Scott Hanko
Apollo Boilerplate Command Module
Manufacturer: North American Aviation Inc.
Country of Origin: United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 10 ft. 7 in. tall x 12 ft. 10 in. diameter, 4000 lb. (322.58 x 391.16cm, 1814.4kg)
Materials:
Aluminum structure; painted fibreglass exterior
As part of the Apollo program, a number of so-called "boilerplate" (bp) command modules were constructed to undergo various tests and to serve as training vehicles for astronauts and other mission crew members. BP 1102A is actually constructed of aluminum, with a fiberglass outer shell and an actual Command Module hatch. The initial use of BP1102A was as the water egress trainer for all Apollo flights, including by the crew of Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission. As such, it was fitted with actual or mock-up interior components and used by astronauts to practice routine and emergency exits from the spacecraft.
Subsequently, the interior was set up to be configured either as Apollo/Soyuz or a five-man rescue vehicle as once proposed for Skylab so that astronauts could train for those missions. It was finally transferred from NASA to the Smithsonian in 1977, and is displayed now at the Hazy Center with the flotation collar and bags that were attached to Columbia at the end of its historic mission.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Johnson Space Center.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Virginia
Apollo Boilerplate Command Module
Manufacturer: North American Aviation Inc.
Country of Origin: United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 10 ft. 7 in. tall x 12 ft. 10 in. diameter, 4000 lb. (322.58 x 391.16cm, 1814.4kg)
Materials:
Aluminum structure; painted fibreglass exterior
As part of the Apollo program, a number of so-called "boilerplate" (bp) command modules were constructed to undergo various tests and to serve as training vehicles for astronauts and other mission crew members. BP 1102A is actually constructed of aluminum, with a fiberglass outer shell and an actual Command Module hatch. The initial use of BP1102A was as the water egress trainer for all Apollo flights, including by the crew of Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission. As such, it was fitted with actual or mock-up interior components and used by astronauts to practice routine and emergency exits from the spacecraft.
Subsequently, the interior was set up to be configured either as Apollo/Soyuz or a five-man rescue vehicle as once proposed for Skylab so that astronauts could train for those missions. It was finally transferred from NASA to the Smithsonian in 1977, and is displayed now at the Hazy Center with the flotation collar and bags that were attached to Columbia at the end of its historic mission.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Johnson Space Center.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Virginia