58
The photo is of the launch of Gemini 11 on September 12, 1966. The Saturn V in the background is SA-500F, a "Facilities Integration Vehicle". This was a nearly complete Saturn V that was used to test integration with the launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center:
Tests included the mating of the Saturn's stages in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the ...
40
From this NASA page about Apollo 13:
There were four cartridges from the LM and four from the backpacks,
counting backups. However, the LM was designed to support two men for
two days and was being asked to care for three men for about four
days. After a day and a half in the LM, a warning light showed that
the carbon dioxide had built up to a ...
40
That is the remnant of one of the attachments between the Command and Service modules (there were three). Here is a cutaway drawing showing the bolt penetrating the heat shield (labeled "tension tie").
From Apollo Experience Report Spacecraft Structure Subsystem
Here's a closer picture showing that the circular areas are not penetrations.
Photo source
...
38
The astronauts did a lot of training with the cameras. The used 60 mm wide angle lens (angular field diagonal 63°, side 47°) and the large image format (53 * 53 mm) helped them in framing.
The 500 mm lens had a special notch and bead viewfinder, see first image.
Image of a suited training from this page.
Apollo 16 geologic training-exercises in Sudbury,...
36
In addition to the "single-serving" mechanical features that Uwe's answer describes, the guidance programming for the LM's onboard computer doesn't support any ascent flight on the descent stage.
In particular this means you'd have to go to the manual throttle mode, P67, to lift off, then switch back to P66 to land again. The switch to P66 would have to be ...
34
The Lunar Module was designed for a single landing.
The contact sensors under the footpads of the landing gear did bend and stick out sideways during a landing. They could not be reused for another landing. The contact sensors were needed to prevent stopping the engine too early. The distance between footpads and ground could not be seen through the LM ...
30
Service module attachment point
The service module (SM) was attached to the command module (CM) using tension members which pulled the two modules towards each other. The SM used cups that rest on the compression pads on the CM heatshield (also visible in your photo).
This cross section shows the CM on the left, heat shield in the middle and the cups of ...
21
Added as a (now largely unnecessary) extension to the explanation of the training
Well framed images, such as this one
actually weren't that well framed
a little black border added at the top really helps (thank goodness there are no antennas sticking up, eh?) and cutting out that noisy foreground has the double benefit of leaving just a single track of ...
19
From History of the Apollo Space Suit by the International Latex Corporation (ILC). PDF
When setting up the suits in preparation for the extravehicular walk
on the lunar surface, the astronauts attached oxygen hoses from the
Lunar Module (both inlet and outlet) while at the same time attaching
to the inlet and outlet hoses of the portable backpack. ...
17
"Could be flown" is a clear yes, "could be flown to a landing" is another story. Most of the points you are listing can be accomplished using the backup system in the LM, the Abort Guidance System (AGS). I'll be using the LM Apollo Operations Handbook Volume I as the main source for all your specific points.
An attitude / attitude rate reference is ...
16
Signs point to no.
There's an excellent overview of the rather complicated Apollo crew selection process in this answer: https://space.stackexchange.com/a/23149/6944
Then throw in this story of those offered Apollo missions who turned them down, which complicated the story even more:
The Moonwalkers Who Could Have Been which states that Borman, McDivitt, ...
12
Like @OrganicMarble, I have found a considerable lack of evidence that such a thing happened.
On the other hand, early astronauts had lots of nicknames, which allowed a distinctive way to address a particular person in a roomful of astronauts:
Walter "Wally" Schirra versus Walter Cunningham
Charles "Pete" Conrad versus Charles "Charlie" Duke
Thomas "Ken" ...
10
And there are two other secrets in most professional photography: For one they sometimes reframe pictures before they get published. And this could be done even in good old analog time. Tilted a little - just move it when exposing the prints. Too much background - just crop the image so it fits better. And so on...
And secondly: only publish the good ...
7
The parameters for the Apollo lunar descents are too complicated to explain here. However, the entire May-June 1972 issue of the Bell System Technical Journal volume 51 number 5 (30 Mb pdf, 176 pages) was devoted to documenting the planning of the Apollo program.
Pages 1046 to 1048 describe the descent trajectory. It includes these pictures:
Appendix B ...
6
It was done by a machine controlled by a paper punch tape. The process is explained on the NASA webpage "The Making of the Apollo 11 Mission Patch":
The embroidered Apollo 11 patch was manufactured by A-B Emblems, a patch embroidery company started by E. Henry Conrad. A partner of NASA for previous missions, A-B Emblems became the sole contractor for all ...
6
Yes, according to Mike Collins (but from lunar orbit, not on the surface).
The earth as seen from this distance - nearly a quarter of a million
miles - is an unforgettable sight.
To begin with, it looks tiny, the size of your thumbnail held at arm's
length. It is mostly ocean and clouds, the blue and white dominating
the brownish-green of ...
5
I don't know if any Apollo astronaut talked about it, but in the famous "Earthrise" photo taken from lunar orbit on Apollo 8, landmass (the west coast of Africa, I believe, at the lower edge of the sunlit portion of Earth) is distinguishable from the oceans:
5
Unless I oversaw in answers already given - the manufacturer modified the controls of the camera slightly, the "rings" received levers so you could move them easy even with the thick gloves, and the usual small knob was replaced likewise by a lever that could be easier operated with gloves
https://cdn.hasselblad.com/e407a3b3-714b-4efa-aa74-...
4
Different chemicals were used.
Unless noted, sources are from Biomedical Results of Apollo.
Urine and waste-water were held in tanks, passed through an antibacterial filter, and then dumped to the lunar surface.
Fecal disposal used a packet of a green germicidal mixture (shown in the picture in the question) of phenols:
The germicidal liquid was a ...
4
No, because the LM's tape recorder had no playback
A portable cassette recorder was stowed in the command module. The primary reason for this recorder was to give the astronauts a means to make verbal log entries, as an alternative to written entries.
However, the astronauts were given the blank tapes in advance, and the CM cassette recorder could also ...
4
The Apollo 11 Mission Report (MSC-00171 of 11/1969) claims for PDI:
1.037º latitude, 39.371º longitude @ 49,376 feet (best estimate; primary guidance computer had slightly different values)
(Table 5-III, p 5-14).
The document also gives no less than 8 different sets of landing coordinates from different sources (table 5-IV, 5-15).
There's a lat/long/...
3
From Smithsonian museum web page.
This spacesuit was worn by astronaut Alan Shepard, and was used for
training purposes prior to the Apollo 14 mission in January/February
1971.
Training suits were identical to those worn during flight, and were
designed to familiarize the astronaut to the weight and "feel" of the
suits to be used during the ...
3
There is a nice Wikipedia image of Earth (ø = 12,756 km) and Moon (ø = 3,476 km) at the same scale.
When you look up to the full Moon at night with a clear sky you are able to see many details. The astronauts looked up to the much bigger Earth at the same distance. So they were able to see much more details of Earth than we see of the Moon.
3
The descent engines of Apollo 5, 9, and 13 were re-lit multiple times
You don't need to run a descent program on the AGC to fire the descent engines. It was fired manually during Apollo 9 and 13, and even remotely from Mission Control on Apollo 5.
Apollo 5 was the first spaceflight with a lunar module, an unmanned mission in low Earth orbit to test the LM....
3
While the modules were launched with the engine in between, the modules docked nose-to-nose. The crew moved between the modules using hatches in the noses of each module.
Image location
Related questions about the "transposition, docking, and extraction" maneuver:
Reasons behind the "Transposition, docking and extraction" maneuver
Did the ...
3
Partial answer: They stopped wearing suits for Earth re-entry after Apollo 7, and there is a notable lack of literature why.
The Apollo Program Summary Report says
6.1.2.13 Entry and landing.- The Apollo 7 crew performed entry while suited but with helmets and gloves removed. The crewmen had developed head colds, and removal of the helmets provided a ...
2
The handling of personal items through Apollo 15 was chaotic, but there is considerable evidence that officials turned a blind eye during this period.
The stowage list for Apollo 15 shows one personal preference kit (PPK) in the CM, one PPK in the lunar module, and no entries for license plates. This means that if the license plates flew at all, they would ...
2
The textile industry had a long tradition of using numeric controlled weaving looms. The Jacquard machine with punched cards control was invented 1804.
Jacquard's invention had a deep influence on Charles Babbage. In that
respect, he is viewed by some authors as a precursor of modern
computing science.
This portrait of Jacquard was woven in silk on a ...
1
Another candidate for Al Bean driving during the trip back is this line from day 9 of the mission.
211:18:45 Conrad: In case you're watching the DSKY, it's a little OJT [on the job training] for Al, and we won't torque.
What Al Bean's doing is a "P52", adjusting the alignment of the Inertial Measurement Unit based on star sightings. When Conrad says "we ...
1
Sources are from Ed Pavelka's oral histories in April and May 2001.
The idea came up when Flight Director Gene Kranz asked Pavelka for a way to improve morale:
Gene Kranz thought in the military way about the morale of his troops, so to speak, and he wanted a way that he could kind of raise the morale. So he talked to me about something that we might be ...
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