Some fun rigging.....

[egilson1]

Some days you work on a project you would have done for free because it's so AWESOME! Very thankful to be part of the team moving the Mercury-Redstone 3 Capsule named "Freedom 7" from the JFK Presidential Library. Sitting on top of a Redstone Rocket (repurposed from it's use from ballistic missiles) this capsule carried Astronaut Alan Sheppard 116.5 miles above the surface of the earth, the first United States human spaceflight.

The Capsule on it's display stand.

The top. The two empty spaces are where the parachutes pack.

It's a tight fit in there.

We used a 10k "Lull" as a rigging point and then used manual chain falls to slowly, oh so slowly, lift the capsule from it's display stand. the chain falls allowed us to move in fractions of an inch vs inches with the Lull.

The capsule is now in it's traveling stand.

"Does it fit". Yes. it fits. just.

See! It fits!

 

[microstar]

Is the capsule going on tour or to another permanent location?

 

[egilson1]

I think after some restoration, it's going to DC and the A&S Museum

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Is that travelling stand a legacy piece, or was it built for this move?

 

[jtweigandt]

I'm betting it's heading to Hutchinson Kansas if there's restoration in store
They did work on Apollo 13, and Grissom's capsule after it was recovered from the drink after 38 years underwater.
They have also made replicas for multiple film shoots.

Wichita area had so much aerospace industry, it makes sense when you think about it. Unique skill set.
But you wouldn't normally expect a world class museum in Hutchinson Kansas if you didn't know

HOME

spaceworkscosmo.org

Home - Cosmosphere

Visit the Cosmosphere

cosmo.org

 

[egilson1]

Is that travelling stand a legacy piece, or was it built for this move?

Built in 2012 for this specific location.

 

[What Rigger?]

@egilson1, this is insanely cool. And I bet the pay was better than the $10/hr that SpaceX is offering for moving rockets.
I have a question about the use of the reach fork. Mind if I message you?

 

[egilson1]

@egilson1, this is insanely cool. And I bet the pay was better than the $10/hr that SpaceX is offering for moving rockets.
I have a question about the use of the reach fork. Mind if I message you?

Please do.

 

[Ted jones]

Nicely done Ethan.

T