xrocketengineer
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
BX1880, FEL, Grapple, 36 in. Forks, 48in. MMM, Quick Spade, Ripper
Well, I don't remember if I posted this before but before this story fades again into the depths of memory, here it is.
In the very early days (1977) of the Space Shuttle program we had a lot construction and planning going on around the Kennedy Space Center but no actual flight hardware yet. Pad 39A was not finished but the launch tower was up since it had been recycled from the Apollo program. I was working on the orbiter mechanisms so at that time all I had were drawings and specifications to study and learn from.
I was told that we were getting two visitors from Houston that wanted to see our facilities. When they finally showed up, they definitely stood out. They were both very tall, they were wearing three piece suits with bolo ties and cowboy boots and hats. I was volunteered to be the tour guide. Everywhere I took them, everybody could guess where they were coming from. When I finally took them to the launch pad, the security guard at the base of the pad stopped us. I thought he was going to ask us to wear hard hats but he looked at the two visitors in the most serious way and said: "I am sorry gentlemen but this is not an oil drilling rig."
In the very early days (1977) of the Space Shuttle program we had a lot construction and planning going on around the Kennedy Space Center but no actual flight hardware yet. Pad 39A was not finished but the launch tower was up since it had been recycled from the Apollo program. I was working on the orbiter mechanisms so at that time all I had were drawings and specifications to study and learn from.
I was told that we were getting two visitors from Houston that wanted to see our facilities. When they finally showed up, they definitely stood out. They were both very tall, they were wearing three piece suits with bolo ties and cowboy boots and hats. I was volunteered to be the tour guide. Everywhere I took them, everybody could guess where they were coming from. When I finally took them to the launch pad, the security guard at the base of the pad stopped us. I thought he was going to ask us to wear hard hats but he looked at the two visitors in the most serious way and said: "I am sorry gentlemen but this is not an oil drilling rig."