By 
December 8th, 2017
Moonwalking geologist, Apollo 17’s Jack Schmitt.
Credit: NASA
Apollo 17: Diary of the 12th Man is the continuing saga of America’s last deep space human mission of the 20th century.
Installment s of Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt’s diary are available, with a new post on December 7, 2017 – in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of his launch on this date in 1972 at 12:33 a.m. EST.
Critical minutes
The new Chapter 5, “30 Seconds and Counting”, continues the story that ended Chapter 4 with the words used as the title of this new addition. It comprises the crew’s tasks during the critical minutes after launch, including operations as they passed through the various emergency stages until achieving orbit.
Nighttime liftoff of Apollo 17.
Credit: NASA
Following adjustments of the orbit are events related to TransLunar Injection (TLI), and a very important task of the journey, the removal of the Lunar Module (LM) from the S-IVB upper stage and the docking of the Command Service Module with the LM.
Schmitt’s personal thoughts during this critical first part of the mission give the reader an uncanny sense of presence, unavailable heretofore.
Go to Apollo 17: Diary of the 12th Man at:
Posted in Space News
