On 03/13/2016 05:10 AM, Henry Spencer wrote:
As actually flown, turns out that 10's LM had full descent fuel -- theThat begs the question of why Apollo 9 lacked a full load of ascent
same as the later landing missions -- but only a partial load of
*ascent* fuel. Baker's "History of Manned Space Flight" says a 63%
ascent fuel load, but Orloff's authoritative "Apollo by the Numbers:
a statistical reference" (NASA SP-2000-4029) shows almost exactly 50%
-- 2631 lb vs. 11's 5238. (LM propellant mass tables, p. 295-6.)
(I think Baker's error was to assume that Apollo 9's LM had a full
load, which it didn't. After unit conversions, his number for 10's
load is right but his "nominal" number matches 9's rather than the
heavier loads of the landing missions.)