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Author
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Topic: Mobile Launch Platform-2 (MLP-2) demolition
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46768
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-19-2021 10:00 AM
   
collectSPACE Out of space, NASA is demolishing Apollo, shuttle launch platformOne of the three large steel platforms that supported the launch of NASA's Apollo and space shuttle missions is now being demolished — due to a lack of space. Fifty years ago this month, Mobile Launch Platform-2 (MLP-2, or as it was then referred to, Mobile Launcher-2 or ML-2) provided the surface from where the Apollo 14 crew left Earth to land on the moon. Fifteen years later, MLP-2 was the literal "surly bonds of Earth" from where the space shuttle Challenger's STS-51L crew tragically lifted off for the last time.  |
c670cj
Member Posts: 20
From: Renton, Washington
Registered: Jul 2016
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posted 01-19-2021 10:35 AM
Such a monument to our space achievements, demolished to make room "for more parking." Only in America. Very sad and VERY short-sighted. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3351
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-19-2021 10:56 AM
Cue eBay auctions of "genuine fragments of the historic MLP-2 platform that launched Apollo and shuttle." Some of them may even be genuine. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1651
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 01-19-2021 12:25 PM
There is no further use for it. NASA has no need. Too expensive to be use by commercial companies (Northrop Grumman was hoping for a government contract).There are three of them and nothing unique about this one. Better demolish it than let it rot and leach chemicals into the ground. The more space is for SLS mobile launchers. |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4379
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-19-2021 01:24 PM
Have to confess, a recognisable part salvaged from the platform would be a welcome addition to the collection, i.e. a light fitting, dial or such. |
randy
Member Posts: 2459
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 01-19-2021 03:55 PM
Sad to see her go. |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2719
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 01-19-2021 03:57 PM
If I recall from the LUT, the material had ITAR restrictions as well as EPA (paint) issues. No parts were allowed to leave the control of the demolition contractor. I wonder if that hold true for the MLP as well. |
pupnik
Member Posts: 122
From: Maryland
Registered: Jan 2014
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posted 01-19-2021 07:33 PM
It's sad to see it go, but it was probably inevitable. There's no way to get it beyond the reaches of the crawlerway. A good comparison for it would be museum ships. The construction and maintenance are largely the same. But while the USS Missouri might get hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, a MLP would get a small fraction of that.Someday years down the road a decision will have to be made about the other two, as well as the crawler-transporters themselves. |
oly
Member Posts: 1244
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 01-19-2021 07:52 PM
I would have liked to see them float it from the parking area to the Saturn V centre, where it would have made a great outdoor feature.Many tourists who have taken the bus ride out to the Saturn Centre would love the opportunity to get up close to one of these, and with the addition of some guard and safety rails, it would have been amazing to have the chance to climb some stairs and stand on top of the structure. It would have also made an excellent launch viewing platform.
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Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1651
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 01-20-2021 08:02 AM
quote:
Originally posted by oly:
I would have liked to see them float it from the parking area to the Saturn V centre, where it would have made a great outdoor feature.
Not possible, without spending a large sum of money. |
oly
Member Posts: 1244
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 01-20-2021 04:56 PM
Whatever happened to that good old "can do" attitude that created a launch system capable of landing a man on the moon, but not able to float a big steel box 1 mile north?Some grad students, some flotation bags, and a YouTube challenge could have it done in a week. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46768
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-20-2021 05:27 PM
Environmental protection regulations, liability concerns and federal property disposal rules are just some of the factors involved in moving or repurposing any piece of government-owned equipment — especially something as large as a mobile launch platform. Could something have been done to save MLP-2? Yes, if that something had been proposed in 2013 when NASA solicited ideas for its use or disposition. There was some interest at that time, but nothing solid enough to take action. Unfortunately, disposal procedures and contracts preclude NASA or the demolition company from just handing out (or even selling) pieces. At this point, MLP-2 is consigned to being scrapped and its metal recycled. |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4379
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-20-2021 06:50 PM
Pieces of launch structures have been sold in the past as lucites or attached to pieces of card. Surely the same regulations that preclude the limited sale of pieces from MLP-2 were in place then also? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46768
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-20-2021 07:04 PM
Not necessarily; policies change over time. If you're talking about displays created 25 to 40 years ago, then likely not. Also, it depends on where those launch structures were originally located, as the Air Force and NASA operated by different policies. It really is a case-by-case situation. |
oly
Member Posts: 1244
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 01-20-2021 07:39 PM
Thanks, Robert. I understand why it has come to the point where NASA has contracted for the disposal of this asset, I was merely passing comment that we, as space enthusiasts, could come up with a list of fantasy options for the repurposing of such a historic part of two major space launch systems. There would no doubt be some space fans who would pay to sit on bleachers mounted on top of such an iconic monument to watch the next generation of space travellers reach for the stars.
Given the types of products involves, it is probably an ecological nightmare to even consider letting rainwater runoff from the platform reach the waterways of Florida, but it would have been nice to see it used in another way. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1651
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 01-21-2021 07:31 AM
quote:
Originally posted by oly:
Some grad students, some flotation bags, and a YouTube challenge could have it done in a week.
It weighs 8 million pounds. The water in the area is mostly swamp and waist deep in areas. It can't float in there. Also how would it get to the and out of the water? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46768
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-05-2021 02:22 PM
MLP-2 is no more, long live MLP-2...MotoArt makes mementos from scrapped NASA shuttle launch platformWhen NASA announced earlier this year that it was going to destroy one of its three historic structures that was used to support Apollo rockets and space shuttles, the fate of Mobile Launch Platform-2 (MLP-2) seemed to be sealed as scrap metal. That is, until fans of MotoArt's PlaneTags heard the news. Now, the public can own a small part of space shuttle history, thanks to a 20-year-old company with a reputation for preserving aviation history by making products out of old airplane parts.  |
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