Description
Space sextant designated for use by the astronauts during the T002 Manual Navigation experiment on the second and third Skylab missions, measuring approximately 9 x 7 x 6, with a NASA parts tag on one side, reading: “Handheld Space Sextant, GFAE No. EG25100-2, Serial No. 1A, Mfr. No. B4158000003, Contr. No. NAS2-2706.” Includes a lens and metal carrying case. In fine condition. The sextant was designed to measure the angle between the lines of sight to two known stars, a star and a lunar limb or landmark, or two opposite lunar limbs. In the Skylab T002 experiment this capability was leveraged to investigate the feasibility of a manual navigation system for use in back-up applications and to investigate the capability of the crew to make the necessary celestial observations accurately and with precision under conditions of long term space travel. A superb piece of space-age manual navigation hardware.
Terms and abbreviations used in our descriptions.
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