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a16_v_c_o_AKP (S-72-34771)

“APOLLO 16 SUBSATELLITE----An artist’s concept depicting the lunar Particles and Fields subsatellite, built by TRW Inc., as it might appear to the Apollo 16 astronauts shortly after its ejection into orbit around the Moon from the Apollo spacecraft. The 30-inch-high, 80-pound satellite is mounted in the SIM bay of the Apollo 16 Service Module. The small satellite will orbit the Moon to study magnetic and gravitational fields and sample the charged particle composition of space near the Moon. This satellite is nearly identical to the one carried to the Moon by Apollo 15. These launches illustrate the feasibility of launching unmanned spacecraft from NASA’s proposed orbiting Space Shuttle. The figures of the three men represent Astronauts John W. Young, Thomas K. Mattingly, and Charles M. Duke Jr. This is TRW Inc. artwork.”

 

If the listing of the crew is from foreground-to-background, that does vaguely look a little like Young and the astronaut in the background does also look a little like Duke; however, the marginalized gent squeezed up between the crew couches does not at all look like Mattingly. I don’t actually think they’d be in these positions, especially during the deployment of the subsatellite. Also, looks like 'Charlie' is about to punch something into an inaccurately depicted DSKY panel...possibly from a Block I CM configuration? Wonderful, nonetheless.

 

The TRW artist is the immensely talented John Desatoff. Not surprisingly, Mr. Desatoff's works were featured in a 1968 Smithsonian Institute traveling museum/exhibition entitled “Exploring Space: Paintings by John Desatoff,” which now reside in the Institution's archives.

 

TMI, but very informative:

 

www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001128.html

Credit: collectSPACE website

 

Also:

 

heroicrelics.org/info/csm/apollo-subsatellite.html

Credit: Mike Jetzer/heroicrelics.org

 

Most importantly, Rest In Peace Mr. Desatoff, and THANK YOU:

 

www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=john-j-...

Credit: Legacy website

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Uploaded on July 30, 2020