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{{Short description|Uncrewed test flight of the Apollo Program}}
{{about|the Apollo mission|the aircraft|FFA AS-202 Bravo}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name = AS-202
| image = AS-202 launch.jpg
| image_caption = Launch of AS-202

| mission_type = Suborbital test flight
| operator = [[NASA]]
| mission_duration = 1 hour, 33 minutes, 2 seconds
| suborbital_apogee = {{convert|617.1|nmi|km|disp=flip|sp=us|abbr=off}}
| suborbital_range = {{convert|13900|nmi|km|disp=flip|sp=us|abbr=off}}

| spacecraft = [[Apollo CSM]]-011
| manufacturer = [[North American Aviation]]
| launch_mass = {{convert|44294|lb|kg|disp=flip}}
| landing_mass =

| launch_date = {{start date text|August 25, 1966, 17:15:32|timezone=yes}} UTC
| launch_rocket = [[Saturn IB]]
| launch_site = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Kennedy]] [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34|LC-34]]

| landing_date = {{end date text|August 25, 1966, 18:48:34|timezone=yes}} UTC
| landing_site = North Pacific Ocean<br>{{coord|16|07|N|168|54|E|type:event|name=AS-202 splashdown}}
| recovery_by = {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|6}}

| previous_mission = [[AS-203]]
| next_mission = [[Apollo 1]]
| programme = [[Apollo program]]
}}

'''AS-202''' (also referred to as '''SA-202''' or '''Apollo 2''') was the second uncrewed, suborbital test flight of a production Block I [[Apollo command and service module]] launched with the [[Saturn IB]] launch vehicle. It was launched on August 25, 1966, and was the first flight which included the spacecraft guidance, navigation control system and [[fuel cell]]s. The success of this flight enabled the Apollo program to judge the Block I spacecraft and Saturn IB ready to carry men into orbit on the next mission, [[Apollo 1|AS-204]].

==Objectives==
AS-202 was the third test flight of the Saturn IB, because a delay in the readiness of the Apollo spacecraft 011 pushed its launch past the July 1966 launch of [[AS-203]]. It was designed to test the rocket more than had been done on [[AS-201]] by launching the rocket higher and having the flight lasting twice as long. It would also test the command and service module (CSM-011) by having the engine fire four times during the flight.

The flight was also designed to test the heat shield by subjecting it to 260 [[Joule#History|megajoules]] per square meter. Over the course of the reentry it generated equivalent energy needed to power [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] for over one minute in 1966.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

CSM-011 was basically a production model capable of carrying a crew. However it lacked the crew couches and some displays that would be included on later missions for the astronauts. This was the first flight of the guidance and navigation system as well as the [[fuel cell]] electrical system.

==Flight==
AS-202 was launched 25 August 1966 from [[Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 34|Pad 34]]. The launch phase was perfectly nominal with the first stage burning for just under two and a half minutes, lifting the rocket to an altitude of {{convert|31.4|nmi|km}}, {{convert|30.4|nmi|km}} downrange from the launch pad. The second stage then burned for a further seven and a half minutes, putting the spacecraft into a ballistic trajectory. The CSM was separated from the rocket stage at an altitude of {{convert|419.8|nmi|km}}.

The CSM was preprogrammed to make four burns of its [[service propulsion system]] (SPS). The first occurred a couple of seconds after separation from the [[S-IVB]] second stage. It burned for 3 minutes, 35 seconds, lifting the spacecraft apogee to {{convert|617.1|nmi|km}}, {{convert|874.8|nmi|km}} downrange.

The second burn was 25 minutes later, lasting one minute 28 seconds. Ten seconds later, two more burns of three seconds each were done to test the rapid restart capabilities of the engine.

The [[Apollo command module|command module]] entered the atmosphere at a speed of {{convert|28512|ft/s|m/s}}. The spacecraft performed a [[skip reentry]], first descending to {{convert|36|nmi|km}}, then lifting back up to {{convert|44|nmi|km}}. By this time it had shed {{convert|4,300|ft/s|m/s}} of speed. It then continued to descend.<ref name="postfl">{{cite report |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/59690251/Post-Launch-Report-for-Mission-AS-202 |title=Postlaunch report for mission AS-202 (Apollo spacecraft 011) |date=October 12, 1966 |publisher=NASA |via=scribd.com |access-date=May 26, 2025}}</ref>{{rp|1-2}} The main parachutes deployed at {{convert|23790|ft|m}}. It [[splashdown|splashed down]] at 16.12° N - 168.9° E, {{convert|205|nmi|km}} from the target landing site, and the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|6}} took 8 hours and 30 minutes to reach the capsule (SouthEast of [[Wake Island]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=APST202 |title=NSSDCA - AS202 |website=NASA |access-date=May 26, 2025}}</ref>

==Staging footage==

[[File:Separation of Rocket Stages During Apollo Mission AS-202.webm |thumb|left |200px |alt=Footage showing the separation of two stages of the Saturn IB rocket. The S-IVB pulls away from the spent S-IB, and the latter falls to Earth. |Footage showing the separation of two stages of the Saturn IB rocket. The S-IVB pulls away from the spent S-IB, and the latter falls to Earth.]]

AS-202 was one of three uncrewed Apollo missions which obtained notable close-up footage of a Saturn rocket during staging, the others being [[Apollo 4]] and [[Apollo 6]]. Ejectable cameras were mounted to each launch vehicle, technology first developed for the Saturn I.<ref name="eject">{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/camerapods/camerapodessay.html |title=Ejectable camera pods |last=Oleszewski |first=Wes |website=Apollo Flight Journal |year=2019}}</ref> On AS-202, a camera was mounted to the Saturn IB vehicle's first stage, the S-IB, looking forward. It captured footage of the vehicle's second stage, the S-IVB (200 series) pulling away and firing its single J-2 engine.<ref name="Saunders">{{cite book |last=Saunders |first=Andy |title=Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record |date=October 25, 2022 |publisher=Black Dog and Leventhal |isbn=9780762480241 |page=30}}</ref> The upper stage is identifiable by its firing of three ullage motors; a later iteration of the S-IVB, the 500 series, had only two ullage motors, and was that used on Saturn V launches.<ref name="Woods">{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/01launch_ascent.html |title=Apollo 8, Day 1: Launch and Ascent to Earth Orbit |last1=Woods |first1=David |last2=O'Brien |first2=Frank |website=Apollo Flight Journal}}</ref><ref name="Drew">{{cite web |url=https://www.drewexmachina.com/2016/08/25/as-202-the-last-test-flight-before-apollo-1/ |title=AS-202: The Last Test Flight Before Apollo 1 |last=LePage |first=Andrew |website=Drew Ex Machina |date=August 25, 2016}}</ref>

Although the footage was captured during an uncrewed flight, it is frequently used as [[stock footage]] in documentaries of crewed flights, to illustrate staging.<ref name="Woods" /> The footage was used in the documentary film ''[[Apollo 11 (2019 film)|Apollo 11]]'', and is sometimes erroneously attributed to Apollo 11, or other crewed missions.

==Museum display==

The capsule was displayed in the US Pavilion at [[Expo 67]] in Montreal.
The capsule is currently on display aboard {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|6}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uss-hornet.org/visit-hornet/exhibits/permanent-exhibits/|title=Permanent Exhibits|date=December 8, 2015|quote=the Apollo Command Module – CM-011. It was used for the uncrewed mission AS-202 on August 26, 1966|publisher=USS Hornet museum|access-date=2016-10-22|archive-date=October 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022221244/https://www.uss-hornet.org/visit-hornet/exhibits/permanent-exhibits/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The ship is open to the public as the [[USS Hornet Museum|USS ''Hornet'' Museum]] in [[Alameda, California]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="220">
File:USS Hornet Apollo CM.jpg|AS-202 CM-011 exhibited on USS ''Hornet''
File:Apollo Capsule (USS Hornet).jpg|AS-202 CM-011 interior
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/cover.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318012712/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/cover.html |date=March 18, 2011 }}
* Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/cover.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020095653/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/cover.html |date=October 20, 2015 }}
* {{cite web |title=AS-202 Press Kit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031205112335/http://www.apollosaturn.com/as202/as202con.htm |url=http://www.apollosaturn.com/as202/as202con.htm |website=apollosaturn.com |archive-date=December 5, 2003 |access-date=May 26, 2025}}

{{Include-NASA}}
{{Apollo program|state=expanded}}
{{NASA space program}}

{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}

[[Category:Apollo program missions|Apollo 03]]
[[Category:1966 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched by Saturn rockets]]
[[Category:Saturn IB]]

AS-202 - Revision history

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