![]() ![]() Several sections of the building were dedicated to specific training tasks-there was a life-sized SSRMS mock-up (the Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator System-the shuttle’s "arm"), for example, along with a number of other training setups. It featured the exact interior layout of an actual space shuttle, but the controls were inert and non-functional (with a few exceptions like the switches for cabin lighting).Īt the time of our tour, the SVMF featured a high-fidelity mock-up of the International Space Station and a Soyuz. The Crew Compartment Trainer II, which we toured, was such a mock-up. The mock-ups housed in the SVMF are usually "high fidelity," meaning that they closely resemble the actual vehicles and components that will be launched into space. The configuration of mock-ups in the SVMF changes with some regularity for various training tasks. Permanently mounted to ceiling rails inside the high-bay is a pair of enormous overhead cranes for moving equipment around. The T-shaped structure’s main feature is the SVMF high-bay itself, which is oriented northwest-southeast and capped at the southeast end by an enormous pair of sliding doors (used to install or remove mock-ups). The facility is located inside an enormous warehouse on the JSC campus. Click here to read more stories about this first ever C-130.Further Reading The audacious rescue plan that might have saved space shuttle Columbia Among the fleet of Spectres, the most beloved would always be the First Lady, resting at the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Was formed to continue securing launch operations in Florida, allowing the 919th to free their gunships for training sorties, keeping them combat ready. Against all odds, he used the infrared system to try to spot survivors.Īfter shuttle’s return to flight, a private venture called Air Scan When Space Shuttle Challenger was lost, the 919th used their AC-130 ships for search and rescue operations. Garretson himself participated in one such mission mere hours after the loss. ![]() The Spectre aircraft secured the first 25 space shuttle missions and the crew repeated this ritual every time. Once they heard, “Liftoff!”, the pilot would reef back on the controls, racing the shuttle upward, trying to keep the rocket in view through the windows as it accelerated into the blue. The cockpit of a Spectre is fairly roomy, holding a maximum of 6 people but during the terminal count, 10 crew members would pile inside the cockpit, all with their faces pressed as close as possible to the windscreen.Ĭrew members would listen as the familiar sounds of the countdown would play through the radio. Just before launch, the First Lady and her crew would fly to a holding point over Port Canaveral with their nose pointed toward the launch pad. Garretson couldn’t recall any security breaches, but considering the 40 mm Bofor cannons projecting out the side of the aircraft, this is not a surprise. Don Garretson, who flew aboard the First Lady as a Forward Looking Infrared Operator, tells one of her best stories.ĭuring the golden age of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, the 919th Special Operations Group used the First Lady and other AC-130 Spectre aircraft to patrol Kennedy Space Center’s beach during the hours leading up to a launch. She was the first C-130 off the production line and became combat hardened in Vietnam as the first to be converted to the AC-130 gunship. The cockpit of the First Lady contains volumes of history. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |