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

[freshnewstart]

This chapter in your long story is/was educational in many ways.

Don't settle with less, was one of them 😊

 

Keep going mister Spaceman 💪

 

Jesper

[spaceman]

Thanks Jesper for your nice comment, 

 

the journey is far from over,  but I can already see the light at the end of the tunnel ... 

Edited October 28, 2021 by spaceman

[spaceman]

 

Hello dear friends,

 

today is a memorable day for me, because on 15th November 2011 I did present the first post about my STS-6 Long-term Project in the German Raumcon forum. 

 

In March of 2012 I started reporting on my project here in the BM Forum. 

 

On the day of my 10th Anniversary I feel reminded of the time and the accompanying circumstances with a smile and a little melancholy, and in retrospect I have to say that at the time I was not sure what I was getting into with it and how long I would probably spend with it.

 

Therefore, at this point, I would like to take a brief look back at the genesis of the project, what you don't know so far, and hopefully will be interesting to you too. 

 

Initially I followed the construction report from a friend (inselaner) in the then still existing Scaleworld Forum with interest, who has reported there about his Launch pad Project with Atlantis STS-135 that more and more pulled me under its spell, fascinated and ultimately really infected me to start a similar project.  

 

A hurdle was initially the legendary old Revell Space Shuttle Launch Tower Kit 4911 used by him, which had been out of stock for a long time and could only occasionally be purchased by auction at ebay for horrific prices. 

 

Source: ANDROMEDA24.DE

 

This kit of course I would have liked to have had it as a start-up aid, but only from where take it, if not steal ... 

 

But then by a happy coincidence and thanks to my good contacts to the shop owners of ANDROMEDA24.DE I came across one of these coveted Revell kits (4911), which I got thanks to their good contacts overseas (180 €), which laid the foundation for my project in August 2011. 

 

At the same time, I already had bought David Maier's Paper Kits for the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) and the Crawler Transporter (CT) and got started building the MLP. 

 

After starting my project at Scaleworld, I had planned to report on it in the Raumcon forum too. However, at the beginning I had serious reservations because their Model building Thread at that time was not structured according to topics and therefore hardly manageable, a hodgepodge of different contributions and opinions on it in a disordered monster XXXL thread which made reading along and correspondence not exactly easy. 

 

And already because of that, some members were held back from presenting their own projects , especially since it was no different for me at the time. That's why my first project contributions were initially just an attempt to initiate the discussion without wanting to compete as a lateral entrant. 

 

My suggestions for revising the forum structure, initially discussed with the Space flight admin via PM, apparently also fell on fertile ground of the other admins and were then implemented in painstaking detailed work, whereupon one could present his project in special subject areas and let discuss it, which was a big step forward and quickly became very popular.  

 

To my surprise, a friend of mine created the following diagram of Views and Replies in the Raumcon forum, where the 900.000 barrier has now been broken. 

 

Source: forum.raumfahrer.net (Hugo)

 

I have to admit that with large-scale projects like this, it is not easy to remain committed and focused on the ball and not let tear down, because otherwise it becomes more and more difficult to come back and move on. 

 

I managed to do this quite well over the years, even though I had to cope with a few blows in the neck and emergency operations ... But then the feedback from the forum and encouraging words of you were always helpful in order to gain new strength and keep motivation high. 

 

Also the close relationship between our two Launch Pad projects has always inspired and spurred me on, and the mutual exchange of ideas was a real stimulus for both sides. 

 

Inspired by my STS-6 project, from 2015 to 2017 my friend Thomas (golgi863), who unfortunately passed away much too early, presented his Launch Complex project with Discovery (STS-41D), with whom I had a close and very intensive contact, from which we both benefited. 

 

In the meantime I have worked on all important areas of the Launch Complex 39A up to the diorama, so that I would actually have to modify my project title accordingly. 

 

Also in the other forums in which I post, guys have often asked me where I would get the strength and stamina for this mammoth task. But in the meantime my daily work has become a real passion, especially since my extensive research has given me new insights and interesting insights into this ingenious space technology that I would never want to be without. 

 

Even if my level has not been 100% lately due to family circumstances, I still try to overcome this hard time and be able to motivate myself again. 

 

I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks for the continued interest in my work and the many helpful contributions and expressions of opinion. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by spaceman

[crowe-t]

Happy Anniversary Manfred!  It's been a pleasure following all your work here over the past decade.  It's been great getting to know you.  You're a real nice guy and I consider you a friend. 

 

Mike.

[freshnewstart]

When i saw this thread years ago, i was impressed. And that take a lot to do 😉 

You still manage to do so. in your dedication to this huge project.

 

Let's not hope that light in the tunnel is a train 😁😝

 

Happy Anniversary mr. Spaceman 😊

 

Jesper

[spaceman]

8 hours ago, crowe-t said:

Happy Anniversary Manfred!  It's been a pleasure following all your work here over the past decade.  It's been great getting to know you.  You're a real nice guy and I consider you a friend. 

 

Mike.

 

Thanks Mike for your your appreciative words. 

 

It was a pleasure for me to report on my project here in the forum, nice when I entertained you guys a little bit. 

[spaceman]

7 hours ago, freshnewstart said:

When i saw this thread years ago, i was impressed. And that take a lot to do 😉 

You still manage to do so. in your dedication to this huge project.

 

Let's not hope that light in the tunnel is a train 😁😝

 

Happy Anniversary mr. Spaceman 😊

 

Jesper

 

Thanks Jesper for your your nice words. 

 

Don't panic, I can see the light behind the train at the end of the tunnel. Look here!  

Edited November 16, 2021 by spaceman

[Slartibartfast]

Ten years!  Ten days wears my patience.

[spaceman]

Hi Bruce, my poor Boy! 

 

Tougher than the Rest ... 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

slowly I have to get back on track and want to make a first step today, otherwise the thread will break too much, which I don't want to do to myself as well as to you. 

 

I finally wanted to report back, for a change with a little detour to the Pad fleet of vehicles, which shouldn't be missing entirely on my Diorama. 

 

I was inspired by a post by my friend Mike (bootneck) in the Britmodeller Forum, who was concerned with CAD & 3D printing and has printed some great vehicles in 1:144.  

 

Source: britmodeller.com (bootneck)

 

Source: britmodeller.com (bootneck)

 

Source: britmodeller.com (bootneck)

 

And imagine, he wants to print it for me in the 1:160, out of gratitude cause he has already learned so much from me, a noble gesture indeed with which he totally surprised me. 

 

That gave me the idea to ask him if he could not also model and print the NASA Astrovan that most of you will know, what he'd like to try if I could deliver him corresponding reference material (photos/drawings/dimensions). 

 

And that gave me the decisive kick to pick up myself and get started with researching. 

 

Source: wikimewdia.org

 

As always, at first the question did arise for me about the historical aspect, how this Astrovan looked like in the early Shuttle Era at Challenger's STS-6 ...  

 

More on that next time. 

Edited December 19, 2021 by spaceman

[Slartibartfast]

Nice to see you posting again, sir.

[freshnewstart]

Indeed some fine models! Again a teaser from you 😁

I wish you a Merry Crhistmas Mr. Spaceman 

And good to see you back

Jesper

[crowe-t]

Manfred,

 

It's great to have you back.  The vehicles look great.

 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

Mike.

[spaceman]

Thanks Bruce, Jesper and Mike for your nice welcome greetings and best wishes. 

Life goes on and so the show must go on too. 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

if one turns to the topic NASA-Astrovan (Astronaut Transfer Van) and googles for Astrovan, one will find photos like this one, 

 

Source: wikimedia.org

 

Source: wikimedia.org

 

which show one that there were apparently different models of the van, but that you have to put them in the correct chronological timeline in order not to compare apples with pears. 

 

While the Astrovan still looks relatively simple in the first picture, the second van is much more modern, one just have to know when they were in use to be sure that these are photos from the Shuttle era, and not about images from the Apollo era ... 

 

Because if one digs a little deeper into NASA history, one will also find pictures of Astrovans that had different NASA logos, which initially confused me a lot. It's just a small optical detail, but almost like a name, and it just has to fit in with it in terms of time, otherwise it's like a break in style. 

 

On the one hand there is the well-known blue NASA Meatball and the less well-known NASA Worm. 

 

Source: NASA

 

The difficulty now is that NASA apparently did not adhere to any temporal stringency with regard to the logos used during the Apollo era as well as during the shuttle era but used both logos at times, which does not make the recherche easier, on the contrary. 

 

Therefore I initially followed the van's tracks true to my title slogan Back to the Beginning of NASA's Space Shuttle Missions and after photos of the Astrovans of that time wanted, which clearly show the time relation to the STS-6. 

 

In this photo one can see the STS-6 crew with Story Musgrave in the lead getting into the van. This is clearly the older box-shaped white van model, a modified Clark-Cortez motorhome, but unfortunately the logos on the sides are not in the photo.  

 

Source: retrospaceimages.com (J. L. Pickering, STS-6)

 

After that, I went back even further, to the STS-1, with which the shuttle era began, and I found this insightful photo in the NASA media archive on which the van at the time had the Worm logo.  

 

Source: NASA

 

Step by step I got closer to the STS-6, whereby according to my logo philosophy I assumed that the van at that time probably also had this Worm logo, which had to be proven. 

 

Since my friend James MacLaren couldn't help me any further, I remembered my German friend Oliver Bombosch (Ares67), who in the NSF Forum has documented the early shuttle missions in detail, after what I asked him. 

 

And somehow I must have had the right feeling, because he sent me a Tagesschau Video round about the maiden flight of the Challenger (STS-6), what finally provided the clear evidence that the Astrovan at that time carried the NASA Worm logo. So I was actually at the goal of my search.   

 

 

Source: ARD Tagesschau

 

I also found a picture on which the Astrovan used in the STS-9 can be seen, which had no logo at all,  presumably that was the time of the transition to the successor model of the Airstream Excella Astrovan used since 1983, 

 

Source: NASA

 

at which the Meatball logo was used again from now on. 

 

Source: live.staticflickr.com

 

But there are also photos of the old van model used during the Apollo era (e.g. Apollo 10) with the Meatball logo, which I unfortunately cannot show caused by copyright.  

 

So much for NASA's Logo confusion. 

[K2Pete]

It is great to see you continuing with this build Manfred!

And the tiny 3D printed trucks look amazing ... the resolution of the printing is remarkable and to think that you're going to populate this complex model with trucks as well ... well, let me get some more popcorn!   

 

I hope you have as Merry a Christmas as you can have with friends and family and let's hope 2022 will be Happy and Healthy!

 

Pete

[spaceman]

Thank you Pete for looking forward to it going on too. 

Mike's 3D printed vehicle models are 1:144, I need them in 1:160, so a little smaller yet. 

 

Thank you for your good wishes for Christmas and the New Year, I wish you the same with all my heart. 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

for the fun of it I did some more research and found out that the NASA Worm stayed for some longer time on the Astrovan yet, not just until 1992, as officially announced here. 

 

Up to mission STS-35 (1990) I was able to check it with the help of the ingenious documentations of my German NSF friend Oliver Bombosch (Ares67).

 

Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Ares67)

 

Furthermore I also randomly checked missions following STS-35 (1990), which were also documented by Ares67 in his awesome Thread Ares’ Space Shuttle Video Vault, what I can highly recommend to all shuttle freaks. 

 

According to that the STS-55 (04/26/1993) was the last mission in which the NASA Worm shone on the Astrovan. 

 

Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Ares67)

 

And during the following mission STS-57 (06/21/1993) the NASA Meatball was on the Astrovan again for the first time, 

 

Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Ares67)

 

and from then until the last shuttle mission of Atlantis STS-135 (07/08/2011). 

 

But I have one more delicacy for rounding off this controversy about the use of the NASA logos. 

Hard to believe, but there was not only the classical Meatball, but also discussions about a Wormball, 

 

Source: NASA

 

but NASA headquarters quickly took the wind out of its sails. 

And since meanwhile I've taken pleasure in the Astrovan theme, and to make my fingers a little more flexible again, I want to start with a short warm-up for a Restart. 

 

My friend Elmer (EG) from the NSF Forum sent me a link on which one can download a Paper Kit (1:48) of the Astrovan, which I will simply build, initially in 1:48, but then also to match my diorama in 1:160, but with the correct NASA Worm logo, in order to fit for the STS-6. 

 

Source: paper-replika.com (Julius Perdana)

 

Sorce: paper-replika.com (Julius Perdana)

 

Source: paper-replika.com (Julius Perdana)

 

As it looks like building the van is relatively straightforward. Since some parts of the paper construction do not seem stable enough to me,  I will strengthen them a little, for example the wheels, for each of which I will glue two Balsa slices together. 

 

 

Let's see how it will feel like ... 

Edited January 26, 2022 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

and with that now to the model bulding of the Paper-Astrovan (1:48), let's go.  

 

First of all, this is a look at the kit templates, the larger one is the Original Paper kit in 1:48, and on top of it lies the version that has been reduced in size for my diorama (1:160) with the NASA Worm logo so that the van also matches the STS-6. 

 

 

The construction of the wheels (9) I wanted to simplify a bit and make them more stable at the same time. 

 

 

For this I glued two Balsa discs (2 mm) to each other, 

 

 

whereupon the tread was then coated with the black stripe. 

 

 

Then the large bodywork (1) was cut out and folded, 

 

 

and glued together. 

 

The simple parts (10) provided for fastening the wheels seemed too spartan to me for reasons of stability and stability. 

 

 

and the 'folding roof' also looks adventurous,  which is why I've prepared Balsa reinforcements, especially since the Fans (8, 11) have to be glued onto the roof, whereby it would certainly be pressed in. 

 

 

Due to the Balsa reinforcements, the roof should be sufficiently stable, at least on the adhesive surfaces of the fans. 

 

 

Gluing the roof together was a tricky business, especially since the glossy paper I chose was quite stubborn and couldn't be glued well.  Before the roof was glued on, the wheel mounts had to be glued in, into which the wheels were then glued from the outside. 

 

 

To stabilize the side walls, I also glued balsa strips inside as a precaution. Then the fans were glued together and the rotating beacon was put on, 

 

 

and glued all the parts onto the roof. 

 

 

Now the only thing missing was the bumper, for which I used a Styrene strip (0,5 mm). And where I write that, I notice that the van also has small bumpers on the back outside next to the door, which are missing in the kit,  which is why I will retrofit them. In the meantime, the driver can also look in the driving mirrors and drive to pick up the crew. 

 

And with that I want to say goodbye for the time being, 

 

 

and wish all of you a merry and reflective Christmas,  and above all, that we all stay healthy! Now just a little bit of snow is missing ... 

[bubble]

On 12/21/2021 at 3:23 PM, spaceman said:

Thank you Pete for looking forward to it going on too. 

Mike's 3D printed vehicle models are 1:144, I need them in 1:160, so a little smaller yet. 

 

Thank you for your good wishes for Christmas and the New Year, I wish you the same with all my heart. 

There is a free file stl for this one manfred https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/art/nasa-apollo-astrovan

[crowe-t]

Manfred,

 

Excellent job on the Astrovan.  Have a Merry Christmas!

 

Mike.

[spaceman]

Hi Pascal,

 

yeah, David Hanners has already shown me this on Thingiverse. 

 

ColorSound's Astrovan looks cool, only the Meatball Logo should have been affixed in the middle. 

 

Source: thingiverse.com (ColorSound)

 

Could you 3D print this Astrovan for me in 1:160, like you did the awesome Crawler Gear boxes, what would be a great help for me again? 

 

Only a thought? 

 

 

 

 

 

[spaceman]

19 minutes ago, crowe-t said:

Manfred,

 

Excellent job on the Astrovan.  Have a Merry Christmas!

 

Mike.

 

Thanks Mike for your compliment and the good wishes, the same to you and Patricia. 

[Slartibartfast]

Manfred’s standard excellent construction.  Merry Christmas!

[spaceman]

Thanks Bruce for your nice comment,  and have relaxing holidays.