Apollo Guidance Research Articles

Apollo Guidance and Navigation Electronics

The designers of the Apollo G&N system adopted a conservative but flexible design philosophy. In this paper the development of the guidance computer is described which typifies the application of the design approach throughout the development of the system. The computers have demonstrated a mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) of four to five times that predicted. The success of the design approach has thus been shown by the observed reliability of the system.

Apollo Spacecraft Control Systems

The overall Apollo spacecraft configuration includes two separate manned spacecraft. They are the command module designed for earth launch and reentry and cislunar flight including lunar orbit, and the lunar excursion module designed for the excursion from lunar orbit to the moon’s surface and return. Each spacecraft has its own independent guidance and control system. This paper decribes the Apollo spacecraft control systems including engine control and rocket engine configurations for attitude control. The Apollo guidance systems are not discussed.