Author
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Topic: Photo of the week 155 (October 20, 2007)
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heng44 Member Posts: 3387 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 10-20-2007 02:45 AM
The Apollo 7 astronauts walk through a "shower tunnel" at the base of Cape Kennedy's launch complex 34 during an emergency egress test in September 1968. Three M-113 armored personnel carriers are waiting out of frame to the right to transport them a safe distance away from the Saturn-1B launch vehicle. The crew also practiced riding part of the slidewire system at the pad, after which they posed for their famous photo with the gantry as backdrop. Ed Hengeveld |
East-Frisian Member Posts: 586 From: Germany Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 10-20-2007 02:55 AM
Like pop stars today. Out of the dark into the light. |
lunarrv15 Member Posts: 1355 From: Cincinnati, Ohio, Hamilton Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 10-20-2007 12:37 PM
Enter with dirty white suit... come out white suit clean. The only human wash ...not your car. |
Steven Kaplan Member Posts: 140 From: New Jersey Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 10-20-2007 02:34 PM
As usual Ed, another great photo, and one I've never seen. There appears to be some sort of pack hanging around the neck in front of the crew's suits. Can any of our spacesuit experts provide some insight? |
lewarren Member Posts: 269 From: Houston, TX, USA Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 10-20-2007 03:39 PM
My guess would be supplemental O2, enough for them to egress the spacecraft and get to a safe zone (rubber room, bunker, M113). |
Ben Member Posts: 1896 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: May 2000
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posted 10-20-2007 04:44 PM
I didn't know they used the M113s back then. Do you have any photos of astronauts training in them from that era? |
Matt T Member Posts: 1368 From: Chester, Cheshire, UK Registered: May 2001
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posted 10-20-2007 06:30 PM
The official name for the chest mounted O2 supply is the Pad Emergency Air Pack (PEAP)."...a portable package designed to supply breathing air during emergency egress operations at the launch pad. The surface is contoured to accommodate the upper front part of the torso." |
heng44 Member Posts: 3387 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 10-21-2007 03:18 AM
quote: Originally posted by Ben: I didn't know they used the M113s back then. Do you have any photos of astronauts training in them from that era?
Ben, I don't think I have any photos, but could make some screenshots of the TV footage I have of this Apollo 7 emergency escape training. You can see each of the astronauts entering an M113. Also, I believe on the Spacecraft Films set for Apollo 9 is some footage of the crew walking down the stairs of the launch tower and three M113s driving away at the base of the pad. |
heng44 Member Posts: 3387 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 10-21-2007 04:06 AM
Found some photos after all, from even earlier:John Glenn, MA-6. Gus Grissom and John Young, Gemini-3 |
heng44 Member Posts: 3387 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 10-21-2007 04:16 AM
Apollo 9 emergency egress training with the PEAP. |
divemaster Member Posts: 1376 From: ridgefield, ct Registered: May 2002
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posted 10-21-2007 09:11 AM
Ah! So THAT'S how they caught their colds so close to launch.Mom always said, never go outside with wet hair. |
heng44 Member Posts: 3387 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 10-21-2007 10:00 AM
J.L. Pickering sent this Apollo 7 photo: |
MCroft04 Member Posts: 1634 From: Smithfield, Me, USA Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 10-21-2007 10:26 AM
These M113's appear to be coated with some type of material that's not familiar to me(and I've seen quite a few M113's). Was this added by NASA for improved safety? |
Ben Member Posts: 1896 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: May 2000
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posted 10-21-2007 09:05 PM
Thanks for posting those. I also wondered about the material they are covered in. |
art540 Member Posts: 432 From: Orange, California USA Registered: Sep 2006
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posted 10-21-2007 09:30 PM
The M113 entered service in 1960 and I believe they were in use for the two manned Mercury-Redstones 1961. |
AstronautBrian Member Posts: 287 From: Louisiana Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 10-21-2007 10:01 PM
quote: Originally posted by MCroft04: These M113's appear to be coated with some type of material that's not familiar to me (and I've seen quite a few M113's). Was this added by NASA for improved safety?
I noticed that too. It reminds me of woolly mammoth fur. This is just a guess, but it could be fire resistant material, like asbestos. |
hlbjr Member Posts: 475 From: Delray Beach Florida USA Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 10-22-2007 12:49 PM
I was wondering if anyone has a diagram, photo, or other rendering of the slide wire arrangement at Pad 34 and a description of where it actually went? |
heng44 Member Posts: 3387 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 10-23-2007 08:31 AM
Jim Ragusa is making the first ever manned run of the 360-meter slidewire escape system, that runs from the 65-meter level of the service structure at Pad 34. The system was designed by Chrysler. The test was on August 16, 1968. |
hlbjr Member Posts: 475 From: Delray Beach Florida USA Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 10-23-2007 12:50 PM
Ed, Thanks for the great photos. I see the slide wire headed off to the North/Northeast from the launch tower. |
heng44 Member Posts: 3387 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 10-24-2007 08:41 AM
Joel Powell sent this USAF photo dated March 1968 of rescue crews at KSC practicing with the M113. |
tegwilym Member Posts: 2331 From: Sturgeon Bay, WI Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 10-24-2007 01:51 PM
Kind of reminds me of the fuzzy dog van in "Dumb and Dumber." |
Blackarrow Member Posts: 3120 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 12-19-2010 12:59 PM
quote: Originally posted by AstronautBrian: ...it could be fire resistant material, like asbestos.
I hope not! 42 years is a fairly average latency period for mesothelioma. |
Philip Member Posts: 5952 From: Brussels, Belgium Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 12-20-2010 01:58 AM
Why did they walk through a shower tunnel? Anti-bacterial decontamination? |
Delta7 Member Posts: 1505 From: Bluffton IN USA Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 12-20-2010 06:47 AM
My guess would be fuel/chemical decontamination.Or a Wally Schirra "gotcha!" |