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Author
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Topic: Apollo 11: The strap behind Aldrin's arm?
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Captain Apollo
Member Posts: 308
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 04-04-2022 05:59 AM
   
In this famous photo, what is the strap behind Buzz Aldrin's arm/below the remote control unit (RCU)? I had thought it was the "pull-down" strap which was for tightening the suit to allow the astronaut to bend at the waist whilst reclining in the command module couch. However, although it appears attached to the suit (to the D ring under the RCU), it also seems quite long and it ends in a clasp. I recall Neil Armstrong had some sort of restraint ending in a clasp when he climbed down the ladder, but it doesn't look the same as this. It's visible in other photos too. I can't find reference to it in Bill Ayrey's book. Can anyone enlighten me about what it was/was for please? |
oly
Member Posts: 1361
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 04-04-2022 08:12 AM
If it is the strap that I think you are referring to, it is used to pull down the neck ring of the suit to change the way the neck ring sits when the crew is seated. It connects to the neck cables. |
Captain Apollo
Member Posts: 308
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 04-04-2022 09:51 AM
I thought it might be that, but what gives me pause is that the strap in the Aldrin photo seems to have some sort of clasp with hook style fitting at the end - a sort of primitive caribiner. The clasp design resembles the EVA waist tether that was found in Armstrong's "purse" after his death. It's also clear in several photos of Aldrin assembling the solar wind experiment. To my eyes, there is definitely a clasp at the end, which the pull-down strap does not have. Even if it is the pull-down strap, then why has a clasp-hook been attached to it? See here -  |
DG27
Member Posts: 217
From: USA
Registered: Nov 2010
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posted 04-04-2022 03:43 PM
Good observation. There is a thorough discussion of this in the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Armstrong and Aldrin removed hooks from the Lunar Equipment Conveyor (LEC) tether and attached them to the end of the spacesuit tiedown straps. This was per a step in surface checklist Sur-26. This was only done on the Apollo 11 mission. There is a very clear training picture of the hook attached to the suit strap. See KSC-69PC-362. |
Captain Apollo
Member Posts: 308
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 04-04-2022 04:20 PM
Thank you. What was the rationale for attaching the hook? |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3434
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-04-2022 04:25 PM
My first thought was that Buzz's strap with a hook at the end looks like a strap you would clip onto your camera in case it slips out of your grasp while being attached to, or removed from, the camera bracket. (I suspect it would have been quite difficult to pick the Hasselblad up from the ground while wearing the Apollo 11 EVA-suit.)On the J-mission deep-space EVAs, the CMP had a strap with a clip to secure the film cassettes after removal from the SIM-bay, to stop them floating away. Same idea? Check-list SUR-26 is referenced, and I note one instruction for the LMP as follows: "Attach waist tether to 80mm HBLAD [Hasselblad]." I confess it's not immediately obvious to me why Buzz was supposed to do this while still inside 'Eagle' but maybe that is explained on a later check-list. |
DG27
Member Posts: 217
From: USA
Registered: Nov 2010
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posted 04-04-2022 05:49 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Captain Apollo:
What was the rationale for attaching the hook?
All the training photos only show the hook being attached to the Hasselblad handle. So I believe it was to prevent the camera from being dropped into the lunar dust if there was a fumble during handoff between the crew while on the lunar surface. I suppose unmounting and re-mountng the camera with the RCU bracket was not a simple task while wearing the EVA gloves. |
Captain Apollo
Member Posts: 308
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 04-05-2022 02:12 AM
Interesting, thank you. Armstrong had the same then? I wonder if the concerns about dropping the camera resulted in its rare transfer for Aldrin to use? |
music_space
Member Posts: 1193
From: Canada
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 04-07-2022 07:49 PM
Well, Aldrin did drop a camera magazine at the foot of the LM, (was it Magazine "S"?) and he picked it up, as per mission transcripts, right? |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3434
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-07-2022 08:27 PM
As the cited story points out, it was actually Armstrong who dropped the magazine. The fact that he was ABLE to pick it up doesn't negate the point that it was desirable to limit the need to bend down to pick up delicate equipment which shouldn't be dropped. |
oly
Member Posts: 1361
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 04-07-2022 11:46 PM
Remember that these guys were a quarter of a million miles from home, standing on the surface of the moon wearing a spacesuit pumped full of air that was held together by a zipper.Probably wise to limit the chance of needing to flex the suit by trying to pick up something you drop. |
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