Editing Apollo 4 (section)

==Delays==
[[File:Apollo-Saturn 501 Vehicle Preparations - GPN-2000-000956.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A rocket inside a high, narrow building with multiple levels surrounding it|Apollo 4 inside the [[Vehicle Assembly Building|VAB]]]]

In January 1965 Major General [[Samuel C. Phillips]], the [[Apollo Program]] Director, scheduled SA-501, the first test flight of the Saturn{{nbs}}V, for January 1967. This left little spare time for delay, especially since two additional Saturn{{nbs}}V launches were planned to follow in 1967.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Benson |first1=Charles D. |last2=Faherty |first2=William Barnaby |title=Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/contents.html |access-date=September 28, 2021 |year=1978 |publisher=NASA |id=NASA SP-4204 |chapter=500-F-A Dress Rehearsal |chapter-url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ch15-4.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123133438/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/contents.html }} Ch.15-4.</ref> Many Apollo officials lacked confidence in the proposed launch date, and these misgivings proved accurate. After an explosion involving a liquid oxygen line flowing to LC-39, from which SA-501 was to be launched, there was a potential for a delay of several weeks.<ref name = "delay" />

[[North American Aviation]] was the contractor for both the [[S-II]] Saturn{{nbs}}V second stage, and the [[Apollo command and service module]] (CSM) spacecraft. NASA had been experiencing problems with North American's schedule, cost, and quality performance on both programs, severe enough that Phillips led a team to North American's facility in California in November and December 1965 to investigate matters, and recommend solutions to the program management problems. He published his findings in [[Phillips Report|a report to his supervisor]], [[George Mueller (NASA)|George Mueller]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/Apollo204/phillip1.html|title=NASA Apollo Mission Apollo-1-- Phillips Report|date=October 22, 2004 |publisher=[[NASA]] History Division}}</ref> Technicians found cracks in the S-II, delaying its test firings prior to acceptance by NASA. As North American worked to fix the S-II, parts of the rocket began to arrive at KSC, beginning with the S-IVB on August 14, 1966, (by [[Pregnant Guppy]] aircraft) and followed closely by the first stage [[S-IC]] on September 12 (by barge). A spool-shaped "spacer" that took the place of the S-II allowed NASA to stack the vehicle as its checkout proceeded in the [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] (VAB). With the S-II still not arrived by November 1966 (it had originally been planned for July), NASA planned January 1967 for its arrival, with launch three months later. The CSM arrived on December 24, 1966, with the S-II arriving on January 21, 1967. Last to arrive was the aft [[interstage]] (the structure between the first and second stages), on January 31.<ref name = "delay">{{cite book |last1=Benson |first1=Charles D. |last2=Faherty |first2=William Barnaby |title=Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/contents.html |access-date=September 28, 2021 |year=1978 |publisher=NASA |id=NASA SP-4204 |chapter=Delay after Delay after Delay |chapter-url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ch19-3.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123133438/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/contents.html }} Ch.19-3.</ref>

The [[Apollo 1]] fire on January 27, 1967, which killed three astronauts during a launch pad test, threw NASA's schedules into further question{{snd}}even though SA-501 was uncrewed, NASA officials wanted to closely examine its CSM. NASA had planned to restack the vehicle once this was done,<ref name = "delay" /> but instead the inspections that took place found a total of 1,407 errors in the spacecraft.<ref name="delay"/> Inspectors found many haphazardly routed and skinned wires, prime material for short circuits.<ref name = "fire">{{cite journal |last=Giblin |first=Kelly A. |date=Spring 1998 |title ='Fire in the Cockpit!' |journal=[[American Heritage of Invention & Technology]] |volume=13 |issue=4 |publisher=American Heritage Publishing |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1998/4/1998_4_46.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120153024/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1998/4/1998_4_46.shtml |archive-date=November 20, 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Aerial view of Apollo 4 rollout.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A tall rocket on a platform is rolled out along a track towards a launch site|The Apollo 4 launch vehicle (right) is rolled out from the [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] (far left) past the Mobile Servicing Structure.]]

Other problems were discovered, such as an extra, out-of-place bolt in one of the [[Rocketdyne J-2|J-2]] engines; NASA was concerned not only with retrieving the surplus hardware, but also with discovering how it got there. A meeting in March 1967, with Phillips in attendance, disclosed twelve hundred problems with the Saturn{{nbs}}V, which the technicians proposed to deal with at the rate of eighty per day.{{sfn|Bilstein 1996|p=352}} While the CSM was undergoing repairs, the spacer was removed from the vehicle stack, and the S-II positioned. On May 24 it was announced that the S-II would be removed for inspection following the discovery of hairline cracks in another S-II then being constructed, this work being completed by mid-June, after which the CSM was also returned to the stack, the first time the launch vehicle and spacecraft had been fully assembled. It was rolled out to LC-39 on August 26, 1967,<ref name = "delay" /> where it was joined by the Mobile Servicing Structure that allowed access to the launch vehicle and spacecraft two days later, also transported by [[Crawler-transporter|crawler]].{{sfn|Press Kit|p=28}} This was the first time a NASA spacecraft had been assembled away from its launch site, something allowing protection from Florida's hot and humid climate for equipment and personnel.{{sfn|Press Kit|p=31}}

The [[Terminal countdown demonstration test|countdown demonstration test]] had been scheduled for September 20 but was soon rescheduled for the 25th and did not begin until the evening of the 27th. By October{{nbs}}2 another two days had been lost to delays, but by October{{nbs}}4 it reached launch minus 45 minutes. Then a computer failed, and the count, reset to minus 13 hours before launch, resumed on October 9. More computer and equipment problems appeared. By then, the launch team was exhausted and a two-day break was declared. The test was completed on October 13,<ref name = "delay 2" /> meaning that it took three weeks rather than the expectation of a week or slightly over. With world attention on the launch, NASA public relations head [[Julian Scheer]] brought the skeptical questions from the media as to whether Apollo{{nbs}}4 would ever fly to the attention of NASA Administrator [[James E. Webb]], leading to a heated meeting in which Webb said he would announce the launch date when he wanted to.{{sfn|Bilstein 1996|p=353}}

These difficulties provided the launch crew with valuable experience, but meant that Apollo{{nbs}}4 could not be launched at the earliest until November 7. A flight readiness review on October 19 cleared Apollo{{nbs}}4 for launch, assuming the remaining tests and modifications were satisfactorily completed.<ref name = "delay 2">{{cite book |last1=Benson |first1=Charles D. |last2=Faherty |first2=William Barnaby |title=Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/contents.html |access-date=September 28, 2021 |year=1978 |publisher=NASA |id=NASA SP-4204 |chapter=More Delays for AS-501 |chapter-url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ch19-5.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123133438/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/contents.html }} Ch.19-5.</ref> Concerned about the potential for leaks in the [[Teflon]] seal rings and drain valves of the [[liquid oxygen]] tanks on board the vehicle due to the long time it had been sitting on the launch pad in the Florida sun, on November{{nbs}}2 Phillips postponed the launch until November{{nbs}}9.{{sfn|Bilstein 1996|p=353}}