Word: apollos
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...Fire in the spacecraft!" is a distress call the National Aeronautics and Space Administration hopes never to hear again. In the aftermath of last January's Apollo fire, NASA is spending more than $100 million to that end. By the time Astronauts Wally Schirra, Bonn Eisele and Walter Cunningham lift off a launch pad for the first manned Apollo flight next year, their spacecraft should be virtually fireproof...
...fireproofing soon after the tragedy. Since then, just about every conceivable combustible has been removed from the moon-bound spacecraft. Flammable components that could not be replaced have been isolated by fire-confining barriers. "It's been an extremely difficult job," says George Low, 41, who was appointed Apollo program manager in April. "But we'll have a spacecraft in which we probably won't be able to even start a fire when we try to this winter...
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 Aluminum plumbing which melted at 1080° F. has been replaced by stainless steel.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as interior temperatures rose to 1,500° F. To withstand such heat, the nylon outer covering of the Apollo suit has been replaced by Beta cloth-an advanced form of glass fiber produced by Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp.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...