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NASA UNCLASSIFIED

Apollo 12 Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription (Tape 90/3 - 90/9)

Date November 1969
Location Lunar orbit / Cislunar space
Type Mission transcript
Pages 4

Apollo 12 transcript excerpts documenting crew report of observing particles of light and flashes sailing off into space from the AOT dark quadrant, appearing to escape the Moon.

Apollo 12light phenomenalunar orbitcrew communicationsAGS anomaly
Analysis

Looking through the lunar module's optical instrument into the dark quadrant, the Apollo 12 LMP saw lights and particles "sailing off in space" -- objects that "really haul out of here and just press off at the stars." He initially considered water boiler droplets but rejected that explanation based on their behavior, concluding they were "escaping the Moon." The transcript also captures a DEDA display anomaly where every register flashed "all 8's" at one-fifth brilliance, pulsing every second. Houston diagnosed it as EMI they'd seen during spacecraft testing at Bethpage. And the tracking light apparently burned out: floating debris that had reflected its flashes on the first nightside pass showed no illumination on later passes, though electrical readouts indicated the light was still drawing power.

Key Findings
  • LMP observed particles of light and flashes from the lunar module's AOT optical instrument in the dark quadrant
  • Objects described as "sailing off in space" from left quadrant, moving at high speed -- "some of those things are escaping the Moon, they really haul out of here and just press off at the stars"
  • Initial hypothesis of water boiler droplets rejected by observer based on behavior
  • DEDA display showed anomalous pulsing "all 8's" at reduced brilliance -- confirmed by Houston as probable EMI, previously observed during spacecraft testing
  • Tracking light failure diagnosed through lack of illumination on floating debris during nightside passes
  • Floating "little bits and pieces" observed alongside the spacecraft
Page Extractions 4 pages

Page 1

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statushas_content
doc_typetranscript
classificationnone visible
page_descriptionApollo 12 mission transcript showing communication between Intrepid lunar module, Yankee Clipper command module, and Houston Mission Control during lunar operations.
dates1969-05-19 | mission date for transcript entries
people
  • Dick | CMP (Command Module Pilot) | NASA / Apollo 12
  • CDR-LM | Commander, Lunar Module | NASA / Apollo 12
  • CMP | Command Module Pilot | NASA / Apollo 12
  • CC | Capsule Communicator (Houston) | NASA / Mission Control
organizations
  • NASA | U.S. space agency
  • Houston Mission Control | NASA
locations
  • Intrepid | lunar module spacecraft
  • Yankee Clipper | command module spacecraft
quotes
  • "That's affirmative. We're ready for the E-MOD." | CC
  • "If you will give us POD and ACCEPT, we'll give you a CSM state vector and RLS update." | CC
  • "You have POD and ACCEPT." | CDR-LM
  • "Hello, Houston; Yankee Clipper." | CMP
  • "Yankee Clipper, Houston. Loud and clear." | CC
  • "Well, hello there, stranger. How are you?" | CMP
  • "Morning, Dick. We are fine. How are you?" | CC
  • "Well, pretty good. I hope you would like to have some company for a change." | CMP
  • "Roger. Got the house clean?" | CC
  • "As a matter of fact, I just finished that. I sure do; got everything in order; ready to go towards the LM and bring back . . . That's quite a chore; keeping this thing clean." | CMP
  • "Roger. You got a couple of coal miners coming up to see you." | CC
  • "That's okay. I'll be glad to see them." | CMP
  • "Intrepid, Houston. The computer is yours." | CC
  • "Break. Yankee Clipper, if you will go POD and ACCEPT, we have an uplink." | CC
  • "All yours." | CMP
  • "Houston, you got the lift-off time for me?" | CDR-LM
  • "Stand by." | CC
  • "Intrepid, Houston. Your lift-off time is 142:03:47." | CC
  • "I copy 142:03:47.00." | CDR-LM
  • "Affirmative." | CC
  • "Clipper, Houston. Computer's yours." | CC

Page 2

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statushas_content
doc_typetranscript
classificationnone visible
page_descriptionApollo 12 mission transcript containing command module pilot observations of unusual lights/particles and P22 tracking data for lunar module rendezvous.
dates1969-05-19 | mission date for transcript entries
people
  • Jerry | NASA personnel (identity unspecified) | referenced by CMP
  • CMP | Command Module Pilot | NASA / Apollo 12
  • CC | Capsule Communicator (Houston) | NASA / Mission Control
  • CDR-LM | Commander, Lunar Module | NASA / Apollo 12
  • IMP-LM | Lunar Module Pilot | NASA / Apollo 12
organizations
  • NASA | U.S. space agency
  • Houston Mission Control | NASA
observationsParticles of light and flashes observed from lunar module AOT (Abort-Once Timer or optical instrument) in dark quadrant. Witness (IMP-LM) reports lights "sailing off in space" from left quadrant, initially hypothesized to be water boiler droplets but observer states "some of those things are escaping the Moon. They really haul out of here and just press off at the stars."
quotes
  • "Okay. And Jerry, will you find out what they want to do about this battery charge, because I'm using the bus ties during the rendezvous?" | CMP
  • "Roger." | CC
  • "Yankee Clipper, Houston. Why don't you figure on terminating the battery charge at LOS?" | CC
  • "All right; I could let it go until I just before lift-off. That way it might take it all the way up." | CMP
  • "Clipper, Houston. We prefer that you terminate at LOS on this pass." | CC
  • "Roger. That would be one less thing for us to keep track of prior to lift-off." | CC
  • "Say, Houston, Intrepid." | CDR-LM
  • "Intrepid, Houston. Go." | CC
  • "Roger. When you look out the AOT in the dark quadrant? You can see these lights - particles of light, flashes of light just seem to come from - in this case, I'm looking in quadrant 1 which is the left one. It's coming from behind me, the left, and they're just sailing off in space. I was thinking they're dropping from my water boiler, but it looks like some of those things are escaping the Moon. They really haul out of here and just press off at the stars." | IMP-LM
  • "Roger." | CC
  • "Yankee Clipper, Houston with a P22 tracking PAD." | CC
  • "Go ahead." | CMP
  • "Roger. Your target is LM; T1 is 139:57:39; T2 is 140:02:38; south 05; latitude is minus 3" | CC
  • "Roger. T 112 -" | CMP

Page 3

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statushas_content
doc_typetranscript
classificationnone visible
page_descriptionApollo 12 mission transcript containing discussion of anomalous display phenomena on DEDA (Data Entry Display Assembly) and RCS (Reaction Control System) testing procedures.
dates1969-05-20 | mission date for transcript entries
people
  • Al | LMP-LM (Lunar Module Pilot) | NASA / Apollo 12
  • Pete | CDR-LM (Commander, Lunar Module) | NASA / Apollo 12
  • Fredo | NASA personnel | referenced by CC, present with Houston controller
  • CC | Capsule Communicator (Houston) | NASA / Mission Control
  • IMP-LM | Lunar Module Pilot | NASA / Apollo 12
  • CDR-LM | Commander, Lunar Module | NASA / Apollo 12
organizations
  • NASA | U.S. space agency
  • Houston Mission Control | NASA
  • TRW | defense contractor
  • Bethpage | spacecraft testing facility location
observationsDEDA (Data Entry Display Assembly) anomaly: all 8's flash appearing on both address and information registers at approximately one-fifth the brilliance of normal numbers, pulsing every second. Phenomenon reduced in visibility when illumination level decreased. Houston controller (Fredo) confirms similar phenomena observed on DEDA during testing of most spacecrafts at Bethpage facility, assessed as probable EMI (Electromagnetic Interference).
assessments
  • Probable EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) | Fredo / Houston Mission Control
  • TRW has a workaround on this problem | CC
quotes
  • "Clipper, Houston. We'll give that data a good evaluation before we do anything with it." | CC
  • "Houston, Intrepid." | IMP-LM
  • "Intrepid, Houston. GO." | CC
  • "Got sort of an interesting thing going on AGS right now. I didn't notice earlier, but it may just be because the lights are brighter now. I'm getting an all 8's flash on both the address and the information registers at about one-fifth the brilliance of the normal numbers. And a - It's pulsing every second." | IMP-LM
  • "Roger, Al." | CC
  • "If I turn down the illumination level just a little bit, it's not noticeable." | IMP-LM
  • "Hello, Houston; Intrepid. You ready for my RCS hot fire?" | IMP-LM
  • "Intrepid, Houston. Roger. Fire away." | CC
  • "Okay." | CDR-LM
  • "Intrepid, Houston." | CC
  • "Go." | IMP-LM
  • "Roger, Al. Fredo is here. He and I have both seen that phenomena on your DEDA during testing of most all the spacecrafts up at Bethpage, and it's probably an EMI." | CC
  • "That's what we've been talking about, but we thought we'd just touch in on it." | CDR-LM
  • "When you go to your roll rate, roll left, pitch up - -" | IMP-LM
  • "Roger. I think TRW's got a workup on this problem." | CC
  • "Okay?" | CDR-LM
  • "Here you go, Houston, with roll, pitch, and yaw." | CDR-LM
  • "Roger, Pete." | CC

Page 4

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statushas_content
doc_typetranscript
classificationnone visible
page_descriptionApollo 12 mission transcript containing discussion of tracking light malfunction, observations of floating debris, and television setup during lunar operations.
dates1969-06-00 | mission date for transcript entries (exact day unclear from context)
people
  • Dick | CMP (Command Module Pilot) | NASA / Apollo 12
  • Pete | CDR-LM (Commander, Lunar Module) | NASA / Apollo 12
  • CC | Capsule Communicator (Houston) | NASA / Mission Control
  • LMP-LM | Lunar Module Pilot | NASA / Apollo 12
organizations
  • NASA | U.S. space agency
  • Houston Mission Control | NASA
  • Yankee Clipper | command module spacecraft
locationsnightside pass | lunar mission phase
observationsTracking light appears burned out; LMP-LM reports observing "little bits and pieces floating along with us" during first nightside pass with tracking light flashing on them. On subsequent pass with presumed floating debris still present, no flashing observed on debris, supporting conclusion that tracking light is burned out. Discrepancy noted between electrical readout showing tracking light on and visual observation showing no light visible.
assessments
  • Tracking light burned out | CDR-LM
  • Current indicates tracking light is on | Houston electrical watchers
  • Ball instrument and radar show proper pointing toward command module | CDR-LM
quotes
  • "But I don't have you in the sextant. That's okay. Your blinking light's just not blinking, that's all." | CMP
  • "Hey, Houston. It looks like our tracking light's burned out. Dick hasn't been able to find us in this sextant. And on the first nightside pass we had little bits and pieces floating along with us and we could tell that the tracking light was flashing on them. And we still have, I've presumed to think, bits and pieces floating along and nothing's flashing on them, so I'm pretty sure it burned out." | CDR-LM
  • "Roger, Pete." | CC
  • "Yes, sir. Okay." | LMP-LM
  • "Hi, Intrepid." | CC
  • "Okay." | LMP-LM
  • "This is Houston. How'd your sweepdown fore and aft go?" | CC
  • "It's getting much cleaner in here running this way; and, also, Yankee Clipper informs me he has the television all set up. When we come around the horn, we'll come around with the television on in VOX." | CDR-LM
  • "Roger." | CC
  • "Who knows, you may get to see the first whifferdill." | CDR-LM
  • "Roger, Pete. Our electrical watchers say that the current indicates that your tracking light is on." | CC
  • "Okay. Now we just turned it off. How does the current show that?" | CDR-LM
  • "It - It sure does, Pete." | CC
  • "You're - they're - You're flying through the air backwards, then, Pete, because I don't see it." | CMP
  • "Well, my ball tells me I'm pointed at you, Dick, and so does my radar." | CDR-LM
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