Wow this is a slow news day. I remember watching the duct tape thing live on TV back when it happened. This is not newly released information.
The question everyone asked was "how coud you tear off a fender by brushing against it with a hammer?" the answer was the it and everything sent to the moon was very thin and only just strong enough to do it's job. The fender was only designed to deflect dust, not hammer handles. same with the skin of the lunar lander, Not much thicker then aluminum foil. As I remember the LM operated at a very reduced pressure of about 1/5 of an atmosphere so the skin could be very thin as not much pressure was inside. Same with the space suits and every nut bolt and screw -- all as light as possible.
It reminds me of a sign that the guy in charge at Lotus, the sports car company had. His name was Chapman and the sign is reported to read "If it is not just about ready to break, it is to heavy."
Is this the oldest "news" yet posted to slashdot? (Score:2)
The question everyone asked was "how coud you tear off a fender by brushing against it with a hammer?" the answer was the it and everything sent to the moon was very thin and only just strong enough to do it's job. The fender was only designed to deflect dust, not hammer handles. same with the skin of the lunar lander, Not much thicker then aluminum foil. As I remember the LM operated at a very reduced pressure of about 1/5 of an atmosphere so the skin could be very thin as not much pressure was inside. Same with the space suits and every nut bolt and screw -- all as light as possible.
It reminds me of a sign that the guy in charge at Lotus, the sports car company had. His name was Chapman and the sign is reported to read "If it is not just about ready to break, it is to heavy."