Command Module Endeavour
Apollo 15 was the fourth successful moon landing mission and the only Apollo mission with an all-U.S. Air Force crew. Col. David R. Scott, Lt. Col. James B. Irwin, and Maj. Alfred M. Worden flew this spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the moon in July 1971. The command module is named after the ship that carried Capt. James Cook on his famous 18th century scientific voyage.
Apollo 15 focused mainly on lunar science, and was the first mission to use a lunar rover vehicle. The crew spent four days traveling to the moon, then Scott and Irwin landed the lunar module Falcon on the moon’s surface. They spent 67 hours exploring and setting up scientific experiments. Worden remained in orbit aboard Endeavour conducting experiments and photographing the moon. Just over 12 days after launch, the crew returned safely, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
Project Apollo’s main goal was to land astronauts on the moon and return them safely to Earth. Beating the Soviets to the moon in the “space race” of the 1960s was an important part of the Cold War competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union for prestige and world leadership in science and technology. The U.S. won the moon race when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and returned to Earth in July 1969. Apollo achieved six lunar landings through 1972, and 12 astronauts walked on the moon. Of the 29 astronauts who flew Apollo missions, 14 were Air Force officers or had Air Force experience.
Crew Selection
March 26, 1970 - NASA named the all US Air Force crew of Apollo 15. Left to right: Col David R. Scott (commander), Maj Alfred M. Worden (command module pilot), Lt Col James B. Irwin (lunar module pilot).
Training
1970-1971 - The crew trained for many months in field geology, spacecraft systems, and science experiments. Jim Irwin (L) and Dave Scott study rocks in Arizona, June 1971.
Liftoff
July 26, 1971 – 9:34 AM EDT - Mission time: 0 days, 0 hrs, 0 min
Apollo 15 launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 26, 1971. About 11 minutes later, after the first and second stages were spent, the crew was in Earth orbit at 105 statute miles altitude.
Translunar Injection
July 26, 1971 – 12:30 PM - Mission time: 0 days, 2 hrs, 56 min
A six-minute burn of the Saturn V’s third-stage S-IVB engine pushed Apollo 15 out of Earth orbit and on its way to the moon at over 24,000 mph.
Lunar landing
July 30, 1971 – 6:16 PM - Mission time: 4 days, 8 hrs, 42 min
After a four-day journey from Earth, Scott and Irwin landed the lunar module Falcon, named after the US Air Force mascot, on the moon. They landed at the foot of the moon’s Apennine mountain range.
First EVA (Extravehicular Activity)
July 31, 1971 – 9:13 AM - Mission time: 4 days, 23 hrs, 39 min
The first use of a lunar rover allowed Scott and Irwin to cover 6.4 miles (10.3 km) collecting geological samples and setting up experiments. Their EVA lasted 6 hours and 33 minutes.
Second EVA
August 1, 1971 – 7:48 AM - Mission time: 5 days, 22 hrs, 14 min
The second EVA covered 7.8 miles (12.5 km) in the rover to visit notable craters and collect more samples. The crew also planted the flag in a famous photo with Irwin saluting. The EVA lasted 7 hours and 12 minutes.
Third EVA
August 2, 1971 – 4:52 AM - Mission time: 6 days, 19 hrs, 18 min
The final lunar EVA covered 3.2 miles (5.1 km) as Scott and Irwin made final geology site visits in 4 hours and 50 minutes. David Scott proved Galileo’s law of motion of falling bodies with the famous “hammer and feather drop.” They fell from his hands at the same speed with no air to slow them.
Lunar liftoff
August 3, 1971 – 1:11 PM - Mission time: 7 days, 3 hrs, 37 min
After 67 hours—almost three days—on the moon, the astronauts had collected 267 rock samples weighing 172 lbs (78 kg). They parked the rover so it could use its video camera to show their ascent to lunar orbit to rejoin Endeavour.
Transearth Injection
August 4, 1971 – 5:22 PM - Mission time: 9 days, 7 hrs, 48 min
After another day in lunar orbit, Apollo 15 started home toward Earth. On the journey, Al Worden performed an EVA to collect film from orbital photography used to map the moon and study its geology.
Splashdown
August 7, 1971 – 4:45 PM - Mission time: 12 days, 7 hrs, 11 min
Despite one of its three main parachutes failing, Endeavour made a safe landing in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
Recovery
August 7, 1971 – 5:25 PM - Forty minutes after splashdown, the Apollo 15 astronauts boarded the US Navy recovery ship USS Okinawa.
The command module is on loan from the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
Crew: Three
Weight: 12,831 lbs. at launch
Interior: 210 cubic feet (about the size of a minivan)
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