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Going to KSC - anyone need reference pics?


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Hi,

This is my first post - I hope it will be helpful.

I'm going to Kennedy Space Center in FL on Friday, June 19th. I've borrowed a

decent DSLR and have lenses ranging from 18mm to 300mm or so.

Mostly, I'm planning on taking pics of the shuttle and Saturn V - and any other

spacecraft they have there as modeling reference.

Is there anything anyone wants pics of, or are these things ridiculously well-documented

already?

I'm not planning on taking any of the bus tours (except the bus to the Saturn V). I can't

guarantee anything, but if anyone has any requests, I'll try.

All pics will be done in RAW, at least until I see how many I can take with one

64GB and one 32GB SD card.

Sorry for the short notice - exact date of the visit was only recently decided upon.

Thanks!

Rob

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Welcome to ARC Rob! :)/>/>

Thanks for offering to take some pictures. Basically anything you take at KSC will be good. Nothing at KSC is ridiculously well-documented. We can never have enough reference pictures.

Personally I'd like to see pictures of Atlantis. I got to see the final launch of Atlantis but still haven't seen it up close.

BTW, you may even see a gator while you are there. If you do you may be tempted to take a picture. :lol:

Again, welcome to ARC!

Mike.

Edited by crowe-t
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Welcome to ARC Rob! :)/>

Thanks for offering to take some pictures. Basically anything you take at KSC will be good. Nothing at KSC is ridiculously well-documented. We can never have enough reference pictures.

Personally I'd like to see pictures of Atlantis. I got to see the final launch of Atlantis but still haven'e seen it up close.

BTW, you may even see a gator while you are there. If you do you may be tempted to take a picture. :lol:/>

Again, welcome to ARC!

Mike.

I was at the launch too!

I also saw it land in 91, this summer I will see it up close for the first time.

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Thanks for your kind offer. I wish I could say I have been there like you guys, so anything is great with space shuttle or Saturn V is great. If, that is if possible, your going to be close to the launch tower or the crawler then please snap some photos of them. I have the revell reissues in 1/144 and I hope to build them someday :)

Mike

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I tried to see the launch of STS-73. It was tied for the most scrubbed launch attempts - launched on 7th attempt. I was in FL for (I think) the first scrub. IIRC - upon start of fueling, High amounts of H2 detected in either aft fuselage or payload bay.

What I DO remember is that trip was when I was 25yrs old. I had written for a causeway pass (free in those days), rented a HUGE lens for my 35mm camera (500mm, maybe? Biggest I could afford), along with an autowinder. I could have fired off 36 frames in 18 seconds. I had flown down to Orlando, rented a car, driven out the night before in the pouring rain to make sure. I could find the place. The next morning, I left the hotel at something like 5:30 or 6:00am, and 15 minutes after I had left, heard on the radio the launch was scrubbed.

Later in the day I remember hearing that there was a POSSIBILITY of another attempt in 6 days. I only had funds to stay for 4 or 5 days. If I sat in my hotel room and ate Ramen for a week, I MIGHT be able to stay that long - which would only give me a CHANCE that they'd try again. And even if they tried again, there was no guarantee that the launch would happen.

I ended up going to Disney for a day or two, then changing my plane tickets and going home early. I'm glad I didn't sit around waiting that week, because it took 6 more attempts!

I was never able to get back there to see a shuttle launch. Time, money and life always got in the way. It's one of the biggest, if not THE biggest regret of my life.

What I'm trying to say is: I REALLY wanted to see a freakin' shuttle launch;)

I loved the shuttles. Even though they were a flawed and dangerous vehicle. Even though conflicting requirements and budget restrictions killed some of the proposed capabilities, it was what I grew up with.

So now I go to see this marvel or engineering up close - first time I've been closer than about 3-4 miles to a shuttle.

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Rob, you certainly went through an ordeal. I'm sorry to hear you didn't get to see a launch.

BTW, are you planning on building a shuttle kit soon? If so, which kit and what mission?

Mike.

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Rob, you certainly went through an ordeal. I'm sorry to hear you didn't get to see a launch.

BTW, are you planning on building a shuttle kit soon? If so, which kit and what mission?

Mike.

I'm not sure "soon" is a word that applies here ;). But yes, I do plan on building several models - some of them, I already have the kits.

I'd eventually like to have all 5 orbiters plus Enterprise.

Enterprise will probably be on the SCA representing the first free-flight tests. revel 1/144 -have the kit

Columbia will probably be on the pad - as STS-1 or STS-107. I'd like to do an Airfix, 1/144, I don't have that one yet. I'd like to get the educraft diversions launch pad for that.

Challenger - I haven't decided yet which mission - maybe its first, or its last. I don't have a kit for that one yet, either.

I have the Monogram 1/72 shuttle kit - I'd like to represent one of the Hubble servicing missions. I REALLY wanted to do the first Hubble mission. I remember seeing the solar panels as they tried to roll them up, the one support wire with a "kink" in it, the astronaut "standing" in the payload bay and releasing the damaged solar panels to flutter away. I think that would be a good one to do in 1/72 for the size of the astronauts, size of the Hubble, etc.

Could possibly do Atlantis for one of its Hubble repair missions, or it touching down on runway on the last landing of the last mission.

Discovery - not sure what mission I would represent. Since I seem to have most other parts of missions covered, maybe I'll do that one on the MLP being transported by the crawler.

I want to have a representative of all manned US spaceflight, all int he same scale - 1:144 - so as to demonstrate the evolution of the launch vehicles. Mercury Redstone, Mercury Atlas, Gemini-Titan, Saturn 1B, Saturn V, shuttles.

Things are kind of in a holding pattern. I burned myself out for a while by tackling too large a project too early in my model-making education. But I have reclaimed a spare bedroom and have moved the models and model-making supplies up there. Much nicer than the workbench in the cold/hot garage. Plus, my daughter, and her son (my first grandson) live with me. He's started walking, so I'm building gates for the top & bottom of the stairs. I've been informed that my next project is going to be a shelving unit with cube-cubbies for his toys, books, etc. I'd also like to build a sandbox for him in the yard before summer is over.

Maybe I'll have the time (and be in the mood) to start on the kits when it gets cold this fall. I hope :D

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Thanks for your kind offer. I wish I could say I have been there like you guys, so anything is great with space shuttle or Saturn V is great. If, that is if possible, your going to be close to the launch tower or the crawler then please snap some photos of them. I have the revell reissues in 1/144 and I hope to build them someday :)/>

Mike

As you are probably aware - I think 39B has been or is being modified for the SLS, and 39A has been or is being modified for SpaceX Falcon.

If we get to stop anywhere near the crawler, I'll be taking as many photos as I can. I'd love to see them up-close, but the tours evolve over time as equipment is being used. So we'll see. If I can get some good pics, I'll do it.

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Thanx for the offer of taking pix Rob J!

I do have a request ... the Payload Bay.

Some detail along the sill ... also the black dots ( Snap Buttons clasps ) throughout the PB.

The Fore and Aft bulkhead details. Hand crank and such.

The Door radiators ... the latches on the PB doors. The 3 edges of the PB doors.

The PB door hinges.

Plus Drogue Chute compartment ... and the Umbilical Panel

When you get to the point where you're gonna start building your 1/144's, 'crowe-t' and 'jetplane' have built lovely, top drawer Shuttles. Be sure to take a peek at their threads.

Thanx a lot! and it's good to have ya here!

Pete

Edited by K2Pete
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Thanx for the offer of taking pix Rob J!

I do have a request ... the Payload Bay.

Some detail along the sill ... also the black dots ( Snap Buttons clasps ) throughout the PB.

The Fore and Aft bulkhead details. Hand crank and such.

The Door radiators ... the latches on the PB doors. The 3 edges of the PB doors.

The PB door hinges.

Plus Drogue Chute compartment ... and the Umbilical Panel

When you get to the point where you're gonna start building your 1/144's, 'crowe-t' and 'jetplane' have built lovely, top drawer Shuttles. Be sure to take a peek at their threads.

Thanx a lot! and it's good to have ya here!

Pete

Will do!

Umbilical panel - is that where the LOX and LH2 are loaded on the sides of the rear fuselage under the OMS pods?

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Thanx for the offer of taking pix Rob J!

I do have a request ... the Payload Bay.

Some detail along the sill ... also the black dots ( Snap Buttons clasps ) throughout the PB.

The Fore and Aft bulkhead details. Hand crank and such.

The Door radiators ... the latches on the PB doors. The 3 edges of the PB doors.

The PB door hinges.

Plus Drogue Chute compartment ... and the Umbilical Panel

When you get to the point where you're gonna start building your 1/144's, 'crowe-t' and 'jetplane' have built lovely, top drawer Shuttles. Be sure to take a peek at their threads.

Thanx a lot! and it's good to have ya here!

Pete

Ok, I took some pics of all that stuff. I've started sorting into categories (plb, fwd fuselage, aft fuselage, tail, etc. etc.). I have to create an account on a file/photo sharing service. Anyone have a preference for service? Any that are particularly good/bad? All pics were taken as the highest quality jpg as well as raw. Some with flash, some without. I was particularly happy that with the flash, you could see through the cockpit windows and actually see some of the panels, seats, etc.

Depending on the speed of the hotel wifi, I may have to wait to actually upload until I get back home. I'll definitely post here with links when everything is up.

Unfortunately, I was not able to get to the Saturn V. The people I was with had dinner reservations and we had to leave - couldn't wait the 90 minutes to take that bus and drive around and finally get to the Saturn V center. So, no Saturn V, no chance to see either of the launch pads or the crawler. :(

It's a disappointment, but I'm a guest, so I couldn't really throw a tantrum (this time).

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Hi Rob, welcome aboard! :) Lunar module photos for me, please! I was there in '95 armed with a cheap film camera that I didn't know how to work too well -- before leaving in the afternoon I sat down and clicked on some button that turned out to be the cover of the film compartment and the film can jumped out. If you could zoom in on the S-band antenna details I would really appreciate it. And also the windows of the LM if possible. Also I vaguely remember some LUT model (I'd say about 3 feet high -- standing in some corner -- could you take some shots of it as well? Sorry for all the requests -- and enjoy your trip! By the way I was craning to spot some gators. I was hoping to see the 15-foot ones that Johnny Weismuller battled with in Tarzan -- the one I saw was small by Tarzan standards -- it actually looked tiny from afar, probably about 3 feet long but fun to see just the same.

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Ok. I went to the KSC Visitor Center last Friday and took many, many pics. I'm uploading them on Google-drive for now. I've subdivided them into folders to hopefully be fairly self-explanatory on the subject of the pic. In each folder there is also a .zip file with all the pics zipped up so you can download it in one file.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1txqLndi9I1fl9UeWhjMTNXaGp5OGhNNDlyMk5KeTFyZklzZHhBWmhicG5fbHRCUUNmcXc&usp=sharing

So far I have uploaded the fore and aft bulkheads of the payload bay, as well as the hinges around the port payload bay door.

Also, the port and starboard umbilicals (where the Tail Service Masts connect to the shuttle).

Because of the position of the orbiter and the areas from which I could view it, more good pics are available of the port side than the starboard side.

I'm planning on going BACK to KSC on Tuesday, 6/23 to get pics of the Saturn V, and perhaps more of the Atlantis (probably!). So if anyone has any more last-minute requests, I'll check these forums in the morning on Tuesday before I head in so I can see if anyone else had any requests.

I also took lots of pics of the equipment in the rocket garden (mostly stuff related to manned spaceflight). The Atlas with the Mercury capsule on top looks too smooth - like a model to me. So I concentrated more on the Atlas ICBM for details. After I've sorted through Atlantis, I will continue to sort through all the other stuff I took pics of.

I also hope to put together some kind of an index to show areas of the spacecraft captured in each photograph. But that will be a little later.

The pics are all the highest quality jpg the camera would save. If anyone wants the raw files (Canon EOS Rebel T5i), just private message me with the image number, and I'll send you the corresponding RAW file (.CR2). So far I have been told that these pics have good resolution, so they might be good enough already.

I LOVE this kind of stuff. I enjoy taking the pics and researching this kind of thing. I love to collect data.

Last thing - I haven't watermarked or otherwise vandalized the files - they are right from the SD card. Feel free to use them, repost them, send them to friends and family, etc. Just please attribute them to me, and no commercial use without permission.

Rob

Edited by Rob J
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Rob,

Nice shots! The lighting inside the Atlantis exhibit does make photography challenging, but yours look great.

I was fortunate enough to see the last 3 shuttle flights from the KSC Press Site. What an experience. In addition, I shot the final rollout's of Discovery and Atlantis from inside the VAB and pad tours the morning after rollout. I remember the empty feeling the VAB had as we walked out after Atlantis has cleared the doors for the last time. There were no more SRB segments and other parts to support a future launch in the various areas along the transfer aisle, but I did make some life-long memories. Seeing your shots brought back a lot of memories for me including my time inside the cockpit of Atlantis before they moved her to the current exhibit location. Thanks for sharing your shots!! I've seen her there a few times and it never gets old. If you want you can check out a few of my shots of Atlantis before the move: Atlantis Cockpit and Endeavour in VAB There are a few other galleries that may be useful as reference as well. It's nice to see so many people still interested in the shuttle four years after it ended!

Thanks for sharing,

Troy

Edited by composerman
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Went back to KSC on Tuesday. Shot over 1100 pics of things - almost all at the Apollo Saturn V center

Here is the link to the pics of the Lunar Module that I had requests for - the S-band antenna and the windows.

(Paging Mr. Crackerjazz. Mr. Crackerjazz to the white courtesy phone, please)

https://docs.google.com/folderview?id=0B1txqLndi9I1fjlRX19zcnFSdWd3UmVsU21WZDdlc2NyWDVFOC1vbFk5NGxFSmRwc2kzQzg&usp=docslist_api

I have many more, but I need to sort them into folders and upload them. That will have to wait until I get back home from FL.

I got a few pics of launch pad 39a, the VAB, the new LUT for the SLS. One crawler had a MLP (still configured for shuttle - at least I saw the TSMs and rain birds). Another MLP was just sitting out there. Other crawler was inside the VAB - not great for pics.

Unfortunately, all THOSE pics had to be taken from inside a moving bus. I WISH we could have stopped to get out, even just for a few minutes. Even a couple of hundred yards away I could have gotten some decent pics. So, I will sort and post those, but it will be later, since they are lower quality. I'm trying to sort everything while it's still fresh in my mind what all the pics are.

Rob

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been sorting pics and trying to come up with a way to index them without renaming all of them. Each folder is named based on what's in it. I'm putting together a spreadsheet for each folder that has image name, size, what is the subject of the image, and tags that are general content of that image. So, if you are browsing the images and want to know what a specific image is, you look it up in the spreadsheet. If you want to search for a specific subject, you search the spreadsheet, get the image number, and can then look directly at that image.

I've sorted a bunch of pics for the S-1C first stage of the Saturn V. Here's the link to all the images with the F1 engines and S-1C heatshield:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1txqLndi9I1U1k2ZDktbnhCR1E&usp=sharing

All the images are named IMG_####.jpg, and the spreadsheet is named "F1 engine and heatshield.ods"

This spreadsheet is only partially done for this folder.

Here's the link to the S-1C folder with all the other images of the S-1C that I haven't sorted yet. No spreadsheet for this yet.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1txqLndi9I1OXhMd3dTb1ZQenM&usp=sharing

This is taking a while because I am trying to cross reference my pics to the wonderful David Weeks drawings of the Saturn V rocket - so I don't just put in a description like "hatch" or "Engine".

I'll continue to upload pics and update the spreadsheets as I go.

Rob

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