Posts: 89
From: London England
Registered: Jan 2008

posted 03-07-2013 11:56 AM               

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I would be very grateful if anyone could help me identify these two pieces of ground support equipment, which seem to be evident in many of my pre-launch Atlas photos.

My suspicion is one of the pieces may be some kind of air conditioner, but I would really appreciate a definitive identification and whether they are specific to this project or whether they were standard Air Force equipment, many thanks.

Posts: 488
From: Danville, Ohio, USA
Registered: Dec 2002

Posts: 252
From:
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 03-07-2013 09:12 PM               

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'Mobile Air Handler' came to my mind, not really dissimilar to your hunch.

To me, it looks similar to what you see at underground utility/telephone repair sites and on jet bridges. Perhaps certain work areas required ventilation to avoid ground crew exposure to hazardous fume buildup. A/C certainly could have been part of that, if not the primary purpose.

Also nothing definitive, but a large air handler "in the NW quadrant" is mentioned in this memoir related to Atlas launch sites.