Author Topic: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module  (Read 70243 times)

Offline DAKDAK

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How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« on: May 09, 2012, 12:15:21 AM »
Sorry I am not sure how to correctly reply to the replies  on the subject of "I don't know wether we went to the moon in the sixties or not" specifically how many cubic feet the Command module was but the Smithsonian Air and space museum(which is where the Command Module is today) says a TOTAL of 210 Cubic feet. Not a Habitable area of 210 cubic feet
Here is a link to the Smithsonian's video clip where I got this information (my source)



here is a link to part 1 and 2 of what was supposedly inside



part 1



part 2

One of very true pictures inside the module attached

[Post restored by LunarOrbit]
« Last Edit: June 06, 2012, 08:32:22 PM by LunarOrbit »

Offline Chew

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2012, 12:38:55 AM »
1st video, 48 seconds in, "The crew compartment has a total volume of 210 cubic feet."

Keywords: crew compartment

Is that so hard to understand?

Offline Chew

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2012, 12:44:11 AM »
You still haven't provided the volume of each component that was installed. You still haven't answered how many cubic feet 15 miles of wire would occupy.

Except for a few small batteries required for re-entry (after the Service Module was separated) all electrical power was supplied by fuel cells in the Service Module.

Offline JayUtah

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2012, 02:18:23 AM »
but the Smithsonian Air and space museum...

Why would they be the ultimate authority?  They didn't build it or operate it.  They just store a few leftover examples.  If I had a nickel for every time I've corrected a NASM docent or answered a question they couldn't...

Quote
which is where the Command Module is today

Which one?  There were several built and flown.  The one I was in was originally in Michigan and is now in San Diego.

Quote
says a TOTAL of 210 Cubic feet. Not a Habitable area of 210 cubic feet...

No, it says the crew compartment.  That's the habitable volume, not the whole contained volume.
"Facts are stubborn things." --John Adams

Offline raven

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2012, 02:34:55 AM »
DAKDAK, let's use an analogy. Let's say you have a Thermos. Now a typical Thermos is a double walled construction. If you just measure the outside, and calculate how much lemonade you could put in it, you'd make a big mess if you tried to pour it all in, as the vacuum layer and mirrored inner wall take up space. And let's suppose, to keep things extra cold, you put a couple ice cubes in the thermos as well. Now, there is even less room for your lemonade.
Let's suppose you had to measure the space of the Thermos.
 You could measure the outside, or you could measure the inside.
What you seem to be doing is taking the inside measurement and claiming "there's no room for the vacuum layer and mirrored inner wall!" when the space you are measuring is basically the space left over after those components are put in place, the room for your lemonade.
I hope this helps.

Offline carpediem

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #5 on: May 09, 2012, 03:22:39 AM »
Sorry I am not sure how to correctly reply to the replies  on the subject of "I don't know wether we went to the moon in the sixties or not" specifically how many cubic feet the Command module was but the Smithsonian Air and space museum(which is where the Command Module is today) says a TOTAL of 210 Cubic feet. Not a Habitable area of 210 cubic feet

I'll repeat what I said before:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cone+12.8%27+diameter+11.4%27+height
producing an area of 489 cubic feet

Here is a link to the Smithsonian's video clip where I got this information (my source)



here is a link to part 1 and 2 of what was supposedly inside



part 1



part 2
Did you produce the last two videos yourself?
Are you planning to actually stay on the board now, or are you going to disappear for several days again?

Offline carpediem

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #6 on: May 09, 2012, 03:36:00 AM »

"The crew compartment has a total volume of 210 cubic feet."

Crew compartment is clearly referring to the habitable area.

Offline Jason Thompson

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #7 on: May 09, 2012, 04:15:15 AM »
a TOTAL of 210 Cubic feet. Not a Habitable area of 210 cubic feet

It, and every other source, say the crew compartment had a volume of 210 cubic feet. The problem you seem to be having is not grasping that the command module was not all crew compartment.

As with all spacecraft, there was an inner pressurised section where the crew lived and worked. This is the part that had a volume of 210 cubic feet. Around the outside of this was arranged things like parachutes and RCS fuel canisters, and then the outer conical shell of the spacecraft, with its heat shield covering it.

Your mistake is using the exterior dimensions and the interior volume as if they have a direct connection. Only in the case of a thin-walled box can you use the one to directly calculate the other. Beyond the fact that the interior must be smaller than the volume calculated by using the exterior dimensions, the crew compartment was not even the same shape as the outside of the spacecraft. It was more like a short cylinder with a truncated cone on top that sat inside the command module. The total volume of this was still larger than 210 cubic feet, but it had a number of stowage and equipment areas that were not part of the habitable volume.
« Last Edit: May 09, 2012, 04:40:58 AM by Jason Thompson »
"There's this idea that everyone's opinion is equally valid. My arse! Bloke who was a professor of dentistry for forty years does NOT have a debate with some eejit who removes his teeth with string and a door!"  - Dara O'Briain

Offline Bob B.

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #8 on: May 09, 2012, 09:35:28 AM »
Sorry I am not sure how to correctly reply to the replies  on the subject of "I don't know wether we went to the moon in the sixties or not" specifically how many cubic feet the Command module was but the Smithsonian Air and space museum(which is where the Command Module is today) says a TOTAL of 210 Cubic feet. Not a Habitable area of 210 cubic feet

Putting aside the fact that the source says crew compartment, why do you rely on the accuracy of the source when you can perform your own checks?  Let's assume for the moment the source did say total volume.  Carpediem showed you a very simple method (assuming the the CM is a cone) that clearly demonstrates that the total volume couldn't possibly be as small as 210 ft3.  What carpediem did is what we call a back-of-the-envelope calculation, that is, a calculation used to provide a rough approximation when greater accuracy is unnecessary.  Of course the CM isn't a perfect cone, but it's close enough to that shape that we can very quickly demonstrate that its total volume has to be much larger than 210 ft3.  In the other thread I performed a more accurate estimate of the CM's volume taking into account its true geometry and came up with a number of approximately 598 ft3.  Furthermore, its possible to visit the locations where the CMs are located and measure them to verify their dimensions (the Apollo 15 CM is only about 20 miles from my house).  So even if the Smithsonian did say the total volume was 210 ft3, which they didn't, we know that number must be wrong.  It's insane to continue to argue something that is provably incorrect.

Offline Chew

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #9 on: May 09, 2012, 12:00:19 PM »
If the "crew compartment" quote isn't enough for you the narrator says, 42 seconds into the video, "This 12 foot long command module...".

You have a length. The command module is about as wide as it is long. Plug those numbers into the volume of a cone and see what you get.


Offline Bob B.

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #10 on: May 09, 2012, 02:45:51 PM »
... the Smithsonian Air and space museum(which is where the Command Module is today)

What do you mean by "the" Command Module?  Are you aware there are twenty-five CMs currently on display?  The locations are:

CSM-002 - Cradle of Aviation, Long Island, New York
CSM-007 - Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington
CSM-009 - Strategic Air and Space Museum, Ashland, Nebraska
CSM-010 - U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama
CSM-011 - USS Hornet museum, in Alameda, California
Apollo 4 - Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Apollo 6 - Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta, Georgia
CSM-098 - Academy of Science Museum, Moscow, Russia
Apollo 7 - Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas, Texas
Apollo 8 - Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois
Apollo 9 - San Diego Aerospace Museum, San Diego, California ("Gumdrop")
CSM-105 - National Air & Space Museum, Washington DC
Apollo 10 - Science Museum, London, England ("Charlie Brown")
Apollo 11 - National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. ("Columbia")
Apollo 12 - Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia ("Yankee Clipper")
Apollo 13 - Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson, Kansas ("Odyssey")
Apollo 14 - Astronaut Hall of Fame, Titusville, Florida ("Kitty Hawk")
Apollo 15 - USAF Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio ("Endeavor")
Apollo 16 - U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama ("Casper")
Apollo 17 - NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas ("America")
Apollo-Soyuz - California Science Center, Los Angeles, California
Skylab 2 - Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, Florida
Skylab 3 - NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Skylab 4 - National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
Skylab Rescue - Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Offline Glom

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2012, 03:34:00 PM »
I thought that was Kitty Hawk at KSC.


Offline Bob B.

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #13 on: May 09, 2012, 04:50:44 PM »
I thought that was Kitty Hawk at KSC.

Kitty Hawk is at the Astronaut Hall of Fame, which is located at KSC.  So KSC actually has two CMs, as does Huntsville.  The National Air & Space Museum in DC has three of them.

Offline Bob B.

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Re: How many cubic feet were in the Apollo Command module
« Reply #14 on: May 09, 2012, 05:06:40 PM »
SpaceyChick has photos of all the manned capsule plus some.

I've only seen three of them - 11, 15 and 16.

DAKDAK, here's another quick check you can do to demonstrate that 210 ft3 is not the total volume.  The cube root of 210 is 5.94.  Therefore, 210 ft3 is the volume occupied by a cube that is roughly 6' X 6' X 6'.  When you look at the photos linked to above, the CM is clearly quite a bit larger than a cube with those dimensions.