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

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

it went on with the fold-out strut construction that lies between the sickles and is marked blue.  

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

As a spacer for the sanded off lateral Evergreen strips (0,15 mm x 0,5 mm x 3,7 mm) I used a strip (0,7 mm x 1 mm), 

 

 

and have tried to laboriously fix this structure, which is carefully held in the tweezers, between three steel rulers, which was a hair-raising action,  because the strips tipped over several times doing so,  before I managed to glue them to the bottom rotational axis (0,5 mm x 0,5 mm). 

 

 

Here one can see both forks in comparison, whereby the thinner struts fit the picture better. 

 

 

Then the slanting lateral struts were glued with a lot of feeling and a steady hand. 

 

 

 

And this is what the finished strut construction looks like,

 

 

here also with the support strut laid on. 

 

 

This procedure was then repeated three more times, which made me sweat quite a bit, 

 

 

wherewith now all four lower linkages for gluing between the sickles are prepared. 

 

 

But beforehand I will still finish the remaining 5 sickles and scratch the remaining 3 upper support struts. 

 

Strictly speaking, these support struts still have these coupling forks at the end, which are screwed to the fork struts when unfolded,

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

which perhaps would also still be feasible. 

 

In the folded state, however, they are usually surrounded by a protective cover, therefore let's see ...

 

Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

Finally, here is a test fitting with the inserted strut construction and provisionally applied support strut between the sickles,

 

 

what doesn't look bad at first glance already. 

Edited October 31, 2022 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

the remaining three support struts were produced in the same way as described lastly. 

 

 

During the drying I brought the second sickle pair to the final shape. 

 

 

After cutting off the strips on the support struts, both sickles were glued with the rod (Ø 0,25 mm) for the upper rotational axis,

 

 

then the excesses cut off, 

 

 

and smoothed the ends.

 

 

Then I tried my hand at a coupling fork and have carefully slit the spacer (0,7 mm x 1 mm), which was used lastly for making the stand fork, on the narrow side with a Fine saw blade (CMK), 

 

 

and widened the slit with fine sandpaper. 

 

 

But since this strip with 1 mm is too thick, I would have had to cut it in half or grind it down, but I didn't want to do that to myself. 

 

 

That's why I slit an Evergreen Strip (0,4 mm x 0,7 mm) in the same way.

 

 

 

To cut off the only 1 mm long coupling fork, I secured the slotted end with tape to prevent it from jumping away. 

 

 

From that point of view, the fork could even be a bit narrower ... 

 

 

To glue it to the support strut, the fork had to be fixed again. 

 

 

And then I wanted to know it and try to display the unfolded state of the linkage.  
 

 

To do this, I carefully inserted the strut with the coupling fork between the stand fork, 

 

 

and carefully lifted it with a razor blade, which was pushed under it, and erected up to the point, until the end of the support strut hit the upper rotational axis, which was pure thrill. 

 

 

And after a few failed attempts, I actually succeeded in this game of patience.  

 

 

 

In contrast, I will build the canister with folded Door Actuators,

 

 

for which purpose the individual parts are then glued together, which will make assembly much easier. 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

the coupling forks for the remaining three support struts I'm now also still able to do. 

 

 

But first I wanted to give the remaining four sickles their final shape in order to glued them to the upper rotary axles (Ø 0,3 mm), which was stressful precision finishing work that I had to trudge through.   

 

 

Then the 3rd couple of sickles was glued, 

 

 

 

 

and after that it was finally the turn of the last couple. 

 

 

 

And after cutting off the overhang, all four couples were done,

 

 

and I could take a deep breath. 

 

 

Finally, the remaining three coupling forks and their gluing to the support struts still waited, 

 

 

 

 

 

for what I've taken my time. 

 

 

And to get this fragile odds and ends off the desk before it disappears again or gets damaged,  I will now glue the linkages onto the Payload Bay Doors. 

Edited November 7, 2022 by spaceman

[CaptKirk]

Yes, this still looks like magic.

[spaceman]

 

Thanks Kirk, 

maybe it looks like that, but it's not sorcery,   it's simply manual work in old style. 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

but of course this needs to be well thought out so that nothing goes wrong with these fragile parts.  Strength lies in calmness. 

 

So that the linkages first get a certain stability, I first glued the lower stands between the sickles, for what they have to be fixed somehow gently,  wherefore I've used a longer tape strip. 

 

Then the stands were carefully grabbed with the pointed tweezers at the axis of rotation between the middle struts, both ends dabbed with a drop of glue and pushed between the sickle ends, where they were aligned a bit. 

 

 

And when you see them lying there, it all looks pretty easy. 

 

 

 

And if one knows how it works, one only needs to repeat it. 

 

 

Now I only have to cleverly glue the linkages onto the doors, in order to then finally glue the support struts. 

Edited November 10, 2022 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

extreme caution was required when gluing the Door Actuators onto the Payload Bay Doors,  which is why I haven't glued the filigree support struts for now so as not to take any risks. 

 

The gluing was done with UHU-CA, first on the lower rotational axis of the stand-fork, and then with MEK at the sickles, which resulted in sufficient adhesion.  

 

 

 

Only then the support struts were glued at the upper rotational axis, first on the Port Side Door of the canister,

 

 

 

 

and then at the Starboard Side Door, wherewith a difficult and tricky subassembly was completed. 

 

 

In order not to have to constantly take the canister in my hand during further assembly work and to protect it, I put it down on a small cutter mat. 

 

 

Next followed the four Access Platforms on the side walls, which can be climbed over the ladders when the canister is in a horizontal transport mode, in order to mount the linkages of the upper and lower Door Actuators to be able to open the doors.

 

Source: NASA (STS-125)

 

Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

Of course, it is much easier and, above all, safer from the lifting platform. 

 

Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

Here I have already prepared the necessary individual parts, the platforms (0,5 mm x 3,5 mm x 4 mm), as well as the different support struts (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm),

 

 

the gluing of which will then follow next time. 

Edited November 13, 2022 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

and thus for gluing the individual parts of the platform for a first prototype, whereby the important thing was again a stable fixation of the tiny parts, without which it will not work. 

 

For gluing the tiny contact points I used the normal Revell glue (Contacta 39604). 

 

 

Since the construction of the platform and the shape of the parts is simple, the handling was no problem. 

 

 

 

 

For the reproducible cutting of the diagonal support struts I've drawn a  true-to-scale stencil. 

 

 

 

And a first test fitting on the canister was quite satisfactory. 

 

 

Since the lighting conditions in the evening with artificial light are unfavorable for the exact positioning of the tiny parts during gluing due to the formation of shadows, I put a LED lamp on the side,

 

 

which was very helpful. 

 

 

And this is what the first platform looks like,

 

 

which also matches well onto the canister. 

 

 

Since this technique has proven itself, the remaining three platforms can now follow too. 

Edited November 15, 2022 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello friends,

 

before the Artemis 1 will take off in about 5 hours, if everything goes well, here is a short report on the platforms. 

 

Here are the already known steps for gluing the individual parts of the platforms. 

 

 

 

 

Finally it's done, 

 

 

and I can glue the platforms to the side walls with UHU-CA, here first on the Port Side,

 

 

 

and here on the Starboard Side.

 

 

And here's a member of the Can Crew checking a Door Actuator. 

 

 

And now I'm thrilled to bits for the Artemis 1 Lift-off. 

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by spaceman

[crowe-t]

Manfred,  You attention to detail is amazing.  This is looking perfect.

 

Mike.

[spaceman]

Thanks Mike, 

 

I am particularly pleased about your compliment from the mouth of a real expert. 

[CaptKirk]

Hey Manfred. Is the Artemis launched from an evolution of the same platform that you have built for this model? 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

wow, what a spectacular picture-book launch of NASA's SLS Moon Rocket with the Orion Spacecraft atop to its maiden flight Artemis 1 that leaves you wanting more. 

 

Source: NASA

 

Hi Kirk,

 

the SLS Mobile Launcher (ML) is a further development of the Shuttle MLP, which is similar in structure to the Apollo ML and also has a huge launch tower. 
 

Source: NASA

 

Here you can have a great look at the SLS Mobile Launcher. 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by spaceman

[crowe-t]

It was a great launch.  I'm glad it was only a 43 minute delay.  

[spaceman]

Hello friends,

 

maybe someone is interested in a first-hand report of an eye and ear witness ... 

 

I have asked my friend James MacLaren, about his impressions compared to Shuttle launches. 

 

He lives in the vicinity of the Pads 39A/39B, did work 5 years  during building of Pad 39B and can follow every launch at the pads from Cocoa Beach, so to speak he is always sitting in the front row.

 

And as he has reported, it was it was VERY bright, the brightest thing, by far, that he has ever seen fly. It really lit the place up. He watched from the back yard of the house in the city of Cape Canaveral. It really lit the place up. And the rumble was very loud, with a lot of crackling and popping, and it went on and on and on ...

 

He wasn't expecting it to be sensibly different from a Shuttle, but the difference was noticeable. It was .... more. More .... everything.

And he meant: That thing is a BEAST! 

Edited November 19, 2022 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

and from NASA's huge SLS Moon rocket back to my crafting table and to my little puzzle pieces. 

 

In fact, the smaller the pieces get, the smaller and slower the steps I take along inevitably get, but I have to get through that now. 

 

For the sake of completeness, I would like to add one small but important detail for the safety of the Can Crew, and these are these Grab rails here, which are next to each upper Door Actuator where members of the Can Crew could hold on themselves or buckle their protective belts. 

 

Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

In order to roughly fit my scale (1:160), I used NiCr wire (Ø 0,15 mm) and tried to bend grab handles out of it, which wasn't that easy, since they should only be 1,7 mm long and 1 mm high, so they are tiny. 

 

For my first attempts I've bent the wire step by step over three 0,5 mm thick steel rulers.

 

 

 

 

However, the first four bending attempts (left) were not satisfactory because the handles with 2 mm were too wide.  For more reproducible widths of approx. 1,5 mm (right) I've later modified my bending technique. 

 

 

Here, however, a handle is inserted into the door as a test, which has not completely convinced me, as the handles are still on a narrow base plate (0,1 mm x 0,6 mm x 5 mm), which I initially wanted to omit.  

 

 

 

But with a brass angle (wall thickness 1,3 mm), narrower handles with a width of approx. 1,7 mm could be successfully bent, 

 

 

which I already rather was more satisfied with. 

 

 

But then I've still decided to try scratching the tiny plates and used my thinnest Evergreen sheet (0,13 mm) for this, into which I've drilled holes with my thinnest Twist drill (Ø 0,25 mm), 

 

 

in which the handle also has fit. 

 

 

First I've drawn the shape of the narrow plate around it, 

 

 

and carefully cut out.

 

 

 

The remaining plates I've pre-drilled using the template,

 

 

and then cut to the final shape. 

 

 

Luckily I only need four of these base plates. 

 

 

Now I have to see if I'm able to carry on during the Soccer World Cup as I've done before. 

 

We'll see ... 

Edited November 20, 2022 by spaceman

[K2Pete]

These eensy-weensy parts and your skill at building them so-o-o precisely is wonderful to watch Manfred!

The precise angles of the struts on the tiny platforms and the other fine details ... constantly amazes me!

 

I'm also curious though ... the canister is covered in a paper template and yet you're gluing all these details directly to it.

Is the paper surface the final surface and will it take paint without buckling or any other damage?

 

Keep up the lovely work ... in between matches of course!

Pete

[spaceman]

Thanks Pete for looking in on me again and that you are undeterred by these eensy-weensy parts. 

 

Yep, the paper surface should  be the final surface, and therefore I glue all details directly onto it, because I think it's looking well. 

 

It doesn't have to be all styrene. 

 

BTW, tomorrow our teams start into the Soccer World Cup, Germay-Japan and Belgium-Canada - Either victory or blood on the shoe! 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

from this disastrous false start of our kickers against Japan I had to recover ... 

 

I didn't get much further either yet, only the base plates for the grab rails on the doors are now glued with MEK. Perhaps the grab rails are painted before gluing. 

 

 

 

 

Next I took a closer look at the lower Door Actuator linkage and the Pneumatic Drive and determined the required dimensions for the scratch build, which again should become tricky.

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

The brackets for the lower linkages are similar to the Access Platforms, only they are a bit narrower. In between runs the drive shaft connected to the Pneumatic drive, by means of which the lower linkages are extended to be coupled with the upper linkages in order to open the doors. 

 

In this photo one can see the entire arrangement again in the top view. 

 

Source: NASA (STS-114)

 

Let's see what profiles I can use for the individual parts. 

Edited November 25, 2022 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

just a quick reminder of the Challenger Rollout - STS-6 

 

Let's Keep the Legacy Alive! 

 

Edited December 2, 2022 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

in order to understand the structure of the Door actuator pneumatic drive in detail and to be able to determine the dimensions of its individual parts, one cannot avoid looking at it from different perspectives with a higher magnification, e.g. as can be seen in the following images, 

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

here slightly larger, seen from the other side. 

 

Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

This pneumatic drive is connected to the two screw jack bracket assemblies by the horizontal pipes of the pneumatic system, which extend forward and aft. When the door actuator system is activated in the horizontal configuration, the door actuator pneumatic drive pulls the screw jacks down vertically, tilting as necessary in their brackets,

 

Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

to clear the opening doors. 

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

Based on the determined dimensions, I've cut the corresponding individual parts, 

 

Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

which can be seen in this image. The frame of the drive unit will be made from the smaller strips (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm), the longer strips (0,13 mm x 0,7 mm) should be used for the side retaining struts.

 

 

To get an idea of the size of the drive unit, I added a cuboid of the appropriate size,   but a few more details this White Box should get already. 

 

Let's see if and how I will succeed in putting together this puzzle work. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

first, I've beveled the strips (0,13 mm x 0,7 mm) for the lateral retaining struts at both ends with the cutter chisel, wherefore I used a small template, which had suffered quite a bit. 

 

 

Then the different length strips (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm) have been glued to form a frame,

 

 

whereby first the longer strip (3,5 mm) was glued against the shorter strip (2,5 mm),

 

 

whereto steel rulers served as a guide and for fixation. 

 

 

Then the second side stripe was glued,

 

 

and finally the other narrow side, wherewith the first of four frames was done. 

 

 

And then the second frame was glued in the same way. 

 

 

Next, these two frames are glued together using four support struts (2 mm) to form a frame box. 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

in order not to get out of practice, I also glued the two frames for the Door drive, which is sitting on the other canister side. 

 

 

Then I've started gluing the four short support struts (2 mm) onto the frame, which, as expected, turned out to be a tricky business, especially since holding the struts in the tweezers, as well as wetting them with glue and setting them down with pinpoint accuracy on the frame is quite stressful and can quickly go wrong.  The position of the struts could then be carefully corrected as required yet. 

 

 

 

And then the remaining struts followed, whereby it is always important that the frame is firmly seated between the stops so that nothing can slip, which is why it has to be re-clamped again and again. 

 

 

 

 

And then most of it was done, and the result even exceeded my expectations, 

 

 

and is quite impressive. 

 

 

And also the test fitting on the lower frame looks good. 

 

 

But before the frame box can be glued completely, I have to add a few drive details, what probably wouldn't work afterwards. 

Edited December 7, 2022 by spaceman

[CaptKirk]

So tiny - so impressive.

[spaceman]

Thanks Kirk for your nice words, 

 

so far the frame box still looks pretty boring, but with the itsy-bitsy pneumatic drive details the box will come to life. 

 

Stay tuned and you will see. 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by spaceman