system
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human
How was the Apollo Command Module kept oriented so the lift force acted "upwards" with respect to the Earth?

I'd love to know how the pod was oriented correctly and stably with respect to the earth for re-entry. It had an offset center of mass and flew at an angle of attack of something like 20-26 degrees, flying a lifting re-entry. But to do that it had to be rotated the right way; if it rotated along its longditudinal axis, the lift would act sideways or downward, making it slam harder into the atmosphere.

From what I've been able to learn so far it's a "free body" in physical terms, so the offset center of mass does not naturally "fall" downward to orient the craft with the required angle.

It also seems like the crew were able to guide the pod by changing its rotation in flight, so the lift acted to divert the course left or right and in the process make the re-entry profile steeper or shallower.

Was the rotational orientation done entirely with reaction control thrusters? Or was there some inherent stability at work?

I know aerodynamic stability (center-of-mass in front of center-of-drag) keeps the heat shield pointed at the airflow, but what keeps the craft rolled the right way for a lifting re-entry?
gpt
Reentry roll orientation was maintained solely by the CM RCS system. The Guidance computer normally maintained the proper attitude automatically, but the commander or CM pilot could control the attitude manually if necessary.