Word: apollo
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Critical Changes. Strapped into the conical command module, trapped by hatches impossible to open, Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee scarcely had a chance. Now Apollo has only one hatch, and it can be opened with a ratchet from inside in about five seconds. The mechanism of the new, 70-lb. hatch, which Low says can be opened "with your little finger," is assisted by a cylinder of compressed nitrogen gas. Better for escape during ground tests, the quick-opening hatch also provides easier exit and re-entry during operations outside the spacecraft in flight. Moreover, it assures astronauts...
While the hatch problem was being solved, NASA and North American Aviation engineers went to work on combustible materials that had cluttered Apollo's spacecraft before the January fire. Aluminum plumbing which melted at 1080° F. has been replaced by stainless steel. Brazed joints that withstand temperatures approaching 1,600° F. have been substituted for soldered joints that melt at 360° F. Coolant pipelines, which service electronic components and can release flammable glycol when ruptured, have been "armor-plated" at joints with high-strength epoxy. Should the joints come open, the epoxy serves as a back...
...Suit. Like almost everything else aboard during the January holocaust, the Gemini space suits worn by the astronauts burned, as interior temperatures rose to 1,500° F. To withstand such heat, the nylon outer covering of the Apollo suit has been replaced by Beta cloth-an advanced form of glass fiber produced by Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. Backing up the new fabric are 14 layers of fire-resistant material. Even if they were caught in an on-board inferno, the Apollo astronauts would have several minutes of protection while wearing the new suit. Big gest problem posed...
This pushes Apollo to a critical launch-pad weight that is only 350 Ibs. under the Saturn 5's total lifting capacity for lunar missions. As a result, parts of Apollo's parachute system had to be enlarged or redesigned for safe landing at greater weight, and redundant systems on board have been eliminated for a weight reduction of 58 Ibs. Low hopes to peel 400 Ibs. more off Apollo by eliminating the spacecraft's lead ballast. So critical is the weight factor that even metal brackets inside Apollo are being examined for possible perforation to save...
...effect, the modifications have made Apollo a brand new spacecraft that will have to be tested for structural integrity, vibration characteristics during liftoff, and behavior in a vacuum before it can be requalified for flight. Such testing has pushed the initial launch date for the Apollo series to early summer of next year. But this winter the spacecraft will face its baptism by fire in Houston, when NASA engineers try to set a full-scale Apollo ablaze under varied atmospheric conditions...