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Author Topic:   KSC Vehicle Assembly Building: External paint idea
dabolton
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Posts: 419
From: Seneca, IL, US
Registered: Jan 2009

posted 04-09-2014 01:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dabolton     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
After looking at a picture of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) today, it occurred to me that maybe they should paint a life-sized Saturn V and/or space shuttle on the non-baydoor sides.

Has this ever been considered?

p51
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Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 04-09-2014 06:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Man, what a great idea for space fans like us!

That said, I don't see them doing it. Like most government agencies, NASA has always been about the now and the future, not the past.

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-09-2014 06:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The U.S. flag on the side of the building, which is about 20,000 square feet, required 6,000 gallons of paint (for comparison, a typical living room takes about half a gallon to paint).

Based on the rates published online, that's more than $200,000 worth of paint — and that doesn't include the cost of labor.

(Nor does it take into account the cost of touch ups and having to be repainted after significant storms.)

Logistics aside, I'm not sure you'd want to change the appearance of an iconic building.

Jim Behling
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From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 04-09-2014 06:43 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The north side is the least seen and wouldn't really be good candidate.

hotdog
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From: Chattanooga, TN
Registered: Dec 2011

posted 04-09-2014 06:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hotdog   Click Here to Email hotdog     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Better yet, that massive building would be a GREAT canvas for 3D projection mapping.

KSC could have nightly shows for the public (weather and launch ops permitting, of course). Imagine Saturn V's, Shuttles and SLS rockets projected onto the side of the building showing them being stacked, rolling out, and launching into space scenes showcasing past, present and future of NASA. Having seen one of these shows first hand, they are quite impressive and it would be a great marketing tool for the program. Charge $5 a head for admission and it would eventually pay for itself.

dabolton
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Posts: 419
From: Seneca, IL, US
Registered: Jan 2009

posted 04-09-2014 10:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dabolton     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wow. Can you imagine a 400' tall version of the Apollo 11 walkout? These are mind blowing visuals. Someone should contact LG and get them on it.

Fra Mauro
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Posts: 1587
From: Bethpage, N.Y.
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 04-10-2014 08:08 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Fra Mauro   Click Here to Email Fra Mauro     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Can't see that appropriation request getting through Congress or the press.

Jim Behling
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From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 04-10-2014 08:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by hotdog:
Having seen one of these shows first hand, they are quite impressive and it would be a great marketing tool for the program.
Not really.
  1. Marketing for what program? NASA? SLS?
  2. It still would be a limited audience.
  3. KSCVC closes before dark.
  4. The logistics would cost more than $5 (keeping the KSCVC open, buses, extra workers, etc)

cspg
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From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006

posted 04-10-2014 09:28 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cspg   Click Here to Email cspg     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by dabolton:
After looking at a picture of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) today, it occurred to me that maybe they should paint a life-sized Saturn V and/or space shuttle on the non-baydoor sides.

To remind us once and for all that those days are gone? (I know, I know there's SLS which is a mix of the two but still...).

Jim Behling
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From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 04-10-2014 11:03 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
What is the point of reminding us that "those days are gone"? What is "those days"?

Spaceflight isn't gone. Space exploration isn't gone. Is it days of taxpayer funded, gov't operated systems?

cspg
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From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006

posted 04-10-2014 03:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for cspg   Click Here to Email cspg     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was simply stating the fact that if you paint a Saturn V or a shuttle on the VAB, it's just a way to remind (if you're an optimist) people that this building was used to assemble those space vehicles (and there are no guarantees that another one will come out, unless you can predict the future) and that those vehicles are now in museum. Moon missions are gone and so is "routine" access to space. Those days are gone.

Jim Behling
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Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 04-10-2014 10:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by cspg:
...so is "routine" access to space.
Actually, access is more routine now. More missions launch into space now.

cspg
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Posts: 6210
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006

posted 04-11-2014 04:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cspg   Click Here to Email cspg     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Behling:
Actually, access is more routine now. More missions launch into space now.
The Space Shuttle was built on the promise of a routine access to space, like flying every week. This is not the case today. And I don't see more manned missions today than when the shuttle was flying. There are only Soyuz flights with occasional Shenzhou flights. The Russians flights could be considered "routine".

garymilgrom
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Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 04-11-2014 07:49 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for garymilgrom   Click Here to Email garymilgrom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
At one time a building at JSC had a Saturn V graphic on it's side.

Saturn_V

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-11-2014 08:10 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by garymilgrom:
At one time a building at JSC had a Saturn V graphic on it's side.
It is still there, and the reason for the painting on that particular building is that inside is a Saturn V...

Jim Behling
Member

Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 04-11-2014 08:17 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by cspg:
The Space Shuttle was built on the promise of a routine access to space, like flying every week. This is not the case today.
That never was the case for the shuttle. Also, access to space doesn't need to manned. And despite the hype, manned space is the smaller of the two. The Cape pads (37, 40, 41) are always launching.

cspg
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Posts: 6210
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006

posted 04-11-2014 08:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cspg   Click Here to Email cspg     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
What do pads 37, 40 and 41 have to do with the VAB?

Nobody's saying that Cape Canaveral has been mothballed!

Jim Behling
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Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 04-11-2014 11:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by cspg:
What do pads 37, 40 and 41 have to do with the VAB?
They have to do with the nonsense that stated that routine access is gone.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-11-2014 12:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Neither the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station or the Kennedy Space Center (or any other spaceport in the world) supports "routine access to space."

"Routine access" implies airport-like operations, which is certainly a goal but has yet to be achieved.

But that said, this is not a topic about routine access to space; this is a discussion about the Vehicle Assembly Building, and its exterior appearance...

dabolton
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Posts: 419
From: Seneca, IL, US
Registered: Jan 2009

posted 04-11-2014 01:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dabolton     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It's possible someone like LG would sponsor the projection equipment themselves simply as a promotion of their product. How many canvases that big exist.

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