Great pictures! Is that black frame part of the telescope mount? I really looks like Hubble parts!
Something that's always eluded me:How did the ATM translate in to position upon reaching orbit?I can't find any information about this mechanism, other than a couple of drawings suggesting that it was a sort of hinge or arm, rather than the (LM derived) ATM flying free and re-docking.
A malfunction of the hinge would have made both the ATM deployment and CSM docking impossible and seemed to be the major concern pre-launch.
What about the docking mechanism between the ATM and the DM?Was it a standard probe/drogue as used in the CM/LM?And was this the first time such a connection had been made without manual intervention by NASA?
Ok I see where I've been going wrong.I thought the ATM was a LM derived module, with a pressurised cabin from which the instruments were operated.But obviously as flown this was not the case. I guess it was basically an instrument pallet with no habitable volume, so no docking required?