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Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6 (1:144)


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Hello everybody,

 

well, as is so often the case, the devil is in the details and therefore first once more back to the Transportation Support Plates. cool.gif

 

And since the Payload Canister also rests on special Support Plates during horizontal transport too, now I have been dealing with these plates more closely and have tried to get me smart about the replica. 

 

This photo again shows an overview of the different Transportation Support Plates that were mounted on the transporters for either the horizontal or vertical Transportation Mode

 

mverwG.jpg
Source: NASA

 

Since this is one of the two KAMAG transporters delivered in 2000, both types of Support plates were mounted at the time, which was not normally the case. At least the Hold-down Clevises, here to see on the vertical transport plates (red circles), were only mounted during the vertical transport of the canisters to the Launch Pad, but which were dismantled during horizontal transport in and between the assembly and processing facilities in the KSC, as could be seen in one of the last posts. up045518.gif

 

It can already be seen from this image that these transportation support plates had a special structure and were not just simple support plates for the canister. So I first looked at the corresponding photos to see details for the scratch construction. 

 

Among other things, I came across this photo of the canister at the STS-135, on which one can already clearly see the outline of the horizontal support plates in plan view, which I got started with. up039822.gif

 

wJqa2C.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

According to this, two Border strips are arranged on a Base plate around the support of the Canister transportation plates, which are probably used for roughly fixing the canister when lowering onto the transporter. hmmm.gif

 

With this I was able to determine part of the dimensions of the components, which is always very time-consuming, but is simply necessary for the replica and requires a reliable Reference dimension (blue) ... :whistle:

 

Y8EVkr.jpg

 

I was able to get further information about the arrangement of the components from this image, 

 

29X3KH.jpg
Source: NASA

 

in which one can see in the zoom that there is a separate Support plate for the canister on the base plate, which completes the arrangement of the parts, after which the dimensions of the parts could be determined and the plates could be scratched. cool.gif

 

To do this, I first had to reproducible cut off all the individual parts, but what is impossible without a defined stop, rolleyes.gif as can be seen here for the Base plates (0,3 mm x 3,5 mm x 3,5 mm)

 

PNX1H4.jpg

 

Next to it are the Border strips (0,5 mm x 0,75 mm x 2,5 mm) and the Transportation support plates (0,5 mm x 2 mm x 2 mm ), to be glued to the bottom of the canister.

 

Of course, to glue the parts onto the base plate, it had to be fixed, for which I've stuck a strip of tape with the adhesive side up on the mat,

 

yE2tdW.jpg

 

what has provided adequate hold and has worked, as can be seen from both sides on the finished plate, which I am happy with so far. up045518.gif

 

aIGEhN.jpg

 

QwULy6.jpg

 

The difficulty in dimensioning the parts was that their heights had to be dimensioned in such a way that the underside of the canister must not rest on the border strips, up037312.gif but a certain overhang must be guaranteed, which is actually the case. up039822.gif

 

To do this, I placed a canister support plate onto the inner  transporter support plate as a test in the following image, which later creates the necessary overhang of the canister.

 

BajbGa.jpg

 

Now I can scratch the other three horizontal Support plates in the same way and in peace. Although these are only small, inconspicuous parts that will hardly be visible later under the canister, but should not be missing. up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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Hello everybody,

 

so, get to work then! :nanner:

 

With keeping the first succeeded Transportation Plate in sight, the other three went comparatively easily. cool.gif

 

0BaLGx.jpg

 

JEluRZ.jpg

 

UaSOX4.jpg

 

P3kM92.jpg

 

A first test fitting of these Horizontal Transportation Plates on the transporter looks unspectacular, but good,  up045518.gif

 

vAvkQJ.jpg

 

DClOOz.jpg

 

but now has to be compared with the canister with regard to the exact positions, since these plates must be below the Horizontal Transportation Tie-down Lug Plates, which are located directly below the ladders. huh.gif

 

qgYJAA.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

On this image one can see the Tie-downs underneath the ladders more clearly.

 

uyDuph.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

These would be the places on the model, which is why I have to measure them precisely so that everything fits together.   

 

8XS8Ze.jpg

 

So much for today. up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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Hello everybody,

 

and thus to the exciting question of how I can best glue these Transportion Plates for the horizontal transport, both on the Transporter as well as on the Canister, what I had to think about beforehand. hmmm.gif 

 

To do this, the question of the sensible order of the gluing had to be clarified first, so that in the end the positions of the plates on the transporter and on the canister bottom match and are in the right place. idea1_2.gif

Since the transportation plates of the Transporter must be directly below the Horizontal Transportation Tie-down Lug Plates of the Canister, which are located directly below the ladders,

 

sF05id.jpg

 

it became clear to me relatively quickly that first the plates on the transporter and then those on the canister bottom had to be glued. up045518.gif 

 

To do this, I first transferred the plate positions of the canister to a transparent printout of the Transporter platform,

 

utv43b.jpg

 

and have just laid out the plates temporarily,

 

9wy456.jpg

 

to be able to measure their distances for later gluing on the transporter. cool.gif When I was handling with the plates, I was suddenly horrified to find that there were only three plates left and one was missing. yikes.gif

 

h39skH.jpg

 

Since the fourth plate could not be found on the table, I got up cautiously and actually saw it lying on the floor intact, so I could continue with peace of mind. huh.gif 

 

30PYll.jpg

 

When all four panels were finally glued to the transporter, I was able to catch my breath a little bit, 

 

BuXadH.jpg

 

because the test fitting of the canister was okay so far. :whistle:

 

wXHFmP.jpg

 

But that was only half the battle, because now I had to do the even more difficult part of the exercise, namely to transfer the positions of these plates exactly to the bottom of the canister for gluing them, which I still have to think about carefully.  up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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Hello everybody,

 

since any measuring and marking of the positions of the small Transportation Plates (2 mm x 2 mm) on the Bottom of the Canister would be far too imprecise and, on top of that, too uncertain I've come up with a solution that may seem a bit cumbersome, but it should work. up047090.gif

 

A prerequisite for the success of this delicate action is a stable holding of the transporter, which should not move, as it is about minimal distances. huh.gif 

 

To do this, I supported the transporter in a special holder jig with Balsa blocks in such a way that the wheels hung in the air, so that they were not unnecessarily stressed during gluing, and the transporter was fixed on both sides with magnets to prevent it from slipping. up045518.gif

 

3ZXNMJ.jpg

 

Furthermore, I used two Evergreen L Profiles (4,8 mm) as lateral stops, one side of which was cut out at both ends so that I would see the transportation plates glued on the transporter and would be be able to align the laid down canister accordingly. up039822.gif

 

Q0MICB.jpg

 

Then, in a first step, I wanted to carefully place the four transportation plates of the canister on the transporter's plates, 

 

vXFAq0.jpg

 

and align above them as precisely as possible. http://www.smiliesuche.de/smileys/spiegel/spiegel-smilies-0002.gif But since no glue can be applied to these loose plates, I quickly changed my plans and glued the plates separately and one by one to the bottom of the canister, which was quite a tricky operation. :gr_eek2:

 

jzCl69.jpg

 

To do this, I took the plates off again before gluing them and dabbed them beside the transporter, one at a time with a tiny drop of UHU-CA, holding one corner of the plate with my fingernail. up037312.gif 

 

Then I carefully grabbed it with pointed tweezers and set it down even more carefully on the transporter's transportation plate and adjusted it slightly, which should become enough to drive me up the wall ... analintruder.gif 

 

cY5Moy.jpg

 

Then I've carefully and with a lot of feeling lowered the canister between the side stops onto the transporter plates, causing the glue-dabbed canister plate to stick to its bottom - if I was lucky, like for the first three plates. yahoo.gif

 

ZDdYNz.jpg

 

But it all went much too smoothly, :whistle: because when picking up the fourth plate dabbed with glue, it got stuck on the tweezers and couldn't be set down, no matter how loudly I've cursed ... up043952.gif

 

I46ZC9.jpg

 

That's why this plate had to be cleaned again, dabbed again and set down onto the fourth Transporter plate, what luckily worked again. up045518.gif

 

iwiAJ9.jpg

 

With that, that difficult task was finally done, and the canister with its transportation plates fits nicely on those of the transporter's - Thank goodness! default_bow.gif
 
D9o8nD.jpg

 

yLJTr6.jpg

 

Now I can confidently turn to the Vertical Transportation Plates on the transporter, 

 

DHxvBL.jpg

 

located in the middle of the transporter, 

 

1iP9Ae.jpg

 

rHkft7.jpg

 

but have different sizes and structures as can be seen in this image. 

 

TwCDFb.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

On the one hand, this is due to the fact that they have to accommodate the differently sized transportation plates of the canister.

 

7FOFLU.jpg

 

On the other hand, they have recesses on the bottom for the Vertical Transportation Tie-down Lug Plates, which should make the scratch-building of these plates a bit more complicated and demanding. up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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Thanks Kirk for looking in on me again, :worship:

 

well, the handling of these tiny parts is already quite stressful, but I'll keep hanging in there and biting me through, s-boese-wand02.gif even if it is sometimes difficult.  up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

as I have now discovered with horror, my NASA photos, which I've mostly linked to the Hi-Res. photos, are unfortunately no longer accessible, as the extremely helpful NASA Media archive is no longer updated and maintained by NASA, as one could read there until recently. up037312.gif

 

u8SR8z.jpg
Source: NASA

 

The first part of the reference to flickr.com is correct indeed, but the search options there are quite spartan and a search for special content is like looking for a needle in a haystack, which one can forget. up043952.gif

 

The second part of the reference is simply Fake News because the site is no longer accessible. up037692.gif

 

This is all the more deplorable because I analyzed many details for my work and measured them for scratching this way, especially by zooming these photos.  rolleyes.gif

 

So don't be surprised if the high resolutions of these photos are no longer found and an error message appears. :dontknow:

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Hello everybody, life goes on! :whistle:

 

And so now back to the Vertical Transportation Support Plates & Clevises on top of the Transporter, their scratch building turns out to be quite a tough nut to crack, since these multi-part brackets are in fact more difficult and are a lot more complicated than those support plates for the horizontal transport. up046885.gif

 

rVL9jo.jpg
Source: NASA

 

Since the four Transportation Tie-down Lug Plates on the Aft Bulkhead of the canister  

 

ET4yQm.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

must fit into the screwed-on Hold-down Clevises on these transport plates,

 

48KmFQ.jpg Source: retrospaceimages.com (STS-6)

 

KPVMAY.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

I have to think about the best way to build these mounts. idea1_2.gif

 

In this image one can see very nicely all the dismantled individual parts of these mounts. These are the Base plates with the screwed on Receiving blocks (red circles) for the dismantled Hold-down Clevises (red arrows), and stop holder (blue circles) for guiding the canister when setting it down onto the transporter. 

 

BGzYKS.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

At first I thought of making the hold-down clevises individually and inserting them into the recesses of the receiving blocks, but what would probably be too much of a good thing. rolleyes.gif 

 

It should be easier if I scratch the receiving blocks and hold-down clevises as a unit, which is worth trying.  up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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I'm disappointed to read that NASA's wonderful archive won't be accessible ... I too relied on that archive when researching my Apollo and Shuttle builds.

 

But Manfred, I know you'll overcome this small hiccup and your research skills will turn up another resource!

 

I echo Slartibartfast's comment, "Still as entertaining as ever!" ... keep up the wonderful work Spaceman!

 

Pete

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Thanks Pete for your nice compliment, :worship:

 

but you can count on it, that I'm going to find a solution for this problem too, idea1_2.gif because I also need these sources like my daily bread. up045518.gif

 

In such and similar cases, I like to quote the Bible saying: Seek and you will find. pray.gif And therefore Never let go! s-boese-wand02.gif

 

It's only a good thing that I copied the URLs and the photos in the zoom resolutions in Word documents, which I can enlarge at will to see and measure the details that interest me. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

since the matter has not left me in peace, I have researched intensively again and now I know the innovations and connections around the former NASA media archive, which no longer exists as such. cool.gif 

 

There was a similar confusion years ago after a change in NASA photo archiving along the lines of: Now and then some quite a novelty ... up037692.gif when the old URLs (www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov) were no longer found, but what I managed to figure it out. s-boese-wand02.gif

 

Instead, one now has to search the NASA Image and Video Library website, e.g. after the year abbreviation of the NASA photo number, if you know it.

 

The search on https://images.nasa.gov/ nach 2010-2664 

 

ljMClI.jpg

 

resulted in the photo I know of the STS-132, here in the Medium resolution (856x1280), which I've linked with the Original resolution (2008x3000). up045518.gif

 

2010-2664~medium.jpg

 

Even better, however, is the content search which I once tested for the Payload Canister Transporter that is of interest to me now, after which this gallery was displayed to me, which immediately offers an overview of the available photos, from which one can then select and directly access the photo of interest and download the desired resolution. up039822.gif

 

And in this overview, along with many other well-known photos, I noticed this red framed photo (KSC-08pd3303) of the STS-126, which was not in my collection so far, where one has a good direct view of the transporter and the support plates in this position, which is particularly important for measuring details, since oblique perspectives are distorted always. rolleyes.gif

 

scfUuH.jpg

 

And of course I used that immediately to be able to determine the dimensions of the larger of the two Support plates for the Vertical transport more precisely, what one can see here, since I've linked this image section again with the Original resolution. up045518.gif

 

WgyCPM.jpg
Source: images.nasa.gov/

 

The image also clearly shows the effort I have to put in to determine the dimensions of such small details that I need for their scratch-building. huh.gif

 

And so there are certainly more photos with interesting perspectives that will help me with the construction of these transport plates. up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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Hello my friends,

 

but that's only half the battle firstly cool.gif since the depths or widths of the Support plates and Hold-down Clevises are still missing, which is why I still have to look for and find other detail photos, which is still a tedious work, but unfortunately not to be avoided if one takes it as seriously as I do. rolleyes.gif 

 

And that's why I was glad that I came across this photo from the STS-126 on the new NASA website, which presents a pretty direct side view of the canister, without major perspective distortion, up039822.gif from which, in addition to the details, one can also determine the distance between the Support plates, which in turn is important for the installation of the plates on the transporter. 

 

SuoaGw.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

In addition to this larger of the two support and hold-down plates measured in the last post, I also measured the smaller support plate in the same photo. up045518.gif

 

QjgBr8.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

However, the difficulty in researching suitable photos for determining the dimensions of the plates for Vertical transportation is that there are far fewer photos with the canister standing upright, and that at such photos the important details of the support plates are mostly hidden by the red ECS hoses. up037312.gif

 

But in this photo I was able to at least analyze more closely the arrangement of the larger plate near the Payload Bay Door and of the Clevis, in which one can also determine the sizes of the lateral Stoppers that are only mounted in this vertical arrangement. cool.gif 

 

MWTgAt.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-122)

 

And then I finally found this photo from the STS-114, on which one can finally see the lateral arrangement of the support parts at least a little bit. huh.gif

 

smVWmM.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-114) 

 

And that's enough of the stressful eye torture for today. :woot.gif:

 

Later I want to turn to the Vertical Transportation Tie-down Lug Plates on the Aft Bulkhead of the canister and try to make a first prototype scratch. 

 

wgwNCX.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

With approx. 0,5 mm x 2,5 mm x 2,5 mm they should become relatively small and have to fit into the gap of the Hold-down Clevises. up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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Hello everybody,

 

then let's go to the prototype of the small Vertical Transportation Tie-down Lug Plates. cool.gif  

 

If you look closely, you can see on this photo from the STS-130 that the Hold-down plates consist of three parts (have a look at the zoom on the right edge of the photo), a middle part with a narrow lower extension and two slightly smaller welded-on side parts to stabilize the opening without this extension. 

 

OCTiZ7.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-130)

 

While I used Styrene (0,2 mm) for the side parts, the middle part seemed a little narrower to me at first, so I used Styrene (0,13 mm ). However, in the zoom of this shot it looks as if the three parts are of equal thickness, which is why I will then use Styrene (0,2 mm) uniformly. up045518.gif

 

Since it is difficult to cut out this narrow strip without perhaps cutting it off, up037312.gif I first made the two side parts and drilled the holes with Ø 0,5 mm.

 

SJBAy4.jpg

 

GVadcr.jpg

 

Then I glued a side part to the center strip, have drilled through it too, 

 

IlE3TP.jpg

 

jFm2Mg.jpg

 

and then glued the other side part to its back. 

 

OU3die.jpg

 

Then I cut out the curve of the middle stripe and rounded it off and only then carefully separated the remaining stripe up to the lower extension, which I actually managed to do, even though it's only 0,5 mm wide. huh.gif

 

hFvUmw.jpg

 

In this configuration, the thickness of the Hold-down plate is approx. 0,5 mm. 

 

2zbbi4.jpg

 

And at this point of the canister, this first of four plates will later be glued. 

 

ZIKYb3.jpg

 

For scratch-building the Support plates, I first marked the exact positions of the Hold-down plates on the floor plan of the transporter,

 

FiG0rp.jpg

 

whereby I first realized how small all will be, :woot.gif:

 

j50kv0.jpg

 

if you imagine that for the Support plates with the Hold-down clevises only approx. 1,5 mm space is available under the canister. up046885.gif

 

LB9lWq.jpg

 

But I'm going to take it easy now and first look at the resulting sizes of the individual parts, then we'll see. :whistle:

 

Therefore keep cool, scaremongering shall not be considered! up040577.gif 

Edited by spaceman
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The amount of research you do, Manfred, is amazing!

And I'm glad you found the NASA Image and Video Library and provided a link for us.

I just went there, plugged in Apollo 10, and while not a LOT of photos, there were some I hadn't seen before. I'll do a little more exploring of the site.

 

And all these little details you're adding to the canister ... I shake my head in disbelief!

I get the sense that the Engineers, Designers, Draftsmen, didn't put as much effort into these elements as you are!

 

If we hadn't seen the build process, I'm sure none of us would have appreciated just how MUCH work you've put into this model!

 

Thanx Manfred!

Pete

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Thank you for your honest appreciation of my work, :worship: you can judge it best because you are also such an excellent space model maker with love of details. :thumbsup:

 

BTW, I also noticed in my search for STS-6 that there are fewer images for older time slots that may further help. up040577.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello everybody,

 

as a well-known old saying goes ... hmmm.gif Don't put the cart before the horse! smiley_emoticons_steckenpferd.gif A realization that has now cost me some time, what could have been avoided with more concentration. rolleyes.gif

 

As has already been emphasized several times, when determining dimensions from photos, it is particularly important to have reliable reference dimensions, to which all measurements are then related and have to be converted in my scale (1:160).  up045518.gif

 

However, when I compared the determined dimensions of the floor plates of both transportation plates with my floor plan of the transporter and the outline of the payload canister, I noticed that the proportions can't be right, especially since the floor panels were obviously a few millimeters too large, up037312.gif which made me suspicious, especially since the distance between the two Vertical Transportation Tie-down Lug Plates 

 

wgwNCX.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

according to NASA's drawing is only 15,5 mm (1:160). hmmm.gif

 

tO1jyJ.jpg

 

At some point an error must have crept in, but whom I quickly tracked it down. cool.gif

 

A partial result of my first measurements was based, among other things, on this photo with the determined dimensions of the parts of the larger transport plate, whose length of the floor plate therefore should be 10,5 mm (red). 

 

WgyCPM.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

In retrospect, in this image I recognized my mistake in using the side wall height (7,5 mm) determined before the construction of the transporter as a reference measurement, which I then used for a while without thinking,  for determination of lengths in other photos, which were falsified as a result. up040472.gif  

 

I had noticed this source of error a longer time ago and then paid attention to it, but unfortunately not this time. huh.gif In addition, the use of photos from different perspectives can result in further inaccuracies. 

 

Using the almost exact side view and measurement of the plate in the following photo resulted in a value of 8,5 mm for the length of the floor plate, although I also added the side wall height (7,5 mm) had used.

 

MWTgAt.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-122)

 

Late, but not too late, I came to my senses and then made the only right decision for determining the lengths by using the center-to-center distance of the Tie-down Lug Plates as a reference dimension (15,5 mm), according to which the length of the larger floor plate is 7,0 mm, with the help of which the other length dimensions were determined. up039822.gif

 

NTuQ4K.jpg

 

With these dimensions I then tried to draw the arrangement of the parts on this floor plate on a 1:160 scale, which I have already described in the following image. 

 

On it one can nicely see all the individual parts of the larger transportation support plate. This is the floor plate (blue) with the Clevis brackets (red) screwed on to accommodate the disassembled Hold-down clevis (brown), the PLC support plate (green) behind it, as well as the two stop holders (yellow) for guiding the canister when setting down onto the transporter. 

 

zTuh1H.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

Since I was not able for free-style drawing with a ruler even with a Fineliner (0,05 mm) due to the small size of the individual parts, up037312.gif I gave it up. 

 

DS7OID.jpg

 

Instead, I came up with the idea and tried it in MS Word. up047090.gif To do this, I used the Insert shapes mode to arrange small rectangles of the appropriate size with the finest line thickness as contours of the parts and gaps on the floor plate, which was a bit tedious, but after some practice it worked very well and gave an exact picture of both plates. up045518.gif

 

Du4wcQ.jpg

 

I then printed them out, although one can be shocked when one can see how small everything will become. :woot.gif:

 

TW6qbK.jpg

 

Since the arrangement of the plate parts on the other side has to be laterally reversed, I also printed it out on transparent paper (right) and therefore only have to turn it over. :whistle:

 

NNVowy.jpg

 

And this is what the two larger Transportation support plates look like.
 
wS0OFn.jpg

 

So at least the arrangement of the individual parts on the floor plate is clear, but now I also need the heights of the parts in order to be able to scratch them. cool.gif 

 

And I will now determine those again using the height of the side wall (7,5 mm) as a reference, up045518.gif whereby I have to be careful, because they were sometimes incorrectly determined from reference lengths in various photos. rolleyes.gif

 

And with a table full of dimensioned photos, one can start to skid and lose track. yikes.gif

 

HOWYLh.jpg

 

Therefore a cool head as well as highest concentration are required! up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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Hello friends,

 

I was just still talking about highest concentration! :rofl:

 

It's hard to believe, but true, although I've looked at these photos felt 1000 times, :gr_hail: and know that the two stop holders are beveled,

 

zTuh1H.jpg

 

05pd1328~medium.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-114)

 

I've just noticed that I haven't drawn these bevels yet, yikes.gif which of course I made up for immediately. :whistle:

 

LS3wMY.jpg

 

But at the latest when scratching, I would definitely have stumbled over it. up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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On 6/30/2022 at 7:25 AM, spaceman said:

A realization that has now cost me some time, what could have been avoided with more concentration. rolleyes.gif

 

True, but without it you wouldn't have the dramatic adventure of recovering from the error, with which to enthrall future generations. 😁

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