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Comment by seniorsassycat | Hacker News Reader

> Notably, the fuel tanks used in this mission weren’t provided enough fuel to return from the Moon’s surface — an intentional limitation imposed in case the astronauts flying the test run were tempted to jump the queue and become the first people to walk on the lunar surface

I wish we lived in a universe where NASA didn't have the forsight to short fuel Apollo 10. Imagine a joyride to the lunar surface.

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Conversely, I am glad I live in a universe where professional crew members stick to the flight plan and don't go glory hunting at the first opportunity.

AFAIK, "Snoopy" was too heavy to land and take off anyhow, the astronauts didn't have EVA capable suits, and there wasn't enough oxygen to replenish the LM cabin should they have opened the hatch to perform EVA. Any ride to the surface would have been suicidal folly, regardless of fuel quantity.

I thought Apollo 10 was meant to be a dry run for Apollo 11, so it was set up identically. Why would they have differed on something so important as the weight of the LM?

Almost every LM on every mission was completely different. I don't believe any two were the same. Each mission had different requirements that necessitated major redesigns to the LM. For instance, the later missions that used the Lunar Rover had significantly bigger and heavier LMs to accommodate the vehicle.

From a cursory look, they all look the same. I remember the LM went through lots of iterations before it was practical (and it's entirely possible Snoopy was too heavy) but it's hard to see too many differences between the versions that actually flew. What changed seemed to be landing weight and life support for the crew (later versions allowed multiple EVAs and remained landed much longer than Eagle).

Still, no EVA suits is one thing, but having no operable ascent engine is really terrible because, if something goes wrong with the descent engine (which is the thing being exercised here) the crew has no backup whatsoever in case they have no option but landing (maybe a guidance issue that requires the LM to stop - in general emergency landings in places with no breathable atmosphere are a mistake).

I'm positive NASA pilots are professional enough not to 'jump the queue', I believe the fuel limitation, like everything else, was fine tuned to minimize total weight on takeoff.

>I'm positive..

i'd like to be positive about that too, but the whole stamp controversy made me realize that astronauts are people, too.

[0]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_15_postal_covers_incide...

There is a thousands miles between taking some stamps with you and trying to land on a d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶e̶a̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶n̶e̶t̶ moon without proper planning and supply.

> different freaking planet

The moon is just a moon though; I'm sure NASA wouldn't mind.

Fixed. lol

Agree. Reading the book, "Moondust", it's clear that more than a couple of the Apollo Commanders were going to land regardless of what the computer, radar or Mission Control advised.

Plenty of other shenanigans done on different missions, too. Gemini Sandwich[0], mutiny on Skylab[1], ...

[0] - https://www.space.com/39341-john-young-smuggled-corned-beef-...

[1] - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mutiny-space-why-t...

Not to mention this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Nowak#Charges_of_attempte...

You can hear about Apollo 10 a little bit in this podcast (which is absolutely amazing) : https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xttx2

Is it really reasonable to think the astronauts would have disobeyed orders and landed on the moon? This seems like it would have so many negative repercussions on the astronauts involved that it seems outside the realm of possibility to me.

I feel like this type of job self selects for people who would totally do that.

Also, disobeying orders in space has happened before: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab_controversy

Though that story is apparently in dispute, and there was no strike. I've done some research and its a surprisingly murky topic.

Amazing story if true.

"[T]he crew were alleged to have stopped working. Gibson spent his day on Skylab's solar console, while Carr and Pogue spent their time in the wardroom looking out at the window."

Once you are the first man on the Moon they can ask you to resign for disobeying orders or even sack you if they don't mind the bad publicity at a time when NASA is showered in international glory. But you're still the first man on the moon.

Imagine just landing on the moon, totally off the cuff. Madness. Even crazier that NASA considered this and accommodated for it lol

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