Apollo Command Module EVA handle drawings?

[zephyr9900]

So I'm a mechanical engineer with a CNC milling machine in my garage. I thought it would be fun to make a new handle for the enclosure door as a replica of an Apollo command module EVA handle.

I see from photos that the handles were made from a central tubular part, and upstream and downstream forgings/machinings. There were apparently two subcontractors for the EVA handles since there are two distinct configurations, which I'm calling "square" and "round". (I'm attaching screenshots.) The "flat" handles were used on Apollos 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 14. The "round" handles were used on Apollos 9, 11, 12 (based on one fuzzy post-recovery photo I've seen), 13, 15, 16 and 17.

I'm thinking that the main crew hatches were all built at one time. From what I see, all of the short main crew hatch handles were closer to the "square" variety, regardless of the EVA handle style, but the bases don't match either style of EVA handle at all.

Unfortunately, the "local" CM, Apollo 7, only is fitted with the main crew hatch handle. I have photographed it and modeled it in CAD, but 7 doesn't appear to even have the mounting pads for the hull-mounted EVA handles, at least that I can see through the paint.

Does anyone have or know of, engineering drawings of either style of EVA handle? Or even the dimensions/spacing of the attachment points on the hull?

Thank you,

Randy

"square"

"round"

Apollo 07 hatch handle - actual

Apollo 07 hatch handle - CAD

 

[zephyr9900]

Root cause failure analysis time:

Is this too [nerdy|narrow|off-topic] a question for this forum?

Is there a more appropriate place to seek information?

I emailed the Cosmosphere restoration group 6 weeks ago with no answer.

Thanks,

Randy

 

[The Artist]

I think these handles are the sort of detail that gets lost to history. An everyday utilitarian feature that someone had to give some thought to in designing for the mission but beyond that, they were just something to be used during the course of the job. Think back to the car your family had when you were a little kid. Can you remember everything about the door handle to be able to make an exact copy today? Probably not.

Drawings and detailed photographs of these handles probably exist for each of the Apollo spacecraft built but you'll probably not find an official set of drawings generic to all the indicated missions. I say this because the spacecraft, like the space suits, were essentially hand built. Then as the flight plan for each mission developed, changes could be needed for placement of and access to mission or task related items during EVA. These drawings and photographs might be at the National Archives or in the collections of the National Air & Space Museum. Have you considered searching or requesting searches of these collections?

I see this 'each item unique' aspect of the 60s space program every time I go to the museum out here. We have four space suits in our collection. (These were used by the astronauts during training at McDonnell) Two Mercury suits, Grissom's and Cooper's and two Gemini suits - both unassigned. While the Grissom and Cooper suits are easily recognizable as Mercury suits, when I look at them side by side I see that they are indeed two very different suits in the details like the locations and types of umbilical and electrical/telemetry connections. Same with the Gemini suits. One of the suits lacks the silver outer layer. (I believe this one may have been used in training on the functions of the suit and didn't have an outer layer.) One look at the umbilical and electrical/telemetry connections makes it clear that they are different and the outer layer on the one could not be transferred to the other suit. I have no doubt that if you could (and I kind of wish it could be possible to do this) stand all the Apollo CSM assemblies in a line and walk around them you'd see differences in details between each of them. All instantly recognizable as an Apollo CSM but each one a different machine.

 

[zephyr9900]

Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed reply, Artist. I have no doubt about the individuality of the spacesuits and other personal items (just look at the individually molded Mercury seats...), but the Apollo Command Module News Reference p. 245-252 "Apollo Manufacturing" describes how extensively tooled the spacecraft itself was. The EVA handles were attached to potted-in sections of the external hull structure, and I am sure that the subcontractors had rigidly defined QC fixtures to validate the fit of the handles. North American Rockwell in Downey, CA was the prime contractor for the CSM, but I've only found a list of subcontractors with contracts over $500k, nothing as small as machine shops...

The Block II Apollo Operations Handbook Vol. 1 has a short description of the handles on pages 2.12-51 thru 2.12-53, but the only significant dimension listed is 12" for the length of the tubuar part of the EVA handles. (Plus .730" for the diameter of the glow disks, which I'll simulate with fluorescent disks, not having ready access to any Promethium 147...)

There are more recent guidelines as to the length, cross-section, clearance under the handle etc. for EVA handles, but they are of Space Station vintage.

Thank you for your suggestion of the National Archives and NASM. I had literally no idea of who would have inherited the documentation.

I have also discovered nasaspaceflight.com and posted an inquiry there.

Thank you again for your reply,

Randy

 

[Grey Havoc]

For 'square', I'd hazard a guess the sub-contractor had experience with naval applications, someone connected to Bethlehem Steel perhaps.

 

[zephyr9900]

Thanks, Grey Havoc. I would have thought something like 321 alloy stainless steel tubing and forged supports myself.

But then I found the section in AOH Vol. 1 that says "The fixed handles are aluminum, oval-shaped tubes 12 inches long with a support fitting at each end. [snip] They may or may not burn off on entry."

So at this point I'm thinking they might just be cast A356 aluminum with swaged tubular center sections. I'll just machine my end supports from aluminum billet, and do the fill-with-sand-and-squash-between-forms routine for the central tubular part (say, 1" OD x .035" wall tubing).

I was really hoping to arrive at a situation where I could make a replica handle(s) that would bolt onto existing mounting pads...

But based on the lack of any documentation to come forth, I'll just extrapolate the EVA handles from online pictures, modify my hatch handle CAD and have a go.

Randy