Apollo 6Apollo 6 was launched on April 4, 1968, at 07:00:01 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A of the Eastern Test Range at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The goals of the unmanned mission were to demonstrate structure and thermal integrity and compatibility of launch vehicle and spacecraft; confirm launch loads and dynamic characteristics; demonstrate separation of launch vehicle stages; evaluate performance of the emergency detection system in closed-loop configuration; verify operation of Saturn V propulsion, guidance and control, and electrical systems; and demonstrate performance of the mission support facilities.
All of the objectives except one were achieved. Verification of the operation of the Saturn V launch vehicle was not achieved because of the early cutoff of two of the S-II stage J-2 engines and failure of the S-IVB stage J-2 engine to restart. References:
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