The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center’s
Apollo One Investigation Archives
The documents shown in our new History of Space Exploration digital repository include logical diagrams, flowcharts, and notes from the Apollo One Investigation. Astronaut John L. Swigert read pages from the Block I Apollo Operations Handbook while studying systems used in the AS-204 Command Module. The digitized papers include handwritten remarks by Astronaut Swigert along with handwritten drawings of proposed operational flowcharts.
Each flowchart shown in the collection features a possible symptom that could affect the operation of a particular subsystem such as the Main Bus A in the electrical power system. In turn, the flow charts also feature possible solutions for the designated problems.
The documents provide several layers of significance. The significance of Mr. Swigert’s handwritten remarks includes not only his work on the review board but also work as an engineer, test pilot, and astronaut. While best known for his role as a member of the Apollo 13 crew, Mr. Swigert worked as an engineering test pilot for North American Aviation and for Pratt and Whitney, and served as a pilot in the United States Air Force prior to his work at NASA. Mr. Swigert was a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 7 and the backup crew for Apollo 13 before replacing Thomas Mattingly as Command Module Pilot.
Mr. Swigert’s comments and notes also serve as a bridge between the Apollo Block I and Block II spacecraft designs and provide insight into the processes that influenced the design of the spacecraft. The Apollo Block 1 spacecraft had a limited production run and were to develop and qualify flight systems. Initial unmanned missions involving Block 1 spacecraft confirmed the structural integrity of the spacecraft, the operations of spacecraft systems, and compatibility between the systems and between the spacecraft and the launch vehicle.
All Apollo manned missions utilized the Block II spacecraft. The original redesign of the Block II spacecraft began as part of a 1964 program definition study and became further evaluated after the 1967 Apollo One tragedy. As a result of the Apollo One fire, NASA and the contractors redesigned a new one-piece, easily opened crew access hatch, the elimination of flammable materials within the Command Module, and the elimination of the 100% oxygen atmosphere within the spacecraft. Design changes occurred throughout the Apollo program because of studies and analyses and because of different hardware failures.
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