Showing posts with label Rocket Launch Centres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rocket Launch Centres. Show all posts
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Have a close glimpse of Launch Pad 39 A / B in a video
Pads 39-A and 39-B are virtually identical and roughly octagonal in shape. The distance between pads is 2.6 km. The pad base contains 52,000 cubic meters of concrete. The ramp leading up to the pad is inclined at a 5% grade. The flame trench is 13 meters deep, 137 meters long and 18 meters wide. The orbiter flame deflector is 11.6 meters high, 22 meters long and 17.5 meters wide. It weights 590 t . The SRB deflector is 12.95 meters high, 12.8 meters long and 17.4 meters wide. It weights 499 t. The Sound Suppression Water System is used to protect the launch structure from the intense sound pressure of liftoff. Its water tank is 88.9 meters high and has a capacity of 1,135,000 liters.
There are 6 permanent and 4 extensible pedestals that are used to support the mobile launch pedestal (MLP) at the pad. Dynamic loads at rebound are 3,175,200 kg to 4,762,800 kg at liftoff. The pad is lit with 5 clusters of Xenon high-intensity searchlights (total searchlights: 40) around the pad perimeter.
The height of the Fixed Service Structure (FSS) is 105.7 meters to the top of the lightning mast (referenced to the pad base) and the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) is 57.6 meters high. The Fixed Service Structure (FSS) and Rotating Service Structure (RSS) on Pad 39A underwent a renovation between June and September 1993. Some 13,773 gallons of paint were used on two coats and 1,866 tons of sand were used in the sandblasting operation.
Watch the video and have a close glimpse of launch pad systems
(Courtesy: NASA )
Launch Acoustics Suppression System at Launch Pad 39A - KSC
A sound suppression system was installed on the pads and the mobile launcher platform to protect the orbiter and its payloads from being damaged by acoustical energy reflected from the platform during liftoff.
Image to left: Water is released onto the mobile launcher platform on Launch Pad 39A at the start of a water sound suppression test. Workers and the media (left) are on hand to witness the rare event. This test is being conducted following the replacement of the six main system valves, which had been in place since the beginning of the Shuttle Program and had reached the end of their service life. Also, the hydraulic portion of the valve actuators has been redesigned and simplified to reduce maintenance costs.
Water stored in a 290-foot-high, 300,000 gallon tank on the northeast side of the pad is released just prior to the main engine ignition and flows by gravity to special outlets on the platform, including six 12-foot-high quench nozzles, or "rainbirds." Nine seconds after liftoff, peak flow rate is 900,000 gallons per minute.
The system reduces acoustical levels within the orbiter payload bay to about 142 decibels, below the design requirement of 145 decibels.
Sound Suppression Test Unleashes a Flood
A roar resounded from one of the Space Shuttle launch pads May 7 as 350,000 gallons of water rushed across the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP).The torrent of water was released during a test of the water sound suppression system at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A.
Image to left: Water soaks the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) on Launch Pad 39A at the peak of a Water Sound Suppression System test. Workers and the media (left) were on hand to witness the rare event. Click image for full size version.
Image to right: Huge streams of water cascade down the sides of Launch Pad 39A. Click image for full size version.
The water system is designed to protect the Shuttle and its payloads from any damage that may occur from acoustical energy reflected from the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) during launch. The water is released seconds before ignition of the orbiter's three main engines and twin Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB), then flows through parallel 7-foot-diameter pipes to the Pad.
The system includes a 290-foot-high water tank filled with 300,000 gallons of water, and it empties in 41 seconds during a launch. Water pours from 16 nozzles on top of the flame deflectors and from outlets in the Shuttle main engine exhaust hole in the MLP at main engine ignition, which occurs approximately 7 seconds before liftoff.
The system was first installed at the pad when reflective energy from the top of the Mobile Launch Platform was causing minor damage to thermal curtains on the SRBs and putting stress on the wings. After adding the system, the sound pressure was reduced by half.
Image to left: This close-up of a "rainbird" -- one of 16 huge nozzles on the Mobile Launcher Platform -- shows the force of the water as it jets across the pad. Click image for full size version. The test did more than confirm the six new main system valves performed correctly. Judging from the loud cheers, it also brought even more energy to KSC's Shuttle launch and landing team.
"It's very exciting for us to do this type of exercise," Payne said. "We had a lot of our folks out here to witness this, and it was a good opportunity to get some training out of it. It was very motivational for us to come out here and do this type of work."
Watch a Video
(Courtesy: NASA web Server, You tube)
Monday, December 12, 2011
Report Literature on Launch Pads ...
The following is the list of reports available at open sources in pdf format. One can download them freely by clicking on 'View PDF File' link under each titles. However, please note that some of the host servers of the resources (such as NASA Report server) may forbid access when tried from a few selected networks.
| 1. Launch Pad Escape System Design (Human Spaceflight) Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 2.5 MB] Report/Patent Number: KSC-2011-096 |
| 2. Adhesion Testing of Firebricks from Launch Pad 39A Flame Trench after STS-124 Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 14.8 MB] Report/Patent Number: NASA/TM-2009-214759 |
| 3. Lightning Strike Sensing System for the Space Shuttle Launch Pad Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 84 KB] Report/Patent Number: AD-A525052 |
| 4. Rocket Noise and Vibration Shuttle/Payload Processing and ISS: Launch Pad Vibroacoustics Research at NASA/KSC Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 3.7 MB] Report/Patent Number: KSC-2002-131 |
| 5. Lightning Threat Analysis for the Space Shuttle Launch Pad and the Payload Changeout Room Using Finite Difference Methods Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 2.4 MB] Report/Patent Number: NASA-CR-205186, NAS 1.26:205186, EMA-97-010 |
| 6. Launch Pad Lightning Protection Enhancement by Induced Streamers Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 5.6 MB] Accession Number: 93N24876 |
| 7. Effect of 25 cycles of launch pad exposure and simulated mission heating on space shuttle reusable surface insulation coated with reaction cured glass Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 5.4 MB] Report/Patent Number: NASA-TM-80160 Updated/Added to NTRS: Mar 16, 2009 |
| 8. Launch pad to the moon: Construction bidding cost of Launch Complex 39, part 1 Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 286 KB] Report/Patent Number: NASA-TM-109269, NAS 1.15:109269 |
| 9. KSC VAB Aeroacoustic Hazard Assessment Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 9.4 MB] Publication Year: 2010 Report/Patent Number: KSC-2010-112 |
| 10. Rocket Noise and Vibration Shuttle/Payload Processing and ISS: Launch Pad Vibroacoustics Research at NASA/KSC Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 3.7 MB] Report/Patent Number: KSC-2002-131 |
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