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Author
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Topic: Lunar Roving Vehicle and LM interface
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oly
Member Posts: 905
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 06-02-2018 10:58 PM
   
I have done a search online for details about the Lunar Roving Vehicles, without finding the details I am seeking. Does anyone know where I could source details and good photos or drawings of the walking hinge used to deploy the rover, or details of the rover and lunar module interface? |
oly
Member Posts: 905
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 06-05-2018 07:17 AM
I have been looking into the lunar rover design, including the folding and deployment features. During the Apollo 15 and 16 missions, the walking hinges were found to be loose or unlatched during inspection post thermal blanket removal on the lunar surface. This information was recorded in the respective lunar surface journals, and the audio discussing this can be heard during lunar rover deployment.I have found varying opinion why this occurred, including being jarred during landing or from vibration during launch. “On all three of the Rover missions, the Rover packages were found to be off the hinges, probably as a result of getting jarred during landing." [Apollo 16 Lunar Surface Journal] The Apollo 17 journal recorded that the hinges were secure during the pre-deployment inspection, and for the two prior missions, the hinges were reset before deployment. I have found some detailed photos of the tripod assemblies that mounted the rover to the walking hinges, however, I cannot find any detail on the hinge or lunar module section other than the schematic in the rover manual. There is an animation online of the walking hinge operation with poor detail. This photo shows the Apollo 15 rover fit check, with the tripod just visible in the lower section. And this is a similar photo of Apollo 17. This lunar orbit photo of Apollo 16 shows the rover appears to be misaligned. Could this be a result of the rover disconnected from the walking hinges or an optical illusion? |
nasamad
Member Posts: 2121
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 06-05-2018 11:59 AM
Oly, the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal has some cgi animations showing deployment of the LRV including the walking hinge. Also the Apogee book "Virtual LM" by the same author as the animations has some good info if I recall correctly.From memory I think some of the deployment problems on Apollo 15 were also due to the angle the LM was resting at on the surface, causing the astronauts to have to "jiggle" things a bit to deploy. |
oly
Member Posts: 905
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 06-06-2018 05:10 AM
Thank you for your reply. I have previously seen the animation that is linked from the journal. I will look into the Virtual LM publication. | |
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