Fully occupied Titan 3 VIB

[Art LeBrun]

Here is a photo from a 6555th SW book on Titan 3C. No date for the photo or the publication but the last listed launch is 1979. This is certainly the image the DoD wanted to project for the rapid fire Titan 3C program with up to 40 launches per year.

Does anyone know if this was a "real" photo and the date or a touched up image?

[Jim]

I can see that bay 3 (2nd from the left) has a vehicle on a pedestal and not an MLP.

[Archibald]

(second try)

This is certainly the image the DoD wanted to project for the rapid fire Titan 3C program with up to 40 launches per year.

In the 60's USAF somewhat mistook Titan flight rate - the rate quoted above was never approached.
A decade later NASA -perhas I should say Mathematica ? - somewhat repeated the mistake with the shuttle. Again the flight rate was overestimated (and the agency took a lot of flak for that along the years).

Could USAF mistake have prevented NASA repeating it ?

[edkyle99]

I can see that bay 3 (2nd from the left) has a vehicle on a pedestal and not an MLP.

Were there three MLPs during the Titan III era?

 - Ed Kyle

[Art LeBrun]

Question 1: how many MLP were available?
Question 2: was a pedestal an option for stacking? With overhead cranes I could suppose an MLP could moved underneath later.

If a real photo I wold have guessed 1975 or 1977 due to the short windows for Viking and Voyager. However the other launches for T3C seem spaced out too far.

[Jim]

I think there were only 3 MLP's ever

[Art LeBrun]

I think there were only 3 MLP's ever

I wonder if they were ever parked outside on occasion? And where were the locomotives kept between transfers?

[Jim]

I think there were only 3 MLP's ever

I wonder if they were ever parked outside on occasion? And where were the locomotives kept between transfers?

Most of the time they were outside, so were the locomotives, until the 90's

[Art LeBrun]

I think there were only 3 MLP's ever

I wonder if they were ever parked outside on occasion? And where were the locomotives kept between transfers?

Most of the time they were outside, so were the locomotives, until the 90's

Thanks. I was thinking of looking for them in aerial images.

[edkyle99]

Here's a twilight shot showing nearly the same scene, with three MLPs and one Titan core on a pedestal, but only three Titans in the building. 

 - Ed Kyle

[Art LeBrun]

It seems the Titan cores were not the pacing items in T3C flights! Wish we had dates for these two photos.

[Jim]

It seems the Titan cores were not the pacing items in T3C flights! Wish we had dates for these two photos.

The "side" bays of the SMAB were for staging segments to aid in increasing the throughput of SRM's.   In reality, they were not needed and the east bay was used for IUS processing and the west bay became the SPIF (Shuttle payload integration facility, later knows as the spacecraft processing and integration facility)

[ChileVerde]

...the west bay became the SPIF (Shuttle payload integration facility, later knows as the spacecraft processing and integration facility)

Considering that some of the payloads belonged to the NRO, was the SPIF certified as a SCIF?

[lunatikm]

I just got two pictures to this topic. The twilight photo is the same picture Art posted but in better resolution. Unfortunately there is no date or caption. Maybe it will be helpful nevertheless...

[Liryc]

Hi everyone !
Very interresting topic here.. and I'd have an extra question for you guys.

I've just found and read the Titan III user's manual, and 2 details puzzled me : It is said that the payload is integrated in the VIB, but that the fairing is installed on the launch pad.... how come ?
Did they use a transfer hood to protect the payload during transit to the pad ?


Sources :
- The fairing can be installed over the payload in three ways: installing the trisections around the payload on the pad; lowering the ossembled fairing over the payload on the pad; and pre-installing the fairing over the payload and installing the combined two in the vehicle, while on the pad.
- The VIB's high bay area is composed of four individual cells in which four Titan III vehicles can be assembled simultaneously, their payloads mated to the vehicle, and ail systems checked out.

Thanks !

[Jim]

Hi everyone !
Very interresting topic here.. and I'd have an extra question for you guys.

I've just found and read the Titan III user's manual, and 2 details puzzled me : It is said that the payload is integrated in the VIB, but that the fairing is installed on the launch pad.... how come ?
Did they use a transfer hood to protect the payload during transit to the pad ?

It could be done that way but was never practiced. The payloads were installed at the pad

[Liryc]

Ok, I understand better now all the photographs of the transfers.

In the case of a P/L integration in the VIB, how is it protected during the transfer ? Is the fairing also integrated in the VIB or is there some sort of transfer protection ?

thanks

[Jim]

Ok, I understand better now all the photographs of the transfers.

In the case of a P/L integration in the VIB, how is it protected during the transfer ? Is the fairing also integrated in the VIB or is there some sort of transfer protection ?

thanks

Never was done

[Jim]

Ok, I understand better now all the photographs of the transfers.

In the case of a P/L integration in the VIB, how is it protected during the transfer ? Is the fairing also integrated in the VIB or is there some sort of transfer protection ?

thanks

Never was done

What about the initial MOL/Gemini test flight?

 - Ed Kyle

UES was built for it

[Liryc]

Ok, I understand better now all the photographs of the transfers.

In the case of a P/L integration in the VIB, how is it protected during the transfer ? Is the fairing also integrated in the VIB or is there some sort of transfer protection ?

thanks

Never was done

Yes, I understand it was never done, but I can't imagine they didn't have some transfer means planned for these operations when the programme was developped right ?