Work on holiday
- Mischa
- LUT model
Once again time for a *uhm* - delayed - holiday update. And instead of many words once a picture
Everything you see here is really and truly finished. And this is how it happened: By mistake I opened one of the many LUT files, and started to improve a little and to add something here and there, which finally took on avalanche-like proportions and manic obsession in me - in other words, the Christmas holidays and the first half of the still young year I didn't spend in front of the Christmas tree, but in the depths of the LUT universe.
Upper LUT levels from 260 - 380
With a lot of booty: All equipment from level 380 (the roof of the LUT) to level 260, as well as Service Arm #8, Hammerhead Crane and Damper Arm are in the box, the upper third of the LUT is actually finished - subject to new insights, later plans and obvious inconsistencies compared to the real model. Nevertheless, the silver stripes on the horizon are taking shape.
Upper LUT levels from 260 - 380
The view from afar reveals what is still missing: the service arms 2-6, most of the equipment between level 240 and level 80, the tail service masts on the platform and a few details here and there.
Real world comparison of the upper LUT levels
Again time for a real world comparison, this time Apollo 14 rollout on the way to the launch pad. The background and the shadows are not right because my LUT is already on the pad. Otherwise the differences should be marginal - the 3 antennas on the crane are not positioned correctly yet, and I noticed two missing cameras. Also the inner cylinder of the pulley was not red, but aluminum colored. I haven't noticed more mistakes so far, but maybe someone among you has better eyes.
Hammerhead Crane from above
The new additions in detail. Since the Crane is also very prominent on the model, I have it a little more lovingly detailed, here for example the trolley from which the winch hangs. The front, red section of the crane was designed for a load of 10 tons, the yellow section for a load of 25 tons, which was also clearly visible on the underside. Further below you can see the Damper Arm - it stabilized the Saturn during the transport to the launch pad, and was then folded up. I designed it moveable, but if you want to put the LUT on the crawler, this would be the correct position.
Service Arm #8 - Service Module
Service Arm #8, it's in every way a special one with bizarre details of Babylonian design. The cable tunnel on the roof is empty, but the whole cable sausages were led along the side wall. The yellow ladder actually leads into the bottomless. The white extension platform is not extendable, but was strangely folded upwards - the front is actually the floor. As a result, the railing remained uncompleted because it would have got in the way of the folding mechanism - so working on the arm must have been rather adventurous. I assume that Service Arm #8 was probably only populated in the presence of the MSS or the VAB, and I didn't find a single photo where the platform would have been folded down.
Damper Arm
The front section of the Damper arm. It took me days to figure out what the stabilizer's guide rail looked like.
Damper Arm at Skylab - Courtesy of NASA
Fortunately, I stumbled upon the above photograph from the Skylab era, which clearly shows that it was not a pipe, but a rather complicated construct based on an H-beam.
Equipment at levels 280 - 320
Here's a look at the equipment bustle at levels 280 to 320. The cable trays occasionally have three levels, and mock any planning from the drawing board. They also no longer exist, everything you see comes from the study of thousands of photos.
