Video: 'NBC NEWS - APOLLO 16 LAUNCH (4-16-1972)' (launch is at 45:27 into video)
(Sunday, April 16, 1972, 12:54 p.m. EST) — Apollo 16, the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and next-to-last to land on the Moon, launched on the thrust of a 36-story Saturn V rocket this afternoon from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, crewed by Commander John Young, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke, and Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly.
The launch was nominal; the crew experienced vibration similar to that on previous missions. The first and second stages of the Saturn V (the S-IC and S-II) performed nominally; the spacecraft entered orbit around Earth just under 12 minutes after lift-off.
After reaching orbit, the crew spent time adapting to the zero-gravity environment and preparing the spacecraft for trans-lunar injection (TLI), the burn of the third-stage rocket that would propel them to the Moon.
Video: 'The Apollo 16 Launch As It Happened Live On CBS News'
In Earth orbit, the crew faced minor technical issues, including a potential problem with the environmental control system and the S-IVB third stage’s attitude control system, but eventually resolved or compensated for them as they prepared to depart towards the Moon.
After two orbits, the rocket’s third stage reignited for just over five minutes, propelling the craft towards the Moon at about 22,000 mph. Six minutes after the burn of the S-IVB, the command and service modules (CSM), containing the crew, separated from the rocket and traveled 49 feet away from it before turning around and retrieving the lunar module from inside the expended rocket stage. The maneuver, performed by Mattingly and known as transposition, docking, and extraction, went smoothly.
Video: 'Apollo 16 Remastered *Season 6 Premiere* [4K]'
Following transposition and docking, the crew noticed the exterior surface of the lunar module was giving off particles from a spot where the LM’s skin appeared torn or shredded; at one point, Duke estimated they were seeing about five to ten particles per second. Young and Duke entered the lunar module through the docking tunnel connecting it with the command module to inspect its systems, at which time they did not spot any major issues.
Once on course towards the Moon, the crew put the spacecraft into a rotisserie “barbecue” mode in which the craft rotated along its long axis three times per hour to ensure even heat distribution about the spacecraft from the Sun. After further preparing the craft for the voyage, the crew began the first sleep period of the mission just under 15 hours after launch.
