posted 06-12-2016 02:21 PM               

NASA officials had seriously considered cancelling the Apollo 12 crew's mission to the Moon to the extent of directing a U.S. Air Force weather surveillance aircraft to determine weather conditions for launch within the Cape Canaveral, Florida, launch area. Flight ceiling was confirmed as acceptable for launch only 15 minutes prior to launch, in large part, because there also was no lightning in the launch area.

The cover above is a NASA VIP postcard given to mission launch attendees, astronauts' family members, and dignitaries. The machine cancel has missed cancelling the airmail stamp on the postcard, and it has received an additional large hand cancel to cancel the stamp properly on the postcard for this exciting second manned mission to land on the Moon. While this was taking place, Apollo 12's Saturn V was struck by lightning during launch knocking out the mission's entire electrical system.

The cover pictured is an Apollo 12 astronaut insurance cover. It is called an insurance cover for crew members to give to their families in the event the mission failed and in the event they did not return from it. For Apollo lunar landing missions, landing on the Moon, safely returning to their Command Module, and returning to Earth was at best, only a fifty-fifty proposition. Apollo 12's situation was strikingly different in that their rocket was struck by lightning in the first few minutes of their launch while enroute to Earth orbit before continuing on to the Moon.

Space Cover #372 – During Launch, Apollo 12 Struck by Lightning

Earlier that morning, it appeared almost certain that NASA officials would postpone the launch of Apollo 12, NASA's second attempt to land astronauts on the Moon. It was now fifteen minutes before launch, but a U. S. Air Force weather surveillance aircraft confirmed that the flight ceiling for launch was acceptable, winds were within limits, and there was no lightning within the immediate launch area. Apollo 12 Commander Pete Conrad, Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean, and Command Module Pilot Richard Gordon in Yankee Clipper were "go" for launch. The backstory concerning the launch of the Apollo 12 crew's mission is this week's Space Cover of the Week's story.

"Liftoff," radios Commander Pete Conrad, "the clock is running," as Apollo 12 slowly lifts away from the launch complex LC-39A. Conrad muses, "That's a lovely liftoff!" The massive Saturn V responds amazing well and completes its roll over to its track heading as it thunders into the stormy skies over Cape Canaveral. Suddenly, Conrad looks out of the corner of his eye and sees a bright flash of lightning followed by loud static noise on his headset with a trembling of the mighty Apollo 12 Saturn booster. Only Pete Conrad had observed the lightning flash, but all of the crew then heard the repetitive and urgent warning of the instrument panel's master alarm reverberating in their headsets. The instrument panel was a blur of warning lights indicating the spacecraft's electrical system had been knocked-out.

The flight continues on rocket power but with the possibility of the Command Module only having battery power and then becoming a dead spacecraft without power for reentry. Mission Control engineers immediately attack the problem and are able to quickly restore telemetry data flow after asking the crew to reset signal condition equipment to auxiliary. Mission Control's CapCom Jerry Carr then urgently advises the crew to try resetting their electrical bus to get their knocked-out fuel cells back on line.

Conrad calls out to his crewmates, "Wait for staging!" The crew sees the first stage of the Saturn V rocket fall away. The crew is slammed into their harnesses as the Saturn's second stage rocket engines thunder to life, cut-in, and accelerate them forward as expected. After staging, Alan Bean is able to reset the spacecraft's electrical bus, and the Command Module's electrical system suddenly comes back on line. Slowly but surely, the instrument panel's warning lights blink-off one by one. As Apollo 12 speeds into Earth orbit, spacecraft operations appear to return to normal. Conrad excitedly looks at his crew mates, suddenly laughs, and shouts, "Was that ever a sim (simulation) they gave us?! There were so many lights up there I couldn't read them all!"

The emergency conditions confronting the Apollo 12 crew during launch are over and above those test conditions normally simulated on the ground and prove the value of these training tests as the crew responds to total electrical system failure after being struck by lightning under actual operational conditions immediately after launch. The Apollo 12 crew displays confident and professional ability in turning their mission's certain failure into unqualified success by fully restoring the failed electrical system on their spacecraft as Apollo 12 enters Earth orbit twelve minutes after launch on November 14, 1969.

Commander Pete Conrad worries that the lightning strike to Apollo 12 after launching has damaged Yankee Clipper or another key system and that Mission Control then would cancel the mission. His concern is that his crew would orbit Earth a few times, but then be told by NASA officials to return home. Once Apollo 12 reaches Earth orbit, Conrad directs his crew to check out everything in the spacecraft. Dick Gordon checks out the lower equipment bay and realigns Yankee Clipper's navigation system against star sightings. Conrad and Bean check out the other spacecraft systems.

Everything in the Command Module and Lunar Module checks out surprisingly well. Houston CapCom Jerry Carr confirms this, after Houston engineers complete their diagnostic tests, saying, "Apollo 12, the good word is you're go for TLI (translunar insertion)." Pete Conrad is ecstatic and says, "Whoop-de-do! We're ready! We didn't expect anything else!"

posted 06-16-2016 06:01 PM               

But even after Apollo 12, there were more lightning strikes during the later Apollo and Skylab programs.

But while there were no other strikes during a launch, though, several lightning strikes were reported once after the Saturn launch vehicles were atop Pads A/B getting ready for their countdown and launch preparations.

For instance, there were five lightning strike days reported in June 1971 at Pad 39A for Apollo 15 in which the powered-up spacecraft (mostly CSM-112) was hit resulting in major damaged electrical and circuit systems.

Lightning strikes at the pad with a Saturn atop were always a concern, but nothing could compare to an actual strike while an Apollo/Saturn V was "alive" with all engines running, for sure!

The crew of Apollo 12, with flight commander Conrad mostly, deserve much credit for their quick decision-making once they had experienced a "no power" condition just after liftoff.