva and bloodsamples before and afterflight for postf l ight analysis

MA-031 Cellular Collect astronau t blood samplesIm mu ne before and after flight fo rResponse ana lys is of l ymphoc y te response

MA- 03 2 The Effects of Collect astronaut bloodSpace Fligh t samp les before and afteron Leukocyte flight for analysis of leuko-Response cyte (white blood cell) response

M A - 1 6 1 Kil l i f i sh Observe and photographHatc hing and baby fish and fish hatchedOrientation from eggs in zero-gLiquid Operate an d photographDemonstra- demonstrations of chemica lt ions foams, l iqu id spreading, and

wick action in zero-gM A - O I O Mu ltipurpose Design, test , and operateElectric in zero-g an electric furnaceFurnace providing temperatures up to

1423 K ( 1 1 5 0 C ; 1200 F)MA-044 Monotectic Heat to 1423 K (1150 C)

an d Syntectic and cool three small samplesAl loys of a l u m i n u m -an t i m o n y andthree of lead-zinc in zero-g

N A S A JSC and Ins t i tu t eof Biological Problems,Soviet Minis t ry of H e a l th ,Moscow


Baylor College of Medic ine ,Houston, Texas

Baylor College of Medic ine ,Houston, Texas

Baylor College of M e dic ine ,Houston, Texas

N A S A MSFC

Westinghouse ResearchLaboratories, Pit tsburgh,Pa., and N A S A MSFC

N A S A MSFC




Pa mphle t V I I I ,Sec. 2

Pamphle t VII I ,Sec. 3

Pa mphle t VI I I ,Sec. 3

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Table 3.1 Concluded

Experimentnumber Objective Principal Investigator'sorganizationMA-150 Mult ip le Heat to 1423 K (1150 C)

Material and cool small samples ofMelt ing a l u m i n u m - t u n g s t en ,( joint ) germanium-s i l i con, and

a l u m i n u m i n zero-gMA -070 Zero-g Heat to 1348 K (1075 C)

Processing an d cool small samples ofof Magnets bi sm uth-m angan ese and copper-

cobal t -cer ium a l loys in zero-gMA -041 Surface- Heat to 923 K (650 C) and

Tension- cool three small samples ofInduced lead and lead-gold al loy inConvection zero-g; heat three others to723 K (450 C)

M A - 1 3 1 Halide Heat to 1153 K (880 C) andEutectic cool a sm all sample of sodiu mGrowth chlor ide- l i th ium fluoride

in zero-gMA-060 Interface Heat to m elt i ng , then cool

Mark ings in in zero-g wi t h thermal pulsesCrystals every 4 seconds, three smallsamples of ge r ma nium doped

with ga l l i um and a n t i monyMA -085 Crystal Heat to 877 K (604 C) three

G row th From small samples of ge rma ni umth e Vapor compounds and al loys inPhase zero-g, al lo wi ng crystal growt h

at the cool end of the ampouleMA -028 Crystal Photograph crystal grow th

Growth in six tubes wi t h reactantsproducing lead su l f ide ,calc iumtartrate. and calc ium carbonateas large crystals in zero-g

Inst i tute for Metal lurgy , Pa mphl e t V I I I ,Moscow, and NA SA MSFC Sec . 3

G r u m m a n AerospaceCorpora t ion, Bethpage , N .Y .

O ak Ridge Nat ionalLaboratory, O ak Ri dge . Tenn .

Univers i ty of California atLos Angeles

Massachuset ts In s t i tu te ofTechnology, Cambridge ,Mass.

Rensse laer Po lytechnicIns t i tu t e , T ro y , N . Y .

Roc kw e l l Internat ionalScience Center, ThousandOaks, Calif.

Pamphlet V I I I ,Sec. 3

P amph le t V I I I ,Sec. 3



P amph le t V I I I ,Sec. 4

Pa mphle t V I I I ,Sec. 4

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writ ing a final report. West Germany developed and f inanced two experi-ments , but their Principal Invest igators had to make reports in English toN A S A . The Russian scient ists w ho worked on joint experimen ts also subm it-te d reports to N A S A .

The complicated organizat ion for the exper iments is s h o w n in Figure 3.1.Arrangem ents for the U.S .-U .S.S .R. jo int experiments w ere made betweenNA SA and the Soviet Academy of Sciences, and arrangements for the WestGerman expe riments were made between NASA and the German Ministry forResearch and Technology. The NAS A John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC),Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), George C . Marshall Space FlightCenter ( MSFC) , Robert H. Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), LangleyResearch Center (LaRC), and Spacecraft Tracking and Data Network(STDN) were all involved in ensur ing that th e exper iments fitted into th eApollo-Soyuz schedule. The dashed l ines in Figure 3 .1 show informal com-municat ions that were used in preparing fo r flight and in writ ing the finalpublished reports.

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Organization diagram for NASA space science experiments. The Principal In-vestigators (bottom boxes) proposed the experiments and are responsible forreporting the results.Figure 3.1

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X-Ray PulsarOne of the interesting results of the astronomy experiments comes from x-raymeasurements made in the MA-048 Exper iment . The Principal Investigatorwas Herbert Friedman of the U.S . N aval Research Laboratory in Wa shingto n,D.C. As explained in Pamphlet I I , this experiment m easured x-rays comingfrom various directions. In one direction, x-rays were detected coming from astar 200 000 l ight-years away in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a galaxyoutside our own Milky W ay Galaxy. These x-rays came in pulses about 0 .7second apart, w hich is shorter than the periods of 10 other known x-raypulsars. The best explanat ion is that a high-dens i ty Neutron Star (an oldcollapsed star) about 5 kilometers in radius is rotating once every 0 .7 second.This is i l lustrated in Figure 3.2. The N eutro n Star is in a 3.89-day orbit arounda blue (very hot) giant s tar , which is distorted by the gravi ty of the N eu t ronStar. G as is pulled off from th is giant tide, falls at high speed into the Neu tronStar, and produces x-rays.

Neutron Stars have collapsed because of large gra vity forces. If grav itypulls a star to an even smaller radius, the star becomes an invisible BlackHole, a collapsed mass of extremely high density. N eutron Stars and BlackHoles ar e described in Pamphlet II .

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Orbital speedin 3.89-day period