Apollo Block I Propellant Utilization MDC-20 Subpanel

7 responses to “Apollo Block I Propellant Utilization MDC-20 Subpanel”

1. 

   jurvetson

   Jul 15, 2011 at 12:10 am

   Back connectors – a work of art all their own
   Location of this subpanel in the overall Block I instrument panel, with the MDC-18 panel marked above:
   And from a NASA document:

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2. 

   Black&Color

   Jul 15, 2011 at 3:18 am

   It is so strange that people would fly into space with this technology. Or at least with something that looked like that, just, well, antique. On the other hand, I would love to get a glimpse at what we will be able to achieve. I dream of clean and efficient looking spacecraft, I guess from watching too many shows.

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3. 

   solerena

   Jul 15, 2011 at 4:01 am

   nice back connectors:)

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4. 

   jurvetson

   Jul 15, 2011 at 4:06 pm

   chortle….. good to see a fellow connoisseur

   [http://www.flickr.com/photos/31169722@N08] – and in pretty crowded conditions… Here’s Gemini
   

   and Apollo… And then there’s Russia… =)

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5. 

   Black&Color

   Jul 16, 2011 at 6:42 am

   I just learned a new word "chortle."
   Well, you know, sometimes I am just speechless. Very crowded.
   I have so many questions about flying in space. You experienced weightlessness in that one trip you posted. My instinct tells me it is not like being in water but more like being dropped really fast, the "insides" feel different and you loose your footing which does not happen in water. And then come the concerns, like bone density, and how such travel can harm humans.
   With all that said, in the end, I cannot but dream that one day this will be, I was going to say conquered, but really prefer the word mastered. I would not want to conquer space any more than I would want to conquer the ocean. So vast, unknown, maybe you need to be in it to understand it, even if vaguely.

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6. 

   jurvetson

   Jul 16, 2011 at 2:42 pm

   oh it’s a grand adventure…. Right on bone density and gene expression changes over time. But not on the feeling – there is no feeling of falling or movement. You are floating weightless, like a weight-balanced balloon. Not that you are attached to a balloon, but that you are made of one. I found it quite natural and liberating.

   The one ISS astronaut that can sleep untethered, Story Musgrave describes that in Time:
   "It’s delicious. You don’t know where you are, and after a while, because your limbs aren’t touching anything, you lose sense that you even have them."

   And in a Bigelow space hotel, imagine the views! Better than a mountain top when looking down, and when looking out, imagine the star gazing. Actually, that’s pretty tricky up there but I figure they will design a viewing area that shield the brightness of the sun and the Earthshine. Many first time astronauts are surprised that they don’t see stars.

   Musgrave has flown the shuttle six times. When asked what he’ll miss most, he says he won’t. He is determined to fly to space again as a tourist.

   Oh, and Tom Hanks had a good analogy…. opening quote from my flight video =)

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7. 

   jurvetson

   Jan 25, 2022 at 12:52 am

   I just saw the Block II version in the Command Module deck from the ground simulator on loan to the London Science Museum:

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