Space Launch System - Orion

[Eric Mc]

How do they access the crawler way on the other side of the building. Is there some sort of massing turning circle?

[MartG]

Yes - though the crawlerway from the NW door was either never finished or has been removed and built over...

I recall reading somewhere that only one Saturn V ever used the Western side to exit the VAB

[MartG]

Looks like it was Skylab one...



Edit: I've posted the question on a forum frequented by people who worked there at the time - will post any definitive answer here

Edited by MartG on Saturday 8th September 12:34

[Eric Mc]

MartG said:

Looks like it was Skylab one...



Edit: I've posted the question on a forum frequented by people who worked there at the time - will post any definitive answer here

Edited by MartG on Saturday 8th September 12:34

Skylab was a bit of a "back door" project.

[MartG]

Eric Mc said:

MartG said:

Looks like it was Skylab one...



Edit: I've posted the question on a forum frequented by people who worked there at the time - will post any definitive answer here

Edited by MartG on Saturday 8th September 12:34

Skylab was a bit of a "back door" project.

Apparently Apollos 10 and 13 also used the West bays - still waiting for more details

[MartG]

The power of the internet - and the Space Hipsters and Saturn History groups on Facebook

Old Apollo era pic of the VAB showing both western crawlerways present



And one of Apollo 10 leaving the VAB

[Beati Dogu]

Here's a time lapse of the 4 hour process to move the tower into the VAB:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=0&...

It'll be in there for 7 months for fit tests etc.

[Eric Mc]

I wonder what the criteria was for choosing between the front doors or the back doors?

[MartG]

Eric Mc said:

I wonder what the criteria was for choosing between the front doors or the back doors?

At one point there were 3 Saturn Vs ( Apollo 9,10, and 11 ) undergoing prep work in three of the four high bays

During the Shuttle era the western bays were rarely used - usually if a Shuttle needed to be rolled back for protection from a hurricane and the two Eastern bays were already occupied

[Beati Dogu]

They only had 3 mobile launchers to build the Saturn V stacks on to of course. Here's a nice NASA video on the assembly process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUDmBJaKID4

[Beati Dogu]

They've completed the final parachute test drop of the Orion capsule.

Pulling it out the back of a C-17 transport aircraft about 6 miles above at the US Army's test range in Yuma, Arizona.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPiT-Q4kaBE

[MartG]

First Orion service module completed

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spacefligh...

[MartG]

Article on expanded use of SLS Block 1

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/10/navigating...

[MartG]

From Scott Manley



I suspect the work to man-rate the ICPS has taken priority over EUS development

[littlebasher]

Eric Mc said:

I wonder what the criteria was for choosing between the front doors or the back doors?

Time of the month?

[Beati Dogu]

MartG said:

From Scott Manley



I suspect the work to man-rate the ICPS has taken priority over EUS development

More on this here:

https://spacenews.com/boeing-plans-changes-to-sls-...

[RobDickinson]

What a cost plus st show.

" “We underestimated that somewhat. We thought we would be able to reuse hardware without as extensive a [qualification] as we’ve done on some it,” he said. “But as we got into testing and understood the environments in an SLS, it required us to go back and do additional qualification work.”"

Sigh...

[Kccv23highliftcam]

It's almost as if it was designed that way....................................................................................................................

[RobDickinson]

New report on sls. Double the budget, 2.5 years more delay, boeing useless, Nasa paid 2bn for 16 ssme they already had..

https://t.co/ou8SFhji6a

[Eric Mc]

The SSMEs they already had needed rebuilding and recertification for their new role. They are not the same as the SSMEs as used on the Shuttle - even if the hardware is identical.