• Question abt Lunar landing simulators

    From stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jul 25 18:07:30 2019
    Did the LLTVs have images of the lunar surface projected onto their 'windows'?

    Did some other lunar landing simulator have moving lunar surface images displayed on the windows to simulate motion across the lunar surface in response to the pilot's control actions?

    Background: In 1962-64 I was a computer programmer at NASA's Langley Research Center. One of my projects was a program to generate data to feed to an automated carving tool (which I never saw) which was to track back and forth across a slab of paraffin
    to shape a model of a section of the lunar surface. I understood that the LM mock-up pilot's control actions would control the motion of cameras moving across the moon model and send those images to the 'windows' of the simulator to simulate the view as
    the 'LM' approached the surface.

    Does anyone know if such a simulator was actually built and utilized? If so, was the model lunar surface preserved? stored? displayed? photographed?

    We had contour maps of the lunar surface. The input to my program was generated by sampling points along contours. That data essentially had fixed z-coordinate values (elevation) and randomly changing x-y coordinates. My output was regularly
    incrementing x-y coordinates with approximated z values.

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  • From David Spain@21:1/5 to stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com on Fri Jul 26 10:06:13 2019
    On 7/25/2019 9:07 PM, stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com wrote:
    Did the LLTVs have images of the lunar surface projected onto their 'windows'?

    Did some other lunar landing simulator have moving lunar surface images displayed on the windows to simulate motion across the lunar surface in response to the pilot's control actions?

    Background: In 1962-64 I was a computer programmer at NASA's Langley Research Center. One of my projects was a program to generate data to feed to an automated carving tool (which I never saw) which was to track back and forth across a slab of
    paraffin to shape a model of a section of the lunar surface. I understood that the LM mock-up pilot's control actions would control the motion of cameras moving across the moon model and send those images to the 'windows' of the simulator to simulate
    the view as the 'LM' approached the surface.

    Does anyone know if such a simulator was actually built and utilized? If so, was the model lunar surface preserved? stored? displayed? photographed?

    We had contour maps of the lunar surface. The input to my program was generated by sampling points along contours. That data essentially had fixed z-coordinate values (elevation) and randomly changing x-y coordinates. My output was regularly
    incrementing x-y coordinates with approximated z values.


    This is a great question for the ARocket mailing list.
    You can subscribe here:

    http://www.arocketry.net/forum.html

    Sad but questions like this used to get a full airing here. I could
    re-post your question to ARocket and paste the answers back here, but
    why be the middleman when you can get your questions (and followup
    questions) answered first hand over there.

    Good Luck,
    Dave

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  • From stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Sat Jul 27 08:39:43 2019
    David,

    Thanks for your recommendation.

    I just read the intro to the aRocket forum. It seems to be specific to amateur rocketry. My question is about NASA history. It doesn't seem to me that I would be on topic.

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  • From stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Sat Jul 27 08:40:01 2019
    David,

    Thanks for your recommendation.

    I just read the intro to the aRocket forum. It seems to be specific to amateur rocketry. My question is about NASA history. It doesn't seem to me that I would be on topic.

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  • From Niklas Holsti@21:1/5 to stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com on Sat Jul 27 19:35:52 2019
    On 19-07-27 18:40 , stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com wrote:
    David,

    Thanks for your recommendation.

    I just read the intro to the aRocket forum. It seems to be specific
    to amateur rocketry. My question is about NASA history. It doesn't
    seem to me that I would be on topic.

    The people most in voice on aRocket are the kinds of "amateurs" who used
    to work in NASA and commercial aerospace companies, then went into
    start-up private launcher development, and now do professional
    consulting in the area. I think you will find NASA history experts
    there, as well as experts on rocketry in general.

    --
    Niklas Holsti
    Tidorum Ltd
    niklas holsti tidorum fi
    . @ .

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  • From David Spain@21:1/5 to Niklas Holsti on Sun Jul 28 02:00:18 2019
    On 7/27/2019 12:35 PM, Niklas Holsti wrote:
    On 19-07-27 18:40 , stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com wrote:
    David,

    Thanks for your recommendation.

    I just read the intro to the aRocket forum.  It seems to be specific
    to amateur rocketry.  My question is about NASA history.  It doesn't
    seem to me that I would be on topic.

    The people most in voice on aRocket are the kinds of "amateurs" who used
    to work in NASA and commercial aerospace companies, then went into
    start-up private launcher development, and now do professional
    consulting in the area. I think you will find NASA history experts
    there, as well as experts on rocketry in general.


    Agree with Niklas here.

    Topics often drift off from strictly amateur rocketry into NASA history etc.

    The rule isn't strictly enforced and people tend to pick and choose the
    threads they participate in.

    Dave

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  • From Brian Lawrence@21:1/5 to stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com on Sun Jul 28 08:57:50 2019
    On 26/07/2019 02:07, stinsonlenkerd@gmail.com wrote:

    Did the LLTVs have images of the lunar surface projected onto their 'windows'?

    <https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/LLRV_Monograph.pdf>

    <https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/news/FactSheets/FS-026-DFRC.html>

    Did some other lunar landing simulator have moving lunar surface images displayed on the windows to simulate motion across the lunar surface in response to the pilot's control actions?

    <https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/nasas-moon-simulator/>
    <https://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Lunar_Excursion_Module_Simulator>

    "The Lunar Module Simulators in Houston and Cape Kennedy were produced
    by the Link Group of Singer General Precision Systems, under contract to Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, with visual display units
    provided by Farrand Optical Company."

    Originally three LMS were planned, but the third was cancelled.


    <https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2019/07/08/apollos-lunar-module-simulator/>
    <https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2019/07/05/reminiscences-of-apollo/>

    Background: In 1962-64 I was a computer programmer at NASA's Langley Research Center. One of my projects was a program to generate data to feed to an automated carving tool (which I never saw) which was to track back and forth across a slab of
    paraffin to shape a model of a section of the lunar surface. I understood that the LM mock-up pilot's control actions would control the motion of cameras moving across the moon model and send those images to the 'windows' of the simulator to simulate
    the view as the 'LM' approached the surface.

    Does anyone know if such a simulator was actually built and utilized? If so, was the model lunar surface preserved? stored? displayed? photographed?

    We had contour maps of the lunar surface. The input to my program was generated by sampling points along contours. That data essentially had fixed z-coordinate values (elevation) and randomly changing x-y coordinates. My output was regularly
    incrementing x-y coordinates with approximated z values.


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  • From Greg (Strider) Moore@21:1/5 to All on Fri Aug 23 21:51:33 2019
    wrote in message
    news:e163748d-619c-45fd-a806-e3cc0d8e78e2@googlegroups.com...

    Did the LLTVs have images of the lunar surface projected onto their >'windows'?

    I don't believe they had any windows. The LLRV itself certainly didn't.

    Did some other lunar landing simulator have moving lunar surface images >displayed on the windows to simulate motion across the lunar surface in >response to the pilot's control actions?

    Background: In 1962-64 I was a computer programmer at NASA's Langley
    Research Center. One of my projects was a program to generate data to feed >to an automated carving tool (which I never saw) which was to track back
    and forth across a slab of paraffin to shape a model of a section of the >lunar surface. I understood that the LM mock-up pilot's control actions >would control the motion of cameras moving across the moon model and send >those images to the 'windows' of the simulator to simulate the view as the >'LM' approached the surface.

    There was a simulator at JSC that did have video monitors that were attached
    to a camera that could scan and pan over a model of the lunar surface.
    There's an excellent example of this in the "Mare Tranquilitatis" episode of From the Earth to the Moon. Armstrong allows the camera to "crash" into the surface in order to make a point.


    Does anyone know if such a simulator was actually built and utilized? If
    so, was the model lunar surface preserved? stored? displayed? photographed?

    We had contour maps of the lunar surface. The input to my program was >generated by sampling points along contours. That data essentially had
    fixed z-coordinate values (elevation) and randomly changing x-y
    coordinates. My output was regularly incrementing x-y coordinates with >approximated z values.

    Check out the above episode. As for if it still exists, no idea. It's
    possible (but unlikely) that they used what you created for the episode.


    --
    Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/
    CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net
    IT Disaster Response - https://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Response-Lessons-Learned-Field/dp/1484221834/

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  • From Nige Danton@21:1/5 to Moore on Fri Sep 13 19:28:07 2019
    Greg \(Strider\) Moore <mooregr@deletethisgreenms.com> wrote:
    wrote in message

    There's an excellent example of this in the "Mare Tranquilitatis" episode of From the Earth to the Moon. Armstrong

    The whole series is worth a watch IMO.

    --
    Nige Danton - Replace the obvious with g.m.a.i.l

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  • From Greg (Strider) Moore@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 18 23:10:10 2019
    "Nige Danton" wrote in message news:962378173.590095579.454680.nige.danton-nospam.com@news.eternal-september.org...

    Greg \(Strider\) Moore <mooregr@deletethisgreenms.com> wrote:
    wrote in message

    There's an excellent example of this in the "Mare Tranquilitatis" episode
    of
    From the Earth to the Moon. Armstrong

    The whole series is worth a watch IMO.


    Agreed. Just that one was applicable to this answer :-)
    Even the "weaker" episodes I think are worth watching and give a unique take
    on things.

    --
    Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/
    CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net
    IT Disaster Response - https://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Response-Lessons-Learned-Field/dp/1484221834/

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