The Lunar Landing Test Vehicle (LLTV) was a training vehicle for NASA's astronauts during the Apollo program to learn the handling of the Apollo landing module used to land on the Moon. The LLTV was the successor of the previously built Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV). The test vehicles were also called "the flying bedstead".
The vehicles were vertical take-off vehicles using a single jet engine mounted on a gimbal so that it always pointed vertically. It was adjusted to cancel 5/6 of the vehicle's weight to simulate the behavior of a lunar lander as realistic as possible.
History[]
LLRV[]
Two Lunar Landing Research Vehicles had been built and were used at NASA's Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California to study and analyze piloting techniques needed to fly and land the lunar module in the Moon's airless environment. After acceptance by NASA, the two vehicles were transferred to the Ellington Air Force Base in Houston.
LLTV[]
The research vehicles were later replaced by an improved version, the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle, and used for astronaut and ASCAN trainings at Ellington.
In October 1970, a tragic accident with an LLTV led to the death of Patty Doyle, one of NASA's first female ASCANs. During a first basic practise with the "flying bedstead", Patty lost control over the vehicle and missed the point to eject herself, crashing it on the test area at Ellington Air Base.[1]
Gallery[]
- Real life images
See also[]
- Lunar Excursion Module (LEM)
- Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM)
External links[]
Lunar Landing Training Vehicle on Wikipedia
References
- ↑ For All Mankind TV series, season 1, episode 3, "Nixon's Women"