This is the long-delayed second post in my discussion of the departure and return orbits of the Apollo missions. If you haven’t read the first post, you can find it here—it’ll give some useful background to what follows. The diagram at the head of this post shows a plot of Apollo 11’s departure trajectory, superimposed on … Continue reading How Apollo Left Earth (And Returned): Part 2
Tag Archives: Spaceflight
Small Scale Shop 1/96 Lunar Module: Part 1
Having recently completed my new, improved version of the 1/96 Command/Service Module of Apollo 11, using a RealSpace resin kit supplemented by 3D-printed parts from The Aerospace Place, I decided I might as well go the whole hog and build a better 1/96 Lunar Module too. All this is a hangover from my long, slow build … Continue reading Small Scale Shop 1/96 Lunar Module: Part 1
RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 4
So last time I left you with a cliff-hanger. Sorry about that—the opportunity so rarely presents itself on this blog. You may recall that things were coming along well with my re-do of the paintwork on this kit, and I’d got to the point of masking off some of the RCS thrusters on the Command … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 4
RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 3
Last time, I was contemplating how to add feedhorns to my High Gain Antennae from The Aerospace Place. The solution I eventually came up with was to use some 0.25mm fibreoptic strands, and to melt the ends into a blob by holding them close to a hot soldering iron. Sprayed white, these gave me something … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 3
RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 2
Last time, I was about to embark on applying the bright chrome finish to the Command Module. This went on over a coat of Xtreme Metal’s Black Base, and turned out looking pretty good. Deceptively so, as it turned out. There were some nice specular metallic reflections: I set it aside to cure for a … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 2
How Apollo Left Earth (And Returned): Part 1
This is the fifth in my occasional series of posts about the orbits followed by the Apollo spacecraft as they departed from (and returned to) the Earth. It’s a companion to, and expansion of, my old post “How Apollo Got To The Moon”, informed by a more recent series of posts that culminated in my … Continue reading How Apollo Left Earth (And Returned): Part 1
RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 1
Those of you who’ve been following my build logs for a very long time will recall that I’ve built this model before, back in 2016, when I started assembling the Revell 1/96 Saturn V—which I completed three years later, putting the finishing touches to the last component just a few days before the 50th anniversary of … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module (Again): Part 1
Moebius 1/144 Discovery Spacecraft: Part 6
Last time, I completed the wiring of individual sections of my Green Strawberry pod bay, and the neat little Falconware pods. This time, I’m assembling the bay and the extended pod platform, adding ceiling lights, and cramming everything into the Moebius command sphere. First, though, I needed to do a little surgery on one of … Continue reading Moebius 1/144 Discovery Spacecraft: Part 6
Converting Apollo State Vectors To Orbits
OK, another mathematical one. This is the fourth in a series of posts about the orbits followed by the Apollo spacecraft as they travelled to and from the moon—something I suppose is getting a little more topical now that NASA has finally got underway with its planned return to the lunar surface. I started with … Continue reading Converting Apollo State Vectors To Orbits
The Advent Of Atomic Time
This is, to a large extent, a companion piece to my post about leap seconds, in which I described how the irregular rotation of the Earth means that the time as measured by our atomic clocks would fall out of synchrony with the actual movement of the sun in the sky, were it not for … Continue reading The Advent Of Atomic Time