![]() (The platforms were later converted for use by the Space Shuttle.) Sprouting from one end of this platform is the LUT (Launch Umbilical Tower). This structure consists of a base platform 48.8 x 41.1 metres and 7.6 metres high with a 13.7 metre square hole over which the vehicle is mounted. The Saturn V launch vehicle is assembled, transported on, and launched from the Mobile Launcher. Another example of this specific type of simulation was the use of a centrifuge to produce the sensation of deceleration while the Command Module Pilot's displays and controls were simulated. ![]() Other simulators were designed to provide the best reproduction of a single function, such as docking procedures, while not attempting to provide a complete simulation of everything else as well. Some of the simulators were also of the 'dynamic' type, which meant that they were installed on a hydraulic system to provide physical sensations of movement. A flying contraption known as the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle was perhaps the most specialized of all Apollo simulators, being an aircraft developed for the sole purpose of practicing lunar approach and landing. The variety of equipment used ranged from simple mockups that might duplicate the basic shape of a spacecraft, for example, to computer-driven multi-purpose simulators capable of reproducing every control and display onboard. Experience from previous aircraft development programs and the Mercury and Gemini programs proved that high fidelity simulations were the optimal method of crew training, and this approach was adopted for Apollo. The vast majority of crew training took place in simulators. If the April date slipped, May dates would be substituted, when the launch window would again be appropriate for the mission. The mission of Apollo 13 would always be targeted for Fra Mauro. While Apollo 11 and 12 had backup landing sites should they miss the launch window for their primary site, such contingencies were not prepared for Apollo 13. Some of the secondary launch windows offered more marginal lighting conditions than others. Appropriate sunlight conditions were a requirement for the successful landing, since the crew would not only have to be able to see what they were doing, the low illumination angle was also essential for the proper visualization of the landing area from above. Although there were many other constraints for the lunar launch window, one important consideration was the angle of the sun shining at Fra Mauro. If for whatever reason the launch could not be made on the 11th, three more launch opportunities were determined for May. The primary launch date set for Apollo 13's mission to Fra Mauro was April 11th. A three-week quarantine of the crew and their samples would follow, to ensure that they were not contaminated by unknown pathogens from the Moon. Their return trip was to start on the 18th for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on the 21st. Some 33 hours later, on the 17th, the Lunar Module would return to rendezvous with the Command Service Module - which would have stayed in orbit, performing high resolution photography of the lunar surface for scientific and possible future landing site selection purpose. There the Commander and the Lunar Module Pilot would perform two moonwalks, deploy scientific instruments and gather rock samples. After orbiting the Moon, the Lunar Module would separate and make a pinpoint landing within the Fra Mauro uplands region. With a planned launch on April 11th, 1970 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the spacecraft and its three-man crew would then coast their way to the Moon, to arrive on the afternoon of the 14th. It was also designated as the H-2 mission, the second of the longer H-type of lunar landing missions. Apollo 13 was to be the third manned landing on the Moon as part of the American Apollo program.
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