A Day at the Cape

On a spooky, hazy day caused by the effects of Hurricane
Dennis, I recently did the tour bus bit at Cape Canaveral.
I've posted some photos at:

"http://www.geocities.com/launchreport/weblog.html"

Some observations:

Four launch vehicles were on pads at the Cape and
Kennedy Space Center. Three were being prepped
for NASA missions and one for an Air Force mission.
No more commercial satellite launches are planned
to occur this year and maybe next.

With the recent shutdown of Atlas II/III and Titan
operations, the Cape suddenly has a lot of mothballed
launch pads and support buildings. The metal-eating
ocean-side atmosphere pretty much guarantees that
these structures won't be around long. After years
of status quo, Cape Canaveral's appearance is being
substantially changed.

Boeing's Delta IV CBC facilities test stage is still
parked outside the SLC 37 integration building. It
is already starting to show signs of corrosion. The
guides said that Boeing plans to donate it to the
Air Force museum. But the Air Force museum already
has its hands full sweeping up the rust flakes that
rain daily from its existing rocket collection - a
collection that took a hammering during last year's
hurricane. Cape Canaveral has to be the world's
worst location for an outdoor museum.

The Athena launch stand has been removed from SLC 46.
No surprise there, I suppose.

NASA's VAB looks seriously beat up, both from last
year's hurricane and from years of neglect. It will
need some serious work if NASA intends to use it
beyond shuttle.

Many buildings on KSC appear decrepit. The Space Center
is looking a bit like Baikonur did in the years after
the fall of the Soviet Union.

- Ed Kyle

"Ed Kyle" wrote in
ups.com:



Boeing's Delta IV CBC facilities test stage is still
parked outside the SLC 37 integration building. It
is already starting to show signs of corrosion. The

That CBC is clearly visible when I did a Google Earth
sweep of the Cape. Don't know when that image was taken,
but it appears to show recent work on the Atlas V pad
as well.

The Titan IV facility is amazing, almost as extensive
as the LC39 complex. I was wondering why the buildings
couldn't be used for EELV assembly, but the sheer distance
the launch vehicles would have to be transported might be
inconvenient for various reasons.

Vandenberg was a more difficult tour, but I did find the
'port' where the barge docks to offload Delta IV CBCs.
The roads are winding and just a tad steep to get to
the SLC6 facility.

You can almost tour Vandenberg by Amtrak.

http://earth.google.com

--Damon

Ed Kyle wrote:

Many buildings on KSC appear decrepit. The Space Center
is looking a bit like Baikonur did in the years after
the fall of the Soviet Union.

sad but hardly unique for a government agency. The funds for
construction are a lot easier to get than funds for upkeep year after year.


--
Terrell Miller


"Suddenly, after nearly 30 years of scorn, Prog is cool again".
-Entertainment Weekly

Damon Hill wrote:

The Titan IV facility is amazing, almost as extensive
as the LC39 complex. I was wondering why the buildings
couldn't be used for EELV assembly, but the sheer distance
the launch vehicles would have to be transported might be
inconvenient for various reasons.

The VIB, the SMAB, and the SMARF (and Pad 40) were
offered up in the CEV bid packages as available
facilities, so bidders might find a use for one or
more of them. The SMARF, especially, might be
recycled for new service. It is the newest structure
and is the one nearest to Pads 40 and 41.

Lockheed Martin has already converted one of the
old Titan IIIC solid motor prep buildings near the
VIB into an Atlas V processing building. This is
where the rocket stages are checked out horizontally
before they go to the VIF at Complex 41. The Atlas V
launch control center is also in an old Titan building.

- Ed Kyle