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Backdropped against the blue and white Earth, Mission Specialist (MS) and Payload Commander (PLC) G. David Low and (MS) Peter J.K. Wisoff, wearing Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), simulate handling of large components in space during the STS-57 mission. Above Endeavour's Payload Bay (PLB), Low, anchored by a Portable Foot Restraint (PFR) Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR) on the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) end effector, maneuvers Wisoff, representing the mass of a large space component. This particular task was rehearsed with eyes toward the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) or the assembly and maintenance of Space Station. This Extravehicular Activity (EVA), Detailed Test Objective (DTO) was conducted both with and without intentional disturbances from Endeavour's thrusters and movements of the RMS. The SPACEHAB-01 Commercial Middeck Augmentation Module (CMAM)) is visible in the foreground with the Superfluid Helium On Orbit Transfer (SHOOT) payload liquid helium dewar assembly and the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) only partially visible in the aft PLB shadows. The vertical stabilizer and Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods are silhouetted against the Earth's surface.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: STS057-89-021
Date: June 25, 1993
“SPACE SHUTTLE---will be a manned reusable space vehicle which will carry out various space missions in Earth orbit. It will consist of two stages. The first stage booster will be an unmanned liquid- or solid-fueled rocket. The second stage orbiter will look like a delta-winged airplane and will be piloted by two men who will fly it back to Earth for an airplane-like landing. On the launch pad the orbiter will be mounted to the booster, which will launch the orbiter to an altitude of about 55 to 65 kilometers (approximately 35 to 40 miles). The orbiter with its payload and crew will detach and continue into Earth orbit for missions lasting about seven days, or possibly as long as 30 days. The man-operated space shuttle orbiter will deploy in Earth orbit all types of scientific and applications satellites weighing up to 29,500 kilograms (65,000 pounds) and thereby replace most of the expendable launch vehicles currently used.”
Note the generic ‘Space Transportation System’ logo in the upper left-hand corner. Possibly an earlier Phase B configuration/design? Or maybe, they just grabbed whoever was nearest the water cooler, gave him a crayon & told him to "draw an airplane". Whatever it is, it doesn’t represent what’s depicted in the image. And God only knows what landmass & lakes possibly...are depicted on the earth? below.
Very nice unidentified artwork. Possibly by Manuel E. Alvarez? Although the depiction of the earth’s limb doesn’t, the clouds suggest such...I think. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
“Not only will the shuttle be able to deliver payloads into orbit, but will also retrieve satellites and return them to earth for repair or modification. It is not hard to imagine the huge savings in satellite costs that will be realized with the space shuttle, Grumman Corporation experts say. Redundant satellite systems and costly ground checkouts will be drastically reduced, they say. Satellites that are now lost when components malfunction will be repaired in space.”
The above is per the press slug/caption of a black & white version of the image.
A beautiful & striking depiction of Grumman Aerospace Corporation’s (GAC) “Design 619” orbiter at work. Of note is the lack of the deployable Air Breathing Propulsion System (ABPS). Per the GAC diagram at the website linked to below, the bullets of the ABPS callouts are noteworthy, specifically the use of the term ‘module’:
- 4 Pratt & Whitney JTF22A-2 engines
- Common installation for mission, ferry, & flight test
- Payload bay-stowed in pressurized module – no space proofing
- ABPS module forward bulkhead
Modules/modularization inherently implies exchangeability & interchangeability. Obviously then, for a satellite servicing mission, the ABPS module has been removed, providing additional payload bay capacity.
What's really funky is that the aft edge/side of the payload bay doors cut across the vertical stabilizer, with the entirety of that chunk being part of the starboard door. You can see it jutting out. How bizarre. I'm sure that's NOT artistic license. I wonder what the rationale for it was?
However, if the doors absolutely HAD to cut across the stabilizer, such a design probably does provide a more secure seal that's less susceptible to being breeched during ascent/reentry. But, couldn’t the doors just have been notched to accommodate the base of the stabilizer? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Wonderful artwork by GAC’s resident & immensely talented artist, Craig Kavafes.
The above information & other excellent Design 619 images, with other pertinent observations, at:
www.aerospaceprojectsreview.com/blog/?s=Grumman+619&s...
Credit: Aerospace Projects Review website
Excellent additional information:
“June 1, 1972:
Given that NASA had dictated in great detail the final design, the contractors' proposals differed only in detail. Grumman's orbiter had a 747-type hump-backed configuration, while Lockheed's featured a double-deck crew space. McDonnell-Douglas proposed an alternate auxiliary liquid propellant rocket motor for aborts in place of the mandated Abort Solid Rocket Motors. North American Rockwell's design featured a rounded double-delta wing. All contractors struggled with thermal protection system issues. Ablative materials were lighter, but the bad experience with the use of spray-on ablator on the X-15A-2 made such a solution for an operational vehicle problematic.”
At/from:
www.astronautix.com/s/shuttle.html
Credit: Astronautix website
PACIFIC OCEAN Oct. 19, 2020 - An unmanned aerial vehicle delivers a payload to the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN 730) around the Hawaiian Islands. Underway replenishment sustains the fleet anywhere/anytime. This event was designed to test and evaluate the tactics, techniques, and procedures of U.S. Strategic Command's expeditionary logistics and enhance the overall readiness of our strategic forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Devin M. Langer) 201019-N-LI768-1111
** Interested in following U.S. Indo-Pacific Command? Engage and connect with us at www.facebook.com/indopacom | twitter.com/INDOPACOM |
www.instagram.com/indopacom | www.flickr.com/photos/us-pacific-command; | www.youtube.com/user/USPacificCommand | www.pacom.mil/ **
Blue Ghost Mission 1 science operations have begun!
Shortly after landing on the Moon on March 2, Firefly Aerospace and NASA teams kicked off surface operations for the instruments on the company’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
That included deploying the Lunar PlanetVac (LPV), which was developed to efficiently collect and transfer lunar soil from the Moon to other science instruments or sample return containers without relying on gravity.
The innovative approach to sample collection and in situ testing could prove to be a game-changer, said Dennis Harris, who manages the LPV payload for the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
In this video, the lunar “vacuum cleaner” can be seen spreading lunar soil and rocks flying across the lunar surface as a burst of air from the pneumatic, compressed gas-powered sample acquisition and delivery system initiates.
Check out our Artemis blog for more updates on #BGM1!
Video Credit: Firefly Aerospace
#NASAMarshall #NASA #NASA #moon #CLPS #CommercialLunarPayloadServices #Lander #LunarLander
Read more about irefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1
Read more about NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services)
This week in 1965, the first Saturn launch vehicle carrying an operational payload launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. SA-9, a Saturn I Block II launch vehicle and the eighth Saturn flight, delivered the first of three Pegasus meteoroid detection satellites into near-Earth orbit. The satellites, developed and managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, electronically recorded the size and frequency of particles in space and compared the performance of protected and unprotected solar cells -- results that informed future Apollo flights to the moon. In this image, technicians inspect the satellite's 96-foot wingspan before launch. The Saturn I launch vehicle was built at Marshall's Fabrication and Assembly Engineering Division. Marshall also designed, developed and managed the production of the Saturn V rocket that took astronauts to the moon.
Today, Marshall is developing NASA's Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built that will be capable of sending astronauts deeper into space than ever before, including to an asteroid and Mars.
For more fun throwbacks, check out Marshall's History Album by clicking here.
Models “Truck T13” Scania 143M Torpedo 6x4 in Australian style & “Trailer Tr9 MkII” Elphinstone Easysteer PBS Payloader log trailer with self steering suspension are both build with genuine LEGO® and motorized using LEGO® Power Functions. Both are in scale: 1:17,5.
The truck features: solid axle suspension on all axles of which the rear axle uses tandem bogie suspension, PF powered driving with power transmitted independently to both rear axles, Ackerman geometry on steering axle, Servo powered steering, fully functional fifth wheel, fifth wheel slider, detailed engine bay, modeled Scania V8 engine, detailed cabin interior and 3 light units.
Length: 444 mm
Weight: 2,21kg
Parts: 2790
Given the fact it has a hood or bonnet, so it is not a COE (cab over engine) truck, it is referred to as a torpedo. For this the manufacturer gave it a prefix as well, a T. At that time the 3 series T came in a range of different engine sizes and horsepower. Starting with a 9.0 liter engine with 230 horsepower all the way up to a massive 14 liter V8 engine with 500 horsepower. Being available with either a 9, 11, or 14 liter engine truck models were denoted 93, 113, or 143.
The trailer features solid axle suspension on all axles plus a self steering mechanism, a kingpin, remotely controlled landing gear and parking break, remotely operated lock to enable easy reversing, Power Functions lights and many details.
Length: 749 mm
Weight: 1,23kg
Parts: 1560
To connect and disconnect this semi-trailer to or from a semi-truck it has a landing gear. The trailer's front end can be raised or lowered to make it aligned with the tractor's fifth wheel. With the landing gear down the parking brake is engaged. Lifting the landing gear the parking break will be released.
It is impossible to back this trailer up so it has a steering lock mechanism. This mechanism locks the self steering suspension of the trailer so the axles are fixed. With this you are able to back the trailer up without the self steering suspension.
On 24 March 2022, ESA came one step closer to unveiling the mysteries of the dark Universe, following the coming together of two key parts of the Euclid spacecraft – the instrument-carrying payload module and the supporting service module.
This image shows the 800-kilogram payload module being lifted by a crane, just before it was lowered onto the service module.
Euclid’s instruments were integrated onto the payload module at the end of 2020. During 2021, the complete module successfully passed intensive testing under simulated space conditions to check that the telescope and instruments work as expected.
Read more about the coming together of the two modules here.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
Engineers perform mass properties testing on NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover inside Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on April 7, 2020. The rover was rotated clockwise and counterclockwise on a spin table to determine the center of gravity, or the point at which weight is evenly dispersed on all sides. Establishing the rover’s center of gravity will help ensure the spacecraft will land on Mars as calculated. Perseverance will touch down on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted between July 17 and Aug. 5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Photo credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
OPALS: Light Beams Let Data Rates Soar
You may know opals as fiery gemstones, but something special called OPALS is floating above us in space. On the International Space Station, the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) is demonstrating how laser communications can speed up the flow of information between Earth and space, compared to radio signals.
Read full article:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/opals_data_rates_soar/
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Following a successful test campaign in Europe, the structural thermal model of the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (Smile)’s payload module will soon be delivered to China to complete the qualification of the satellite.
Smile is a joint mission between ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and will aim to build a more complete understanding of the Sun-Earth connection by measuring the solar wind and its dynamic interaction with the magnetosphere.
The payload module recently completed thermal testing and a deployment test of the magnetometer instrument boom at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands. The module then returned to Airbus in Spain for mechanical testing, completing the environmental test campaign phase that lasted three months.
Integration onto the Chinese platform is expected to begin in early April. Once the complete satellite is finished, it will undergo a comprehensive five month long qualification test campaign including thermal, mechanical, electromagnetic compatibility testing, and magnetic, deployment and functional tests at system level.
Credits: Airbus
The Vega-C Payload Assembly Composite (PAC) with LARES-2 has been placed onto the Upper Composite Transport Platform (PFRCS PlatForme Routière Composite Supérieur) on 5 July 2022 at Europe's Space Port in Kourou, French Guiana.
On the wave of Vega’s success, Member States at the ESA Ministerial meeting in December 2014 agreed to develop the more powerful Vega-C to respond to an evolving market and to long-term institutional needs.
Vega-C increases performance from Vega’s current 1.5 t to about 2.2 t in a reference 700 km polar orbit, covering identified European institutional users’ mission needs, with no increase in launch service and operating costs.
The participating states in this development are: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Credits: ESA-Manuel Pedoussaut
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are targeting 8:22 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 10, for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4.
We welcomed the Ax-4 crew to #NASAMarshall in March to participate in training at our Payload Operations Integration Center. This visit allowed the crew to get familiar with the team on the ground who will be supporting their science operations during their mission, and to learn how that process is conducted.
Photo Credit: AxiomSpace
#NASA #InternationalSpaceStation #ISS #Launch #Astronauts #SpaceStation #science #AxiomSpace #AstronautTraining
Live coverage of Ax-4 launch and arrival activities will stream on NASA+
The german Armed Forces did ordered 4000 Trucks with the Payload System " Wechsellader " by RMMV. the Vehicles will be manufactored by RMMV at Vienna. The first vehicles will be delivered in 2021, the last in 2027 . here a prototyp of these new Vehicle Generation
I ran into lengendary aviator, Ray Atkins, fixing potholes on his driveway just off the Denali Highway in Cantwell, Alaska. "This tractor is older than I am!" said Ray after telling me that it was a 1935 Payloader.
Inside SpaceX’s Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, both halves of the Falcon 9 rocket’s protective payload fairing move toward NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft on Nov. 16, 2021. The payload fairing, with the spacecraft securely inside, will be attached to the top of the Falcon 9 and will protect the spacecraft during launch and ascent. DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than 1:21 a.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 24 (10:21 p.m. PST Tuesday, Nov. 23), from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 41. NASA's Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, America's multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch. Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
Aircraft Office teams prepare the C-130 aircraft for departure at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The aircraft will deliver the agency’s Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) payload to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The GUSTO mission will launch on a scientific balloon in December 2023.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Orbital Sciences team members move the second half of the payload fairing before it is placed over NASA's IRIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph) spacecraft. The fairing connects to the nose of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket that will lift the solar observatory into orbit. The work is taking place in a hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, where IRIS is being prepared for launch on a Pegasus XL rocket.
Scheduled for launch from Vandenberg on June 26, 2013, IRIS will open a new window of discovery by tracing the flow of energy and plasma through the chromospheres and transition region into the sun's corona using spectrometry and imaging. IRIS fills a crucial gap in our ability to advance studies of the sun-to-Earth connection by tracing the flow of energy and plasma through the foundation of the corona and the region around the sun known as the heliosphere.
High res file available here: 1.usa.gov/11yal3w
Photo Credit: NASA/Tony Vauclin
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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The Eutelsat-9B satellite with its EDRS-A payload is shown in the anechoic test chamber of Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, France, having completed its final antenna pattern tests today.
EDRS-A is a hosted package as the first of two nodes of the European Data Relay System set to be launched next year.
Also known as Europe’s SpaceDataHighway, EDRS will use cutting-edge laser technology to capture and relay information gathered by Earth-observing satellites. By travelling via EDRS’s high-speed links and stationary position over Europe, the satellites’ data reach the ground in near-real time.
While EDRS-A’s Laser Communication Terminal is being checked for flight, the terminals on Copernicus’ Sentinel-1A and Alphasat telecom satellite are already fully operational in space, ready to demonstrate their ground-breaking capabilities for multi-gigabit optical communications in space.
On Friday, 28 November the first Earth observation image gathered by Sentinel-1A and relayed to a ground station at the DLR German Aerospace Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, via Alphasat will be presented at an event at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
Credit: Airbus Defence and Space SAS 2014
The IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, installed on its payload adapter, is being prepared for launch, at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 28 January 2015.
IXV will be launched 320 km into space on top of a Vega rocket, VV04, climbing up to 420 km before beginning a long glide back through the atmosphere. In the process, IXV will gather data on reentry conditions to help guide the design of future spaceplanes.
More about IXV: www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/IXV
Connect with IXV on Twitter: twitter.com/esa_ixv
Credit: ESA–M. Pedoussaut, 2015
ENGLISH:
Scratch built roll-off flat bed and truck with cargo underneath canvas. Payload 15t.
The canvas is made from a painted chocolate kiss aluminium paper.
More dioramas and models in scale 1/87 (H0) in:
www.flickr.com/photos/cosmosminimus/albums
ESPAÑOL:
Camión con cama plana rodante con carga debajo de la lona. Construido con diferente partes. Carga útil 15t.
La lona está hecho de un papel de aluminio (de beso de chocolate) pintado.
Más dioramas y maquetas en escala 1/87 (H0):
www.flickr.com/photos/cosmosminimus/albums
DEUTSCH:
Zusammengebastelter Abrollbehälterlastwagen (Hackengerät) mit Ladung unter Blache (Plane). Nutzlast 15t.
Die Blache ist aus einem bemalten Aluminiumpapier eines Mohrenkopfs gemacht.
Weitere Dioramen und Modelle im Massstab 1:87 (H0):
The Delta II rocket with it's Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft payload is seen as the service structure is rolled back on Thursday, June 9, 2011, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The joint U.S./Argentinian Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D mission, launched on June 10, to map the salinity at the ocean surface, information critical to improving our understanding of two major components of Earth's climate system: the water cycle and ocean circulation. The mission ended ended on June 8, 2015, when an essential part of the power and attitude control system for the SAC-D spacecraft, which carries NASA's Aquarius instrument, stopped operating.
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Image Number: 201106090001HQ
Date: June 9, 2011
Inside SpaceX's Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, both halves of the Falcon 9 rocket's protective payload fairing move toward NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft on Nov. 16, 2021. The payload fairing, with the spacecraft securely inside, will be attached to the top of the Falcon 9 and will protect the spacecraft during launch and ascent. DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than 1:21 a.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 24 (10:21 p.m. PST Tuesday, Nov. 23), from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 41. NASA's Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, America's multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch. Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
The payload module of MetOp-C, Europe’s latest weather satellite, is in place at ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands for rigorous testing in space-like conditions.
MetOp is a set of three polar-orbiting satellites whose temperature and humidity observations from a relatively close 800 km-altitude orbit have sharpened the accuracy of weather forecasting.
Procured by ESA for Eumetsat, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, MetOp-A was launched in 2006 and MetOp-B in 2012, with MetOp-C due to follow next year.
MetOp-C’s sensor module was transported in the first week of January from Airbus Defence and Space in Friedrichshafen, Germany to ESA’s Test Centre in Noordwijk in the Netherlands, which is equipped to simulate every aspect of the space environment.
The 2.1 tonne module carries a suite of meteorology and climatology instruments, variously procured by ESA or sourced from Eumetsat, France’s CNES space agency and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The operation of the payload module and its instruments needs to be verified in space-like vacuum conditions,” explains Jacques Mauduit of European Test Services, the company operating the centre for ESA.
“This ‘thermal vacuum’ testing will take place in the Large Space Simulator this spring, with cryogenically cooled ‘blackbodies’ fitted in front of individual instrument openings or radiators to control their temperatures to within 100–30ºC of absolute zero.”
The set-up for this complex test was verified last autumn.
Once testing is complete, MetOp-C’s payload module will travel to the Airbus Defence and Space facility in Toulouse, France, to be integrated with its service module – the segment of the satellite providing attitude and orbit control, electrical power and communications, and hosting the main computer.
The launch of MetOp-C by Soyuz from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana is scheduled for October 2018.
Credit: ESA/ETS – A Kuebler
I attended the "Antique Flywheel Engine & Tractor Show" sponsored by the "Florida Flywheeler's Antique Engine Club" located at 7000 Avon Park Cutoff Road, Fort Mead, FL 33841 on Friday February 21, 2020.
This Photograph shows a Bulldozer at the Antique Flywheel and Tractor Show, Fort Meade, Florida. Apparently it was Donated to the Florida Flywheeler's Antique Engine Club by James Paty of St. Cloud, Florida. There is also another photograph of this Payloader (BUT) from the other side at:
www.flickr.com/photos/aem-7_alp-44/49735945572/in/Photost...
m.yamnitz provided some additional information as follows:
It's a Hough H30B Payloader, made by the old International Harvester Co.
For a Photograph of an OEM Payloader, see:
www.bigiron.com/Lots/1972InternationalHoughH30B4WDWheelLo...
Several other shows/exhibitions were as follows: Functioning Sawmill Demonstrations, Running 1914 400 HP Snow Making Machine Demonstration, Antique Construction Equipment Demonstrations, Model-T Put-Together Demonstration, Daily Antique Tractor Pulls, Kids Pedal Tractor Pulls on Friday & Saturday, Daily Antique Car Parade, Daily Antique Tractor Parade, Florida Flywheeler Antique Engine Club Gift Shop Opened, Huge Flea Market & the Antique Village (was opened) to Wander Through.
This Place is HUGE ! - - One of the attendants told me it is approx 480 ACRES !
What's inside the Moon? 🤔
NASA's Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) instrument, one of 10 NASA payloads aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 lander, has commenced lunar operations to shed light on the differentiation and thermal history of the Moon.
At the beginning of this video, the LMS instrument ejects one of its cable-trailing electrodes onto the lunar surface, reaching a distance up to 60 feet. The instrument will measure voltages across opposite pairs of electrodes, much like the probes of a conventional voltmeter. The video also shows the moment the magnetometer is deployed via an extendable mast. The magnetotelluric method reveals a vertical profile of the electrical conductivity, providing insight into the temperature and composition of the penetrated materials in the lunar interior.
These instruments will allow NASA and its partners to study the deep interior of the Moon to depths of up to 700 miles, two-thirds of the way to the lunar center.
Credit: Video courtesy Firefly Aerospace
#NASAMarshall #NASA #NASA #moon #CLPS #CommercialLunarPayloadServices #Lander #LunarLander #BlueGhost
Read more about irefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1
Read more about NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services)
Mission Specialist Takao Doi conducts the second Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on mission STS-87. He waves at crew members inside Columbia from the aft Payload Bay windows.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: STS087-375-009
Date: December 3, 1997
The bomb cart from TF2. It is an interesting and fun gametype in which the Blue team tries to push the bomb cart to checkpoints and an eventual target while Red team defends and attempts to halt the blue team from completing it's objectives.
Questions and comments are welcome, instructions can be provided if need be.
Also, this is my 100th picture. Woo.
The payload module of MetOp-C, Europe’s latest weather satellite, being lowered into Europe’s largest vacuum chamber, the 10 m-diameter Large Space Simulator.
The LSS is part of ESA’s Test Centre in the Netherlands, the largest facility of its kind in Europe, providing a complete suite of equipment for all aspects of satellite testing under a single roof.
MetOp-C’s MetOp-C’s instruments must be tested in space-like vacuum conditions. High-performance pumps will remove all air within the chamber to create an orbital-quality vacuum. Meanwhile, liquid nitrogen will circulate through the black walls to mimic the cold of sunless space.
MetOp is a set of three polar-orbiting satellites whose temperature and humidity observations from a relatively close 800 km-altitude orbit have sharpened the accuracy of weather forecasting.
Procured by ESA for Eumetsat, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, MetOp-A was launched in 2006 and MetOp-B in 2012, with MetOp-C due to follow next year.
The 2.1 tonne module carries a suite of meteorology and climatology instruments, variously procured by ESA or sourced from Eumetsat, France’s CNES space agency and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Once testing is complete, MetOp-C’s payload module will travel to the Airbus Defence and Space facility in Toulouse, France, to be integrated with its service module – the segment of the satellite providing attitude and orbit control, electrical power and communications, and hosting the main computer.
The launch of MetOp-C by Soyuz from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana is scheduled for October 2018.
Credit: ESA–G. Porter, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
NASA’s science and technology instruments aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 are a step closer to the Moon. After almost two weeks in Earth orbit, Firefly announced Thursday that Blue Ghost successfully completed its second engine burn, placing the lander in the correct position to leave Earth’s orbit and continue its journey to the Moon. At the same time, the spacecraft got its first glimpse of the Moon from Earth’s orbit.
Here is an image taken from the top deck of Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander of the Moon in the distance.
Credit: Firefly Aerospace
#NASAMarshall #NASA #NASA #moon #CLPS #CommercialLunarPayloadServices #Lander #LunarLander
Read more about NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services)
Power 25hp, empty weight 1.5t, payload 1.5t, speed 35km/h.
Manufactured in 1912 by the Süddeutsche Automobil Fabrik.
A model by Märklin in gauge H0 (scale 1/87) that I embellished. I made the fuel tanks in the background out of yogurt cups.
Avia was founded in Switzerland in 1927 as a purchasing group. Today, Avia is one of the largest petrol station brands in Switzerland with around 600 petrol stations. In France, Avia is the third largest petrol station brand. Avia operates around 3,100 petrol stations in 15 European countries.
Other interesting representations in 1/87 scale:
This is the real thing (not a model), the original, full size in a new facility that they've built at Kennedy Space Center in honor of the Shuttle Program. You first watch a movie of its history, the doors open... and there it is, indoors, all lit up and suspended in air in front of you at a 43.21 degree angle. Amazing closeup experience!
Atlantis was the fourth operational (and the next-to-the-last) Space Shuttle to be constructed by the Rockwell International Co. in Southern California, and it was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis was named after RV Atlantis, a two-masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966.
The last mission of Atlantis was the last flight of the Shuttle program. This final flight, authorized in October 2010, brought additional supplies to the International Space Station and took advantage of the processing performed for the Launch on Need mission, which would only have been flown in the event that Endeavour's crew required rescue. Atlantis launched successfully for the final time on July 8th, 2011 at 16:29 UTC, landing at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on July 21st, 2011 at 09:57 UTC. By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 miles in space or more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
At Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Space Shuttle Atlantis is the new $100 million home of the priceless, historic spacecraft that tells the incredible story of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program. The 90,000 square-foot Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction is the marquee element of the Visitor Complex’s 10-year master plan. The Visitor Complex displays Atlantis suspended with its payload bay doors opened (above) such that it appears to be back in orbit around the Earth. A multi-story digital projection of Earth rotates behind the orbiter in a 64,000-square-foot indoor facility. Ground breaking of the facility occurred in 2012. The exhibit opened on June 29th, 2013.
[Interesting note: Atlantis is suspended in its new facility with cargo bay doors open at a 43.21 degree angle. Get it? 4-3-2-1 Liftoff!]
(seven more photos in the comments)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Atlantis
www.kennedyspacecenter.com/the-experience/atlantis-shuttl...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_Assembly_Building
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center_Launch_Complex_39
“ARTIST’S RENDERING shows applications of expandable structures in space proposed by Aeronutronic Division of Ford Motor Company, Newport Beach, Calif. Structure already in orbit (top) has been expanded to provide laboratory area for space experimentation. The hard-core, command center in front could detach from structure and return to earth once the space laboratory is functioning. Boost configuration at right prepares to rendezvous. Configuration at bottom is going into orbit.”
The above is from the affixed Aeronutronic Division caption on the verso. I’d like to think it’s not a blunder befitting NASA caption writers. If not, maybe this work was part of a presentation or portfolio of renderings referenced above, with the last sentence possibly pertaining to this image. And if so, I would’ve loved to have seen the others…this is beautiful, with the detail & sun glint off the hardware all over the place…even the engine nozzle. Like what project/proposal was it associated with?
If not, then it’s a UI rocket jettisoning it’s payload shroud & fairings in preparation for deployment of the UI payload/satellite.
Or is it a Scout launch vehicle of some sort? The RM-92 Air Force Scout was a Ford Aeronutronic thing, but this sure doesn’t look like it. The payload probably isn’t representative of such either. So…¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Unfortunately, there’s no signature visible.
NASA’s Artemis I Orion capsule is secured on a platform inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 6, 2023. Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:40 p.m. EST on Dec. 11, 2022. The spacecraft was secured inside the well deck of the USS Portland for the voyage to U.S. Naval Base Sand Diego, arriving on Dec. 13, 2022. Orion was offloaded and transported back to Kennedy for deservicing inside the MPPF. Orion launched atop the Space Launch System rocket on Nov. 16, 2022 at 1:47 a.m. EST from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B for a 25-day trip beyond the Moon and back. During the flight, Orion flew farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown, paving the way for human deep space exploration and demonstrating NASA’s commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission moves closer to launch as technicians worked on Wednesday, Sept. 11, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility to prepare the spacecraft for upcoming propellant loading at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The spacecraft will explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which is considered one of the most promising habitable environments in the solar system. The mission will research whether Europa’s subsurface ocean could hold the conditions necessary for life. Europa could have all the “ingredients” for life as we know it: water, organics, and chemical energy.
Europa Clipper’s launch period opens on Thursday, Oct. 10. It will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. The spacecraft then will embark on a journey of nearly six years and 1.8 billion miles before reaching Jupiter’s orbit in 2030.
In this image, technicians work to complete operations before propellant load occurs ahead of launch for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2024.
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
#NASA #MarshallSpaceFlightCenter #MSFC #Marshall #jpl #nasamarshall #juno #nasajuno #Europa #EuropaClipper
The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US) or Camper (UK), is a forward control panel van introduced in 1950 by the German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model. Following – and initially deriving from Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle) – it was given the factory designation Type 2.
As one of the forerunners of the modern cargo and passenger vans, the Type 2 gave rise to forward control competitors in the United States in the 1960s, including the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Chevrolet Corvair 95 Corvan, the latter adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration.
European competition included the 1947-1981 Citroën H Van, the 1959-1980 Renault Estafette (both FF layout), and the 1953-1965 FR layout Ford Transit.
Japanese manufacturers also introduced the platform in different configurations, such as the Nissan Caravan, Toyota LiteAce and the Subaru Sambar.
Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including the "microbus", "minibus", and, because of its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, Hippie van/wagon, and still remains iconic for many hippies today.
Brazil contained the last factory in the world that produced the T2. Production in Brazil ceased on December 31, 2013, due to the introduction of more stringent safety regulations in the country. This marks the end of an era with the rear-engine Volkswagens manufactured (after the 2002 termination of its T3 successor in South Africa), which originated in 1935 with their Type 1 prototypes.
HISTORY
The concept for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. (It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production.) Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to the Netherlands, where he saw an improvised parts-mover and realized something better was possible using the stock Type 1 pan. He first sketched the van in a doodle dated April 23, 1947, proposing a payload of 690 kg and placing the driver at the very front. Production would have to wait, however, as the factory was at capacity producing the Type 1.
When capacity freed up, a prototype known internally as the Type 29 was produced in a short three months. The stock Type 1 pan proved to be too weak so the prototype used a ladder chassis with unit body construction. Coincidentally the wheelbase was the same as the Type 1's. Engineers reused the reduction gear from the Type 81, enabling the 1.5 ton van to use a 25 hp (19 kW) flat four engine.
Although the aerodynamics of the first prototypes were poor (with an initial drag coefficient of Cd=0.75), engineers used the wind tunnel at the Technical University of Braunschweig to optimize the design. Simple changes such as splitting the windshield and roofline into a "vee" helped the production Type 2 achieve Cd=0.44, exceeding the Type 1's Cd=0.48. Volkswagen's new chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff (appointed 1 January 1948) approved the van for production on 19 May 1949 and the first production model, now designated Type 2, rolled off the assembly line to debut 12 November. Only two models were offered: the Kombi (with two side windows and middle and rear seats that were easily removable by one person), and the Commercial. The Microbus was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In all 9,541 Type 2s were produced in their first year of production.
An ambulance model was added in December 1951 which repositioned the fuel tank in front of the transaxle, put the spare tire behind the front seat, and added a "tailgate"-style rear door. These features became standard on the Type 2 from 1955 to 1967. 11,805 Type 2s were built in the 1951 model year. These were joined by a single-cab pickup in August 1952, and it changed the least of the Type 2s until all were heavily modified in 1968.
Unlike other rear engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations retrospectively referred to as versions "T1" to "T5" (a nomenclature only invented after the introduction of the front-drive T4 which replaced the T25). However, only generations T1 to T3 (or T25 as it is still called in Ireland and Great Britain) can be seen as directly related to the Beetle (see below for details).
The Type 2, along with the 1947 Citroën H Van, are among the first 'forward control' vans in which the driver was placed above the front roadwheels. They started a trend in Europe, where the 1952 GM Bedford CA, 1958 RAF-977, 1959 Renault Estafette, 1960 BMC Morris J4, and 1960 Commer FC also used the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's horizontally opposed, air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and various 1950s–70s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which could not easily be loaded from the rear because the engine cover intruded on interior space, but generally advantageous in traction and interior noise.
VARIANTS
The Type 2 was available as a:
Panel van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats.
Double-door Panel Van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides.
High Roof Panel Van (German: Hochdach), a delivery van with raised roof.
Kombi, from German: Kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined.
Bus, also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars since the third generation.
Lotação (share-taxi), a version exclusive to Brazil, with 6 front-hinged doors for the passenger area and 4 bench-seats, catering to the supplemental public transport segment.[citation needed] Available from 1960 to 1989, in both the split-window and "clipper" (fitted with the bay-window front panel) bodystyles.
Samba-Bus, a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps.
Flatbed pickup truck, or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed.
Crew cab pick-up, a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from German: Doppelkabine.
Westfalia camping van, "Westy", with Westfalia roof and interior. Included optional "pop up" top.
Adventurewagen camping van, with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen.
Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. "Multivan" or "Weekender", available from the third generation on.
Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia. There were even 30 Klv 20 rail-going draisines built for Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1955.
In South Africa, it is known as a well-loved variation of the ice cream van (first, second and third generations). The mere sight of one (in South Africa) sparks the familiar rhyme: I scream, We scream, We all scream for Ice-Cream!
FIRST GENERATION (T1; 1950–1967)
The first generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 with the split windshield, informally called the Microbus, Splitscreen, or Splittie among modern fans, was produced from 8 March 1950 through the end of the 1967 model year. From 1950 to 1956, the T1 (not called that at the time) was built in Wolfsburg; from 1956, it was built at the completely new Transporter factory in Hanover. Like the Beetle, the first Transporters used the 1100 Volkswagen air-cooled engine, an 1,131 cc, DIN-rated 18 kW (24 PS; 24 bhp), air-cooled flat-four-cylinder 'boxer' engine mounted in the rear. This was upgraded to the 1200 – an 1,192 cc 22 kW (30 PS; 30 bhp) in 1953. A higher compression ratio became standard in 1955; while an unusual early version of the 30 kW (41 PS; 40 bhp) engine debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in 1959. This engine proved to be so uncharacteristically troublesome that Volkswagen recalled all 1959 Transporters and replaced the engines with an updated version of the 30 kW engine. Any 1959 models that retain that early engine today are true survivors. Since the engine was totally discontinued at the outset, no parts were ever made available.
The early versions of the T1 until 1955 were often called the "Barndoor" (retrospectively called T1a since the 1990s), owing to the enormous rear engine cover, while the later versions with a slightly modified body (the roofline above the windshield is extended), smaller engine bay, and 15" roadwheels instead of the original 16" ones are nowadays called the T1b (again, only called this since the 1990s, based on VW's retrospective T1,2,3,4 etc. naming system.). From the 1964 model year, when the rear door was made wider (same as on the bay-window or T2), the vehicle could be referred to as the T1c. 1964 also saw the introduction of an optional sliding door for the passenger/cargo area instead of the outwardly hinged doors typical of cargo vans.
In 1962, a heavy-duty Transporter was introduced as a factory option. It featured a cargo capacity of 1,000 kg instead of the previous 750 kg, smaller but wider 14" roadwheels, and a 1.5 Le, 31 kW (42 PS; 42 bhp) DIN engine. This was so successful that only a year later, the 750 kg, 1.2 L Transporter was discontinued. The 1963 model year introduced the 1500 engine – 1,493 cc as standard equipment to the US market at 38 kW (52 PS; 51 bhp) DIN with an 83 mm bore, 69 mm (2.72 in) stroke, and 7.8:1 compression ratio. When the Beetle received the 1.5 L engine for the 1967 model year, its power was increased to 40 kW (54 PS; 54 bhp) DIN.
German production stopped after the 1967 model year; however, the T1 still was made in Brazil until 1975, when it was modified with a 1968–79 T2-style front end, and big 1972-vintage taillights into the so-called "T1.5" and produced until 1996. The Brazilian T1s were not identical to the last German models (the T1.5 was locally produced in Brazil using the 1950s and 1960s-era stamping dies to cut down on retooling, alongside the Beetle/Fusca, where the pre-1965 body style was retained), though they sported some characteristic features of the T1a, such as the cargo doors and five-stud 205 mm Pitch Circle Diameter rims. Wheel tracks varied between German and Brazilian production and with 14-inch, 15-inch and 16-inch wheel variants but commonly front track varied from 1290 mm to 1310 mm and rear track from 1370 mm to 1390 mm.
Among American enthusiasts, it is common to refer to the different models by the number of their windows. The basic Kombi or Bus is the 11-window (a.k.a. three-window bus because of three side windows) with a split windshield, two front cabin door windows, six rear side windows, and one rear window. The DeLuxe model featured eight rear side windows and two rear corner windows, making it the 15-window (not available in Europe). Meanwhile, the sunroof DeLuxe with its additional eight small skylight windows is, accordingly, the 23-window. From the 1964 model year, with its wider rear door, the rear corner windows were discontinued, making the latter two the 13-window and 21-window respectively. The 23- and later 21-window variants each carry the nickname 'Samba', or in Australia, officially 'Alpine'.
SAMBA
The Volkswagen Samba, in the United States also known as Sunroof Deluxe, was the most luxurious version of the T1. Volkswagen started producing Sambas in 1951.
Originally Volkswagen Vans were classified according to the number of windows they had. This particular model had 23 and later 21 windows including eight panoramic windows in the roof. To distinguish it from the normal 23 or 21-window Volkswagen van the name Samba was coined.
Instead of a sliding door at the side the Samba had two pivot doors. In addition the Samba had a fabric sunroof. At that time Volkswagen advertised with the idea of using the Samba to make tourist trips through the Alps.
Sambas were painted standard in two colors. Usually, the upper part was colored white. The two colored sections were separated by a decorative strip. Further the bus had a so-called "hat": at the front of the van the roof was just a little longer than the car itself to block the sun for the driver. The windows had chrome tables and the van had a more comprehensive dashboard than the normal T1.
When Volkswagen started producing the successor of the T1 (the T2) the company also stopped producing the Samba so there are no Sambas in later versions of the Transporter.
US CHICKEN TAX
Certain models of the Volkswagen Type 2 played a role in a historic episode during the early 1960s, known as the Chicken War. France and West Germany had placed tariffs on imports of U.S. chicken. Diplomacy failed, and in January 1964, two months after taking office, President Johnson imposed a 25% tax (almost ten times the average U.S. tariff) on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks. Officially, the tax targeted items imported from Europe as approximating the value of lost American chicken sales to Europe.
In retrospect, audio tapes from the Johnson White House, revealed a quid pro quo unrelated to chicken. In January 1964, President Johnson attempted to convince United Auto Workers' president Walter Reuther not to initiate a strike just before the 1964 election, and to support the president's civil rights platform. Reuther, in turn, wanted Johnson to respond to Volkswagen's increased shipments to the United States.
The Chicken Tax directly curtailed importation of German-built Type 2s in configurations that qualified them as light trucks – that is, commercial vans (panel vans) and pickups. In 1964, U.S. imports of automobile trucks from West Germany declined to a value of $5.7 million – about one-third the value imported in the previous year. After 1971, Volkswagen cargo vans and pickup trucks, the intended targets, "practically disappeared from the U.S. market". While post-1971 Type 2 commercial vans and single-cab and double-cab pickups can be found in the United States today, they are exceedingly rare. Any post-1971 specimen found ostensibly has had its import tariff paid. As of 2013, the "chicken tax" remains in effect.
SECOND GENERATION (T2; 1967–1979)
In late 1967, the second generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 (T2) was introduced. It was built in Germany until 1979. In Mexico, the Volkswagen Kombi and Panel were produced from 1970 to 1994. Models before 1971 are often called the T2a (or "Early Bay"), while models after 1972 are called the T2b (or "Late Bay").
This second-generation Type 2 lost its distinctive split front windshield, and was slightly larger and considerably heavier than its predecessor. Its common nicknames are Breadloaf and Bay-window, or Loaf and Bay for short. At 1.6 L and 35 kW (48 PS; 47 bhp) DIN, the engine was also slightly larger. The battery and electrical system was upgraded to 12 volts, making it incompatible with electric accessories from the previous generation. The new model also did away with the swing axle rear suspension and transfer boxes previously used to raise ride height. Instead, half-shaft axles fitted with constant velocity joints raised ride height without the wild changes in camber of the Beetle-based swing axle suspension. The updated Bus transaxle is usually sought after by off-road racers using air-cooled Volkswagen components.
The T2b was introduced by way of gradual change over three years. The first models featured rounded bumpers incorporating a step for use when the door was open (replaced by indented bumpers without steps on later models), front doors that opened to 90° from the body, no lip on the front guards, unique engine hatches, and crescent air intakes in the D-pillars (later models after the Type 4 engine option was offered, have squared off intakes). The 1971 Type 2 featured a new, 1.6 L engine with dual intake ports on each cylinder head and was DIN-rated at 37 kW (50 PS; 50 bhp). An important change came with the introduction of front disc brakes and new roadwheels with brake ventilation holes and flatter hubcaps. Up until 1972, front indicators are set low on the nose rather than high on either side of the fresh air grille – giving rise to their being nicknamed "Low Lights". 1972's most prominent change was a bigger engine compartment to fit the larger 1.7- to 2.0-litre engines from the Volkswagen Type 4, and a redesigned rear end which eliminated the removable rear apron and introduced the larger late tail lights. The air inlets were also enlarged to accommodate the increased cooling air needs of the larger engines.
In 1971 the 1600cc Type 1 engine as used in the Beetle, was supplemented with the 1700cc Type 4 engine – as it was originally designed for the Type 4 (411 and 412) models. European vans kept the option of upright fan Type 1 1600 engine but the 1700 Type 4 became standard for US spec models.
In the Type 2, the Type 4 engine was an option for the 1972 model year onward. This engine was standard in models destined for the US and Canada. Only with the Type 4 engine did an automatic transmission become available for the first time in the 1973 model year. Both engines displaced 1.7 L, DIN-rated at 49 kW (67 PS; 66 bhp) with the manual transmission and 46 kW (63 PS; 62 bhp) with the automatic. The Type 4 engine was enlarged to 1.8 L and 50 kW (68 PS; 67 bhp) DIN for the 1974 model year and again to 2.0 L and 52 kW (71 PS; 70 bhp) DIN for the 1976 model year. The two-litre option appeared in South African manufactured models during 1976, originally only in a comparably well-equipped "Executive" model. The 1978 2.0 L now featured hydraulic valve lifters, eliminating the need to periodically adjust the valve clearances as on earlier models. The 1975 and later U.S. model years received Bosch L-Jetronic electronic fuel injection as standard equipment; 1978 was the first year for electronic ignition, utilizing a hall effect sensor and digital controller, eliminating maintenance-requiring contact-breaker points. As with all Transporter engines, the focus in development was not on power, but on low-end torque. The Type 4 engines were considerably more robust and durable than the Type 1 engines, particularly in Transporter service.
In 1972, for the 1973 model year, exterior revisions included relocated front turn indicators, squared off and set higher in the valance, above the headlights. Also, square-profiled bumpers, which became standard until the end of the T2 in 1979, were introduced in 1973. Crash safety improved with this change because of a compressible structure behind the front bumper. This meant that the T2b was capable of meeting US safety standards for passenger cars of the time, though not required of vans. The "VW" emblem on the front valance became slightly smaller.
Later model changes were primarily mechanical. By 1974, the T2 had gained its final shape. Very late in the T2's design life, during the late 1970s, the first prototypes of Type 2 vans with four-wheel drive (4WD) were built and tested.
T2c
The T2c, with a roof raised by about 10 cm was built starting in the early 1990s for the South American and Central American markets. Since 1991, the T2c has been built in México with the water-cooled 1.8 L inline four-cylinder 53 kW (72 PS; 71 bhp) carbureted engine - easily identified by the large, black front-mounted radiator - and since 1995 with the 1.6 L air-cooled engines for the Brazilian market.
Once production of the original Beetle was halted in late 2003, the T2 was the only Volkswagen model with an air-cooled, rear-mounted boxer engine, but then the Brazilian model shifted to a water-cooled engine on 23 December 2005. There was a 1.6 L 50 hp (37 kW; 51 PS) water-cooled diesel engine available from 1981 to 1985, which gave fuel economy of 15 km/l to 18 km/l - but gave slow performance and its insufficient cooling system led to short engine life.
The end of the Volkswagen air-cooled engine on a worldwide basis was marked by a Special Edition Kombi. An exclusive Silver paint job, and limited edition emblems were applied to only 200 units in late 2005, and were sold as 2006 models.
Stricter emissions regulations introduced by the Brazilian government for 2006 forced a shift to a flexible-fuel water-cooled engine[citation needed] able to run on petrol or alcohol. Borrowed from the Volkswagen Fox, the engine is a rear-mounted EA-111 1.4 L 8v Total Flex 1,390 cc, 58 kW (79 PS; 78 bhp) on petrol, and 60 kW (82 PS; 80 bhp) when run on ethanol, and 124 N·m (91 lbf·ft) torque. This version was very successful, despite the minor changes made to the overall T2-bodied vehicle. It still included the four-speed transmission, but a new final-drive ratio enabled cruising at 120 km/h (75 mph) at 4,100 rpm. Top speed was 130 km/h (81 mph). 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) acceleration took 22.7 seconds (vs. 29.5 seconds for the last air-cooled version). Other improvements included 6.6% better fuel economy, and nearly 2 dB less engine noise.
The Volkswagen Type 2 is by far the longest model run in Brazil, having been introduced in September 1950 as the Volkswagen "Kombi", a name it has kept throughout production.[citation needed] Only produced in two versions, bus (nine-seater or 12-seater – a fourth row is added for metro transportation or school bus market) or panel van, it offers only one factory option, a rear window defogger.[citation needed] As of June 2009, the T2 was being built at the Volkswagen Group's São Bernardo do Campo plant at a rate of 97 per day.
The production of the Brazilian Volkswagen Kombi ended in 2013 with a production run of 600 Last Edition vehicles.[28] A short movie called "Kombi's last wishes" was made by VW Brazil.
POST_TYPE 2 GENERATIONS
THIRD GENERATION (T3; 1979–1992)
The Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) also known as the T25, (or Vanagon in the United States), the T3 platform was introduced in 1980, and was one of the last new Volkswagen platforms to use an air-cooled engine. The Volkswagen air-cooled engine was phased out for a water-cooled boxer engine (still rear-mounted) in 1984. Compared to its predecessor the T2, the T3 was larger and heavier, with square corners replacing the rounded edges of the older models. The T3 is sometimes called "the wedge" by enthusiasts to differentiate it from earlier Kombis.
FOURTH GENERATION (T4; 1990–2003)
Since 1990, the Transporter in most world markets has been front-engined and water-cooled, similar to other contemporary Volkswagens, almost two decades later than it did for the passenger cars. T4s are marketed as Transporter in Europe. In the United States, Volkswagen Eurovan is the brand name.
FITH GENERATION (T5; 2003–2015)
The Volkswagen Transporter T5 range is the fifth generation of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles medium-sized light commercial vehicle and people movers. Launched 6 January 2003, the T5 went into full production in April 2003, replacing the fourth generation range.
Key markets for the T5 are Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Turkey. It is not sold in the US market because it is classed as a light truck, accruing the 25% chicken tax on importation. The T5 has a more aerodynamic design. The angle of the windshield and A-pillar is less; this makes for a large dashboard and small bonnet.
In June 2009, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles announced the one-millionth T5 rolled off the production line in Hanover.
T5 GP introduced in 2010. Heavily face-lifted with some new power plants including the 180 bi-turbo range topper. These new engines saw the demise of the now "dirty" 5 cylinder units.
Late 2015 will see the arrival of the "Neu Sechs", the New 6. The T6 will offer further engine changes in early 2016, but will launch with the previous generation engines. The new engines will see the introduction of Ad-Blu to meet with euro 6 emission compliance. The new 6 was expected by many to be more than just a face lift.
With the T6 now hitting the roads it is very clear it would appear to be just a face lift. New front, new tailgate and a new dash. There are quality improvements, sound deadening, new colours and improved consumption, but many believe VW have missed an opportunity to go back to the top.
Sixth generation (T6; 2015–)
The new T6 will launch with the old Euro 5 non AdBlue power-plants, but will be offered with a Euro 6 diesel engine with 204bhp and AdBlue. Three further Euro 6 Adblue diesel power-plants with 84ps, 102ps and 150ps will also be offered.
There is some debate in the community over whether the T6 is a new model, or simply a face-lift. There are obvious external changes to the nose and tailgate, while internally there is a new dash in 2 versions. Volkswagen are claiming refinement to ride, handling and noise levels.
ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In 2001, a Volkswagen Microbus Concept was created, with design cues from the T1 generation in a spirit similar to the New Beetle nostalgia movement. Volkswagen planned to start selling it in the United States market in 2007, but it was scrapped in May 2004 and replaced with a more cost-effective design to be sold worldwide.
NAMES AND NICKNAMES
Like the Beetle, from the beginning, the Type 2 earned many nicknames from its fans. Among the most popular,[citation needed] at least in Germany, are VW-Bus and Bulli (or Bully) or Hippie-van or the bus. The Type 2 was meant to be officially named the Bully, but Heinrich Lanz, producer of the Lanz Bulldog farm tractor, intervened. The model was then presented as the Volkswagen Transporter and Volkswagen Kleinbus, but the Bully nickname still caught on.
The official German-language model names Transporter and Kombi (Kombinationskraftwagen, combined-use vehicle) have also caught on as nicknames. Kombi is not only the name of the passenger variant, but is also the Australasian and Brazilian term for the whole Type 2 family; in much the same way that they are all called VW-Bus in Germany, even the pickup truck variations. In Mexico, the German Kombi was translated as Combi, and became a household word thanks to the vehicle's popularity in Mexico City's public transportation system. In Peru, where the term Combi was similarly adopted, the term Combi Asesina (Murdering Combi) is often used for buses of similar size, because of the notorious recklessness and competition of bus drivers in Lima to get passengers. In Portugal it is known as Pão-de-Forma (Breadloaf) because its design resembles a bread baked in a mold. Similarly, in Denmark, the Type 2 is referred to as Rugbrød (Rye bread). Finns dubbed it Kleinbus (mini-bus), as many taxicab companies adopted it for group transportation; the name Kleinbus has become an appellative for all passenger vans. The vehicle is also known as Kleinbus in Chile.
In the US, however, it is a VW bus, a "vee-dub", a minibus, a hippie-mobile, hippie bus, or hippie van, "combie", Microbus or a Transporter to aficionados. The early versions produced before 1967 used a split front windshield (giving rise to the nickname "Splitty"), and their comparative rarity has led to their becoming sought after by collectors and enthusiasts. The next version, sold in the US market from 1968 to 1979, is characterised by a large, curved windshield and is commonly called a "bay-window". It was replaced by the Vanagon, of which only the Westfalia camper version has a common nickname, "Westy".
It was called Volksie Bus in South Africa, notable in a series of that country's TV commercials. Kombi is also a generic nickname for vans and minibuses in South Africa and Swaziland, often used as a means of public transportation. In Nigeria it was called Danfo.
In the UK, it is known as a "Campervan". In France, it was called a "camping-car" (usually hyphenated) though this has been expanded to include other, often more specialized vehicles in more recent times.
MEXICAN PRODUCTION
T2 production began in 1970 at the Puebla assembly factory.
Offered initially only as a nine-passenger version called the Volkswagen Kombi, and from 1973 also its cargo van version called the Volkswagen Panel, both variants were fitted with the 1.5 L air-cooled boxer engine and four-speed manual gearbox. In 1974, the 1.6 L 44 bhp (33 kW; 45 PS) boxer engine replaced the 1.5 previous one, and production continued this way up to 1987. In 1987, the water-cooled 1.8 L 85 bhp (63 kW; 86 PS) inline four-cylinder engine replaced the air-cooled 1.6 L. This new model is recognisable by its black grille (for its engine coolant radiator), bumpers and moldings.
In 1975, Volkswagen de Mexico ordered two specially made pickups from Germany, one single cab and one double cab, for the Puebla plant. These were evaluated for the possibility of building pickups in Mexico, and were outfitted with every option except the Arctic package, including front and rear fog lights, intermittent wipers, trip odometer, clock, bumper rubber, PVC tilt, and dual doors on the single cab storage compartment. VW de Mexico was interested in having the lights, wiring, brake systems and other parts manufactured in Mexico. Ultimately, VW de Mexico declined to produce pickups, and the pickups were sold to an Autohaus, a Volkswagen dealer in San Antonio, Texas, since they could not be sold in Mexico. By law, no German-made Volkswagens were to be sold in Mexico. These are probably the only pickups that were produced in Germany for Mexican import, and have the "ME" export code on the M-code plate. The green double cab was sold to a new owner in New York, and has been lost track of. The light gray (L345, licht grau) single cab still exists. Pickups were not manufactured in Mexico, nor were they imported into Mexico from Germany, save for these two examples.
In 1988, a luxury variant – the Volkswagen Caravelle – made its debut in the Mexican market to compete with the Nissan Ichi Van, which was available in cargo, passenger and luxury versions.
The main differences between the two are that the Caravelle was sold as an eight-passenger version, while the Combi was available as a nine-passenger version, the Caravelle was only painted in metallic colors, while the Combi was only available in non-metallic colors, and the Caravelle was fitted with an AM/FM stereo cassette sound system, tinted windows, velour upholstery, reading lights, mid and rear headrests, and wheel covers from the European T25 model.
In 1991, the 10 cm higher roof made its debut in all variants, and the Combi began to be offered in eight- or nine-passenger variants. In 1991, since Mexican anti-pollution regulations required a three-way catalytic converter, a Digifant fuel injection system replaced the previous carburetor. The three variants continued without change until 1994.
In 1994, production ended in Mexico, with models being imported from Brazil. The Caravelle was discontinued, and both the Combi and the Panel were only offered in white color and finally in 2002, replaced by the T4 EuroVan Pasajeros and EuroVan Carga, passenger and cargo van in long wheelbase version, inline five-cylinder 2.5 L 115 bhp and five-speed manual gearbox imported from Germany.
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A wonderful and rarely seen artist’s concept of McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company’s (MDAC), Phase-A 1969/70 ‘drawbridge wing’ orbiter. The orbiter may have just deployed the…uhm…possibly double-stacked? communications satellites in the foreground, still attached to their well-fueled Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV)/space tug. IDK really, I’m winging it.
What I assume to be another satellite, with possibly four folded-up solar arrays, and I think, still attached to its booster, is in the background. Since I see no external tanks on its ‘booster’, the payload may be a space/planetary probe, hence possibly disposable? Again, who knows.
Beautiful work by MDAC’s highly talented resident artist, Ron Simpson. All of his stuff is really quite superb.
Trimmed to 8” x 9.8125 from I’m sure its original 8.5” x 11”. Understandably, yet unfortunately, the photo was framed & displayed…for a long time. Despite its mutilation, exposure & injuries, the content still pops. Can you imagine how shit-hot this looked when first printed?!
I knew it! Gorgeous work! Shit-hot is right:
e05.code.blog/2022/06/02/phase-a-orbiter-by-ron-simpson/
Credit: Garrett O’Donoghue/numbers station blog
Only have the static LED lights installed unlike the other strip with multi color/mode, just have to build the packages/cargo that will go with this frame
NASA has selected three commercial Moon landing service providers that will deliver science and technology payloads under Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) as part of the Artemis program. Each commercial lander will carry NASA-provided payloads that will conduct science investigations and demonstrate advanced technologies on the lunar surface, paving the way for NASA astronauts to land on the lunar surface by 2024.
The selections are:
• Astrobotic of Pittsburgh has been awarded $79.5 million and has proposed to fly as many as 14 payloads to Lacus Mortis, a large crater on the near side of the Moon, by July 2021.
• Intuitive Machines of Houston has been awarded $77 million. The company has proposed to fly as many as five payloads to Oceanus Procellarum, a scientifically intriguing dark spot on the Moon, by July 2021.
• Orbit Beyond of Edison, New Jersey, has been awarded $97 million and has proposed to fly as many as four payloads to Mare Imbrium, a lava plain in one of the Moon’s craters, by September 2020.
This commercial lander from Orbit Beyond of Edison, New Jersey, will carry NASA-provided science and technology payloads to the lunar surface, paving the way for NASA astronauts to land on the Moon by 2024.
All three of the lander models were on display for the announcement of the companies selected to provide the first lunar landers for the Artemis program, on Friday, May 31, 2019, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Read more: go.nasa.gov/2Ki2mJo
Credit: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth
Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASAâs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Backshell-Powered Descent Vehicle and Entry Vehicle assemblies are being attached to the Mars Perseverance rover on May 28, 2020. The cone-shaped backshell contains the parachute, and along with the missionâs heat shield, provides protection for the rover and descent stage during Martian atmospheric entry. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch on July 20 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Pad 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rover is part of NASAâs Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management. Photo credit: NASA/Christian Mangano
Increased payload capability may not have had much effect for the Bell 412's role as transport helicopter, but it was now also capable of mounting heavier weapons systems, which played a big part of it becoming what it is today. With new EH-191s commencing deliveries shortly after the Bell 412's upgrade program was completed, a handful of Arapahos were converted to gunships on a trial base. The most common gunship configuration was, and still is, side mounted weapon stations similar to that on the UH-1Y, with two 70mm rocket pods and two M134 7.62mm Gatling guns.
Crews rotated to vertical then lifted NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft from its protective shipping container after it arrived at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 28.
The spacecraft, which will collect data to help scientists determine if Jupiter’s icy moon Europa could support life, arrived in a United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane at Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility on May 23. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. The launch period opens Thursday, Oct. 10.
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
#NASA #MarshallSpaceFlightCenter #MSFC #Marshall #jpl #nasamarshall #juno #nasajuno #Europa #EuropaClipper
“This artist's concept depicts the separation of the Skylab payload shroud. The payload shroud was both an environmental shield and an aerodynamic fairing. Attached to the forward end of the fixed airlock shroud, it protected the airlock, the docking adapter, and the solar observatory before and during launch. It also provided structural support for the solar observatory in the launch configuration. The payload shroud was jettisoned once Skylab reached orbit after separation of the S-II second stage of the Saturn V vehicle. Five major assemblies clustered together made up the orbiting space station called Skylab. The largest of these was the orbital workshop, that housed the crew quarters and a major experiment area. The airlock module, attached to the forward end of the workshop, enabled crewmembers to make excursions outside Skylab. The docking adapter, attached to the forward end of the airlock module, provided the docking port for the Apollo command and service module. The Apollo Telescope Mount was the first manned astronomical observatory designed for solar research from Earth orbit.”
11” x 13.875”. The obvious fold line, with the first hint of an emulsion break, is accompanied by a parallel lesser fold 1.125” from it, suggesting either tight or careless rolling of the photo at some point.
By G. S. Wright. No idea. Although…there is a “Stevens Wright”, who was an artist for McDonnell during the appropriate time. Regardless, the aforementioned Mr. Wright designed the Buffalo Bills’ logo.
www.presstelegram.com/2013/08/19/long-beach-legend-the-en...
Credit: Press Telegram website
The above description is taken from a subsequent (1971) similar artist’s concept linked to below.
The stamped date of the photo prompted me to include the following excerpt, primarily with regard to the name of the subject in the artist’s concept:
“MOVING OUT OF APOLLO'S SHADOW
George Mueller's integrated plan of May 1969 listed Apollo and Skylab as NASA's first manned programs of the 1970s. The agency hoped to move out in two general directions: on one avenue Apollo led to further lunar exploration and the possibility of a lunar base; a second route to Earth-orbital operations began with two Saturn-V workshops and proceeded to a permanent, manned space station with a low-cost Shuttle. Major milestones for the decade included:
1972
- Earth-orbital operations with Saturn-V-launched workshop 1973-Start of post-Apollo lunar exploration
1974
- Suborbital flight tests of Shuttle
- Launch of second Saturn-V workshop
1975
- Initial space station operations
- Orbital Shuttle flights
1976
- Lunar-orbit station
- Full Shuttle operations
Sometime in the 1980s or 1990s, NASA would establish bases in Earth orbit and on the lunar surface and would land men on Mars.1
Paine was anxious to win approval for this ambitious plan in 1959 while public enthusiasm was high. The Space Task Group, a body established by President Nixon to consider America's future space program, provided the administrator an excellent sounding board. In meetings that summer, Paine promoted a manned Mars mission as NASA's next major objective. The task group's September report, America's Next Decades in Space, recommended a balanced manned and unmanned space capability and listed three possible programs leading to a manned landing on Mars before the 21st century. The most ambitious option called for a 50-man, Earth-orbiting station in 1980 and the first Mars flight three years later. Funding would reach $8 billion annually by 1976. The least ambitious option cost half that amount and delayed the Mars expedition until the 1990s. The group's chairman, Vice President Spiro Agnew, endorsed the Martian goal enthusiastically, but elsewhere the proposal fell on barren soil. Opposition appeared in Congress and the press, and the Nixon administration approved less than three-quarters of NASA's proposed $4.5 billion budget for FY 1971. That was one-half billion dollars less than the previous year's appropriation and brought NASA to its lowest level of funding in nine years. On 13 January 1970 Paine briefed the press on the impact of the reduction: NASA would suspend production of the Saturn V, cancel Apollo 20, delay the initial workshop flight until late 1972, and postpone Apollo 18 and 19 until 1974.
The following month NASA renamed its Apollo Applications Program. A widespread dissatisfaction with the acronym AAP had prompted Paine to seek a new name shortly after the dry-workshop decision. A committee considered nearly 100 names ranging from Socrates to LSD and recommended 8, 4 from mythology and 4 from American history. Mueller forwarded the recommendations to NASA's Project Designation Committee with the comment that a name change "could enhance the public's identification with the program and hopefully provide a more manageable term for everyday use." The committee passed over the recommendations and selected, instead, a name submitted by Lt. Col. Donald Steelman, an Air Force officer on duty with NASA in 1968. Skylab, a contraction for "laboratory in the sky," met both of Mueller's objectives as the name was quickly accepted within and outside NASA.[3]
[3] Mueller to Julian Scheer, "Request to NASA Project Designation Committee to Select a New Name for the Apollo Applications Program (AAP)," 15 Oct. 1969; Disher to members of screening committee, "New Name for the Apollo Applications Program," 4 Sept.1969; Belew, "Weekly Notes," 18 Aug. 1969.”
Above from/at:
A heavy space fighter in service with the Rigelian Space Navy. Interchangeable payload compartment allows vehicles to fulfil a variety of roles including planetary bombardment, long range reconnaissance and battlefield logistics.
I wanted to build an asymmetrical ship inspired by the B-Wing from Star Wars. It started out intended to be more of a bounty hunter type ship but kind of drifted to this. I wanted it to be big enough that I could really go to town with a particular style of greebly detailing and I think that came out really well. I also worked a lot on the colour blocking and really like the way the blue sections snake around the ship.
I worked on this for a long time and by the end I’d kind of lost the plot a little. It’s taken me over 6 months to get around to shooting these pics, but looking at them now I feel quite satisfied with the completed model. Maybe I’ll find time to make some different cargo pods and dust down the landing pad I already made for it.