May 6th, 2005
going vab opf pad museum class rpsf assembly marine disassembly back
 RPSF receives new and reloaded SRB segments shipped by rail from Utah and integrates them with aft skirts received from the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility (ARF) |
 The main facility is used for solid rocket motor receiving, rotation and inspection |
 Solid Rocket Motor railcar shipping container |
 Solid Rocket Motor exit cone on a rolling platform |
 Aft booster buildup workstand with an SRB |
 Top of a SRB aft segment |
 With the 2 month flight delay of STS-114, these two SRBs may be shipped back to Utah |
 Jon poses with them just in case they are used |
 Closeup of an SRB o-ring which joins the segments |
 Testing the crane today on the large water tank |
 Components are lifted off railroad cars by the crane |
 Down a level where sections are integrated |
 Stiffners are added to give strength for splashdown |
 Segments are kept at Utah humidity levels |
 David is impressed with the amount of bolts |
 The stiffners require a lot of bolts! |
 Thrust Vector Control Hydraulic Servicing Panels |
 Space voyeurs look up the SRBs aft skirt! |
 The business end of a solid rocket motor |
 Thrust vector control system within the aft skirt |
 The Thrust Vector Control System gimbals the Solid Rocket Motor nozzle extension during flight |
 Nearby Surge Buildings store SRB flight segments until they are moved to the VAB for integration |
 The third Mobile Launcher Platform sits at the parking location north of the VAB |
 Nearby empty MLP parking location as the other two MLPs are at the Pad and in the VAB |
going vab opf pad museum class rpsf assembly marine disassembly back