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To help frame the problem, I have written the following scenario:

It's December 19, 1972 and the Apollo 17 has returned to Earth, but something went wrong and they landed in the middle of the Outback. Luckily, I happened to be nearby with my ute and some common (rural 1970s Australia) supplies. For some reason, NASA is not here. I don't know why, and I don't have a way to contact anyone because my bloody radio is cactus. The astronauts haven't opened the hatch yet, and I'm worried they may be hurt. Driving to get help might take too long. Without any prior knowledge of the capsule design, is there a way I can figure out to open the hatch just by looking at it?

This fictional scenario is inspired by this comment.

called2voyage
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    To be clear, the purpose of this question is to investigate what the contingencies were for certain types of Apollo recovery. I thought writing a scenario in this way would get more direct answers. Any fun derived is an added bonus. – called2voyage Nov 30 '18 at 15:10
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    That Ute car-SUV-truck is beyond the karman line because it's out-of-this-world weird looking; never seen one of those before in the USA. – Magic Octopus Urn Nov 30 '18 at 15:19
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    I don't want to look like a party pooper but this question should be severely modified to be acceptable. – Ginasius Nov 30 '18 at 15:56
  • @Ginasius Would you mind explaining why? Nothing wrong with being a party pooper, but you should at least explain why it is unacceptable. – called2voyage Nov 30 '18 at 16:16
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    @called2voyage I find it hard to accept because it can be modified in a more serious looking way like "could an apollo crew survive a descent on land and not at sea and what measures would be necessary to rescue them" and its current "capricious" form may pave the way to many low quality questions. I didn't downvote it because I'm a supporter of "good vibes", especially with the moderators. :-) – Ginasius Nov 30 '18 at 18:04
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    If reduced to the last sentence -- the actual question -- it would be perfectly on topic; the scenario just gives context. Upvoting in defense. An alteration to the title wouldn't hurt. – Russell Borogove Nov 30 '18 at 20:46
  • I wish there was a spacegolf functionality of some kind, similar to code golf. Every site should have the option of having one. That would be the best of both worlds, so to speak. – uhoh Dec 01 '18 at 07:36
  • @RussellBorogove Revised; you're right--I could help things with a clearer title and introduction. – called2voyage Dec 02 '18 at 19:35
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    @MarkOmo I revised it to make the fiction auxiliary to the main question, which is firmly on topic. – called2voyage Dec 02 '18 at 19:36
  • I don’t believe loads analysis supports a non-water landing being survivable; Apollo 12 splashdown peaked above 15Gs due to rotten timing with a wave despite 3 good chutes. There’s a reason Orion design started with land landings and evolved into a water recovery conops. At the least I’d say your scenario would involve severely injured crew and potential LOC. – JPattarini Dec 04 '18 at 12:49
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    bonus: Apollo 17 is captured by Immortan Joe's crew but they can't figure out how to open it. – 300D7309EF17 Dec 05 '18 at 18:44

1 Answers1

17

If you carry the right Allen wrench, yes

There is a big golden arrow printed on the hatch that says "RESCUE". It points to a hole. Around the hole are instructions for opening the hatch. It even shows you which direction to turn! (Source: Apollo Program Summary Report page 4-32)

Apollo hatch Apollo 11

More details about the hole:

The exterior input is a socket in a recessed shaft, which penetrates the command module hatch and is rotated by a removable hand tool. It is used for ground operations, for checkout and test, for extravehicular activities, and for postlanding rescue. Because it is exposed to and must survive reentry heating, it is protected by a beryllium copper heat sink and is thermally insulated from the cabin interior by glass fabric spacers.

http://www.ninfinger.org/models/vault2012/Apollo%20CM%20Hatch%20Design.pdf

You need a 7/16 inch Allen (hex) wrench that is at least 4.25 inches long.

The hatch also can be opened from the outside by a tool that is part of the crew's tool set and is carried by ground personnel. The tool is the emer­gency wrench, essentially a modified allenhead L-wrench. It is 6-1/4 inches long and has a 4-1/4-inch drive shaft.

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/CSM06_Command_Module_Overview_pp39-52.pdf

One of these tools had been stowed in the lunar module, but that won't help us now. The 6.25 inch dimension appears to be enough to provide sufficient leverage, yet small enough to be stowed in the LM. As long as you can get enough leverage, your tool doesn't need that. The 4.25 inches is the depth of the hole; your tool could be longer. The socket is 7/16 inch, but I suppose a slightly smaller metric tool could work.

emergency wrench

Crank away and the hatch will unlock.

You have no idea how many pictures I found of actor Richard Hatch, who played Apollo on Battlestar Galactica!

Related? https://www.theonion.com/moon-now-overrun-with-cane-toads-1830745531

DrSheldon
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  • The outside of the CM looks pretty singed, IDK if the labels would still be readable... – Hobbes Nov 30 '18 at 22:26
  • @Hobbes agreed, I see nothing legible on A15's CM hatch. http://spaceflightonline.com/Apollo_CM_Pictures/Apollo%2015.jpg – Organic Marble Nov 30 '18 at 23:39
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    @OrganicMarble: You don't see the labels on the museum craft because NASA had contractors remove them. The Apollo 11 label was appraised for Antiques Roadshow on Aug 6, 2016. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/season/21/palm-springs-ca/appraisals/nasa-apollo-archive-ca-1965--201605A45/ and https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a25422/apollo-11-antiques-roadshow/ and http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-022717a-antiques-roadshow-apollo11-artifacts.html – DrSheldon Nov 30 '18 at 23:58
  • @DrSheldon Fascinating! – Organic Marble Dec 01 '18 at 00:32
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    7/16"? So if they landed outside the US and UK, the crew would be out of luck.. – Hobbes Dec 02 '18 at 19:58
  • Is the same 'tool B' also used to depressurize the CM for contingency ingress in space? Is it true there is no way to open the docking tunnel hatch from outside? – amI Dec 02 '18 at 23:30
  • Did tool B have a lanyard? – amI Dec 02 '18 at 23:32
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    @Hobbes Not quite, an 11mm is judged "close enough" here: https://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/science/allen-wrench-conversion.htm – called2voyage Dec 03 '18 at 17:20
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    The Australian Metric Conversion Act passed on 12 June 1970 so it's plausible enough that someone might still be carrying around Imperial tools. – Roger Dec 03 '18 at 18:11
  • @amI: There is no mention of a lanyard, and the drawing does not show a hole for one. The hatch drawing shows the "pressure equalization valve" that rescue crews use before unlocking the hatch. There is conflicting NASA documentation about whether the CM forward hatch (in the docking tunnel) can be opened from the outside. – DrSheldon Dec 04 '18 at 01:19
  • I imagine the LAM returning to a CSM with an incapacitated CM pilot. Perhaps able to soft dock, they EVA with tool B and depressurize the CM. They then move to the hatch release hole and - the tool slips away, tumbling out of reach... – amI Dec 04 '18 at 03:58