4
$\begingroup$

Up until now, I had thought that petal fairings on all Saturn flights had been removed after an incomplete deployment on Apollo 7. But there's a picture of the Skylab 3 mission of the expended S-IVB with SLA panels still attached. My question is, what Saturn IB missions did and didn't have the hinged SLA panels? All Skylabs I assume had them, but what about ASTP, which required LM-like docking?

Skylab 3 picture in question: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/sl3-114-1625.jpg

$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Apollo 7 was the last of the Saturn-1B launches for the Apollo Moon landing program and I want to say that by that time all 1Bs were already built or being built. Since the SLA connects to the IU (which I presume to be different for 1B and V), I'm guessing all 1B SLAs were of the petal-type. But this is speculation, so not an answer. $\endgroup$
    – Ludo
    Sep 7, 2022 at 12:14

1 Answer 1

4
$\begingroup$

After a bit of digging, I can say all Skylab flights did have the hinged SLA panels, but ASTP, which required extraction of the docking adapter, did not, as seen in this photo of extraction here: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/16626788

$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.