Apollo Command Module

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers APOLLO COMMAND MODULE International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark Designated July 24, 1992 Rockwell International Corporation Space Systems Division We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because there is new knowledge to be gained and new rights to be won, and they must be won for the progress of all mankind. PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY September 12, 1962 The confines of earth were expanded on President Kennedy recognized that October 4, 1957, with the launch of the Soviet prestige was real and not simply a public rela- Union’s Sputnik I, the world’s first artificial tions factor in world affairs. He was frustrated space satellite. American reaction was one of by being second to the Soviets in space. Vice shock in the midst of the cold war. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson was asked to study assumptions of being number one militarily American options in space and determine in and technologically were quickly swept away. what areas the U.S. could beat the Soviets. The value of the educational system, the Johnson submitted a report, less than 2 weeks strength of the military, and the fundamental later, urging approval of a project to land a effectiveness of the democratic form of gov- man on the moon. ernment came into question. Early U.S. Kennedy initially had reservations, but attempts to match the Soviet space feat ended the enthusiastic response to Alan Shepard’s in failure, adding to the unease. Mercury Freedom 7 flight on May 5, 1961, The United States entered the Space convinced him it was time for such a commit- Age on January 31, 1958, with the launch of ment. In a speech before a joint session of Explorer I. The Soviets, however, continued Congress on May 25, 1961, Kennedy issued to dominate in this undeclared “space race” the challenge: with larger rockets and payloads. In response “I believe this nation should commit to great public pressure, President Eisenho- itself to achieving the goal, before this wer signed the bill creating the National Aero- decade is out, of landing a man on the nautics and Space Administration (NASA) in moon and returning him safely to July 1958. NASA’s mandate was to develop earth.” America’s aeronautical and space exploration potential for the “benefit of all mankind.” Project Apollo was born. What followed was one of the most highly technical peace- The goal of Project Mercury, time programs ever undertaken by the United announced in the fall of 1958, was to launch States. It required a combined effort of gov- an American astronaut into orbit. But the ernment, industry, and academia that, at its Soviets were first again, when cosmonaut Yuri peak, involved over 350,000 people and over Gagarin became the first human to orbit the 20,000 companies throughout the country. earth on April 12, 1961. Three days later, the Kennedy’s challenge was met just over 8 years failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs later, July 20, 1969, when the Apollo 11 lunar occurred. American prestige in the world was module Eagle landed on the moon’s Sea of at a low. Tranquillity and the crew was returned safely to earth on July 24, 1969. 1 PROJECT APOLLO Project Apollo, which followed the Mercury COMMAND APOLLO MODULE and Gemini programs, was the culmination of SPACECRAFT (CM) 82 FT NASA’s manned space flight program to land American astronauts on the moon. The objec- ADAPTER tive was to send a three-man Apollo spacecraft LAUNCH ESCAPE SYSTEM to the moon and into lunar orbit, land two of THIRD STAGE the three men on the moon in the lunar mod- (S-IVB) ule while the third remained in orbit, return the lunar explorers to the orbiting spacecraft, BOOST and then return all three men safely to earth. PROTECTIVE COVER The entire trip, from launch to earth landing, would last between 8 to 10 days. COMMAND SECOND STAGE MODULE The major challenge of the program SATURN V (S-II) LAUNCH was to develop the Apollo spacecraft and the VEHICLE 281 FT Saturn launch vehicle that would perform the SERVICE mission. These elements consisted of three MODULE integral parts: the command and service module (CSM), the lunar module (LM), and the Saturn V launch vehicle (Figure 1). FIRST STAGE (S-IC) ADAPTER THE APOLLO SPACECRAFT LUNAR MODULE The 82-foot Apollo spacecraft was the entire structure that sat atop the Saturn V launch vehicle (Figure 2). It had five distinct parts: SATURN V LAUNCH VEHICLE APOLLO SPACECRAFT the command module (CM), the service mod- Figure 1 Figure 2 ule (SM), the lunar module, the launch escape system, and the spacecraft-lunar module Saturn V and Apollo Spacecraft Service Module adapter. Of these, the integrated CSM was the Overall height 363 ft Height 24 ft 9 in. core of the Apollo spacecraft; and the CM, the Overall launch weight 6.4 million lb Diameter 12 ft 10 in. only part to splash down on earth, is the his- Launch weight 54,160 lb toric engineering landmark. Launch Escape System Spacecraft Lunar Module Adapter November 28, 1961, NASA awarded Height 33 ft Diameter 3 ft Height 28 ft the basic Apollo spacecraft CSM contract to Weight 9,000 lb Diameter 12 ft 10 in. (top) the Space Division of North American Avia- 21 ft 8 in. (bottom) tion (now known as Rockwell International). Command Module Weight 54,000 lb Project Apollo was managed by the Office of Height 10 ft 7 in. Lunar Module Diameter 12ft 10 in. Manned Space Flight, NASA Headquarters, Launch weight 12,800 lb Height 23 ft 1 in. (legs extended) Washington, D.C. The Apollo Spacecraft pro- Diameter 31 ft (diagonal) gram was directed by NASA’s Johnson Space Launch weight 36,200 lb Center (then known as the Manned Spacecraft Center) in Houston, Texas. 2 laboratory, radio station, kitchen, bedroom, COMMAND MODULE bathroom, and den. In flight, the cabin was air-conditioned to a comfortable 70 to 75 degrees. The atmosphere was 100-percent The CM was the control center for the space- oxygen, pressurized to 5 pounds per square craft, the living and working quarters for the inch (psi), which is about one third of sea-level three-man crew. It was the only part of the pressure (14.7 psi). spacecraft that returned to earth, separating The crew compartment was a sealed from the SM just before atmospheric entry. cabin with a habitable volume of 210 cubic The CM stucture consisted of two feet. Pressurization and temperature were shells: an inner crew compartment (pressure maintained by the environmental control sub- vessel) and an outer heat shield. The outer system. In the compartment were couches, shell was stainless-steel honeycomb between controls and displays for spacecraft operation, stainless-steel sheets. It was covered on the and all the other equipment needed by the outside with ablative material of varying thick- crew, packed in a number of bays. There were ness that charred and dissipated in the heat of also two hatches and five windows. reentry. The interior of the CM was lined with The inner pressurized shell was alumi- equipment bays containing all of the items num honeycomb between aluminum alloy needed by the crew for up to 14 days, as well sheets. A layer of insulation separated the two as the equipment and electronics needed for shells. This construction made the CM as light spacecraft operation. The lower bay was the as possible yet rugged enough to withstand largest and contained the most critical the stresses of acceleration during launch, equipment–the navigation station, telecom- possible strikes by meteorites, deceleration munication subsystem electronics, electrical during entry into earth’s atmosphere, and the power subsystem, and stowage for food, per- impact of splashdown. sonal hygiene, and other supplies. Inside the CM was a compact but effi- The left-hand equipment bay contained ciently arranged combination cockpit, office, the environmental control subsystem. The right-hand bay contained the waste manage- ment system controls and electrical power equipment. The right-hand forward and aft bays housed other mission components. Interior of the CM had three compartments. Shown here is The two-shell construction created two the crew compartment, which other compartments: forward and aft. The for- provided 210 cubic feet of ward compartment was the area around the pressurized living space. forward docking tunnel. It was separated from the crew compartment by a bulkhead and covered by the forward heat shield. The compartment was divided into four 90-degree seg- ments that contained earth landing equipment. The aft compartment was located between the CM pressure vessel and the heat shield, around the periphery of the CM at its Following the fatal accident widest part. The compartment was divided during the Apollo 1 ground simulation, the main hatch into 24 bays containing ten reaction control was redesigned to open out- engines; the fuel, oxidizer, and helium tanks ward for quick egress. for the CM reaction control subsystem; water tanks, and a number of instruments, valves, regulators, and related equipment. 3 SERVICE MODULE DOCKING TUNNEL EARTH LANDING EQUIPMENT FORWARD COMPARTMENT The SM served as the storehouse for critical BULKHEAD REACTION CONTROL PITCH ENGINES STRINGER subsystems and supplies that were either used MAIN DISPLAY INSULATION CONSOLE or controlled by the CM. The SM was SPACE CREW ACCESS attached to the aft portion (heat shield) of the ABLATIVE HATCH MATERIAL STAINLESS STEEL RENDEZVOUS WINDOW CM from launch until just prior to entry into HONEYCOMB MAINTENANCE earth’s atmosphere, when it was jettisoned.

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