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Space Forum / Shuttle / July 2006Fuel source for shuttle?
Where does NASA get the huge amount of liquiefied oxygen and especially the even colder liquified hydrogen for the shuttle? Is it produced on site at Cape Canaveral? Or shipped in via rail car etc by some contractor like Air Products? How do they store it at the Cape? Are the large tanks very close to the launch pad? I imagine it boils off constantly so they need a lot more on hand than is actually consumed. How long does it last? How much is lost when the shuttle is fueled and de-fueled if the launch attempt is cancelled? > Where does NASA get the huge amount of liquiefied oxygen and especially > the even colder liquified hydrogen for the shuttle? Is it produced on > site at Cape Canaveral? Or shipped in via rail car etc by some > contractor like Air Products? "Hydrogen is produced from by-product hydrogen from petroleum refining and the partial oxidation of fuel oil." http://www.astronautix.com/props/lf2lh2.htm So basically it comes from Texas, Saudi Arabia or Alberta. > How do they store it at the Cape? Are the large tanks very close to the > launch pad? I imagine it boils off constantly so they need a lot more > on hand than is actually consumed. How long does it last? How much is > lost when the shuttle is fueled and de-fueled if the launch attempt is > cancelled? It is stored in large tanks right on the pad. You can see them here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=florida&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=28.609683,-8 0.6042&spn=0.004257,0.010815 Look at the northeast and northwest corners of the pad, there is a large white spherical tank (with a big shadow) on each corner. Scrubs cost around $1m, but that figure includes both the fuel and labour costs. This doesn't answer all your questions (good ones), but it's a start. Op Mon, 17 Jul 2006 21:29:01 -0700, schreef neil.fraser: [..] > It is stored in large tanks right on the pad. You can see them here: > http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=florida&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=28.609683,-8 0.6042&spn=0.004257,0.010815 > Look at the northeast and northwest corners of the pad, there is a > large white spherical tank (with a big shadow) on each corner. Ah! I have always wanted to ask: what is in the spherical tank on the slim tower? You can see it just a bit North-East of the launch tower in this picture (long shadow). I'm not even sure it is tank, but it looks like one to me. > Ah! I have always wanted to ask: what is in the spherical tank on the slim > tower? You can see it just a bit North-East of the launch tower in this > picture (long shadow). It's a water tower, used to feed the sound surpression system. Most of the 'smoke' one sees at liftoff is steam. Without this system the shuttle would risk serious damage from the shockwave of it's own engines bouncing off the ground and hitting it. I believe that STS-1 was nearly lost because of insufficient dampening. What I'd like to know is what the wide-gauge railroad tracks emerging from under the launchpad and leading a short distance north are for. Not the crawler way, that's leading south. Are they for moving the flame trench deflector? Why would they need to move it? Op Tue, 18 Jul 2006 01:12:51 -0700, schreef neil.fraser: >> Ah! I have always wanted to ask: what is in the spherical tank on the slim >> tower? You can see it just a bit North-East of the launch tower in this >> picture (long shadow). > > It's a water tower, Makes sense. Now that I know what it is, it even looks like a water tower ;) > used to feed the sound surpression system. Most of the 'smoke' one > sees at liftoff is steam. Without this system the shuttle would risk > serious damage from the shockwave of it's own engines bouncing off the > ground and hitting it. I believe that STS-1 was nearly lost because of > insufficient dampening. Thanks for that bit of info! > What I'd like to know is what the wide-gauge railroad tracks emerging > from under the launchpad and leading a short distance north are for. Not > the crawler way, that's leading south. Are they for moving the flame > trench deflector? Why would they need to move it? Yes, that is an interesting question too. > Op Tue, 18 Jul 2006 01:12:51 -0700, schreef neil.fraser: > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Yes, that is an interesting question too. This rail road served for the old Apollo flame deflector whitch was movable. http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/apollo/ksc/LC39%20flame%20def lector.jpg The flame deflector was slided beneath the launch tower. 4 have built for Apollo, two on each pad. For the Shuttle, the flame deflector are fixed on the trench http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/shuttle/ksc/LC%2039%20tranche e%20et%20deflecteurs.jpg http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/shuttle/ksc/SSWS%20tranchee%2 002.jpg  SignatureCordialement, Didier Capdevila webmaster de capcomespace.net, le site de l'espace. Rédacteur à Espace Magazine, le magazine de la conquête de l'espace Op Tue, 18 Jul 2006 11:10:33 +0200, schreef capcom: >> Op Tue, 18 Jul 2006 01:12:51 -0700, schreef neil.fraser: [..] >>> What I'd like to know is what the wide-gauge railroad tracks emerging >>> from under the launchpad and leading a short distance north are for. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/apollo/ksc/LC39%20flame%20deflect or.jpg > The flame deflector was slided beneath the launch tower. 4 have built > for Apollo, two on each pad. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/shuttle/ksc/SSWS%20tranchee%2002.jpg Thanks. By the way, very nice website you have there. How quickly can the O2 and H2 generating facilities at KSC produce sufficient fuel to support a launch ? Hours ? Days ? Weeks ? Do they store much more than a launch's worth in the tanks ? > Where does NASA get the huge amount of liquiefied oxygen > and especially the even colder liquified hydrogen for the > shuttle? Is it produced on site at Cape Canaveral? Or > shipped in via rail car etc by some contractor like Air > Products? Liquid oxygen is produced locally (in nearby Mims, Florida) through fractional cryogenic distillation of air; the raw materials are electricity to run compressors and fans, and air. The LOX is moved by tank truck (I watched a small fleet of them several days prior to a launch in late 2000) to large storage tanks near the pads. If the Ares V is built, that will involve even larger amounts of LOX and LH2; possibly enough of the latter that local production might be more practical. --Damon |
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