Apollo astronauts thrown forward during Saturn V S-IC/S-II stage separation home
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1969 Mar 28 - Nation: USA. Launch Vehicle: Saturn V.
  • Apollo astronauts thrown forward during Saturn V S-IC/S-II stage separation Program: Apollo. Flight: Apollo 9.

    Following a report by the Apollo 9 astronauts that they were thrown forward in their seats and had to grab their arm rests for support during the S-IC/S-II stage separation, an evaluation working group were studying the problem.

    Preliminary results indicated that the separation transients were a dynamic characteristic of the Saturn V vehicle; that the measured accelerations were within predicted range and below design limits; and that the separation sequences were normal. Conclusions were that similar separation dynamics could be anticipated on future Saturn V flights.


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