Apollo 15

Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon.

Crew

David Scott (3), commander

Alfred Worden (1), command module pilot

James Irwin (1), lunar module pilot

Backup Crew

Dick Gordon, commander

Vance Brand, command module pilot

Harrison Schmitt, lunar module pilot

Support Crew

Joe Allen

Bob Parker

Karl Henize

Mission Parameters

Mass:

*Launch mass: 2,921,005 kg

*Total spacecraft: 46,782 kg

**CSM mass: 30,354 kg, of which CM was 5840 kg, SM 24,514 kg

**LM mass: 16,428 kg, of which ascent stage was 4971 kg, descent stage 11,457 kg

Earth orbits: 3 before leaving for Moon, about one on return

Lunar orbits: 74

Perigee: 169.5 km
Apogee: 171.3 km
Inclination: 29.679°
Period: 87.84 min
Perilune: 107.4 km
Apolune: 314.8 km
Inclination: 154°
Period: 119 min
Landing Site: 26.13222° N - 3.63386° E or
26° 7' 56.0" N - 3° 38' 1.9" E
LM - CSM Docking
Undocked: July 30, 1971 - 18:13:16 UTC
Docked: August 2, 1971 - 19:10:25 UTC
Moon walk
Scott - Stand up EVA - LM upper hatch
Start Stand Up EVA: July 31, 1971, 00:16:49 UTC
End Stand Up EVA: July 31, 00:49:56 UTC
Duration: 33 minutes, 07 seconds
Scott and Irwin - EVA 1
EVA 1 Start: July 31, 1971, 13:12:17 UTC
EVA 1 End: July 31, 19:45:59 UTC
Duration: 6 hours, 32 minutes, 42 seconds
Scott and Irwin - EVA 2
EVA 2 Start: August 1, 1971, 11:48:48 UTC
EVA 2 End: August 1, 19:01:02 UTC
Duration: 7 hours, 12 minutes, 14 seconds
Scott and Irwin - EVA 3
EVA 3 Start: August 2, 1971, 08:52:14 UTC
EVA 3 End: August 2, 13:42:04 UTC
Duration: 4 hours, 49 minutes, 50 seconds
Worden - Transearth EVA 4
EVA 4 Start: August 5, 1971, 15:31:12 UTC
EVA 4 End: August 5, 16:10:19 UTC
Duration: 39 minutes, 07 seconds

The splashdown point was estimated to be 26°13′ N, 158°13′ W, 330 statute miles (530 km) north of Honolulu, Hawaii and 9.8 km (5.3 n mi) from the recovery ship USS Okinawa.

Mission highlights

The first of the longer J-class expedition-style lunar landing missions was also the first to include the lunar rover, a car-like vehicle that extended the astronauts' range. The lunar module Falcon touched down near the sinuous channel known as Hadley Rille. Scott and Irwin rode more than 17 miles (27 kilometers) in their rover, and had a free hand in their geological field studies compared to earlier lunar astronauts. They brought back one of the prize trophies of the Apollo program—a sample of ancient lunar crust nicknamed the "Genesis Rock", and returned with total 76.8 kg of lunar samples.

David Scott performed an informal experiment, simultaneously dropping a falcon feather and a hammer. Both hit the ground at the same time, verifying that (within the accuracy of the crude setup) bodies fall at the same rate regardless of mass.

Apollo 15 also launched a small subsatellite for measuring particles and fields in the lunar vicinity. On the way back to Earth, Worden, who had flown solo on board Endeavor while his crewmates walked on the surface, conducted the first space-walk between Earth and the Moon to retrieve film from the side of the spacecraft.

Relics

The command module is displayed at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio and the lunar module impacted the Moon on 3 August, 1971 at 26.36° N, 0.25° E.

Trivia

All three crew members were alumni of the University of Michigan [1]. On board the spacecraft they carried a miniature of the University of Michigan flag, a miniature of the University of Michigan Dept. of Aerospace Engineering seal, and a charter of the University of Michigan Alumni Club of the Moon, which was left on the moon.