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This is really simple, but i've never seen it discussed. One piloted the Apollo LEM standing up, without many restraints. But before the LEM ignited the descent engine, it was practically in free fall. So how did one keep one's feet in contact with the floor, or at least maintain one's position before the controls in the absence of useful weight (and indeed much planned tumbling, so that the Command Module Pilot could inspect the soundness of the LEM), before descent began?

Selene Routley
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2 Answers2

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A restraint system was provided.

a schematic of the restraint system is shown

Source: https://space.stackexchange.com/a/37682/6944

Organic Marble
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Velcro attached to the feet

Nonflammable Velcro pile is bonded to the decks' top surface; a hooked Velcro on the soles of the astronauts' boots provides a restraining force to hold the astronaut to the deck during zero-g flight.

PearsonArtPhoto
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  • Love it!!! This makes me giggle because it is so 1960s and 1970s, the world would have fallen apart then if it weren't held together with Velcro. I lived through this world! Both answers are great, so it's a shame i can only "accept" one of them. Thanks so much! – Selene Routley Sep 25 '21 at 10:00
  • This was dramaticized in the segment of "2001: A Space Odyssey" when the spaceline hostess was walking through the cabin. – Barmar Sep 25 '21 at 14:14
  • @Barmar oh yes, you're right, i recall this, and iirc the scene goes on for about 40 seconds to make it clear (where she is turned "upside down" to match orientations on the level she was going to). That made me giggle at how labored it was, since i didn't see it till late in life. Then i realized that most people, especially then, would need a fairly explicit demonstration of weightlessness. How could i forget it - notable for its utter absence of women in anything other than "space hostess" roles! – Selene Routley Sep 26 '21 at 16:42
  • @SeleneRoutley It was definitely "of its time". The portrayal was consistent with airline hostesses of the time. The movie was very optimistic about scientific progress, but showed very little in the way of social progress. – Barmar Sep 26 '21 at 17:06
  • @SeleneRoutley Heywood Floyd has a conversation with several female Russian scientists on the space station. – Organic Marble Sep 26 '21 at 19:44