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Author
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Topic: McDonnell drawings of Mercury Spacecraft
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taneal1
Member Posts: 246
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted 02-18-2015 03:01 PM
   
Curt Newport's really great book "Lost Spacecraft" relates the odyssey of Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7, and Curt's arduous quest to recover it.Included with the book are several spacecraft drawings from the McDonnell Aircraft Corp. used by Curt to determine the best recovery procedure. These drawings are numbered by MAC as 45-xxxxx. Does anyone have, or know where additional drawings may be found? Thanks for any thoughts... |
minipci
Member Posts: 410
From: London, UK
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 02-19-2015 05:13 AM
Boeing? |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1327
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 02-19-2015 08:51 AM
I googled 'McDonnell engineering drawings of Mercury spacecraft' and came up with a LOT displayed. If you click on one that is the same or close to the one in Newport's book, maybe you can trace more back to the source (I saw that NASA-JSC, the NASA history office and astronautix.com come up). |
taneal1
Member Posts: 246
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted 02-19-2015 09:14 AM
quote:
Originally posted by onesmallstep:
I googled 'McDonnell engineering drawings of Mercury spacecraft' and came up with a LOT displayed.
Thanks for the reply, but getting a lot of responses is no indication that it has found actual drawings. What I get in this type of search is the words "engineering drawing" appearing on the site in a document, but their are no actual scale drawings. At best there are line drawings from NASA publications that have been available for years. For example, the first reference displayed when I google 'McDonnell Mercury drawings' is my original post asking for the drawings. If you have found ACTUAL DRAWINGS on any site please post the URL because I'm not finding any actual drawings. — Tom |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46327
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-19-2015 09:33 AM
I don't have my copy of "Lost Spacecraft" handy at the moment, but something like this? |
taneal1
Member Posts: 246
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted 02-19-2015 10:18 AM
Close, but not quite. This one does have a few station numbers, and it is from McDonnell, but it is only designed to show equipment locations. McDonnell plans for Mercury all start with the number 45. For example this is 45-32005 at 25% of full size:  This is a construction blueprint. Note the multiple views of details. The McD description of the drawing is in the lower right hand corner. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1639
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 02-20-2015 10:15 AM
I would say that the bulk of the drawings are not going to be electronic and hence unavailable on the web. Boeing archives would be the place that they are at.
They would number in the hundreds and what would be the purpose of making them available? Scanning is very labor intensive and hence costly. |
taneal1
Member Posts: 246
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted 02-20-2015 12:22 PM
Yes, I believe Boeing should have them, but they are McDonnell records, not Boeing, so that seems to offer the least chance of success.NASA uses the National Archives. I believe the Fort Worth Branch. The McDonnell "blueprints" are available there, or so I've been told. I'm hoping someone will respond who has had dealings with them, and can give me some advice. |
Jaybird7
New Member Posts: 1
From: Tallahassee, FL, USA
Registered: Apr 2021
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posted 05-26-2021 04:38 PM
So, it is six years since the original post. Has anyone been able to confirm the location of any of the McDonnel drawings for the Mercury capsule(s)? |
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