Science Fun

Well, here we are again with another post in the Apollo Spacecraft series. This week we will look at a small, but very important piece of equipment, the Instrument Unit. This small ring, located at the top of the third stage and before the Lunar Module Adaptor was jammed packed with electronic doo dads that kept the spacecraft on track during the launch and Earth orbit maneuvers.

The cylinder was only 36 inches high and had a diameter of 260 inches. It was constructed of an aluminum alloy honey comb structure with channel grooved aluminum upper and lower rings, which allowed the assembly to be inserted above the third stage. The whole assembly had to be strong enough to carry the weight of the top portion of the spacecraft. The unit was manufactured in three 120 degree sections and was partitioned into 24 individual number sections where equipment packages were located.

The Instrument Unit contains the guidance system used by the Saturn V rocket. Some of the electronics contained within the unit are a digital computer, analog flight computer, emergency detection system, inertial guidance platform, control accelerometers and control gyros. Other systems contained within the unit are environment control, thermal conditioning system, preflight air purge, gas bearing supply, hazardous gas detection system, emergency communications system and radio control systems.

The Instrument Unit has many important components and subsystems that played a great roll in the early stages of the flight. In the coming weeks we will review some of these components in more detail. This ring of equipment, the Instrument Unit, was the heart of the Apollo rocket booster system. Join us next week as we explore the inner workings of the Guidance and Control. Material for this article from NASA history and Apollo space program.

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