SLA
Spacecraft Lunar Module
Adapter
July 2007.The SLA houses the LM until it is extracted
from it during the journey to the Moon. It consists of four panels which are jettisoned
from the remaining S-IVb stage and move away like petals on a flower.
On the earlier missions (up until Apollo 7) the panels were hinged on the
S-IVb.
To get the
right curvature for the panels I decided to build a jig over which I would
then laminate sheet styrene. The jig is one half of cone, smaller in size than what is
correct. I expexted the laminated panels to "open up", so I made them curve more
to compensate for that.
The next pictures show the jig and how two pieces of 0.3mm
styrene are laminated on it. As you can see, the panels do not curve enough, but
pulling them across the edge of a table two or three times gives almost
exactly the required curvature. Actually, it's remarkable how asimilar the four
panels turned out, and the curvature seems to last. I found it important how
glue is applied in between the two pieces: gluing parallel to the long straight edges results in creases along the panel - gluing perpendicular gives
a perfect result. This probably depends on the kind og glue you choose: ordinary liquid plastic
glue is problematic because it "melts" the styrene and probably causes
the "weak lines" resulting in the creases. Superglue - CA - is much
better!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
