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Yeah yeah naming screw up because of the Apollo 1 fire crew getting the 1 title and making all the prior names mucked up since there flight that never happened would have been 4
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{{Short description|Uncrewed flight of the Saturn IB rocket, July 5, 1966}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2010}}▼
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox
| name = AS-203
| image = Image:AS-203 launch.jpg
| image_caption = Launch of AS-203
<!-- NO insignia for this mission; Apollo program insignia does not apply -->
|booster = [[Saturn IB]]▼
|launch_pad = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]<br>[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 37|Complex 37B]]▼
| mission_type = Launch vehicle development
| operator = [[NASA]]
|
| SATCAT = 2289
|perigee = {{convert|100|nmi|km}} ▼
|
|
| distance_travelled = {{convert|87400|nmi|km|disp=flip|sp=us}}
|distance = {{convert|87,400|nmi|km}}▼
| spacecraft = None
| launch_mass = <!--{{convert|58700|lb|kg|disp=flip}} This is incorrect and needs verification; also the term "launch mass" is misleading and irrelevant since the payload was the upper stage plus unspent fuel-->
|previous_mission = [[AS-201]]▼
|next_mission = [[AS-202]]▼
| launch_date = {{start-date|July 5, 1966, 14:53:13|timezone=yes}} UTC
▲|
| destroyed = {{end-date|July 5, 1966}}
| orbit_epoch = July 5, 1966<ref name=satcat>{{cite web|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|title=SATCAT|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt|publisher=Jonathan's Space Pages|access-date=March 23, 2014}}</ref>
| orbit_reference = [[geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime = [[Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_inclination = 31.9 degrees
| orbit_period = 88.47 minutes
| apsis = gee
▲| previous_mission = [[AS-201]]
▲| next_mission = [[AS-202]]
| programme = [[Apollo program]]
}}
'''AS-203''' (
==Objectives==
The purpose of the AS-203 flight was to investigate the effects of weightlessness on the [[liquid hydrogen]] fuel in the [[S-IVB]]-200 second-stage tank. The lunar missions would use a modified version of the S-IVB-200, the S-IVB-500, as the third stage of the [[Saturn V]] launch vehicle. This called for the stage to fire briefly to put the spacecraft into a parking Earth orbit, before restarting the engine for flight to the Moon. In order to design this capability, engineers needed to verify that the anti-slosh measures designed to control the hydrogen's location in the tank were adequate, and that the fuel lines and engines could be kept at the proper temperatures to allow engine restart.<ref name=NASAreport>{{Citation
| title = Evaluation of AS-203 Low Gravity Orbital Experiment
| date = 13 January 1967
| publisher = NASA
| url =
}}
</ref>
In order to keep residual propellants in the tanks on orbit, there would be no [[
This was
==Preparation==
In the spring of 1966, the decision was made to launch AS-203 before [[AS-202]], as the CSM that was to be flown on AS-202 was delayed. The S-IVB stage arrived at [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape
On April 19, technicians began to erect the booster at Pad 37B. Once again, the testing
==Flight==
The rocket launched on the first attempt on July 5. The [[S-IVB]] and [[Saturn V instrument unit|Instrument Unit]] (IU) were inserted into a {{convert|100|nmi|km mi|adj=on}} circular orbit.
The S-IVB design test objectives were carried out on the first two orbits, and the hydrogen was found to behave mostly as predicted, with sufficient control over its location and of engine temperatures required for restart. The next two orbits were used for extra experiments to obtain information
The closed fuel tank experiment involved pressurizing the hydrogen tank by closing its vents, while depressurizing the oxygen tank by allowing it to continue venting. It was expected that the pressure difference between the two tanks (measured as high as {{convert|39.4|psi|kPa}}
Despite the destruction of the stage, the mission was classified as a success, having achieved all of its primary objectives and validating the design concept of the restartable
==References==
{{Include-NASA}}
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|AS-203}}
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
*[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/cover.html Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations ]▼
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIwhRSoeZSE AS-203 Launch Video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729130413/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIwhRSoeZSE |date=2016-07-29 }}
*[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/cover.html Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft ]▼
*[https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1966-059A NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive]
▲*[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/cover.html Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318012712/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/cover.html |date=March 18, 2011 }}
▲*[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/cover.html Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020095653/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/cover.html |date=October 20, 2015 }}
{{Apollo program| before=[[AS-201]]| after=[[AS-202]]}}
{{Orbital launches in 1966}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
[[Category:Apollo program]]▼
[[Category:1966 in spaceflight]]▼
▲[[Category:Apollo program]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1966]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched by Saturn rockets]]
[[
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