50 Years Ago: Charlie Brown and Snoopy in Lunar Orbit

As Apollo 10 rounded the backside of the Moon and communications were restored, Stafford radioed to Mission Control, “You can tell the world that we have arrived.” Almost immediately, all three crewmembers began excitedly describing the lunar scenery passing by beneath them, with Cernan summing it up best, “It might sound corny, but the view is really out of this world.” As they crossed the terminator into the night side of the Moon, they were surprised by how many features they could still see, lighted by Earthshine, with Young exclaiming, “Boy, this Moon is lit up like a Christmas tree on the dark side. It is well illuminated from the Earth.”

During the 29-minute telecast, Stafford, Cernan, and Young provided a constant narration of the terrain speeding by below them, including the landmarks leading to the Apollo 11 landing site in the Sea of Tranquility. The quality of the TV broadcast was excellent, with viewers on Earth treated to amazing details of the lunar surface. Shortly after the TV downlink, Cernan opened the hatch to Snoopy for the first time, and floated inside to partially activate the LM, perform a brief inspection, conduct communications checks, and transfer equipment that will be needed later when Snoopy flew free from Charlie Brown.

Meanwhile, inside Charlie Brown, Stafford and Young were performing some landmark tracking activities, identifying and photographing targets on the lunar surface. After returning to Charlie Brown, Cernan reported on Snoopy’s condition, “I’m personally very happy with the fellow.” The crew prepared to settle down for their first night’s sleep in lunar orbit, with Cernan asking the ground to “watch Snoopy well tonight, and make him sleep good, and we’ll take him out for a walk and let him stretch his legs in the morning.”

A few minutes before the spacecraft disappeared behind the Moon, Mission Control gave Snoopy the GO for DOI – the Descent Orbit Insertion, the burn of the LM’s Descent Propulsion System (DPS) engine to lower its orbit’s low point to about 50,000 feet. As with most critical maneuvers of the mission, this one took place behind the Moon so the low point would be reached on the nearside near the Apollo 11 landing area in the Sea of Tranquility. The 27-second burn began with the engine at 11.3% thrust for the first 15 seconds, then Stafford throttled it up to 40% thrust for the remainder of the maneuver.

Stafford and Cernan began taking photographs and film of the surface as they started their descent to what was later calculated to be about 47,000 feet. First Charlie Brown, and then Snoopy came back into communication with Earth, with Cernan reporting to Capcom Charles M. Duke, “We is down among them, Charlie,” referring to their low altitude over the lunar landscape. They successfully tested Snoopy’s landing radar, a critical test before the actual landing mission, all the while continuing a running commentary describing the landscape below them including all the landmarks leading up to the planned Apollo 11 landing site. Several minutes later, they once again fired the LM’s DPS engine for the 40-second phasing burn to set up the right orbital geometry for a simulated liftoff from the Moon during the next orbit.

Both spacecraft went around the Moon’s backside again, and once they reestablished contact, Stafford and Cernan prepared to separate the LM’s ascent stage. During the staging, Snoopy experienced some unexpected motions in all three axes that Stafford and Cernan quickly brought under control. The gyrations were later attributed to a switch placed in the wrong position. Ten minutes later, they fired Snoopy’s Ascent Propulsion System (APS) engine for 15 seconds that simulated a liftoff from the Moon and began the rendezvous process to rejoin Young in Charlie Brown, using the same maneuvers as during a landing mission.

Snoopy coasted for about an hour, following which three maneuvers using the ascent stage’s Reaction Control System thrusters brought it close to Charlie Brown. Young completed the docking just after the two spacecraft reappeared from behind the Moon, and Stafford exclaimed, “Snoopy and Charlie Brown are hugging each other.” Snoopy had been on a very long leash, travelling up to 390 miles from Charlie Brown. During its 8-hour 10-minute solo flight Snoopy met all planned objectives. Soon, the crew opened the hatches between the two spacecraft and Stafford and Cernan rejoined Young in Charlie Brown, bringing with them cameras and exposed film. They then closed the hatches for the final time and bid farewell to Snoopy.

Due to residual air pressure in the docking tunnel that couldn’t be vented, Snoopy departed at a higher than expected speed. Stafford commented, “Snoop went some place,” and Young added, “Man, when he leaves, he leaves.” To prevent an unwanted recontact between the two spacecraft, Snoopy fired its APS engine to fuel depletion, which sent it safely out of lunar orbit and into an orbit around the Sun. Cernan, perhaps feeling some guilt about disposing of Snoopy, said, “I feel sort of bad about that, because he’s a pretty nice guy; he treated us pretty well today.” After a very busy day, the astronauts settled down for an extended sleep period. The next morning, Capcom Jack R. Lousma called up to the crew with a fictional congratulatory message from the Red Baron, Snoopy’s arch enemy in the Peanuts© comic strip, stating, “Congratulations on doing what I've been trying to do for a long time.”

Near the end of their time in lunar orbit, the crew spotted Snoopy’s descent stage at some distance, still in its elliptical orbit since it was jettisoned the day before. Stafford expressed some concern about a possible recontact, but Mission Control assured him that that was a very remote possibility. During their 31st and final orbit around the Moon, the astronauts prepared the spacecraft for its next critical maneuver, the Trans Earth Injection that would propel them out of lunar orbit and back toward their home planet. As with most critical engine firings, this one occurred while the spacecraft was behind the Moon and out of radio communications with Earth.