More a question, this is the only surviving A model and thus the oldest surviving Atlas. Is that correct?I think that should be pointed out in attempts to save the Atlas.
Why not attempt to get the Cosmosphere in Hutchison in on this? They have V-2 stuff, but little or nothing about US rocketry, other than in support of HSF, as I recall.I shall now go to KickStarter.
My two cents: after from begging Ottawa for time, the highest priority is to find a stretch frame or figure out how to fabricate one. If the rocket is stable and (theoretically) transportable, finding it a new home gets much easier.I'd say the second priority is convincing USAF to at least let it be disassembled and crated rather than brutally shredded.The idea that someone is gonna build an operational ICBM based on an Atlas A is bizarre; better technology has long been available to pretty much anybody.
Quote from: arachnitect on 02/21/2015 05:02 pmMy two cents: after from begging Ottawa for time, the highest priority is to find a stretch frame or figure out how to fabricate one. If the rocket is stable and (theoretically) transportable, finding it a new home gets much easier.I'd say the second priority is convincing USAF to at least let it be disassembled and crated rather than brutally shredded.The idea that someone is gonna build an operational ICBM based on an Atlas A is bizarre; better technology has long been available to pretty much anybody.What you are describing from what I can understand is a strongback. Now it can be left in place or be used to lower the Atlas on to a flat bed trailer. I see this as a phase 2, since we need to address their public safety concerns with a barrier and then such a structure is erected. All this is “if” the museum allows/wants to let it now be safely displayed... Or we could fund repairs and a compressor. I still feel they just want it gone ASAP....
Quote from: Rocket Science on 02/21/2015 05:23 pmQuote from: arachnitect on 02/21/2015 05:02 pmMy two cents: after from begging Ottawa for time, the highest priority is to find a stretch frame or figure out how to fabricate one. If the rocket is stable and (theoretically) transportable, finding it a new home gets much easier.I'd say the second priority is convincing USAF to at least let it be disassembled and crated rather than brutally shredded.The idea that someone is gonna build an operational ICBM based on an Atlas A is bizarre; better technology has long been available to pretty much anybody.What you are describing from what I can understand is a strongback. Now it can be left in place or be used to lower the Atlas on to a flat bed trailer. I see this as a phase 2, since we need to address their public safety concerns with a barrier and then such a structure is erected. All this is “if” the museum allows/wants to let it now be safely displayed... Or we could fund repairs and a compressor. I still feel they just want it gone ASAP....It's more specific than just a strongback. I don't know exactly how it works but the stretch frame puts the fuselage in tension so that it holds its shape without pressurization. There's hydraulics involved.
there are existing purpose built trailers for this task that can be found http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=36772.msg1332515#msg1332515