Editing Apollo 17 (section)

=== Spacecraft and launch vehicle ===
The Apollo 17 spacecraft comprised CSM-114 (consisting of Command Module 114 (CM-114) and Service Module 114 (SM-114)); Lunar Module 12 (LM-12);{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=508}} a Spacecraft-Lunar Module Adapter (SLA) numbered SLA-21; and a Launch Escape System (LES).{{sfn|Apollo 17 Press Kit|pp=97–99}}<ref name="hardware">{{cite web|title=Apollo/Skylab ASTP and Shuttle Orbiter Major End Items|date=March 1978|url=https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6473665/Apollo-Skylab-ASTP-and-Shuttle-Orbiter-Major-End.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6473665/Apollo-Skylab-ASTP-and-Shuttle-Orbiter-Major-End.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=NASA|page=15}}</ref> The LES contained a rocket motor that would propel the CM to safety in the event of an aborted mission in the moments after launch, while the SLA housed the LM during the launch and early part of the flight. The LES was jettisoned after the launch vehicle ascended to the point that it was not needed, while the SLA was left atop the [[S-IVB]] third stage of the rocket after the CSM and LM separated from it.{{sfn|Apollo 17 Press Kit|p=97}}{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=26}}

The launch vehicle, SA-512,{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=508}} was one of fifteen [[Saturn V]] rockets built,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sharp |first1=Tim |title=Saturn V Rockets & Apollo Spacecraft |url=https://www.space.com/16698-apollo-spacecraft.html |access-date=February 7, 2022 |publisher=Space.com |date=October 17, 2018 |archive-date=February 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211052532/https://www.space.com/16698-apollo-spacecraft.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and was the twelfth to fly.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[NASA]]|title=Saturn V|work=Rocket Park|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/rocketpark/saturn_v.html|access-date=February 8, 2022|archive-date=April 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408004131/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/rocketpark/saturn_v.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> With a weight at launch of {{convert|6529784|lb}} ({{convert|116269|lb}} of which was attributable to the spacecraft), Apollo 17's vehicle was slightly lighter than Apollo 16, but heavier than every other crewed Apollo mission.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|pp=584–585}}

====Preparation and assembly====
The first piece of the launch vehicle to arrive at [[Kennedy Space Center]] was the [[S-II]] second stage, on October 27, 1970; it was followed by the S-IVB on December 21; the [[S-IC]] first stage did not arrive until May 11, 1972, followed by the Instrument Unit on June 7. By then, LM-12 had arrived, the ascent stage on June 16, 1971, and the descent stage the following day; they were not mated until May 18, 1972. CM-114, SM-114 and SLA-21 all arrived on March 24, 1972. The rover reached Kennedy Space Center on June 2, 1972.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=512}}

[[File:Apollo 17 Astronaut Training - GPN-2000-000640.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Cernan (seated, right) and Schmitt in the training [[Lunar Roving Vehicle]], with the mockup [[Lunar Module]] in the background, August 1972|alt=Schmitt, (left), Cernan, (right) in a training LRV, with the Lunar Landing Module in the background.]]
The CM and the service module (SM) were mated on March 28, 1972,{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=512}} and the testing of the spacecraft began that month.<ref name="moonport"/> The CSM was placed in a vacuum chamber at Kennedy Space Center, and the testing was conducted under those conditions. The LM was also placed in a vacuum chamber; both the prime and the backup crews participated in testing the CSM and LM.{{sfn|Apollo 17 Press Kit|p=15}} During the testing, it was discovered that the LM's rendezvous radar assembly had received too much voltage during earlier tests; it was replaced by the manufacturer, [[Grumman]]. The LM's landing radar also malfunctioned intermittently and was also replaced. The front and rear steering motors of the [[Lunar Roving Vehicle]] (LRV) also had to be replaced, and it required several modifications.<ref name="moonport">{{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=November 23, 2021 |year=1978 |publisher=NASA |id=NASA SP-4204 |chapter=Ch. 23-7: The Apollo-Saturn IB Space Vehicle |chapter-url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ch23-7.html |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 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Following the July 1972 removal from the vacuum chamber, the LM's landing gear was installed, and it, the CSM and the SLA were mated to each other. The combined craft was moved into the [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] in August for further testing, after which it was mounted on the launch vehicle.{{sfn|Apollo 17 Press Kit|p=15}} After completing testing, including a simulated mission, the LRV was placed in the LM on August 13.{{sfn|Apollo 17 Press Kit|p=16}}

Erection of the stages of the launch vehicle began on May 15, 1972, in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building, and was completed on June 27. Since the launch vehicles for [[Skylab 1]] and [[Skylab 2]] were being processed in that building at the same time, this marked the first time NASA had three launch vehicles there since the height of the Apollo program in 1969. After the spacecraft was mounted on the launch vehicle on August 24,{{sfn|Apollo 17 Press Kit|p=16}} it was rolled out to Pad 39-A on August 28.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=512}} Although this was not the final time a Saturn V would fly (another would lift [[Skylab]] to orbit), area residents reacted as though it was, and 5,000 of them watched the rollout, during which the prime crew joined the operating crew from [[Bendix Corporation|Bendix]] atop the crawler.<ref name="moonport"/>

At Pad 39-A, testing continued, and the CSM was electrically mated to the launch vehicle on October 11, 1972. Testing concluded with the countdown demonstration tests, accomplished on November 20 and 21.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=512}} The countdown to launch began at 7:53&nbsp;a.m. (12:53 UTC) on December 5, 1972.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=510}}