I agree
Just think how cool that would be with an adaptor to your computer or console of choice.
Nice carpark, btw.
If you're a space geek gamer looking for the ultimate joystick, then feast your eyes on the Apollo 15 "attitude controller assembly" - the stick used by commander David R. Scott to land the Falcon lunar module on the Moon in 1971, and which goes under the hammer later this month: The Apollo 15 lunar module controller The …
So, before crashing 'Falcon' into the moon after they'd returned to the CSM (name I cannot remember), they unplugged the joystick and took it with them? Did the same joystick return to the moon on later missions? Or did they just want a keepsake, and the joystick wasn't nailed down? I'm not doubting this story, just wondering operationally, was it normal practice to strip bits of the LM before dumping it?
So, how come this joystick still exists?
If this is the right stick controller from the Commander's position from the Falcon's ascent stage, then - and correct me if I'm wrong here - the AS was jettisoned in orbit around the moon prior to EOI.
Did Scotty dismantle this prior to stage sep before de-orbiting, and then carry an extra, unplanned object of unknown mass back in the CM to Earth?
It CAN'T be the one from the LEM, even if it is an original NASA controller.
"Did Scotty dismantle this prior to stage sep before de-orbiting, and then carry an extra, unplanned object of unknown mass back in the CM to Earth?
It CAN'T be the one from the LEM, even if it is an original NASA controller."
And thus the greatest hoax ever carried out was slowly unraveled
*cough*how did the things we verifiably left on the moon get there then?*splutter*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Laser_Ranging_experiment
http://greekgeek.squidoo.com/apollo-moon-landing-photos-from-space
If we're going for crazy conspiracy theories, I heard that Osama Bin Laden never existed, he was invented by the CIA so they could keep their budget after the cold war ended.
That should keep the nuts busy for a while...
If I throw a shoe onto the roof that does not mean I have walked on the roof.
If I throw a shoe into a lake that does not mean I have walked on lake floor.
How did Voyager 1 get to the edge of the galaxy unless someone put it there?
http://www.checktheevidence.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=324&Itemid=63
If I throw a shoe onto the roof that does not mean I have walked on the roof.
If I throw a shoe into a lake that does not mean I have walked on lake floor.
If, however, there is a delicate and large piece of equipment, like the lunar reflectors placed by the Apollo astronauts, in situ on the lunar surface, aligned and unbroken, which has been there for 40+ years, you can be pretty sure it was placed there rather than thrown.
How did Voyager 1 get to the edge of the galaxy unless someone put it there?
Voyager 1 is currently 127.75 AU from the sun, which is the edge of the solar system. This is about 0.02 light years away. The edge of the galaxy is over 100,000 light years from where Voyager 1 is currently sat. There is a slight discrepancy in your question here.
Wrong question.
So, how come this joystick still exists?
If your other assumptions hold, this joystick would still exist in some form in some place. I think you meant to ask:
So how did this joystick come to be here?
Moving on:
Did Scotty dismantle this prior to stage sep before de-orbiting, and then carry an extra, unplanned object of unknown mass back in the CM to Earth?
Well, it wouldn't be the first, nor the last, time. For example:
http://www.dailytech.com/Camera+Used+by+Astronauts+on+Moon+Pulls+940+Gs+at+Auction/article34582.htm
It's easily disconnected, so wouldn't surprise me that they "saved" things from the lunar module, if nothing else they could have re-used it on another mission. It may even have served a dual purpose in the command module.
The mission profile tells us that they transferred moon samples and "other items" before ditching the LM.
Perhaps it has force feedback, for which it needs power, and control lines. Presumably, this sort of thing would be standard where G-forces in a spin would otherwise prevent the pilot from countering the spin by forcing the stick in the other direction? Also, connectors for things just used to be bigger - why do old PS2 mice need connectors with so many pins when a USB 1.0 plug has far fewer?
Apparently Col Scott unbolted a few souvenirs from the LM before undocking. It makes one wonder how much else he unbolted from his various craft and brought back.
I've always been sympathetic to the crew about the the 'raw deal' concerning the Apollo 15 stamp-gate controversy. This extreme case of scavenged space hardware auction reduces my sympathy by about 4%.