Great Video Shot from the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters

[scannon]

http://io9.com/5893615/absolutely-mindblowing-video-shot-from-the-space-shuttle-during-launch

 

In the late 70s I worked at Thiokol, the designers and builders of the SRBs. I witnessed two horizontal test firings of the SRB. Several times I crawled into the test SRB prior to the test to take pictures of the grain at the top end where the igniters reside. It was a weird experience to be surrounded by 1,000,000 lb of solid rocket fuel ready to ignite with a single spark.

[xcarguy]

http://io9.com/5893615/absolutely-mindblowing-video-shot-from-the-space-shuttle-during-launch

 

In the late 70s I worked at Thiokol, the designers and builders of the SRBs. I witnessed two horizontal test firings of the SRB. Several times I crawled into the test SRB prior to the test to take pictures of the grain at the top end where the igniters reside. It was a weird experience to be surrounded by 1,000,000 lb of solid rocket fuel ready to ignite with a single spark.

 

scannon,

 

Thanks for the link. Absolutely awesome video, especially reentry! :flag: Would definitely like to see one of the photos you took . . . if you can share. :cheers:

[scannon]

scannon,

 

Thanks for the link. Absolutely awesome video, especially reentry! :flag: Would definitely like to see one of the photos you took . . . if you can share. :cheers:

The photos were taken by a company photographer. I never saw them as they were for documentation that the casting of the grain was to spec. I was the photographer's safety escort. Other workers had been in there before us installing temperature and pressure sensors and inspecting the joins between segments.

 

We had to remove all metal from our clothes including belt buckles and shoes. We put on anti-static clothing and booties and there was a path of antistatic mats to crawl on. The empty core of the SRB is about a meter in diameter so standing up and walking was not an option.

[bigdog]

I used to work around those candle sticks in the form of a minuteman II ICBM. (a little to your north scannon @ Ellsworth AFB SD) I worked on the guidance system when it was having issues (broke down) in the field.

[xcarguy]

In the sixties, a friend of mine’s dad was an engineer at the Redstone Arsenal and worked on the Apollo program. :drool: I think he also worked on the earlier space programs such as Mercury and Gemini as I recall a photo hanging in their living room of him with JFK; wish I’d paid more attention to what I was looking at back then. :svengo: I remember that, at times, their whole family would leave town for several months and head to ‘the Cape’ where they would stay while his dad did whatever it was he did with those big wonderful Saturn V rockets. I lived the Apollo program vicariously through the photos and experiences my friend would share with me upon his return. Man, what a great era to have grown up in! How I miss sonic booms and the jet age. :cheers:

[MightyMike]

Spectacular video! - too bad our manned space program was decimated by the budget cuts. I suppose giving money away to those who choose not to work is more important.