Author Topic: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3  (Read 444608 times)

Offline Herb Schaltegger

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@SpaceX #39A progresses while range is down for maintenance. Strongback is showing off today. As seen from the @ExploreSpaceKSC tour.

https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/888409067110232065

Interesting that the top segment of the TEL has been removed.

And we were assured by some here that SpaceX definitely does not want to ever again disassemble the top of their TEL. ;)
No. We are assured that SpaceX definitely doesn’t want to move the upper support cradle. ;)

The upper section is where payload ventilation equipment is located. Likely being prepped for the somewhat odd requirements of the OTV mission next month.
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Offline shuttlefan

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #341 on: 07/25/2017 03:33 pm »
Any pictures of the dismantling of the RSS from the past several days?

Offline guckyfan

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #342 on: 07/25/2017 05:48 pm »
No. We are assured that SpaceX definitely doesn’t want to move the upper support cradle. ;)

No, if memory serves, we are assured that a member of the pad crew hopes, no doubt for good reasons, that he will never ever ever ever have to touch that again.

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #343 on: 07/27/2017 04:08 pm »
« Last Edit: 07/27/2017 04:09 pm by Ronsmytheiii »

Offline shuttlefan

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #344 on: 07/27/2017 04:59 pm »
Many thanks!

Offline Kenp51d

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #345 on: 07/27/2017 05:45 pm »
How much of the pad will be taken down?
Will some of the existing structure be retained and used to build crew access on to it?

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Offline rockets4life97

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #346 on: 07/27/2017 05:48 pm »
How much of the pad will be taken down?
Will some of the existing structure be retained and used to build crew access on to it?

The whole Rotating Service Structure (RSS) is coming down the tower is staying. The crew access arm will be added to the top of the tower.

Offline Kenp51d

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #347 on: 07/27/2017 05:49 pm »
Thanks. Now I get it. Makes sense.

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Offline corrodedNut

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #348 on: 07/28/2017 01:32 pm »
What about the "knuckle" or "hinge", is that coming down too? It appears removed on the CG renders, but that's not a guarantee of anything.

Offline soltasto

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #349 on: 07/29/2017 11:41 pm »
Some new pics of 39A, credits to /u/gsahlin from reddit.

Here is the complete album with all the pics, a selection is re-uploaded with his permission here.

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #350 on: 08/01/2017 08:14 pm »

Online gongora

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #351 on: 08/01/2017 09:22 pm »
From the recent Commercial Crew update at the NASA NAC HEO meeting:  the crew access arm that will be installed later this year.

Offline Comga

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #352 on: 08/02/2017 04:30 am »
From the recent Commercial Crew update at the NASA NAC HEO meeting:  the crew access arm that will be installed later this year.
Anyone know what is meant by "F9 - Merlin 1D and Merlin Vacuum Engine (MVAC) in development testing"?
(As in, I could guess, and other can guess, but does anyone know?)

edit: And why is this in the "LC-39 ...Falcon Heavy debut" thread.  This is about commercial crew and the LC-39A work to that end. This slide is not about Falcon Heavy. 
« Last Edit: 08/02/2017 04:33 am by Comga »
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Online gongora

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #353 on: 08/02/2017 05:11 am »
From the recent Commercial Crew update at the NASA NAC HEO meeting:  the crew access arm that will be installed later this year.
Anyone know what is meant by "F9 - Merlin 1D and Merlin Vacuum Engine (MVAC) in development testing"?
(As in, I could guess, and other can guess, but does anyone know?)

edit: And why is this in the "LC-39 ...Falcon Heavy debut" thread.  This is about commercial crew and the LC-39A work to that end. This slide is not about Falcon Heavy.

The Merlin stuff is Block 5 testing (they mentioned multiple engines being tested at McGregor).

I didn't really see any point in creating a separate thread for the commercial crew updates at the pad.  (If such a thread already exists, let me know.)  Feel free to copy the post into any appropriate commercial crew thread.

Offline hkultala

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #354 on: 08/02/2017 05:21 am »
From the recent Commercial Crew update at the NASA NAC HEO meeting:  the crew access arm that will be installed later this year.
Anyone know what is meant by "F9 - Merlin 1D and Merlin Vacuum Engine (MVAC) in development testing"?
(As in, I could guess, and other can guess, but does anyone know?)

edit: And why is this in the "LC-39 ...Falcon Heavy debut" thread.  This is about commercial crew and the LC-39A work to that end. This slide is not about Falcon Heavy.

The Merlin stuff is Block 5 testing (they mentioned multiple engines being tested at McGregor).

I didn't really see any point in creating a separate thread for the commercial crew updates at the pad.  (If such a thread already exists, let me know.)  Feel free to copy the post into any appropriate commercial crew thread.

Was there some human-rating requirement of engines needing considerable extra margin?

so they need to test that the engines are capable of considrable higher thrust than what they will actually be using on the crewed mission?

Offline mme

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #355 on: 08/02/2017 06:06 am »
From the recent Commercial Crew update at the NASA NAC HEO meeting:  the crew access arm that will be installed later this year.
Anyone know what is meant by "F9 - Merlin 1D and Merlin Vacuum Engine (MVAC) in development testing"?
(As in, I could guess, and other can guess, but does anyone know?)

edit: And why is this in the "LC-39 ...Falcon Heavy debut" thread.  This is about commercial crew and the LC-39A work to that end. This slide is not about Falcon Heavy.

The Merlin stuff is Block 5 testing (they mentioned multiple engines being tested at McGregor).

I didn't really see any point in creating a separate thread for the commercial crew updates at the pad.  (If such a thread already exists, let me know.)  Feel free to copy the post into any appropriate commercial crew thread.

Was there some human-rating requirement of engines needing considerable extra margin?

so they need to test that the engines are capable of considrable higher thrust than what they will actually be using on the crewed mission?
My understanding is that there were some cracks forming in the turbines of the M1D that SpaceX deemed safe but NASA did not like so there were design changes to eliminate the cracking. I am not a metallurgist nor an aerospace engineer so I don't know how either assessment was made.  I don't think NASA had any requirement for the higher thrust though that may have been a side-effect.  I suspect the higher thrust was driven by SpaceX's internal requirements for block 5.
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Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #356 on: 08/02/2017 11:08 am »
Here's the crew access arm picture on its own (pasted from the PDF at https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ccp_nac_july24_2017.pdf).
« Last Edit: 08/02/2017 11:15 am by FutureSpaceTourist »

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #357 on: 08/02/2017 05:44 pm »
Space KSC mentioned in the replies that the Crew Access Arm was being built in an undisclosed location. Was that mentioned somewhere else? A 'Yes' answer means I issed the earlier post.

I don't know where it was constructed, but this was mentioned recently in a NASA presentation:

A few SpaceX notes from listening to the presentation by Kathy Lueders at the NAC HEO Committee meeting yesterday (you can find the recordings here).

The first round of structural tests on Crew Dragon are done, continuing with further testing.
They should do the space suit qualification next quarter.
They have their 5th parachute test scheduled for this coming Saturday.
The crew access arm is at LC-39A, they are waiting until Spring to install it so SpaceX can get the pad up and running for their other launches.
They have been doing unit testing on the ECLSS systems and are getting ready for integrated testing.

There was some discussion about the LOC risk numbers, some general discussion about the SpaceX mishap investigation (there is a team from NASA LSP that is taking an independent look at it).  The presentation is a bit long (over an hour) but probably worth listening to if you're really into the commercial crew program.

Not sure if it was built here, but bet the CAA is being stored at this building just south of the pad as it was constructed by SpaceX after receiving the pad:

from maps.google.com

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #358 on: 08/02/2017 06:04 pm »
Here's the crew access arm picture on its own (pasted from the PDF at https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ccp_nac_july24_2017.pdf).

Why are there ventilation grilles on an access arm that's open to the weather? Can it be sealed somehow?

Offline rcoppola

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Re: Pad 39A - Transition to SpaceX Falcon Heavy debut - Thread 3
« Reply #359 on: 08/02/2017 06:09 pm »
Do we have any specs on the length off the CAA? The distance from FSS to F9 looks considerable?
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