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Article detailing the actions of engineers Jack Beverlin and Bill McClure: http://www.508pir.org/pdf_files/mcclure_nasa.pdf http://www.508pir.org/pdf_files/mcc

Article detailing the actions of engineers Jack Beverlin and Bill McClure: http://www.508pir.org/pdf_files/mcclure_nasa.pdf http://www.508pir.org/pdf_files/mcclure_nasa.pdf

dfc 13y ago
I was looking all over for more information, I should have checked the comments first. Thanks!
jccooper 13y ago
And a non-PDF resource: http://www.universetoday.com/100177/the-mars-spacecraft-that-was-almost-destroyed/ http://www.universetoday.com/100177/the-mars-spacecraft-that... You know, that's the first story I've heard of the Atlas "balloon tank" being a problem. The tank skin was less than 0.5mm thick, and the whole thing was held up by internal pressure. 5 PSI minimum, all the time. They were quite strong if you didn't screw up--but something will always screw up eventually, I guess. Apparently at least one other launch vehicle was lost to under-pressurization, an Atlas-Agena, but it was during testing and only had a dummy payload. New Atlas V (which isn't much related to the old Atlas) is self supporting, so this isn't a problem there. But the Centaur upper stage, which is widely used for planetary work and GEO insertion, is still a balloon tank, though I don't know of any mishaps with it. The old Atlas was a weird bird in other ways, too. It had "1 and one half" stages, because they didn't know if you could start a rocket engine in space. It had two vernier engines that ran the whole time. And they invented WD-40 so they could slather the whole thing in anti-corrosive, even though it was stainless steel, because the skin was too thin to allow any hint of corrosion. Closing the valves on a fueled and deflating Atlas indeed sounds like conspicuous bravery to me. The era of "steely-eyed missile men" indeed.
- stbullard 13y ago
  Sadly, it would appear Beverlin died just a few weeks after the publication of that article. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/floridatoday/obituary.aspx?n=charles-j-beverlin&pid=163594582&fhid=10213 http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/floridatoday/obituary.aspx?... http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/dignitymemorial/guestbook.aspx?n=charles-beverlin&pid=163590625 http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/dignitymemorial/guestbook.as...
- programd 13y ago
  A nuclear warhead tipped Titan II ballistic missle blew up in its silo in 1980 after a maintenance crewman dropped a wrench and punctured the tank causing fuel to leak out. The tank depressurised and the missile came close to collapsing because the tank could not support its weight. Eventually the fuel ignited and the whole stack went up. Fortunately the warhead didn't go off. The really chilling bit is that it easily could have. The story is told in the book "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety" by Eric Schlosser. This should be required reading for all engineers, a textbook on how complex systems can go wrong. If the book does not scare the shit out of you regarding the apalling standards of nuclear warhead engineering then you may not have a pulse.

Article detailing the actions of engineers Jack Beverlin and Bill McClure: http://www.508pir.org/pdf_files/mcclure_nasa.pdf http://www.508pir.org/pdf_files/mcclure_nasa.pdf

dfc 13y ago

I was looking all over for more information, I should have checked the comments first. Thanks!

jccooper 13y ago

And a non-PDF resource: http://www.universetoday.com/100177/the-mars-spacecraft-that-was-almost-destroyed/ http://www.universetoday.com/100177/the-mars-spacecraft-that... You know, that's the first story I've heard of the Atlas "balloon tank" being a problem. The tank skin was less than 0.5mm thick, and the whole thing was held up by internal pressure. 5 PSI minimum, all the time. They were quite strong if you didn't screw up--but something will always screw up eventually, I guess. Apparently at least one other launch vehicle was lost to under-pressurization, an Atlas-Agena, but it was during testing and only had a dummy payload. New Atlas V (which isn't much related to the old Atlas) is self supporting, so this isn't a problem there. But the Centaur upper stage, which is widely used for planetary work and GEO insertion, is still a balloon tank, though I don't know of any mishaps with it. The old Atlas was a weird bird in other ways, too. It had "1 and one half" stages, because they didn't know if you could start a rocket engine in space. It had two vernier engines that ran the whole time. And they invented WD-40 so they could slather the whole thing in anti-corrosive, even though it was stainless steel, because the skin was too thin to allow any hint of corrosion. Closing the valves on a fueled and deflating Atlas indeed sounds like conspicuous bravery to me. The era of "steely-eyed missile men" indeed.

stbullard 13y ago
Sadly, it would appear Beverlin died just a few weeks after the publication of that article. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/floridatoday/obituary.aspx?n=charles-j-beverlin&pid=163594582&fhid=10213 http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/floridatoday/obituary.aspx?... http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/dignitymemorial/guestbook.aspx?n=charles-beverlin&pid=163590625 http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/dignitymemorial/guestbook.as...
programd 13y ago
A nuclear warhead tipped Titan II ballistic missle blew up in its silo in 1980 after a maintenance crewman dropped a wrench and punctured the tank causing fuel to leak out. The tank depressurised and the missile came close to collapsing because the tank could not support its weight. Eventually the fuel ignited and the whole stack went up. Fortunately the warhead didn't go off. The really chilling bit is that it easily could have. The story is told in the book "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety" by Eric Schlosser. This should be required reading for all engineers, a textbook on how complex systems can go wrong. If the book does not scare the shit out of you regarding the apalling standards of nuclear warhead engineering then you may not have a pulse.