Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6 (1:144)

[spacerunner]

Hello everybody,

well, with the missing details I now have to think about the order in which I attach them to the PLC, because I always have to take into account a safe support of the Canister in order not to break off any components, which is becoming increasingly difficult.

On the one hand, there are the extremely fragile Ladders on the side walls to reach the Access platforms,


Source: NASA (STS-135)

which must be handled with extreme caution, especially since their manufacture was very complex.

Then there are also the RSS Outriggers, one of which is mounted at the front end of the Starboard Side, which can be seen here in the unfolded state as I plan to build it for the lifting process of the canister to the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) of the RSS.


Source: NASA (STS-135)

The other outrigger is located at the front end of the Port Side, which can be seen here in the folded state.


Source: NASA (STS-135)

And this is what they look like in scale 1:160.



Then the two pneumatic lines for operating the Door actuator Screw jacks are also still missing on each side,


Source: NASA (STS-135)

which are connected to the Door actuator pneumatic drive), which I will bend out of Nickel Silver wire (Ø 0,2 mm).

Then there are several hand rails on the FWD bulkhead for the safe handling of the Can Crew in Vertical Transport Mode.


Source: NASA (1980)

I can save myself the trouble of using the two ladders, as they were only needed during working at canister in the Horizontal Transport Mode, to get to the Personnel Door and the Payload Bay Doors.



That is still not all, but it should suffice for today,



at least I'm glad that I found the parts in my inventory again.

[spacerunner]

Hello everybody,

first, I wanted to bend and try on the thin pneumatic lines (Ø 0,2 mm) according to my 1:1 template of the canister, so that I could then glue them.

Here only the thin nickel silver wire was laid for test onto the template.



After fixing the wire with tape, I started bending it, initially with sufficient overhang next to the Door drive,



because for connecting the end of the line to the pneumatic unit involves millimeters, what I had to examine and measure more closely.

Then I've already attached the pneumatic connections to both ends of the line, for which I used my thinnest insulating hose (Ø 0,5 mm).



Furthermore, I have to take into account that the lower of the two pneumatic lines must run over the right Tie-down Lug Plate, as can be seen in this image.



I've already made the lug plates, but now I just need to paint them white.



Then there are also these tiny Grab rails that I also want to scratch build, as they were important for the Can Crew to be able hold on to, during folding out the Door actuators on the doors top.



which also need to be painted,



for which I prepared these holders from toothpicks with a Pattex tip,



as well as this mount for the Lug Plates, which are sitting on a tape strip, whose adhesive side facing up, which I glued onto a steel ruler.



And that’s what I’ll continue with in the next post.

[spacerunner]

Thanks my friends for looking in on me again and again. Hope I could entertain you well.

And now to the painting of the tiny PLC components for which I prepared my extraction system.

Since there were only so few parts, I didn't want to paint them with the airbrush gun,



instead, I used the TAMIYA spray can again, which I had shaken well and tempered in a warm water bath.



However, the dosage of the spray jet is a bit of a problem, as it is easy to apply too much paint.

While I was happy with the Tie-down Lug Plates, the Grab Rails got a bit too much paint for my taste, what I don't like them as they seem too thick and round.





Then I placed one of the Lug Plates on the front of the Port Side to determine the exact height of the pneumatic line running above it.



When I had put the prepared pneumatic line on it, I noticed that the lower end with the connection was too low, which also cannot remain that way.



Slightly frustrated, I then had to take a deep breath and have bent new grab rails by using three steel rulers (approx. 1,5 mm) placed on top of each other,



which were then painted white in two coats.



They are now slimmer, I like them better than the first handles,



which also look well at the container.



Then I bent a new pneumatic line for the Portside,



which now needs to be further adjusted and bent exactly at the transition into the pneumatic drive,



wherewith I want to leave it at for now.

[spacerunner]

Hello friends,

unfortunately the Pneumatic lines are causing more problems than I expected, and especially the handling when bending the thin lines (Ø 0,2 mm) is quite stressful.

This starts already with marking of the bending points, for which the wire must be fixed appropriately, which was already seen when the cable was firstly bent on the Portside.



And now to the Starboard Side. While the first bendings with tweezers from the end of the line to the Pneumatic drive are relatively easy, the crucial point comes with the two 90° bendings at the transition into the drive 'cage'.


Source: NASA (STS-126)

The bendings look simple in themselves, but I failed several times when executing them in such a tight space and they didn't fit, as every tenth of a millimeter counts.

And what seems clear from the images and the measured dimensions is only half the truth. What's crucial are the dimensions at my Canister, which the bent lines must match.


Source: NASA (STS-126)

Here I first placed both lines with sufficient vertical overhang at the drive box, which is a rather nerve-wracking affair, as these thin wires react very sensitively to the slightest positional corrections and can quickly slide off from the canister, or even fall off the table, which also happened and is totally frustrating.







I also have to be extremely careful that none of the fragile superstructures are damaged or even torn off during the manipulations, which did happen to me once, when a Screw Jack suddenly came loose and the delicate thin drive tube on the drive box was hanging in the air, which I was then fortunately able to fix carefully and with a lot of feeling.



After that, I tackled the two 90° bendings in front of the drive box, which required bendings that were as reproducible as possible. I also had to take into account that the lines didn't have to lie directly on the wall, but rather slightly raised, which is why I've laid small Evergreen Strips (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm) underneath.



Doing so both lines should ideally match the Hydraulic cylinder (4), which complicates everything even further if you remember this image of the Starboard Side with the individual parts of the drive unit.


Source: NASA (STS-135)

[spacerunner]

Afterwards, the work continued on the Portside, but the line was still too long after the second 90° bending and consequently passed too far above the Hydraulic cylinder through the drive 'cage', as can be seen here,





which is why it had to be shortened.





Now I just have to finish bending the remaining lines.

[spacerunner]

Hello everybody,

easier said than done, but I've had some practice by now.

In the meantime, both Pneumatic lines on the Port Side are now prepared.



Now all that's missing are these couplings at the top on both sides next to the transition to the door drive,


Source: NASA (STS-126)

for which I used thin insulating tubing (Ø 0,5 mm), which should at least indicate them.

But threading these thin wires into the tiny tube openings was quite stressful and could only be accomplished with a headset magnifying glass, whereby the wires could easily get turned in the tweezers, requiring re-aligning. And then the tiny wires had to be pushed around the bend before they could be glued by using the acupuncture needle with a tiny pot of UHU-CA.







Afterwards it continued on the Starboard Side.



Making the double bending points at the other end of both pneumatic lines is also difficult because the sketch isn't precise enough. So I repeatedly placed the line on the canister to measure the distance from the end of the line to the next bending point and then be able to bend it.



Then I marked this distance on the wire on the table and bent it with tweezers,



and checked the result again on the canister.



To glue the connections at the end of the lines, they always have to be fixed in place, because this simply cannot be done by hand.





It is similarly tricky when double bending the lines on the Door drive.

c

After this was done on both lines, I was also pretty exhausted,





and the tricky day's work was finally completed.

[ReynoldsSlumber]

Incredibly thorough attention to detail, as always. I'm confident that I would go insane if I were to unwisely attempt to match your level of craft on just this canister, even at double the scale, and never mind the entire Shuttle and launch pad.
You'll likely appreciate that there's a computer game now available called Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator which has a faithful and pretty well-detailed Saturn V launch tower. Aerospace science and news YouTuber Scott Manley recently made a video tour out of it.

[Revell-Fan]

I am sure Mani is using a flock of fleas to transport all the parts from the factory to the building site. It will only be a matter of time till he reveals them to the public. And yes, all of them are certainly wearing NASA overalls which he himself has sewed for them.

AWESOME WORK, MY FRIEND!!!

[hectoli]

Amigo , que gran trabajo realmente es impresionante, no solo el nivel de detalle, también la calidad de las piezas reproducidas, felicitaciones.

[spacerunner]

Good Morning my friends,

now I have to figure out how to glue these fragile pneumatic lines (Ø 0,2 mm) to both side walls.

I have to bear in mind that they are attached to small support plates with clamps in various places, as you can see in the picture here if you look closely.


Source: NASA (STS-126)

In order to mark the attachment points on the pneumatic lines and then glue the support plates and clamps, I determined their distances, which you can see when you click on the image above.

That alone shows how crazy the idea of ​​wanting to scratch these details is. But at least I have a possible idea for it. And that consists of cutting out the plates with a bit of overhang from Evergreen Stripe (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm x 2,5 mm), which is certainly doable. The mounting clamps, however, are a real challenge, as they should only be about 0,2 mm wide and semicircular.

In a first test, I used a razor blade to cut thin slices from an insulating tube (Ø 0,5 mm) and then split them in half. However, these snippets are barely visible to the naked eye and difficult to handle even with the sharpest tweezers.



With a lot of patience and effort, it is quite possible to place these tiny snippets over the line and glue them in place, which proves that the solution is complicated but, with the appropriate effort, feasible in principle.



There are also photos of the Payload Canister with fewer attachments, but they are stacked on top of each other, as you can see in this image,


Source: NASA (STS-135)

which is why I will consider a modified, less complex solution.

The support plate overhang can then be shortened on both sides as needed.



Since cutting tiny narrow rings with a razor blade is not reproducible, I remembered my trusty RP Toolz cutter and, after adjusting it accordingly, cut off the rings from the insulating tubing,





and I threaded a small ring onto the thin wire, which is like milking mice.



Now that the lines are already bent,



I can't avoid cutting the rings in half with a razor blade.