Dyna-Soar Facilities

[Byeman]

My recent post on the Gemini 2 spacecraft had me thinking about Hangar L (since that is where the prepped it for the Titan IIIC flight). I had learned that early Titan III payloads were also processed in Hangar L. I decided to review the drawings of the hangar to look for mods to accommodate such work. The hangar was originally built for the Thor program. It was later also used for the Able-Star stage and Mark II reentry vehicle. I had seen some documentation and drawings that showed it was to be used for the Dyna-Soar program. The spacecraft (glider) was to be prepare in it. They even went as far as to build an office building for the program (The MRL (Missile Research Lab) on Hangar Rd next to the E&A building). As I looking at the drawings of Hangar L, I realized I overlooked something in the past. There was an "As Built" stamp on the drawings for the Dyna-Soar mods. A cleanroom was actually built for Dyna-Soar in Hangar L. Then I remembered some photos I had. They show the Dyna-Soar cleanroom in Hangar L. This is what was used for the Gemini 2 reflight and early Titan III payloads.

 

[Archibald]

Very interesting. So this was DynaSoar equivalent of the Shuttle OPFs at CCAFS ? (much smaller obviously, and with far less, if any, payload processing).

 

[Byeman]

Very interesting. So this was DynaSoar equivalent of the Shuttle OPFs at CCAFS ? (much smaller obviously, and with far less, if any, payload processing).

I guess so. But no crane available and don't know anything about access stands.

 

[GeorgeA]

Very cool Byeman. I was just on the tour a couple of weeks ago, saw Hangar C of course, but they don’t take you past the lighthouse. Got to see NG-2 on the pad, which was cool however.

 

[nivek626]

Nice Find !