posted 04-27-2013 08:29 PM               

As pointed out, it was here where the Apollo 1 crew were examined after the tragic fire.

posted 04-27-2013 09:19 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Ken Havekotte:
MSOB was the original name...

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posted 04-27-2013 10:27 PM               

It would be interesting to know if such early documentation you have is of NASA origin, aerospace contractor, or perhaps from construction sources from the early 1960s?

posted 04-28-2013 09:16 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Ken Havekotte:
It would be interesting to know if such early documentation you have is of NASA origin, aerospace contractor, or perhaps from construction sources from the early 1960s?

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• MSC AMR Operations Facilities 1959-1964 dated April 15, 1963
  
• MSC AMR Operations Pamphlet undated. It is after MA-8 (photo of launch is in the document) and refers to times before summer of 1963.
  
• AMR MILA S/C Composite Test Plan Facilities Utilization undated. It uses "LEM" and has Apollo and Gemini using the O&C simultaneously.
  
• LOC-63-7629

posted 04-28-2013 12:05 PM               

You got me curious in going back to some of my own early MSC/MILA files and folders with similar reports, which I will do so this week, and report back here later as time permits.

Either way, though, why the facility was named "MSOB" is not completely clear to me if earlier planning and preliminary reports are indicating otherwise.

By the way, though, I did click on your provided link, LOC-63-7269, but the page was not found, as the site had just indicated a few minutes ago.

Also, Jim, you are correct in response to SpaceKSCBlog, regarding the Apollo 1 crew's hearse route to the Cape's Skid Strip from the BOSU.

As reported from veteran space pool reporter Mary Bubb, while covering the Apollo 1 crew's hearse convoy trip on Jan. 30, 1967, reads, in part:

"Departure of the Apollo Crew (from the) Bioastronautic Operational Support Unit;

Fighting back tears with tight lipped determination, two nurses in crisp white uniforms held open the doors through which the bodies of their friends, the three astronauts, were carried in flag-draped caskets to waiting hearses.

Not a word had been spoken.

It was a strange funeral procession that waited for the proper time to depart for the skid strip; a security police car, three hearses, and a one-ton Air Force truck.

The Cape Road was lined with solemn groups of people in clusters and standing alone. Military men stood at attention or saluted. Missilemen held their hands over their hearts. Some of the workmen held their hard hats over their hearts while others battered straw hats. Women shaded their eyes from the sun and wept. Even at a distance, the ravages of tears could be seen on the faces of women closely connected to the program.

The usual buzzing of a crowd, and the cheerful waving were absent. There wasn't a sound except for the motors of the cars in the procession.

The crowds grew larger as the skid strip was approached.

Cape Kennedy wept openly or cried inside for the three who had been their boys."

posted 05-10-2013 09:35 AM            

Despite a history dating from the space program's origins through the shuttle era, Hangar S has not yet made the cut as one of the nearly 100 local properties NASA recognizes as historically significant.

Now an Indiana man's objection to that perceived slight has forced Kennedy Space Center to take another look at its facilities and at least delay the hangar's date with a wrecking ball.

"I just can't see how one can escape the conclusion that Hangar S is, in fact, historic," said Steven Kovachevich, a 55-year-old lawyer and real estate broker from Gary, Ind.

...After reading in FLORIDA TODAY last year about NASA's plan to demolish the hangar, Kovachevich started a "Save Hangar S" Web site and nominated the facility for listing on the historic register managed by the National Park Service.

Just in time: The state Division of Historic Preservation, which by law must approve NASA plans for major modifications to potentially historic structures, was reviewing KSC's request to demolish Hangar S.

The state recommended further study.

NASA officials don't dispute that Hangar S supported historic events.

But they say the structure has been modified so much over time that its historic elements and character are long gone, and what's left is simply a shell.

posted 05-12-2013 03:36 PM            

Built on this site in 1957, the Mercury Control Center, later renamed Mission Control, was the United States' first mission control for unmanned and manned space programs under the leadership of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The center housed critical launch equipment for the Mercury and Gemini programs. These programs made crucial advancements in the development of spaceflight, including placing astronauts in suborbital and orbital space within and outside a spacecraft, and safely returning them to Earth. The Gemini program was the first American attempt in orbital rendezvous and docking, a critical maneuver used in future manned lunar landings. The control room was dominated by a world map with a miniature spacecraft that tracked the capsule's planned flight path. Teams at the center controlled all flights launched aboard Redstone, Atlas, and the first three Titan II vehicles. After mission control functions were transferred to Houston, Texas, the center provided backup for the initial launch and trajectory. Before the facility's demolition in 2010, its essential historic components were removed for preservation and are displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

posted 07-26-2013 12:44 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by LM-12:
Here is a photo of the Mercury Mission Control Center marker.

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posted 05-10-2021 09:48 AM               

It started out as the PSTF-R (Payload Spin Test Facility-Replacement). It was designated as the facility where Space Station Freedom (SSF) propulsion elements would be fueled and refurbished. When SSF was changed to ISS, the MPPF just became another payload processing facility hosting shuttle and ELV payloads.

The facility was turned back over to the ISS program for GSE and flight hardware storage. It was transitioned to the Orion program at the end of the shuttle program.

One might ask why was it called PSTF-R in the first place? The original PSTF was on CCAFS near SLC-17 and early was known as the Delta Spin Test Facility. It was renamed when shuttle payloads started using it. In the late 80's, the Air Force came forward and asked for exclusive use of the facility for set period of time to which NASA agreed. Later, the Air Force requested to have the facility turned over to them permanently* and "they" would provide funding to NASA for a replacement facility. The "they" wasn't the just the Air Force but the NRO.

So, Orion is currently being processed in a facility funded by the NRO.

posted 06-24-2023 01:08 PM               

• LC-11 Blue Origin
  
• SLC-13 Phantom Space and Vaya Space (after SpaceX landing agreement expires)
  
• SLC-14 Stoke Space
  
• SLC-15 ABL Space Systems
  
• SLC-16 Relativity Space
  
• SLC-20 Firefly Aerospace
  
• SLC-36 Blue Origin
  
• SLC-37 ULA
  
• SLC-40 SpaceX
  
• SLC-41 ULA

posted 10-12-2023 04:03 PM               

Don't know if any work is being done in the lean-to's. It might be Blue Origin doing the work. I think it is just being used like a covered construction area, much like Hangar M is (with the new SLC-40 crew access arm sticking out).

posted 03-28-2024 04:30 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by LM-12:
It looks like that old Pad 19 Gemini billboard shown in an earlier post has been spruced up a bit...

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Some history about this sign is posted here, in the June 4, 2010, Sept. 2, 2010 and April 4, 2011 Neat Information Updates.

posted 03-29-2024 11:38 AM            

• Gemini 3 - 4 orbits
  
• Gemini 4 - 62 revs
  
• Gemini 5 - 120 revs
  
• Gemini 7 - 206 revs
  
• Gemini 6A - 16 revs
  
• Gemini 8 - 7 revs
  
• Gemini 9A - 45 revs
  
• Gemini 10 - 43 revs
  
• Gemini 11 - 44 revs
  
• Gemini 12 - 59 revs

posted 03-29-2024 09:51 PM               

On the "Footsteps in History: LC-34" sign, in the lower right photo caption, the word "Tess" should be "Test".

There are also three benches, in close proximity to the launch mount, one each for Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. Notice the coins on Ed White's bench. The other two benches are similar.