Service structure
A service structure is a steel framework or tower that is built on a rocket launch pad to facilitate assembly and servicing of the launch vehicle.
An "umbilical tower" usually includes an elevator, which allows maintenance and flight crew access to the vehicle. Immediately before ignition of the rocket's engines, all connections between the tower and the craft are severed, and the bridges over which these connections pass often quickly swing away to prevent damage to structure and vehicle.[citation needed]
Kennedy Space Center
[edit]During the NASA Space Shuttle program, the structures at the Launch Complex 39 pads contained a two-piece access tower system, the Fixed Service Structure (FSS) and the Rotating Service Structure (RSS). The FSS permitted access to the Shuttle via a retractable arm and a "beanie cap" to capture vented liquid oxygen (LOX) from the external fuel tank. The RSS contained the Payload Changeout Room, which offered "clean" access to the orbiter's payload bay, protection from the elements, and protection in winds up to 60 knots (110 km/h).[citation needed]
The FSS on Pad 39A was constructed from most of the top of the umbilical tower of Mobile Launcher 2, while the FSS that was on 39B was constructed from most of the top of the umbilical tower of Mobile Launcher 3 (Mobile Launcher 3 would later become Mobile Launcher Platform 1 for the Shuttle).
In 2011 NASA removed both the fixed and rotating service structures from their pad at LC-39B to make way for a new generation of launch vehicles. Likewise in 2017-2018 SpaceX removed the rotating service structure from LC-39A and modified the fixed service structure to adapt it for the new series of launch vehicles to be launched there.[citation needed]
Certain rockets such as the Delta and the Saturn V use structures consisting of a fixed portion and a mobile portion; the former is named the "umbilical tower" and the latter is known as the "mobile service tower" or "mobile service structure," but often referred to as a gantry. This mobile structure is moved away from the vehicle several hours before launch.
White room
[edit]
The white room was the small area used by astronauts to access the spacecraft during human flights up through the Space Shuttle program. The room takes its name from its white paint, which was used in Project Gemini. The room was first used in Project Mercury. Its use and white color (since Gemini) continued through subsequent programs of Apollo and the Space Shuttle.[citation needed]
NASA used this room for astronaut final preparations before entering the spacecraft such as donning parachute packs, putting on spacesuit helmets and detaching portable air-conditioning units.[1] In 2014, NASA planned to move the White Room to a museum.[2] As of the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission, SpaceX uses the term White Room to refer to the end of the Crew Access Arm at LC-39A. On the first launch attempt, NASA and SpaceX began a tradition to sign either the "meatball" NASA insignia or the SpaceX logo at the end of the Crew Access Arm.[citation needed]
Baikonur Cosmodrome
[edit]Similarly, Soviet-and Russian-designed service structures such as those at the Baikonur Cosmodrome stand while servicing the vehicle. The entire structure pivots outward and downward out of the way.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ Burgess, Colin (2003). Fallen astronauts: heroes who died reaching for the moon. Bison Books. ISBN 0-8032-6212-4.
- ^ "NASA signs over historic Launch Pad 39A to SpaceX". collectSpace. 2014-04-14. Archived from the original on 2014-08-24. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
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