posted 01-13-2016 12:37 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by LM-12:
I am almost certain that is Gordon, but the RCU on the left has a "J. Irwin" name tag. If that is Jim Irwin, then the photo would seem to show some cross-training by prime and backup crewmembers.

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With respect to the names on the mockup RCUs of both prime and B/U Crews during EVA training, there were no procedural specs nor anything in writing that dictated whether or not the B/U CDR and LMP had to have their names on the RCUs they were wearing during EVA exercises.

Knowing that as Crew Training Engineer responsible for all PLSS/OPS/RCU EVA Crew Training hardware, my first priority was to make sure the prime crew CDR and LMP had their names sewn on the RCUs they wore during all training exercises.

Also, beta cloth name tags were not always available for all B/U crew members (It was not a priority for mockup use). So I made the decision to use the prime crew RCU's for B/U crew EVA training. I did not want either of the B/U crew members to feel slighted if one had a tag and the other didn't.

To further confuse all of you reading this post, I told my techs to put removable white tape over the prime crew RCU names. This philosophy also allowed us to use and repair 2 RCU's rather than 4. An example of the use of the tape is shown in Photo #1 (Engle wearing Schmitt's RCU with tape over Schmitt's name).

In Photo #3, Apollo 15 B/U CDR Gordon is wearing Apollo 15 CDR Scott's name on Scott's training RCU.I have to take blame for not realizing that we had not covered Scott's name prior to the exercise and I must admit, it was not the only time I "goofed"!

I do not enjoy creating confusion but why are both Apollo 16 B/U CDR Haise & B/U LMP Mitchell wearing their names on RCU's (Photo #2) contrary to my previous statement. I actually have a logical answer. Except for Schmitt who flew on 14 and was B/U for 16, we had RCU's with Haise and Schmitt names on them from their previous flown missions (13 & 14). I decided that since we had their (Haise and Schmitt) RCU's and we received updated RCU mockups from HSD Windsor Locks with Duke and Young already sewn on, we would use 4 RCU mockups for 16 and also for 17 (Scott and Irwin were B/U for 17 with existing RCUs from previous mission training).

If I confused any of you, don't feel bad, I confused myself!!

posted 01-13-2016 01:33 PM            

I am looking at a larger version of your photo #2 (Haise-Mitchell) and I think I see "Young" and "Duke" RCU name tags instead. Photo KSC-372C-28-5 looks like it was taken around the same time, and better shows backup CDR Haise wearing a "J. Young" name tag.

posted 01-14-2016 10:45 AM            

The caption for 72-H-1411 identifies the LMP as Jack Schmitt. The CDR is not identified, but he is not wearing his LEVA helmet. It sure looks like that is backup CDR John Young driving the rover. So, Young and Schmitt?

posted 01-14-2016 11:55 AM               

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Originally posted by carmelo:
Daniel, this is a bit off-topic, but you was involved in the development of Space Shuttle IVA suits in early 70s?

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No, I was not involved in the development of Space Shuttle IVA suits. My involvement in Space Programs ended after Apollo 17.

posted 01-14-2016 10:02 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Daniel on the Moon:
I arrived at Cape Kennedy Thanksgiving Day, 1968.

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Dan, did you attend all the Apollo launches from Apollo 8 to Apollo 17?

posted 01-15-2016 01:27 AM               

I will never forget feeling the ground shake under my feet when the 40 story Saturn V blasted off. For Apollo 17 I was able to get visitor passes so my Mom and Dad could view the launch with me in front of the viewing stands (as close to the "bird" as you were able to get).

posted 01-15-2016 08:40 AM               

Given that the temperature of the lunar surface was approximately 170 degrees higher in direct sunlight, what if anything was altered on the suit and the PLSS to compensate for the increased temperatures?

posted 01-15-2016 07:04 PM               

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Originally posted by LM-12:
Who is the LMP in this Apollo 17 training photo?

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Detonation of the charges was commanded remotely from Earth after the crew was safely back in orbit. Analysis of the resulting data provided information about the subsurface structure of the valley.

Referenced Photo below: The astronaut in the LMP seat (left) is deploying a seismic charge. The NASA caption for this photo says that the LMP is Jack Schmitt. However, the astronaut in the CDR seat (right) is John Young, the back-up Commander, with Charlie Duke in the LMP seat.

Having just returned from the Moon on Apollo 16 when they became the Apollo 17 back-up crew, Young and Duke did not participate in all Apollo 17 training. Since they had not deployed seismic charges on their own Apollo 16 mission, they were compelled to practice the seismic charge deployments.

posted 01-16-2016 12:19 AM               

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Originally posted by carmelo:
Is correct that if Apollo 18 had occurred was planned use the new Litton AES suits?

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posted 01-19-2016 03:04 PM            

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Originally posted by Paul78zephyr:
I found this pic on Historic Space Systems. It shows the CSM/LM/SLA prior to install on top of the S-IVB.

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posted 01-19-2016 11:54 PM               

This story centers around Alan Shepard and Henri Landwirth. Landwirth is a Holocaust survivor who came to America looking for the "American Dream."

He went into the motel/hotel business in Cocoa Beach. He first managed the Starlite Hotel and subsequently the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn.

I'm sure many of you are aware of the close relationships Henri developed with the Mercury astronauts. Henri treated them like royalty and they spent a lot of time at the Starlight and then the Holiday Inn, "letting off steam" after vigorous training sessions at the Space Center.

During Apollo 14 EVA training sessions and subsequent Apollo 15, 16 and 17 training I considered myself a friend of Al Shepard, as well as a dedicated engineer responsible for PLSS/OPS EVA training at Kennedy Space Center.

Besides addressing me by my first name "Dan," Al, on many occasions, called me "Super Jew" because, as he explained, the Apollo crews never missed a training session as a result of problems associated with the PLSS/OPS training backpacks. (There were, in fact, many problems to solve!)

Al Shepard was known to many as having a dual personality. He could be very serious and hard-headed, as well as a prankster who got a lot of satisfaction when his pranks went off without a hitch.

Al told me a story about a prank on Henri Landwirth that he witnessed, a prank that the astronauts lawyer was responsible for. The lawyer arranged a meeting with Landwirth and the Mercury astronauts in Miami to discuss a hotel partnership. He (the lawyer) convinced Landwirth that jews weren't very welcome at the hotel and Henri went around with a raincoat over his head until the lawyer admitted his joke. Shepard saw the whole thing and they both thought it was hilarious.

I have to imagine that Al related the story to me since, as a jew, I could relate to religious prejudices of that era.

In early 1974, Henri had ownership interest in the Altamonte Springs Holiday Inn. I had moved to Orlando after Apollo 17 and being young and single frequented the "Why Not Lounge" at the Holiday Inn in Altamonte Springs.

One Friday or Saturday evening sometime in March of '74 (at the "Why Not Lounge") I saw Al Shepard at a table with a friend. I went over to say hello to Al and he immediately began smiling and introduced me to his friend who just happened to be Henri Landwirth.

Now, I'm not sure of Al's exact words, but to my recollection, Al said to Henri with a big grin on his face: "Henri, this is Dan Schaiewitz the "Super Jew" I told you about. We all laughed and I sat down to have a couple of drinks and a sandwich that Henri graciously offered me.

One or two weeks later I got a call from Henri asking me to meet him in his office at the Holiday Inn in Altamonte Springs. At the meeting, Henri told me about a 15 year reunion that he was arranging for the Mercury astronauts with Betty Grissom attending for Gus. He asked me if I would design a plaque for the reunion for each of the astronauts. How could I turn down that amazing opportunity!

Henri said he would send me photos of the "7" including a photo of himself that he wanted included on the plaque. The below photo represents the plaque that I designed and had fabricated for the reunion. Each plaque had the individual astronauts name. The plaque in the photo below was Schirra's.

Henri sent me the photos to be used on the plaque. I immediately noticed Henri sent me a profile photo of himself. I could only surmise that was the only photo he was able to find. After searching, I found the below photo of Henri after placing the letters for his Holiday Inn marque. To me it looked like a perfect photo. I called Henri and told him I would send him the photo I found (no e-mail in 1974!). After he received the photo, he called and rejected the photo. He said he looked too old and we went with his profile photo.

After the reunion, I received the below letter from Henri.

Henri thanked me for my time and effort and said that the plaques "brought forth a great deal of emotion on everyone's part." To my great surprise he included the below autographed photo that he said "everyone felt I should have." My emotions ran so high. Having the honor of being asked to design the plaque was certainly on my list of personal Apollo program highlights.

posted 01-20-2016 08:20 PM               

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Originally posted by Daniel on the Moon:
Yes, I was lucky enough to witness 8 through 17.

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posted 01-20-2016 11:58 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Daniel on the Moon:
We then installed the hardware in their respective stowage locations.

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posted 01-21-2016 08:40 PM            

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Originally posted by Daniel on the Moon:
Except for Schmitt who flew on 14 and was B/U for 16, we had RCU's with Haise and Schmitt names on them from their previous flown missions (13 and 14).

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posted 01-28-2016 10:16 AM            

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Originally posted by Daniel on the Moon:
I will be posting future stories that I hope will be of interest to cS members.

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posted 02-06-2016 11:20 AM               

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Originally posted by LM-12:
Dan can be seen in some of the flight crew training footage (at the 43:45 segment) in this great Apollo 11 Resource film.

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posted 02-06-2016 01:30 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by LM-12:
Dan can be seen in some of the flight crew training footage (at the 43:45 segment) in this great Apollo 11 Resource film.

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posted 02-06-2016 03:23 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Paul78zephyr:
What is amazing to me in this segment is how high the bottom of the LM ladder is — almost mid thigh on Armstrong (~47:55).

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Addressing your comment about the distance from the last rung of the ladder to the foot pad, I'm sure you are aware of the following:

The interior of each of the primary struts contains a piston and a compressible honeycomb structure. Full compression of the honeycomb structure in a hard landing would have shortened the primary strut by 32 inches. Full compression of the primary strut would have left the bottom rung of the ladder just above the footpad.

posted 02-27-2016 03:44 PM               

As LM-5 PLSS/OPS Mission Manager, I was responsible for conducting the PLSS "Pre-Installation Acceptance" (PIA) testing for both Armstrong's and Aldrin's PLSS. I was excited when I found the PLSS S/N015 (Armstrong's Flight PLSS) report I wrote summarizing the actual testing of Armstrong's PLSS (pages numbered 1-5 below).

The testing began on June 23, 1969 and was completed on July 10, 1969, just six days before Apollo 11 liftoff (July 16, 1969).

The procedures that all contractors had to follow with respect to conducting tests were as follows: First, a "Test Preparation Sheet" (TPS) was written to authorize the testing. Then, a "Test and Checkout Procedure" (TCP) was written to include the specific procedures used to conduct the test, i.e. how a specific components function was to be evaluated using the Test Facility that was used to simulate the environment that the component was designed for. All of the PLSS System, Sub-system, and Component testing was performed using our HSD Test Facility and as we called it, the "PLSS/OPS Test Stand". The Test Stand included the Vacuum Chamber that simulated the vacuum of space. Below is a photo of the PLSS/OPS Test Stand:

As the contractor engineer in charge of the test, I read each line of each procedure to the HSD technician who turned the dials, pushed the switches, read the gauges, etc. After each test procedure, if the PLSS subsystem, component, etc. performed within test specifications, both the HSD Quality Control inspector and a NASA Quality Control inspector placed an approval stamp next to the procedure in the TCP.

If, during the execution of testing, there was an undiagnosed issue, an "Interim Discrepancy Report" (IDR) was written and logged in a "Test And Inspection Record" (TAIR) Book without stopping the test. Following the completion of the test, the IDR would be further investigated and dispositioned as either resolved or up-graded to a "Discrepancy Report" (DR).

A DR was written by the contractor QC inspector for any out of specification test result. The DRs were entered into the TAIR book. DRs remained open until they were dispositioned and signed by the test engineer (me) and a NASA contractor engineer liaison that was permanently assigned to the contractor.

With the above testing procedures including resulting IDRs and DRs, I present to you (below) my five page PLSS S/N015 Summary Report for Neil Armstrong's PLSS written on July 11, 1969 a day after test completion. The first obvious question you might ask is why is my report handwritten? The Summary Report was just what it was, a summary report, not the PLSS Flight Approval Document which was the actual Test Checkout Procedure (TCP) that included the HSD and NASA Quality Control approval stamps and my signature as Test Engineer Conductor.

One more reason my report was not typed was, believe it or not, our HSD secretary was home sick. Remember, back in those days we had no desk computers and no word processing. There were, in fact, many internal documents that were approved hand written.

Finding this report brought back incredible memories of how I felt conducting the 18 day test and how lucky I was to be in the "right place at the right time." Just five days after the conclusion of Armstrong's PLSS flight approval testing and T-28 hours, I was stowing the Apollo 11 PLSSs and OPSs in the Lunar Module on Pad 39. I just pinched myself as I probably did back then!!

posted 02-27-2016 10:00 PM               

I do have one question regarding IDR #16. Were the RCU and the PLSS a "matched" set that needed to be tested together for a successful test result or was this just a configuration issue since it was not the flight RCU? I don't expect you to remember all the details after all this time but thought I would ask. You always have a fascinating story and keen recollection of details.