Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-30-2014 11:11 AM
On April 29, 2014, NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center awarded a contract to Pantano Demolition, Inc. of Manteca, Calif., to demolish the Shuttle Mate/Demate Device used to load and offload the orbiters from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
Construction of the MDD was completed in late 1976. It was first used during mate-demate operations with the prototype orbiter Enterprise during the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) in 1977. It has been used for all post-landing and SCA mating operations at Dryden since the ALT program.
APG85 Member
Posts: 306 From: Registered: Jan 2008
posted 04-30-2014 12:27 PM
Too bad they can't leave it in place. 50 years from now it would be a neat piece of history and I imagine the environment out there is not very corrosive...
onesmallstep Member
Posts: 1310 From: Staten Island, New York USA Registered: Nov 2007
posted 04-30-2014 03:28 PM
I sympathize with keeping the MDD intact but you can't keep every item of shuttle history. Maybe a plaque/sign with a photo would suffice; even a small section displayed at the Armstrong Center's museum/visitor's center.
Besides, the space occupied by it can be reused for future projects.
JBoe Member
Posts: 960 From: Churchton, MD Registered: Oct 2012
posted 04-30-2014 03:28 PM
I agree, too bad it has to be taken down. But, what would they ever do with it? And it would take more money to reconfigure it anyways.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
The historic steel tower that for 30 years was used to mount NASA space shuttles atop jumbo jets to fly them cross-country after they landed in California is now being demolished.
The gantry-like, gray and red Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at the NASA Armstrong (formerly Dryden) Flight Research Center in southern California stood for four decades. Now, three years after the shuttle program ended and six years since it last supported the turnaround of an orbiter landing at Edwards Air Force Base, the 110-foot (34-m.) structure is disappearing from the dry lake bed's skyline.
"It's sad to see something like this go, especially because it has a lot of history," said George Grimshaw, the center's last shuttle landing and recovery manager, in an interview with collectSPACE. "There is really nothing like it around. Yet, at the same time, you just can't have facilities sitting around unused, wasting away."
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 10-08-2014 06:50 PM
Just over a month after dismantling began, here is what remains standing of the MDD as of today (Oct. 8).
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 10-16-2014 10:38 PM
A week later, just one part of one column remains:
OV-105 Member
Posts: 816 From: Ridgecrest, CA Registered: Sep 2000
posted 10-17-2014 01:38 AM
Sad to see it go. First thing I would see heading in from the Boron gate going to the gift shop for so many years. Got to see it on the tour and a couple of times with shuttle in it too.
posted 10-17-2014 04:21 PM
After reading the various articles and comments it is still unclear why the structure had to come down. It was a collection of cables, pulleys, some wiring and of course the steel beams and girders maybe in need of a coat of paint, yet not likely to fall apart anytime soon.
Is there a cost analysis somewhere comparing upkeep (however little that may be) versus paying some outfit to rip it up and cart it away?
In advance, not interested in any supposed future "environmental impact" the structure may have had sitting out there in the desert.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 10-17-2014 04:59 PM
The decision to dismantle the MDD was made based on the federal regulations regarding retention (or demolition) of unused facilities. NASA Armstrong attempted to find a new use for the MDD but neither the agency or military could identify a need.
Since 2010, NASA has been under congressional requirement to either reuse, lease or dispose of unneeded facilities. Given the MDD's location within an active military base, any lease proposal was not possible.
The California Science Center did briefly look at relocating the entire MDD as part of its plan to exhibit space shuttle Endeavour. This too proved infeasible given the size of the structure.
The contract to dispose of the MDD cost $178,700 (compared to $1.7 million for its construction). The deconstruction work would have cost the government more if it were not for the funds that will be recouped by recycling the steel.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 10-21-2014 09:16 AM
And then there was none (photo as of Oct. 20):
astro-nut Member
Posts: 946 From: Washington, IL Registered: Jan 2006
posted 11-01-2014 02:15 PM
Another piece of space history gone, what a shame.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-05-2015 09:13 AM
Timelapse footage of Armstrong's Mate-Demate Device demolition:
And a brief documentary about the history of the MDD: