Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 11:38 PM
Although the other two ASE student teams have started up for the fall, the Civil Engineering team is waiting for the next phase of GCRS site development to wrap up. The County has been given the green light to proceed with building the road on the GCRS test site, so once the test site dries out from the recent rain, the road should be completed soon.
When we have full access to the site, the Civil Engineering team will finish the construction of the blast wall, a fence, and a few other items needed for the test stand.
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Friday, May 26, 2006, 09:01 PM
Today we poured concrete at the test site. The concrete truck arrived at 5pm, and by 5:30 the slab was full and the rest of the concrete was in a pile on the ground. We used the leftover concrete to fill the blast wall. After the slab was smooth and the wall was full, we mixed more mortar and added several feet to the blast wall (filled with cement, of course). As we were running out of light, we took off the wooden supports that were holding the test stand retaining bolts in place, smoothed out the cement and then Nate took measurements of the final bolt locations. We will use these measurements to drill holes in the support brackets of the test stand.
Here are some pictures from concrete day:
This is the final test stand slab (autographed):
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Saturday, May 20, 2006, 09:27 PM
Today we broke ground at the Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport. During the day we cleared the land, built the forms for the test stand, and laid down the first few feet of the blast wall. We had a big team at the site:
Ten students from Brazoswood High School
Seven Civil Engineering students from the University of Houston
One teacher, one parent, one bobcat driver, and five ASA engineers.
The University of Houston Civil Engineering students led the day's activities, teaching and showing the high school students how to level the ground, build and reinforce the form, and how to build the wall. Their team was crucial to the day's success.
Here is what the site looked like at the beginning:
Mr. Weaver's family company donated the use of a bobcat for the initial digging. This was a huge help. Thanks, Mr. Weaver!
Of course, some of the digging had to be done by hand:
In this picture, the UofH students are working with the BHS students to build the form:
Here the team is laying the foundation for the cinderblock blast wall:
Mixing mortar:
Starting the layers of cinderblocks:
Big action shot:
Here is what he test site looked like at the end of the day. It is ready for concrete, but we were exhausted. Pouring day is next week!
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