Editing AS-101 (section)

{{Short description|1964 Apollo Program test flight}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name                  = AS-101 
| image                 = Saturn SA6 on launch pad.jpg
| image_caption         = AS-101 (SA-6)
| insignia              =

| mission_type          = Spacecraft aerodynamics
| operator              = [[NASA]]
| COSPAR_ID             = 1964-025A 
| SATCAT                = 800
| mission_duration      = ~5&nbsp;hours, 53&nbsp;minutes
| orbits_completed      = 54
| distance_travelled    =

| spacecraft            = [[Apollo (spacecraft)|Apollo]] BP-13
| manufacturer          = 
| launch_mass           = {{convert|17000|lb|kg|disp=flip|sp=us}}
| landing_mass          =

| launch_date           = {{start date text|May 28, 1964, 17:07:00|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC 
| launch_rocket         = [[Saturn I]] SA-6
| launch_site           = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Kennedy]] [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 37|LC-37B]]

| disposal_type         = Uncontrolled reentry
| last_contact          = {{end date text|May 28, 1964}} after 4 orbits
| decay_date            = June 1, 1964

| orbit_epoch           = 30 May 1964<ref name="satcat">{{cite web|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt|title=Satellite Catalog|first=Jonathan|last=McDowell|work=Jonathan's Space Page|access-date=31 October 2013}}</ref>
| orbit_reference       = [[geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime          = [[Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|178|km|nmi|sp=us}} 
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|199|km|nmi|sp=us}} 
| orbit_inclination     = 31.7&nbsp;degrees
| orbit_period          = 88.26&nbsp;minutes 
| apsis                 = gee
| previous_mission      = [[Saturn I SA-5|SA-5]]
| next_mission          = [[AS-102]]
| programme             = [[Apollo program]]
}}

'''AS-101''' (also designated '''SA-6''') was the sixth flight of the [[Saturn I]] launch vehicle, which carried the first [[Boilerplate (spaceflight)|boilerplate]] [[Apollo spacecraft]] into low Earth orbit.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/sa-6/sa-6.html |title=NASA: ''SA-6'' |access-date=December 8, 2003 |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514001106/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/sa-6/sa-6.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="NSSDC">[https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1964-025A NSSDC: ''SA-6'']</ref> The test took place on May 28, 1964, lasting for four orbits (about six hours). The spacecraft and its upper stage completed a total of 54 orbits before reentering the atmosphere and crashing in the Pacific Ocean on June 1, 1964.

The flight experienced a single anomaly: one of the eight first-stage Saturn I engines shut down early, but the guidance system compensated by burning the remaining seven engines longer. AS-101 was followed by four more flights to verify the launch aerodynamics of the [[Apollo command and service module]] (CSM) and its [[launch escape system]] (LES) tower.