Apollo Lunar Module Fuel Tank

17 responses to “Apollo Lunar Module Fuel Tank”

1. 

   jurvetson

   Dec 1, 2010 at 4:59 am

   A picture I took, not realizing that it was the design goal for my space collection at work… =)
   
   with the tanks clearly visible.

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2. 

   BWJones

   Dec 1, 2010 at 5:23 am

   I must admit to a certain fascination with everything about the Eagle. Nice find, eh? I’d love to see the collection one of these days.

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3. 

   jurvetson

   Dec 1, 2010 at 5:27 am

   Drop on by. The big iron is in the lobby.

   Here’s the tank badge detail:
   

   Which we can cross-reference with NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission Report Supplement 5: Performance of Lunar Module Reaction Control System, December 1971, p.13.

   

   Internal tank diagram:

   

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4. 

   Pieces of Eye

   Dec 1, 2010 at 5:53 am

   Cool.

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5. 

   BWJones

   Dec 1, 2010 at 6:10 am

   Next time I am in the neighborhood for sure.

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6. 

   ideastoday

   Dec 1, 2010 at 7:22 am

   Another nice find!

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7. 

   In Memoriam: jerryfi_99

   Dec 1, 2010 at 7:58 am

   Oh neat! A ready supply of Aerozine 50 and you’ll be half way to the Lunar X-Prize! I was just thinking of your progress in assembling all of this and Johnny Cash came to mind:
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4pAwosnIQE

   Thanks for preserving this history.

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8. 

   Dr DAD (Daniel A D’Auria MD)

   Dec 1, 2010 at 11:19 am

   Steve, I still think you’re holding out on us. Must be building an escape module for armageddon?

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9. 

   solerena

   Dec 1, 2010 at 5:54 pm

   cool:) so there are some rules on how and where to keep it… hm, how do you scratch it exactly… dent it?… with what… alien spaceship or superpowers…looks pretty mighty to me:) and what is "clean area"…

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10. 

    sprklg

    Dec 2, 2010 at 2:15 am

    eBay?

    Reply
11. 

    cj.sveningsson

    Dec 2, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    Lunar module is cool, but I’ve held the secondary shipboard computer which caused the Ariane crash. Lecturer brought it to class in a Swedish Radio Shack (sort of) plastic bag

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12. 

    jurvetson

    Dec 2, 2010 at 10:18 pm

    What was left of it?

    spkig: not ebay, but Heritage

    sol – at this point, I think my main concern is that no residual fuel leak out… I always keep it clean. =)

    jerryfi: great tune!

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13. 

    In Memoriam: jerryfi_99

    Dec 4, 2010 at 9:33 am

    Yep, just "one piece at a time"! Good for a Cadillac, good for a LEM 😉

    Cash had some great, fun, songs. I still have some of his LPs somewhere. Can’t play them now, but one day I’ll convert them… 😉

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14. 

    cj.sveningsson

    Feb 2, 2011 at 2:11 pm

    jurvetson, well, it was pretty robust, big as a large shoebox and only scratched and dented on the larger sides. Amazing to think that hunk of metal has flown on a rocket (not even sure about the height, maybe it wasn’t above jet plane altitude)

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15. 

    Light-n-Simple

    Mar 23, 2011 at 6:20 am

    Titanium.. do not scratch?? 🙁

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16. 

    jurvetson

    Sep 21, 2011 at 9:09 pm

    Spaceaholic found this table (from Bell Aerosystems, Report no. 8514-927002, Table II-1) with this tank’s specs highlighted in Green:

    More from before:
    Here’s the tank badge detail:
    

    Which we can cross-reference with NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission Report Supplement 5: Performance of Lunar Module Reaction Control System, December 1971, p.13.

    

    Internal tank diagram:

    

    Reply
17. 

    jurvetson

    Mar 13, 2012 at 7:18 pm

    And this just came out in EDN: Chronicles of Grumman’s 1960s Lunar Excursion Module development

    "The RCS (reaction control subsystem) serves to stabilize the LEM vehicle during descent and ascent and to control the vehicle attitude about, and translation along, all axes during landing, rendezvous, and docking maneuvers. The RCS consists basically of 16 thrust chambers supplied by two separate helium-pressurized propellant-supply sections. The 100-pound thrusters can be fired in a pulsed or continuous mode and are radiation-cooled. The thrusters and the dual propellant-supply sections make up two parallel, independent systems. The propellants are identical to those used in the descent and ascent engines. The ascent-system propellants can be used to supply the RCS thrusters in certain operational modes."

    Reply