@@thulyblu5486 There are a lot of good ones. I did a video recently that shows all 12 astronaut's first words when stepping on the Moon. Many remarked on the beauty, including Buzz Aldrin. Some tried to do memorable words. But only Pete Conrad was cracking a joke, trying to win a bet.
It's interesting to note that he was still on the pad when he delivered that line, while Armstrong's were actually delivered on the moon regolith. I suspect a few other "first words" were not actually delivered from the surface either.
@@philipcorner574 Yeah, that is true. The ones who cared it is pretty obvious they were on the regolith, while many of the more spontaneous ones were probably from the foot of the LM. See the video I published which shows all of them.
@@Tubetopfan1, luckily the lunar squirrels stick to woodlands. As they landed in the sea of tranquility, a much more pressing threat was the lunar crabs.
@@SIXITHS Well, they weren't actually on the surface when the contact light went on, that turned on when one of the contact probes extending some 1.71m below the landing pads touched the surface.
As I recall watching it live and paying close attention to hear those first words. They were: "It's soft and dusty." I beleave everyone rearranged history.
I know, or just have the bottom portion fold out as needed. Maybe saving weight, but they could bring back 1 or 2 less rocks to make that happen. How funny would it be if they had to step off one of their backs to get the first person back up.
Given the detail in this video I'm a bit surprised the maker is not mentioned. Héroux Machine Parts (in Quebec) won the contract to make the landing gear in 1965 (beating out 15 other companies). In total Héroux delivered 17 sets of 4 legs used for the Apollo program, including those used on the Eagle.
@@meesalikeu That's a truly bold assumption to say no one would care the manufacturers of them, when there are people who wonders why the ladder lacks few rungs
Idk man the little giant is pretty versatile somebody could prob do a decent discussion on it especially if they talk about they home shopping network dude who climbed on it and it folded up on him
Amazingly compelling evidence that man on moon landings were faked; amazing that the 3 astronauts that walked on the moon resigned a few days later.. all 3.. and then Neil Armstrong never spoke about it again, only giving a very cryptic interview about "uncovering truth" many years later. And the moon landing director resigned 3 days before they supposedly landed on the moon! Take a look if you get a chance: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon ua-cam.com/video/xciCJfbTvE4/v-deo.html and NASA admits we never went to the moon: facebook.com/exposetheilluminati/videos/2014276232178920/UzpfSTEwMDAwMDczOTg3NTI3NjoxOTY0NTkxNTQzNTc1NDg5/
@@Turbo_Tastic Yeah, you're an idiot. WHY, please tell us, did the USSR try so hard to also land on the Moon? They tried (there is a photo in this video of their LK-1 lander design), they tried, and MANY people died. Do some frigging RESEARCH!! The Soviets never had a launch vehicle that worked...they kept blowing up. THAT'S the cause of the greatest death toll. Really, that stupid "movie" you referenced? Its a load of crap. Bart Sibrel is a load of crap. I guess that makes YOU full of crap.
I remember laughing hysterically at the time when Pete Conrad said "that may have been a small step for Neil but it was a large one for me". Thanks for looking up that footage and include get in this video. It clearly qualifies as the greatest joke ever made on the surface of the moon. In some ways for me that line was more memorable than Armstrong's original.
Peter Conrad was referring to the studio in 1g, if they were really on the moon that's nothing in 1/6g. There is no indication of them being in 1/6g in any video, it's just slow motion video with the odd visible wire. There's just no height and all the movements are sluggish - it all just looks like a half speed video on earth.
@@G-ra-ha-m ....SMH. WRONG!!! Right here on UA-cam are plenty of videos that prove your comment WRONG! The "odd visible wire" was sunlight reflecting off of the antenna on top of the PLSS backpack. Because "words" are difficult, video: ua-cam.com/video/NxZMjpMhwNE/v-deo.html AND: ua-cam.com/video/NpR1CjvCuIk/v-deo.html
My favorite - at least from the Apollo missions, was Harrison Schmitt with Apollo 17. He was the first guy to land on the moon who was an actual professional geologist, not just a pilot trained to take geologic samples. Dude was like a kid on Christmas on the lunar surface. Apollo 17's time on the Moon also featured some singing & physical comedy, and it ended with a lovely speech and Mission Control nailing the shot of the lunar ascent from the rover camera. Good mission.
You: "Let me know if i answered all the questions you had about the lander ladder." Me: "I did not even knew there where so many questions to be asked/explained about a ladder."
A co-worker met one of the landing leg engineers at a party in the 80s. He was really, really freaked out when Armstrong had to jump so far to the pad.
Yep Armstrong did not shut off engine when instructed he clearly wanted a smother landing, seams like all of them left the engine on a big longer than requested. Expert pilots reaction I think minds going I got a better feal of when to shut off.
Don't forget that the engineers forgot to put a door handle on the outside of the LEM. If Buzz had closed the door they would have had no way to get back into it.
@@billrichards1965 So that funny video about the astronaut accidentally locking himself out of his lunar lander was very much based on reality then ? :D
@@Spacekriek Not exactly. There was no lock and it could only be closed and sealed from the inside. However, if it had been pushed shut, they would have had to slip something into the seam to open it. There would have been a very great incentive to do so! Seriously, it made for a great bit of humor but would not have been a real issue.
When I was a small child in the 70s after seeing the video of the first step my first question was over this subject. Finally someone answered my first question asked about space travel. Thanks
After the mission, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were invited to the Whitehouse to receive some medals from the president. Collins drove them to the WhiteHouse. While Armstrong and Aldrin went into the WhiteHouse, Collins drove around the block a few times waiting...
I'm surprised I guessed exactly right for why they left such a gap between ladder and surface. Given how hectic of a time it was, I figured they didn't have much info on how the surface would react upon landing. I didn't know the surface was able to absorb so much of the impact, but given what we know about the surface composition, it makes sense. Thabks, Tim! Interesting and educational video :)
Though any discussion of ladders is bound to have its... ups and downs, you wrung out all relevant info... Great explanation, I've been wondering since '69!
I’m just a layman and I find this stuff is so fascinating. I don’t understand how more people don’t think so. Don’t get me started with the people that deny that we did it. Great vid!! 👍🏻
Fascinating video. The check by the first astronaut out of the LM to see if they could climb back up. Just shows the level of detail that the engineers a looked into regarding every bit of the landing. I"m sure the folding vs straight ladder came up around for many debates (weight, reliability, etc.)
My guess : reliability. Sure down on cow's floor we scoff at such worry, but can you imagine the mission aborting so close because "our stepladder got stuck" ? Not to mention it could shake loose and wreak havoc at launch.
Hi Tim, me again, can you do a video on the Dragon Capsule's parachutes? How do they work? Why are they attached on one side of the capsule and not on both sides? How do they open slowly? And the history behind of capsule parachutes...And so on...
i second this - parachutes for returning space vehicles are a lot more complex than a skydiver's chutes. i remember seeing a documentary on Curiosity and how their chute testing was difficult and had lots of failed tests because it had to open at such high speeds though with a thinner atmosphere.
In the SpaceX Dragon video. If anyone is curious what the big black round things are on the "lines" near the Dragon capsule that the chutes are attached to. Those lines are called the risers and the "things" are called "riser guillotines" and they cut the risers in the event a main failure is sensed or they only have a partial deployment. They fire the riser guillotines to cut that chute assembly away and then fire the backup.
@@StreuB1 Thanks for the explanation, I develop experimental model rockets and one of the most crucial and difficult part is the recovery system, hence my respect and admiration for the science behind it.
Great video, as always. 5:16 A lunar lander (one of the ones built to land on the Moon on Apollo 18, 19, or 20) has been standing on its own--unmodified--legs since *1976* at The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC!
To save you 14 minutes, It was because the guy who drew the blueprints for the lunar lander ordered a pizza and it arrived while he was in the middle of drawing the rungs on the ladder and he fell asleep after he finished the pizza and forgot to draw the last few rungs.
@@tomb504dog The quadrant that carried the rover was empty on earlier missions as was the opposite quadrant. When the rover was added for the last three missions additional equipment was carried and it was placed inside the opposite quadrant to keep the LM balanced. The last three missions also had a more powerful engine, which allowed it to carry the additional weight.
@@shanecodman1842 I'm sure you know by now that there is no real evidence that it was faked and mountains of hard, verifiable evidence that it was real.
They used 1 or 2 less rungs on the ladder to save weight but, had plenty of extra weight capacity to spare, for bringing the lunar rover. That makes sense.
No they didn't. The Lunar Modules equipped with the Lunar Roving Vehicle were upgraded specifically to land larger payloads and stay longer on the lunar surface.
Apollo 11 was fake. Here's leaked video proof from NASA of the Apollo 11 crew faking the shot of Earth from low orbit when they were supposed to be entering lunar orbit. It has time and date on everything, sorry to ruin your memory boomer. ua-cam.com/video/5xJyhkScXbQ/v-deo.html
@@Rickswars Well I believe in God but that doesn't mean I don't have brain cells. I can process information and think it logically go watch captain disillusion's video. Don't tell me to seek knowledge when a 5th grader is smarter than you
Tim, I think I speak for all your watchers: Thank you sooo much for all your videos/streams/tweets/posts! You inspired us, motivated us and just entertained us. You way more attention! Thanks, thanks thanks!
Neil followed Skipper's advice from Madagascar 2; ""Gently now, you just want to kiss the ground. Just a little peck. A smooch; like you're kissing your sister."
This is a great video, and very well done. One tidbit to point out is that it's only been within about the last 10 years that it's been clearly understood what Armstrong's first step really was. Because of Pete Conrad's quip many people thought the first step onto the surface was the jump down from the ladder, which of course was actually only on to the foot bed of the Lander, from which the astronaut would then step off of and on to the surface. But as I was growing up so many news programs, when commemorating the anniversary, would pair up audio of Armstrong saying he was going to step off the LEM with the part of the video of him jumping down the ladder. Thankfully the correct procession of steps it's now commonly known.
Great video, Tim, very informative and entertaining. Have you considered making one to explain how the latter Apollo mission astronauts removed and assembled the rover? It looks really big raising questions of where it was stowed, how they got it out and unfolded or assembled it. I’m really curious! Thanks!
I never thought about the ladder being short but was intrigued to find out why. And not only was your explanation fascinating, I also found out about the rods sticking down from the feet. I thought they sank into the moon's surface to hold the module steady, yeah silly I know. So, they were probes...... that makes sense. Thank you EA, another great video.
I love you man! I love your videos! Using metric for us all around the world. And how you relate science and stories together. From a Syrian UA-cam Science Educator, all respect! You are great!
Ladders have been held short to make sure that even when tilting or eventual sinking into the moon will not affect the stability of the platform. And: saving weight everywhere is a factor as well. So, a bigger step down from the ladder could be afforded.
Me before watching: I'm willing to bet it has something to do with concern about the landing legs sinking into the lunar surface. After: Partially correct!
@@odysseusrex5908 rofl, yeah go ahead and show me the crater left by the thrust of the engine decelerating on landing. there's not even a spec of dust on the "moon lander" (gimme a break) 's feet
At the time, prospective micrometeor & dust accumulation calculations suggested that the moon could be covered in an average of several meters of fluffy, almost liquid-like powder. I think it was Robert Heinlein who even wrote a story based on it, describing dust-pits and avalanches that could pour across the surface to bury or otherwise cripple vehicles, or lure a driver into a deep fall into a crater. When the moon turned out to be much more bare, scientists had to go back to the drawing board on the matter, and a different theory/mechanism of surface dynamics emerged as the best. Of course, for years, the Young Earth Creationists were touting the lesser amount of dust as proof that the moon was only 6000 years old...
Guess Neil didn't have a to think to hard to come up with a quote. He just explained what he was doing as he stepped on to the Moon. "...one giant leap..."
@@1panamabob, nah, it was obviously 'one small step for man' meaning the moon is a small step for us, we need to go further, and 'one giant leap for mankind' meaning the entrance and exit of the lander involves a big leap for any being as small as humans (since they know the slenderman aliens at area 51 are much taller than us, and would have no problem with the ladder).🙃
How did they get from the moon back to earth exactly, could you please make a video about this? I can't find any information on this. Mostly it is, earth to moon, no one talks about the physics etc for the trip back. Love your channel btw!
The fired the ascent engine, got up to the orbit where they met and dockad to the CSM. Then they fired the CSM engine to get away from Moon and fell back to Earth.
@@sheldonholy5047 I've read several books about orcs, dragons, wizards, vampires and so on which covers them in detail. There is a quite famous book explaining how the world was created in 6 days. There are books telling you that eating only fruits is good for your health, or that you can cure cancer with baking soda and vitamins. HUGE amounts of information, just search it ;)
Perhaps a worry that it wouldn't deploy or that the hinge would fail and the lower half of the ladder would break off? There were so many unknowns that the simplest and least problematic solution would be the one to go with.
@@samsignorelli... by the way, even if the landing had been pushed to 1970, that would have been OK as '70 is the final year of the '60s decade. (Just like the 21st century didn't begin until 1/1/2001 (not 2000)).
I used to think the moon landing was fake but after watching all the footage and tests they did along with all the engineering put into it you can tell they spent a lot of time, money and brainpower on actually getting to the moon
vermili0n The first rocket into space was in 1944-45. Once ICBMs were needed progress was fast. At the height of the space race the USA spent 4% of their budget on the Apollo program.
I watched it happen live as a kid. I remember NASA stating they weren't positive the first landing wouldn't be a suicide mission, they were not positively sure how deep the dust was on the moon everywhere. That was mentioned in papers or daily scuttlebutt.
David Forbes In 1961 Arthur C. Clarke wrote a SF Story "A Fall of Moondust" where it was postulated there were patches of VERY deep dust, based on the studies of dust descending from space. YECs said it proved the Universe was young! However, careful examination of the experiments carried out shewed that much of the dust was terrestrial in origin and that there was little from space - hence not so much on the Moon either.
Thanks Tim. That's the first time I've heard an explanation about the ladder design which is as comprehensive as yours, in fifty years. Much appreciated.
I’ve wondered this every time I saw a video of the Apollo astronauts descending down the LEMs ladder. Whats funny is just last night watching first man it was indirectly answered, and now this video pops up and answers the question in depth.
The USA never used Imperial units. We used US Customary Units. They were developed by Thomas Jefferson in 1789 Our unit of length was actually based on what metric was supposed to be based on. But after Jefferson left the talks they changed it. Trans Atlantic communication back then was not too good either.
I had remembered the ladder didn't reach the lunar surface, never thought much about it thinking there must've been a good reason. Truly interesting finding out the real reason.
One other bit of trivia: Armstrong recommended removing the contact probe on the ladder-leg (only three of the four legs had probes) because of the worry that it might bend backwards on contact with the surface and block the ladder.
That's really fascinating! I never knew I didn't know about this - thank you for teaching me all this cool stuff! You do a great job of telling us these little stories about details I never heard of. :)
They did change the computer software after two documented system crashes on the LMs landing approach (1201 & 1202 errors). The AGC took less than a 1/4 second to reboot so this wasn't a fatal issue (Microsoft wasn't in business yet).
There weren't many changes to the Apollo 12 LM as a a result of Apollo 11, mainly because nothing much went wrong and because Apollo12 was already assembled and being checked out at the VAB: so the fewer unnecessary changes made, the better. The LM software for each mission was different in any case, but Luminary was also amended to stop the 1201 and 1202 alarms if the radar switches were mis-selected. A bacteria filter was removed as it caused problems with cabin depressurisation, there were changes to improve communications whilst on the moon and, probably the most important, some circuit breaker guards were installed to stop accidental breakage or closure of key breakers (such as the engine arm CB which was broken on A11). There were of course also a few changes to procedures, crew training and ground check-out of the LM. A few other modifications were made to Apollo13's LM which were thought sensible but we're not critical and were decided not be incorporated in Apollo 12. That's all by way of changes resulting from Apollo 11's experience I could find that they made to Apollo 12's LM.
Believe they redesigned the cabin depress valve, as Neil and Buzz had trouble opening the square egress hatch door (almost damaging it) because cabin de-press valve did not completely depressurize the inside of the LEM. Apollo 12 did a unusual procedure of opening the top hatch and this may in part to fully depressurize the LEM before opening the egress door... but may have been opened just to see how close to Surveyor 3 they were. Maybe both?
Smelly Elvis The problem with the hatch, caused by slow depressurisation, was resolved by removing a bacteriological filter which I mentioned in my reply. I don't think there was any other redesign to remove this anomaly.
So now you can explain why the astronauts never jumped 18 feet high as predicted in so many science strips and columns, all of my childhood. One sixth G should dramatically boost vertical jumping, which oddly we never saw.
@@3gunslingers All you need is to grow up in the fifties and the sixties. Similar claims about Mars were made that humans evolving there would be very tall and slender. High school physics. People like Isaac Asimov etc.
This "foil" was but one of many protective layers covering the Lunar Module. Do your research before you embarrass yourself with such ignorant questions.
@@Jan_Strzelecki I understand that you might be upset about conspiracy theorists. But the guy was just asking a simple question. Sure, he could have researched it. But asking questions is part of the research. Don't be a dick. Go in the corner, bad. Bad bad bad. Excuse yourself now.
Awesome video again Tim. Love getting all these long unanswered questions finally...erm... answered! 😀 Learning stuff you didn't know you didn't know is fun!
The "contact light" was a big green light on the LM's panel, which had the words LUNAR CONTACT on it in white. When the sensors detected equal force on each leg of the LM, the light would light up. I'm sitting here with my LUNAR CONTACT button in my hand...
Yes, but we did know quite a bit about the surface condition ! By landing probes like... (Luna 9 -1966, Surveyor 1 -66) and Luna 13 -66, Surveyor 3 -67, 5 -67, 6 -67 and Surveyor 7 -1968...!
GO NEIL ARMSTRONG!! The rungs of the ladder are not missing they were expecting a harder lading that would have compressed the shocks absorbing landing struts. NASA underestimated the EPIC flying skills of Niel Armstrong. He was so EPIC that he landed the spacecraft like feather on the surface of the Moon and the shock absorbing struts did not collapses as NASA though they would.
Wow Tim... awesome video. I hope you continue to delve into this kind of quirky info about Apollo. Fascinating stuff... and many of these stories remain untold.
Great Channel and a great day! I was alive when they landed on the moon but was too young to remember. But, I do remember I think the Apollo 14 mission. Mom took me outside while it was on TV and said, 'those men are up there' and pointed at the moon. That's when I got it
@MichaelKingsfordGray Ok Michael. No. He can do what he wants. For all you know, he could be like 14 (IDK so please dont @ me Rex) so just chill out and take your insecurities elsewhere
The oldest member of my local amateur astronomy club was an engineer at an Alcoa plant in Lafayette IN that specializes in extruded aluminum parts. He claimed they made the ladder.
Easy, Neil Armstrong's landing was so good the legs never compressed like they were supposed to so the ladder didn't move closer to the ground! Saved my self 15 minutes.
@@leenux1707 the entire construction of the rocket and the mission were done in imperial, so it would be fitting to recite the measurements in the same system.
Interesting question. I never thought of that. My first hypotheses is that they just packed the available containers full of moon rock and started the calculation with the average density of moon rock. Once the ascent vehicle launched the internal acceleration sensors provided the necessary exact numbers to calculate the real mass.
My cousin helped build the lunar module for Grumman. He is still alive at 93 years old. He used to send me as a kid astronaut signed photos,official patches and private photos of the module. Eventually he worked on the shuttle wings.
"Woopie! That may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me"- Pete Conrad's first words walking on the Moon, Apollo 12.
Not as epic as Neil Armstrong, but still made me laugh ^^
@@thulyblu5486 There are a lot of good ones. I did a video recently that shows all 12 astronaut's first words when stepping on the Moon. Many remarked on the beauty, including Buzz Aldrin. Some tried to do memorable words. But only Pete Conrad was cracking a joke, trying to win a bet.
It's interesting to note that he was still on the pad when he delivered that line, while Armstrong's were actually delivered on the moon regolith. I suspect a few other "first words" were not actually delivered from the surface either.
@@philipcorner574 Yeah, that is true. The ones who cared it is pretty obvious they were on the regolith, while many of the more spontaneous ones were probably from the foot of the LM. See the video I published which shows all of them.
Pete was always one of my favorite astronauts. Great sense of humor, great test pilot and great American.
They didn’t want moon raccoons climbing up the ladder.
Yes, rodents are problematic when faking moon landings.
As believable as the rest of it
They would have been SCREWED if there had been lunar squirrels. Those buggers can get into anything.
@@Tubetopfan1, luckily the lunar squirrels stick to woodlands. As they landed in the sea of tranquility, a much more pressing threat was the lunar crabs.
@@JNCressey Getting crabs while on the moon. Try to explain THAT to the mrs. when you get home. : )
Ah yes those famous first words spoken from the surface of the Moon . . . " Okay. Engine stop. ACA - Out of detent."
Surely it should be _"Contact Light..."_ ?
@@SIXITHS Well, they weren't actually on the surface when the contact light went on, that turned on when one of the contact probes extending some 1.71m below the landing pads touched the surface.
@@drtidrow The craft was touching the surface...
As I recall watching it live and paying close attention to hear those first words. They were: "It's soft and dusty." I beleave everyone rearranged history.
@Larry Carmody CMD About five and a half feet.
They should have brought one small step ladder for a man
Boom boom!
I know, or just have the bottom portion fold out as needed. Maybe saving weight, but they could bring back 1 or 2 less rocks to make that happen. How funny would it be if they had to step off one of their backs to get the first person back up.
I love my Stepladder . . . I never knew my REAL Ladder. . . \‹·¿_·›/
@@TONE11111 Ha ha ha....
Ed Komasara. Or one small HINGED ladder, instead!
Given the detail in this video I'm a bit surprised the maker is not mentioned. Héroux Machine Parts (in Quebec) won the contract to make the landing gear in 1965 (beating out 15 other companies). In total Héroux delivered 17 sets of 4 legs used for the Apollo program, including those used on the Eagle.
probably because no one cares.
I tought all the equipment suppliers of technology are lost, thats why nasa cant land back as easy as next week as it was in 1970 's ;)
@@ahmetmutlu348 Can't tell if this is a weird joke or a weird and stupid moon landing denier joke.
@@meesalikeu That's a truly bold assumption to say no one would care the manufacturers of them, when there are people who wonders why the ladder lacks few rungs
Only you can make a 15min discussion about ladders so interesting. ..
Anything aerospace grade+humans= making the most simple thing super complex
Agreed!
Idk man the little giant is pretty versatile somebody could prob do a decent discussion on it especially if they talk about they home shopping network dude who climbed on it and it folded up on him
Amazingly compelling evidence that man on moon landings were faked; amazing that the 3 astronauts that walked on the moon resigned a few days later.. all 3.. and then Neil Armstrong never spoke about it again, only giving a very cryptic interview about "uncovering truth" many years later.
And the moon landing director resigned 3 days before they supposedly landed on the moon!
Take a look if you get a chance:
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon
ua-cam.com/video/xciCJfbTvE4/v-deo.html
and NASA admits we never went to the moon:
facebook.com/exposetheilluminati/videos/2014276232178920/UzpfSTEwMDAwMDczOTg3NTI3NjoxOTY0NTkxNTQzNTc1NDg5/
@@Turbo_Tastic Yeah, you're an idiot. WHY, please tell us, did the USSR try so hard to also land on the Moon? They tried (there is a photo in this video of their LK-1 lander design), they tried, and MANY people died. Do some frigging RESEARCH!! The Soviets never had a launch vehicle that worked...they kept blowing up. THAT'S the cause of the greatest death toll. Really, that stupid "movie" you referenced? Its a load of crap. Bart Sibrel is a load of crap.
I guess that makes YOU full of crap.
Helps to keep moon rats from climbing up into the cabin of the lunar module. 😊
Lol the moon doesn't have rats, there is no life therw
@@thiruvalluvar3880 sorry, moonsnakes kept from slithering up the ladder.
@@thiruvalluvar3880 get a life and a sense of humour
@@thiruvalluvar3880 You sure?
He's forgotten about Clangers obviously.
I remember laughing hysterically at the time when Pete Conrad said "that may have been a small step for Neil but it was a large one for me". Thanks for looking up that footage and include get in this video. It clearly qualifies as the greatest joke ever made on the surface of the moon. In some ways for me that line was more memorable than Armstrong's original.
Apparently he did it as a bet with a journalist, but she never paid him!
Never heard that one lol
Peter Conrad was referring to the studio in 1g, if they were really on the moon that's nothing in 1/6g.
There is no indication of them being in 1/6g in any video, it's just slow motion video with the odd visible wire. There's just no height and all the movements are sluggish - it all just looks like a half speed video on earth.
@@G-ra-ha-m Go back to school.
@@G-ra-ha-m ....SMH. WRONG!!! Right here on UA-cam are plenty of videos that prove your comment WRONG!
The "odd visible wire" was sunlight reflecting off of the antenna on top of the PLSS backpack.
Because "words" are difficult, video:
ua-cam.com/video/NxZMjpMhwNE/v-deo.html
AND: ua-cam.com/video/NpR1CjvCuIk/v-deo.html
12:30 is now my favourite moment in space history "whoopie! that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a big one for me"
My favorite - at least from the Apollo missions, was Harrison Schmitt with Apollo 17. He was the first guy to land on the moon who was an actual professional geologist, not just a pilot trained to take geologic samples. Dude was like a kid on Christmas on the lunar surface. Apollo 17's time on the Moon also featured some singing & physical comedy, and it ended with a lovely speech and Mission Control nailing the shot of the lunar ascent from the rover camera. Good mission.
whoopie C u s h i o n
bogen broom nobody from russia correct
My favorite is recently when nasa announced their return to VENUS
You: "Let me know if i answered all the questions you had about the lander ladder."
Me: "I did not even knew there where so many questions to be asked/explained about a ladder."
and even if i did have questions, why the hell would i ask that idiot...?
A co-worker met one of the landing leg engineers at a party in the 80s. He was really, really freaked out when Armstrong had to jump so far to the pad.
Yep Armstrong did not shut off engine when instructed he clearly wanted a smother landing, seams like all of them left the engine on a big longer than requested. Expert pilots reaction I think minds going I got a better feal of when to shut off.
@@RedRocket4000 how can you be an expert at something your doing for the first time?
@@noidontthinksolol Armstrong was a beast of a pilot. That's why they chose him to go.
@@badmanarnie2456 you can practice in simulation.
@@noidontthinksolol all NASA spacecraft are considered flying vehicles. No one flying any of them is not a pilot themselves either.
So, one flies most of the way to the moon, but still has to jump the last bit.
Mind the gap?
"...between the LEM and the platform."
Don't forget that the engineers forgot to put a door handle on the outside of the LEM. If Buzz had closed the door they would have had no way to get back into it.
@@billrichards1965 So that funny video about the astronaut accidentally locking himself out of his lunar lander was very much based on reality then ? :D
@@billrichards1965 hey if that LEM was parked in NYC it would be jacked into in 15 secs
@@Spacekriek Not exactly. There was no lock and it could only be closed and sealed from the inside. However, if it had been pushed shut, they would have had to slip something into the seam to open it. There would have been a very great incentive to do so! Seriously, it made for a great bit of humor but would not have been a real issue.
4:08 Tim.exe stopped working
I was hoping someone else noticed
also it happens again at 9:06
@@somename842 Huh, didn't notice that second one. n i c e
simulations code went corrupt
Tim is an AI algorithm confirmed. No wonder Elon likes talking to him.
When I was a small child in the 70s after seeing the video of the first step my first question was over this subject. Finally someone answered my first question asked about space travel. Thanks
Haha! I'm 28, but I remember when I first saw the Apollo missions footage my first question was 'why is everything covered in gold tin foil?'
Not only did you answer the question, but provided excellent context as to the decision making and concerns of the time. This is a great video.
"crushcore" sounds like some obscure metal genre lmao
🤣🤣
Nightcores big brother
Michael Collins did it. He took those rungs off. "Yeah-make me stay up here while you two have all the fun? Well enjoy this suckers!"
A CUNNING PLAN!
collins never touched the moon lander. He was in the command module the whole time.
@Mark S
relax, its was just a joke
but Collins could rasp that ladder before launch, on Earth ;)
@@marks6663 hahhaah R/whoooosshhh
After the mission, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were invited to the Whitehouse to receive some medals from the president. Collins drove them to the WhiteHouse. While Armstrong and Aldrin went into the WhiteHouse, Collins drove around the block a few times waiting...
This mention of Russia solution, make my day.
There’s probably a reason why they didn’t hinge the ladder.
NO DRUGS hope you know that is false
@@yoyonis6840 Then they found out the lead from pencils can float in the air and get stuck in stuff
@@yoyonis6840 Ah, the myth that refuses to die.
@@OCinneide Yeah, like electrical circuitry. very bad
4:08 glitch in the matrix!
I thought he was possessed by a demon XD
I came to the comments to see if anyone mentioned kt
@@fakerussian2036 same
Same
4:08 typical neanderthal footage. E.A is good though demons really think he's fine
Ok, I thought they removed two rungs to compensate for the weight of the flag and flagpole. Glad there was a better explanation :-)
Shame on the US authorities for not making 2019 a huge 50th anniversary celebration of this singular turning point in human history.
Embarrassment ??
That’s up to the press. Though a presidential speech would be in order.
@@gammondog Trump did speak about it. You are right, the press treated it with relative indifference.
probably just to get through the whole thing with as little fuss as possible considering it wasn't real
@@princefarni8173 No. There was a huge celebration Friday night, 19 July, on the Mall in Washington, DC. Jeeze, don't you people watch the news?????
I'm surprised I guessed exactly right for why they left such a gap between ladder and surface.
Given how hectic of a time it was, I figured they didn't have much info on how the surface would react upon landing.
I didn't know the surface was able to absorb so much of the impact, but given what we know about the surface composition, it makes sense.
Thabks, Tim! Interesting and educational video :)
Grumman Engineers: "When we say jump, you should ask how high".
Though any discussion of ladders is bound to have its... ups and downs, you wrung out all relevant info... Great explanation, I've been wondering since '69!
420
I’m just a layman and I find this stuff is so fascinating. I don’t understand how more people don’t think so. Don’t get me started with the people that deny that we did it. Great vid!! 👍🏻
They werent very gleeful in their press conference afterwards I wonder why
Fascinating video. The check by the first astronaut out of the LM to see if they could climb back up. Just shows the level of detail that the engineers a looked into regarding every bit of the landing. I"m sure the folding vs straight ladder came up around for many debates (weight, reliability, etc.)
My guess : reliability.
Sure down on cow's floor we scoff at such worry, but can you imagine the mission aborting so close because "our stepladder got stuck" ?
Not to mention it could shake loose and wreak havoc at launch.
Hi Tim, me again, can you do a video on the Dragon Capsule's parachutes? How do they work? Why are they attached on one side of the capsule and not on both sides? How do they open slowly? And the history behind of capsule parachutes...And so on...
i second this - parachutes for returning space vehicles are a lot more complex than a skydiver's chutes. i remember seeing a documentary on Curiosity and how their chute testing was difficult and had lots of failed tests because it had to open at such high speeds though with a thinner atmosphere.
We need this video! I third this!
Apparently SpaceX published a video of a Crew Dragon parachute test last night! ua-cam.com/video/B9eYCGOlr5Y/v-deo.html
In the SpaceX Dragon video. If anyone is curious what the big black round things are on the "lines" near the Dragon capsule that the chutes are attached to. Those lines are called the risers and the "things" are called "riser guillotines" and they cut the risers in the event a main failure is sensed or they only have a partial deployment. They fire the riser guillotines to cut that chute assembly away and then fire the backup.
@@StreuB1 Thanks for the explanation, I develop experimental model rockets and one of the most crucial and difficult part is the recovery system, hence my respect and admiration for the science behind it.
"that may have been a small one for neil but thats a long one for me" 😂😂
Great video, as always.
5:16 A lunar lander (one of the ones built to land on the Moon on Apollo 18, 19, or 20) has been standing on its own--unmodified--legs since *1976* at The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC!
It's unfueled, un-crewed and likely missing other non-visible items so it's a lot lighter.
To save you 14 minutes, It was because the guy who drew the blueprints for the lunar lander ordered a pizza and it arrived while he was in the middle of drawing the rungs on the ladder and he fell asleep after he finished the pizza and forgot to draw the last few rungs.
That's quite a tongue twister: Lunar Lander's Ladder. Try and say that one fast a couple of times in a row xD
Loony Ann Landers' Lunar Lander's ladder. Lordy.
Tim - a video on how the lunar rover was stowed and activated would be appreciated. Thanks.
PageMonster and how did they compensate for the weight? Was something removed that was used on earlier missions?
This little animation shows it pretty well: ua-cam.com/video/NBNhUNROV5U/v-deo.html
@@tomb504dog The quadrant that carried the rover was empty on earlier missions as was the opposite quadrant. When the rover was added for the last three missions additional equipment was carried and it was placed inside the opposite quadrant to keep the LM balanced. The last three missions also had a more powerful engine, which allowed it to carry the additional weight.
I’m sure u know by now it’s all fake
@@shanecodman1842 I'm sure you know by now that there is no real evidence that it was faked and mountains of hard, verifiable evidence that it was real.
What I learned from this is that to NASA, there is no such thing as a trivial detail.
They used 1 or 2 less rungs on the ladder to save weight but, had plenty of extra weight capacity to spare, for bringing the lunar rover. That makes sense.
No they didn't. The Lunar Modules equipped with the Lunar Roving Vehicle were upgraded specifically to land larger payloads and stay longer on the lunar surface.
Advantage to being older. I watched it live. As an astronomy student. No words!
Apollo 11 was fake. Here's leaked video proof from NASA of the Apollo 11 crew faking the shot of Earth from low orbit when they were supposed to be entering lunar orbit. It has time and date on everything, sorry to ruin your memory boomer. ua-cam.com/video/5xJyhkScXbQ/v-deo.html
@@JustChrisss somehow I believe you are both a flat earther and an anti vaxxer
@@nishant5290 time to wake up
@@Rickswars Well I believe in God but that doesn't mean I don't have brain cells. I can process information and think it logically go watch captain disillusion's video. Don't tell me to seek knowledge when a 5th grader is smarter than you
@MichaelKingsfordGray well It's my opinion and my choice but aren't you even a little triggered about what this other guy said
Tim, I think I speak for all your watchers: Thank you sooo much for all your videos/streams/tweets/posts! You inspired us, motivated us and just entertained us. You way more attention! Thanks, thanks thanks!
I have nothing to say except that it is a great video. As always.
Thanks for all the work you do for us.
Neil followed Skipper's advice from Madagascar 2; ""Gently now, you just want to kiss the ground. Just a little peck. A smooch; like you're kissing your sister."
This is a great video, and very well done. One tidbit to point out is that it's only been within about the last 10 years that it's been clearly understood what Armstrong's first step really was. Because of Pete Conrad's quip many people thought the first step onto the surface was the jump down from the ladder, which of course was actually only on to the foot bed of the Lander, from which the astronaut would then step off of and on to the surface. But as I was growing up so many news programs, when commemorating the anniversary, would pair up audio of Armstrong saying he was going to step off the LEM with the part of the video of him jumping down the ladder. Thankfully the correct procession of steps it's now commonly known.
Had doubts about watching this, due to all the junk out there, but this was very informative, thanks...
No doubt now. I am sure.
Great video, Tim, very informative and entertaining. Have you considered making one to explain how the latter Apollo mission astronauts removed and assembled the rover? It looks really big raising questions of where it was stowed, how they got it out and unfolded or assembled it. I’m really curious! Thanks!
Search bar above... put in "deploy rover".
Thanks!
Obscure and fascinating. Thank you for not doing a 50th commemoration, but rather something off-beat.
I never thought about the ladder being short but was intrigued to find out why. And not only was your explanation fascinating, I also found out about the rods sticking down from the feet. I thought they sank into the moon's surface to hold the module steady, yeah silly I know. So, they were probes...... that makes sense. Thank you EA, another great video.
Not probes put rods to make contact with the soil so the crew got '"Contact Light'" ! These usually just folded over !
Shut up Oliver! USA never landed on moon
I love you man! I love your videos! Using metric for us all around the world. And how you relate science and stories together. From a Syrian UA-cam Science Educator, all respect! You are great!
Ladders have been held short to make sure that even when tilting or eventual sinking into the moon will not affect the stability of the platform. And: saving weight everywhere is a factor as well. So, a bigger step down from the ladder could be afforded.
6:50 my brother works at the company that makes the crush cores for the falcon 9! They're really cool!
What company?
@@natedole8276 Plascore
maybe he could give some public okayed info
Shhh! Keep it down! You don't want the flat earthers to find out he's on the pay roll!
@@dimwitsixtytwelve theres one in the comments named sindraug25.
Me before watching:
I'm willing to bet it has something to do with concern about the landing legs sinking into the lunar surface.
After:
Partially correct!
Gold star for you, so cool
And yet the engine thrust manage to no move a bit of dust, truelly amazing
@@slckb0y65 And, you are well and truly wrong about that.
@@odysseusrex5908 rofl, yeah go ahead and show me the crater left by the thrust of the engine decelerating on landing.
there's not even a spec of dust on the "moon lander" (gimme a break) 's feet
At the time, prospective micrometeor & dust accumulation calculations suggested that the moon could be covered in an average of several meters of fluffy, almost liquid-like powder. I think it was Robert Heinlein who even wrote a story based on it, describing dust-pits and avalanches that could pour across the surface to bury or otherwise cripple vehicles, or lure a driver into a deep fall into a crater.
When the moon turned out to be much more bare, scientists had to go back to the drawing board on the matter, and a different theory/mechanism of surface dynamics emerged as the best. Of course, for years, the Young Earth Creationists were touting the lesser amount of dust as proof that the moon was only 6000 years old...
Guess Neil didn't have a to think to hard to come up with a quote. He just explained what he was doing as he stepped on to the Moon.
"...one giant leap..."
The phrase was pre planned...and was suppose to be a small step for *A* man, a giant step for MANkind...
@@1panamabob, nah, it was obviously 'one small step for man' meaning the moon is a small step for us, we need to go further, and 'one giant leap for mankind' meaning the entrance and exit of the lander involves a big leap for any being as small as humans (since they know the slenderman aliens at area 51 are much taller than us, and would have no problem with the ladder).🙃
How did they get from the moon back to earth exactly, could you please make a video about this? I can't find any information on this. Mostly it is, earth to moon, no one talks about the physics etc for the trip back. Love your channel btw!
The fired the ascent engine, got up to the orbit where they met and dockad to the CSM. Then they fired the CSM engine to get away from Moon and fell back to
Earth.
They didn't have to. They never went.
@@jamesbonde4470 And I bet you think the world is flat too...
There are huge amounts of information about this. I've read several books which cover this in detail. Just search it ffs...
@@sheldonholy5047 I've read several books about orcs, dragons, wizards, vampires and so on which covers them in detail.
There is a quite famous book explaining how the world was created in 6 days.
There are books telling you that eating only fruits is good for your health, or that you can cure cancer with baking soda and vitamins.
HUGE amounts of information, just search it ;)
I had always heard it was just about weight, Thank you for teaching us about the compression technology used in the legs.
Fascinating, I was wondering about hinged ladder - maybe NASA thought that might be something to go wrong (and maybe too heavy)
Perhaps a worry that it wouldn't deploy or that the hinge would fail and the lower half of the ladder would break off? There were so many unknowns that the simplest and least problematic solution would be the one to go with.
@@samsignorelli I'm sure it was debated many times during development
@@PhilipChou Likely....given the complexity of every aspect of the mission, it's really amazing they landed in JFK's time frame.
@@samsignorelli... by the way, even if the landing had been pushed to 1970, that would have been OK as '70 is the final year of the '60s decade. (Just like the 21st century didn't begin until 1/1/2001 (not 2000)).
Good narrator, well spoken! Uses normal language to explain things. School teacher?
Paid shill.
Uhhh wat
I used to think the moon landing was fake but after watching all the footage and tests they did along with all the engineering put into it you can tell they spent a lot of time, money and brainpower on actually getting to the moon
vermili0n The first rocket into space was in 1944-45. Once ICBMs were needed progress was fast. At the height of the space race the USA spent 4% of their budget on the Apollo program.
My favorite part of their activities was when they had the EVA suits on and looked out from the docking hatch on top of LM.
I watched it happen live as a kid. I remember NASA stating they weren't positive the first landing wouldn't be a suicide mission, they were not positively sure how deep the dust was on the moon everywhere. That was mentioned in papers or daily scuttlebutt.
David Forbes In 1961 Arthur C. Clarke wrote a SF Story "A Fall of Moondust" where it was postulated there were patches of VERY deep dust, based on the studies of dust descending from space. YECs said it proved the Universe was young! However, careful examination of the experiments carried out shewed that much of the dust was terrestrial in origin and that there was little from space - hence not so much on the Moon either.
Such a simple yet fun video. Thanks Tim for all the research and hard work that you do.
Grumman was "deep" (bug) in development 4:08
I thought the room was real and he wasn't in front of a green screen...
M A T R I X
Bug in the simulation cought on camera!
I saw that. Not sure what happened there. It's proof that the moon landing was faked! XD
Thanks for the mixed units, greatly appreciated by us metric users.
Jeff Vader ie the vast majority of the world
Thanks Tim. That's the first time I've heard an explanation about the ladder design which is as comprehensive as yours, in fifty years. Much appreciated.
best informative space channel out there, great stuff, always enjoyable
Cracking punchline on Armstrong's quote Mr. Conrad!
Thanks for the great videos, you’ve turned this slight skeptic into a space junkie.
Man keep up the great content. I seriously watch full length on any space videos. So much in depth detail it's candy for not only my eyes but brain!
I’ve wondered this every time I saw a video of the Apollo astronauts descending down the LEMs ladder. Whats funny is just last night watching first man it was indirectly answered, and now this video pops up and answers the question in depth.
You just answered a question I didn’t even know I had
You did a good job with it too
These videos are always so informative and interesting. Great job.
Slavish dedication to metric units when Apollo used imperial units for everything 😏 its actually kind of jarring after listening to the flight loops
The USA never used Imperial units. We used US Customary Units. They were developed by Thomas Jefferson in 1789 Our unit of length was actually based on what metric was supposed to be based on. But after Jefferson left the talks they changed it. Trans Atlantic communication back then was not too good either.
The flight computer ran off metric but converted to imperial for the Astronauts.
I had remembered the ladder didn't reach the lunar surface, never thought much about it thinking there must've been a good reason. Truly interesting finding out the real reason.
One other bit of trivia: Armstrong recommended removing the contact probe on the ladder-leg (only three of the four legs had probes) because of the worry that it might bend backwards on contact with the surface and block the ladder.
That's really fascinating! I never knew I didn't know about this - thank you for teaching me all this cool stuff! You do a great job of telling us these little stories about details I never heard of. :)
Sheep 🐑 All of you!
So if they didn't change the ladder based on their experience with Apollo 11, is there anything else they changed for the later missions?
They did change the computer software after two documented system crashes on the LMs landing approach (1201 & 1202 errors). The AGC took less than a 1/4 second to reboot so this wasn't a fatal issue (Microsoft wasn't in business yet).
There weren't many changes to the Apollo 12 LM as a a result of Apollo 11, mainly because nothing much went wrong and because Apollo12 was already assembled and being checked out at the VAB: so the fewer unnecessary changes made, the better. The LM software for each mission was different in any case, but Luminary was also amended to stop the 1201 and 1202 alarms if the radar switches were mis-selected. A bacteria filter was removed as it caused problems with cabin depressurisation, there were changes to improve communications whilst on the moon and, probably the most important, some circuit breaker guards were installed to stop accidental breakage or closure of key breakers (such as the engine arm CB which was broken on A11). There were of course also a few changes to procedures, crew training and ground check-out of the LM. A few other modifications were made to Apollo13's LM which were thought sensible but we're not critical and were decided not be incorporated in Apollo 12. That's all by way of changes resulting from Apollo 11's experience I could find that they made to Apollo 12's LM.
Tang
Believe they redesigned the cabin depress valve, as Neil and Buzz had trouble opening the square egress hatch door (almost damaging it) because cabin de-press valve did not completely depressurize the inside of the LEM. Apollo 12 did a unusual procedure of opening the top hatch and this may in part to fully depressurize the LEM before opening the egress door... but may have been opened just to see how close to Surveyor 3 they were. Maybe both?
Smelly Elvis The problem with the hatch, caused by slow depressurisation, was resolved by removing a bacteriological filter which I mentioned in my reply. I don't think there was any other redesign to remove this anomaly.
Everyday Astronaut: Covering things that don't happen everyday.
Wonderful channel. Since 1969 I've always wondered why the ladder stopped so short. Thank you!
So now you can explain why the astronauts never jumped 18 feet high as predicted in so many science strips and columns, all of my childhood. One sixth G should dramatically boost vertical jumping, which oddly we never saw.
Who has ever predicted a 18 feet high jump on the moon? Never heard of such a weird idea.
@@3gunslingers All you need is to grow up in the fifties and the sixties. Similar claims about Mars were made that humans evolving there would be very tall and slender. High school physics. People like Isaac Asimov etc.
@@kimbo99
Again _Who has ever predicted a 18 feet high jump on the moon?!_ And why would you expect something this stupid from astronauts on the moon?
So the foil that was used to wrap the entire module and the ones we buy from the grocery are are just about the same thickness?
This "foil" was but one of many protective layers covering the Lunar Module. Do your research before you embarrass yourself with such ignorant questions.
@@Jan_Strzelecki You are so far ahead in this department and have already embarrassed yourself by putting a label on my comment.
@@Jan_Strzelecki I understand that you might be upset about conspiracy theorists. But the guy was just asking a simple question.
Sure, he could have researched it. But asking questions is part of the research. Don't be a dick. Go in the corner, bad. Bad bad bad. Excuse yourself now.
I believe the technical term for those kind of landings is "Butter"
Awesome video again Tim. Love getting all these long unanswered questions finally...erm... answered! 😀 Learning stuff you didn't know you didn't know is fun!
The "contact light" was a big green light on the LM's panel, which had the words LUNAR CONTACT on it in white. When the sensors detected equal force on each leg of the LM, the light would light up. I'm sitting here with my LUNAR CONTACT button in my hand...
Yes, but we did know quite a bit about the surface condition ! By landing probes like... (Luna 9 -1966, Surveyor 1 -66) and Luna 13 -66, Surveyor 3 -67, 5 -67, 6 -67 and Surveyor 7 -1968...!
The ladder conspiracy, why has nasa covered the rest of the ladder from us?
I've always wanted to hear the Pete Conrad "small step" quote!
Something any ksp player has learned the hard way, getting back into the lander after getting out.
Especially if you forgot the ladder... Or Mobility Enhancers.
RCS Jetpack though
@@yert5679 What if you used all your RCS fuel jetting over to the nearest big crater?
@@richardmillhousenixon i guess you get stuck there, or if the module can be controlled remotely, just lower the landing gear
@@yert5679 Or you can, y'know, jump
Yeah, a Tim Dodd video. They cold have had a colapsable couple of rungs.
Very well explained
GO NEIL ARMSTRONG!! The rungs of the ladder are not missing they were expecting a harder lading that would have compressed the shocks absorbing landing struts. NASA underestimated the EPIC flying skills of Niel Armstrong. He was so EPIC that he landed the spacecraft like feather on the surface of the Moon and the shock absorbing struts did not collapses as NASA though they would.
Ayyy right in time for the 50th anniversary.
Question: how was the LM secured and shock absorbed in Stage 3, and how was it detached from the S4B when the CSM pulled it out?
Packing Peanuts.
@Crosshair84 too funny.
Good question!
Maybe they put the legs on upside down, easy mistake to make.
Martin Warne sounds like a Kerbal Moment to me
Wow Tim... awesome video. I hope you continue to delve into this kind of quirky info about Apollo. Fascinating stuff... and many of these stories remain untold.
Great Channel and a great day! I was alive when they landed on the moon but was too young to remember. But, I do remember I think the Apollo 14 mission. Mom took me outside while it was on TV and said, 'those men are up there' and pointed at the moon. That's when I got it
John G I was a kid when Sputnik flew overhead.
For Tim: Are you going to do a "today-ish in spaceflight history" episode tomorrow?
4:08 his face flew away lmao what
9:06 too. Anybody else see that?
yes
@MichaelKingsfordGray Ok Michael. No. He can do what he wants. For all you know, he could be like 14 (IDK so please dont @ me Rex) so just chill out and take your insecurities elsewhere
4:03 love how the researcher on the right has a cigarette in his mouth 😂
It's a small waddle for a Kerbal, but it's a big stumble for Kerbalkind.
The oldest member of my local amateur astronomy club was an engineer at an Alcoa plant in Lafayette IN that specializes in extruded aluminum parts. He claimed they made the ladder.
Easy, Neil Armstrong's landing was so good the legs never compressed like they were supposed to so the ladder didn't move closer to the ground! Saved my self 15 minutes.
thank you for the metric from the rest of the world !
I'm 41, was born and raised in the US, and I prefer metric. Imperial units need to die already.
@@Gibson99 Congrats, you are a civilized being.
I was just about to say the opposite
metric is the simplest .... that's why it's use by almost everybody in the world and most important the scientist (SI) ...
@@leenux1707 the entire construction of the rocket and the mission were done in imperial, so it would be fitting to recite the measurements in the same system.
How did they calculate weight of the LM (with all the rock samples collected) before launching from the Moon?
Interesting question. I never thought of that.
My first hypotheses is that they just packed the available containers full of moon rock and started the calculation with the average density of moon rock. Once the ascent vehicle launched the internal acceleration sensors provided the necessary exact numbers to calculate the real mass.
@@3gunslingers You might be right! They also unloaded/left equipment on the Moon. They knew the rough numbers, I guess.
My cousin helped build the lunar module for Grumman. He is still alive at 93 years old. He used to send me as a kid astronaut signed photos,official patches and private photos of the module. Eventually he worked on the shuttle wings.
@MrGlenspace. Cool! I'll bet you treasure them.👍😊
Not sure how I missed this one, thanks for linking to it on twitter today, I learned a ton