simonbp - 25/11/2007 3:57 PMAnd here's it in a picture I took in the summer of 2005 at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.Simon
simonbp - 25/11/2007 10:57 PMAnd here's it in a picture I took in the summer of 2005 at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. It's since been moved indoors, and will hopefully be displayed someday when they get the space. (They've also got a unflown flight Agena Docking Target sitting in storage, so they could make one heck of a Gemini-Titan display.)Simon
ZANL188 - 25/11/2007 2:23 PMI suspect the stage you saw in Huntsville is not the Gemini 5 first stage. Note that the stage in your first picture is decidedly flatter (due to impact) at the business end whereas the stage at Huntsville appears to be fairly cylindrical and without impact damage.
tnphysics - 26/11/2007 4:46 PMI wonder if they could have recovered the whole stage, had they arrived quicker.That makes you wonder why they didn't try to add a parachute and deployable engine cover and try to reuse the stage.
tnphysics - 26/11/2007 1:46 PMI wonder if they could have recovered the whole stage, had they arrived quicker.That makes you wonder why they didn't try to add a parachute and deployable engine cover and try to reuse the stage. Probably because it was designed as an ICBM and you don't care about reuse if you're starting WWIII.
LeeAnne - 7/1/2008 8:35 PMSpeaking of strength, I recall reading somewhere that the Atlas was extremely fragile, and only gained its strength when the tanks were full. 'Seems I read this relative to erection of an Atlas at one of the museum sites.
APG85 - 7/1/2008 6:55 PMFound this picture on the collect space forum...http://uplink.space.com/attachments//363786-Gemini_5_Titan_alabama.jpg
LeeAnne - 7/1/2008 10:35 PMSpeaking of strength, I recall reading somewhere that the Atlas was extremely fragile, and only gained its strength when the tanks were full. 'Seems I read this relative to erection of an Atlas at one of the museum sites.Lee Anne
CFE - 10/1/2008 7:33 PMThe original Atlas structural concept is still in use in the Centaur upper stage. Shows that you can't keep a good idea down, even if it was abandoned for the Atlas V first stage.
tankmodeler - 14/1/2008 9:20 AMQuoteCFE - 10/1/2008 7:33 PMThe original Atlas structural concept is still in use in the Centaur upper stage. Shows that you can't keep a good idea down, even if it was abandoned for the Atlas V first stage.Yeah, I never did understand why the Atlas V went to the stiffened skin design. The ballon worked very, very well for 40 years. Any one know why?Paul