From the Earth to the Moon

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ By 'top' do you mean the pointy end of the command module? There is no bulky hardware there. What are you referring to?

At one point, the astronauts have to flip around and dock the command/service module with the lunar module (which is stored 'behind' the CSM while the rocket is lifting off from Earth). From then on, the 'point' of the command module is touching, i.e. docked with, the LEM. Is this what you mean?

About the series: I'll say it again, this is one of my favorite shows I have ever seen. There isn't a bad acting job in the lot. Every actor in it absolutely nailed their roles. (Even the 'Smuckers' guy was in it, he was the head senator in charge of the Apollo One hearings.) And speaking of Apollo One, I cried during that episode, even though the actual disaster happened three years before I was born. That first scene in Mission Control, when the guys have heard of the astronauts' deaths, and there is near total silence...

Also: Frank Borman is cool. Frank Borman is the MAN. Frank Borman was Robau before Faran Tahir was Robau.

 

[sojourner]

Trekker4747,

Look again. It's connected directly to the LEM.
http://www.astronautix.com/project/apollo.htm

Are you sure you're not getting confused with the Apollo-Soyuz docking?

http://www.astronautix.com/flights/apooastp.htm

Or a third option, you may be looking at images of Apollo and the LEM in the configuration they are launched in, which is with the Apollo riding above the LEM. After achieving orbit the Apollo craft turns around and docks with the LEM before proceeding to the moon.

 

[Snaploud]

From the Earth to the Moon is my all-time favorite mini-series.

 

[Trekker4747]

Or a third option, you may be looking at images of Apollo and the LEM in the configuration they are launched in, which is with the Apollo riding above the LEM. After achieving orbit the Apollo craft turns around and docks with the LEM before proceeding to the moon.

No.

In the movie Swigert takes control of the CM, pitches it around and goes back to dock with the LEM. A pointy bit at the narrow "top" of the the CM slides into an opening ("female end") in the top of the LEM, we hear a series of loud bangs and the two spacecraft dock just before the CM pulls the LEM out of the storage part of the Apollo space-craft.

The top of the CM and the top of the LEM connect to one another to make the tunnel between the two craft but I can't figure out where this rather bulky looking docking mechanism goes to.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Once they achieved hard docking, they could fold the spring-loaded probe assembly up so they could store it away in the CM. I assume the drogue assembly was stored in the LM. I can't recall ever seeing this demonstrated on TV or film, however.

http://heroicrelics.org/stafford/apollo-probe-and-drogue/index.html

 

[sojourner]

No....

Ah, from your previous post it sounded like you meant a piece of hardware external to the two craft.

As Asbo said, that whole assemble unlatches and folds up to be stored internally once docking is complete.

 

[Data Holmes]

Love this mini. My favorite eps has to be Spider. My grandfather worked on the lunar missions, he helped design/build a part of the radar gyroscope guidence system. It was surreal when we toured the Kennedy space center after they built the Saturn V complex and he points at simple green boxes and says "I worked on that piece right there."

 

[Gil T.Azell]

I..
I also love the music. Especially the opening theme:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhZhzt1rh7o[/yt]

Yeah that opening theme just kind of grabs you.

 

[Mysterion]

Also: Frank Borman is cool. Frank Borman is the MAN. Frank Borman was Robau before Faran Tahir was Robau.

Got that right!

There is a photo of Borman after the splashdown of Apollo 8 that is fantastic: http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/images/images_Apollo_8/ap8-68-HC-883.jpg

In this picture he is the quintessential American Astronaut/Hero. Exactly what central casting would have sent you if you asked for such a person. the sort of thing Tom Wolfe was writing about when he wrote The Right Stuff. Note that Anders and Lovell has a fair bit of stubble happening, but Borman has managed to appear clean-cut and reletively tidy here.

FtEttM is a great piece of television. I agree with those who pick Spider as a favorite. That's All There Is is a close second in my book (I really like Dave Foley's performance as Al Bean), along with Can We Do It?

I think one of my favorite scences in the whole series is when Deke Slayton has called all the astronauts into a meeting. when he tells them that the first perosn to wlak in the moon is sitting in that room at that minute, it is just a really nicely done moment.

 

[Forbin]

I bought the whole series on VHS!
Haven't watched it since it aired, though. Sometimes it's depressing how far we've fallen behind our goals.

 

[JiNX-01]

I bought the DVD collection years ago. Just a few months ago I watched the entire series in a marathon over a few days.

Mr. Laser Beam

I think my favorite episode is 'Spider' which is about the lunar module and the men who designed and built it. I never knew it was such a complicated process. And that episode was loaded with Trek veterans, BTW.

"Spider" was my favorite, too. The adoring expression on the chief engineer's face as the LEM was taken away was pure gold. As was the "Great Escape" music...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Also: Frank Borman is cool. Frank Borman is the MAN. Frank Borman was Robau before Faran Tahir was Robau.

Got that right!

There is a photo of Borman after the splashdown of Apollo 8 that is fantastic: http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/images/images_Apollo_8/ap8-68-HC-883.jpg

In this picture he is the quintessential American Astronaut/Hero. Exactly what central casting would have sent you if you asked for such a person. the sort of thing Tom Wolfe was writing about when he wrote The Right Stuff. Note that Anders and Lovell has a fair bit of stubble happening, but Borman has managed to appear clean-cut and reletively tidy here.

And David Andrews played the role awesomely. But that's redundant of me to say - since like I pointed out, so did everyone else in this series!

Best Borman moment: When he's demonstrating why the original design for the escape hatch (on the command module) sucks.

About Deke Slayton...sadly, Deke died over 10 years before this series was made so he never got the chance to see it. BTW, has Nick Searcy (who played Deke) been in anything we've seen other than Seven Days?

 

[Mysterion]

BTW, has Nick Searcy (who played Deke) been in anything we've seen other than Seven Days?

He's one of the perpetual supporting characters of TV and movies. Always turns in a great performance, though.

I think the biggest thing I remember him from was Castaway.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Also, Ted Levine will forever be known, to me, as Alan Shepard.

Not Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs...
Not Adrian Monk's captain...

Always Alan Shepard.

 

[Shakaar]

BTW, has Nick Searcy (who played Deke) been in anything we've seen other than Seven Days?

He's one of the perpetual supporting characters of TV and movies. Always turns in a great performance, though.

I think the biggest thing I remember him from was Castaway.

Nick Searcy is the head U. S. Marshal Chief Deputy Art Mullen on Justified.

 

[T'Bonz]

Great series. I loved the Apollo Wives episode especially. Those poor women.

 

[J.T.B.]

Wonderful series. It was great to see some of the "also flew" astronauts get some credit, not to mention the ground staff, engineers and so on. Sometimes it went more toward documentary with a lot of facts; I didn't mind but I can see some people might find parts of it a little flat.

"Spider" was also my favorite, but I liked them all, especially the Apollo 1, Apollo 7 and "Original Wives" episodes. For some reason, I've never re-watched it since the original run. But I think I'll fix that soon.

Every actor in it absolutely nailed their roles. (Even the 'Smuckers' guy was in it, he was the head senator in charge of the Apollo One hearings.)

The late Mason Adams, or Charlie from Lou Grant as I think of him. Great actor.

Also: Frank Borman is cool. Frank Borman is the MAN. Frank Borman was Robau before Faran Tahir was Robau.

Just the kind of guy you'd want commanding a space mission. Running an airline, not so much.



Justin

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

"Spider" was awesome and very engaging from an engineer's point of view. My personal favorite though has to be "That's All There Is", the more comedic episode covering the Apollo 12 mission. Great fun, though it does make Al Bean seem far more nerdy than how his actual interviews portray him - even so, I love Dave Foley's portrayal! Also, the portrayal of the lightning strike at launch was absolutely riveting and very much like how the actual incident played out:

What the episode showed: http://youtu.be/TMYNy3JsHTE

What really happened from the original NBC coverage: http://youtu.be/ySXVQmIStXc

A relatively brief incident in the overall mission, but one that could have elevated Apollo 12 from the footnote AFTER the big one to a long-term showstopper for the whole program, had they aborted. One of my favorite moments in the series.

Mark

 

[Green Shirt]

I think my favorite episode is 'Spider' which is about the lunar module and the men who designed and built it.

That's also my favorite ep, especially the part where they were throwing the baseball against the building. My father always yelled at me for throwing a ball against the house because the sound inside was too annoying.

 

[Snaploud]

I love much of the episode "Spider" (particularly the part prior to the LEM going into space), but my favorite over-all episode is "Galileo was Right." That episode should be shown in every science class covering geology.