Scrapped LEMs

According to "Chariots for Apollo", at least one unused/partially
fabricated LEM was to be sent to New Zealand, but instead, was buried in
a trash landfill in Oceanside, Queens, New York. I have yet to uncover
any confirmation of this, or any documentation that affirms that this
order was given by anyone in authority. Is this confirmable, and why
has nobody attempted to salvage this spacecraft or parts? At least one
LEM was nearly completed for a mission that never flew. Were there
others? Are the remains of the incomplete LEMs in existence? Does
anyone have reliable or first-hand information regarding the fates of
uncompleted Lunar Modules?

RDG wrote in message ...
According to "Chariots for Apollo", at least one unused/partially
fabricated LEM was to be sent to New Zealand, but instead, was buried in
a trash landfill in Oceanside, Queens, New York. I have yet to uncover
any confirmation of this, or any documentation that affirms that this
order was given by anyone in authority. Is this confirmable, and why
has nobody attempted to salvage this spacecraft or parts? At least one
LEM was nearly completed for a mission that never flew. Were there
others? Are the remains of the incomplete LEMs in existence? Does
anyone have reliable or first-hand information regarding the fates of
uncompleted Lunar Modules?


This link may help...

http://www.fi.edu/pieces/schutte/LMintro2.html

This link may help...

http://www.fi.edu/pieces/schutte/LMintro2.html

I'm a little dubious that the LM at Franklin institute is actually LM-14.
Has any regular gone and seen it? It seems to me that the LM is sufficiently
fragile that it wouldn't have managed to survive outdoors for very long.

I'm also a little dubious about the disposition of the un-numbered LMs cited
in "Chariots for Apollo", there seem to be a few too many, and again, I
don't understand how they could stand the weather outside.

LEM expert, Frank O'Brien, tells me that the piece at Franklin Institute is
probably a training article. The reason is that it lacks the in depth plumbing
that is apparent on other units. For awhile, the piece stood out in the open of
Philidelphia, and was heavily vandalized. It was eventually moved to it's
present location. Chicago's LEM is a mockup as well.
For those familiar with the movie "Fly Away Home", about the girl and the gesse,
you might be interested to know that the father in the film is a real person.
He's an artist in Canada, and built his own LEM from sheet metal simply because
he liked the geometry. It was later sold to finance his interest in ultralight
aircraft. I'm told the buyers were from Japan.

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 19:56:23 -0500, RDG wrote:

LEM expert, Frank O'Brien, tells me that the piece at Franklin Institute is
probably a training article. The reason is that it lacks the in depth plumbing
that is apparent on other units. For awhile, the piece stood out in the open of
Philidelphia, and was heavily vandalized. It was eventually moved to it's
present location. Chicago's LEM is a mockup as well.

What about the LM that used to be in the JSC Visitor's Center (bldg 2) and is
now in Space Center Houston? It's not on that list, is it another training
article?

And why did LM-4 (Apollo 10) go into heliocentric orbit rather than crash into
the moon?

--
Michael R. Grabois # http://chili.cjb.net # http://wizardimps.blogspot.com
"People say losing builds character. That's the stupidest thing I ever
heard. All losing does is suck. " -- Charles Barkley, 9/29/96

In article ,
Michael R. Grabois ... change $ to \"s\" wrote:
And why did LM-4 (Apollo 10) go into heliocentric orbit rather than crash into
the moon?

The ascent stage did a final burn, unmanned, after separation. Unlike the
ones from the landing missions, it had a significant amount of fuel left.
--
MOST launched 30 June; first light, 29 July; 5arcsec | Henry Spencer
pointing, 10 Sept; first science, early Oct; all well. |

My understanding is that LM 4 is actually designated LTA-4, Lunar Training Article.
This would be the unit hanging overhead in Space Center Houston. It was never
intended for man-rating as a flight article. Still every Apollo Commander and Lunar
Module Pilot no doubt practiced on it. With the number f simulators and Training
Articles still around or on record, one gets the idea that the Astronauts were
supposed to train no matter where they were or traveled to for briefings. If any
participants get to New York City or Long Island, you have to get out to the Cradle
of Aviation Museum in Garden City. The greatest display of LEM artifacts in the
country resides therein.