Thiokol Rocket Garden; Promontory, Utah

Mom's friend's late husband was a chemist at Thiokol. Outside their facility is this display of space and military ballistics in which the (ATK) Thiokol corporation played a role. I believe Jaye helped develop an adhesive that was used in this beast.

From a nearby ATK Thiokol sign: “The space shuttle reusable solid rocket motor (RSRM) is the largest man-rated solid rocket motor ever flown and the only booster capable of recovery and reuse. Developed for NASA by ATK Thiokol in the mid-1970s, the RSRM was successfully static tested on July 18, 1977. During the first 122 seconds of each flight, two RSRMs provide 80 percent of the thrust needed to accelerate the shuttle to a speed of 3,094 miles per hour before separating from the orbiter and external tank at an altitude of 24 nautical miles. Nearly seven minutes after separation, the spent boosters parachute into the Atlantic Ocean approximately 140 nautical miles downrange from Kennedy Space Center. The recovered boosters are disassemble in Florida and returned to ATK Thiokol's plant in Utah, where they are refurbished for use on future space shuttle flights.”

Technical specs for the “TU-772 Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor”:
Length: 149 feet
Diameter: 12 feet, 2 inches
Empty weight: 148,809 pounds
Full weight: 1,255,978 pounds
Burn time: 122 seconds
Thrust: 2,600,000 pounds

Also visited today in the area: Golden Spike National Historic Site, https://www.nps.gov/gosp/index.htm » “May 10, 1869 the Union and Central Pacific Railroads joined their rails at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory and forged the destiny of a nation. Golden Spike National Historic Site shares the stories of the people and settings that define the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad.”

1 year ago (“Common whitetail”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2016-05-29
2 years ago (“An impossible ID”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2015-05-29
3 years ago (“Birds do it. Bees do it. …”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2014-05-29
4 years ago (“Melted peppermint sticks”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2013-05-29
5 years ago (“Waiting for the clouds to clear…”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-05-29
6 years ago (“In the yard…”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-05-29

[ IMG_6214S12x8Utm :: f/8 :: 1/250" :: ISO-100 :: 18mm ]