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VAB question thread
by
Mark Dave
on 28 Mar, 2012 17:58
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The Vehicle Assembly Building thread.
I saw in a video some of the offices inside the VAB. Are any of these used at all or left empty?
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#1
by
Jim
on 28 Mar, 2012 18:32
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They are only for storage. Use of solid motors by the shuttle required the building to be clear of non essential personnel during operations.
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#2
by
Spaceguy333
on 29 Mar, 2012 22:43
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They are only for storage. Use of solid motors by the shuttle required the building to be clear of non essential personnel during operations.
Actually that is wrong. Many of the offices in the towers are used only for storage, but a large amount of the office space in the VAB is in use (or at least it was before the massive USA layoffs).
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#3
by
Jim
on 30 Mar, 2012 00:35
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Large amount? No, quite the opposite. The reason for the existent of both OSB's is because most of the VAB office was not to used for the reasons I stated.
SRM lifts were faculty clears.
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#4
by
Jorge
on 30 Mar, 2012 00:40
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Many? The reason for the existent of both OSB's is because most of the VAB office was not to used for the reasons I stated.
Before the OSBs were built, IIRC many of the KSC staff that were formerly housed in the VAB were in temporary trailers around the perimeter.
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#5
by
Jim
on 30 Mar, 2012 02:09
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Many? The reason for the existent of both OSB's is because most of the VAB office was not to used for the reasons I stated.
Before the OSBs were built, IIRC many of the KSC staff that were formerly housed in the VAB were in temporary trailers around the perimeter.
exactly
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#6
by
Rahkashi
on 30 Mar, 2012 02:12
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Here's a question: why were the two western facing VAB bays never used?
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#7
by
Jim
on 30 Mar, 2012 02:17
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Here's a question: why were the two western facing VAB bays never used?
They were used for initial SRB build up, ET storage and check out and Orbiter storage. And one was modified for SSV hurricane safehave.
As for Saturn use, flight rate did not require it. Also, the fourth one was not outfitted.
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#8
by
Spaceguy333
on 30 Mar, 2012 02:23
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Large amount? No, quite the opposite. The reason for the existent of both OSB's is because most of the VAB office was not to used for the reasons I stated.
SRM lifts were faculty clears.
Actually, I'm correct. Practically all of the VAB from ground level to level 5 was full of offices and work areas (again with the caviot of before the layoffs). That includes both the high bay areas and low bay areas. There were numerous personnel IN the building during SRM lifts. The only clears were local clears on the floor and in the particular high bay that the motors were going into. It's true that the offices above the MLP 0 level/ 5th floor were used for storage, but that is not true for the entire VAB including some of the offices shown in the video.
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#9
by
Rahkashi
on 30 Mar, 2012 02:24
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Was their any use during the 60s and 70s?
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#10
by
Jim
on 30 Mar, 2012 02:26
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Large amount? No, quite the opposite. The reason for the existent of both OSB's is because most of the VAB office was not to used for the reasons I stated.
SRM lifts were faculty clears.
Actually, I'm correct.
No, the large majority of offices are above 5th floor, so incorrect
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#11
by
Jim
on 30 Mar, 2012 02:27
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Was their any use during the 60s and 70s?
All the Saturn and some of the spacecraft contractors were in there.
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#12
by
Spaceguy333
on 30 Mar, 2012 02:32
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Large amount? No, quite the opposite. The reason for the existent of both OSB's is because most of the VAB office was not to used for the reasons I stated.
SRM lifts were faculty clears.
Actually, I'm correct.
No, the large majority of offices are above 5th floor, so incorrect
Your arrogance is showing Jim. Ok..here we go...
VAB Operations office 1st floor.
Optics lab 1st floor
Wheel and Tire shops..1st floor
RMS lab...1st floor
Logistics...1st floor
Crane Crew offices...1st floor
Tool design shop...1st floor
Access control to VAB HB1 and HB3 ....1st floor
That's just a few from the first floor only!
Hell my manager II had an office on the third floor. I guess I imagining all of those people at desks and in shops while I worked there. You probably know much more than me; I mean you work in the O&C building which is a few miles away. I was only in the VAB 5 or 6 days a week.
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#13
by
JayP
on 30 Mar, 2012 02:59
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Here's a question: why were the two western facing VAB bays never used?
They were used for initial SRB build up, ET storage and check out and Orbiter storage. And one was modified for SSV hurricane safehave.
As for Saturn use, flight rate did not require it. Also, the fourth one was not outfitted.
High Bay 2 was used once to stack the SA-513 vehicle (the Skylab orbital workshop) because the other two bays were ocupied by Apollo 17 and Skylab 2 (the first maned skylab flight). The original plan for the VAB had 3 bays side by side just on the east side, but was changed to the current design to make the building stiff enough under wind loads.
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#14
by
Jim
on 30 Mar, 2012 03:26
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VAB Operations office 1st floor.
Optics lab 1st floor
Wheel and Tire shops..1st floor
RMS lab...1st floor
Logistics...1st floor
Crane Crew offices...1st floor
Tool design shop...1st floor
Access control to VAB HB1 and HB3 ....1st floor
That's just a few from the first floor only!
Hell my manager II had an office on the third floor. I guess I imagining all of those people at desks and in shops while I worked there. You probably know much more than me; I mean you work in the O&C building which is a few miles away. I was only in the VAB 5 or 6 days a week.
those are shops and labs. FCE lab used to be in there too. But the engineers for those labs and shops are not in the VAB. We are talking "offices", where the people that reside in OSB I & II for shuttle, their equivalents for Apollo resided in the VAB. Boeing was in offices along the S-IC, NAA next to the S-II and Douglas next to the SIVB levels. Grumman and NAA also present. There were more people working for Apollo than Shuttle. Thousands of people occupied the VAB during the peak of Apollo.
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#15
by
Spaceguy333
on 31 Mar, 2012 15:21
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VAB Operations office 1st floor.
Optics lab 1st floor
Wheel and Tire shops..1st floor
RMS lab...1st floor
Logistics...1st floor
Crane Crew offices...1st floor
Tool design shop...1st floor
Access control to VAB HB1 and HB3 ....1st floor
That's just a few from the first floor only!
Hell my manager II had an office on the third floor. I guess I imagining all of those people at desks and in shops while I worked there. You probably know much more than me; I mean you work in the O&C building which is a few miles away. I was only in the VAB 5 or 6 days a week.
those are shops and labs. FCE lab used to be in there too. But the engineers for those labs and shops are not in the VAB. We are talking "offices", where the people that reside in OSB I & II for shuttle, their equivalents for Apollo resided in the VAB. Boeing was in offices along the S-IC, NAA next to the S-II and Douglas next to the SIVB levels. Grumman and NAA also present. There were more people working for Apollo than Shuttle. Thousands of people occupied the VAB during the peak of Apollo.
Really....so my manager II, a nice guy who had many manager I positions report to him, worked out of a shop. His secretary must have been working out of a lab then, huh?
You are incorrect that all of the offices in the VAB were vacant. You just can't admit it.
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#16
by
Jim
on 31 Mar, 2012 20:41
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You are incorrect that all of the offices in the VAB were vacant. You just can't admit it.
Where did I say "all"? I said large amount, majority, etc.
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#17
by
Mark Dave
on 31 Mar, 2012 23:36
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Are there any photos of the interiors of these offices inside the VAB? The vid only shows the empty hallways.
Is there a map giving the layout of the office spaces inside the VAB? The only diagrams I've sen are the basic internal structure or where the shuttle is stacked.
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#18
by
Thorny
on 01 Apr, 2012 00:09
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Here's a question: why were the two western facing VAB bays never used?
SA-505/Apollo 10 used High Bay 2.
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#19
by
JayP
on 01 Apr, 2012 20:19
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Here's a question: why were the two western facing VAB bays never used?
SA-505/Apollo 10 used High Bay 2.
Thanks, I forgot about that one.
Apollo 13 was originally stacked in HB 2 as well with a boiler plate spacecraft stack before being rolled around to HB 3 for integration of the actuall CSM and LM/SLA. That makes 3 out of the 13 Saturn Vs were stacked in HB 2.
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#20
by
spacecane
on 12 Apr, 2012 20:58
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I have read that the reason that the STS had to have a fixed service structure at the pad is due to the fact that the crawler system couldn't handle the weight of the Shuttle Stack plus a service structure on the MLP due mostly to the weight of the SRBs.
My question is, even if the SRBs didn't weigh that much (let's pretend they had gone with LRBs) could an MLP with service structures and the shuttle stack even be able to fit inside the high bay and get out? I assume the RSS would have been needed in addition to the tower to protect the orbiter and provide the pad access for payload an whatever else.
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#21
by
Jim
on 12 Apr, 2012 21:08
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I have read that the reason that the STS had to have a fixed service structure at the pad is due to the fact that the crawler system couldn't handle the weight of the Shuttle Stack plus a service structure on the MLP due mostly to the weight of the SRBs.
My question is, even if the SRBs didn't weigh that much (let's pretend they had gone with LRBs) could an MLP with service structures and the shuttle stack even be able to fit inside the high bay and get out? I assume the RSS would have been needed in addition to the tower to protect the orbiter and provide the pad access for payload an whatever else.
It was not just weight but location. it moved from the front of the MLP to the side
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#22
by
spacecane
on 12 Apr, 2012 21:29
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It was not just weight but location. it moved from the front of the MLP to the side
So due to the location it would have been impossible no matter the weight of the stack?
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#23
by
Jim
on 12 Apr, 2012 21:35
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It was not just weight but location. it moved from the front of the MLP to the side
So due to the location it would have been impossible no matter the weight of the stack?
Not impossible but costly. VAB door redesign etc