Unless you’re new to Tested, you know Ryan Nagata VERY well. He is a master spacesuit replica maker and FOA (“friend of Adam”) who has come by the shop to show us his VERY FIRST spacesuit replica and his replicas for the film First Man, among other things. We’ve been to his shop as well. And of course, you know one of Adam’s most PRIZED possessions is the Apollo A7L spacesuit that Ryan made for him.
Well, Ryan ALSO contributed to Project Egress by making the Apollo 11 hatch window, which was a thing of beauty. Read on.
Bio: Ryan Nagata is an artist from Los Angeles, Calif. After working for years in Hollywood as a director, writer, and prop-builder, Ryan gravitated more towards the art world creating original science-fiction and space-inspired pieces. He is perhaps best known for making some of the most authentic-looking replicas of vintage spacesuits in the world. His suits have been seen in museum exhibits, print ads, TV, and films. Ryan is a frequent collaborator with Adam Savage and has appeared in a number of videos for Tested.com. In 2017, he created many of the costume and prop pieces for the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Ryan Gosling. He also served as a costume consultant and on-set tech for the film.
Artist statement: “As someone who replicates space hardware for a living, my days are spent studying vintage NASA photos, drawing up plans to create pieces, and fabricating said pieces. So “Progress Egress” was right up my alley. I mostly make spacesuit replicas, so this was the first time I made a piece of the spacecraft, which was exciting and opened up a whole new field for me.
I’m now considering making a full scale Mercury capsule in the coming years. It was also the first time I’ve done a collaborative built like this where many makers across the country work on one project. I went for a realistic, literal representation of my particular piece (the window). It was very exciting to see the whole thing come together.”
One thing we noticed during the live Project Egress build at the National Air and Space Museum were all the people in the audience asking a particular person to take a photo with them. That someone was John Saunders of NYC CNC/Saunders Machine Works, and we’re guessing that you know him and his YouTube channel already. So we’ll just say that he and his team were responsible for the INCREDIBLE and intricate gear box on the hatch replica, and then we’ll let John take it from here. Read on!
Bio: John Saunders owns and operates Saunders Machine Works, a manufacturer of machine shop tools and fixture plates. John has documented his machining and entrepreneurial endeavors through the popular YouTube channel NYC CNC and has enjoyed becoming a recognized figure in the manufacturing industry. His latest focus is on educating and inspiring the next generation of machinists, shop owners, and manufacturing entrepreneurs. When he isn’t modeling in Fusion 360 or at a machine, he enjoys Arduino, tennis, and his vizsla Judd. After 15 years on the east coast, John, his wife and two children are proud to call Zanesville, Ohio, home. John graduated Summa Cum Laude from Babson College and is an Autodesk Expert Elite member.
Artist Statement: I was in San Francisco, standing in line at an Autodesk Virtual Reality exhibit. Uncertain what the headset would show, I struck up a conversation with the gentleman next to me. Shortly into our conversation he asked, “What was mankind’s most significant achievement of the 20th century?” I fumbled my words and, perhaps from embarrassment, do not recall what I said. His answer: the Apollo 11 mission. Perhaps my nervousness was justified. This man was Brian Mathews, a member of the team that scanned the Apollo 11 Command Module and created this virtual reality exhibit that allowed spectators to experience the Apollo 11 Command Module from the same perspective as the astronauts.
From that moment on, I binged on all things Apollo; from Wikipedia articles to Netflix shows and everything in between. Then I came across HBO’s “From the Earth to the Moon” – possibly one of the most underrated shows of all time. The 5th episode captivated me, watching as the team at Grumman brainstormed, prototyped, and faced seemingly impossible hurdles to build the Lunar Module.
Fast forward to May, I received an email that read, “We are searching for collaborators on an upcoming build project that involves machining complex parts for a scale replica of an important piece of NASA history.”
I thought someone was pranking me. When I realized this was not a joke and I looked at the project part drawings, I thought, “Are we capable of making these parts? Can we machine them by the July deadline?”
The team at Savage Industries had tasked us with the Hatch Gearbox, a complex mechanism with over 30 parts used to open and close the Command Module hatch. A hatch that represented the crew’s last direct contact with planet earth – and their first contact upon a successful mission completion.
This past Christmas, my wife and I took our five year old son, William, and two year old daughter, Jane, to Washington D.C. William and I had just built the LEGO Saturn V kit and I beamed with pride when he recognized iconic Apollo artifacts at the National Air and Space Museum. As a father, you endeavor to foster an early interest in anything making, building, or engineering.
Back at Saunders Machine Works, the team and I spread out the dozens of prints for the gearbox. Knowing these parts were designed with slide rules and made on manual machines, I wondered, “How did they do it?” I cannot imagine the intricate setups and fixturing used to achieve the detail and precision.
I wanted to know: who originally built these parts? Where were these parts made? A Google search lead to photos of the factory in Downey, California where North American Aviation built the Command Module and many other NASA spacecraft. Seeing the machines, the room, the people responsible for building such spacecraft humanized these amazing feats.
Diving In
We gathered around our conference table. Ed, Jared, Alex, and I divvied up the parts, deciding which person and CNC machine would tackle each.
Our machining experience helped us with the workholding, tooling, and speeds and feeds. But the key for Project Egress was our ability to work as a team; consulting, planning, and troubleshooting together. We then each acted as surgeons, focused individually and solely on the accuracy and detail of an individual part, later convening with others to test fit and watch the gearbox take shape. We made parts using 3-axis, 4-axis, and 5-axis CNC machines as well as a laser and 3D printers. There are no words to explain how it feels to hold the finished Gearbox –only enormous smiles of pride. A sense of accomplishment that transcends any of us individually.
To me, Apollo 11 represents the culmination of knowledge, skills, resources, technology, and the determination to achieve an almost unthinkable human feat. On a smaller and much more humble scale, that mirrors our experience. Machining this replica piece was a test for our team to put our heads together to achieve a goal we thought may be too difficult.
In a world where so much can be had with a mere mouse click and debit card, the Apollo 11 mission is proof that it takes more than money to succeed. You cannot Amazon Prime a Saturn V Rocket. It took a deep roster and multi-generational talent pool of machinists, engineers, material scientists, and thousands of others who challenged themselves to be the best in their fields and collaborate on the largest project in human history.
The North American Aviation plant in Downey, California no longer holds the future of aerospace manufacturing. Left in its place stands a shopping center; a metaphoric and literal sign of the change in times. Yet we stand proud alongside other makers and entrepreneurs as part of the manufacturing renaissance. We aim to inspire younger generations just as we have been inspired by those before us.
I feel honored that, in some small way, we are helping celebrate the most significant achievement of the 20th century. We are proud to highlight this past era – an era that we, as a society, should study and remember not because it is the past but because it should also represent our future.
The Smithsonian now holds our ever-so-small contribution but a very large part of our hearts. I look forward to returning to the museum with William and Jane in hopes that they, and others, are inspired to pursue one of the many paths that will lead to wonderful achievements in the 21st century.
Project Egress gave the high school students participating in Navajo Tech’s engineering graphics course the opportunity to not only learn about 3D printing, collaboration AND Apollo 11, but earn college credit besides!
Read on to learn more about Navajo Tech and its participation in Project Egress.
About: Navajo Technical University, like all tribal colleges and universities, grew out of a prayer in the 1960s that envisioned all tribes moving toward self-determination by expressing their sovereignty and establishing their own institutions of higher education. It was as a result of this movement that NTU began as the Navajo Skill Center in 1979 to meet the immediate needs of an unemployed population on the Navajo Nation.
Students enrolled to learn the rudiments of a trade, graduated, and joined the workforce; however, it soon became clear that the students wanted more. In 1985 the Board of Directors changed the Skill Center’s name to Crownpoint Institute of Technology and in November 2006 the Navajo Nation Council approved changing the name to Navajo Technical College. In 2013, NTC became NTU – becoming the first university established on the Navajo Nation.
Today, NTU is one of the premier institutions of higher education in the nation, providing a unique balance between science and technology and culture and tradition. Much of what guides NTU’s success is our mission and our identity rooted in the Diné Philosophy of Education.
PART: #18-B: RIGHT HAND LATCH ASSEMBLY B
About the Process:
“Project EGRESS was a great opportunity for students in our 2019 Summer STEM & SKILLS Dual Credit Program to apply what they learned during the summer. High school students from Many Farms, Arizona and Wingate, NM were able to participate in this once in a lifetime experience to be a part of history to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 space mission.
The high school students were able to earn college credits by participating in our ENGR-130 Engineering Graphics course. Students learned how to design parts in 3D CAD and how to print them on various 3D Printers. The students were excited to be working with Savage Industries alongside Mr. Adam Savage. This was not only hands on experience in working with 3D CAD, but also a lesson in the history of the Apollo space missions.
In the final two weeks of class, the students earned their final grades by concentrating on preparation for and printing the final working 3D model for the unified crew hatch. Using three different models of 3D printers, they were able to relate their own knowledge of how to use 3D CAD to build these 3D sketches and transfer them into printable STL files. They were able to learn each step in downloading the STL files, transferring to each software for the different 3D printers, and load them into the 3D printers for print.
In the end, this was great for the students because it brought them closer together by building fundamental team working skills and working with an interdisciplinary team. This was truly a great and exciting experience for these students.
The Project EGRESS team wishes to acknowledge the support we received from the Navajo Tech Advanced Manufacturing Center, the Navajo Tech Innovation Center, and Project KARMA.”
— Darrick Lee, NTU BSEE May 2019
Engineering Graphics Instructor & Project EGRESS Lead
Well, before you can attach the parts, you need a hatch and a base. Luckily for Project Egress, Microsoft stepped up to the task of building the 65-pound hatch replica as well as the 140-pound steel display stand. And let us tell you, it was quite an engineering challenge, requiring a team of many … several of whom attended the live build at the National Air and Space Museum. They MAY have been horrified to watch as Adam HAMMERED a stubborn part in. But we’ll never tell.
Adam Savage speaks at the Microsoft Outside In Speaker Series on May 16, 2019. (Photography by Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures)
Continue reading for more on Microsoft’s Advanced Prototyping Center and their contribution to Project Egress.
Artist statement: The Advanced Prototyping Center is located on Microsoft’s main campus in Redmond, WA. where it serves as a hub of collaboration for product makers to come together and realize the next generation of Microsoft hardware devices.
PART: HATCH BASE AND FRAME
Those APC team members that were involved in Project Egress include:
• Eric Roth – CNC Machinist
• Chris Ward – CNC Machinist
• Jordan Little – CNC Machinist
• Connor Garrity – CNC Machinist
• Darrell Harvey – CNC Machinist
• Taras Shevchik – CNC Machinist
• Bianca Sullivan – WelderFabricator
• Dick Compton – Model Maker
• Thomas Randall – Model Maker
• Ryan Sparks – Model Maker
• Bryan Adams – Painter
• John Haley – APC Manager
• Randy Kinser – Engineering Architect
• Jay Trzaskos – Engineering Architect
Read more about the Microsoft team’s mission and strategy here.
Self-taught electronic engineer, artist, musician, mechanical engineer, woodworker, and YouTuber Fran Blanche had never put in so many hours over so few days to complete a single project … before Project Egress.
Read on to learn more about Fran as well as to watch her video from the live build.
Bio: Fran Blanche is the owner and founder of Frantone Electronics (1994-present) one of the world’s very first boutique guitar effects companies. Fran is a completely self-taught electronic engineer, artist, musician, published photographer, space technology researcher and historian, mechanical engineer, woodworker, and YouTube vlogger. A former professional AM and FM radio DJ and videographer. Fran has worked on the restoration of the one of a kind Maillardet Automaton at the Franklin Institute and worked on vintage Apollo flight hardware at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. She currently operates FranLab, producing educational science content for YouTube.
Artist Statement: “My participation in Project Egress was a transcendent experience that challenged my resolve and problem solving abilities. I had never put in so many hours over so few days to complete a single project, and finally completing my own small piece of such a large project was immensely satisfying on so many levels. Being at the NASM to witness the build really solidified the reality of what I was asked to do, and the completion of the hatch left me with a tremendous appreciation of having participated in something that truly became more than the mere sum of its parts.”
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Adam Savage and the Smithsonian Institution collaborated on Project Egress, a plan to create a LIFE-SIZE replica of the Apollo 11 command module hatch! The build entailed hours of planning, scanning and organizing the 40-plus artists who would contribute parts, and it all culminated on July 18, 2019, when Adam and a team of makers assembled the hatch LIVE at the National Air and Space Museum!
Many of you already know Jen Schachter from her frequent collaborations with Adam Savage here on Tested. In the case of Project Egress, Jen was Mission Control, and honestly, this couldn’t have happened without her. In part, her duties included recruiting and coordinating more than 40 makers in the making of the Apollo 11 escape hatch replica … which was assembled in front of a live audience at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. (Imagine just thinking through all the tools and supplies you’d need to haul out from San Francisco!)
Read on for more about Jen, her sketches of the replica, and her thoughts on the project overall.
Artist statement: “In all my research about the Apollo 11 hatch, my favorite image is a photograph of the North American Aviation factory in Downey, Calif. It’s a wide shot of the lab floor with a lineup of conical wooden frames. Upon closer examination, they are skeletal prototypes of the Command Module, built in humble plywood.
That photograph made the technology so much more approachable to me: the spacecraft that took humans to the moon wasn’t designed by wizards, they were real people, solving problems in very tangible, analog ways. To me, that’s what Project Egress is all about — making the technology and the craft that went into manufacturing each piece both accessible and visible. It is not a cold piece of machinery, but an anthropological artifact, celebrating the hand and process of each builder who made it.”
Where to start when talking about Andrew Barth, “mission engineer” of Project Egress? Well, we’ll start here: This engineering student is nothing short of extraordinary. Drawing from 3D scan data and original technical drawings from Air and Space’s archives, Andrew modeled the various intricate mechanics of the Apollo 11 Command Module hatch using Fusion 360. Then he separated the digital model into its individual mechanical components for our collaborating makers to replicate.
Andrew was absolutely key to the making of this replica. Read on to get to know Andrew better.
About: Andrew Barth is a student of mechanical engineering in Central Illinois. For Project Egress, he was the CAD modeller and reverse engineer. His previous projects include a work-in-progress hobby turbine engine, a work-in-progress musical Tesla coil, and a million other small RC and 3D printing projects. Egress was his first project with Adam Savage, Jen Schachter, and the whole team of makers behind the parts, and he looks forward to many more collaborations in the future.
Artist statement: “Working on this project has allowed me to glimpse into the world of an engineer during the Apollo program. The coolest part of the process was looking at photos and scans of the hatch and discovering little details and nifty ways some of the parts were manufactured. I believe all parts of the original hatch were manually machined, which makes the manufacture of the most complex parts even more impressive and more special. I’m also glad the aspect of community between engineers, sewists, machinists, artists, and technicians of the Apollo program could be captured in this community project as well.”
In 1967, during a routine countdown simulation on the Apollo 1 spacecraft, an electrical fire erupted inside the cabin. Under ideal conditions, the three-part hatch could be opened inwards within 60 to 90 seconds, but the fire spread quickly within the pure oxygen environment, and the atmospheric pressure difference was too great. The astronauts — Gus Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee –were unable to exit in time.
Following the Apollo 1 tragedy, engineers were tasked with designing a new hatch that could be opened in three seconds and allow the crew to egress in under half a minute.
THE APOLLO 11 COMMAND MODULE (NASA)
The new hatch design integrated the three layers into one, and equipped the perimeter of the door with 15 latches, actuated by five strokes of a ratcheting handle. It also included a plunger mechanism, a gas powered piston to push the hatch open and attenuate travel, a manually operated pressure dump valve, and a screw jack attachment for emergency closure.
This impressive feat of engineering was unprecedented. It is estimated around 150 new tools were designed and built just to work on it. One account refers to the unified hatch as “the most carefully engineered and manufactured door ever built.”
In July 2019, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first time humankind set foot on the moon. To commemorate this historic event, Adam Savage, in collaboration with the Smithsonian, set out to create a life-size replica of the epocal unified hatch.
Artist Jen Schachter then recruited a team of more than 40 makers and fabricators from around the country to contribute to Project Egress. Referencing the 3D files and dimensioned drawings, each artist precisely manufactured one piece of the hatch assembly using a process of their own choosing.
The result? A sculpture that is a patchwork of materials and techniques showing the hand of each builder and the ways we interpret aerospace history and material culture.
At its core, Project Egress is a celebration, not only of the technology, but the thinkers and makers, seen and unseen, who made the first lunar landing possible.
The Project Egress hatch was assembled before a live audience at the National Air and Space Museum by Adam, Andrew, Jen and several other makers on July 18, 2019. Be sure to check it out in person next time you visit the museum!
How do you digitize something as enormous as the Space Shuttle Discovery or as fragile as Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit … and why bother? Jen Schachter visits the Smithsonian’s Digitization Program Office to learn more about the multipart process — and the technology — involved in safely scanning and creating 3D digital models of museum objects.
