Lightning - Apollo to Shuttle

The history of lightning striking NASA spacecraft and the development of lightning protection systems is reviewed from the Apollo 12 flight, involving a lightning strike thirty six seconds after launch, to the present date. Particular attention is paid to problems that may arise in this field in the context of planning and implementing the Space Shuttle program. The lightning protection design for Apollo is described: a folding mast mounted on top of the hammerhead crane on top of the Launcher Umbilical Tower, with a lightning rod on top. The effect of lightning storms on the launches of Apollos 12 through 17 is examined, as is the effect of lightning in the Skylab program. The lightning problems encountered by the Apollo-Soyuz mission and by the two unmanned Viking launches to Mars are discussed. The Lightning Detection And Ranging system for detecting RF emission from lightning discharges is described.