Hello dear friends,
today is a memorable day for me, because on
15th November 2011 I did present the first post about my
STS-6 Long-term Project in the German
Raumcon forum.
In the mid of 2013 I started reporting on my project here in the
PM Forum.
On the day of my
10th Anniversary I feel reminded of the time and the accompanying circumstances with a smile and a little melancholy, and in retrospect I have to say that at the time I was not sure what I was getting into with it and how long I would probably spend with it.
Therefore, at this point, I would like to take a brief look back at the genesis of the project, what you don't know so far, and hopefully will be interesting to you too.
Initially I followed the construction report from a friend (
inselaner) in the then still existing
Scaleworld Forum with interest, who has reported there about his
Launch pad Project with Atlantis STS-135 that more and more pulled me under its spell, fascinated and ultimately really infected me to start a similar project.
A hurdle was initially the legendary old
Revell Space Shuttle Launch Tower Kit 4911 used by him, which had been out of stock for a long time and could only occasionally be purchased by auction at
ebay for horrific prices.
Source: ANDROMEDA24.DE
This kit of course I would have liked to have had it as a start-up aid, but only from where take it, if not steal ...
But then by a happy coincidence and thanks to my good contacts to the shop owners of
ANDROMEDA24.DE I came across one of these coveted Revell kits (4911), which I got thanks to their good contacts overseas (180 €), which laid the foundation for my project in
August 2011.
At the same time, I already had bought
David Maier's Paper Kits for the
Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) and the
Crawler Transporter (CT) and got started building the MLP.
After starting my project at
Scaleworld, I had planned to report on it in the
Raumcon forum too. However, at the beginning I had serious reservations because their
Model building Thread at that time was not structured according to topics and therefore hardly manageable, a hodgepodge of different contributions and opinions on it in a disordered monster XXXL thread which made reading along and correspondence not exactly easy.
And already because of that, some members were held back from presenting their own projects , especially since it was no different for me at the time. That's why my first project contributions were initially just an attempt to initiate the discussion without wanting to compete as a lateral entrant.
My suggestions for revising the forum structure, initially discussed with the Space flight admin via PM, apparently also fell on fertile ground of the other admins and were then implemented in painstaking detailed work, whereupon one could present his project in special subject areas and let discuss it, which was a big step forward and quickly became very popular.
To my surprise, a friend of mine created the following diagram of
Views and
Replies in the
Raumcon forum, where the 900.000 barrier has now been broken.
Source: forum.raumfahrer.net (Hugo)
I have to admit that with large-scale projects like this, it is not easy to remain committed and focused on the ball and not let tear down, because otherwise it becomes more and more difficult to come back and move on.
I managed to do this quite well over the years, even though I had to cope with a few blows in the neck and emergency operations ...
But then the feedback from the forum and encouraging words of you were always helpful in order to gain new strength and keep motivation high.
Also the close relationship between our two Launch Pad projects has always inspired and spurred me on, and the mutual exchange of ideas was a real stimulus for both sides.
Inspired by my STS-6 project, from 2015 to 2017 my friend Thomas (
golgi863), who unfortunately passed away much too early, presented his
Launch Complex project with Discovery (STS-41D), with whom I had a close and very intensive contact, from which we both benefited.
In the meantime I have worked on all important areas of the
Launch Complex 39A up to the diorama, so that I would actually have to modify my project title accordingly.
Also in the other forums in which I post, guys have often asked me where I would get the strength and stamina for this mammoth task. But in the meantime my daily work has become a real passion, especially since my extensive research has given me new insights and interesting insights into this ingenious space technology that I would never want to be without.
Even if my level has not been 100% lately due to family circumstances, I still try to overcome this hard time and be able to motivate myself again.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks for the continued interest in my work and the many helpful contributions and expressions of opinion.
