| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 312.1 | | MONSTR::HUGHES | Walk like an Alien | Tue Jul 14 1987 23:58 | 19 |
| VAB = Vehicle Assembly Building.
It is an enormous structure built at Kennedy Space Center to assemble
Saturn 5 rockets in a vertical position. It could house two complete
Saturn 5's on their launcher/transporters.
It was also used for Saturn 1B's.
It is now used to assemble shuttles, on the same launcher/transporters
used for the Saturns (modified). It is part of launch complex 39.
I remember something about it being the largest building in the
world, by volume. It is 525' high, 600' long and 700' wide.
Similar smaller structures exist for Titans at LC40/41/42...
VIB = Vertical Integration Building
SMAB = Solid Motor Assembly Building
gary
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| 312.2 | Stormy weather? | VINO::DZIEDZIC | | Wed Jul 15 1987 11:46 | 7 |
| Speaking of size, it was often rumoured the building was so large
it actually developed "weather" inside. Not sure what they meant
by weather (rain? thunderstorms?) . . .
Anyway, the building is incredibly impressive close up. Hard to
imagine anyone building a structure that size.
|
| 312.3 | Rain, but no thunder | BCSE::WMSON | Illegitimi non carborundum | Wed Jul 15 1987 13:48 | 6 |
|
I was at the Cape during the time that the VAB was built and put
into use - and yes, until they got the air conditioning/air circulation
fine tuned it did rain on occasion, but I don't remember any reports
of thunder.
|
| 312.4 | VAB now second | SAUTER::SAUTER | John Sauter | Fri Jul 17 1987 09:21 | 4 |
| When I toured KSC the bus driver said that the VAB is now the second-
largest building. The largest is the building that Boeing uses
in Seattle to assemble 747s.
John Sauter
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| 312.5 | memories | ARMORY::CHARBONND | Noto, Ergo Sum | Wed Jul 22 1987 09:41 | 3 |
| I toured KSC in '71 and the VAB is HUGE. Hawks flying around
the top (nesting up there ?). Door 300 feet tall. The building
can be seen for miles, since the surrounding area is flat.
|
| 312.6 | KSC and VAB | CLT::JOYCE | Tom Joyce | Wed Jul 22 1987 10:06 | 4 |
| I was at KSC last December. The VAB is huge. So is all of LC39
and the "crawler" (mobile launch platform (?))
|
| 312.7 | VAB/2 | WIMPY::MOPPS | | Wed Jul 22 1987 14:11 | 8 |
| And do not ignore the parallel VAB used elseware in these notes,
Vandenburg Air Force Base (VAB)
So nothing is pure, not even mountain water.
;-)
|
| 312.8 | specs | ENGGSG::FLIS | | Thu Jul 30 1987 09:38 | 23 |
| The original name for the VAB was the Vertical Assembly Building
(at the time of the Saturn flights). This was because its main
function was to allow VERTICAL assembly of the Saturn. After the
Saturn missions were over, and other vehicles were to be built there,
the name became Vehicle Assembly Building.
Some stats on the VAB:
FLOOR AREA: 8 acres
HEIGHT: 525 ft
LENGTH: 716 ft
WIDTH: 518 ft
VOLUME: 129,428,000 cu ft
STEEL used: 98,590 tons
CONCRETE: 65,000 cu yd
PILING: 4,225 open-end steel pipe piles 16"
diameter, driven 160 ft to bedrock
AIR COND.: 10,000 tons, 125 ventilators
SIDING: 1,085,000 sq ft alu, 70,000 sq ft plastic
just for fun
jim
|
| 312.9 | More VAB Trivia | SSDEVO::FAVA | Tom Fava | Thu Sep 10 1987 16:14 | 35 |
| Based purely on memory from the KSC tour last month while
on vacation:
The 8 acre floor area is large enough that you could place
Yankee Stadium inside and still have 1/2 acre left over.
Also, the four tall doors (two each on opposite sides of
the building) each consist of seven independent segments,
each segment weighing 32 tons. Any given segment can be
opened independently of any other and to open the entire
door from bottom to top takes several hours to complete.
The stripes on the American flag on the side of the building
(painted there for the Bicentennial) are wide enough that the
tour bus could easily drive down one. I've forgotten how many
gallons of paint were used to paint the flag -- quite a few though.
Slightly off the original subject:
We spent a day there in August while vacationing in Orlando.
KSC has GOT to be the best bang-for-the-buck tourist place in
all of Florida. Our family of 5, including 2 teenagers, cost
$30.50, not counting lunch and souvenirs. We took one bus
tour and saw the IMAX film. Everything else is free. I'm
usually not much into art exhibits, but the shuttle-related
exhibit inside the IMAX theater lobby was probably one of the
most moving and emotional experiences I've had in a long time
-- unfortunately, they don't sell prints of any of the artwork.
However, as exciting as the day was there, I couldn't get
rid of the sense of sadness over the Challenger crew (there's
only one small poster describing a planned memorial fountain
intended to honor all astronauts killed in the line of duty).
Tom
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