{"id":40251,"date":"2011-12-17T17:52:16","date_gmt":"2011-12-17T09:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/maf-goes-hollywood-as-movie-teams-utilize-the-facilitys-once-busy-expanses\/"},"modified":"2011-12-17T17:52:16","modified_gmt":"2011-12-17T09:52:16","slug":"maf-goes-hollywood-as-movie-teams-utilize-the-facilitys-once-busy-expanses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/maf-goes-hollywood-as-movie-teams-utilize-the-facilitys-once-busy-expanses\/","title":{"rendered":"MAF goes Hollywood as movie teams utilize the facility\u2019s once-busy expanses"},"content":{"rendered":"

In what is a sobering reality of the Space Shuttle Program\u2019s end, the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) is now being filled with the sound of clapperboards, as opposed to the noise of space hardware being constructed. Numerous major movie studios are taking advantage of what are now large empty expanses inside the New Orleans facility.<\/p>\n

MAF:<\/p>\n

Working under the motto of \u201cFinish Strong\u201d, the Michoud managers, engineers and technicians proved to be the unsung heroes of the final phase of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP).<\/p>\n

\"\"Fighting back from the tragedy of Columbia\u2019s loss, caused by a piece of hardware from one of their own External Tanks \u2013 as much as a series of events outside of their control contributed to the disaster \u2013 the MAF team and center became one of the focal points for the implementation of Return To Flight (RTF) modifications \u2013 L2 link.<\/p>\n

Initially, this proved to be anything but smooth sailing, with the first tank to fly since Columbia\u2019s launch liberating a large slice of its PAL (Protuberance Air Load) ramp during Discovery\u2019s STS-114 ascent \u2013 resulting in further changes via the complex science of mitigating foam loss during the ride uphill.<\/p>\n

Further finite modifications were made to the tank\u2019s Thermal Protection System (TPS) as the fleet began to up the pace, itself a massive challenge, with each change to a highly refined system carefully studied and refined further.<\/p>\n

\"\"One such example was the modifications made to the LH2 Ice Frost Ramps (IFRs), which were fine-tuned over a number of flights, based on their performance during actual launches. The LO2 IFRs were also monitored through to the end of the program.<\/p>\n

These numerous changes, in tandem with an improving flight rate, resulted in additional challenges, such as achieving the delivery dates for the tanks based on the projected flight manifests created by the Flight Assignment Working Group (FAWG) \u2013 L2 Link.<\/p>\n

Company News<\/path>NASA educational resources<\/path>Rocket launch schedules<\/path>\n

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Via the mix of ingenious management brainstorming at numerous Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs), the dedication of the Michoud workforce working seven days a week and solid leadership from Lockheed Martin\u2019s ET boss Wanda Sigur, refined delivery dates supported the desired manifest \u2013 as seen ahead of the flagship STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.<\/p>\n

Click here for numerous ET news articles: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/tag\/et\/<\/p>\n

More importantly \u2013 not least in the case of Atlantis\u2019 Hubble mission \u2013 the tanks started to enjoy a run of increasing success in the mitigation of foam liberation from the critical areas of the tank, resulting in mainly \u201cclean\u201d orbiters \u2013 no serious TPS damage caused by foam loss) \u2013 especially in the latter missions for the fleet.<\/p>\n

\"\"Michoud even managed to add a tank to the manifest, namely ET-122, allowing for the addition of STS-135, a mission which has proved to be extremely vital for the International Space Station\u2019s logistical health, especially during what has proven to be a problematic year for the Russians.<\/p>\n

ET-122, damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when it was located in Cell-A of MAF\u2019s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), required a large amount of work, both from a repair standpoint, but also via the requirement to implement the numerous RTF modifications.<\/p>\n

And Katrina didn\u2019t just damage the tank, but also displaced large amounts of the MAF workforce, some of whom were technically homeless at the time NASA needed them the most during the comeback from negative delivery dates.<\/p>\n

Sadly, most of that workforce fell foul of NASA\u2019s ongoing transition, as much as most saw it coming since the decision was made to retire the Shuttle fleet once ISS assembly was complete \u2013 although the since-cancelled Constellation Program (CxP) was a hammer blow to the facility. Just a handful of ET engineers remained at MAF by the end of August, with the rest of what is now a small workforce working on Orion and other contracts.<\/p>\n

The official end of ET work at MAF resulted in the spare tanks \u2013 such as ET-94 \u2013 no longer being serviced by Lockheed Martin. They have been turned over to the ownership of Jacobs Technologies.<\/p>\n

\"\"A number of workers might of been saved, had NASA administrator Charlie Bolden announced the Space Launch System (SLS) when lawmakers had requested it. MAF leaders had hoped for an end to the delays earlier this year, extending the period prior to the handing of WARN notices to a number of workers several times, before finally losing patience.<\/p>\n

Now the SLS program is up and running, MAF are hoping to be involved in the resulting contracts, with one of the main contractors likely to be building the core stage, Boeing, already noted to have utilized the facility for their SLS-related Pathfinder tank. Meanwhile, other major weld tooling has been placed into storage.<\/p>\n

MAF At The Movies:<\/p>\n

Ironically, some of the remaining workforce found themselves with job sheets that had nothing to do with the space program, as they spent some of their days removing equipment to make space for a string of production companies to use the facility to film parts of their blockbuster films, per L2 information.<\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n