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Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6


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Hello everybody,

 

and with that I've now continued. cool.gif

 

The starting point was this photo of the ET-121 at the RTF mission STS-114, on which I already had determined the distances of the Ice Frost Ramps for the Airfix LH2 Tank,  

 

MGFM9t.jpg
Source: NASA

 

which I've marked as an orientation guide on the LH2 Cable Tray. On this I had provisionally attached 5 of the 14 Ice Ramps R23 (No. 1, 2, 6, 10, 14) as support points, through which I had threaded in the GO2 Press. Line (Ø 0,4 mm). For a more stable hold of this structure I fixed four ramps with tape strips, 

 

fPKc0z.jpg

 

and then have marked the position of the remaining ramps one after the other,

 

SxI6NX.jpg

 

what was not that easy due to the instability of the strand. top.gif

 

nd4HzH.jpg

 

After I had removed the strand and put a ruler on the lower edges of the ramp markings, I was able to compensate  certain differences in position and trace them. rolleyes.gif

 

na0dQ3.jpg

 

Then I've cut out the contact areas with the cutter and masked them with tape. 

 

L83fTk.jpg

 

Then all that was missing was cutting out and masking of the contact surface for the LH2 PAL Ramp

 

9BZY4Q.jpg

 

what's done here. 

 

LQSKr9.jpg

 

Then I noticed that I had forgotten the last single Ramp (R25), which is circled in yellow in this image. 

 

9BzZQV.jpg
Source: NASA

 

And as it is, this darn thing actually fell out of my hand and onto the floor as a crowning conclusion when trying on, up043952.gif so that I was able to search again on all fours ...

 

vY2voj.jpg

 

Luckily, I found the ramp again and was able to cut out and mask its contact area, all's well that ends well! top.gif 
 
pzuQS1.jpg

 

Now are still missing the two individual Ramps (R24) for the GH2 Press. Line  that can be seen in this image,

 

FZymcv.jpg
Source: georgesrockets.com (George Gassaway)

 

which here are threaded onto the Press. Line and can be marked.

 

KJSPSg.jpg

 

So much for today. up040577.gif

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Outstanding work, Manfred! :like:

 

Now, if you are getting tired of crawling on the floor looking for lost parts, here's a free tip for you (and any other out there tired of feeding the carpet monster). 

 

Buy an apron, remove any pockets on the front as well as the strings to tie it around your waist, attach a strip of velcro to the end, and fasten the corresponding velcro strip under the edge of your workbench. This gives you this:

 

spacer.png

 

And if the prospect of never losing a part on the floor again, isn't motivation enough, imagine the amount of filfth you avoid getting on your clothes ;)

 

Compare the above, pristine, apron pictured a couple of years ago, with how it looks today (it's even dirtier than it looks):

 

spacer.png

 

I've never dropped a part to the floor again whilst wearing this. While on the few occasion I fail to wear it, something drops, without fail...

 

Arild :)

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1 hour ago, Arild Moland said:

I've never dropped a part to the floor again whilst wearing this. While on the few occasion I fail to wear it, something drops, without fail...

The conclusion must then be that you always drop parts while at the bench 😉 

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5 hours ago, Arild Moland said:

Buy an apron, remove any pockets on the front as well as the strings to tie it around your waist, attach a strip of velcro to the end, and fasten the corresponding velcro strip under the edge of your workbench. This gives you this:I've never dropped a part to the floor again whilst wearing this. While on the few occasion I fail to wear it, something drops, without fail...

 

Arild :)

Doorbell or phone rings and I get up from the bench and try to take it with me, scattering build, tools, paints and coffee cups to a grateful carpet monster! 🤦‍♂️

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Hehe, never happened to me, but I reckognize the risk if you're clumsy and/or easily distracted. :) Or just make some sort of quick release to the neck strap.

 

Now, we digress and are about to hijack Manfred's thread here, so I'll leave it here looking forward to progress on this epic shuttle build!

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Thanks my friends for your nice proposals, up046068.gif

but I need freedom of movement when modeling and I have to be able to roll my chair back and forth. 


So I just have to be careful enough, that's okay. up040577.gif&key=37940a736477cc130c2717d

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Hello everybody,

 

today also the contact areas for the two R24 Ramps have been cut out and masked.  cool.gif

 

There they are laying now and waiting for the jump - Woe !!! boese.gif

 

B1H3j6.jpg

 

YTZVzM.jpg

 

And since the additional delivery of the 0,75 mm Tape has arrived, 

 

XRE56X.jpg

 

I can now turn to the Barber Pole Spiral on the LO2 Tank, whose rings I counted some time ago whereby I came up to 66 Rings. cant-believe-my-eyes-smiley-emoticon.gif

 

And that's roughly the area in which the 12th Ice Ramp (R20) is located. The subsequent lighter area appears to be a specially applied Closeout which has no Pattern Texture. top.gif

 

up064281.jpg
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Jester)

 

Since everything has been clarified so far as, I can start gluing the Tape spiral tomorrow. up040577.gif

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smiley250.gif

 

With us in Germany, people say: Better one has than one would have !  - The wise man makes provision for the future! up040577.gif&key=37940a736477cc130c2717d

 

BTW, above all, the Tapes < 1 mm are now in short supply. analintruder.gif

 

 

 

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Hello everybody,

 

starting point of my doubts about the correctness of some details of the otherwise very good kit was the diameter of the GH2/GO2Press. Lines, for which the enclosed Evergreen rods (Ø 0,5 mm) should be used. 

 

In reality both Press. Lines, however, have a diameter of 2'' (50,8 mm), whence in 1/144 scale a diameter of 0,35 mm results. Now one could be generous and do without the few tenths of a millimeter, but if, like me, you scale other parts on the basis of this reference dimension, this makes it noticeable already, especially since the proportions of such small parts should be consistent. rolleyes.gif

 

That was also the reason why the enclosed Rectangular strip (0,75 mm x 1 mm) for the LH2/LO2 Cable Trays seemed a bit too big for me at first.hmmm.gif

 

Then I've remembered (ICD Drawings) on the website of George Gassaway, which includes also drawings of various Ice/Frost Ramps from the early LWT Era both on the LH2 Tank and on the LO2 Tank included. speak_cool.gif

 

On this drawing of an Ice ramp on the LH2 Tank I determined the Cable Tray dimensions based on the existing dimensions, which with 0,7 mm x 0,9 mm actually correspond to those of the Newware Kit's Cable Tray. top.gif

 

ycDmGw.jpg
Source: georgesrockets.com (George Gassaway)

 

So far so good! 

 

According to this drawing of an Ice ramp on the LO2 Tank the local Cable Tray should be a bit smaller, namely 0,5 mm x 0,75 mm, which initially surprised me. huh.gif

 

5YzQcK.jpg
Source: georgesrockets.com (George Gassaway)

 

That's why I wanted to know whether the Cable Trays on the ET-8 actually have different dimensions and check them. smiley215.gif

 

To do this, I first determined the width of the LH2 Cable Tray on my ET-8 reference photo at high magnification, for which I used as reference measure the diameter of the GH2 Press. Line (Ø 0,35 mm), which is 1,0 mm

 

dU5UfR.jpg
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (woods170)

 

From the same photo I've determined the width of the LO2 Cable Tray, which is actually smaller and with 0,7 mm corresponds to the width from the drawing. 

 

RfYaJa.jpg

 

Accordingly, I will use an Evergreen strip (0,5 mm x 0,75 mm)  for the local Cable Tray.  

 

Afterwards I've turned to the Tape spiral on the LO2 Tank.  

 

First I've marked the end point of the spiral with the help of this drawing from the Newware Kit,  

 

eE7wQu.jpg

 

which, as already said, should lay near by the front 12th Ice Ramp (R20), up045518.gif

 

0j5urr.jpg

 

where the spiral should end. 

 

ZZA081.jpg

 

KREi8A.jpg

 

At this marking I've glued an end ring, so to speak as a finish line!!! Zielflagge.gif

 

MEugoY.jpg

 

And then I've put on my headset magnifier and have flung myself with desperate courage into the Barber Pole Action again. cant-believe-my-eyes-smiley-emoticon.gif

 

Here is the spiral after 10 rings

 

hixWGa.jpg

 

after 0 rings

 

g8Vdzv.jpg

 

after 40 rings

 

2LOJay.jpg

 

as well as after 50 rings.

 

pOWzKt.jpg

 

And here the goal is reached and I could finally stop. hurrah.gif 

 

cGT8FQ.jpg

 

nl6YPy.jpg

 

Here I have threaded the first of the 12 Ice Ramps (R20)

 

vG8HUS.jpg

 

pO8JZa.jpg

 

Ts4nwf.jpg

 

whose position I will mark next and then mask them. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody

 

meanwhile I have decided not to flour the two ET Tanks separately, but to glue them together with the Intertank beforehand, which should make handling easier. cool.gif

 

EbRdDO.jpg

 

And for the Flour application I have in mind a horizontal mount similar to the Test rotisserie, einfall.gif for this I'm going to insert the aluminum rod that was already in use through the front Nose Cone opening, which reaches to the Aft Dome. This rod then is clamped in a side holder so that I can turn the tank around its axis during spray gluing and flouring, whereby I will first flour the LH2 Tank, and then the LO2 Tank.  up045518.gif

 

nzygok.jpg

 

Before gluing of the three ET parts, I had to mark the exact position of the 12 Ice Ramps (R20) on the LO2 Tank in order to be able to cut out and mask their contact sites, taking the exact alignment of the GO2 Press. Line up to the Nose Cone had to pay attention, which was not so easy to do. smiley_worship.gif

 

CLi45I.jpg

 

Afterwards I've marked the position of the Ice Ramps with the help of the Newware template,
 
RiFmOk.jpg

 

and then were cut them out.

 

YJ9CMZ.jpg

 

Then I had noticed for a longer time that the Newware Ice Ramps are rectangular (3 mm x 3,7 mm), and not square like the original Ramps. rolleyes.gif These have the dimensions 1,5' x 1,5', which corresponds to 3 mm x 3 mm in 1/144 scale, which is why I will adjust the ramps accordingly, what has already happened with the front ramp. top.gif

 

ncCQoc.jpg

 

Then I've yet masked the contact areas and the front part of the LO2 PAL Ramp

 

jqK2no.jpg

 

Thereby however, I had not considered that the PAL Ramp is right next to the Cable Tray (0,5 mm x 0,75 mm) and therefore has to be a little wider, huh.gif which I've  corrected after I had put on the channel for better orientation.   

 

0QVj8M.jpg

 

That's it again for the moment. Thanks for watching and have a great Sunday.  up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

so friends, now it's getting serious slowly, because the final Flour application is getting closer. yikes.gif

 

After I had unrigged the entire ET and freed it from all lines, I've first glued together the Intertank with the LO2 Tank,  

 

v0vd3j.jpg

 

and then also have glued the IT together with the LH2 Tank and removed the SRB Support bar.

 

Then there were some smaller places on the LH2 Tank, like the openings for the two Vertical Struts of the ET/Orbiter Aft Attachments and the LH2 Feedline, as well as for the ET/SRB Aft Attach Struts, which is done meanwhile.

 

After that there were left only the lower parts of the LO2 Feedline Supports, which I've  taped with 1 mm tape so that I didn't have to clean them from the glued flour in order to have uniform contact surfaces for gluing the Feedline. cool.gif 

 

de0R0d.jpg

 

Then I still have taped the Manhole Covers

 

jCscAO.jpg

 

and the openings for the LH2 Recirculation Line and the Diagonal Strut were closed with toothpick tips. smiley228.gif

 

BKjncD.jpg

 

Since I will first flour the LH2 Tank, I then have completely taped the Intertank and the LO2 Tank,

 

k1tQUl.jpg

 

in order to be able to easily turn the ET when spray gluing and flouring. I will try out the holding device for the Aluminum rod tomorrow and then present it.  up045518.gif

 

Sw2Sh2.jpg

 

Well, and these are one by one the necessary utensils for the upcoming Flour Action, the UHU Spray adhesive, the Rice flour, of which I've bought a new pack to be on the safe side huh.gif and a new can of Vallejo Primer (white). top.gif

 

TbNt5Z.jpg

 

Next I will think on and test the Holding jig, and then I only have to overcome the inhibition threshold for the Final countdown, of which I'm scared a little bit because nothing must go wrong. eek.gif

 

And therefore please keep all your fingers crossed, dear friends.  JC_doubleup.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

and now to my new jig for the Flour coating of the completely glued ET, which inevitably had to look different than in my first test serieses, when I could horizontally insert the Holding rod with the dummy and let easily rotate around its axis both during the Spray gluing as well as during the Flour coating. cool.gif

 

up067846.jpg

 

For holding the skewered ET I have now chosen this modified arrangement, in which the holding rod is plugged into an upright standing cardboard. 

 

z5sBaC.jpg

 

Since the aluminum rod has sagged too much when the ET was racked, I had to replace it by a more stable Bamboo rod

 

l3ajGM.jpg

 

This gives the ET a better grip, 

 

jGWtN4.jpg

 

whereby it can be easily turned with the left hand when spray gluing and flour coating. smiley250.gif

 

LAeUHV.jpg

 

With this the first part of the ET's Flour coating should work well, I hope so.  top.gif

 

After priming then the second part can follow, for what the masking on the LO2 Tank is removed, after which the LH2 Tank can be floured and primed. up040577.gif

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Good Luck Manfred!!!  This is going to be epic.  I know it will turn out just great as always.

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Thanks Rich for your nice compliment and your confidence. bow.gif

 

Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed. JC_doubleup.gif

 

BTW, I look forward to your comeback with Launch 14 - Cooper's Rocket. up040577.gif&key=37940a736477cc130c2717d

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Hello everybody,

 

in view of the occasion, here is a little side leap to the meanwhile almost unrecognizable Launch Pad 39A, on which in the meantime Elon Musk with his company SpaceX is at home and had planned a historic thunderbolt yesterday. yikes.gif

 

599px-SpaceX_Demo-2_Rollout_%28NHQ202005
Source: wikipedia.org

 

Certainly, many of you, like me, waited eagerly for the start of the SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (SpX-DM2) last night, but due to the unfavorable weather conditions it had to be canceled and rescheduled to Saturday. rolleyes.gif

 

Here is an image of the crew, Douglas Hurley (left) und Robert Behnken.

 

797px-SpaceX_DM-2_Crew_Poster.jpg
Source: wikipedia.org

 

Matching to this here is an image of my friend Scott Phillips with the DM-2 Commander Douglas Hurley with one of his legendary Hardwood Shuttle Tribute Models after the last Shuttle Mission STS-135, in which Doug Hurley participated as a pilot of the Atlantis. In the image on the right is Michael D. Leinbach, the then Shuttle Launch Director of NASA, including STS-135.  smiley250.gif

 

Jx9q48.jpg
Source: Scott Phillips

 

So far, Scott "Shuttleman" Phillips has created more than 450 such one-of-a-kind handcrafted wooden shuttle models from a wide variety of wood types to reflect and honor the execellence and legacy of the Shuttle Program, and had let many of them signed by the shuttle crews at the time, of which he is very proud. up040577.gif

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Hello friends,

 

now it was finally time and I was able to position the ET in the flour chamber for his countdown. top.gif The spray adhesive I had previously placed  in a warm water bath and then shaken it vigorously again so that it can be sprayed easily. 

 

kP0p4H.jpg

 

Then once again a short test grip with rubber glove and next door a few test sprays on a cardboard that were okay and gave green light. cool.gif

 

d7mQRp.jpg

 

Afterwards, the LH2 Tank was sprayed under repeated turns and at the Aft Dome and then a photo was quickly taken. smiley192.gif

 

aXtW02.jpg

 

And then the flour dusting came in ... 

 

3ukH0a.jpg

 

and it was generously applied all around with the sieve and lightly pressed down with the finger,  up045518.gif

 

mffbjX.jpg

 

while the ET was turned several times. 

 

kChnLG.jpg

 

ip5hGw.jpg

 

Then it was enough with the flour dusting and the excess flour could be shaken off by tapping lightly. 

 

cxVmuH.jpg

 

xcAxfA.jpg

 

LJ6gDj.jpg

 

Then I went into my office and was able to have a close look at the preliminary result, which looks pretty nice so far. speak_cool.gif 

 

Now everything should dry properly before the remaining flour can be brushed off.

 

zy7hhR.jpg

 

And then the flour layer can be fixed with a first primer coat. 

 

AF0GBM.jpg

 

Let's see what the result looks like after brushing. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody on Whit Monday,

 

after the spray adhesive has certainly dried, I've picked up the soft long-haired brush and carefully brushed off the excess flour. This was followed by a gentle Peeling with a pointed tweezer, with which small lints were removed. cant-believe-my-eyes-smiley-emoticon.gif

 

And this is how the LH2 Tank now looks after the Flour coating. top.gif

 

dSiHSY.jpg

 

wlPdAI.jpg

 

8VaSET.jpg

 

Here is a cut-out at higher magnification. spiegel-smilies-0002.gif

 

aZT5E1.jpg

 

Z0dObX.jpg

 

JxSLgd.jpg

 

I'm very satisfied with this result, so that the priming can follow now.  up040577.gif

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Hello eberybody,

 

in the meantime I had wanted to make the priming of the Intertank Dummy, wherefore I had already prepared everything in the next room.  cool.gif

 

DHjshw.jpg

 

AjWlnF.jpg

 

But somehow the hint of a friend in our German Raumcon Forum regarding the "furry" appearance of the tape spiral did not wanted go out of my mind ... hmmm.gif 

 

And then I suddenly got the idea with the fine Tamiya Sanding Sponge Sheet, idea1_2.gif with which one could perhaps mitigate this effect a little bit if one would gently sand the floured ET before priming and/or afterwards with a fine Sanding sponge ... speak_cool.gif  

 

QcqtUM.jpg

 

And that then I tried it out with the Sponge 2000, which I had recently used, while the Sponge 3000 is still up one's sleeve. top.gif

 

In order to be able to assess the effect better, I only slightly sanded half of the Dummy (right). huh.gif

 

VwHmAl.jpg

 

After priming,

 

nNSGBR.jpg

 

unsanded half,

 

gNJJnf.jpg

 

sanded half,

 

8Mi794.jpg

 

upper half sanded - lower half unsanded, 

 

HxuBV7.jpg

 

unsanded half,

 

QF7awH.jpg

 

sanded half.

 

YTjaDr.jpg

 

Probably the differences can only be seen more clearly at higher magnification,  cant-believe-my-eyes-smiley-emoticon.gif therefore here again the direct comparison, up045518.gif

 

upper half sanded - lower half unsanded.

 

5dSMNh.jpg

 

It would also be conceivable to slightly sand the LH2/LO2 Tank only after complete priming and then to paint the entire ET by airbrushing. hmmm.gif

 

Whoever has the choice has the torment ... rolleyes.gif

 

Definitive clarity one will only have after painting, but since I will do that with the airbrush that only creates a very thin layer, it will probably not change the final look of the SOFI texture much. up040577.gif

I also think that with it I can get even closer to the original ET-8. smiley250.gif

 

up063962.jpg
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Jester) 

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I think it's hard to tell to my eye anyway, without the final color applied.  It will of course, effect the perception of the surface texture, and could enhance or suppress the flour effect.  Can you try a color coat on your sacrificial intertank by chance?  It may help the final decision...

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