View allAll Photos Tagged commandmodule
Command Module (CM-017), Service Module (SM-020), Lunar Module Test Article (LTA-10R) and Spacecraft/Lunar Module Adapter (SLA-8) possibly having completed final testing and checkout at the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB), is prepared for transport to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking/mating
www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-4205/images/c233a.jpg
atop the Saturn V/Apollo 4 (AS-501) launch vehicle. The spacecraft is immediately to the right of the integrated test stand, in which the CSM was mated with the SLA. The upwardly open (with the angled lights) work platforms are partially visible. For context, please see Comment section photos of other Apollo spacecraft either while in it or near it while in the MSOB, or for that matter, in the immediate vicinity of the MSOB itself. Additionally, a subsequent photo of the vehicle stack exiting MSOB, it’s doors open:
www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-apollo-saturn-5...
Magnanimously available through Getty Images.
A subsequent photo shortly before exiting the MSOB:
images-assets.nasa.gov/image/KSC-67P-0259/KSC-67P-0259~or...
Excellent information regarding the flight at:
history.nasa.gov/SP-4009/v4p2f.htm
And:
As an aside, this "63-Apollo" series depicting critical points during a nominal Apollo lunar mission culminate in an Earth Landing System (ELS) "touchdown", NOT a splashdown.
The Facility Compatibility Article (FCA) being worked on by possible Brown & Root/Northrop (BRN) technicians during compatibility checkout in Chamber A of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL)/Bldg 32, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), ca. April 1966.
Prior to manned thermal vacuum tests within the chamber, the CSM boilerplate was used for insertion procedure familiarization, as the entire CSM could not be inserted into the chamber in one piece. Each module had to be transferred individually and then stacked on the test stand/platform inside it.
I believe this photograph to be of the same CSM boilerplate and taken during the same time period:
Additional info at:
ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/_techrep/CR-2003-208933...
Credit: Johnson Space Center
www.drewexmachina.com/2016/10/26/the-apollo-flights-to-no...
Credit: DrewExMachina website/Andrew LePage
Last, but not least:
www.nps.gov/articles/space-environmental-simulation-labor...
This is the cover of a 1967 program booklet for the annual Fersommling (gathering) of Grundsow Lodge Nummer Ains on da Lechaw (Groundhog Lodge Number One on the Lehigh), which is one of a number of Groundhog Lodges that -- beginning in the 1930s -- meet on or about Groundhog Day (February 2) each year to promote the Pennsylvania Dutch Language.
Parodies of current events frequently appear as illustrations on the covers of the Fersommling booklets, and this one is no exception. With the Space Race in full swing during the 1960s, it's not surprising to see a groundhog astronaut traveling in a command module spacecraft labeled Wedder Schiff, USA (Pennsylvania Dutch for Weather Ship, USA). Two rockets -- Winder Wedder and Summer Wedder (Summer Weather and Winter Weather) -- are nearby. A satellite, the Earth, and the Sun complete the picture.
For more space-based groundhogs, see Groundhog on the Moon, 1958 and Groundhog Moon Landing, 1970.
Text on the cover of the program booklet:
"Grundsow Lodge Nummer Ains on da Lechaw. Die Ain-un-Dreizicht Yairlich Fersommling uns Fesht 1967, der 2d Harnung om halver siva, Northampton Community Center."
"Wedder Schiff, USA. Winder Wedder. Summer Wedder."
Translation from the Pennsylvania Dutch:
"Groundhog Lodge Number One on the Lehigh. The Thirty-first Annual Gathering and Feast 1967. February 2 at 7:30, Northampton Community Center."
"Weather Ship, USA. Winter Weather. Summer Weather."
A rare interior view of an unidentified Apollo Command Module mockup, taken April 17, 1963 at North American Aviation’s (NAA) Space and Information Systems Division, Downey, CA. Too many cool, obscure, and to me, unidentifiable/unknown things/items going on here to bring attention to…just enjoy.
I am, however, compelled to point out the reel-to-reel tape drive. It’s obviously incorporated into the mockup, and not GSE. I’d never really considered this before; was such actually considered/required/used aboard the spacecraft? Apparently ‘yes’…at least as of 1963? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’ll be damned…not GSE, but DSE (Data Storage Equipment):
www.spaceaholic.com/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_i...
Credit: Scott Schneeweis/”Spaceaholic” website
And:
www.ninfinger.org/models/vault/spaceflight.pdf
Credit: Sven Knudson/the wonderful Ninfinger website
With excellent explanation of the DSE:
www.ibiblio.org/apollo/ApolloProjectOnline/Documents/SMA2...
Credit: "The Virtual AGC Project:: Gemini — Apollo — Shuttle" website
Who knew???
Did YOU???
I did NOT!!!
Really makes one appreciate the incredible feat that was Apollo.
8.5” x ~11”, with three-ring binder punch holes, with an extremely fine satin finish.
PictionID:53765457 - Catalog:14_032228 - Title:Apollo Program Details: Apollo Mock Up; Instrument Panels Date: 12/11/1961 - Filename:14_032228.tif - Images from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Another wonderful cutaway by Frank Munger, this time from a 1969 issue of "Flight International."
This guy is quickly becoming one of my favorite technical illustrators.
Key:
1 Docking probe
2 Capture latches
3 Capture latch release (LM side)
4 Probe shock-attenuator assembly
5 Telescoping cylinder (nitrogen pressure retraction)
6 Fixing strut
7 Docking latches
8 Forward heat-shield ejectors
(operate at 25,000ft)
9 Drogue parachute mortar, fires at 23,000ft, 16.5ft conical ribbon parachute slows capsule from 300 m.p.h. to 175 m.p.h.
10 Pilot parachute mortar (3 locations) fires at 10,000ft
11 Main landing parachute stowage (3 locations) uprighting bags stowed under 83.5ft ring-sail; parachute slows capsule to 22 m.p.h. on splash down
12 Main parachute riser
13 Sea-recovery cable
14 Dye-marker and swimmer umbilical
15 Launch-escape tower electrical receptacle
16 Pressure shell, bonded aluminium honeycomb; 0.25in to 1.5in thick
17 Brazed stainless-steel honeycomb; 0.5in to 2.5in thick
18 Aft heat shield, phenolic-filled epoxy ablative material; weight 3,000lb
19 Launch-escape tower frangible nuts
20 Flashing recovery beacon (deployed)
21 Outward-opening hatch; 29in x 34in; 15-latch, quick release; nitrogen pressure counter-balance system
22 Side windows; 13in x 13in
23 Rendezvous windows; 8in x 13in (inner pane tempered silica 0.25in thick, outer amorphous-fused silica 0.7in thick, reflective and infra-red and ultra violet filters)
24 CM rotation control
25 CM translation (thrust) control
26 Alternative (navigation) positions for control units
27 Negative pitch motor (all motors 93lb thrust)
28 Positive pitch motor
29 Negative roll motor
30 Positive roll motor
31 Negative yaw motor
32 Helium tank No 2 system (titanium)
33 Fuel tank No 1 system (titanium)
34 Fuel tank No 2 system
35 Servicing hatch
36 Auxiliary test panel
37 Optics stowage
38 Lighting control
39 Telescope
40 Sextant
41 Computer display and keyboard
42 Guidance and navigation control panel
43 Computer
44 Tape recorder
45 Food stowage
46 Medical kit
47 CO2 absorber stowage
48 Radiation-survey meter
49 Communication equipment
50 Flight-data file
51 Circuit breakers
52 Waste stowage
53 Waste-management panel
54 Battery circuit breakers
55 Power circuit breakers
56 Uprighting system panel
57 Docking sight (stowed)
58 Oxygen control
59 Cabin-pressure control
60 CO2 filters (lithium hydroxide and activated carbon)
61 Oxygen to umbilical supply control
62 Suit compressors (two)
63 Oxygen surge tank
64 Cabin pressure-control valve
65 Steam vent
66 Potable water tank
67 Glycol evaporator
68 Couch-support beam
69 Side stabiliser beam
70 Shock-absorber strut
71 Glassfibre cloth
72 Foot-pan
73 Foot-pan and seat folded down
74 Foot-pan and seat folded up
75 Adjustable head rest
76 Adjustable control support
77 Restraint straps
78 Personal kit and special kit stowage
79 Tool stowage
80 Sleep-restraint stowage
81 Pressure-suit stowage
82 Fire extinguisher, 8lb aqueous foam
83 Internal viewing mirror
84 Main display console
85 Control warning
86 Flight control
87 Audio control
88 SCS (stabilisation control system) power
89 RCS (reaction control system) monitor
90 Environmental control (see also 95)
91 Cryogenics
92 Service propulsion
93 Communications
94 Electrics
95 Environmental control
96 Gyro units
97 Accelerometer electronics
98 VHF scimitar antenna
99 VHF recovery beacon (deployed)
100 Camera stowage
Apollo 11 Command Module named Columbia carried home Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins the 1st manned lunar landing in 1969.
On July 24, the astronauts returned home aboard the Command Module Columbia just before dawn local time (16:51 UTC) at 13°19′N 169°9′W, in the Pacific Ocean 2,660 km (1,440 nmi) east of Wake Island, 380 km (210 nmi) south of Johnston Atoll, and 24 km (13 nmi) from the recovery ship, USS Hornet. At 16:44 UTC the drogue parachutes had been deployed and seven minutes later the Command Module struck the water forcefully. During splashdown, the Command Module landed upside down but was righted within 10 minutes by flotation bags triggered by the astronauts. "Everything's okay. Our checklist is complete. Awaiting swimmers", was Armstrong's last official transmission from the Columbia.
The Command Module is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. It is in the central Milestones of Flight exhibition hall in front of the Jefferson Drive entrance, sharing the main hall with other pioneering flight vehicles such as the Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1, the North American X-15, Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, and Gemini 4.
“NASA APOLLO 11 EXHIBIT VAN AT CARSON CITY, NEVADA -- The mobile exhibit van is scheduled for a tour of the nation’s 50 state capitals during 1970 and early 1971. The van will carry the Apollo 11 capsule, the spacecraft that carried the first men from Earth to set foot on the Moon. One of the principal features of the exhibit will be a Moon rock collected on the lunar surface by Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin. The big touring display unit measures 40 feet long and 14 feet wide. During its stay in each state capital, the van opens out to accommodate a walk-through ramp in each side, permitting thousands of visitors to see its exhibits daily. The Heavy Specialized Carriers Conference, affiliated with the American Trucking Associations, Inc., will provide the specialized transportation required by the Apollo 11 tour. Member companies of the conference will conduct the trip without charge as a public service.”
U-N-T-H-I-N-K-A-B-L-E today. Even in retrospect, probably not the smartest idea, but for far different reasons.
That guard/police officer was probably one of five…or less.
And we continue to descend.
Speaking of:
www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/history/january-29-1971-apo...
twitter.com/apollo_50th/status/1266107487230390272
Credit: Apollo 50th/Twitter
www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/crowds-throng-to-mo...
Finally:
www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum41/HTML/000680.html
Credit: collectSPACE website
One of five enlargements from a small sheet of Japanese space-themed stamps or labels from the 1960s or 1970s. See also:
Catalog #: Casson_0019
Title: Apollo Command Module - preparing for weight & balance test
Photo Credit: North American Aviation Inc., Space and Information Systems Division, Photographic Department
Year: 8/5/1965
Collection: Norm Casson Collection
Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
President John F. Kennedy receives a scale model of the Apollo command module from Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, Dr. Robert Gilruth (at lectern), following a tour of spacecraft displays inside a hangar at the Rich Building of the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas
What President Kennedy is holding:
www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/pYqUrNphsUOEXA6qjNkxqg.aspx
Also...priceless:
The Block I CM-011, shown here during prelaunch checkout, was a fully functional Apollo Command Module.
Above from the excellent DREWexmachina website, along with:
www.drewexmachina.com/2016/08/25/as-202-the-last-test-fli...
Vivid digital version at:
“The Apollo 10 spacecraft, with Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan aboard, approaches touchdown in the South Pacific recovery area to conclude a successful eight-day lunar orbit mission. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m. (CDT), May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa, and about four miles from the prime recovery ship, USS Princeton.”
Despite this image being incorrectly identified, I HIGHLY recommend reading anything written by Mr. Launius:
www.google.com/amp/s/launiusr.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/th...
Credit: Roger Launius’s Blog/wordpress website
Interesting:
www.pearlharboraviationmuseum.org/blog/historic-hangar-79...
Credit: Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum website
Command Module/Spacecraft 007 (S/C 007, CM-007), during assembly in Bldg 290 of the North American Aviation/Rockwell plant, Downey, CA. I believe the capsule is undergoing weight/balance measurements here.
Quite the life of S/C 007 (other than not flying) - per these fine sites:
www.jonessite.net/upload/LRD/stories/CM007A.pdf
Credit: Coye Mac Jones' website
Additional excellent information:
ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740026226...
www.americanspacecraft.com/pages/apollo/CM-007.html
Credit: "A Field Guide to American Spacecraft" website
Amazingly informative & detailed discussion pertaining to Block I and Block II Command Modules, external appearances and configurations and their identification:
www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001008.html
Credit: collectSPACE website
Also:
www.popsci.com/blog-network/vintage-space/when-astronauts...
www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-tests-seaworthin...
commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CSM-007
“Apollo Command Module CSM-007 aboard MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico, used for manned 48-hour Apollo Block I Command Module post landing systems qualification tests.”
www.navsource.org/archives/10/18/1018153006.jpg
Credit: NavSource Online website
“Apollo Command Module CSM-007A near NASA's MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico, during a manned 48-hour Apollo Block II Command Module postlanding systems qualification test.”:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Apollo_CM-007...
.png){kind=link}
Credit: Wikimedia
“Apollo recovery test in the Gulf of Mexico. Astronauts Lovell, Roosa and Duke spent 48 hours inside CM-007 April 5-7, 1968 evaluating the capacity of the Command Module to support three Astronauts waiting for a delayed recovery.”
www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/misc/apmisc-68-31...
Credit: Project Apollo Archive/J.L. Pickering
“APOLLO MOVE---Spacecraft command and service modules with lunar module adapter are wheeled into vehicle assembly building at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to be mated with Saturn V launch vehicle. Spacecraft, which was produced at North American’s Space Division, Downey, Calif., has more than 2 million parts, compared to estimated 2,500 parts in an automobile.”
The above is not quite correct, it’s more like “are wheeled out of the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building”. After that it’s the above...with possibly some other photograph to depict such.
"Aerial view at Pad A, launch complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, showing the 363 ft. tall Apollo 11 (Spacecraft 107/Lunar Module 5/Saturn 506) space vehicle on pad. This photograph was taken during Apollo 11 countdown demonstration test (CDDT) activity."
Above per/at:
science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/AS11/10075...
Disappointingly - although NOT surprisingly - the image associated with the photo number is wrong, and has been propagated across the web...literally.
“Technicians monitor the removal of the mated Apollo 15 command service module from a spacecraft altitude chamber. The 35-foot-high spacecraft will carry Astronauts David R. Scott, Alfred M. Worden and James R. Irwin on the Nation’s seventh manned voyage to the moon. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than July 26, 1971.”
Command Module/Spacecraft 007 (S/C 007, CM-007), during assembly in Bldg 290 of the North American Aviation/Rockwell plant, Downey, CA. Note the unidentified Command Module in back and to the right.
Quite the life of S/C 007 (other than not flying) - per these fine sites:
www.jonessite.net/upload/LRD/stories/CM007A.pdf
Credit: Coye Mac Jones' website
Additional excellent information:
ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740026226...
www.americanspacecraft.com/pages/apollo/CM-007.html
Credit: "A Field Guide to American Spacecraft" website
Amazingly informative & detailed discussion pertaining to Block I and Block II Command Modules, external appearances and configurations and their identification:
www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001008.html
Credit: collectSPACE website
Also:
www.popsci.com/blog-network/vintage-space/when-astronauts...
www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-tests-seaworthin...
commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CSM-007
“Apollo Command Module CSM-007 aboard MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico, used for manned 48-hour Apollo Block I Command Module post landing systems qualification tests.”
www.navsource.org/archives/10/18/1018153006.jpg
Credit: NavSource Online website
“Apollo Command Module CSM-007A near NASA's MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico, during a manned 48-hour Apollo Block II Command Module postlanding systems qualification test.”:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Apollo_CM-007...(S68-30160).png
Credit: Wikimedia
“Apollo recovery test in the Gulf of Mexico. Astronauts Lovell, Roosa and Duke spent 48 hours inside CM-007 April 5-7, 1968 evaluating the capacity of the Command Module to support three Astronauts waiting for a delayed recovery.”
www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/misc/apmisc-68-31...
Credit: Project Apollo Archive/J.L. Pickering
"Apollo 16 - CM-113 move to Chamber "S" and mate to Service Module."
This photo was taken at the Manned Spacecraft Operations (MSOB) Building, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), as the Command Module was about to be lowered into the chamber. I haven't been able to find a Chamber “S” (at least not anywhere online). Chambers “L”, “M” & R” - yes, “S” - no. Possibly/probably a typo?
pictionid60385410 - catalog08002044 - title: Apollo production Downey ca - filename0802044.tif---Image from the SDASM Curatorial Collection.Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
pictionid60385362 - catalog08002040 - title: Apollo production downey ca - filename0802040.tif---Image from the SDASM Curatorial Collection.Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
"A view of the Apollo 15 Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit as photographed from the Lunar Module (LM) just after rendezvous. The lunar area below is the northeastern side of the Sea of Fertility. While astronauts David R. Scott, Commander, and James B. Irwin, Lunar Module Pilot, descended in the LM to explore the Hadley-Apennine area of the moon, astronaut Alfred M. Worden, Command Module Pilot, remained with the CSM in lunar orbit."
spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo15/html/...
National Museum of the US Air Force
Command Module Endeavour
Apollo 15 was the fourth successful moon landing mission and the only Apollo mission with an all-U.S. Air Force crew. Col. David R. Scott, Lt. Col. James B. Irwin, and Maj. Alfred M. Worden flew this spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the moon in July 1971. The command module is named after the ship that carried Capt. James Cook on his famous 18th century scientific voyage.
Apollo 15 focused mainly on lunar science, and was the first mission to use a lunar rover vehicle. The crew spent four days traveling to the moon, then Scott and Irwin landed the lunar module Falcon on the moon’s surface. They spent 67 hours exploring and setting up scientific experiments. Worden remained in orbit aboard Endeavour conducting experiments and photographing the moon. Just over 12 days after launch, the crew returned safely, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
Project Apollo’s main goal was to land astronauts on the moon and return them safely to Earth. Beating the Soviets to the moon in the “space race” of the 1960s was an important part of the Cold War competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union for prestige and world leadership in science and technology. The U.S. won the moon race when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and returned to Earth in July 1969. Apollo achieved six lunar landings through 1972, and 12 astronauts walked on the moon. Of the 29 astronauts who flew Apollo missions, 14 were Air Force officers or had Air Force experience.
The command module is on loan from the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
Crew: Three
Weight: 12,831 lbs. at launch
Interior: 210 cubic feet (about the size of a minivan)
“PREPARING FOR REENTRY--Following separation of the command module from the service module, the reaction control system engines are ignited to turn the command module with the thickest part of the aft heat shield forward. The command module speed builds up to almost 25,000 miles an hour as it enters the earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of about 400,000 feet (76 miles). Apollo spacecraft command service modules are produced by North American’s Space Division, Downey, Calif., for NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center.”
Note the 'vertical' orientation of the negative pitch thrusters (shown firing) in the far left attitude depiction of the capsule, this being the Block I design of the Command Module.
In color, at the wonderful "HACK THE MOON" website, albeit with an incorrect description...unless it was indeed resurrected for Apollo 8:
wehackthemoon.com/sites/default/files/styles/hero_extra_l...
La recremada pell del Apolo 10 mostra l'infern de la reentrada a l'atmosfera terrestre. L'Apolo 10 fou la darrera missió del programa Apolo abans de l'arribada a la Lluna amb l'Apolo 11, i com a tal, fou una recreació quasi general, pel que aquesta càpsula donà la volta a la Lluna i tornà a la terra. De fet, aquesta capsula arribà a estar a només 10 km de la Lluna.
Actualment es troba al Science Museum, Londres.
ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_10
ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reentrada_atmosf%C3%A8rica
=================================================================
The scarred surface of the Apollo 10 command module it's a reminder of the savage temperatures of an atmospherical entry. This was the last mission before the Moon landing by the Apollo 11, so they did a general rehersal of the latter mission, without the actual landing. But this module orbited the Moon at just 10 km. above it.
It now stands in the Science Museum, London.
“This giant bell jar and the Apollo test compartment in its midriff is providing an atmosphere in which NASA’s astronauts will live on long space journeys. A three man crew will spend two weeks in the experimental apparatus at North American Aviation’s plant at Downey, Calif. Air and moisture are removed as the men are enclosed in the compartment within the bell. Then a special life system creates average cabin pressure equivalent to an Earth altitude of 23,000 feet.”
Hand-highlighted areas are due to this photo having been used for news/press release purposes, and I'm assuming the crude printing techniques of the time required the highlighting to provide definition and delineation within the photo.
Online "Apollo Spacecraft News Reference" extract, page 240:
Altitude Chamber and Airlock - Called the bell jar, this chamber was used for a 14-day simulated mission with three space-suited engineers in a CM. The chamber contains an environmental control system with an airlock. The chamber can be evacuated to 10 -4 torr (a hard vacuum), simulating conditions from launch to a 200,000-foot pressure altitude. The airlock contains instruments for the life support system. Ground support equipment was used to supply electrical power, potable water, and oxygen furnished in space flight by the fuel cell powerplants and cryogenic storage system.
At:
www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/CSM_News_Reference_H_Missions.pdf
The photograph is actually featured on page 239.
Additionally, an extract from "Drew Ex Machina website/Andrew LePage":
"Before a crew could fly Apollo into space for the first time during the upcoming Apollo 1 mission, more tests were required to verify the flightworthiness of Apollo. One means of doing so involved vacuum chamber tests employing flight-ready hardware. On April 13, 1966 three North American engineers – Richard Erman, John Moyles and Norman Abell – completed a simulated two-week mission with a Block I CM inside of a five-meter vacuum chamber at North American’s facility in Downey, California nicknamed “the bell jar”. While this proved that the CM could support a crew, a more thorough thermal-vacuum test of the complete CSM was required before the Apollo 1 mission could fly in February 1967."
At:
www.drewexmachina.com/2016/10/26/the-apollo-flights-to-no...
Further, per the last link below. with regard the building:
“THERMAL VACUUM CHAMBER B-288
In Building 288 Laboratory Test Facility was a Thermal Vacuum Chamber designed to test the Apollo Command Modules.”
Additional photos & excellent info:
www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001089.html
www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/002012.html
Both above credit: collectSPACE website
Finally, all kinds of good & pertinent information & photos:
www.thespaceshipfactory.net/special-facilities
Credit: “America’s Spaceship Factory” website
The actual Apollo 17 Command Module, dubbed "America", is on display in the Starship Gallery of Space Center Houston.
Apollo 17, the final mission of NASA's Apollo program launched on December 7, 1972 with a crew made up of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt. It was a "J-type mission" which included three days on the lunar surface, extended scientific capability, and the third Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). While Evans remained in lunar orbit in this Command/Service Module (CSM), Cernan and Schmitt spent just over three days on the moon in the Taurus–Littrow valley and completed three moonwalks, taking lunar samples and deploying scientific instruments. All three astronauts returned safely to Earth in this capsule, ending an era in space history.
Space Center Houston is the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center and a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum owned and operated by the nonprofit Manned Spaceflight Education Foundation. The center opened in 1992 and hosts more than 1 million visitors annually in its 250,000-square-foot educational complex with over 400 space artifacts, permanent and traveling exhibits, attractions, live shows and theaters dedicated to preserving the history of America's human spaceflight program.
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Manned Spacecraft Center, where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. Construction of the center, designed by Charles Luckman, began in 1962 and the 1,620-acre facility officially opened for business in September 1963. The center is home to NASA's astronaut corps, and is responsible for training astronauts from both the U.S. and its international partners. It has become popularly known for its flight control function, identified as "Mission Control" during the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo–Soyuz, and Space Shuttle program flights. It is also the site of the former Lunar Receiving Laboratory, where the first astronauts returning from the Moon were quarantined, and where the majority of lunar samples are stored.
“A three-man flight test crew in ready position wait for hatch to close on space chamber 3/29 for a stay of up to 14 days in special lunar Apollo checkout facility at North American Aviation’s Space & Information Systems Division. The crew, selected from volunteer North American Apollo pilot research group, will test equipment that will permit future NASA Apollo astronauts to travel comfortable through hostile space environment on way to moon.”
L - R, I think the crew is: Richard Erman, John Moyles and Norman Abell
Background/context:
Online "Apollo Spacecraft News Reference" extract, page 240:
Altitude Chamber and Airlock - Called the bell jar, this chamber was used for a 14-day simulated mission with three space-suited engineers in a CM. The chamber contains an environmental control system with an airlock. The chamber can be evacuated to 10 -4 torr (a hard vacuum), simulating conditions from launch to a 200,000-foot pressure altitude. The airlock contains instruments for the life support system. Ground support equipment was used to supply electrical power, potable water, and oxygen furnished in space flight by the fuel cell powerplants and cryogenic storage system.
At:
www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/CSM_News_Reference_H_Missions.pdf
Additionally, an extract from "Drew Ex Machina website/Andrew LePage":
"Before a crew could fly Apollo into space for the first time during the upcoming Apollo 1 mission, more tests were required to verify the flightworthiness of Apollo. One means of doing so involved vacuum chamber tests employing flight-ready hardware. On April 13, 1966 three North American engineers – Richard Erman, John Moyles and Norman Abell – completed a simulated two-week mission with a Block I CM inside of a five-meter vacuum chamber at North American’s facility in Downey, California nicknamed “the bell jar”. While this proved that the CM could support a crew, a more thorough thermal-vacuum test of the complete CSM was required before the Apollo 1 mission could fly in February 1967."
At:
www.drewexmachina.com/2016/10/26/the-apollo-flights-to-no...
Additional photos & excellent info:
www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/002012.html
Credit: collectSPACE website
Finally, from the April 14, 1966 edition of the Oklahoma State University newspaper, “The Daily O’Collegian”:
“Astronauts Get Glimpse
Three astronauts get a glimpse into the future today.
Air Force Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, Air Force Lt. Col. Edward H. White II and Navy Lt. Roger B. Chaffee are to be briefed on how it feels to work and sleep for days on end in a 6x9-foot capsule – by three men who have already lived through the ordeal.
Grissom, White and Chaffee, assigned to fly the first Apollo spacecraft into earth orbit late this year, were on hand Tuesday when research engineers Richard Erman, John Moyles and Norman Abell ended a 14-day simulated trip to the moon.
The three engineers were bearded but healthy and happy that they had proved the life-support system designed for Apollo craft should keep astronauts safe and comfortable.
“It’s a good system,” said Abell, 37. “I think we could have stayed in there another two weeks if necessary – but none of us wanted to.”
Their mockup Apollo capsule was suspended in a space-like vacuum in an altitude chamber at the Space Systems Division of North American Aviation.
They spent parts of four days in cumbersome Apollo space suits – their only protection when air was sucked out of the capsule to simulate hits by marble-sized micrometeorites.”
At:
dc.library.okstate.edu/digital/api/collection/ocolly1965/...
Credit: Oklahoma State University Collections website
pictionid60385422 - catalog08002045 - title: Apollo production Downey ca - filename0802045.tif---Image from the SDASM Curatorial Collection.Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
A view of the Apollo 15 Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit as photographed from the Lunar Module (LM) just after rendezvous. The lunar area below is the northeastern side of the Sea of Fertility. While astronauts David R. Scott, commander, and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, descended in the LM to explore the Hadley-Apennine area of the moon, astronaut Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, remained with the CSM in lunar orbit.
Signed by Alfred M. Worden, CMP. R.I.P. Col. Worden, with heartfelt thanks.
“The command module of Apollo spacecraft 103 is lowered into [the] altitude chamber in KSC’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building today. The spacecraft will undergo rigorous testing before it is finally mated to its Saturn V launch vehicle for launching later this year. It will be the first Apollo to fly with men aboard a Saturn V. The crew will be Astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders.”
Dated: August 21, 1968
This photo provides an excellent view of the umbilical fairing that bridges the Command & Service Modules. Note the cabling and wiring feeding into/through it...basically serving as the spinal cord between the two spacecraft components.
Along that line, and neither here nor there...but, where IS the Service Module? I've only seen photos of the entire CSM combo lowered/raised into/out of the MSOB altitude chamber. Was this ‘unaccompanied’ test unique to Command Module 103?
Who knew, right?!
Apollo Command Module (silver front section) and Service Module (grey back section), with a Saturn V rocket above them.
The ASTP CSM & Docking Module as seen from Soyuz, taken from a frame of 16mm(?) motion picture film. Note what appears to be a mottled slightly darker appearance to the inner half of the SPS engine bell. Appears to be on the opposite side of what's noted here...interesting:
www.thespacerace.com/forum/index.php?topic=2862.0
www.nasa.gov/images/content/467611main_astp15_apolloorbit...
Credit: TheSpaceRace.com website
And:
The image below Stafford & Slayton:
history.nasa.gov/astp/images.html
history.nasa.gov/astp/Apollo from Soyuz.jpg
Note also the RCS thruster plume impingement affects on the umbilical fairing. First time I've noticed that they're almost lined up...seems kinda counter-intuitive to me...place the spinal cord of the spacecraft in the path of a blowtorch, but hey, it all worked brilliantly! What the hell do I know.
pictionid72428923 - catalogschirra00057 - title-schirra collection-apollo 7 crew l to r cunningham schirra eisele - filenameschirra00057.tif -Item from the Wally Schirra Collection on loan from the Schirra Estate. ----Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
From a lunar "parking orbit" 80 miles high, LEM is released for the trip to the moon's surface. Garrett is building the cryogenic gas storage systems to pressurize LEM's fuel tanks and the environmental control system for Apollo.
Space World
December 1964, VOL. A-14
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The cover of the booklet for another of my old TI99/4A games.
From the '80s, when the graphics promoting the game were better than those in the game.
Munchman was a Pac-Man knock-off; no better, no worse. It was alright.
The command module from Apollo 14, named "Kitty Hawk" by her crew, on display in the Kennedy Space Center visitors' center. Apollo 14 flew to the moon in February 1971 with astronauts Shepard and Mitchell descending to the surface while pilot Roosa remained in the Command and Service Module.
“APOLLO 13 RECOVERY--A perilous space mission comes to a smooth ending with a safe splashdown of the Apollo 13 Command Module in the South Pacific, only four miles from the prime recovery ship. The spacecraft, with Astronauts James A. Lovell Jr., John L. Swigert Jr. and Fred W. Haise Jr. aboard, splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m. (CST), April 17, 1970, to conclude safely the problem-plagued flight. The crewmen were transported by helicopter from the immediate recovery area to the USS Iwo Jima, prime recovery vessel.”
See also:
www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a13/ap13-KSC-70PC...
Credit: Project Apollo Archive/Ed Hengeveld
While the photo identification numbers agree, the grainy, cropped/enlarged image doesn't:
spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo13/html/...
Right on target, the Apollo capsule parachutes into the water.
Project Apollo: Mission to the Moon
by Charles Coombs
Scholastic Books, Inc., 1965
“Boilerplate no. 6 pad abort at White Sands Missile Range conducted to test launch escape system and parachute recovery systems.”
The first pad abort test of the Apollo Program.
This is also the first photo I’ve ever come across of the parachute descent of a WSMR Apollo pad abort test. Very cool.
See also, and I am so glad - and pleasantly surprised frankly - that this site is still up:
georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale/DATA/JoePhotos/JoePhotos.htm...
Credit: Credit: GEORGE'S ROCKETRY PAGES website
Also:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pad_Abort_Test_1
Credit: Wikipedia
And:
archive.org/details/NIX-S63-21102
Credit: Internet Archive website
See also. I’m sure related:
www.facebook.com/share/p/4HWq97hkXMY26kDg/?mibextid=K35XfP
Credit: Mitchell Rothman/“NASA MANNED SPACE” FB Group
Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum
Unmanned Apollo test flights were identified by double zeros before their numeric designations. The objectives of the test flights were to evaluate the spacecraft's communication and electronic subsystems, heat shield, and mission support facilities. On February 26, 1966 a Saturn 1B launch vehicle carrying Apollo CSM-009 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Following a seven minute burn, the second stage instrument unit separated from the spacecraft. The Command Module reached a maximum altitude of 310 miles over the Atlantic Ocean before beginning descent.
It is on loan courtesy of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and restoration was completed courtesy of Duncan Aviation and Dale Jensen of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Striking crystal clear photo of what I believe to be (I swear I have it saved/bookmarked...somewhere) of Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia", being ever-so-gently lowered onto the torus ring of the transport dolly, in Bldg 290 of the North American Aviation/Rockwell plant, Downey, CA.
Confirmation of spacecraft identification:
static1.squarespace.com/static/56c78acd0442626b2590f5ea/t...
Credit: Aerospace Legacy Foundation website
BTW...if you don't have the following bookmarked, sent to yourself, shared with others, or otherwise readily available - you're wrong:
108-KSC-69P-74 UNCL. 1-27-69
69-HC-85
69-H-139
NASA/APOLLO
ARTIST'S CONCEPT OF THE APOLLO COMMAND MODULE AND SERVICE MODULE DOCKED WITH THE LUNAR MODULE. ONE ASTRONAUT HAS ALREADY BEEN TRANSFERRED TO THE LM AND THE SECOND IS MANEUVERING HIMSELF THROUGH THE FORWARD HATCH CONNECTING THE TWO SPACECRAFT.
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1969