What was the purpose of Boilerplate 23 in the Apollo program?

Boilerplate 23 served as a nonfunctional test article and mass simulator designed to help NASA engineers evaluate spacecraft design, structural integrity, and performance characteristics before committing to operational missions. As a boilerplate, it replicated the physical dimensions and mass properties of a functional Apollo command module without operational capabilities, allowing testing of structural loads, dynamics, and handling characteristics.

Where is Boilerplate 23 currently located?

Boilerplate 23 is part of the collection at the National Air and Space Museum. It has also been exhibited at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, associated with the artifact SA-500D. The artifact's coordinates in Huntsville are latitude 34.710598 and longitude -86.657051.

What are the physical specifications of Boilerplate 23?

Boilerplate 23 measures 127 inches (322.58 centimeters) in height and 154 inches (391.16 centimeters) in diameter. It was constructed from steel by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and weighs approximately 4,500 pounds, serving as a full-scale mockup of the Apollo command module for testing purposes.

Who manufactured Boilerplate 23?

Boilerplate 23 was manufactured by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, a major aerospace contractor that produced numerous spacecraft and test articles for the Apollo program. The company was later merged into McDonnell Douglas and eventually became part of Boeing.

What is the relationship between Boilerplate 23 and other Apollo boilerplates?

Boilerplate 23 is one of multiple Apollo program test articles used during the 1960s, alongside Boilerplate 29 (circa 1965), 1101A (circa 1965), 1102A (before 1968), and 30. Each boilerplate served specific testing purposes with varying configurations tailored to different evaluation needs throughout the Apollo program development cycle.

Boilerplate 23

test article used during the Apollo program

Vehicle Boilerplate Q87988428

Facts

15 properties

Instance of: boilerplate
Inception: 1964^[8]
Country: United States^[3]
Located in: Huntsville
Coordinate location: 🗺️ 34.711°, -86.657°^[10]
Collection: National Air and Space Museum^[7]
Coordinates: 🗺️ 34.711°, -86.657°
Diameter: 154 inch, 391.16 centimetre^[13]^[14]
Exhibition history: U.S. Space & Rocket Center^[9]
Height: 127 inch, 322.58 centimetre^[11]^[12]
Located in the administrative territorial entity: Huntsville^[2]
Made from material: steel^[6]
Manufacturer: McDonnell Aircraft Corporation^[5]
Material used: steel
Operator: National Aeronautics and Space Administration^[4]

🏷️ Also known as

en Apollo Test Capsule 23 en Boilerplate 23 en BP-23

🔖 Identifiers · 3

Image (Wikimedia Commons): Apollo Pad Abort Test -2.jpg ↗
Smithsonian ARK ID: nv92bd7221f-6f50-4dc2-8ab0-1009cafc55c3
Smithsonian resource ID: nasm_A19800181000

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Collection 1

National Air and Space Museum

Country 1

United States

Exhibition history 1

U.S. Space & Rocket Center

Instance of 1

boilerplate

Located in the administrative territorial entity 1

Huntsville

Made from material 1

steel

Manufacturer 1

McDonnell Aircraft Corporation

Operator 1

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Summary

Boilerplate 23 is a boilerplate^[1].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

Class ancestry

[1] ↑ Boilerplate 23 is an instance of boilerplate (Q4938353) [P31, primary]. Wikidata. wikidata.org.

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Boilerplate 23. Retrieved May 3, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/boilerplate-23

MLA “Boilerplate 23.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 3 May. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/boilerplate-23.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_boilerplate-23_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Boilerplate 23}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/boilerplate-23}, note = {Accessed: 2026-05-03}}

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According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Boilerplate 23 — https://4ort.xyz/entity/boilerplate-23 (retrieved 2026-05-03)

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