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Post by supermeerkat on Jan 5, 2010 12:54:27 GMT -4
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Post by randombloke on Jan 5, 2010 17:28:17 GMT -4
I don't know what that component is specifically (it looks like some sort of plumbing; possibly a fill cap) but "finger torque only" generally means "open jar by hand" or near enough. More specifically, it means that artificial torque multiplication devices (spanners, screwdrivers etc.) are not to be used to manipulate the object.
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Post by supermeerkat on Jan 5, 2010 17:32:39 GMT -4
Ta very much.
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Post by drewid on Jan 5, 2010 19:49:15 GMT -4
I've seen similar warnings in service manuals referring to fastenings with aluminium threads. I've had bikes with steel screws into alu threads that would strip if you sneezed while doing them up. Especially with a large diameter thing like that it's amazing how much torque you can apply by hand.
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Post by Czero 101 on Jan 9, 2010 3:23:57 GMT -4
From what I can see on a couple of the LM blueprints I have, the object appears to be one of the two docking lights (Forward +Y) on the "front" of the LM Ascent Stage.
Cz
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vq
Earth
What time is it again?
Posts: 129
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Post by vq on Jan 13, 2010 0:03:21 GMT -4
I am showing a bit of ignorance here, but who/what took this photo?
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Post by Obviousman on Jan 13, 2010 0:27:54 GMT -4
It was taken by Rusty Schweickart (the LMP) from the "porch" of the LM. He was testing the EMU suit prior to use on the lunar surface with Apollo 11.
He was meant to climb out the front hatch of the LM (the porch) and use the hand rail on the right (in white) to transfer across to Dave Scott in the CM, to test the procedure as a contingency measure if the LM/CM hatch could not be opened after re-docking. Rusty suffered a brief period of SAS ('space sickness') during the LM checkout and so the EVA was canceled. Because he felt better, they later allowed him to test the EMU by going out to the porch but not the full EVA.
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vq
Earth
What time is it again?
Posts: 129
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Post by vq on Jan 14, 2010 2:19:31 GMT -4
Thanks!
This seems like an unusual moment in space flight, with two simultaneous EVA's out of two docked spacecraft. Has this happened at other times?
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Post by Obviousman on Jan 14, 2010 2:39:36 GMT -4
No, not really. There were other EVAs (e.g. retrieval of film from the SIM bays) and there were dual EVAs of docked craft during Gemini (Gemini and the Agena) but the Agena was not a "manned" spacecraft.
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Post by gwiz on Jan 14, 2010 6:35:36 GMT -4
Thanks! This seems like an unusual moment in space flight, with two simultaneous EVA's out of two docked spacecraft. Has this happened at other times? The nearest comparable EVA was the external transfer of two crew members from Soyuz 5 to Soyuz 4 in January 1969. |
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Post by Obviousman on Jan 14, 2010 7:03:45 GMT -4
Ooops! I completely forgot about Soviet / Russian EVAs.
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Post by ka9q on Feb 22, 2010 17:55:32 GMT -4
That object on the Apollo 9 LM appears to be one of the forward docking lights. There were five, according to the manual for the later LMs.
The Apollo 9 LM seems to be somewhat different from the later models. It had four footpad contact sensors, for example, while those that actually landed only had three.
Also, on the left side of this picture I see what looks like a VHF scimitar antenna on the front face (the "nose") of the LM that I've never seen in the ones that landed on the moon. The LMs had two VHF inflight antennas on the top, so I wonder why this was added -- perhaps to improve VHF communications with the ground while the two vehicles were docked? The LM and CSM were never docked in earth orbit on the lunar missions so there'd be no point to such an antenna on those missions, especially since VHF was useless at lunar distances.
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Post by ka9q on Feb 22, 2010 19:31:25 GMT -4
I checked the Apollo 9 news reference. I was close. Sure enough, the Apollo 9 lunar module, LM-3 "Spider", did carry two VHF/UHF scimitar antennas. But they were used for "DFI" - Developmental Flight Instrumentation. This supported several VHF telemetry transmitters not present on the lunar flights.
LM-3 also carried C-band antennas, one of which you can see on the nose of the LM, that I presume were connected to transponders to aid ground radars in tracking. This also would not have been too useful on the lunar flights, where only the Unified S-band system had the necessary link margin.
The corkscrew-like device mounted above the light marked "finger torque only" is the forward S-band omni antenna. Another was on the rear. These were present on the lunar flights.
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Post by PhantomWolf on Feb 22, 2010 21:09:04 GMT -4
The fourth landing probe, which was on the ladder leg) was removed from the later LMs for fear that it may damage the Astronuats' suits when they jumped down to the ground.
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Post by bazbear on Mar 14, 2010 3:28:14 GMT -4
I've wondered for sometime why they got rid of the 4th landing pad contact. Now I know the way they were flown, and I suspect that contact would have used valuable computer resources? And if one of the other 3 didn't touch first, HOUSTON we have a problem? (sorry to go cliche lol)
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