Rockets Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I hope this link works http://share.ovi.com/search/solid+rocket+booster?tab=media http://share.ovi.com/channel/Rockets.ShuttleSRBrecov?newsince=1.1.1.0.0.0'> I received these photos via email so I can't take or give credit to whom it's due. I thought they were just too cool not to share. Oh, if you click on the thumb nail pick and then click on it again it'll enlarge the photo to full scale. TC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I've allways wondered how that went down . Thanks for sharing . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtkinney Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Cool pictures Rockets. I've toured the recovery ships and talked to some of the crew. Those pictures make it look easy, but the SRB's are bobbing in the swells, which makes the underwater portion of the recovery very difficult and dangerous. They are also diving fairly deep so both ships have medical personnel and decompression chambers onboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn5 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Cool pics. [Y] Man, I miss that job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted March 28, 2009 Author Share Posted March 28, 2009 Hey Jim! I think the SRB's are about 150' long, so that would push them to outside the lmits of "sports diving", though 30 years ago the limits were different then and doing decompression dives were the norm...at least where I was in the Bahama's at the time. I really like the shot of the bird on the pad with the moon in the background. It's one of the better pics I've seen. I don't think most people have any idea how freaking BRIGHT the shuttle is going off at night. I mean the damn thing will blind you almost, and the way it lights up the area is unbelievable. Saturn5...we soon will be experiencing the same thing that happened at the end of Apollo, and is presently going on nationwide with the end of the Shuttle program. Our area is about to get a double dose of the recession, with job losses and people walking away from their houses and mortages. The nation will be pulling out of the recession, and we will be doing a ground hogs day replay. Meanwhile we'll be paying the Russians to be our taxi to the Space Station. Ole Putin, owns us...him and the Chinese..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn5 Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I worked down there from 92' - '96 when I was in college. I remember some of the Apollo-era engineers telling me about the downtime between Skylab and Shuttle. What I wouldn't give to be able to work on Constellation. But, it might be a good opportunity to relocate to the area during the downtime if I find a job down there. I'll have to keep an eye on real estate in the area. [^o)] Hey, how hard are launch passes to come by these days? I worked on Endeavour's first flight and really want to come down and watch her final launch in 2010. (STS-133, if the schedule doesn't change) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 I imagine real estate will be ultra cheap...if it turns out to be anythng like post Apollo. It should be a real buying opportunity for those with the resources to do so. Launch passes are still out there, but it's nothing like what they used to be, Frankly, I think they've purposely made them such a PITA to obtain, I don't even bother to try. There are far, far fewer of them and the security crap you have to go through, it's just not worth it. I think you can ride a bus from the Visitors Center and pay for the privilege if you choose. They still have some engineering challenges to get over before Constellation ever flies. The workforce will certainly be smaller, so finding a job might be tough to do. I just read the latest Russian Soyuz launch failed to go as planned. They were unable to auto dock to Station, and had to revert to manual control. Their batting average hasn't been too good of late...docking issues, and ballistic re-entries would make me not want to fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askbob1 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 very cool pic's! have either of you ever had the opportunity to tour redstone arsenal in huntsville, al? i'm not sure if they still do it now, but back in '92 they were using one of the old launch pads to test shuttle engines. just a single shuttle engine would shake the entire area. i couldn't imagine the entire shuttle going up! they haven't done it since 2001, but they used to give bus tours of the arsenal. there are several launch pads, an old command center that has not been touched since being used in the 70's, the underwater multi-million gallon training tank, and many more cool areas. von braum himself did a lot of work at this facility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 how do they locate the SRB's ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtkinney Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 askbob - Unfortunately most of the engine testing has gone to Stennis, MS and the underwater training to Houston During the Apollo program, they tested all 5 Saturn V engines at once on that test stand and broke windows 20 miles away. Michael - They know the general area where the SRB's come down and park the recovery ships nearby before launch. The ships can see where they hit, but they also have locator beacons just in case. NASA is nothing if not redundant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Don't mean to be critical, but since my Dad worked at Stennis from 1965 through 1979 and I worked there for 5 summers.......... To my knowledge all Saturn 5 first stages were test fired at Stennis on the main engine test stand. That stand was originally configured to hold two Saturn 5 first stages in anticipation of the number of launches. Sadly the Apollo program was cut and only one side of the stand was ever used. It is said that there's enough concrete in the main stand to pave a 4-lane highway from Stennis to Jackson, MS. I spent many days running up & down that stand (and other test stands) installing thermocouples, cabling, etc. Oh.....and there's a pump house that supplies water to cool the flame bucket. That pump house has diesels turning centrifugal pumps with a max output of 120psi IN A 96" PIPE!!!!!!!!! As for window breakage....it's a documented fact that during one test firing windows were broken (due to sub sonics) in Mobile, AL. That's a distance of 80 miles or so. A Saturn 5 first stage test firing has to be experienced to believe. Ahhhhh...........those were the days. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askbob1 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 i wasn't aware of stennis. can you still take tours of that facility? sounds cool. huntsville has a new area to their space and rocket center that actually houses a complete re-furbished saturn V laying horizontally suspended from the ceiling. it really puts into reality the sheer size of this rocket. it is still amazing to me how great of an engineering feat the whole intial space program was and still is. tom, i can only imagine the experience of witnessing the firing of a saturn V!! the diesel engines you spoke of were also a part of the old restone tour. there were 6 or so of them that pumped insane amounts of water to cool the launch pad while testing. http://www.spacecamp.com/museum/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 I imagine the Shuttle lift off would break some windows w/o the sound suppression system...though I'm not so sure about 80 miles away. Anyone want to chase the dragon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Mike you're the photo expert, explain the colors in the dragons tail...we'll see if you get it right [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Is this something akin to a propane torch flame where there is different degrees of heat produced at different points in the flame? With the shuttle you also have solid fuel and the liquid fuel tanks going off at the same time and those chemicals probably burn at different temperatures, hence different colored flames when photographed with an exposure that shows them distinctly and not just 'white out'. how'd I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I'd give my left nut (or some excellent vintage audio gear, your choice) to see a Shuttle launch. I've had a life-long love and facintation for our space program. It's one of the very last things I'd cut from the budget (if I had any influence at all). Thanks for sharing the pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Mike, you're thinking too hard... This particular launch was as the sun was setting and it was getting dark. So as parts of the suns light hit the trail, it provided different hues, shades, brightness and lighting. Fini, you'd better hurry on down to see a launch as we have just a mere handfull of them left. It's not so much the sight of it as the experience. I live a good 20 miles from the pad (as the bird flies), and depending upon the wind, it'll rock the house when it lifts off. Ares, isn't going to be anywhere near the same when it lifts off...if it ever does..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn5 Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I don't know - the Ares V looks like a larger lifter than Shuttle. As sad as I am to see Shuttle go, I am very excited about the potential of the Contellation program. I just hope it's allowed to realize it's potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Yeah, you're right. The V version will be a monster. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares_V and should be louder than the original Saturn V with the addition of the two SRB's. I was thinking of the manned crew launch vehicle when I made my remark. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares_I There's a BIG difference between the two. You're not the only one that has those hopes, but with the budget battles ahead it's going to be tough. I'm really afraid that like everything else this Country does, we are just going to pave the way and abandon the project as soon as it's done...if not before and let our foreign "friends" take the lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 What about the big central tank of liquid fuel? That one gets let go at about 90 miles up and falls into the Indian Ocean. They don't recover that one, do they? In theory, there is a way to recover it while it is still up around 90 miles high, and put it into low Earth orbit. When it is released it still has quite a bit of liquid fuel in it, and having the tank structure in orbit has many excellent applications (nice bonus with some fuel in it) . Anyone care to guess the theoretical process for catching it at altitude and getting it into orbit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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