|
||
|
|
|
|
A series of four nearly identical photographs showing an airplane cockpit, likely from a Lockheed aircraft. This was most probably used as a test aircraft for an Apollo mission. The picture was taken while the plane was still inside a hangar.
This cockpit design is simpler than other aircraft of the era, with many fewer controls than commercial aircraft. This may have been due to its specialized function. This cockpit bears little resemblance to command or landing module cockpits, but it is still possible it was used for flight training. It could also have been used for zero-gravity simulations.
The control panel of the cockpit contains all of the typical navigational instruments and devices. Satellite communications are an option in the lower left. As these would have been newly invented, this suggests the aircraft was state of the art.
Provenance
From the collection of a Houston-area NASA employee. This was included in a set of other Apollo 15 memorabilia, suggesting that this aircraft may have been flown in test-flights for that mission.
![[ Orbiting The Moon -- Apollo 13 Atlas ] Lunar Orbit Scientific Visual Observation Graphics for Apollo Mission 13 April 11, 1970 Launch Date](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/68100.jpg)
![Apollo Earth Orbit Chart (AEO) Apollo Mission 8. Sheet 1 of 3, Contains Revolution 1. For December 1968 Launch Dates [with:] Sheet 2 of 3, Contains Revolution 2. For December 1968 Launch Dates [and: Sheet 3 of 3, Contains Revolution 3. For December 1968 Launch Dates]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/95707.jpg)
