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+apollo xi post flight analysis spacecraft reentry trajectory review this document contains
+information about the events during there entry phase of apollo xiith as been compiled to satisfy
+flight planning safety requirements the review covers the following mission phase trans earth coast
+which ends with reentry into the mid pacific recovery area the original flightplan called for
+separation of the cm from the sm twelve minutes before entry interface successful separation would
+then trigger a sequence of burns intended to stabilise the service module and to move it out of
+there entry corridor to avoid debris collisions with the command module during there entry phase the
+reaction control system burn sequence involved both the roll and the minus x jets the attitude burns
+were intended to setup a rollin order to stabilise remaining fuel and to prevent uncontrolled
+gyration during the boost that would have then taken the sm out of there entry corridor into a high
+altitude orbit that would decay only after the command module had landed in the event the sequence
+of burns did not achieve the required trajectory shift with reports from the astronauts onboard and
+from a commercial airline pilot that the two space vehicles reentered the atmosphere together with
+the cm passing the sm during the plasma burn phase given the proximity of the vehicles during
+reentry it is considered highly fortunate that no debris from the relatively unprotected sms truck
+the cm and simulations show that such a strike would have been likely to cause catastrophic damage
+to the cm possible defects arising from a collision include i heatshield damage even a minor crack
+in one of the heatshield panels would be likely to cause super heating which could breach the hull
+leading to further catastrophic damage to the vehicle with probable loss of life ii premature firing
+of the parachute pyrotechnics leading to full or partial loss of the descent arrest system and loss
+of life iii damage to the parachute shield might have prevented the pyrotechnics from releasing the
+parachutes leading to a catastrophic collision on landing and loss of life iv damage to one or more
+of the parachutes could have led to a high velocity impact with probable resulting injuries and
+possible loss of life the high likelihood of catastrophic failure arising from the deviation from
+flight parameters means that further analysis of the separation burn strategy is required pending
+that remediation for the apollo xii reentry trajectory is a high priority it is suggested that
+surplus fuel should be ejected from the sm before the separation burn begins in order to stabilise
+the attitude and that the minus x burns should be timed to coincide with the roll jets to improve
+stability
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