Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 02-15-2013 04:44 PM
Photo 68-H-927 is a crew walkout photo showing the Apollo 7 crew leaving the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building and walking down the ramp to the transfer van on launch day.
Photo KSC-68P-581 shows the Apollo 8 crew walkout for the CDDT test on December 10. Notice that the ramp is missing.
Was that a different exit perhaps? Just an observation.
Rick Mulheirn Member
Posts: 4577 From: England Registered: Feb 2001
posted 02-15-2013 04:52 PM
The ramp is present in both photos. The perspective of the Apollo 8 shot makes the lines in the ramp look like steps.
But if you look to the left of the ramp on the Apollo 8 shot you can still see the hand rail running down the ramp.
heng44 Member
Posts: 3743 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
posted 02-16-2013 02:43 AM
So we can conclude that the ramp was built in late September or early October 1968. I have a photo of the Apollo 7 crew walkout on Sept. 17 showing the steps. And on Apollo 7 launch day the ramp was present.
DChudwin Member
Posts: 1121 From: Lincolnshire IL USA Registered: Aug 2000
posted 02-16-2013 10:25 AM
This picture I took of the Apollo 11 walkout at dawn on July 16, 1969 clearly shows Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin walking down a ramp with railings from the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building to the van.
heng44 Member
Posts: 3743 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
posted 02-16-2013 01:39 PM
This Apollo 7 photo, taken September 17, 1968, shows the crew using the steps.
On launch day, October 11, the ramp was used but the steps can still be seen.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 04-17-2013 10:00 AM
Was Apollo 11 photo S69-39955 taken on launch day as the caption suggests? I suspect it was not.
J.L Member
Posts: 694 From: Bloomington, Illinois, USA Registered: May 2005
posted 04-17-2013 10:37 AM
Yes it was. A key indicator in suit photos for Apollo 11 is the mission patch. It was not on the suits on any crew suited occasion other than on launch day. Just a meatball on suits for the CDDT (countdown demonstration test).
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 04-17-2013 10:43 AM
I thought it might not be a launch day photo because of the black umbilical hoses. The hoses were white when Neil Armstrong left the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building.
David Carey Member
Posts: 1029 From: Registered: Mar 2009
posted 04-17-2013 11:40 AM
Here is a related thread.
Glint Member
Posts: 1143 From: New Windsor, Maryland USA Registered: Jan 2004
posted 04-18-2013 02:02 PM
quote:Originally posted by J.L: A key indicator in suit photos for Apollo 11 is the mission patch.
Does that patch clue apply only to Apollo 11?
If so, that would explain why the Apollo 7 crew was photographed sporting patches on September 17, 1968 in Ed's post above.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 04-18-2013 02:57 PM
Other photos indicate that the Apollo 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 crews had mission patches on their spacesuits when they suited up for the CDDT.
DChudwin Member
Posts: 1121 From: Lincolnshire IL USA Registered: Aug 2000
posted 04-18-2013 09:03 PM
This photo I took of the Apollo 11 walkout shows head suit tech Joe Schmitt on the left and behind him Ron Woods, with Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin in foreground and Deke Slayton just coming out the door.
Woods, who remained with the space program through the shuttle program, is now a space artist.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 04-19-2013 09:02 AM
That sure looks like Kirk Douglas in the crowd watching the Apollo 14 crew walkout in this photo. Spartacus is a space fan.
J.L Member
Posts: 694 From: Bloomington, Illinois, USA Registered: May 2005
posted 04-19-2013 09:57 AM
quote:Originally posted by LM-12: That sure looks like Kirk Douglas...
It is. He was there with his wife and two of their sons. Actors Cary Grant and Bob Hope were also at KSC for the launch, but not at the crew walkout.
hlbjr Member
Posts: 576 From: Delray Beach Florida USA Registered: Mar 2006
posted 04-20-2013 09:27 AM
Just out of curiosity, where would this walkout location be if I were looking at Google Earth? I've always wanted to see it's location.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52554 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-20-2013 05:14 PM
The astronauts walked out of the crew quarters in the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building, which can be seen here in Google Maps.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 04-25-2013 01:19 AM
The ramp surface changed after Skylab 4. Looks like concrete in ASTP walkout photo KSC-75PC-409.
Who is the man holding the crew transfer van door open? If I am not mistaken, he has been at most if not all the crew walkouts from Gemini to ASTP. Is this him in Gemini 3 walkout photo 65-H-436?
J.L Member
Posts: 694 From: Bloomington, Illinois, USA Registered: May 2005
posted 04-25-2013 10:31 AM
The man at the door was the KSC Security Chief - Charles "007" Buckley.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 05-27-2014 01:02 PM
Are there any walkout photos of the backup crews? They also suited up for pad egress training, did they not?
It would be interesting to see Gordon Cooper and Joe Engle in walkout photos, for example.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 11-07-2014 07:45 PM
Was there no mission emblem on the transfer van door during the Apollo 7 crew walkout on launch day?
posted 11-07-2014 11:59 PM
It was on the outside of the door. You can see it in the NASA film.
bunnkwio Member
Posts: 114 From: Naperville, IL USA Registered: Jul 2008
posted 11-09-2014 12:26 PM
quote:Originally posted by DChudwin: This picture I took of the Apollo 11 walkout...
Excellent shots!
I tend to forget that although I wasn't born yet, people here in the cS community not only were around to watch, but some were there. Would love to see more of the photos you took!
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 02-02-2015 10:45 AM
Great launch day footage of the Apollo 16 crew suiting up, the crew walkout and white room activities. Both BPC windows can be seen when the hatch is closed.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 07-19-2015 12:12 AM
Photo 71-HC-968 shows Apollo 15 astronauts Jim Irwin and Dave Scott exiting the transfer van at Pad 39A on launch day.
Similar photos from some of the other Apollo missions are harder to find. I don't recall seeing any launch day photos of the Apollo 8, 9, 10 and 17 crews exiting the transfer van at the pad.
heng44 Member
Posts: 3743 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
posted 07-20-2015 06:08 AM
Photos from Apollo 9 and 10 exist. Haven't seen any for 8 and 17.
Odd that such photos for the first and last manned missions to the moon would be so hard to find.
Greggy_D Member
Posts: 1011 From: Michigan Registered: Jul 2006
posted 07-20-2015 01:07 PM
Found one for 17.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 07-20-2015 01:22 PM
The hard to find photos we were referring to are of the 8 and 17 crews exiting the transfer van at the pad. See above.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 08-12-2015 10:23 AM
The Gemini crew "walkouts" from the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building were a bit different. They exited the north end of the building, and the crews were not suited.
Here is some British Pathe footage of the Gemini 10 crew leaving the MSOB and heading to the suiting-up trailer at Pad 16 on launch day.
golddog Member
Posts: 210 From: australia Registered: Feb 2008
posted 08-25-2015 02:27 AM
Interestingly (well to me anyway) with the photos of Apollo 7, none of the crew appear to be wearing the yellow protective rubber outer shoes to protect the soles of the space suit boots.
Must have been a later Apollo thing.
heng44 Member
Posts: 3743 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
posted 08-25-2015 04:39 AM
The yellow boot protectors first show up in photos of the Apollo 8 crew walkout for their emergency egress training on October 23, 1968. They even have extra protection over their yellow plastic ones.
golddog Member
Posts: 210 From: australia Registered: Feb 2008
posted 08-25-2015 05:39 AM
Thanks. Fascinating the little details that still turn up every now and then! Lovell almost looks about to lose an outer shoe outer shoe!
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 08-25-2015 08:17 AM
quote:Originally posted by golddog: Must have been a later Apollo thing.
The Gemini crews wore similar yellow overshoes.
Paul78zephyr Member
Posts: 811 From: Hudson, MA Registered: Jul 2005
posted 09-15-2015 10:17 AM
Why did these A7LB suits have 'suspenders'? I see that the Skylab suits had them too.
Captain Apollo Member
Posts: 363 From: UK Registered: Jun 2004
posted 09-15-2015 11:35 AM
Are those A7LBs? The crotch panel makes me think of A7Ls. I thought that was a distinctive difference?
Paul78zephyr Member
Posts: 811 From: Hudson, MA Registered: Jul 2005
posted 09-15-2015 11:50 AM
Skylab 3 (SL-4) walkout — more suspenders.
I have read that all the ASTP suits were CMP type A7LBs.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 09-15-2015 02:29 PM
The A Field Guide to American Spacecraft website has "A7LB" suit numbers for Skylab and "A7L" suit numbers for ASTP:
A7L-801 for Stafford
A7L-806 for Brand
A7L-803 for Slayton
Captain Apollo Member
Posts: 363 From: UK Registered: Jun 2004
posted 09-15-2015 02:40 PM
The suspenders seem to be part of a bib?
PeterO Member
Posts: 459 From: North Carolina Registered: Mar 2002
posted 09-15-2015 03:52 PM
The straps are holding up the flotation device belt that was worn during launch and reentry. The pouch under his arm, and in his hand, are the "water wings" devices that would inflate to help the astronaut float. Apparently the belts slipped in the past, so the suspenders were added.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3957 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 09-15-2015 04:20 PM
The suspenders can be seen in this ASTP water egress training photo.
DG27 Member
Posts: 263 From: USA Registered: Nov 2010
posted 09-18-2015 04:05 AM
quote:Originally posted by Captain Apollo: Are those A7LBs?
The ASTP suits were indeed A7LB suits.
The A7LB suits for the lunar, Skylab, and ASTP programs were all slightly different for each program.
Also, remember there were two versions of the A7LB suit. The commander and lunar module pilot had one version (A7LB EVA) and the command module pilot had another version (A7LB IVA).
The A7LB suit everyone is most familiar with, is the A7LB EVA version and was the type used by the commander and LMP for Apollo 15 to 17 lunar activities. The A7LB EVA suit features the relocated entry zipper along with the repositioned gas connectors. The entry zipper was relocated to allow adding a waist joint for sitting in the rover.
Since the Apollo 15 to 17 CMP did not sit in the rover his suit resembled the A7L suit (ie without the waist joint). For the Apollo 15 thru 17 missions the A7LB suit for the CMP was very similar to the A7L (commander and LMP) design, except for the deletion of the water connector for the LCG. However, unlike the A7L CMP suit the A7LB CMP suit featured the dual set of gas connectors (which allowed stand up free space EVA).
Since the ASTP mission was an IVA only mission for docking with the Soviets, there was no need for the water connector, no need for the extra set of suit gas hose connectors (since not using a PLSS or OPS), and no need for an EVA type TMG, on any of the suits. So the ASTP A7LB suits were the same design for all the crew (CDR, CMP, DMP), and featured only one set of gas connectors, and a single layer thermal cover for fire protection. The gloves were A7LB IVA gloves.
The suit serial numbers were rolled to an 800 series to reflect the unique A7LB suit configuration for the ASTP missions.
posted 02-15-2013 04:44 PM
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