Apollo Command Module Impact Testing

Impact Test Facility
This four-legged tower contained a pendulum that was used to swing a full-scale instrumented CM at controlled speeds and angles, dropping it into a water tank or on a special land impact area to simulate parachute landings. Drop tests provided information on how impact affects the spacecraft structure and crew system response. The impact information was relayed and recorded on oscillographs and magnetic tapes and used to confirm and define spacecraft and equipment design.

Tower height is 143 feet, height of the catwalk and pendulum pivot is 125 feet, length of pendulum arms is 91 feet, and maximum impact velocity is 40 feet per second vertical and 50 feet per second horizontal.

Caption from Aerospace Legacy Foundation