Apollo 11 Flight Plan

[Taki117]

So, in order to try out some mods (most notably 1/10th RSS) I have decided to recreate the Apollo 11 launch, the only problem is I have no idea what orbital inclination they launched into. I've tried googling this, and the only thing i can find is that the third stage (which was used to circularize) was used to get them to the Moon. As I understand it they DID NOT perform a plane change maneuver prior to this, and only changed their orbit to adjust from a free return to a lunar insertion.

any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Edited August 29, 2014 by Taki117

[Red Iron Crown]

Given that the Moon's orbit is pretty much in the plane of the ecliptic, ideally the inclination would be 23.4 degrees. But given that Kennedy Space Center is at 28 degrees North, that would seem to be the minimum inclination of an orbit from a direct launch. Not sure if they made any inclination change after achieving orbit.

[Taki117]

Not sure if they made any inclination change after achieving orbit.

Which is what I'm trying to figure out. Did they time the launch so that they could adjust their obit during the circularization burn, or did they perform a plane change maneuver in LEO?

[Mr Shifty]

Orbital inclination for the initial parking orbit was 32.521° with an apogee of 100.4nm and a perigee of 98.9nm. There was no on-orbit inclination change prior to TLI. The absolute best source for Apollo mission numbers is Richard Orloff's Apollo By the Numbers, which NASA hosts on their historical webpage.

[Red Iron Crown]

I don't think there was a separate circularization burn like we do in KSP, it was one continuous burn from the surface (aside from brief interruptions during staging). The third stage wasn't relit until the trans-lunar injection burn. (Was very difficult not to write "munar" there).

Edit: Ninja'd, and with a reference!

[cantab]

Why would they need to make a plane change burn? They just time their launch to get the right inclination such that the Moon-relative AN/DN is at the same place as their trans-lunar ejection burn and Moon encounter.

[Taki117]

Orbital inclination for the initial parking orbit was 32.521° with an apogee of 100.4nm and a perigee of 98.9nm. There was no on-orbit inclination change prior to TLI. The absolute best source for Apollo mission numbers is Richard Orloff's Apollo By the Numbers, which NASA hosts on their historical webpage.

Thank you! That's all I needed. Now to go do an Apollo Mission! Have some Rep.

[THX1138]

What seems to be the original flight plan is here with more information than you could possibly want to know! I don't know how well is translates to KSP though. It's too complicated for me.

[OhioBob]

The following page gives all the details and computes the orbital elements:

Apollo 11's Translunar Trajectory