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Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6


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Hello everybody,

 

today, Shapeways' big Track Shoe delivery arrived with the seven Sets of 52, which of course were immediately unpacked. top.gif

 

SYACXa.jpg

 

And these are the total of 456 shoes for the Crawler. The new sets look well, though there are small differences in quality between the sets, as one can see on the two encircled sets, which should be due to different thorough after-treatment/cleaning. rolleyes.gif

 

0QutTZ.jpg

 

But that is no problem, i5684_no2.gif because I will try anyway, to let the sets being cleaned professionally again in the Dental laboratory, as usual.

 

And the replacement delivery with the Set of 20 (FXD), which had been interconverted, is already on the way.  speak_cool.gif 

 

For the connecting bolts, I've also still found a suitable solution, for which I would use instead of the insect needles (Ø 0,3 mm) now Nickel silver rods (Ø 0,4 mm), which  fit closely through the Pin lug holes

 

DmTl1N.jpg

 

And with a length of 7 mm per bolt comes together a total length of more than 3 m , which would correspond to 11 rods à 30 cm, which I will reorder. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

today came the complained Set of 20-Flat Ori (FXD),

 

up064854.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (Crackerjazz)

 

which looks impeccable, and one can even see at all shoes the small holes in the treads. speak_cool.gif

 

OA9qvh.jpg

 

HTLUem.jpg

 

Only the sticker on the bag makes me perplex, which displays the upright set, rolleyes.gif

 

OFzJSP.jpg

 

Unlike the last Sets of 52-Flat Ori (FUD), which all had rough treads, the treads of this set are nicely smooth, as if they were not lying on the support wax, weird ... smiley215.gif
But I don't care at all. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

after the slowly tiring Track shoe story huh.gif today again a little puzzle for relaxation. cool.gif

 

What do you think, what this could be? smiley215.gif

 

PA980W.jpg

 

At least it's not a slice of crispbread. i5684_no2.gif

 

Well, is it dawning? up040577.gif

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Hi guys,

 

Kirk is nearly close. B)

 

But I do not want to keep you on tenterhooks for long. top.gif

 

And therefore here the short solving on the back. 

 

LVw8I7.jpg

 

Hard to believe, but it's actually a piece of the original Spray-on foam insulation (SOFI) from the ET-138 which was flown at the last mission of Atlantis (STS-135).  eek.gif

 

But how I came to this rarity, I would have to tell you separately in an own thread, if you are interested. This is a great story connected to another contemporary witness from the glorious shuttle era who has also written an amazing book, so to speak a "must read". smiley250.gif
 

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I would be very interested to hear how you came by a piece of SOFI from that historic mission!

 

I have various bits from random shuttle missions, something from each shuttle, and a piece of foil from the Apollo 11 capsule. But no interesting tales - I just got them mail order.

 

 

Edited by Mustermark
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Hi guys,

 

it's an interesting story, but one after another! top.gif 

 

After my contact to the two SOFI experts Craig Capdepon and Vincent Morales was unfortunately interrupted, huh.gif I got a hint from a friend of the ARC Forum that I could also contact Scott "Shuttleman" Phillips.  top.gif 

 

He was an Engineer at the Marshall Space Flight Center, and was working on all ETs during the shuttle program. cool.gif And the man with this telling nickname has written this great book together with his wife Dianne Phillips, which tells the story of his personal thirty-year shuttle odyssey.  speak_cool.gif

 

xbEJ2x.jpg
Source: Scott G. Phillips

 

And this book with this striking red Remove Before Flight Ribbon, that gave him the title at the same time has cast a spell over me after reading a about it and seeing this  Book Trailer of his son Christian Phillips. eek.gif

 

During his time working in the program, he was also able to join his two passions - the Space shuttle and woodworking - by building one-of-a-kind handcrafted wooden tribute shuttle models in large numbers for many Shuttle crews and also for friends, here among others when handing over to the STS-1 crew with John W. Young and Bob Crippen, which also were signed by them.  up045518.gif

 

jTizWR.jpg
Source: Scott G. Phillips

 

Realizing that each mission carried historic weight, Scott Phillips set forth to preserve each flight through his work as Master Carver, true to his motto: Long live the Shuttle's legacy. JC_doubleup.gif

 

And in the meantime, I have contacted him and also ordered his book, which arrived yesterday along with a few surprises. yahoo.gif

 

aYpmuo.jpg

 

It was next to his book with a personal dedication, 

 

IrLoxA.jpg

 

as well as the red ribbon and some stickers,

 

OxpIln.jpg

 

and as icing on the cake this piece of SOFI foam, which he had branched off in the production of the last External Tank ET-138, what I have asked him for, which I am especially proud of now. super.gif

 

AqlUaL.jpg

 

More about this, i.a. also to the explanation of this ribbon as a hanger for the book, then in my thread about the "Shuttleman" Scott Phillips, who can also be found on Facebook
So much for now. up040577.gif

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What a great story Manfred!  Rather touching how "Shuttleman" went the extra mile for you to gather these items together.  Remember to keep these items for the final display of your build.  Nice report.

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Thanks Rich, :worthy:

 

I'm glad that you enjoy this short introduction into the Shuttleman story. smiley250.gif

For me yesterday was already Christmas! xmas-wave-smiley-emoticon.gif
Imagine, Scott has also built a shuttle stack of SOFI foam, which was used during spraying process of ET-138 for STS-135. eek.gif

 

eFSs0q.jpg
Source: Scott G. Phillips

 

BTW, the ET spraying process is similar to the Airbrush. Before spraying the respective model, one should first spray next to it and then pull the spray gun onto the model. top2.gif

 

And those foam remnants from testing the Spray robots Scott had cleverly put aside.  speak_cool.gif

 

x2Af3K.jpg
Source: Scott G. Phillips

BTW, here is the Master Carver at work, krank_smilie_0038.gif 

 

zEnmm5.jpg

Source: Scott G. Phillips

 

and here in front of Pad 39A, proudly awaiting Atlantis' last lauch for STS-135. smiley250.gif

 

bxCaF0.jpg

Source: Scott G. Phillips

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Hi everyone,

 

and because it's just now about the SOFI foam, here's a little taster from Scott Phillips' book Remove Before Flight, what happened behind the scenes ... eek.gif

 

One task after finishing the SOFI spray process included overseeing the disposition of leftover SOFI components - known as Part A and Part B - that formulated the insulation foam. Surplus liquid foam components had to be poured back into their original containers to avoid causing a chemical reaction. smiley_worship.gif

 

One day, our team member, called Buzz, came back after a "liquid lunch" to clean the machine that mixed the foam. Inadvertently, he poured 10 gallons of Part A into a 55-gallon drum of Part B, tightened the bung cap, and walked away. Within minutes, the bung popped and the 55-gallon drum exploded, immediately filling the room with foam. Everything in the room was destroyed. We never saw Buzz again after that incident ... hmmm.gif

 

I love these speak_cool.gif stories,  which reminds me of the stories of my friend James MacLaren from the NSF Forum, like A Techno-Redneck's Encounter With NASA's Satellite ... erschrocken3.gif

Enjoy! up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

meanwhile, my friend Joe (crackerjazz) from the ARC Forum found time and has started with the 3D modeling of the Main Sprockets, of which I need 16 pieces, which Shapeways should print in FUD. cool.gif

 

2014-2223.jpg?itok=bZz5UCIt

 

Initially, he had only used the front view of the drawing I had supplied and apparently had some problems with the implementation in his CAD program (Solidworks), especially with the dimension 33,6''. rolleyes.gif

 

WJwknQ.jpg

 

But then I pointed him to the side view, which shows that this value is the measure at the lowest point of the lower curve of the wheel, what he probably had not considered.   up045518.gif

 

Q2vcCi.jpg

 

And now he seems to cope with it, as his following pictures show. speak_cool.gif

 

45289058141_4682659583_b.jpg

 

44566579584_094d77808d_b.jpg

 

45289057931_350b744019_b.jpg

 

44566580884_015c99d79b_b.jpg

 

44566579514_faf6ac6a59_b.jpg

 

As it looks the modeling seems to be pretty tricky, but he'll get it done, I'm pretty sure, so keep fingers crossed! JC_doubleup.gif  

 

I can only watch again and be amazed ... up040577.gif

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Hello everyone,

 

well, this drive wheel really seems to be a hard nut, s-boese-wand02.gif if one has a look at the next pictures of my friend Joe, smiley_worship.gif who has diligently continued to model. cool.gif

 

43489565900_d720cb20cb_b.jpg
Source: arcforums.com (crackerjazz)

 

45304435141_81538ee918_b.jpg

 

At least here it becomes clear how many sub-steps are obviously necessary to capture and model all these contours and ledges, huh.gif

 

44392374755_f3ebce8e4b_b.jpg

 

45304436361_203b4c6215_b.jpg

 

until finally this single sprocket is finished, which looks great. speak_cool.gif

 

44392544215_c84fee3296_b.jpg

 

But I think, that now not much is missing to make a suitable 3D printing set out of it. And that's why I've thought about the most favorable arrangement/orientation for printing and think that the sprockets could be arranged flat in a set consisting of two rows of nine wheels, whereby I would have two spare wheels. smiley215.gif

Now I'm curious to see what will come out in the end and what such a Set of 18 in FUD will cost.  up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

my friend Joe just asked me if it would not be better to just let print only a single sprocket first, to see if will mesh well with the Track shoes, which would certainly make sense.  speak_cool.gif

 

Therefore, I had already pointed out to him in advance that the following condition had to be guaranteed, namely, that W2 fits into W1.  schlaumeier.gif

 

7vYYUH.jpg
Source: microartwork.com (Mischa Klement)

 

But that would have to be guaranteed, provided that the drawings are correct, whereof I go out, and that he has correctly implemented them in his model (1:160). top.gif

 

Therefore, he should first upload only a single, flat-lying wheel, so I can let print it in FUD and FXD on a trial basis. After the aptitude test we can then decide about the final Set of 18. cool.gif
Well, just wait and see! trinken_0045.gif 

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Everything has its price, let's see how high it will be ... :hmmm:

 

An alternative would be to print it yourself, only then one would have to be able to model 3D, which I unfortunately can not do. :shrug:

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Hello everyone,

 

the tea was good, and my friend Joe hardworking, who has already uploaded his Main Sprocket model. cool.gif

 

710x528_25216025_13732650_1539812796.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (Crackerjazz)

 

I was a bit scared when I looked at the 3D view and saw that the sprocket is hollow, which was completely new to me, analintruder.gif

 

ThoHpP.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (Crackerjazz)

 

especially since the sprockets of other crawler modelers in the Raumcon forum are full and not hollow, which I had in mind. shocked.gif

 

up064180.jpeg
Source: raumfahrer.net (Sascha1990)

 

fvcluk.jpg
Source: raumfahrer.net (slimgo)

 

Therefore, I was very skeptical at first and have immediately searched for suitable photos to clarify this. But in my archives I did not find anything at first, because on the normal crawler pictures you can not really see the drive wheels under the chains. rolleyes.gif

 

In this photo, I found the first signs of cavities, if one looks closely.  cant-believe-my-eyes-smiley-emoticon.gif

 

lGsSwX.jpg
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (AnalogMan)

 

But in the NASASpaceflight-Forum there is a special Crawler-Transporter thread about the modification of the CT-2 for the mighty launchers of the future Space Launch System (SLS) of NASA, in which I then have indeed found clear evidences.  up045518.gif

 

cIps7j.jpg
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (MechTech)

 

Here to see beautiful in the falling sunlight.  

 

Nfvj3U.jpg
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (sprtnsky)

 

And here's a Hi-Res look into a drive wheel or through it out, which would also eliminate the last doubts. top.gif 

 

1uEJNI.jpg
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (MechTech)

 

And so I ordered two sprockets at Shapeways, both in FUD and in FXD in order to be able to test their interaction with the Track shoes.   up040577.gif

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Thanks Rich, :worthy:

 

if I recall correctly, your Sprockets were full resin parts, right? :hmmm:

 

Good morning folks,

 

now I also got the corresponding screenshot with the Support Material showing the expected arrangement. cool.gif

 

Zmzz8k.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (Crackerjazz)

 

The big lot of support wax would also explain the relatively high price of the Sprocket, half as much wax would certainly have been enough too, I guess ... default_hmmm.gif  

 

Therefore I also asked my friend Joe, also to upload a model with an upright print orientation of the sprocket. I think that this would require less support material, so the price might be slightly lower. top.gif

 

The side effect thereby is, that the top side should be smooth and the bottom rough, which in turn is important for cleaning.  up040577.gif

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Hello everyone,

 

after the first joy Shapeways came up with the next unwelcome surprise and has stated that they can not print the Main Sprocketyikes.gif

 

Supposedly they have informed the designer about the problems with the part, but which is a smooth Fake Newsup043952.gif

 

So slowly I start to doubt this club, I can't think of anything more ... default_hmmm.gif

 

The strange thing is that the shape of the Sprocket is less complex than that of the Track shoes, and the wall thicknesses are all according to specs, as my friend Joe says. smiley215.gif

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Hi friends,

 

after I was first informed on my astonished enquiry that my already well-known SW friend Mitchell Jetten from the Track shoes story would answer me, now came this joke message ... Awesome!!! erschrocken3.gif

 

oF0JR9.jpg

This reinforces my impression of SW, that's an case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand's doing ... i5684_no2.gif

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I think those "why don't you print it?" messages are automatic, Manfred. I uploaded a drawing a couple of weeks ago and received quite a few.

 

Incidentally, had you thought of using anyone other than Shapeways? There's a company based in Germany who I think are cheaper than them and similar quality. I'll dig out a link if this is relevant.

 

Kirk

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