Apollo Accidents/Incidents

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TheGreenGoblin
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Apollo Accidents/Incidents

#1 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Fri Feb 21, 2020 4:04 pm

I had always assumed that while every flight was perilous, that there had only been 2 Apollo missions that had been marred by serious incidents/accidents that were were or were likely to have been directly mortally perilous to the crews involved namely:

Apollo 1 - Fatal Accident

Apollo 13 - Serious ongoing incident

In fact there was a third serious incident that resulted in the crew being hospitalized for two weeks and it came after the last Apollo moon flight i.e. Apollo 17.

Apollo Soyuz - Serious incident
The mission was considered a great success, both technically and as a public-relations exercise for both nations. The only serious problem was during reentry and splashdown of the Apollo craft, during which the crew were accidentally exposed to toxic hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide fumes, caused by unignited reaction control system (RCS) hypergolic propellants venting from the spacecraft and reentering a cabin air intake. The RCS was inadvertently left on during descent, and the toxic fumes were sucked into the spacecraft as it drew in outside air. Brand briefly lost consciousness, while Stafford retrieved emergency oxygen masks, put one on Brand, and gave one to Slayton. The three astronauts were hospitalized for two weeks in Honolulu.Brand took responsibility for the mishap; because of high noise levels in the cabin during reentry, he believes he was unable to hear Stafford call off one item of the reentry checklist, the closure of two switches which would have automatically shut off the RCS and initiated drogue parachute deployment. These procedures were manually performed later than usual, allowing the ingestion of the propellant fumes through the ventilation system.

The ASTP was the final flight of an Apollo spacecraft. Immediately after the launch of the Apollo spacecraft, preparations began to convert Launch Pad 39B and the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center for use by the Space Shuttle, the United States' next crewed spacecraft program. Launch Pad 39A had already been closed after the launch of Skyl
Hydrazine is a very nasty substances. The combination of the two chemicals is highly explosive as well. The result of the mistake noted above could have been fatal!
Hydrazine exposure can cause skin irritation/contact dermatitis and burning, irritation to the eyes/nose/throat, nausea/vomiting, shortness of breath, pulmonary edema, headache, dizziness, central nervous system depression, lethargy, temporary blindness, seizures and coma. Exposure can also cause organ damage to the liver, kidneys and central nervous system. Hydrazine is documented as a strong skin sensitizer with potential for cross-sensitization to hydrazine derivatives following initial exposure.[26] In addition to occupational uses reviewed above, exposure to hydrazine is also possible in small amounts from tobacco smoke.
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Boac
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Re: Apollo Accidents/Incidents

#2 Post by Boac » Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:06 pm

I think there is now a separate 'purge' process in the checklist.

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TheGreenGoblin
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Re: Apollo Accidents/Incidents

#3 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Fri Feb 21, 2020 6:35 pm

I have always liked this photograph taken from the Apollo Soyuz hookup.

detente.JPG
Though you remain
Convinced
"To be alive
You must have somewhere
To go
Your destination remains
Elusive."

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