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Author
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Topic: Ribbon Cutting & Dedication
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Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 03-07-2004 03:37 PM
   
Merritt Island, FL...A veteran aerospace company here on Florida's Space Coast, Air Liquide America L.P., on March 4, 2004, inaugurated its expanded facility. Distinquished guests at the ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony included officials of the Air Force's 45th Space Wing, NASA Kennedy Space Center, the Lockheed-Martin Corporation, Boeing (represented by former Shuttle astronaut Bruce Melnick), the Florida Space Authority (represented by ex-Shuttle astronaut Winston Scott), and local government agencies. Air Liquide America built a new air separation unit at the Merritt Island facility, located near Gate 2 of the Kennedy Space Center, as a result of an agreement reached with NASA to provide gaseous nitrogen, operation, and related gas distribution services supplying government aerospace activities at the Spaceport. Nitrogen is used by the space industry to purge equipment and systems during preparation for launch, as well as to inert ground operations during fueling and launch countdown of NASA's Space Shuttle, the Atlas V and Delta IV EELV commercial rocket programs, and the Internationl Space Station Processing Facility. Contracts for gaseous nitrogen and associated pipeline maintenance and operations support have been provided by Air Liquide continuously since the initiation of the pipeline in Dec. 1968. One of the company's first contracts involved NASA's Apollo/Saturn V manned spaceflight program at Kennedy with Apollo 8 being their first support manned mission. In the mid-1970s, the pipeline supply of nitrogen was extended to other users at KSC and to the adjoining Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. An additional expansion to the now 35-miles of cross-county pipeline was completed in the mid-80's. Three months ago, in Dec. 2003, marked the 35th anniversary of continuous nitrogen supply and pipeline support to the space launch community at Merritt Island.
A special blue-velvet gift bag was presented to each invited guest. Inside was a special coffee mug and a commemorative medallion that were both especailly made for Air Liquide's 35th anniversary ribbon cutting and dedication. |
music_space
Member Posts: 1179
From: Canada
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 03-08-2004 04:25 PM
Interesting facts, Ken. Each time I drove in front of the unassuming Air Liquide facility, I presumed that they also generated the O2 and the hydrogen fuels and oxiders. I was telling myself in awe: "all the energy for the three SSME's is made here". It seems I was wrong. Which then brings the question: who manufacures those fuels and oxiders for the various launch facilities at the Cape?------------------
François Guay
Collector of litterature, notebooks, equipment and memories! |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 03-13-2004 11:36 AM
Francois--How are you? As you probably know, the actual propellant storage facilities for Launch Complex 39 are self-contained at both pads. At the northwest corner of each pad is a 900,000-gallon tank that provides the needed liquid oxygen, which is used as an oxidizer by the Shuttle Orbiter's three main engines. There are two pumps that supply 1,200 gallons of oxidizer per minute that transfer the liquid oxygen from the storage tank to the Orbiter's external tank. Similar 850,000-gallon vacuum bottles at the nortwest corner of Pads A & B store the liquid hydrogen for the main engines. Pumps are not required to move the liquid hydrogen from the storage tank to the Shuttle's external tank. During fueling operations, first, a small amount of liquid hydrogen vaporizes. This action causes a gas pressure in the top of the tank that moves the extremely light fuel through the transfer lines. Hypergolic propellants used by the Orbiter's maneuvering and attitude control thrusters are stored at the pads in separated areas. Other facilities located on the southeast corner of each pad holds other fuels, such as monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, that are feed by transfer lines to both on-pad servicing structures into three pairs of umbilicals that attach to the spaceplane. If you want to know the company names of all the many support contractors that handle and provide the Shuttle propulsion and various fuel services (some have changed with recent mergers), I can have that for you next time I get online in a few days. |
music_space
Member Posts: 1179
From: Canada
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 03-13-2004 03:45 PM
Thanks, Ken. By the way, I am good, I spent the last two years travelling very little, setting up my corporate music business, and things are coming up now. I plan to go to the Swann auction in two weeks (that is, if the company does not have an emergency contract -- free saturdays are a rare commodity in my field!).All I'd like to know now is, where are these liquid propellants manufactured? As much as I know, all you need to manufacture those is a water supply and plenty of electricity; These being available right at KSC (I presume that freshwater is pumped from local wells), that's why I presumed that the Air Liquide facility provided these propellants. François |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 04-19-2004 07:52 PM
Francois--Let me try to answer some of your questions from an earlier March 13th post, finally huh, and please forgive this late reply. The hydrogen required for use of the Shuttle's External Tank is not produced at KSC, but, from natural gas by a steam-reforming process in New Orleans, LA, that is shipped in 13,000-gallon mobile tankers.
The two types of liquid oxygen in use by the Shuttle; first--that which is loaded into the External Tank, about 141,750 gallons, is processed at Mims, FL, located north of Titusville, by liquefying and separating air. The oxygen is trucked to Kennedy in 6,000-gallon tankers. Another type of oxygen, which is more purer, is used in the Shuttle PRSDS. The fuel cell oxygen is produced in Orlando, FL, by the same process as the propellant oxygen. Hydrazine: Used by both Orbiter auxiliary power units and the hydraulic power units of the solid rocket boosters. The fuel is shipped to the Spaceport in 500-gallon, specially designed safety containers from Lake Charles, LA. Those are some of the major required Shuttle fuels, however, there are other fluids and gases (i.e. MMH, N204, Helium, Nitrogen, Ammonia and others) that I'll be happy to provide similar info on if needed--just let me know. |
music_space
Member Posts: 1179
From: Canada
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 04-20-2004 12:33 AM
Wow! I'm absolutely amazed at all this logistics for the O2 and the hydrogen... Trucks and barges... Is there anything like a caravan of 25 H2 tankers lining into KSC some time before launch?What if there's a scrub and they have to detank? Do they recuperate (at least part) of the fluids? Thanks for the very informative reply, Ken. ------------------
François Guay
Collector of litterature, notebooks, equipment and memories! | |
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