Author Topic: NASA spends $1 billion for a launch tower that leans, may only be used once  (Read 1007 times)

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Online corbe

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Leaning tower of ... —


NASA spends $1 billion for a launch tower that leans, may only be used once


Vice President Mike Pence may visit the launch tower today.

Eric Berger - 2/20/2018, 8:20 AM
 


The space agency's mobile launch tower is leaning slightly to the north.

On Tuesday and Wednesday Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Kennedy Space Center in Florida to tour facilities there and participate in the second meeting of the National Space Council. It is not clear how much of the launch facilities he will see during his visit to Florida, where NASA is spending billions of dollars to build ground systems for the launch of the Space Launch System rocket.

There is one component of the revamped facilities that NASA may be reluctant to show Pence, who in effect oversees all national spaceflight activities as the head of the space council. This is the "mobile launcher" structure, which supports the testing and servicing of the massive SLS rocket, as well as moving it to the launch pad and providing a platform from which it will launch.

According to a new report in NASASpaceflight.com, the expensive tower is "leaning" and "bending." For now, NASA says, the lean is not sufficient enough to require corrective action, but it is developing contingency plans in case the lean angle becomes steeper.

These defects raise concerns about the longevity of the launch tower and increase the likelihood that NASA will seek additional funding to build a second one. In fact, it is entirely possible that the launch tower may serve only for the maiden flight of the SLS rocket in 2020 and then be cast aside. This would represent a significant waste of resources by the space agency.

A very costly tower

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https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/02/nasa-spends-1-billion-for-a-launch-tower-that-leans-may-only-be-used-once/
No government in the 12,000 years of modern mankind history has led its people into anything but the history books with a simple lesson, don't let this happen to you.

Offline Frank Cannon

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1 billion for a steel tower? More like a steal tower.

BTW what the hell does NASA bring to the table anymore? If you think the tower sucks, wait till you see the craft they launch from it....