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, 5 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
I love “mundane” moments from the Apollo program. Here, Alan Bean removes a dome used to cover a cask holding the mini nuclear generator (RTG) they strapped to the side of the lunar module. The cask was designed to withstand a vehicle explosion or re-entry.
(Here’s a view of the cask from training with Astronaut Edgar Mitchell.)
The fuel element was made of Plutonium 238. Bean had difficulty removing it from the cask during Apollo 12 due to thermal expansion. The plutonium put off so much heat he could feel it through his suit.
Bean was able to extricate the fuel element (note the empty cask), but only after Conrad helped by bashing it with a hammer until it came loose.
So yes, we made it to the moon but it only worked because...
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