Showing posts with label nasa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nasa. Show all posts
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
MSFC Dynamic Test Stand Photos
Here are some photos Bryan took the day we went up on the dynamic test stand, and then spliced together later. In these photos, the floor is still configured for shaking the shuttle "Enterprise". You can see roughly shuttle-shaped holes in the floor, where it was suspended.
They are currently removing the shuttle floors, and will be reconfiguring to hold ARES I. This tower is one of a pair that make a familiar part of the Huntsville skyline. Until recent years, it was the tallest structure in Alabama. The view from the top is awe inspiring.
The crane on top, as seen from the roof:
Looking down from the roof, through the open door.
At the level of the door threshold, looking up at the roof crane.
Looking across the door opening. Looks like the door is 7 floors tall. Here you can see that the bottom of the doorway is still pretty high above the ground.
Looking up, you see the side of the test stand, then the door slid down, then the door opening, and the cranes on top.
A shot from the inside, looking at the layers of walkways.
Looking down through a shuttle-shaped hole.
Imagine slipping a shuttle, nose first, down through this hole.
They are currently removing the shuttle floors, and will be reconfiguring to hold ARES I. This tower is one of a pair that make a familiar part of the Huntsville skyline. Until recent years, it was the tallest structure in Alabama. The view from the top is awe inspiring.
The crane on top, as seen from the roof:
Looking down from the roof, through the open door.
At the level of the door threshold, looking up at the roof crane.
Looking across the door opening. Looks like the door is 7 floors tall. Here you can see that the bottom of the doorway is still pretty high above the ground.
Looking up, you see the side of the test stand, then the door slid down, then the door opening, and the cranes on top.
A shot from the inside, looking at the layers of walkways.
Looking down through a shuttle-shaped hole.
Imagine slipping a shuttle, nose first, down through this hole.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Water Table at MSFC
I went on a tour of the shop facilites at NASA/MSFC today. This small building houses a really cool water cutting machine. It cuts with a high pressure jet of water, with crushed garnet mixed in. They let us feel the garnet. The courser powder felt like fine sand. The finer powder felt like, well, powder.
It can make a 9" cut in a single pass.
Below, the table, with two of the guys checking it out.
The table is filled with water. The "bed" is a bunch of cheap metal slats, on-edge, which routinely get cut up by the machine, and then get replaced. They sometimes have to weight down the material that is being cut, because the water from the jet will push down into the bath and push back up on the bottom of the material, making it float off of the slats.
This NASA "meatball" was cut by the water table. The keyboard is part of the control console.
I assume the pink horse was cut on it too, since it was sitting nearby.
Here are the scraps, where many pieces were cut out of single sheets of material. That's not much waste.
It can make a 9" cut in a single pass.
Below, the table, with two of the guys checking it out.
The table is filled with water. The "bed" is a bunch of cheap metal slats, on-edge, which routinely get cut up by the machine, and then get replaced. They sometimes have to weight down the material that is being cut, because the water from the jet will push down into the bath and push back up on the bottom of the material, making it float off of the slats.
This NASA "meatball" was cut by the water table. The keyboard is part of the control console.
I assume the pink horse was cut on it too, since it was sitting nearby.
Here are the scraps, where many pieces were cut out of single sheets of material. That's not much waste.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)