How was LM insulation attached?

[Allan F]

I can stab a screwdriver through a B-17 bomber's skin.  The poke test really isn't relevant, but it does tend to impress the public.

The skin portion is very thin, but the combination of skin and stringers -- the stringers in this case being milled integrally as part of the skin -- makes for considerable strength along the stringer dimensions.  The primary structure is two milled bulkheads (similar to the shapers in the space shuttle orbiter) connected by two very robust ventral beams and a large overhead with gussets taking the load from the docking structure.  The LM structure was quite rigid and strong for its mass.

If the LM's skin was so thin that a screwdriver could fall through it, how did astronauts ever reside and work in it during the missions? The astronaut talks about the LM pressure shell floor, not the outer insulation.

Have you ever tried hitting a punching bag? You can really beat it up all day, kick it and karate chop it, working up a sweat and sore hands. Right?

Can you see the damage on the bag afterwards?

No?

Can you take a screwdriver to it and stab it right through the surface?

Yes?

There's your answer.

[inconceivable]

But here we're only tallking about impacting at .16gs for the moon.    er8!

[bknight]

But here we're only tallking about impacting at .16gs for the moon.    er8!

And your point?

[JayUtah]

If the LM's skin was so thin that a screwdriver could fall through it, how did astronauts ever reside and work in it during the missions?

Because there was extensive inner construction.  The cabin of the LM was lined with equipment, control panels, etc.  There was a constructed floor too.  All the pressure vessel had to do was contain pressure.  It didn't have to withstand the wear and tear of occupation.

[JayUtah]

But here we're only tallking about impacting at .16gs for the moon.    er8!

What makes you think that was the only load the LM was designed for?

[Von_Smith]

If the LM's skin was so thin that a screwdriver could fall through it, how did astronauts ever reside and work in it during the missions? The astronaut talks about the LM pressure shell floor, not the outer insulation.

As Jay (and I, incidentally) said, being able to poke a hole through something with a hard, pointy implement doesn't much indicate its structural strength.  I can poke a hole through a plastic coke bottle with a screwdriver, but it can still hold a pressurised carbonated drink and withstand being hit with a hammer, or being dropped on the floor from a few feet.

Does anybody else from the U.S. remember that paper company commercial back in the '70s where they drove a Rolls Royce over a bridge made of cardboard?   *That's* plenty of structural strength, yet I'm sure I could have driven a screwdriver through the surfaces even back then when I was a kid. 

Or just look at any cardboard packing box.  Plenty of structural strength, but you can poke a hole through the wall of one easy.

[gillianren]

Does anybody else from the U.S. remember that paper company commercial back in the '70s where they drove a Rolls Royce over a bridge made of cardboard?

No (born in '76), but I found the commercial you're talking about online!  https://www.oddballfilms.com/clip/13160_13279_st_regis

[onebigmonkey]

Naked Lunar Module!

[Von_Smith]

Does anybody else from the U.S. remember that paper company commercial back in the '70s where they drove a Rolls Royce over a bridge made of cardboard?

No (born in '76), but I found the commercial you're talking about online!  https://www.oddballfilms.com/clip/13160_13279_st_regis

Yup, that's the one.  :p

[stutefish]

If the LM's skin was so thin that a screwdriver could fall through it, how did astronauts ever reside and work in it during the missions?

By wearing boots on their feet instead of screwdrivers, probably.

[Allan F]

They were only inside the LM during zero-G or lunar gravity. Or strapped in place during acceleration.

[Abaddon]

If the LM's skin was so thin that a screwdriver could fall through it, how did astronauts ever reside and work in it during the missions?

By wearing boots on their feet instead of screwdrivers, probably.

LOL.

[Zakalwe]

If the LM's skin was so thin that a screwdriver could fall through it, how did astronauts ever reside and work in it during the missions?

By wearing boots on their feet instead of screwdrivers, probably.

And the award for Brilliant Burn of the Month goes to...... <drumroll>... stutefish!
 

[nomuse]

I had an excuse to mention aerospace-quality kapton tape in a bit of light writing recently; I described it as "stronger than steel, with more grip power than a terrified gecko."

The only time I've used a kapton tape myself, it was for the temperature resistance; used it to replace the paper tape (!!) holding down the foil inside my T-962 reflow oven.