Posts: 774
From: Hudson, MA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 04-03-2017 07:13 PM            

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The Apollo 7 SLA (Spacecraft Lunar Module Adapter) was different from Apollo 8 (and later) in that the petal sections on Apollo 7 did not separate from the lower part and those on Apollo 8 (and later) did.

I have read that the design change was made based on Apollo 7 crew observations however Apollo 8's AS-503 was already stacked and rolled out to Pad 39A at the time Apollo 7 flew. So did the design change pre-date Apollo 7?

What was the actual sequence of events that precipitated the design change and when was the SLA hardware modified?

Posts: 275
From:
Registered: Jul 2016

posted 04-04-2017 12:50 AM               

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I may be able to help with part of your question. I went online to look up the Saturn IB rockets used for the Skylab missions and I found that the photographs of the spent Saturn IVB stages used on those missions had the same "petal" arrangement of the panels just as on Apollo 7. It appears that the Saturn IVB panels remained attached on all of the Saturn IB flights but that the panels separated away on the Saturn IVB stages used on Saturn V missions.

So I would like to add to your question and generally ask — why did the panels remain attached on Saturn IB missions?

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From: West Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Jul 2012

Posts: 1747
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
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From: Cape Canaveral, FL
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