Posts: 729
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 08-13-2004 01:10 AM               

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Apollo Command Module 014 was disassembled during the Apollo 1 fire investigation. According to the National Air and Space Museum, it was scrapped.

How was a CM scrapped? The honeycomb structure was covered with a material made to resist extreme temperatures. Would removing the ablative material be economical enough to justify a scrap metal company buying the remains of 014?

Does anyone know exactly what "scrapped" means in regard to this command module? Does it mean that all usable parts were saved for possible use, the smaller items trashed, and the rest was abandoned outdoors somewhere?

Posts: 115
From: Winterport, Maine, USA
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 08-13-2004 06:29 PM               

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CM 014 was the next Block 1 in the series, readied to repeat the Apollo 1 mission, if called for. North American disassembled both capsules simultaneously, comparing the result of the whole backup module with those found on the burned command module.

Records of the disassembly should be located somewhere.

I believe CM 014 was the one Stafford's crew was training in at the same moment of the CM 012 fire. According to Stafford in "We Have Capture," it sucked as badly as Gus's.

Posts: 729
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 08-13-2004 06:30 PM               

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My thinking (which may be wrong) is that at least the outer shell (forward and aft heatshields) of 014 might still exist.

With its honeycomb structure filled with ablative material, I don't see how it would have been of interest to any scrap metal buyers. The amount of energy needed to remove the phenolic material would seem to be so costly that doing so would result in an expense greater than the value of the metal. Perhaps I am wrong on that point.

Perhaps the pressure vessel (or crew compartment) could have been sold for scrap metal.

In my opinion, if the outer shell still exists, it should be restored with a reproduction block 1 interior (including crew couches). There are virtually no unaltered block 1 command modules in existence. Only Apollo 4 (CM 017) seems to be largely in its splashdown form. Photos I have seen show what appears to be an intact interior on that CM.

Posts: 572
From: Ridgecrest, CA - USA
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 08-13-2004 08:50 PM            

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Also scrapped were a few other Block 1 CMs: 004, 006 and 008.

I would imagine that they would re-use whatever they could, but there probably wasn't much to use in the early command modules.

014 was another matter and there was probably a few things they could use.

Getting back to the original question: No idea what entails "scrapped" by the National Air and Space Museum.

Posts: 729
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 08-13-2004 10:00 PM               

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Yes, CSM 008 is listed as scrapped by the Smithsonian. I believe the service module was tested to destruction at NAA.

Too bad CM 008 was scrapped. It would have made a very nice display for the Ed Givens Museum in Quanah, Texas. He participated in a one week simulated spaceflight in that spacecraft.