![]() Design cues abstracted from these principles provide color and material references, textural and finish details, fixture and furniture inspiration, and unique lighting treatment ideas. The design intent is organized around the principles of Form…Speed…Motion…and Kinetics. In juxtaposition to the iconic, one of a kind, larger than life, authentic NASA vehicles showcased elsewhere in the Space Center, the retail store design begins to personalize the experience by replicating sensory elements associated with discovery. The retail design concept unfolds from the experiential cues associated with traveling through space. ![]() "Essentially you roll in your rocket and bring your ground service equipment and launch.RGLA collaborated with Delaware North’s Parks & Resorts division and PGAV to develop the retail interior for the Kennedy Space Center Entry/ Exit Retail Shop. "I call it a MASH unit meets NASA, where everything's mobile." he says. Using the same launch control center and sharing some infrastructure, 39C is really a plug-and-play launchpad. Next to 39B is a small pad, called 39C, which is a stripped-down place for smaller rockets to launch. The new KSC is making room for smaller rockets as well, which may share space with the big boys. "We tried to cover the whole spectrum of any rocket that might impinge on it, and then we designed what is essentially a universal flame deflector," Colloredo says. NASA typically engineers those deflectors around the schematics and thrust of the one vehicle they plan to launch off the pad. So a 400-foot-tall rocket could roll into pad 39B and not have a problem with lightning."Īnother example is the flame deflectors, which channel the fiery exhaust away from the vehicle and launchpad. "We didn't just design it around SLS, we designed the lightning protection around the tallest vehicle that could roll out of the Vertical Assembly Building. "We now use what's called an isolated system: It's essentially a Faraday cage that you're building around the pad so that really anything below inside this cone is protected," he said. For example, NASA devised a new lighting protection system for the pad that can protect many kinds of rockets, not just the SLS. ![]() So his team looked for ways to make the pad generic enough to host other rockets, and bring more business to Cape Canaveral. "We think we have lot of time there where SLS won't need the pad," Colloredo says. (It's also a more traditionally run NASA program, which means the project is expected to meet delays, underfunding, and shifting political whims.)Įven in a best-case scenario, SLS won't launch often. Paired with the Orion capsule, this could be how NASA sends its astronauts to asteroids or Mars. This will be the launch site for the Space Launch System (SLS), NASA's vision for the big rocket that will blast manned missions bound for places beyond Earth orbit. Meanwhile, construction is also under way at nearby Pad 39B. KSC Pad 39B Construction in 2013 Media Platforms Design Team "It's an extremely interesting world we live in here." "There's so many different opportunities, so many different companies, so many different vehicles and we're designing the space center around accommodating all of them," Colloredo says. The goal: Offer it as a place for space companies, like XCOR or Sierra Nevada, to land their spaceplanes. And just this week the state agency Space Florida approved a long-term deal to lease a 15,000-foot-long strip used to land space shuttles. The recent signs are encouraging: Last month, Kennedy Space Center released an announcement for proposals for private companies interested in developing commercial vertical launch sites. Even if some of the companies and missions do not develop, there may be enough tenants flying hardware to keep the spaceport viable. "It's essentially the equivalent of a city that has zoned out its property."īy reorganizing itself from the ground up, KSC is positioning itself for a commercial spaceflight industry that is still embryonic but increasingly hopeful. "We control the master plan for Kennedy," Colloredo says. Officials say they're about halfway through the transition, which started in 2011 and is expected to end in 2019. "Right this minute, we have three different launchpads under construction."Ĭolloredo's mission is to spearhead the Center's change from a dedicated shuttle base to what they call a multi-user spaceport.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |