The Apollo Education Experience Project
Building a full-scale Apollo Command Module replica
I needed to build a small but important detail in one of the Lower Equipment Bay (LEB) panels. On either side of the Navigation Station are attach points for a removable translation controller and a removable rotation controller. An astronaut performing celestial navigation would use these to orient the CSM
Now that I’m cutting and fitting panels for the upper portion of the Lower Equipment Bay (LEB), I realized that the first completed control panel to be installed in the CM was probably going to be Panel 101. This is the vertical panel just to the left of the sextant/telescope
After adding some additional structure, I added some additional cabinet pieces to support other panels or doors. There are a couple more pieces I need to put in, but they will fasten to the outside of the MDF panels I’ll be installing next. Before I started installing panels, I thought
The real Command Module had literally hundreds of circuit breakers all over the place. These were aircraft-style “push-pull” circuit breakers that could be pushed in to connect a circuit, pulled out to disconnect it manually, or would pop out when tripped. Circuit breakers of this type run around $25 or
The CM will require power to light its lights and run all of its various electronics. The plan is to have the service entry connect where the Service Module (SM) umbilical would attach, which is just to the right of center when looking from the Lower Equipment Bay (LEB). This
The Lower Equipment Bay (LEB) needed some additional structure to support various panels and stuff. I added two more uprights above the girth shelf with angled supports for the upper panels. Because these supports were too far out to reach the ceiling, I could not make them the same way
Now to work on the shelves for various panels and compartments above the girth shelf in the equipment bay half of the CM. In this area, the walls of the CM capsule itself are visible in a couple of places. While I could possibly cut just those pieces to the
Now that I have the girth shelf and some internal structure built, I can start work on the details of the interior. Because some of the structure included pieces beneath the girth shelf that left gaps for some panels, I decided to start by finishing them out. The right-hand side
I posted an update to the Project’s GoFundMe supporters that I would have the girth shelf completed this past weekend. But as things usually happen, there was a minor delay. However, this was a good delay. Marc Tessier of S&T GeoTronics ( www.stgeotronics.com ) informed me that they had some
Now that the exterior framework is complete (more or less), it’s time to start work on the interior. My first goal for the interior is to complete the “girth shelf” – a 3/4″ shelf that circles the entire crew compartment at a fixed height but with various depths. I consider
