Image credit: NASA
Image source: Drew Granston
NAR-C584B
Category: Apollo 15
S71-39481
S71-39481 (July 1971) — An artist’s concept showing TRW’s small lunar subsatellite being ejected into lunar orbit from the SIM bay of the Apollo 15 Service Module. The 80-pound satellite will remain in orbit a year or more, carrying scientific experiments to study space in the vicinity of the moon. The satellite carries three experiments: S-Band Transponder; Particle Shadows/Boundary Layer Experiment; and Subsatellite Magnetometer Experiment. The subsatellite is housed in a container resembling a rural mailbox, and when deployed is spring-ejected out-of-plane at 4 fps with a spin rate of 140 rpm. After the satellite booms are deployed, the spin rate is stabilized at about 12 rpm. The subsatellite is 31 inches long and has a 14 inch hexagonal diameter. The exact weight is 78.5 pounds. The folded booms deploy to a length of five feet. Subsatellite electrical power is supplied by a solar cell array outputting 25 watts for dayside operation and a rechargeable silver-cadmium battery for nightside passes.
Image credit: NASA JSC
Image source: NASA Images
Deployment Sequence
Image credit: NASA
Image source: Ed Dempsey
Rudy Baum
The Art of Apollo
Deep Space EVA
Image credit: NASA
Image source: Mike Acs
Worden’s EVA
see also:
It took me a few, but the lower version is either an earlier or later version of the same painting. The figure representing James B. Irwin is a repaint. My guess is the image on NASA’s site is later, reworked to give the figure a slightly more dramatic pose. The painting is by a North American Rockwell artist.
Image credit: NASA JSC
Images: NASA Images, Numbers Station
