Apollo Artifacts

Lunar Module cockpit panel 8

LM Panel 8 - located on the commander's left - had switches responsible for activating so many important functions including deploying the landing gear, separating the Ascent and Descent stages, enabling the descent to and ascent from the Moon and contact between the astronauts & command module and earth. The TV jack was also located on panel 8.

This particular panel appears to be of an early design, indicating it was possibly a training panel.

The panel overlays appears to be silk-screened sheet metal. The flight panels had mostly electroluminescent panels. Much of the wiring looks like flight type wires were used, although there would be potting at the contacts for a flight, or serious test, panel.

Thank you to John Fongheiser,
President,
Historic Space Systems for help in identifying this artifact.

Apollo Operations Handbook / Lunar Module for LM-5 (Apollo 11)

This is basically the owners' manual for Lunar Module Eagle.

This original and complete Apollo Operations Handbook / Lunar Module for LM-5 Apollo 11 is 1,000 pages or more and weighs 7 pounds.

It is in great condition and seemingly never used. The three-ring binder seems original and includes a LM-5 sticker. The date stamp on the first page is really cool (June 27, 1969 - less than a month before launch). The manual contains many dozens of fold out schematics and other documentation.

Apollo Spacecraft News Reference for Lunar Module and Command Module

These Apollo News Reference Manuals were used by journalists who covered the Apollo program. It took me four years to acquire a pair as these manuals have become highly sought after. The pair include almost 500 pages of in depth detail about the Apollo spacecraft in the words of the contractors who built them.

Chapters include: Crew Systems, Displays and Controls, Docking, Earth Landing, Electrical Power, Environmental Control, Launch Escape, Reaction Control, Service Propulsion, Stabilization & Control, Telecommunications, Guidance & Navigation, Space Suit, Automatic Checkout Equipment, Kennedy Space Center Operations, Training Equipment, Test & Reliability, Manufacturing, Launch Vehicles, Mission Description, Crew Personal Equipment, Propulsion, Electrical Power, Lighting, PLSS, LM Anatomy, Biographies and more.

Grumman Lunar Module contractors model

Model BEFORE (see below for after)

I purchased a beat up Grumman LM contractors model on eBay. Fortunately, the Andy Lagomarsino agreed to work on the model and ring it up to pristine condition. He is does amazing work.

More on what Andy does here.

When I sent him the model, Andy noted that it needed:

A good cleaning

The base needed to be polished up

Ascent stage is missing one of the two vhf wire coil antennas.

Missing about half of the 16 RCS jets.

Missing both the S-band and rendevous radar dishes.

The flag decal on the descent stage was badly deteriorated.

All of the color on the navigation lights appears faded and will needed to be retouched.

Numerous areas on the black shaded portions of the descent stage needed to be recolored

The legs were bent

(Shall I go on?)

Now it looks terrific. (Thanks Andy.)

Gene Cernan's Apollo 17 lunar surface flown APK

This beta cloth Astronaut Preference Kit belonged to Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan "the last man on the moon" and was flown to the lunar surface. The APK was carried to lunar orbit in December 1972 aboard the Command Module America and was then transferred to the Lunar Module Challenger for the descent to the moon.

This bag remained on the moon inside the LM for more than three days, the longest stay of any lunar mission. After docking with the command module in lunar orbit after lunar surface operations, the APK was transferred back into America for the return trip to Earth. In total, this APK spent more than twelve and a half days in space, and a record of more than six days in lunar orbit or on the surface. It traveled a remarkable 1.3 million miles during the mission.

The Apollo 17 lunar landing site was the Taurus-Littrow highlands and valley area. This site was picked as a location where rocks both older and younger than those previously returned from other Apollo missions. Apollo 17 was the final in a series of three J-type missions planned for the Apollo program. These J-type missions can be distinguished from previous G and H-series missions by extended hardware capability, larger scientific payload capacity and by the use of the battery powered Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV).

APKs were permitted by NASA to contain items for the astronauts' personal use, or for use by them as personal gifts. APKs carried on board the Lunar Module were limited to just one half pound per astronaut.

The APK, marked "SEC 12100087-301 S/N 1007 ASTRONAUT KIT," appears in the Apollo Storage List for mission J-3, CM 114, LM-12 dated 12-12-72. The bag is approximately 4" x 8" x 1.5" with a drawstring top and original red wax seal. It has been cut open around the back near the top.

Also included in the collection is the original NASA Astronaut Preference Kit Release Form for this APK. The form (click the photo to see a larger image), signed by Gene Cernan and Tom Stafford, acknowledges receipt of the Astronaut Preference Kit from Command Module 114. Dated December 21, 1972 (two days after the return of Apollo 17), this official form shows all of the steps necessary for the transfer of the APK from NASA to Captain Cernan after the flight. At the time, Tom Stafford was Deputy Director of Flight Crew Operations at the NASA Manned Spaceflight Center and was responsible for assisting the director in planning and implementation of programs for the astronaut group.

Apollo 17 was the first mission to be under scrutiny after the discovery of a stash of unauthorized postal covers that were flown on Apollo 15 and subsequently sold. Apollo 16 had already flown by the time of the Apollo 15 discovery. The Astronaut Preference Kit Policy permitted Apollo flight crew to carry certain items of a personal nature on each manned spacecraft flight and the items must have been carried in an approved Astronaut Preference Kit. The articles carried in the APK are for the astronauts' personal use, or for use by them as personal gifts.

When I asked him, Captain Cernan said that he didn't recall why he cut the bag open in the back. However he thought that he wanted to preserve the red wax seal. 

He told me that he recalled carrying his wedding ring, his mother’s rosary, and some photos of his family in the APK. He said that in total there were only about a dozen items flown to the lunar surface in his APK.

Apollo Lunar Module support truss

This is a support truss from the lunar module.

It is amazingly light. It must be close to (or even less than) one pound, but I don't have a scale that is that small. Comparing my body weight with and without the truss is negligible.

The truss is 21 inches long and 1 3/8 inches diameter. There is a very bold and clear stamp in red ink on both sides with part # LDW280-18847-19 A3.

Each end fitting is attached with 12 pieces of tiny hardware which are each sealed with a sealer. Curiously, it seems that each of the (24 total) hardware items are each individually stamped with a red inspector stamp (#621) and each of the main truss part number stamps is folowed by another inspector stamp #1459. The truss ends that are into the tubing are also cleanly sealed with some type of composite sealer.

Apollo Lunar Module MESA locking and deployment mechanism

This fascinating artifact is a locking and deployment mechanism for the Modular Equipment Storage Assembly (MESA) located in quad 4 of the Lunar Module decent stage. The MESA lowered like a drawbridge once the astronauts activated this mechanism upon exiting the LM.

In the G-Series mission (Apollo 11) and H-Series missions (Apollos 12, 13, & 14) the MESA was packed with equipment needed to explore and study the lunar surface (cameras, film magazines, geology equipment, sample return containers, and tools).  Later on the J-Series missions (Apollos 15-17) it also carried some parts of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, as well as spare supplies for extended lunar stay time by the LM crew (LiOH cans, PLSS batteries, etc.).

The MESA was deployed via the astronaut pulling the MESA deployment actuating handle "D handle" located on the egress platform "porch" of the lunar module.  As the cable pulled the cam, it disengaged a lock pin from a pivot arm. A "key" prevented the lock pin from interfering with its on disengagement from a locking post on the MESA as it slid into a slot.  Once this was done, lunar gravity took over and deployed the MESA downward into position. Once deployed, the MESA served as a work station for the astronauts.   

I acquired this artifact from someone who was affiliated with Grumman (manufacturer of the Lunar Module).  It is approx 10 inches long and 6 inches wide, made (almost) from one solid piece (titanium?) with an amazing assortment of angles and undercuts, a channel for the sliding part, and "ear" extensions that are almost paper thin.

The markings are a bit difficult to read but appear to be:
LDW 280M17816  ZOA6  MRR106498  LOT 3

Contractor press kits relating to the Apollo 11 mission

 

I've worked in marketing and PR my entire career and am fascinated by the press kits put out by NASA and by the contractors. I was fortunate to have acquired a set of complete press kits used by a journalist while covering the Apollo 11 mission. Included are press kits from IBM (Computer systems), North American Rockwell (Command Module), Grumman (Lunar Module), TRW (Engines), and several other kits not pictured here.

Apollo spacecraft accessories bag

Bags of this type were used by astronauts to store items in the Command Module and Lunar Module. While  bags of this type flew on most Apollo missions, unfortunately the Apollo Stowage Lists did not record the serial numbers of the bags that flew to the moon.

This accessories bag was manufactured by Welson & Co. on February 5, 1971. It is part number SEB 13100114-701, serial number 1257

Lunar Module Descent Stage Rocket Engine Thrust Chamber

This model of thrust chamber was developed for the Apollo Lunar Module decent stage and made 10 flights during the Apollo program. The engine type became famous again in the 1995 with the release of the movie "Apollo 13" as the engine that powered the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft from the moon back to earth because the Service Propulsion System was never used subsequent to the cryotank stir/explosion. Because the extent of damage to the SPS was unknown, there was great concern at the time that collateral damage could have caused a catastrophic malfunction (if the engine was fired). Instead the LMDE was used for the return burn and subsequent course correction. Quite a famous engine.

Of course, this is not that exact engine as it burned up in the earth's atmosphere after being jettisoned when the Apollo 13 crew returned to earth in the Command Module.

Flown engines, of course, are either left on the surface of the moon (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17), crashed into the moon (Apollo 10), or burned up in earth’s atmosphere (Apollo 5, 9, 13).

The combustion chamber consists of an ablative-lined titanium alloy case to the 16:1 area ratio. Fabrication of the 6A1-4V alloy titanium case was accomplished by machining the chamber portion and the exit cone portion from forgings and welding them into one unit at the throat centerline. The ablative liner is fabricated in two segments and installed from either end. The shape of the nozzle extension (not installed on the example in this collection) is such that the ablative liner is retained in the exit cone during transportation, launch and boost. During engine firing, thrust loads force the exit cone liner against the case. The titanium head end assembly which contains the Pintle Injector and propellant valve subcomponents is attached with thirty-six A-286 steel ¼ inch bolts.

In order to keep the maximum operating temperatures of the titanium case in the vicinity of 800 degrees (F), the ablative liner was designed as a composite material providing the maximum heat sink and minimum weight. The selected configuration consisted of a high density, erosion-resistant silica cloth/phenolic material surrounded by a lightweight needle-felted silica mat/phenolic insulation.

The Pintle Injector, unique to TRW designed liquid propulsion systems, provides improved reliability and less costly method of fuel oxidizer impingement in the thrust chamber then conventional coaxial distributed-element injectors typically used on liquid biproellant rocket engines.

Dry mass: 300 pounds (with Columbian Nozzle Extension Installed)
Length: 51 inches - Gimbal attachment to nozzle tip (minus nozzle extension)
Maximum diameter: 34 inches (minus nozzle extension)
Mounting: gimbal attachment above injector
Engine cycle: pressure fed (15.5 atm reservoir)
Oxidizer: 50/50 N_2O_4/UDMH at 8.92 kg/s
Fuel: monomethyl hydrazine at 5.62 kg/s
O/F ratio: 1.60
Thrust: 42.923 kN vac
Specific impulse: 303 s vacuum
Expansion ratio: 16:1, 43:1 (with Expansion Nozzle)
Cooling method: quartz phenolic chamber ablation and columbium (niobium) nozzle radiation
Chamber pressure: 7.1 atm
Ignition: hypergolic, started by 28 V electrical signal to on/off solenoid valves
Burn time: 500 s for total of 5 starts; 10 350 s single burn

Thanks to Scott Schneeweis for the technical description of this artifact.