Very rare fully intact Block I Command Module Main Display Console (MDC) panel, #18, measuring approximately 22.5 x 17. Panel deals with the capsule’s electrical power and systems, with switches for oxygen purging of the fuel cells, Main Bus A and B breakers, and AC inverters. Four dials are also present, and labeled Fuel Cell indicators, Battery Charger, AC Indicators, and DC Indicators, with settings for the fuel cell and pyro battery. Two gauges at the top measure the fuel cell hydrogen and oxygen flow, as well as the module’s temperature, with a master alarm button below the gauges. This panel would have been mounted to the right of the lunar module pilot for use throughout the flight and after splashdown. A similar panel was mounted in the Apollo 1 spacecraft at the time of its fire on January 27, 1967. In fine condition.
This is the same type of panel used by NASA during the mid-1960s in preparation for unmanned missions as well as Apollo 1, which claimed the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee in 1967. North American Aviation discontinued the Block I design after the accident as NASA concentrated on the Block II design for lunar missions. RR Auction COA.
