This period copy of an Apollo 9 flight plan is a rare working document used during the mission by Peter L. Benjamin, a scientist working for BellComm, Inc. This appears to be a 2nd generation period copy, and the latter section has been bound upside down and reversed for some reason.  Benjamin’s name can often be found in the “key personnel” distribution lists for scores of Apollo documents, memoranda, and publications.
 
Of particular interest, the flight plan contains several annotations made by Benjamin during the mission (on ~5 pages), including a note on the performance of the new Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack.
 
On Apollo 9, Schweickart and Scott planned to conduct the first spacewalk of the Apollo program, the only one scheduled before the spacewalk on the Moon’s surface, to test the reliability of the Apollo A-7L space suit and the PLSS. The plan changed during the mission, with Scweickart performing an EVA limited to standing on the “porch” of the LM, while Scott performed a “stand up EVA” through the hatch of the command module.
 
Several years later Benjamin authored several technical memos and reports on the EVA capabilities offered by the PLSS system and lunar rover on the later “J Missions” of Apollo 15, 16, 17—each focused on “extensive scientific investigation of Moon on lunar surface and from lunar orbit” (see publication list below).
 
Bellcomm, Inc was a major scientific subcontractor for the Apollo program. A subsidiary of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), Bellcomm, Inc. was established in 1963 by the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. at NASA's request for the purpose of conducting independent analyses of many aspects of the Apollo program. Bellcomm was originally organized to provide NASA's Office of Manned Space Flight with technical and management advice for the Manned Space Flight Program, but as the NASA-Bellcomm relationship evolved, the latter became directly responsible for systems engineering and analysis and assisted in the overall spacecraft integration for the Apollo program. Bellcomm's Technical Library provided company and NASA personnel with immediate access to technical reports and studies dealing with a wide variety of topics affecting the American space program. It employed about 500 people at peak strength (1969), including Farouk El-Baz. In 1972, its work for NASA completed, Bellcomm was merged with Bell Laboratories.
 
Don’t miss this opportunity to add this rare, annotated, period copy of an Apollo flight plan to your collection. Examples such as this—owned and used by a significant scientific contributor to the Apollo program during the mission—are rare, and seldom offered for public sale.
 
Provenance: This item originates from the archive of Peter L. Benjamin, Bellcomm scientist and specialist in PLSS and Rover-assisted lunar traverses. Although this flight plan is unsigned, other documents included in the collection are signed by Benjamin. This item was given to longtime Bellcomm colleague J.T. Raleigh, an engineer working on Apollo Communications Structures & Systems from 1962-1972. I purchased this item from Raleigh’s daughter in 2021.
 
Selected Technical Publications by Peter Benjamin:
 
Benjamin, P. (June 19, 1969). “Some Preliminary Results of Tradeoffs Between Walking and the Use of Mobility Aids During Lunar Surface EVA,” Bellcomm Memorandum for File, B69 06068, June 19, 1969.
 
Benjamin. P. (July 14, 1969). “Further Results of Tradeoffs Between Walking and the Use of Mobility Aids During Lunar Surface EVA,” Bellcomm Memorandum for File, B69 07050, July 14, 1969.
 
Benjamin, P. (October 15, 1969). "Handy Dandy Charts for Determining Operational Constraint Effects in Lunar Traverse Planning,” Bellcomm Memorandum for File, B69 10042, October 15, 1969.
 
Benjamin, P., T.A. Bottomley, J.W. Head, and M.T. Yates. (November 14, 1969 ). “Evaluation of Mobility Modes on Lunar Expedition Traverses: Marius Hills, Copernicus Peaks, and Hadley-Appenines Missions,” Bellcomm Memorandum for work performed for Manned Space Flight, National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract NASW-417, November 14, 1969.
 
Benjamin, P. and J.W. Head. (July 27, 1970 ). “Preliminary Analysis of Traverse Capabilities for a Possible Apollo 15 Mission to Hadley-Appenines, Cases 320 and 340,” Bellcomm Memorandum for File, B70 07094, July 27, 1970.
 
Benjamin, P. (October 13, 1970). “Apollo 15 EVA Capability and Constraints Envelopes, Case 320,” Bellcomm Memorandum for File, B70 10028, October 13, 1970.
 
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