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Post by PhantomWolf on Sept 17, 2006 4:07:49 GMT -4
Just an interesting thought that I had today.
For most missions the crew was in the CM as they passed through the VA Belts, however because they used the LM as a lifepod were the Apollo 13 I was wondering, if they were in the CM or the LM when they passed back through the VA Belts? I'm guessing they might have been back in the CM getting it set up for reentry, but I'm only guessing there, it'd be interesting if anyone actually knows. Also if they did go through while still in the LM, did it affect their dosage compared to the other missions?
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Post by scooter on Sept 17, 2006 20:53:09 GMT -4
SM Jettison- 138:01 MET
LM Jettison- 141:30 MET
Entry Interface- 142:40 MET
...so they were certainly all in the CM 1:10 before EI, probably before that. It really depends on their angle of approach to the globe etc. If they were in the VABs while closing out the LM, they were in the upper reaches of it.
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Bob B.
Bob the Excel Guru?
Posts: 3,072
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Post by Bob B. on Sept 17, 2006 22:41:26 GMT -4
If my math is correct, Apollo 13 would have been about 27,000 km (1) out at 1:10 before entry interface. I think this would have placed them in the outer part of the outer radiation belt. It is my understanding that the greatest intensity is inside this distance.
(1) From the center of Earth, or about 21,000 km above the surface.
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Post by PhantomWolf on Sept 17, 2006 23:38:17 GMT -4
Cool thanks, I did suspect as much, though it'd be interesting to know what the difference in exposure levels between the CM and LM cabins would have been, just as a curiousity really.
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Post by Kiwi on Sept 18, 2006 12:07:04 GMT -4
... it'd be interesting to know what the difference in exposure levels between the CM and LM cabins would have been... And if you can't Google up some website which instantly tells you everything you want to know (forget about those stupid, old-fashioned things and the places that keep them -- books and libraries), you'll know that there is only one possible conclusion to be reached: Apollo 13 must have been faked!  |
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Post by PhantomWolf on Sept 18, 2006 17:14:27 GMT -4
Nah. Apollo 13 was the only real one. They had bad camera footage from 11 and fired it on 12 to hide they were hoaxing it, then tried it on 13 and fired the crew so when back to faking it for 14-17. |
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Post by Grand Lunar on Oct 20, 2006 19:38:00 GMT -4
Given the three dimensional nature of the course, I imagine it might also be that Apollo 13 only went through the outer belt, missing the more instense inner belt.
Am I correct in my assumption?
I also think that the materials that made up the LM hull were sufficent protect the crew from most radiation expected on the missions, yes?
I only base that on my knowledge of radiation and nuclear systems.
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Post by gwiz on Oct 23, 2006 7:36:15 GMT -4
Relevant both to this thread and the general "searing radiation hell" argument:
I went to a talk by someone from Surrey Satellite last week, about their GIOVE satellite. This is now in orbit inside the outer Van Allen belt at 23000 km, and it carries radiation monitoring instruments. One of the slides carried the information that the radiation dosage had reached 1600 rad in two months. This translates to about 1 rad per hour.
Seeing that the Apollo capsule provided some shielding and passed though the belts in an hour or so, this would seem to be an independant UK measurement that confims that the belts would not be a problem.
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