Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6

[roma847]

Hello everybody,

 

in other forums doubts were expressed as to whether this gluing of an Endless barberpole tape spiral on the LO₂ Tank may prove difficult due to the tapered curvature, what does not appear as impossible.

 

Well, on the LO₂ Tank I actually wanted to do it exactly this way, and I don't think there should be any major problems, especially because the 0,75 mm wide tape is very thin and stretchy, so it should nestle easily against the tank bulge. 

 

In this photo of the ET-33 (STS-36) by George Gassaway the typical SOFI Pattern Texture is clearly too see, 

 

Source: georgesrockets.com

 

as also in this photo of the ET-8, which of course interests me more, in which I had tried to count the rings at the time, which was pure stress for my tired eyes.

 

Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Jester)

 

But my preliminary tests at that time have encouraged me to try again.

 

 

 

Doing this, in general the difficulty is to keep the same distance between the turns as possible when gluing the tape spiral, which I will hopefully manage.

 

However, on the ET's back on the Aft Dome there might be problems since the 1,5 mm wide tape to be used there is twice as wide, so that the windings due to the decreasing radius in the center could be more difficult to glue , which could lead to small folds.  

 

But I will definitely try that, and then let's have a look ...

[roma847]

Hello friends,
I've tried it on the Aft Dome, which is actually not immediately satisfactory, since the 1,5 mm tape on this flat bulge with decreasing radii is increasingly difficult to bend and consequently fits less smoothly, which then leads to small wrinkles, which of course do not appeal to me.

 

 

A little remedy can be provided by carefully cutting into the wrinkles with the razor blade and then pressing them flat, which I did here in the middle area above the Man Hole.

 

 

But that's also not yet exactly brilliant, I think at least ...

 

With the 0,75 mm tape, this should probably look different on the LO₂ Tank, i.e. a little bit better.  

[roma847]

Hello everybody,

 

today fitting to the topic of SOFI Pattern Texture, here once again a small quiz question.  

 

Most of you already know this item on the right, this is a piece of SOFI Insulation Foam from the External Tank ET-138 flown on the last mission, STS-135, that my friend Scott Phillips has gifted me.

 

 

But what could that be on the left in the picture?  

[bootneck]

Hi Manfred,

 

that looks like a piece of foam type material that was given to me by the staff at the American Space Museum & Walk of Fame in Titusville, Florida.   I'm sure that they said it was from the Shuttle itself but I cannot remember which part.  They did tell me but my memory has lapsed I'm afraid.  The piece I was given was much smaller than yours but they did have more and perhaps a call/email to them might get an answer.

Edit:  I have just checked their site online and they are, of course, shut due to the lockdown.

 

Mike

[roma847]

Hi Mike,

 

since I no longer want to torture you, I want to solve the riddle now. 

 

This is a piece of a Heat protection tile from the Thermal Protection System (TPS) used for the Shuttle, which a friend from our Raumcon Forum has gifted to me as a small present from his visits to the KSC, with which he made a great pleasure to me.

 

 

If one takes the material in hand, one will immediately notice the low weight, which is no wonder with a pore content of approx. 90%.

 

 

This is a complete TPS tile that has a top layer of Borosilicate that withstands temperatures from 1200 to 1600 °C, underneath there is this material of sintered Silica glass fibers (SiO₂), of which now a piece enriches my rarity collection. 

 

Source: wikipedia.org

 

Source: wikipedia.org

 

And to match this, the following two spectacular videos demonstrating the amazing properties of this material.  This photo is already a little taste of it.

 

Source: geek.com/news (Ryan Whitwam)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp9Yax8UNoM

 

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

 

So much for this hot topic.

 

[uilleann]

I used to do a "Living in Space" live science demonstration to kids at the local planetarium here. Our grand finale was to take a title like that, and hit it with a huge (and impressively loud) propane torch flame about two feet long - all while holding the tile in our bare hand.  The front surface would glow almost white hot in a mater of seconds, but the back never changed.  You just had to be sure your aim with the torch was good.  Otherwise, some singed fingertips from flames escaping around the sides were likely!  😁

Edited May 1, 2020 by uilleann

[roma847]

Yep, one has to be careful and should have a little practice. 

[roma847]

Hello my friends,

 

in the meantime I have still thought and tried out another variant with two 0,75 mm tapes glued next to each other, which intuitively should work better on the flat curve of the Aft Dome.

 

After I had removed the previously glued 1,5 mm tapes, this time I started on the inside at the smallest ring and first of all glued the 0,75 mm tape from the roll on the marked circle, piece by piece, and always firmly pressed on tightly, with the tank in the left hand and the tape roll in the right hand. Then I glued the next tape ring right next to the first ring, which was a bit easier because the tape did let easy nestle to it.

 

 

Since from now on it was important to keep the spacing of the double rings as uniform as possible, I glued four small pieces of the 0,75 mm tape as a spacer for better orientation and then glued the next ring, relying on my sharp eagle eye during the following quarter turns,   until the next spacer came into view.  

 

 

And so I've laboriously rolled out ring by ring, which was quite a torture for my eyes, so that I had to take a few breaks.  

 

 

And then it was finally done, and I was done too, and the result is actually as I had imagined it and looks well, in my opinion.

 

 

 

With these positive impressions I went to bed early in the morning ...

 

And here are still a few pics in daylight.

 

 

 

 

This time indeed it was twice the effort, but the heck with it, it was worth it ...

 

The Lord of the Rings says hello and wishes all a nice Sunday.

[roma847]

Hello everybody,

 

here's already a little tast of what's coming up now to me, namely the rest of the LH₂ Tank, on which approx. 130 Tape rings are to be glued as an endless spiral (Barber pole).

 

 

 

BTW, it means, that a whole roll of 25 m tape will actually go on for this procedure, which is why I had to reorder one roll for the LO₂ Tank once more.

[roma847]

Hello everybody,
well then, scaremongering does not apply!

Before the Tape glue orgy I've still filled and sanded the small holes at the end of the tank that are not needed.

 

 

 

In order to keep a good overview when gluing the Endless Tape spiral, I've put markings on the tank at a distance of 10 mm, what corresponds to approx. 8 rings.  

 

And then I've started cheerfully and glued by eye the first 9 rings at a distance of approx. 0,5 mm  and then took a breath briefly. For fun I've  measured the time for it, which was approx. 12 min., which extrapolated to the LH₂ Tank (170 mm) would result in pure winding time without a break of a little more than 3 hours , which of course cannot be done in one go.   Anyway, now I knew what I had been getting myself into ...

 

 

So it looked like after 18 rings,  

 

 

and this is the result after 35 rings and a winding time of approx. 45 min., which corresponds to a pure winding speed of approx. 1,3 rings/min., like snail's pace!

 

 

Anyway, afterwards I could only look asquint straight ahead,   and then I was pretty exhausted, but still satisfied, and sneaked into bed ...

With it at least a quarter of the spiral is now done.

[roma847]

Hello friends of the Rings,

almost with the bell punch 12 I want to show you quickly how far I have got with the Barber Pole Spiral.

 

Here are 45 rings glued on, 

 

 

and then I've gritted my teeth and pulled through until the half of the tank with a stoically sharp look,

 

 

with which I want to let it go at first.

 

Have a nice day and stay safe my friends.

[Ima Penin Diaz]

INCREDIBLE!

You are indeed the Lord of the Rings! Your patience and precision are displayed perfectly in this application of this delicate texture.

 

When you say the tape is glued on, do you, in fact, glue the tape or are you referring to the tape's adhesive? Either way ... this is spectacular!

 

Well done Frodo!   

 

IPD

[roma847]

Thanks my friend for your nice compliments, 

 

the used masking tape is self-adhesive, otherwise this crazy procedure would not be feasible. 

[roma847]

Hello everybody,

 

now that half of the marathon has already been done, it continues with fresh energy.

 

After another 20 min. of the tedious swaddling, I've allowed myself a sip of Red wine. Cheers!

 

 

The next goal is the 75% brand, which I still want to reach today.  

[roma847]

Hello friends,

 

now the 75% goal is reached too. 

 

 

Therefore now I'm going to do down the rest of the tape roll too. 

[roma847]

Hello Friends of the Rings,

 

as I already suspected, the tape roll was with approx. 21 m shorter than expected and therefore a deceptive pack.

 

After 117 rings this was the abrupt end of the allegedly 25 m roll, whereby with a tank circumference of 182 mm (Ø 58 mm) unfortunately only a length of 21 m results. 

 

 

The rest of another role will probably be enough for the rest of the LH₂ Tank , but certainly not for the LO₂ Tank. 
Hopefully the reordered role will arrive soon.

[roma847]

Hello everybody,

 

it has finally been done!   

After a winding time of approx. 40 min. I was finally at the front end of the LH₂ Tank, whereby now a 140 ring spiral is glued.   

 

 

These are indeed a few more rings than I had counted on my reference photo of the ET-8, but what the hell, my ET is lastly also an unique just like all other ETs flown ... 

 

Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Jester)

 

As one can see, there is even some tape left on the reel, which is not enough for the LO₂ Tank, which is why I have to wait now for the subsequent delivery.  

 

Therefore, I can now turn towards the recesses for attachments such as Ice Frost Ramps and PAL Ramps.

[uilleann]

Manfred, impeccable, stunning, and absolutely amazing work!  Do you have any plan to spray a thin primer coat perhaps, to help seal the tape down permanently, before you do the flour treatment?  Just idle curiosity really.

 

I spent yesterday on a short road trip north of my place about an hour, and visited the "Rocket Garden" at Orbital ATK / Northrop Grumman - formerly Morton Thiokol back when STS-6 was sitting on the pad.  Their full size SRB never fails to impress in size and power.  Just a few miles further up the road is Promontory Summit, where, in 1869 (100 years before Neil and Buzz would walk on the moon) the first transcontinental railroad was completed across the United States.  At the time, it was an achievement probably looked on with the same level of significance, and awe, as the space program has been (and continues to be).

 

Always enjoy seeing your updates, and look forward to your next achievements in what is possibly the most epic build I've ever been lucky enough to follow!

 

Cheers

 

Brian~

[philp]

Manfred, I do love the amount of detail you put into your builds.

 

Brian,

Sounds like you are from my part of the world.  I am in Kearns.  Haven't done the trip to the Rocket Garden yet but it is on the list.

 

 

[uilleann]

11 minutes ago, philp said:

Manfred, I do love the amount of detail you put into your builds.

 

Brian,

Sounds like you are from my part of the world.  I am in Kearns.  Haven't done the trip to the Rocket Garden yet but it is on the list.

 

 

That's right!  I hope you're surviving all the recent moving and shaking ok!!  I've lived in the valley for 23 years, and in UT since '84 - about 14 months after Manfred's historical build subject blasted into orbit.  I'm down the way in Lehi now.  Cheers neighbor.  🙂

 

B~

[roma847]

Thanks Brian and philp for your nice words for my work. 

 

BTW, I've already thought about that too, but I think that it is not necessary because the tape is very thin and sticks firmly. Only after the flour treatment the tank will be primed and finally painted. 

 

 

[Arild Moland]

Manfred, this is awesome stuff, and a technique I'm inclined to adopt on my own, future, shuttle project.

 

When you say "flour treatment", do you indeed suggest that you raid the kitchen cupboard for ingredients? Guess all will be releaved in due course, just intrigued

 

Arild

[roma847]

Thanks Arild for looking in on me, 

 

I don't know if you will find Rice flour (left) in your kitchen cupboard, 

 

 

which is the best variety for this HiTech in my opinion, so you'd better just go to the next supermarket. 

[Arild Moland]

Cool! I don't think I have any rice flour at home currently, but that can be easily fixed. 

 

Looking forward to see how you go about applying it!

[roma847]

Well then always stay tuned and be curious!