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

[spaceman]

Thanks Joe for your kind compliments, 

 

now it is time to reap the fruits of the hard work with the final PLC details, and I have the feeling that the effort was worth it. 

[CaptKirk]

This is like a beautiful CAD model, but even harder, as you can't zoom in and out at will. Maybe a little bit like witchcraft too.

[spaceman]

Thanks Kirk for your kind words, maybe you are right. 

 

Sometimes I'm amazed myself at all the crazy things I have scratched already. 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

well, with the missing details I now have to think about the order in which I attach them to the PLC, because I always have to take into account a safe support of the Canister in order not to break off any components,  which is becoming increasingly difficult. 

 

On the one hand, there are the extremely fragile Ladders on the side walls to reach the Access platforms,

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

which must be handled with extreme caution, especially since their manufacture was very complex. 

 

Then there are also the RSS Outriggers, one of which is mounted at the front end of the Starboard Side, which can be seen here in the unfolded state as I plan to build it for the lifting process of the canister to the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) of the RSS. 

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

The other outrigger is located at the front end of the Port Side, which can be seen here in the folded state.

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

And this is what they look like in scale 1:160.

 

 

Then the two pneumatic lines for operating the Door actuator Screw jacks are also still missing on each side, 

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

which are connected to the Door actuator pneumatic drive), which I will bend out of Nickel Silver wire (Ø 0,2 mm). 

 

Then there are several hand rails on the FWD bulkhead for the safe handling of the Can Crew in Vertical Transport Mode. 

 

Source: NASA (1980)

 

I can save myself the trouble of using the two ladders, as they were only needed during working at canister in the Horizontal Transport Mode, to get to the Personnel Door and the Payload Bay Doors. 

 

 

That is still not all, but it should suffice for today,

 

 

at least I'm glad that I found the parts in my inventory again. 

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

first, I wanted to bend and try on the thin pneumatic lines (Ø 0,2 mm) according to my 1:1 template of the canister, so that I could then glue them. 

 

Here only the thin nickel silver wire was laid for test onto the template.

 

 

After fixing the wire with tape, I started bending it, initially with sufficient overhang next to the Door drive,

 

 

because for connecting the end of the line to the pneumatic unit involves millimeters, what I had to examine and measure more closely.  

 

Then I've already attached the pneumatic connections to both ends of the line, for which I used my thinnest insulating hose (Ø 0,5 mm).

 

 

Furthermore, I have to take into account that the lower of the two pneumatic lines must run over the right Tie-down Lug Plate,  as can be seen in this image.

 

 

I've already made the lug plates before, but now I just need to paint them white.

 

 

Then there are also these tiny Grab rails that I also want to scratch build, as they were important for the Can Crew to be able hold on to, during folding out the Door actuators on the doors top. 

 

 

which also need to be painted, 

 

 

for which I prepared these holders from toothpicks with a Pattex tip, 

 

 

as well as this mount for the Lug Plates, which are sitting on a tape strip, whose adhesive side facing up, which I glued onto a steel ruler. 

 

 

And that’s what I’ll continue with in the next post. 

Edited March 13 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Thanks my friends for looking in on me again and again. Hope I could entertain you well. 

 

And now to the painting of the tiny PLC components for which I prepared my extraction system. 

 

Since there were only so few parts, I didn't want to paint them with the airbrush gun,

 

 

instead, I used the TAMIYA spray can again, which I had shaken well and tempered in a warm water bath.

 

 

However, the dosage of the spray jet is a bit of a problem, as it is easy to apply too much paint. 

 

While I was happy with the Tie-down Lug Plates, the Grab Rails got a bit too much paint for my taste, what I don't like them as they seem too thick and round. 

 

 

 
Then I placed one of the Lug Plates on the front of the Port Side to determine the exact height of the pneumatic line running above it.

 

 

When I had put the prepared pneumatic line on it, I noticed that the lower end with the connection was too low, which also cannot remain that way. 

 

 

Slightly frustrated, I then had to take a deep breath and have bent new grab rails by using three steel rulers (approx. 1,5 mm) placed on top of each other,

 

 

which were then painted white in two coats.

 

 

They are now slimmer, I like them better than the first handles,

 

 

which also look well at the container. 

 

 

Then I bent a new pneumatic line for the Portside,

 

 

which now needs to be further adjusted and bent exactly at the transition into the pneumatic drive,

 

 

wherewith I want to leave it at for now. 

[CaptKirk]

The small adjustments arise to give you another opportunity to demonstrate your skills to us, Manfred. 😉

[spaceman]

Thanks Kirk,  maybe ... 

 

But now I'm entering a dimension range beyond good and evil. 

 

The thin pneumatic lines can't be glued directly to the wall, but rather sit on small holders and are attached to them with narrow clamps, which I obviously want to show. But that would require scratch building of only about 0,2 mm wide clamps (green marked),  which is almost impossible and I should really forget about it. 

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

As always I have an idea,  but maybe you have a suggestion too? 

 

 

[CaptKirk]

Can they be represented convincingly by a small section of larger tube slid over the line?

[spaceman]

Hello Kirk,

 

and thanks for your proposal.

 

I had the same idea, to use a short piece of my white insulating hose (0,7 mm), cut off a narrow piece as possible, cut it into the half and glue one of it onto the line, what I've tried, as you can see in the following image (left side).

 

The problem is the tiny width of these clamps, approx. 0,2 mm, which makes it nearly impossible to handle such tiny parts with tweezers and to glue it. 

 

So I've come up with another solution and will try to indicate the clamps with tiny white paint lines on the pneumatic line.

 

 

Perhaps I can also use thin white heat-shrink tubing (3:1, 1,5 mm - 0,5 mm) and slide short pieces of it onto the line, and let shrink them to 0,5 mm.

 

 

Let's see if it works.

 

[spaceman]

Hello friends,

 

nobody is perfect.

 

Unfortunately, I have to wait for the new delivery of the heat-shrink tubing (3:1, 1,5 mm - 0,5 mm), because they sent me a larger hose, which I had to complain about. 

 

Edited March 21 by spaceman

[CaptKirk]

German words are brilliant. "Schrumpfslauch", eh? Just rolls off the tongue. 

[spaceman]

You're already almost a German, just a few little things left.

 

Schrumpfschlauch would be correct German. 

[CaptKirk]

Oops. Always have trouble with "sch". "Kirche" and "Kirsche" sound too similar to my ears.

Anyway, keep up the Fantastishemodellung (or whatever the correct German word is).

[spaceman]

Thanks Kirk for your nice compliment, cause I know what you mean.

 

And the use of "sch" in German may seem adventurous to you.

 

Therefore I think it's better to stick to your native language, and 

 

 

[spaceman]

Hello friends,

 

unfortunately the Pneumatic lines are causing more problems than I expected, and especially the handling when bending the thin lines (Ø 0,2 mm) is quite stressful.

 

This starts already with marking of the bending points, for which the wire must be fixed appropriately, which was already seen when the cable was firstly bent on the Portside.

 

 

And now to the Starboard Side. While the first bendings with tweezers from the end of the line to the Pneumatic drive are relatively easy, the crucial point comes with the two 90° bendings at the transition into the drive 'cage'.

 

Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

The bendings look simple in themselves, but I failed several times when executing them in such a tight space and they didn't fit, as every tenth of a millimeter counts.

 

And what seems clear from the images and the measured dimensions is only half the truth. What's crucial are the dimensions at my Canister, which the bent lines must match.

 

Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

Here I first placed both lines with sufficient vertical overhang at the drive box, which is a rather nerve-wracking affair, http://hyves-smileys.immerblei.com/img/smiley_crazy.gif as these thin wires react very sensitively to the slightest positional corrections and can quickly slide off from the canister, or even fall off the table, which also happened and is totally frustrating.

 

 

 

 

I also have to be extremely careful that none of the fragile superstructures are damaged or even torn off during the manipulations, which did happen to me once, when a Screw Jack suddenly came loose and the delicate thin drive tube on the drive box was hanging in the air, which I was then fortunately able to fix carefully and with a lot of feeling.

 

 

After that, I tackled the two 90° bendings in front of the drive box, which required bendings that were as reproducible as possible. I also had to take into account that the lines didn't have to lie directly on the wall, but rather slightly raised, which is why I've laid small Evergreen Strips (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm) underneath.

 

 

Doing so both lines should ideally match the Hydraulic cylinder (4), which complicates everything even further if you remember this image of the Starboard Side with the individual parts of the drive unit.

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

Afterwards, the work continued on the Portside, but the line was still too long after the second 90° bending and consequently passed too far above the Hydraulic cylinder through the drive 'cage', as can be seen here,

 

 

 

which is why it had to be shortened.

 

 

 

Now I just have to finish bending the remaining lines.

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

easier said than done, but I've had some practice by now. 

 

In the meantime, both Pneumatic lines on the Port Side are now prepared.

 

 

Now all that's missing are these couplings at the top on both sides next to the transition to the door drive,

 

Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

for which I used thin insulating tubing (Ø 0,5 mm), which should at least indicate them.

 

But threading these thin wires into the tiny tube openings was quite stressful and could only be accomplished with a headset magnifying glass, whereby the wires could easily get turned in the tweezers, requiring re-aligning. And then the tiny wires had to be pushed around the bend before they could be glued by using the acupuncture needle with a tiny pot of UHU-CA.

 

 

 

 

Afterwards it continued on the Starboard Side.

 

 

Making the double bending points at the other end of both pneumatic lines is also difficult because the sketch isn't precise enough. So I repeatedly placed the line on the canister to measure the distance from the end of the line to the next bending point and then be able to bend it.

 

 

Then I marked this distance on the wire on the table and bent it with tweezers,

 

 

and checked the result again on the canister.

 

 

To glue the connections at the end of the lines, they always have to be fixed in place, because this simply cannot be done by hand.

 

 

 

It is similarly tricky when double bending the lines on the Door drive.

 

 

After this was done on both lines, I was also pretty exhausted,

 

 

 

and the tricky day's work was finally completed.

Edited April 1 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Good Morning my friends,

 

now I have to figure out how to glue these fragile pneumatic lines (Ø 0,2 mm) to both side walls.

 

I have to bear in mind that they are attached to small support plates with clamps in various places, as you can see in the picture here if you look closely.

 

Quelle: NASA (STS-126)

 

In order to mark the attachment points on the pneumatic lines and then glue the support plates and clamps, I determined their distances, which you can see when you click on the image above.

 

That alone shows how crazy the idea of wanting to scratch these details is. But at least I have a possible idea for it. And that consists of cutting out the plates with a bit of overhang from Evergreen Stripe (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm x 2,5 mm), which is certainly doable. The mounting clamps, however, are a real challenge, as they should only be about 0,2 mm wide and semicircular.

 

In a first test, I used a razor blade to cut thin slices from an insulating tube (Ø 0,5 mm) and then split them in half. However, these snippets are barely visible to the naked eye and difficult to handle even with the sharpest tweezers.

 

 

With a lot of patience and effort, it is quite possible to place these tiny snippets over the line and glue them in place, which proves that the solution is complicated but, with the appropriate effort, feasible in principle.

 

 

There are also photos of the Payload Canister with fewer attachments, but they are stacked on top of each other, as you can see in this image,

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

which is why I will consider a modified, less complex solution. 

 

The support plate overhang can then be shortened on both sides as needed.

 

 

Since cutting tiny narrow rings with a razor blade is not reproducible, I remembered my trusty RP Toolz Miter Cutter and, after adjusting it accordingly, cut off the rings from the insulating tubing,

 

 

 

and I threaded a small ring onto the thin wire, which is like milking mice.

 

 

Now that the lines are already bent,

 

 

I can't avoid cutting the rings in half with a razor blade.

 

So, first I made the necessary plates with a little overhang from Evergreen Stripe (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm x 2,5 mm),

 

 

 

which I will now glue to the attachment points under the lines with UHU-CA. Next comes the gluing of the clamps, what of I have a lot of respect.

 

Then there are also these two couplings in the middle of the lines, which I could also indicate with insulating tubing.

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

Since I can no longer thread these onto the bent lines, I cut open a short section of the hose with a razor blade and inserted the pipe into the slot.

 

 

And since both couplings have enough space on top of each other, this problem would be solved too.

 

 

Then just stay relaxed for now until next time.

Edited April 15 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

after this stressful snipping of these tiny parts, I needed to take a breather and glue the safety railings I'd been preparing for some time to the Forward bulkhead of the payload canister, which one can see them in this image of the canister folded during STS-9 (1983).

 

Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Ares67)

 

In these old photos you can see the railings in the extended position when lifting the canister into the Payload Changeout Room of the RSS on the Launch Pad 39A.

 

 

Source: NASA, Payload Canister Report (HAER FL-8-11-I)

 

And these are the eight railings,

 

 

which I have now glued in this arrangement onto the canister,

 

 

which required it to stand upright and be secured accordingly.

 

For the gluing, I used UHU Flinke Flasche, which was only dabbed onto the back of the holders at the foot points with the acupuncture needle.

 

 

The gluing was done by eye according to the layout sketch and had to fit as well as possible right away,

 

 

and with a steady hand and holding my breath, it worked quite well.

 

 

Before gluing the two lines, I've first glued the two tiny couplings made from the black insulating tubing (Ø 0,5 mm x 1 mm). This required me to carefully cut them open on one side with a razor blade, which was quite difficult and stressful, because they were difficult to fix, popped off, and were sometimes even severed.

 

I only had success with this after I threaded the tiny tube onto a pin, which I could then hold in place, after which the tube could then be cut open on one side at the top.

 

 

Afterwards, the line only had to be carefully and sensitively pressed into the small slot, which was also a test of patience and not for the faint of heart.

 

And now on to the most difficult step of gluing the pneumatic lines to the support plates and the tiny clamps on the lines, starting with the lines on the Starboard Side. 

 

To do this, I first marked the contact points on the lines according to my sketch using a thin Multi Liner (0.1). Then, I dabbed a droplet of UHU Seku onto each plate and placed the wires on them step by step, leaving a little overhang beneath. Since the plates would still be shortened after the clamps were glued, it wasn't important to have exactly the same position.  

 

 

 

The next step was to glue the tiny clamps over the wires onto the support plates. To do this, I first prepared a pair of tape tweezers, like the ones I've used for similar things in the past, whose tip is able for gripping the clamp.

 

 

Then I dabbed the line on the plates with Acupuncture needle with UHU CA in order to be able to place the clamps on it as accurately as possible, but this method failed because the clamp stuck too tightly to the tip of the tape.

 

 

This worked better by smooth touching the clamp with a sharp needle and carefully placing it on the adhesive point, and if necessary immediately adjusting the position a little, but this is again tantamount to the infamous milking a mouse.

 

 

After the glue had dried, the overhangs on both sides of the clamps was cut off using the Chisel Cutter (martor).

 

 

 

Before the crucial, delicate gluing of the lines onto the Starboard sidewall, I did another test with the MEK just to be on the safe side and glued a piece of Styrene onto the paper. I simply placed it on the paper and brushed it all around with MEK, which immediately penetrated under the plate and quickly evaporated, firmly gluing the piece.

 

 

Then I placed both lines onto the Starboard Side and aligned them precisely, although everything can slip again at the slightest touch.

 

 

Since this must not happen under any circumstances during the gluing process, I had to think about how I could fix the position of the thin lines and at which point I should start gluing, which would at least firmly fix the line at this point.

 

So I started with the lower line first and wanted to glue the left end onto the tie-down lug plate before the Z-bend. Since the lines need to be overlie at all contact points, I placed a lead strip in the middle onto both couplings as a hold-down and adjusted their position again. A styrene rod was sufficient for the left end, as it shouldn't bend anything.

 

On both sides of the Tie-down lug plate, I placed small styrene stripes (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm) as spacers to compensate for the height. Only then I've painted the tiny support plates with MEK, extending beyond the coupling, and finally glued them this way.

 

 

When gluing the plate to the right of the door drive, I had to proceed just as carefully and place appropriate spacers, especially at the exposed angle bend, in order to be able to weigh down the line with a small steel block,

 

 

which I had acquired a longer time ago. 

 

 

I proceeded in the same way when gluing the plates on the upper line, which also started at the Tie-down Lug Plate.

 

 

And then the work was done, and so that you'd believe me, I laid the canister down, and as you can see, both lines are hanging neatly in place.

 

 

And with this result I'm completely satisfied,

 

 

which means I can now switch to the Port Side for the same business, and wish you all a big weekend.

Edited April 12 by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

and now let's go for the Pneumatic Line Final Countdown off to the Port Side.

 

And since the process of gluing these lines was similar to that on the Starboard Side, today I'll just show a few pictures without much wording.

 

For a better overview, this time I have marked the positions of the support plates on this tape strip,

 

 

 

whereupon both lines could then be glued onto the side wall.

 

 

 

And it continues with these parts.

 

 

These are the connecting elbows (ECS ducts) of the two red hoses on the Port Side, through which the Payload Canister is connected to the ECS Module of the PLC transporter to ensure constant clean room conditions during the transport to the launch pad. I explained their use and technical background two years ago in Posted March 13, 2023. 

 

Source: NASA (STS-93)

 

Source: NASA (STS-93)

 

Source: NASA (STS-125)  

 

Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

The corresponding cable (Ø 2,5 mm) for it I had already found back then,

 

 

and can now be configured accordingly.

Edited Thursday at 08:14 PM by spaceman

[CaptKirk]

Just been catching up. This looks magnificent, Manfred!

[spaceman]

Thanks Kirk for your nice compliment,

 

you have to stay tuned, otherwise you'll miss the boat.

[CaptKirk]

An orbiter, boosters, tank , crawler, launch platform, service structure, cargo transport vehicle and cannister and towers(?) not enough, such that you're building a BOAT too???

[spaceman]

Well roared, lion. 

 

You should actually understand the idiom "missing the boat" that the wise Google Translator suggested to me.

Edited 18 hours ago by spaceman

[spaceman]

Hello everybody,

 

but on closer inspection, it's not quite that simple.

 

As subsequent measurements have shown, the red hoses should be slightly larger in diameter than previously determined, i.e. Ø 2,5 mm instead of 2.3 mm, which unfortunately meant that my intended red cable(Ø 2,3 mm) was out of the running.

 

That's not much, but the proportions should be roughly right. So I remembered the variant with shrink tubing and looked through my inventory. However, you have to keep in mind that the tubing doesn't run perfectly straight in Vertical Transportation Mode, but has a curve at the front end of the PLC Transporter. This isn't fully visible in this image, but should be taken into account.

 

Source: NASA (STS-125)

 

Naturally, such images appeared in my mind's eye, but I still had to find them. But after patiently searching, I finally found them and was rewarded with this image, which shows the entire route of at least one of the hoses.

 

Source: NASA

 

And on this enlarged section, I was also able to measure the individual hose segments, which are connected to each other, which is at least what I wanted to indicate.

 

The hidden lower hose (red) is the ECS Supply Duct from the ECS Module of the PLC Transporter into the canister, and the longer upper hose (green) is the ECS Return Duct.

 

 

First, I glued the already prepared connecting bends (ECS Ducts), which I almost confused, because you have to pay attention to whether you are looking at the lying or the standing canister.

 

 

 

I had previously experimented with various shrink tubings and different thicknesses of core wires on both straight and curved sections, which are essential to achieve even curves when shrinking.

 

 

 

Since the required tight bends cannot be achieved with core wires (Cu, Al),

 

 

I finally decided on a combination of a ductile cable (Ø 1,7 mm) and a red shrink tubing (Ø 3,4 mm),

 

 

which is shrunking onto a suitable hose (Ø 2,5 mm) after the hot air shower.

 

 

And this hose could then be carefully bent with some effort to the required curve in front of the ECS module of the transporter,

 

 

 

and then did fit quite well on the transporter.

 

 

This was followed by the first test fittings on the upright standing canister, initially with the lower ECS Supply Duct, which were not entirely safe and required a steady hand in addition to appropriate fixation.

 

 

The test fitting became more difficult with the ECS Return Duct, which is running above it,

 

 

which was initially a bit too long at the left end,

 

 

what, although not perfect after the shortening, but already looked better.

 

 

Then, however, I noticed something about the hoses's running that wasn't right and therefore couldn't stay that way.

 

In reality, the hoses run behind the Horizontal Transportation plate, while in my case they lie on or in front of this plate, as one can easily see in the last images. .

 

 

However, this means that both hoses have to be bent around this plate and inevitably become a bit longer, which I now have to correct and adjust accordingly.

 

Nevertheless, I wish everyone carry on a Happy Easter!