Showers and thunderstorms capable of producing widespread heavy rainfall will be possible across much of Puerto Rico today. Heavy rainfall will likely lead to flash, urban and small stream flooding. Some areas may face life-threatening flooding. In the Southeast U.S., strong to marginally severe thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon. Read More >
An additional unit at Honululu was added to the Spaceflight Meteorology Group to support the expected increase in Pacific ocean recoveries during the Apollo program. The Spaceflight Meteorology Group supported the Apollo lunar missions, the Skylab orbital missions, and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program during this period. Weather support was required not only for launch and recovery operations, but also for in-flight weather experiments conducted by the astronauts. This in-flight support was particularly important during the Skylab missions.
At the close of the Apollo program, NASA allowed each center to select their weather support structures. Kennedy Space Center opted to use the Patrick Air Force Base/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Air Weather Service unit (now the 45th Weather Squadron) for weather support to pre-launch and launch operations. Johnson Space Center chose to retain the National Weather Service for weather support services. The SMG subordinate units were closed with only the Houston office supporting the Mission Control Center remaining. Following the Apollo program, SMG provided staff support services and planning to support the next phase of the United States human spaceflight program - The Space Shuttle.
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| Mission | Launch Date (UTC) | Launch Weather | Recovery Date (UTC) Location |
Recovery Weather |
| Apollo 7 | 11 Oct 1968 15:02:45 |
Cld: SCT021CB SCTxxx(CI) (2) Vis: 10SM CB SW Temp/Dew: 82F/69F Wind: 08017G22KTS 60' Wind: 090/20KTS |
22 Oct 1968 11:11:48 27.63N, 64.15E |
Cld: OVC006 (2) Vis: 2NM Light Rain Temp/Dew: 72F/70F Wind: 210/11KTS Water Temp: 81F Wave Height: 3 FT |
| Apollo 8 | 21 Dec 1968 12:51:00 |
Cld: SCTxxx(Ci) (3) Vis: 10SM Temp/Dew: 59F/56F Wind 34006KTS 60' Wind: 348/11KTS |
27 Dec 1968 15:51:42 8.10N, 165.00 W |
Cld:SCT025 BKN120 (3) Vis: 10 NM Temp/Dew: 82F/mmF Wind: 080/11KTS Water Temp: 82F (1) Wave Height: 6 FT |
| Apollo 9 | 03 Mar 1969 16:00:00 |
Cld: BKN040 OVC090 (AS) (4) Vis: 10SM Aircraft Report of BKN140 Temp/Dew: 67F/54F Wind: 14012KTS 60' Wind: 160/13KTS |
13 Mar 1969 17:00:54 23.22N, 67.98W |
Cld: SCT020 BKN090 (5) Vis: 10 NM Temp/Dew: 79F/67F Wind: Calm Water Temp: 76F Wave Height: 5 FT |
| Apollo 10 | 18 May 1969 16:49:00 |
Cld: SCT023 SCT040 BKN110 OVCxxx(Ci) (6) Vis: 10SM Temp/Dew: 82F/73F Wind: 12012KTS 60' Wind: 142/19KTS |
26 May 1969 16:52:23 15.07S, 164.65W |
Cld: SCT020 SCT070 (7) Vis: 10 NM Temp/Dew: 79F/68F Wind: 100/09KTS Water Temp: 82F Wave Height: 3 FT |
| Apollo 11 | 16 Jul 1969 13:32:00 |
Cld: SCT030 SCT140 OVCxxx(CI) (8) Vis: 10SM Temp/Dew: 86F/75F Wind: 22005KTS 60' Wind: 175/6KTS |
24 Jul 1969 16:50:35 13.30N, 169.15W |
Cld: BKN015 BKNxxx(CI) (8) Vis: 10 NM Temp/Dew: 82F/mmF (Wet Bulb 77) Wind: 080/17 KTS Water Temp: mmF Wave Height: 6 FT |
| Apollo 12 | 14 Nov 1969 16:22:00 |
Cld: OVC021 (9) Vis: 7SM Rainshowers SCT015 OVC070 Temp/Dew: 70F/66F Wind: 220/12G19KTS 60' Wind: 280/13KTS |
24 Nov 1969 20:58:25 15.78 S, 165.15 W |
Cld: SKC (10) Vis: 10+ NM Temp/Dew: 79F/72F Wind: 100/15KTS Water Temp: mmF Wave Height: 3 FT (swells to 7 ft) |
| Apollo 13 | 11 Apr 1970 19:13:00 |
Cld: BKN200 (11) Vis: 10SM Few Cu over land Temp/Dew: 76F/60F Wind: 080/10KTS 60' Wind: 105/12KTS |
17 Apr 1970 18:07:41 21.63 S, 165.37 W |
Cld: SCT025 BKNxxx(CI) (12) Vis: 7 NM Temp/Dew: 79F/mmF Wind: 270/06 KTS Water Temp: mm F Wave Height: 6 FT |
| Apollo 14 | 31 Jan 1971 21:03:02 |
Cld: BKN040 BKN080 (13) Vis: 10SM Rainshowers E NE SW Temp/Dew: 71F/67F Wind: 260/05KTS 60' Wind: 255/10KTS |
09 Feb 1971 21:05:00 27.02 S, 172.67 W |
Cld: SCT020 (14) Vis: 10 NM Temp/Dew: 23C/18C Wind: 100/10KTS Water Temp: mmF Wave Height: 4 FT |
| Apollo 15 | 26 Jul 1971 13:34:00 |
Cld: BKN250 (CI) (15) Vis: 10SM Temp/Dew: 84F/73F Wind: 170/05 KTS 60' Wind: 156/10KTS 1 |
07 Aug 1971 20:45:53 26.13 N, 158.13 W |
Cld: SCTvBKN020 (16) Vis: 10 NM Rain Vicinity Temp/Dew: 81F/mmF Wind: 080/07KTS Water Temp: mm F Wave Height: Calm FT |
| Apollo 16 | 16 Apr 1972 17:54:00 |
Cld: SCT030 (CU) (17) Vis: 10SM Temp/Dew: 88F/63F Wind: 232/02P07KTS 60' Wind: 269/12KTS1 |
27 Apr 1972 19:45:05 0.70 S, 156.22 W |
Cld: SCT020 (18) Vis: 10 NM (19) Temp/Dew: 82F/mmF (19) Wind: 110/15KTS Water Temp: mmF Wave Height: 4 FT |
| Apollo 17 | 07 Dec 1972 05:33:00 |
Cld: SCT026 BKN260 (20) Vis: 10SM Temp/Dew: 70F/68F Wind: 300/07KTS 60' Wind: 005/08KTS (21) |
19 Dec 1972 19:24:59 17.88 S, 166.11 W |
Cld: BKN025 (22) Vis: 10 NM Temp/Dew: 23.9C/20C Wind: 120/14KTS Water Temp: 27.8C Wave Height: 1.5 FT |
| Skylab missions | ||||
| Mission | Launch Date | Launch Weather | Recovery Date (Duration) | Recovery Weather |
| Skylab I (Unmanned Station) |
14 May 1973 | Cld: SCT024 SCT050 BKN120 OVC230 (23) Vis: 10 SM Temp/Dew: 87F/65F Winds: 260/06KTS 60' Wind: 155/10KTS (24) |
N/A | Burned up on re-entry into atmosphere |
| Skylab II 1st manned mission |
25 May 1973 | Cld: SCT008 BKN025 BKN080 BKN300 (25) Vis: 6 SM Fog Temp/Dew: 79F/74F Wind: 260/06 60' Wind: 212/11 KTS (26) |
6/22/1973 (28 days 0 hours 50 minutes) |
Cld: BKN018 (29) Vis: 10 NM Temp/Dew: 64F/57F Wind: 030/09KTS Water Temp: 69 F Wave Height: 1.5 FT |
| Skylab III | 28 July 1973 | Cld: BKN150 BKN300 (30) Vis: 3 SM FOG Temp/Dew: est 74F73/F Wind: Calm 60' Wind: 264/05 KTS (31) |
9/25/1973 (59 days 11 hours 9 minutes) |
Cld: BKN020 (32) Vis: 10 NM Temp/Dew: 65F/61F Wind: 360/18KTS Water Temp: 65 F Wave Height: 1.5 FT |
| Skylab IV | 16 Nov 1973 | Cld: SCT100 (33) Vis: 10 SM Temp/Dew: 72F/63F Wind: 220/07KTS 60' Wind: 202/07 KTS (34) |
02/08/1974 (84 days 1 hour 17 minutes) |
Cld: BKNxxx (CI) (35) Vis: 10 NM Temp/Dew: 58F/52F Wind: 060/16KTS Water Temp: 57F Wave Height: 1.5 FT |
| Apollo-Soyuz (ASTP) | ||||
| Mission | Launch | Launch Weather | Recovery (Duration) | Recovery Weather |
| Apollo 18 | 7/15/1975 | Cld:SCT029CB SCT140 SCT330 (36) Vis: 10SM CB SE and SW-W Temp/Dew: 84F/73F Wind: 090/09KTS 60' Wind: KTS |
7/24/1975 (9 days 1 hour 30 minutes) |
Cld: Vis: NM Temp/Dew: mmF/mmF Wind: KTS Water Temp: mm F Wave Height: FT |
| Soyuz 19 | 7/15/1975 | Cld: SKC Vis: Good Temp/Dew: xxF/xxF Wind: "Light" (37) |
7/21/1975 (5 days 23 hours 31 minutes) |
N/A |
Total Number of Weather Related Scrubs and Delays: 0 Scrubs, 1 Delay.
Apollo 7: First Apollo Manned Flight (Schirra/Eisele/Cunningham)
Launch winds close to limit
Apollo 11: First Lunar Landing (Armstrong/Aldrin/Collins)
Recovery location moved
Apollo 12: Second Lunar Landing (Conrad/Bean/Gordon)
Launch into precipitation and electrified clouds triggered lightning strike to vehicle. The mission continued to a successful conclusion after quick action on the part of the flight controllers and the crew to recover the spacecraft electrical systems.
Apollo 13: Vehicle Crippled (Lovell/Haise/Swigert)
Apollo 13 recovery location moved due to tropical storm
Apollo 14: Lunar Landing (Shepard/Evans/Roosa) (1 Delay)
Apollo 14 launch delayed
Apollo 16: Lunar Landing (Young/Mattingly/Duke)
The Apollo 16 mission was shortened 1 day due to technical issues not related to weather. However, this changed the recovery location which significantly improved the weather conditions in the recovery area.
Skylab 2: (Conrad/Weitz/Kerwin)
Thunderstorms developed during previous afternoon, but then continued into night and morning hours. However, storms remained west of area. 15
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (Stafford/Brand/Slayton)
The Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft were launched on the same day with the Soyuz launching first during daylight hours. This necessitated an afternoon launch at KSC during July. Therefore, there was a great deal of concern regarding the potential for thunderstorm occurrence, the ability to predict thunderstorms 8 - 12 hours in advance, and whether it was reasonable to scrub the Soyuz launch at Baikonur due to a forecasted occurrence of thunderstorms at KSC. Although SMG was proud of its capability to predict thunderstorms at KSC, they recommended not scrubbing a launch due to forecast thunderstorms. The launch rules for ASTP were modifed from the version used in the Skylab missions. NOAA aircraft supported Apollo-Soyuz launch to provide measurements to help avoid any triggered lightning. As it turned out, thunderstorms ended up not being a significant threat on the launch day.
References:
1. NASA SP-4029: "Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference" Launch Weather Table Entry, Splashdown and Recovery Table
2. Launch and Recovery Weather Form for Apollo 7 (Undated)
3. Launch and Recovery Weather Form for Apollo 8 (Undated)
4. Launch Weather Summary for Apollo 9 (Undated)
5. Launch and Recovery Weather Form for Apollo 9 (Undated)
6. Launch Weather Summary for Apollo 10 (18 May 1969)
7. Launch and Recovery Weather Form for Apollo 10 (Undated)
8. Launch and Recovery Weather Form for Apollo 11 (Undated)
9. Launch Weather Summary for Apollo 12 (Undated, Jim Nicolson)
10. Launch and Recovery Weather Form for Apollo 12 (Undated)
11. Launch Weather Summary for Apollo 13 (Undated)
12. Apollo 13 Operation Report, 30 Apr 1970 (O.A. Gordon NWS/HNL to Chief, SMG) and supporting documentation
13. Launch Weather Summary for Apollo 14 (Undated)
14. Apollo 14 Operation Report, Undated (O.A. Gordon NWS/HNL to Chief, SMG) and supporting documentation
15. Apollo 15 Post-Launch Report, 27 July 1971 (Ernie Amman to Manager, Apollo-Skylab Programs, AA) and supporting documentation
16. Apollo 15 Operation Report, 13 August 1971 (O.A. Gordon NWS/HNL to Chief, SMG) and supporting documentation
17. Apollo 16 Post-Launch Report, 17 April 1972 (Ernie Amman to Manager, Apollo-Skylab Programs, AA) and supporting documentation
18. Apollo 16 Operation Report, 13 May 1972 (O.A. Gordon NWS/HNL to Chief, SMG) and supporting documentation
19. Memorandum: SMG's Forecast support for Apollo 16, 9 May 1972 (Chief, SMG to Chief, Flight Control Division) and supporting documentation
20. Apollo 17 Launch Weather Summary (Jim Nicholson, undated memo)
21. AS-512 Launch Wind Data, 10 Jan 1973 memo (Dale Johnson, S&E-AERO-YT to Distribution)
22. Apollo 17 Operation Report, 10 Jan 1973 (O.A. Gordon NWS/HNL to Chief, SMG) and supporting documentation
23. Skylab I Launch Weather Summary (Jim Nicholson, 14 May 1973 memo)
24. SA-513/SL-1 Launch Wind Data, 19 Jun 1973 (Dale Johnson, S&E-AERO-YT to Distribution)
25. Skylab II Launch Weather Summary (Jim Nicholson, 25 May 1973 memo)
26. SA-206 Launch Wind Data, 18 Jun 1973 (Dale Johnson, S&E-AERO-YT to Distribution)
27. Summary of Spaceflight Meteorology Group Activities at Kennedy Space Center in Support of the Launch of Skylab I, 12 June 1973 memo (MIC, Cape Kennedy Section to Chief, SMG)
28. Summary of Spaceflight Meteorology Group Activities at Kennedy Space Center in Support of the Launch of Skylab II, 12 June 1973 memo (MIC, Cape Kennedy Section to Chief, SMG)
29. Skylab II Operation Report, 5 Jul 1973 (O.A. Gordon NWS/HNL to Chief, SMG) and supporting documentation
30. Skylab III Launch Weather Summary (Jim Nicholson, 28 July 1973 memo)
31. SA-207/SL-3 Launch Wind Data, 29 Aug 1973 (Dale Johnson, S&E-AERO-YT to Distribution)
32. Skylab III Operation Report, 12 Oct 1973 (O.A. Gordon NWS/HNL to Chief, SMG) and supporting documentation
33. Skylab III Launch Weather Summary (Jim Nicholson, 28 July 1973 memo)
34. SA-208/SL-4 Launch Wind Data, 21 Jan 1974 (Dale Johnson, S&E-AERO-YT to Distribution)
35. Skylab IV Operation Report, 21 Feb 1974 (O.A. Gordon NWS/HNL to Chief, SMG) and supporting documentation
36. ASTP Launch Weather Summary (Jim Nicholson, 15 July 1975 memo)
Note: Conditions recorded for launch from post-launch reports represent conditions as recorded on the 150m tower included in the report.
37. SP-4209 The Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Chap 11.
Go to the Mercury or Gemini weather support pages.
