posted 02-28-2012 08:35 PM               

National Museum USAF to receive retired NASA space shuttle crew compartment trainer

A retired NASA space shuttle crew compartment trainer is expected to arrive this summer at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

The CCT is a high-fidelity representation of the space shuttle orbiter crew station that was used primarily for on-orbit crew training and engineering evaluations.

It was in this trainer that astronauts learned how to operate many of the orbiter sub-systems in more than 20 different classes. All Air Force astronauts in NASA's shuttle program trained in the CCT.

The crew module of the CCT consists of a flight deck and a mid-deck, and contains components such as panels, seats and lights visible to or used by the flight crew. Non-functional switches, connections, guards and protective devices all have the same characteristics, operating force, torque and movement as a real space shuttle.

The museum is currently working with NASA to package the CCT for airlift to the museum via NASA's Super Guppy cargo aircraft, which carries outsized loads such as missile and rocket components. After arrival, technicians will offload the CCT and place it on interim display in the Cold War Gallery, before later moving it to a new Space Gallery in the planned fourth building.

According to the director of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, retired Lt. Gen. Jack Hudson, the CCT will be a great addition to the museum.

"When the CCT exhibit is completed, it will allow the public to have an up-close and personal look into the cockpit and mid-deck areas of a shuttle and learn how astronauts trained for their missions," Hudson said.

"We also plan to build a full-scale mock-up of the payload bay and develop other new exhibits with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math to further illustrate the rich history of the Air Force's space programs and vital Air Force, NASA and aerospace industry partnerships."

The new Space Gallery, where the CCT will eventually reside, is a part of a multi-phase, long-term expansion plan and will house the museum's growing space collection.

The gallery will include a Titan IV launch vehicle; Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft; and many recently retired NASA artifacts such as a nose cap assembly, landing gear strut and a variety of astronaut equipment.

In addition, a range of satellites and related items will showcase the Air Force's vast reconnaissance, early warning, communications and other space-based capabilities. Other new exhibits will be developed to showcase Air Force technologies with many unique characteristics in design, propulsion, payload capacity, human factors, range, speed, communication, and operating environment.

One of the unique features of the fourth building will be the creation of dedicated spaces for learning. Three "Learning Nodes" will provide a unique environment for lectures and demonstrations, as well as extensions of the exhibit experience.

These 60-seat "gallery classrooms" will allow staff to facilitate new science, technology, engineering and math experiences, while guest scientists and engineers from Air Force organizations, the aerospace industry, and area colleges and universities will be invited to share their expertise. Multimedia presentations will introduce students to air and space missions and the men and women responsible for their execution. When the nodes are not in use for scheduled programs, multimedia presentations will captivate public audiences.

The Air Force Museum Foundation, an IRS 501(c)(3) organization chartered to assist the National Museum of the United States Air Force with the development and expansion of facilities, is in the process of raising the funds to meet the growing requirements of the museum.

Currently, $38 million has been secured by the Foundation for the fourth building project, which is expected to cost an estimated $48 million. The fourth building will house the Space Gallery, Presidential Aircraft Gallery and Global Reach Gallery featuring cargo and tanker aircraft.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton.

posted 07-20-2012 03:13 PM               

Since the space shuttle's retirement in 2011, NASA has been finding new homes across the country for the retired space crafts. This video takes you to Houston to check out another piece of equipment that was just as vital to NASA's space program.

posted 07-31-2012 02:03 PM               

In the meantime, it is being moved by truck to the Light Manufacturing Facility near Ellington Field, where it will wait until the Super Guppy is done delivering the final segment of the Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT) to Seattle on Aug. 9.

It will then be mounted onto a specialized adapter for its flight to Dayton.

posted 08-15-2012 08:45 AM               

The crew compartment training module is expected to arrive Aug. 22 or Aug. 23, said Sarah Swan, an Air Force museum spokeswoman.

...construction on the new Air Force museum hangar is expected to begin next year and open in 2014. It will house the Space Galley, Presidential Aircraft Gallery and Global Reach Galley. Officials have raised more than $38 million of the $48 million for needed to pay for the expansion.

posted 08-20-2012 12:45 PM               

The Crew Compartment Trainer was moved to Ellington Field yesterday and loaded onto the Super Guppy this morning.

posted 08-23-2012 12:25 PM               

NASA space shuttle trainer lands at U.S. Air Force museum

A space shuttle mockup that was used to train astronauts, including more than 75 members of the U.S. Air Force, has landed in Dayton, Ohio, where it will go on display at the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum.

The Space Shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer 1 (CCT-1), which was used for more than three decades at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, was flown onboard the agency's Super Guppy cargo plane to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on Wednesday (Aug. 22).

Once offloaded from the aircraft on Thursday, CCT-1 will be moved into the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (NMUSAF), which is located at the base. The museum plans to display the trainer inside its Cold War Gallery until its new Space Gallery inside a planned fourth building is ready late next year.

posted 08-23-2012 04:23 PM               

In addition to valuable exposure to shuttle systems at Rockwell International's flight systems laboratory in nearby Downey, California, the original programme relied heavily on a schedule of monthly, week-long visits by the 13 MSEs to various military satellite contractors. This proved to be unworkable and the contractor visits were reduced in favour of vists to other Air Force installations as well as the NASA Johnson and Marshall Space Centers.

posted 08-23-2012 04:35 PM               

The CCT is now unwrapped and on display in the Cold War Gallery.

posted 08-27-2012 07:32 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by dabolton:
Did they land the Super Guppy on the runway next to the museum or truck it over from the main Wright-Pat air field? I wondered if that strip was still active or not.

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posted 09-06-2012 12:11 PM               

Officials re-install Crew Compartment Trainer interior items at National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Officials with Team Raytheon based at Johnson Space Center's Space Vehicle Mockup Facility have teamed-up with the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force's Restoration staff to re-install interior items on the Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT-1).

The interior items, which include seats, lockers and monitors, were removed and transported to the museum in advance by truck in order to reduce the weight of the CCT-1 during its flight on NASA's Super Guppy aircraft.

Above: Team Raytheon mechanical engineer Rob Evans reinstalls items inside the Crew Compartment Trainer on Sept. 6, 2012. It will take several days to repopulate the interior of the CCT.

According to Team Raytheon Engineer Clayton Hamm, reinstalling the interior items on the CCT-1 has kind of been like putting together a giant puzzle.

"First, you have to fully evaluate it and locate all of the pieces and then proceed in a methodical manner so that the pieces are brought into the trainer at the right time in order to make them all fit," said Hamm. "Once everything is organized, things tend to move along smoothly, but once in a while something will surprise you or require extra time to install."

Assisting Hamm has been a team of restoration staff led by Restoration Specialist Nick Almeter, who has over-seen the project since the CCT-1 arrived at the museum.

"Everything has come together really well, and it has been great to have the engineers from Team Raytheon and the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility here to assist us," Almeter said. "They have a wealth of knowledge about the CCT-1, so it certainly makes our job that much easier."

Even after the re-installation is complete, work on the CCT-1 exhibit will continue. Plans call for the museum to build a full-scale mock-up of the payload bay and develop other new exhibits with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. When completed, the CCT-1 exhibit will allow the public to look into the cockpit and mid-deck areas of a shuttle and learn how astronauts trained for their missions.

These surrounding exhibits will contain additional items that NASA plans to ship to the museum, including the main/nose landing gear wheel and brake assembly; nose cap assembly; photographic equipment; primary thruster; rotational hand controller and mid-deck sleep station. Other uniform items such as an inflight jacket, cooling vest, and an in-suit drink assembly bag have already been received.

Although a firm completion date for the full exhibit is yet to be determined, the CCT-1 itself, along with a display detailing future plans including a video documenting the trainer's preparation and delivery, will be available on Sept. 29.

posted 09-29-2012 09:24 PM               

Astronauts, community leaders welcome Crew Compartment Trainer to National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

NASA Astronauts Michael Good and Michael Foreman visited the National Museum of the Air Force during a private event to formally introduce the first shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT-1) to military and community officials and preview the next steps for the exhibit.

The event marked the debut of a new kiosk, which contains additional information about the trainer, including graphics and a mini- documentary detailing how the CCT-1 was used, its arrival at the museum and future exhibit plans.

As the event began, Foreman reflected back on the many hours he spent in NASA's three crew compartment trainers as he prepared for space missions.

"I've spent 400 - 500 hours in these trainers so it evokes all kinds of great memories," Foreman said. "These trainers were great for actually strapping in and getting ready for launch, and now people will get to see up-close where we trained for space shuttle missions."

Good, who served for 25 years in the Air Force, said he couldn't think of a better home for the trainer to inspire the next generations of scientists and engineers.

"I really love air museums and I remember coming here with my family as a kid, and it is one of the things that inspired me to study aerospace engineering and to get into this business," Good said.

Photo credit: NMUSAF/Don Popp

Above: NASA Astronaut Michael Good discusses the capabilities of NASA's first shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, on Sept.28, 2012.

Good also spoke about how valuable the CCT-1 was to the shuttle program and the reassurance it provided the astronauts.

"People sometimes ask me if I was scared sitting on top of that rocket prior to launch, and I can honestly tell you that I was not scared," said Good. "The reason I was not scared is because I was so well trained, and this mockup was a big part of that."

Future exhibit plans will start with Display Dynamics Inc. of Clayton, Ohio, which was recently selected to reproduce a full-scale mock-up of a NASA shuttle payload bay, engine and tail sections and a dedicated educational area.

These pieces of the exhibit, along with visitor observation and access structures, are scheduled to be completed by September 2013. The museum will continue to populate the exhibit with additional artifacts, such as satellites, along with items obtained from NASA, including space gear, hardware and other equipment, through early 2014.

During construction of the exhibit, visitors will be able to view the CCT-1 in the Cold War Gallery. When completed, the exhibit will allow the public to look into the cockpit and mid-deck areas of a shuttle and learn how astronauts trained for their missions.

The museum's director, retired Lt. Gen. Jack L. Hudson, concluded the event by expressing his thanks to all those in attendance and is looking forward to the exhibit's completion.

"The vision is grand here and we're on a pathway to do this," said Hudson. "This will be an enormous addition to the museum as the CCT-1's exhibit capability grows over time and will help us continue to tell the Air Force story to the American public as well as motivate, inspire and educate our youth towards the Air Force and science, technology, engineering and math."

In addition, three other CCT-1 exhibit contracts were recently awarded to add further content to the display. A contract to build five reproduction space suits representing the space shuttle and Gemini programs was awarded to David Clark Company, Inc., of Worcester, Mass., in the amount of $175,000.

A contract for science, technology, engineering and math learning node elements, including two space shuttle landing simulators and 10 touch-screen computers was awarded to Historic Space Systems of Danville, Ohio, in the amount $170,400.

Finally, a contract to develop fourteen 1/32-scale models of U.S. space launch vehicles representing an historical overview of U.S. Air Force and NASA programs, and one full-scale model of the Explorer 1 satellite was awarded to ProTek Models LLC, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., in the amount of $70,900. The space launch vehicle models will include a Jupiter C, Mercury-Redstone, Mercury-Atlas, Gemini, Titan II, Thor-Agena A, Titan IIID, Atlas-Centaur, Saturn IB, Saturn V, Delta II, Titan 4B, Atlas V, and a Delta IV Heavy, along with a space shuttle with a "full stack" of launch vehicle elements.

posted 04-25-2013 08:43 AM               

Although I'm glad Dayton received something, I was really disappointed when I seen the trainer.

posted 04-25-2013 02:59 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Constellation One:
You just don't get "the feeling" of standing in the greatness of space history that would have been provided by a real spacecraft.

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Long before I ever got near a real space shuttle, let alone climbed in one, I visited Johnson Space Center and had the chance to climb into CCT-1. To say that the experience was thrilling would be an understatement.

posted 04-25-2013 04:23 PM            

Being inside a CCT is almost as thrilling as being in a real orbiter. You really can't tell the difference.

So while the CCT may look plain on the outside, the magic is on the inside. And since the crew only lived in the mid-deck and flight deck of a shuttle (which the CCT has...) you see exactly what the crew living conditions were for a space shuttle flight. Magic! And, you can't do THAT when you go see any of the real orbiters...