Talk:Apollo Lunar Module/Archive 1: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:15, 21 December 2013

Revision as of 00:41, 22 July 2014

Line 140:

'''Category:SSTO''' says it is intended "for [[SSTO]] spaceplanes". This is stretching the definition beyond its intent. Since it was successfully demonstrated in 1969, it obviously was not that difficult to design a rocket-powered vehicle to take off from the Moon and reach orbit in a single stage, given the one-sixth gravity and no atmospheric drag, compared to doing the same thing on Earth, which as far as I know has yet to be demonstrated. Overcoming these challenges is what defines a "spaceplane", a term which cannot properly be applied to any lunar vehicle. This change should be reverted. [[User:JustinTime55|JustinTime55]] ([[User talk:JustinTime55|talk]]) 17:01, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

== Langley Research Center prototype ==

[[File:Lunar Landing Vehicle - GPN-2000-001889.jpg|right|80px]]

I just added the image at right to [[Apollo Lunar Module#History]]. It is an experimental prototype; the image is from NASA and was taken in May 1963 at [[Langley Research Center]].

What's also needed is an update to the history section incorporating the details behind that prototype and what influence (if any) it had on the program. [[Special:Contributions/67.101.6.172|67.101.6.172]] ([[User talk:67.101.6.172|talk]]) 22:37, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

:I believe you are misinterpreting what this is. If you read the Description NASA page link on this picture, you see the words "Subject category: Simulators, Lunar Module". This is ''not a prototype design of the real LM'', but probably a proposed simulator for training the astronauts on Earth how to land the LM on the Moon. (An open glass, Earthbound helecopter cockpit on the Moon, really?) Reading the '''History''' text makes it clear that by March 1963 the actual LM design was pretty mature.

:There is an '''Astronaut training''' section already in the article; if this picture belonged anywhere, it would be there. But reading the text makes it clear that this prototype would have been beat out by the [[Lunar Landing Research Vehicle|LLRV]] in 1964. We really should have a picture of that here. It might be interesting to mention the other prototype as a side note (moot, anyway, unless we can find a textual source for verification of exactly ''what'' this is), but adding this picture would probably just crowd the section. [[User:JustinTime55|JustinTime55]] ([[User talk:JustinTime55|talk]]) 14:56, 2 March 2012 (UTC)