Apollo 25 was a spaceflight mission by NASA launched in late December 1974. The crew included Molly Cobb as commander, Tracy Stevens as CSM pilot, and Dennis Lambert as mission specialist. Originally, the mission was planned to repair an astronomical satellite in Earth's orbit.
History[]
Apollo 25 was launched by a Saturn IB that was ready on Pad 39-B for its planned mission to repair an astronomical satellite. However, due to Apollo 24 stuck in orbit with a defective flight control computer (FCC), the mission was repurposed to deliver a new Saturn V FCC and repair the S-IVB of Apollo 24. The primary mission was cancelled and it launched 2 days after 24 and performed a rendezvous in low Earth orbit.[1]
At the end of the repair EVA, the S-IVB of Apollo 24 accidentally ignited, killing astronaut Harrison Liu and dragging the still-tethered Apollo 25 CSM with it. Molly Cobb managed to free the command module from the runaway S-IVB, but lost her grip and was left adrift in orbit. Although ordered to return without saving Molly, Tracy Stevens managed to pilot Apollo 25 to rendezvous with Molly Cobb and retrieve her.[1]
The three astronauts then landed safely back on Earth.
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See also[]
References
| Apollo Missions |
|---|
| Apollo 10 • Apollo 11 • Apollo 12 • Apollo 15 • Apollo 16 • Apollo 17 •Apollo 18 • Apollo 19 • Apollo 20 • Apollo 21 • Apollo 22 • Apollo 23 • Apollo 24 • Apollo 25 • Apollo 75 |