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Author
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Topic: Blue protective covering on Apollo CM
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oly
Member Posts: 1436
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 11-08-2018 08:10 PM
   
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
I wonder if any of the blue protective film (apart from the forward heat shield area) had been removed from the CM before Apollo 16 had to be rolled back to the VAB.
Given that we assume the BPC final installation requires the MSS platforms for access, and the blue protective film is removed prior to the BPC fit, the timeline can be contained down to a period ending with the MSS retraction for the final time prior to launch. The spacecraft was protected from the elements during rollback.  Are there any photographs of a flight ready Block II command module stacked on the launch pad without any weather protection? quote:
The BPC fit check shortly after arriving at the pad suggests to me that the aft BPC was not installed for the rollout from the VAB to the pad.
I am a little curious why the fit check was done here. One of the issues with fiberglass components made in the 60s was an issue with material shrinkage or warping, if the BPC was manufactured shortly before use, or perhaps there was some modification required post manufacture that required a fit check.My understanding is that each BPC was custom made for each command module, due to variances in CM profile. quote:
Originally posted by heng44:
I always assumed the LES plus BPC were installed together in the VAB before rollout.
Until recently I made the same assumption, and had never given it much additional thought until this thread was launched. I am searching the web in the hope of finding some images of the BPC, its attachment methods, or any clue to this matter. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3723
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 11-09-2018 06:41 AM
This more detailed Apollo 9 AS-504 Saturn V Countdown Test Processing Chart shows the "White Room Retract For Boost Protective Cover Instl" event at T-50:30, about three days before launch. |
heng44
Member Posts: 3647
From: Netherlands
Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 11-09-2018 07:10 AM
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
I wonder if any of the blue protective film (apart from the forward heat shield area) had been removed from the CM before Apollo 16 had to be rolled back to the VAB.
It was still in place. This photo shows the command module being demated from the service module after rollback. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3723
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 11-09-2018 07:21 AM
Excellent! Now that is a photo I definitely have not seen before. Note the forward heatshield. |
oly
Member Posts: 1436
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 11-09-2018 08:45 AM
Thank you for posting this image Ed, There is some amazing detail in these rare images. |
oly
Member Posts: 1436
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 11-09-2018 09:20 PM
Apollo 6 was a Block I spacecraft with several Block II modifications, however if did not use the silver reflective tape for thermal protection. This may lead to a clue regarding another reasoning to keep the blue protective film on the spacecraft for as long as possible. From "Chariots of Apollo": Kleinknecht, the command and service modules manager in Houston, was pleased with the machine that North American sent to Kennedy, although he was upset when he learned that the protective Mylar film that covered the spacecraft during shipment was flammable. I do not have details of what film covered this vehicle during shipment, but the flammability of Mylar may have been a consideration.  |
oly
Member Posts: 1436
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 11-10-2018 01:35 AM
This image is recorded as Apollo 6 awaiting recovery.  There is no reflective tape on the spacecraft post landing or recovery.  |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3723
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 11-10-2018 11:41 PM
There is a description of the BPC that says it consists of ten different sections, including the apex. |
oly
Member Posts: 1436
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 11-11-2018 01:16 AM
I have a copy of an Apollo era document without an identifier or cover page. I have scanned the text as follows, It is not much help but does give some additional info. 9.1.3.4 Boost protective cover.- The boost protective cover consisted of two major assemblies. The forward assembly (hard cover) provided the structural attachment to the launch escape tower which was necessary to allow the cover to be jettisoned along with the launch escape system. This assembly covered about the forward one-third of the command module. This assembly was fabricated on a tool (form) and consisted of fiberglass facesheets and phenolic-honeycomb-core sandwich construction. A layer of cork thermal protection material was bonded to this and the assembly coated with a temperature resistant paint.
The aft assembly (soft cover) provided the thermal protection needed over the remaining two thirds of the command module, It consisted of an inner layer of Teflon-coated fiberglass cloth to which was bonded the cork thermal protection material. The assembly was made in seven segments to facilitate shipment and final installation.A plaster-splash process was used to obtain the required fit between the soft cover and the command module. an exact duplication of the command module mold line resulted. A mold line simulator tool was then constructed and used to fit and assembly the soft cover. variations of the command module exterior surfaces. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3723
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 12-14-2018 02:53 PM
ASTP photo KSC-75P-0040 has this caption:
Soviet Cosmonaut tour of KSC. Participating in press conference in Firing Room 4 at the Launch Control Center, are, from left, Charles T. Hollinshead, Acting Chief of Public Affairs, KSC; Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand and Donald K. Slayton, the United States prime crew for the Apollo Soyuz Test Project; unidentified Soviet Interpreter; Vladimir Shatalov, former Cosmonaut and Chief of Cosmonaut Training for the Soviet Air Force; and Cosmonauts Aleksey Leonov and Valeri Kubasov, the Soviet prime crew for ASTP.  On the wall is part of the ASTP Launch Operations Processing Schedule, including the CSM-111 events in the altitude chamber. Also note that the Mobile Launcher (ML-1) with AS-210 and BP-30 stacked in VAB High Bay 1 was to be moved a short distance for a lightning mast fit check. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3723
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-18-2022 01:38 PM
This Apollo 14 photo (undated) looks like it was taken at the pad. The tarp-like protective cover on the Apollo spacecraft is still in place. That would seem to indicate that the photo was taken on rollout day, or shortly thereafter.To my eyes, the CM crew compartment section looks "blue" under the protective cover. That would support the suggestion made earlier that the aft (lower) BPC that covers the crew compartment heat shield may not have been installed in the VAB prior to rollout. Does it look "blue" to anyone else?  |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1759
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 08-22-2022 10:30 AM
The BPC jettisoned as one piece. |
MartinAir
Member Posts: 260
From:
Registered: Oct 2020
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posted 10-22-2022 12:43 PM
Was the aft heat shield protected as well, especially from the potential damage coming from the service module? There seems to be a white (protective?) cover in the demating picture. |
heng44
Member Posts: 3647
From: Netherlands
Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 10-23-2022 08:02 AM
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
This Apollo 14 photo (undated) looks like it was taken at the pad.... Does it look "blue" to anyone else?
The photo was taken during rollout, just before starting up the incline at the pad. And, yes: the CM does look blue to me. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3723
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 10-24-2022 08:52 PM
Thanks for that, Ed.This diagram from the Skylab Mission Report shows the thermal modifications that were made to the Skylab 2 command and service module (CSM-116) after the Skylab 1 launch anomaly. Photo 73-PC-308 found here shows some of the reflective thermal tape on the Skylab 2 command module. The photo must have been taken at the pad, since the thermal modifications were made after the Skylab 1 launch. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3723
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 01-30-2023 09:13 PM
This ASTP photo shows Stafford, Brand and Slayton inside the command module in the altitude chamber on December 17, 1974. A lot of the blue protective covering has been removed from the CM. I can't make out what the caution sign above the hatch says. |
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