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Large SRB test site in Florida



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 13th 12, 03:44 PM posted to sci.space.history
Greg \(Strider\) Moore
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Default Large SRB test site in Florida

http://www.businessinsider.com/aeroj...cility-2012-10

Anyone have more details?

  #2  
Old November 13th 12, 06:18 PM posted to sci.space.history
David Lesher
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Default Large SRB test site in Florida

"Greg \(Strider\) Moore" writes:

http://www.businessinsider.com/aeroj...cility-2012-10


Anyone have more details?



How can you have a silo when the water table is a few feet below
ground level?

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
  #3  
Old November 13th 12, 08:31 PM posted to sci.space.history
Jeff Findley[_2_]
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Default Large SRB test site in Florida

In article ,
says...

http://www.businessinsider.com/aeroj...cility-2012-10

Anyone have more details?


This is well known by space history buffs who are interested in solids
in particular. There is quite a bit of info about this on the Internet.
As usual, astronautix.com has a good summary:

AJ-260-2
http://www.astronautix.com/engines/aj2602.htm

NASA Technical server has a very good report:

FINAL REPORT
DETERMINATION OF PROCESSING AND TEST FACILITY
REQUIREMENTS FOR LARGE SOLID ROCKET MOTORS VOLUME I: TASKJ -FACILITY
MODIFICATION FOR FULL-LENGTH 260-IN.-DIA MOTOR PROCESSING AND TEST
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...v/19700027475_
1970027475.pdf
Also, there are several websites showing pictures of the site taken by
"urban explorers" (or whatever they like to call themselves these days).

Abandoned Florida - Aerojet-Dade Rocket Facility
http://www.abandonedfl.com/?p=627

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer
  #4  
Old November 13th 12, 11:43 PM posted to sci.space.history
[email protected]
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Default Large SRB test site in Florida

On Tuesday, November 13, 2012 8:44:40 AM UTC-6, Greg (Strider) Moore wrote:
http://www.businessinsider.com/aeroj...cility-2012-10

Anyone have more details?


....Jeff nailed this one, and I'd posed the same question on Secret Projects a few weeks ago, having palm-in-face forgotten that this question had show up around here quite a while back. Mark Wade's entry in EA sums the situation up quite well.

OM

  #5  
Old November 14th 12, 01:43 AM posted to sci.space.history
Brian Thorn[_2_]
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Default Large SRB test site in Florida

On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:18:40 +0000 (UTC), David Lesher
wrote:


How can you have a silo when the water table is a few feet below
ground level?


There are Minuteman silos at Cape Canaveral. Challenger's wreckage is
interrred in two of them.

Brian
  #6  
Old November 14th 12, 02:30 AM posted to sci.space.history
[email protected]
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Default Large SRB test site in Florida

On Tuesday, November 13, 2012 11:18:41 AM UTC-6, David Lesher wrote:

How can you have a silo when the water table is a few feet below
ground level?


....Simple. You find a material to line the outer walls of the silo to prevent sandtrout from encysting the water. It helps keep the sandworm population down to a bare minumum, and if you think twenty thumpers will call a bunch of worms, just watch what happens when someone fires off an SRB or two from Canaveral!

OM
  #7  
Old November 14th 12, 06:48 AM posted to sci.space.history
Philip Lantz[_2_]
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Default Large SRB test site in Florida

David Lesher wrote:

How can you have a silo when the water table is a few feet below
ground level?


I thought the same thing, and apparently others did at the time, too.
Encyclopedia Astronautica says, "There was considerable concern about
building such a huge facility below the water table, but the 50 m depth
proved no problem for a competent caisson contractor."

(http://www.astronautix.com/engines/aj2602.htm; thanks to Jeff for the
link.)
  #8  
Old November 14th 12, 02:29 PM posted to sci.space.history
Jeff Findley[_2_]
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Posts: 1,388
Default Large SRB test site in Florida

In article ,
says...

On Tuesday, November 13, 2012 8:44:40 AM UTC-6, Greg (Strider) Moore wrote:
http://www.businessinsider.com/aeroj...cility-2012-10

Anyone have more details?


...Jeff nailed this one, and I'd posed the same question on Secret Projects a few weeks ago, having palm-in-face forgotten that this question had show up around here quite a while back. Mark Wade's entry in EA sums the situation up quite well.


The document I linked to gives you an idea of just how hard handling
would have been for very large SRB's. Not only are the casings quite
heavy when empty, they're *extremely* heavy when loaded with fuel.
Ground handling equipment is necessarily sized to handle far higher
weights than for liquid stages, which can be fueled on the pad. Even
shuttle style SRB's, whose segments are sized for rail transport, give
handling headaches. The Aerojet solids would have been far too big to
transport by anything but barges.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer
  #10  
Old November 14th 12, 05:33 PM posted to sci.space.history
David Lesher
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Posts: 198
Default Large SRB test site in Florida

Philip Lantz writes:

David Lesher wrote:


How can you have a silo when the water table is a few feet below
ground level?


I thought the same thing, and apparently others did at the time, too.
Encyclopedia Astronautica says, "There was considerable concern about
building such a huge facility below the water table, but the 50 m depth
proved no problem for a competent caisson contractor."


The issue I see is how do keep it from popping out of the
ground in rainy season.

I know! Fire off a test every so often to drive it back down.

I'm still trying to grok how the "starter" worked. They talked about
it being tethered on cables and ?going around in circles? I think....

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
 




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