The Lunar Flag Assembly (LFA)
The American flag on the moon is a great illustration of the fact that in space, nothing is simple.
Apollo 11 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the Moon and raised an American flag at the landing site, and every Apollo mission crew after them followed in their trail.
The Lunar Flag Assembly (LFA) was a kit holding a flag of the United States.
It was designed to be erected on the Moon during the Apollo Mission to the Moon.
Six such flag devices were planted on the Moon.
The nylon flags were hung on a telescoping stick and horizontal bars constructed of one-inch anodized aluminum tubes.
Insulated tubular case
The flags were stored on the outside of the Apollo Lunar Module (LM). Most of them on the descent ladder inside a thermally insulated tubular case.
They were designed to be protected from exhaust gas temperatures calculated to reach 2,000 °F (1,090 °C).
The device was designed and supervised by Jack Kinzler. He was head of technical services at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston, Texas.
Six of the flags were ordered from a government supply catalog. And measured 3 by 5 feet (0.91 by 1.52 m).
The last American flag that was planted on the Moon was the slightly larger, 6-foot (1.8 m)-wide flag.
And had hung in the MSC Mission Operations Control Room for most of the Apollo programs.
Design of The Lunar Flag Assembly (LFA)
Three months before the July 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Robert Gilruth, director of the MSC. He asked Jack Kinzler who was the head of technical services at MSC, to take on the task.
Sparked by the memory of his mother hanging curtains through his childhood. Kinzler came up with the concept of inserting a horizontal pole through a hemmed pocket at the top of the flag to support it.
It would make it appear to fly on the airless Moon as it would float in the wind on Earth.
The vertical and horizontal poles were each made of one-inch aluminum tubes in two telescoping parts, anodized with gold color.
Dual-walled protective shroud
And the total height of the flagpole was limited to 28-inch (71 cm) and 66-inch (170 cm).
The Lunar Flag Assembly was stored immediately behind the left side of the LM ladder.
To protect the flag from extreme conditions, it had to be stored inside a dual-walled protective shroud.
It was constructed of a stainless steel outer case separated from an aluminum layer by Thermoflex insulation. And with many layers of Kapton thermal insulation foil between the inner case and the flag.
Deploying the American flag proved to be a challenge
Deploying the American flag during the Apollo 11 mission proved to be a real challenge.
Aldrin and Armstrong had difficulty inserting the pole into the lunar surface. And only accomplished to get it about seven inches deep.
When they retreated away from the flag, it showed it could stand on its own.
Scientists learned later that the lunar dust has a different profile than terrestrial dust.
Dust from Earth has rounded sides; dust from the Moon has quite sharp edges.
Sharp edges
Due to the sharp edges of the lunar dust makes them catch against each other. And makes it challenging to insert items into them.
Aldrin later reported that the flag of Apollo 11. That was placed about 27 feet from the centerline of the Lunar Lander “Eagle” landing craft. Was blown over by the blast of the rocket exhaust during takeoff.
Therefore on later missions. Care was taken by subsequent crews to place the flags at greater distances from the Lunar Module.
That’s it – hope you enjoyed this short article! If you are curious about the news and magazine coverage during that summer of 1969, you can explore this short article with great images from the advertising media in 1969.