LANDING GEAR

The cantilever-type landing gear is attached externally to the Descent Stage and folds inward to fit within the shroud of the Saturn V aerodynamic shell. It consists of four sets of legs connected to outriggers that extend from the ends of the Descent Stage structural beams. Each landing gear consists of a primary strut and foot pad, a drive-out mechanism, two secondary struts, two down-lock mechanisms, and a truss. The struts are machined aluminum with machined fittings mechanically attached at the ends. The foot pads consist of inner and outer layers of spun aluminum that are bonded to honeycomb core. The formed aluminum tube probes on the foot pads are each equipped with a sensing device. The side braces are made of swaged tubing.