| Mission Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Mission: | A-102 |
| Launch: | 18 September, 1964 16:19:00 UTC Cape Canaveral LC37B |
| Payload: | Boilerplate Number 15 |
Objectives
A-102 was designed to basically repeat the flight of [A-101]. It would once again carry a boilerplate Apollo Command and Service Module. The only difference from Boilerplate 13 carried on A-101 was that on Boilerplate 15 one of the simulated Reaction Control System thruster quads (attitide control thusters) were instrumented to record launch temperatures and vibrations. Another major difference on A-102 was that the Launch Escape System (LES) tower would be jettisoned using the launch escape and pitch control motors.
Launch of A-102
Launch was on 18 September just before noon local time. The first stage burnt for 147.7 seconds, with it separating 0.8 seconds later. The second stage ignited 1.7 secons after that and the LES jettisoned at 160.2 seconds after launch. It burned until +621.1 seconds with the stage and boilerplate in a 212.66 km by 226.50 km orbit.
The flight was met all the objectives and the spacecraft continued to transmit telemetry for five orbits and was tracked right up until in reentred on its 59th orbit over the Indian Ocean.
The only anomalous event on the flight was that the eight film cameras pods failed to be recovered. They had landed downrange of the expected area and then Hurricane Gladys meant it was impossible to continue to search. However two of the pods did wash ashore two months later covered with barnacles but the film was undamaged.Flight
In early July it was found that there was a small crack in engine number six. This meant removing the engine, the first time that the ground crew had to do this with a Saturn rocket. It was then decided to return all eight engines to the manufacturer, which meant a job that took about ten hours due to the large number of tubes, hoses and connections that each engine had to the rocket. The replacement delayed the launch by about fortnight, followed by another half week long delay due to Hurricanes Cleo and Dora.