This question is spun off from a different question I posted, where I was told I should not combine questions into one.
I am interested to learn more about the Apollo Docking System, and particularly I am interested in what the exact launch configuration was.
I know that the CM has a Probe that docks to the LM's Drogue. At the time of initial launch, the probe is not yet needed. Is it installed at launch, or is installing the probe part of the initial LM extraction procedure?
Yes, the probe was installed in the command module at launch, just as the drogue was installed in the lunar module at launch.
Prior to lift-off of the Apollo spacecraft, the docking probe assembly is installed in the CM docking ring in the retracted configuration and is attached to the boost protective cover by a tension- link mechanism. If, during ascent, a launch escape system (LES) abort of the CM is required (fig. 10), the docking ring is severed from the CM by a mild detonating fuse (MDF) charge, and the docking ring and probe assembly are jettisoned with the launch escape tower. For normal ascent, the docking ring is not severed; however, the tension link is separated from the probe as the tension- link-to-probe attach pins shear when the launch escape tower is jettisoned.
