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Apollo 11 return from LRRR while still on the Moon?

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Jan Philips

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Aug 30, 2012, 10:22:24 PM8/30/12
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I was listening to the DVD of the Apollo 11 Moonwalk, with the flight
controller's loop on. A controller reports that Lick Observatory got
a laser return from the LRRR retroreflector. This is in the
transcript
(http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html , then click on "EASEP
Deployment and Closeout") at 111:32:09, but they didn't report it to
the crew. (They tell Collins about it at 112:34:29.) However, there
are comments in the transcript saying that they tried to detect the
LRRR but didn't (until August 1). I remember that live coverage at
the time said that they didget a return from the retroreflector.

So was this early report correct or in error?

Jan Philips

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Aug 31, 2012, 7:43:13 PM8/31/12
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On Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:22:24 -0400, Jan Philips
<j.mcc...@comcast.net> wrote:

>I was listening to the DVD of the Apollo 11 Moonwalk, with the flight
>controller's loop on. A controller reports that Lick Observatory got
>a laser return from the LRRR retroreflector.

And what about the Apollo 14 and A15 retroreflectors - how soon after
the astronauts deployed them were they detected?

Jan Philips

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Aug 31, 2012, 11:28:55 PM8/31/12
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On Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:22:24 -0400, Jan Philips
<j.mcc...@comcast.net> wrote:

>So was this early report correct or in error?

And "How Apollo Flew to the Moon" by Woods and "A Man on the Moon" by
Chaikin don't seem to say.

Joseph Nebus

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Sep 1, 2012, 2:16:09 AM9/1/12
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Hm. *If* this summary article is correct ---

http://www.physics.ucsd.edu/~tmurphy/apollo/doc/Bender.pdf

--- then it appears that they did try bouncing the laser off the moon
possibly before Armstrong and Aldrin had lifted off, but the moon's
position in the sky was too low for solid results to be gotten for a
couple weeks.

--
http://nebusresearch.wordpress.com/ Joseph Nebus
Current Entry: Bad Luck on Deal Or No Deal http://wp.me/p1RYhY-iy
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Jan Philips

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Sep 1, 2012, 12:51:19 PM9/1/12
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On Sat, 1 Sep 2012 06:16:09 +0000 (UTC), nebusj-@-rpi-.edu (Joseph
Nebus) wrote:

> Hm. *If* this summary article is correct ---
>
>http://www.physics.ucsd.edu/~tmurphy/apollo/doc/Bender.pdf
>
>--- then it appears that they did try bouncing the laser off the moon
>possibly before Armstrong and Aldrin had lifted off, but the moon's
>position in the sky was too low for solid results to be gotten for a
>couple weeks.

Thank you, then the initial report of succes by Lick Observatory while
they were still on the Moon seems to be incorect.

Jan Philips

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Sep 1, 2012, 1:20:04 PM9/1/12
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On Sat, 1 Sep 2012 06:16:09 +0000 (UTC), nebusj-@-rpi-.edu (Joseph
Nebus) wrote:

> Hm. *If* this summary article is correct ---
>
>http://www.physics.ucsd.edu/~tmurphy/apollo/doc/Bender.pdf

And it says that the Apollo 14 retroreflector was detected the day it
was deployed.

Joseph Nebus

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Sep 3, 2012, 11:52:38 PM9/3/12
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Well, thanks for asking the question. It's rare enough finding
a point that hasn't been chewed over so much as to lose its interest,
or better, one that can be reasonably clearly answered.

--
http://nebusresearch.wordpress.com/ Joseph Nebus
Current Entry: Why Someone Should Take That Deal http://wp.me/p1RYhY-iC
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