[Project Apollo] The first spacecraft designed for interplanetary travel: an early view...

[Project Apollo] The first spacecraft designed for interplanetary travel: an early view of the Apollo Command and Service Modules. NASA, 1 October 1965. Printed 1965. Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper. 25.4×20.3 cm (10×8 in), with North American Rockwell credit, date “10–1-65” and reference number “7008–55-47” at bottom of image as well as “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA / North American Aviation, Downey, California).

A very rare prototype of the Command Module (top) mated to the Service Module (bottom) at North American Aviation facility (Downey, California) which was the manufacturer of the Command Module.

The most sophisticated component of an Apollo Moon Saturn Rocket was the Command Module (CM), with some two million parts and dozens of separate systems. Cockpit, observatory, galley, cargo hold, and sleeping quarters all in one, the CM served as the control center of the rocket and also had to function as a completely self-contained spaceship for the fiery trial of reentry. Earlier capsules had been short-range vehicles. Apollo would be a vessel for the deep void, an oceangoing ship compared to the orbital riverboats of Mercury and Gemini that rode just over the blue skies. A small universe of technology, the spacecraft would present a new level of challenge to the astronauts as well as to the engineers. There were problems with the Apollo capsule. The new prime spacecraft contractor was not McDonnell Douglas but North American Aviation, which did not have the same experience with this kind of huge and complex project. Actually no one had experienced with this kind of project because the new Apollo spaceship was an order of magnitude more complex than McDonnell’s Gemini two-seater had been, making it by far the most complex vehicle ever built. The capsule’s design and manufacture were falling behind schedule. The prototype version of the spacecraft was called Block I. The advanced block II, with improved functions, would not be ready in time for the early Apollo missions. (Reynolds, pp. 64–65-69)

Condition Report:Minor softening to corners, very minor marks on glossy surface visible only in a raking light, otherwise excellent condition.

Category:Photos ▸ Vintage photographs